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Annexation of Sudetenland
Started on March 15th, 1939, and it was when Hitler was threatening European war unless Sudetenland was ceded to Germany. So the leaders of Britain, Germany, France, and Italy came together for the Munich Conference which agreed to the German annexation of Sudetenland in exchange for a promise that Hitler would keep the peace.
Article[https://www.britannica.com/place/Sudetenland]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcwngwEaP_0] -
Pearl Harbor
A US naval base near Hawaii, in which fleets of Japanese planes surprise attacked on December 7th, 1941. This led to nearly 20 US naval vessels being destroyed, 2,400 American deaths, and 1000 injured. This led to the US declaring war on Japan and FDR's famous speech about Pearl Harbor.
Article[https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yksZzt4BvhE] -
Japanese Internment Camps
Ending on March 20, 1946, this was established during WWII through FDR's Executive Order 9066. This policy was when Japanese Americans were incarcerated in isolated camps. It was enacted due to the events of Pearl Harbor and is considered one of the worst violations of American Civil Rights in the 20th century.
Article[https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-approves-end-to-internment-of-japanese-americans]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZLGj6BV1Os] -
The Battle of Midway
Japanese fleets attacked US naval base Midway but were unaware that US carrier forces were east of the island ready for battle. Then the US begin attacking the Japanese carriers with torpedos and it was a back-and-forth battle between the two carrier forces. Eventually, the US made the Japanese retreat which began the pushback against Japan and the islands they had taken.
Article[https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/battle-midway]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atjWplAF-9g] -
Island Hopping
This practice is where you "hop" from island to island, skipping over the heavily fortified ones and taking control of the smaller ones. Allowing you to easily take over the stronger more fortified islands. The US started this in August 1942 after the battle of midway, to start pushing the Japanese back and regaining the islands that were taken during the Japanese island hopping.
Article[https://www.studentsofhistory.com/war-in-the-pacific]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLfWEKlsCLo] -
Guadalcanal
This is where the US mounted its first major amphibious attack in WWII. This was the US's first move in driving the Japanese back into the Pacific theater.
Article[https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Guadalcanal]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWgke38ce_U] -
Stalingrad
This fierce battle lasted a long 5 months with the Soviets against the Germans. 750,000 Soviets died defending this city, however, it was a huge blow to the German war machine. This was a major turning point in WWII.
Article[https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMt-rawNZZI] -
D-Day
This is the biggest air, land, and sea ever executed and it is when more than 160,000 allied forces landed in Nazi-controlled France. This was the allied forces' way to start pushing toward Berlin to get to Hitler.
Article[https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/world-war-ii-d-day-invasion-normandy]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fySWO_51SUY] -
Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippines
This was the largest naval battle of WWII which was a decisive sea and air battle, crippiling the Japanese combined fleet. This was our comeback after losing the Philippines to the Japanese on May 6, 1942. This win for the US reinforced the Allies control of the pacific.
Article[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exk3K7w82eI] -
Meeting at Yalta
At this meeting, FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin(the big 3) met and decided that Germany would be divided into four post-war occupation zones controlled by US, British, French, and Soviet soldiers after Germany's unconditional surrender.
Article[https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VonCQ2YgLM] -
Fall of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, also known as the fall of Berlin, led to the ultimate surrender of Germany and the death of Hitler. Close to 80,000 Soviets died and many more were injured. However, this was still a great victory for the Soviet Union and the Allies.
Article[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Berlin]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YshlDYx7Q2c] -
Death of Hitler
The Soviets had been devastating Berlin and once it was clear that Berlin would fall, Hitler committed suicide by shooting himself. He did not want to face the consequences so while the battle was going on and he was in his bunker, he resorted to suicide.
Article[https://www.nationalww2museum.org/death-of-adolf-hitler]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc5QEycQ75c] -
First Atomic Bomb Test, Los Alamos
The first-ever nuclear explosion occurred here when they tested a plutonium implosion device at Los Alamos, New Mexico. The code name for this test was "Trinity". Many of the scientists were skeptical of this test, so when it worked they knew this was the first step to very advanced warfare.
Article[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(nuclear_test)]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7fKlk441dQ] -
Meeting at Potsdam
This is where Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman, and Winston Churchill came to negotiate terms for the end of WWII. They worked out what they were going to do about the effects of the war, solving issues about the peace treaty, postwar order, and more.
Article[https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/potsdam-conference]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThZza0LRG3Y] -
Bombing of Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The bomb drop was called Little Boy and it killed over 80,000 people during the initial bombing and many more died after the bombing from radiation.
Article[https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki]
Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgp6ZH-by-E]