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WWII
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Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah was the attack on Hamburg by the British and Americans. It was a severe bombing of the city. Hamburg was a well defended city because of its historical significance and the city was equipped with anti-aircraft defenses. 15,000 people were killed on the first day of the bombings and many more were injured. The first bombings were followed up by many more bombs dropped and over 40,000 people were killed. These bombings raised morale in Britain and sickened the people of Germany. -
Invasion of Italy Begins
On this day, the Allies began the invasion of Italy and the Italian government secretly agreed to the terms of surrender but didn't make it public until a few days later. Because they agreed to the terms, the Italians would get off easily if they helped the Allies run off the Germans from Italy. The Germans ultimately surrendered in Italy on May 1. -
Battle of Normandy
On this day, also known as D-Day, Operation Overlord, aka the Battle of Normandy began. The Allies fought their way across western Europe and by late August of 1944, the Germans were gone from northwestern France and Paris had been liberated. Hitler could now no longer send troops to France to fight against the Soviets. The Battle of Normandy resulted in western Europe being freed from Nazi control and Germany's surrender. -
Bombing of Dresden
In the last couple of months of World War II, the Allies bombed the city of Dresden that is located in Germany. This bombing is considered to be very controversial because Dresden was not important to Germany for war and had not suffered from a major attack during the war. By February 15, the city was decimated and the number of dead people ranged from 35,000 to 135,000. -
Battle of Berlin
On this day, the Soviets began their campaign to capture Berlin from the Germans. The Nazis and Soviets fought for the next three weeks but the Soviets had much more troops than Germany and the Soviets won on May 2. This battle marked the end of fighting in the European Theater and was after Hitler's suicide, Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.
