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Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, and was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base and destroyed nearly 20 American naval vessels. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. -
Battle of Midway
On June 4, 1942, the Japanese hoped to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet by luring them into a battle near Midway island. The Americans, who appeared to be losing at first, surprised the Japanese as they were refueling planes. The Japanese lost about 250 planes and most of their skilled pilots. The allies were victorious, allowing them to take the offensive in the Pacific. -
The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad, was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. Russians and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million -
Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944, Germany launched a counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg. They pushed back the U.S. First Army, forming a bulge in the Allied Line. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle in Western Europe during WWII and the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. In the end the casualties were staggering on both sides, and most Nazi leaders realized that the war was lost. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
In February 1945, American marines stormed the beach of Iwo Jima. In the Battle of Iwo Jima, American forces suffered about 25,000 causalities. It took more than 100,000 American troops almost a month to defeat less than 25,000 Japanese, who fought almost to the last defender. -
The Manhattan Project
On August 6, 1945, an American plane, the Enola Gay, dropped a single atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A blast of intense heat annihilated the city's center and its residents in an instant, causing about 80,000 deaths. On August 14, the government of Japan surrendered. The long and destructive war had finally come to an end.
