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German Blitzkrieg
The German Blitzkrieg is a reference to an unstoppable military tactic that was used by Germany in WW2. The German Blitzkrieg used many mobile forces to disorganize enemy troops. This led to many saved lives for the Germans but unfortunate led to total destruction for the foes. The Germans started using this tactic in the 1940's in order to capture France and the Netherlands. https://www.history.com/ -
Fall of Paris
On this day in the year of 1940, the German military intruded Paris with the objective of capturing the city. The french prime minister had asked the U.S. for help and Roosevelt replied that the U.S. was prepared to aid France. The Germans did lots of damage to Paris causing the death of many people and forced over 2 million Parisians to flee. https://www.history.com/ -
Pearl Harbor
The attack of Pearl Harbor was a very devastating time for the U.S. On December 7, 1942, the U.S. naval base stationed at Pearl Harbor was unexpectedly attacked by the Japanese. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes were used to take out nearly 20 American naval vessels. More than 2,400 Americans were killed and another 1,000 were injured. Slightly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt asked congress to declare war on Japan. https://www.history.com/ -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting between several high ranking Nazi officials to discuss the "Final Solution". The "Final Solution" was a plan to send Jewish people to work camps and the survivors of the camp would be treated with respect. Shortly after the trials began, the Allied Powers found out about the conference. This greatly impacted the Nuremberg Trials. https://www.history.com/ -
Bataan Death March
After the U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula, 75,000 Filipino and American troops were forced to march 65 miles to prison camps. The march tool place in very harsh conditions and caused thousands to perish along the way. In honor of the many lives that were lost, this date went down with the title of the Bataan Death March. https://www.history.com/ -
Battle of Midway
Nearly 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. defeated Japan in one of the most strategic naval battles of WW2. This was the Battle of Midway. Code breaking played a huge part of this battle. Due to the technological advantage, the U.S. was able to counter Japans ambush attack on the aircraft carriers. Japans plan was to take out the aircraft carriers that escaped Pearl Harbor, but the U.S. was able to counter their attack, leading to a U.S. victory. https://www.history.com/ -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a brutal fight between Russia, Germany and the Axis powers during WW2. This battle went down as one of the biggest fights in modern warfare. More than 2 million troops were deployed and over 2 million soldiers were killed during this battle. The objective of this battle was for the Nazis to capture the city of Stalingrad since it served as an industrial center in Russia. https://www.history.com/ -
Allied Invasion of Italy
In 1943, the Italian dictator made plans to build Italy into a new Roman Empire but the Allies refused to let that happen. There was a race between the Axis powers, Allied powers and the U.S. and the Allied powers won with 150,000 troops ashore of Messina. The Allies were able to conquer several towns in Italy before the Badgolio government declared war on Germany. Rome slowly fell into the Allies hands leading to deaths of thousands of soldiers and power to the Allies. https://www.history.com/ -
D-Day
On June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, nearly 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces were deployed along a 50 mile stretch in order to defeat Frances Normandy region. D-Day is recorded as the biggest amphibious attacks till this day and required extensive planning. By late August in 1944, all of Northern France had been liberated but resulted in many deaths along the coast. https://www.history.com/ -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge started when Germany launched a surprise blitzkrieg attack in order to split the Allies in northwest Europe. On December 16, the Germans launched 3 armies in the west which was more than a quarter million troops. The U.S. was caught flat footed and fought until they couldn't anymore. Many of the Allied troops were defeated during this battle. In order to defend the bridgehead, the Allies formed a bulge formation to protect, which is where the battle got its name from. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
As the Allies advanced through Europe at the end of the second world war, they came across many concentration camps. They noticed that these concentration camps were filled with sick and starving prisoners. The Germans had tried to hide the camps from the Allies by destroying them but things like gas chambers were left behind as evidence. Auschwitz was overrun by Russian soldiers and the remaining prisoners were transferred to safer places nearby. https://www.history.com/ -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was an epic battle between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese army. Iwo Jima was a home of three large airfields that the U.S. saw as a target. The battle lasted 5 weeks and was known as one of the bloodiest battles of WW2. The Japanese forces were executed but resulted in the death of nearly 7,000 U.S. Naval forces. https://www.history.com/ -
VE Day
On this day in 1945, both Britain and the U.S. celebrated the victory over the Nazi's. On May 8th, the Germans surrendered to the Britain army after losing over 8,000 soldiers. This led to a major celebration after defeating the strongest military. Therefore, the citizens didnt find out about the victory until a day after the Germans surrender so they celebrated on the 9th of May, 1945. https://www.history.com/ -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
The U.S.s becomes the first nation to use atomic weaponry when they bombed Japan. The U.S. used the atomic bomb since the war in the pacific was still going on. On August 6, 1945, a bomber plane was sent to Japan to drop a 5 ton bomb over Hiroshima. The bomb completely obliterated the city and days later the Japanese surrendered, They marked this date as the end of WW2. https://www.history.com/ -
VJ Day
On August 14, 1945, the Japanese forces surrendered to the Allied powers. Since then, the day has been dedicated to the victory over Japan. Japan surrendered due to the overpowering forces of the Allies and the atomic bomb produced by the U.S. leading to a victory for the Allies. https://www.history.com/
