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Nazi Germany Invads Poland
Primary Source One of the factors that provoked the start of World War II was when the Nazis invaded Poland. After signing the non-aggression pact, Germany invaded Poland with a surprise attack, surrounding Polish borders with tanks and troops. Hitler won this battle by strategically landing the attacks in Warsaw, Polands capital. -
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WWII
World War II was a global war in which more than 30 countries participated. It was also one of the most widespread and deadliest war in history and caused the death of 50 million military and civilian deaths. -
Hitler Gains Victory Over France
Primary Source When France surrendered to the German invasion, Germany takes control of the northern part of France. On June 22nd, 1940, France signed the armistice with the Nazi Germans which stated that Hitler was now in control of all of the Western European countries except for Great Britain. -
Operation Barbarossa
Priamary Source Hitler decided to move forward with Operation Barbarossa, invading the Soviet Union. Even though the Soviet Union had the largest army, Germany’s attack caught them unprepared. Everything was going according to plan but when winter hit the USSR, German troops could not handle the cold. Operation Barbarossa failed because Hitler forbidden a retreat and as a result, 500,000 of his men die. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Primary Source American soldiers at Pearl Harbor were attack by Japanese military forces, leaving an outstanding number of casualties. The attack lasted two hours and about 19 US ships were sunk or damaged, leaving over 2,000 Americans dead or wounded. This motivates President Roosevelt to declare war on Japan and it’s allies. -
Battle of Midway
Primary SourceThe Battle of the Midway in the Pacific Ocean was fought between the Japanese Naval Forces and the US. The US discovers that Japan is planning to attack the midway island so they were prepared. This battle started on June 4, 1942 and within three days the Americans weaken Japan by destroying 332 Japanese planes, four aircraft carriers and one support ship causing Japan retreat. -
D-Day
Primary Source Operation Overlord, commonly known as D-Day, consisted of the Allies taking back control over France. The Allies including US invaded Normandy with 160,000 troops. The Allies had great casualties and lost a lot of soldiers in the invasion. After a couple of months the Allies triumphal gain control of Paris. -
Battle of Okinawa
Primary Source The United States forces entered the Japanese territory of Okinawa which is 350 miles south of Japan. This started the Battle of Okinawa and after a long and bloody battle, the US finished with an Allied triumph. Both sides lost a lot of troops, Japan 100,000 while the US lost 12,000 soldiers. -
Germany Surrenders in WWII
Primary Source General Eisenhower accepts the unconditional surrender of Nazi German armed forces. The representatives of France, Great Britain, the USSR, and the US made the German soldiers sign their loss in Berlin. After nearly six years of fighting the war is finally over. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
Primary Source After Japan ignored the United State’s threat, the US dropped a massive atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan. More than 70,000 civilians in Hiroshima were killed instantly. -
Nagasaki Bombing
Primary Source Three days after the bombing in Hiroshima, US dropped a second bomb over Nagasaki, the only difference was that this bomb was a plutonium bomb. Similarly to the bomb in Hiroshima, about 40,000 people instantly perished.
