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Invasion of Manchuria
Japan seized manchuria because japanese believed that Japan's empire should be equal to the size of the western powers empire -
Blitzkrieg into Poland
Germany used blitzkrieg to invade Poland because Hitler wanted Poland because he believed it was "German". Hitler used this tactic because it was the most quick and effective way to take over land at that time. This moment made Britain and France declare war on Germany just two days later. This affected the war in Europe -
Battle of the Alantic
The British had a superior navy so the Germans deployed U-Boats to try to sink the convoys running from America to Britain and tried to starve Britain into submission. This was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II stretching over 6 years from 1939-1945 -
Germany invades France
On May 10th, 1940, Germany makes the first move on France after France declared war on Germany 8 months before. This invasion created a wedge between the British and French troops forcing Britain to evacuate 340,000 troops from France back to Britain. This affected the war in Europe -
Battle of Dunkirk
When the Germans invaded France, it created a divide between French and British troops. The Germans force the British towards the beaches of Dunkirk. Somehow a miracle basically happened when 192,000 soldiers (144,000 British) fled to Britain through French ports. This was part of the war in Europe and if the British never escaped successfully the war probably would have ended differently. This affected the war in Europe -
Japan defeats China
The reason for Japan attacking China is that Japan has little natural resources on the island. It was formed by volcanoes. Japan attacked China to get China's natural resources to fund Japan's economy. Japan being geographically located there, they felt this was their territory to exploit, similar to the way the USA feels about the Caribbean. So with that Japan took over China first taking over Manchuria. This was successful at first until the U.S joined the war -
Battle of Britain
At this time Hitler knew if he wanted to take over Europe the hardest military he has to go against was England, so he had to attack them where it's the easiest, by air. Hitler and his army had numerous aerial attacks in cities such as London. Cities in England would black out their entire city by shutting down street lights and painting windows black. However, after a little bit England developed the first radar and they had better aircraft and they eventually beat England in this battle. -
Germany takes Greece
During this time Greece was in was with Italy. Greece even defended Italy's first attack, with help from the allies. But, since Italy was part of the axis Germany had to help fight Italy. Germany took this battle with ease only lose 1,000 soldiers with 3,000 when Greece lost, 13,000 and 42,000 missing. This affected the war in Europe -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the name of Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. This was a big shocker in the world because Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact before the war. Most believe Hitler did this because Russia was communist and he know he'll catch them by surprise. Though this would become unsuccessful Operation Barbarossa lasted from June to December in 1941. The big reason Germany lost was that they were unprepared for the very cold winter in Russia. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. It was the worst attack in American history until 9/11. This attack was related to the war in the Pacific. This was the breaking point for the U.S to join the war. Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 of them -
Battle of the Philippines
A day after Pearl Harbor the Japanese invaded the Philippines, an American territory. The U.S decided to turn the blind eye and to focus on preparing for the war. The Japanese would take complete control of the Philippines within 5 months -
New Guinea
It was a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan in the Pacific campaign of World War II. Following the capture of the port of Rabaul, Japanese forces turned it into a major base. The start of the campaign started in January 1942 and ended in August 1945 -
Battle of Bataan/ Death March
Following the Americans surrender of the Philippines, at least 70,000 troops with no food and water to a nearby camp. This killed around 600 Americans and 10,000 Filipino prisoners. This affected the war in the Pacific. -
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid was the name of an air raid on Tokyo and other surrounding places. These air raids were in retaliation of Pearl Harbor and showed American soldiers that Japan is as much vulnerable as the U.S during Pearl Harbor. This affected the war in the Pacific -
The Battle of Coral Sea
The Battle of Coral Sea was a naval battle that stopped Japan's movement toward Australia. Though the U.S suffered more casualties this battle made Japan retreat back towards Japan so now there was no chance Japan would invade the U.S. This affected the war in the Pacific -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the war in the Pacific. The Japanese attempted to attack the island of Midway but suffered heavy loses with a estimate of over 3,500 Japanese soldiers being killed in battle when about 300 Americans died in the battle -
Guadalcanal Campain
Strategic island in South Pacific that was part of planned to eventually blockade and invade Australia; US defeated Japan for control of the Island in a long bloody campaign; chronicled in famous war time report - the Guadalcanal Diary. -
Battle of Stalingrad
A battle between 1942-1943 in World War II, in which German forces were defeated in their attempt to capture an industrial port city on the Volga River in the Soviet Union; one of the most deadly battles of WWII; crushing defeat for Germany. Turning point for the war because Germans no longer attempted to move further into Russia -
2nd Battle of El-Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein took place from 23 October - 11 November 1942 near the city of El Alamein. Allies' victory marked major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. El Alamein revived the morale of the Allied side, being the first major offensive against the Germans since the start of the European war in 1939 in which the Western Allies achieved a decisive victory -
Battle of Kursk
Soviet and German tanks both battle for the control of Kursk. With the help of Ilyushin IL-2 the Soviets keep control of Kursk. It was both the largest armored clash and the costliest single day of aerial warfare in history. Just like the battle of Stalingrad, the battle of Kursk help stop the Germans from moving anymore forward into Russia -
Invasion of Sicily
U.S. forces commanded by George Patton and British forces under Montgomery invaded and took Sicily. This was significant because soon after this they used Sicily to launch D-Day. -
Battle of Salerno
Almost a month after the allies secured Sicily; they began their invasion of Italy, with the first landing at Salerno on September 9, 1943. This stemmed off when the Allies took over Sicily and was the beginning of the end of the Axis in Europe -
Battles of Gilbert and Marshall Island
For the US, these battles represented both the next step in its island-hopping march to Japan and a significant moral victory because it was the first time the Americans had penetrated the "outer ring" of the Japanese Pacific sphere. Also, the battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive battle in the critical central Pacific region -
Battle of Anzio
4-month battle for Anzio outside Rome that cost 25,000 Allied casualties and 30,000 Axis casualties. "Bloody Anzio". Fight for mainland Italy. -
D-Day
Led by Eisenhower, over 150,000 troops stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. This was the turning point of European WWII; Allies start of taking back France and race to Berlin; foothold on European continent -
Battle of Guam
It occurred because Japan took over Guam, but Americans wanted to liberate Guam. It was an American victory and the Guam became a base for allied operation and was liberated July 12. -
Operation Dragoon
Complex move by allies to take back France, move in from south to take out Germany, Us first then France came. This one of the last battles in the war in Europe -
Campaign in the Philippines
Purpose was to liberate the Philippines after 3 years of Japanese occupation, cut off Japan from vital supplies in Southwest Pacific, and move closer to mainland Japan. Gen. MacArthur stated "I have returned" because in the first stint in the Philippines when the U.S were forced out we proclaimed "I Shall Return" -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Allies encountered the obstacle of the Japanese's plan to destroy the American fleet. The Japanese navy were taken down by the U.S. This battle was important because it eliminated the Japanese navy as a fighting force in the war -
Battle of the Bulge
After recapturing France, the Allied advance became stalled along the German border. In the winter of 1944, Germany staged a massive counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg which pushed a 30 mile "bulge" into the Allied lines. The Allies stopped the German advance and threw them back across the Rhine with heavy losses. This was a desperate counterattack because Germany knew if the lost the war in Europe would be over. -
Siege of Bastogne
One objective of Battle of the Bulge was German control of the Ardennes, thought seizure of Bastogne from US control under McAuliffe crucial for German success, would cut off supply and separate US from British troops; German commander ordered US surrender, McAuliffe fired back "NUTS!"; decided to hang tough (we had air superiority, Patton was on the way with reinforcements) 3 weeks later Bastogne was liberated -
Yalta Conference
FDR, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta. Russia agreed to declare war on Japan after the surrender of Germany and in return FDR and Churchill promised the USSR concession in Manchuria and the territories that it had lost in the Russo-Japanese War -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Combined with the attacks on Iwo Jima, was America's desire to finally destroy Japan's merchant fleet so that the Japanese mainland could not be supplied from the food-rich sectors of South East Asia which Japan still had control over.
February 23- Capture of Mount Suribachi (Iconic image used by the Marines) -
Battle of Okinawa
US troops arrived on this island in hope to control an island only 350 miles from southern Japan. The Japanese were defeated in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. It resulted in the loss of over 100,000 Japanese troops and 12,000 American troops. This battle gave United States a launching point for an American invasion or bombing raids of Japan -
Hitler's Suicide
With Germany's defeat becoming inevitable Hitler had too much pride to admit defeat so he killed himself. Also, Hitler knew if he hadn't killed himself he most likely would have been killed by the allies in the most painful way possible. -
Germany Surrenders
Soon after Hitler's suicide, Germany officially surrendered. Though there were still small battles, it was mostly it was because the members of the SS knew they would die, so it's better to die fighting -
Potsdam Conference
Meeting between Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to discuss post-WWII. Each side would take reparations from its own occupation zone, divided up Germany, created Council of Foreign Ministers; marked the end of wartime alliance -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The first bombs went off on August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945. These two events are the only active deployments of nuclear weapons in war to date. By executive order of President Harry S. Truman, the U.S. dropped the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed by the detonation of "Fat Man" over Nagasaki on August 9. -
Japanese Surrender
Shortly after the U.S dropped the atomic bombs, the Japanese surrendered with the fear the U.S had more atomic bombs. This was officially the end of World War II for the U.S
