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Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
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The U.S. declares war on Japan
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Nazi Germany and its axis powers declare war on the U.S.
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British and US navies halt the Japanese naval advance in the central Pacific at Midway
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US troops halt the Japanese island-hopping advance towards Australia at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands
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US and British troops land at several points on the beaches of Algeria and Morocco in French North Africa
The failure of the Vichy French troops to defend against the invasion enables the Allies to move swiftly to the western border of Tunisia, and triggers the German occupation of southern France on November 11. -
Axis forces in Tunisia surrender to the Allies
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US and British troops land on Sicily. By mid-August, the Allies control Sicily
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Allied troops land on the beaches of Salerno near Naples
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Allied troops land successfully near Anzio, just south of Rome
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Allied troops liberate Rome
Within six weeks, Anglo-American bombers could hit targets in eastern Germany for the first time. -
British and US troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches
opening a “Second Front” against the Germans -
Anglo-American forces break out of the Normandy beachhead and race eastward towards Paris
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Allied forces land in southern France near Nice
They advance rapidly towards the Rhine River to the northeast -
Allied troops reach Paris
On August 25, Free French forces, supported by Allied troops, enter the French capital. By September, the Allies reach the German border. by December, almost all of France, most of Belgium, and part of the southern Netherlands are liberated. -
US troops land in the Philippines
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The Germans launch a final offensive in the west
Known as the Battle of the Bulge, in an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allied forces along the German border. By January 1, 1945, the Germans are in retreat. -
US troops cross the Rhine River at Remagen
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Hitler commits suicide
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The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima
