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Invasion of Poland
Poland was defeated on the first day of semptember by the Germans Luftwaffe (airforce) and their Panzer (tank). The Blitzkrieg was a success because of the warfare airplanes and tanks that were advanced at the time. To an agreement that was made in the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the Soviet army joined in the attackon Poland September 17th. By September 29th Poland ceased to exist. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
On May 10th Hitler invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and France. Netherlands forced to surrender within four days, and Belgium held out until May 28th. The British and Belgium forces were trapped by the German forces, and their only escape route was through the port of Dunkirk. About 340,000 troops were evacuated ny the British navy between May 27th and June 4th. -
Fall of France
Mussolini has declared war on France on June 10th. The German's reacted quickly with the blitzkrieg strategy enabled. The German's entered Paris on June 4th, and France eventaully surrendered by June 22nd. The reason for France's fall was for being unprepared to the Germans standards. -
Battle of Britain
Air raids began with Goerings promise to eliminate the RAF. The British planes were outnumbered 3:1, but maintained a kill ratio of 1882 planes to 1017. From the German p.o.v it is a neccesary step to the invasion, British p.o.v it is a battle of survival because Britain stands alone. The British stopped the invasion, this being a key part in the war. -
Winter War
The Red Army attacked Finland, the Finns put up a spirited fight, but surendered. The Finns surendered to the soviets and signed a peace treaty March 12, 1940. -
Barbarossa
One the morning of June 22 Hitler finally double-crossed his equally cynical Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact Partner when he attacked on a front stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea. By the end of the first day the Germans were fifty miles into Soviet territory. In spite of impressive figures from the first six months of Operation Barbosa, the battle for the soviet was far from over. November rains and the Russian winter, did what the red army had failed to do- they stopped the nazis. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Hitlers forces took large sections of Stalingrad, but the fighting was vicious. This was urban fighting at its worst. Fighting consisted of taking each street and each building. Casualties on both sides were heavy. Hitler ordered Von Paulos, the German commander, to fight the death and not retreat.The promised air support from Goering never arrived. Between January 3, 1943 and Feburary 2 300,000 German troops surrendered. -
Battle of El Alamein
Between October 23 and November 3, Montgomery's "Desert Rats" defeated the famous Rommel and the German/Italian retreat across Africa began. Know the Suez Canal remained in Allied hands. Hitler was denied access to the oil of the middle east. It proved to the allies that Hitlers best forces could be beaten. -
Battle of the Atlantic
Most of the damage done to British shipping lanes was done by German submarines. Hunting in what were called "wolf packs", but bombers also played a role. Hitler was sinking Allied ships faster then the Allies were building them. Thanks to radar and safe convoys, suddenly the U-boats ceased to play a role in the North Atlantic. -
Italian Campaign
By the middle of 1943 the Germans had been defeated and removed from North Africa.Stalin wanted an allied landing in France and the Allies wanted a year of planning and buildup. The allied plan was to first take the island of Sicily. They landed an encountered heavy resistance from Germans stationed there. It would take the allies until June 4,1944 to take rome. Mussolini and his mistress were caught and hung in rome and displayed for several days in the street. -
Normandy Invasion
The initial attack would be carried out by 175,000 men in another of the now common amphibious assaults. This day the allied troops were to take five beaches. Beaches named Utah and Omaha were to be taken by the Americans while the British took Gold and Sword. The Fifth beach, Juno, was left to the Canadian forces. By the end of the first day the Allies, after great sacrifice, had their beach head. -
Battle of the Bulge
By September American forces were on the German border. On 15 December the Germans launched one last offensive and found a weak spot in the Allied front in the Ardennes. This attack was known as the Battle of the Bulge. Two hundred thousand German troops attacked an area held by 80,000 allies. The Germans advanced sixty miles before being stoppd on christmas day.VE(Victory in Europe) Day was May 8 1945,
