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Hitler Blitzkriegs Poland
On September 1st, 1939, Hitler launched his first attack against Poland. This would be Germany’s first real move and the start of WWII. Hitler struck with a tactic that is know as blitzkrieg, or lightning war. This deadly attack caused Poland to fall in less than a month. Hitler would use this tactic to conquer most of Europe. This attack was the first battle of the entire war, and that is why it had an effect on the rest of the war, and blitzkreig changed the way Germany attacked. -
Miracle At Dunkirk
The miracle at Dunkirk had a huge effect on how the war played out because it saved to lives of many British Soldiers. After Germany invaded France, the British evacuated 338,000 troops across the English Channel using any boat they could find, including merchant boats. This helped save these troops lives who would have become POWs or died, thus deleting a large part of the British army. Without them Britian would not have been able to play as large of part of the war in WWII. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was the key event that brought the US into the war. The Japanese launched an air attack on the base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, destroying 4 battleships, 2 destroyers, 118 aircraft, 11 ships, and cost 2,402 Americans their lives. After this the US’ anger was so great that everyone wanted to go to war. This single attack by Japan ensured the US entered the war, and created the great support for the war that continued throughout it. -
Midway
The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the Pacific War. The Japanese planned to use surprise to ambush the Pacific fleet, forcing American defenses back to the West coast. However, Admiral Chester Nimitz knew of the Japanese attack and was ready for them. This led to an aerial battle that destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers while only 1 American carrier was broken. After this the US was on the offensive while the Japanese were forced to go on the defensive. -
Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the true turning point of WWII. The Germans were ordered to march into Russia in order to capture Caucasus oil fields. When the Germans reached Stalingrad they were ordered to take the city and that surrender was not an option. However the army was unable to take the city due to not being well equipped, and 91,000 Germans surrendered. This ended Germany’s plan to dominate Europe. -
D-Day
D-Day was the allied invasion of Normandy to set up a second front in Europe. D-Day was codenamed Operation Overlord, and involved as much deception as it did attack. The allies set up an entire fake army and set up everything to make it look real. They made the enemy believe that Calais. The allied invasion force was the largest aquatic landing attack force in history, and succeeded in opening up a second front in Europe. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was the German’s last ditch effort to break the Allies line in half thus stopping their supply lines. They started by sending English speaking Germans to infiltrate Allied lines to spread confusion, and then launching a massive attack involving three armies. This plan failed however and Germany destroyed much of its army and it destroyed German’s moral and their will to fight. -
Okinawa
Okinawa held a key airfield that was key to American Interests. At this point in the war Japan was running low on pilots and was virtually defenseless. American bombers destroyed key factories, military bases, and cities. Due to these raids 83,000 Japanese were killed and over 100,000 were injured. After this the Americans had an easier airfield from which they could bomb Japan. -
First Atom Bomb Dropped
The first atom bomb was dropped in Northern New Mexico, and the flash could be seen from miles away. The development of this weapon would eventually lead to it being dropped on Japan and the end of the Pacific war. This was the greatest weapon that had ever been developed. It was also top secret, and even the people working on it didn’t always know what their work was for. It was expecially important that the US was the first one to develop it first since the US could have been destroyed other -
Atom Bomb dropped on Japan
The second atom bomb ever dropped was on Hiroshima. Truman was president at the time and he was the one that gave the order to drop the bomb. When it was dropped it killed 60,000 civilians within two minutes and was the largest loss of human life within such a short period of time. The dropping of the two bombs saved over 1 million American lives. Although this didn’t totally end the war, it was the first step.
