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U.S. joins the war
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Start of the war in Atlantic/European Theater
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, in 1940, was when Germany turned its attention to Great Britain after they beat France. Germany did not fully end until May 1941, by which time both Berlin and London had gone through heavy bombs and tens of thousands of civilians being killed or wounded during that time. -
Start of the war in Pacific Theater
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Pearl Harbor
The Japanese fleet's air attack on the American battleship anchored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was a really successful surprise attack that did great damage. Fortunately for the United States, the aircraft carriers that were part of the U.S. force were at sea and were spared. The attack was a major setback, but the Japanese had counted on it taking the United States months or even years to recover from the tragic event. -
Bataan Death March
Due to American and Filipino armies being defeated on the Bataan Peninsula, the Japanese won one of their biggest victories of the whole war. The Japanese captured 76,000 prisoners when the Allied garrison, under the command of Maj. Gen. Edward P. King, surrendered. The Allied soldiers were half-starved, diseased, and led by their Japanese victors on a brutal march, which became known as the Bataan Death March, to the prisoner-of-war camps. -
Battle of Midway
Due to Col. Jimmy Doolittle's air raid on Tokyo, Japanese admiral Yamamoto Isoroku made a plan to extend Japan's perimeter by taking the strategic island of Midway. The hope was that an attack would also lure those American aircraft carriers that had escaped from the Pearl Harbor attack into open waters, to then be sunk. On June 3, 1942, a large Japanese fleet was assembled and launched an air raid against Midway's defensive installations; the Japanese hoped to take the Americans by surprise. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle for Stalingrad was fought during the 1942 winter into 1943. In September 1942, the German commander of the Sixth Army, General Paulus, aided by the Fourth Panzer Army, pushed into the city of Stalingrad. The preliminary task was to secure the oil fields in the Caucasusl. To do so, Paulus was ordered by Hitler to take over Stalingrad. -
The Battle of El Alamein
The Battle of El Alamein marked the end of Axis's success in North Africa. This battle also began a series of Allied victories. After El Alamein, German field marshal Erwin Rommel was forced to retreat into Tunisia. After some time, the Axis armies surrendered, as well. -
D-day
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Battle of Iwo Jima
In February 1945, during World War II, Iwo Jima became the object of a large force headed by Adm. Raymond A. Spruance and Gen. Holland M. Smith. On February 19, 1945, after a 74-day bombardment, 30,000 marines started their landing mission. Landing on Iwo Jima was more difficult than anticipated because of the enormous amount of volcanic ash, making it difficult to maneuver through, and the vulnerability of U.S. soldiers to Japanese gunners. -
V-E day
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Hiroshima
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Nagasaki
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V-J day
