British sherman tank firefly battle of the bulge world war ii e1513363313901

Lesson 2.02

By HCS112520

  • Battle of Britain

    Battle of Britain
    Hitler realized a land invasion of Britain would only work if Germany won the air. The Luftwaffe launched a major offensive in August 1940; bombing British air/naval bases, harbors, war industries, etc. In September the Luftwaffe started bombing massive British cities. This allowed the British to strengthen their airforce and fight back against the Luftwaffe. Hitler stopped the invasion. The battle ended on October 31, 1940.

  • Operation Barbarossa

    Operation Barbarossa
    Hitler wanted to attack the Soviet Union because he believed Britain was still in the war because they were relying on the Soviets. Hitler invaded the soviet union on June 22, 1941. German troops advanced and captured 2 million Russian soldiers. They were advancing into Moscow. A harsh winter and Soviet resistance halted the Germans (they had not planned for winter). The German armies had been stopped.

  • Pearl Harbor

    Pearl Harbor
    Japanese aircrafts bombed a United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This resulted in over 3,500 American casualties, 350 destroyed aircrafts and 18 sunken ships. Japan thought this would establish their domination over the Pacific. Instead, the United States entered World War II against Japan, and Hitler declared war on the United States 4 days later.

  • Battle of Midway

    Battle of Midway
    At Midway Island, U.S. planes destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers that were attacking. The U.S. defeated the Japanese and established naval dominance in the Pacific. This was the tipping point of the war in the west.

  • Battle of Stalingrad

    Battle of Stalingrad
    Hitler wanted to take Stalingrad, a major industrial center on the Volga river. The Soviets launched a counter-attack, and the Germans were encircled and supply lines were cut off all in the freezing winter. The German Sixth Army was lost.

  • Hiroshima and Nagasaki

    Hiroshima and Nagasaki
    The United States dropped 2 atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 respectively. They were dropped primarily because Truman didn't want to lose American lives by invading Japan. The bombs led to the Japanese surrendering on August 15 and this was the end to the war.