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German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is a military tactic used by the Germans to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. Successfully employing the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940. -
Germany's invasion of Poland
1.5 million German troops invade Poland all along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. Hitler thought that the conquest of Poland would bring living space, for the German people. On September 3 Britain, and France declared war on Germany, initiating World War II. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is a naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Japan's only chance was to surprise and to destroy America's navy as quickly as possible, to provide important natural resources such as oil and rubber. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, and another 1,000 people were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. -
D-Day
Allied forces invaded northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy. to liberate north-west Europe from German occupation. D-Day forced the Germans to fight a two front war again just as they had in WWI. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
As the Allies were crossing Europe at the end of the Second World War, they found concentration camps filled with sick and starving prisoners. Germans attempted to hide the evidence of mass murder by demolishing much of the camp, but parts like the gas chambers were left standing. The first major camp to be liberated was Majdanek in July 1944. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germans created a “bulge” around the area of the Ardennes forest in pushing through the American defensive line, was the largest fought on the Western front.The Germans lost so many experienced troops and equipment that there was no way their army could launch another attack on Allied forces. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
A major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army, because the U.S. won the air fields were shut down. -
Battle of Okinawa
A major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Marine and Army forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. The capture of Okinawa was part of a three-point plan the Americans had for winning the war in the Far East. It resulted in the largest casualties with over 100,000 Japanese casualties and 50,000 casualties for the Allies. -
VE-Day
Celebrated on Tuesday, 8 May 1945 to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. -
Potsdam Declaration
The Potsdam Declaration was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. The declaration was the result of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Potsdam is what declared Japans surrender. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb
To invade Japan, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world's first atom bomb. Landing on the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. -
VJ-Day
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, ending World War II.
