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Germany's invasion of Poland
On September 1, 1939, Germany, accompanied with Silesia and Slovakia, invaded Poland. In their attack they brought with them 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes. The Polish Army was defeated within weeks, with the Soviet Union joining the attack on the 17th. Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 27.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 -
Germany Invades France
British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill tried to convince France to not sue for peace, but instead, wait for America to enter the war. He believed America would and when they did, they would bring aid. As America gave aid they declared war on the Germans. -
Battle of Britain
Ending off August, the RAF launched an air raid in retaliation, which led the enraged Hitler to order the Luftwaffe to shift its focus onto London and other major British cities.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-britain -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a battle in the Pacific Theater that occurred in early June. This Battle occurred just six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Lend Lease Act
President Roosevelt passed the Lend Lease Act after the Cash and Carry Act showed to be an ineffective way to get money and help out in the war. The Lead Lease Act stated that the US will supply war materials to those fighting in the war in hopes of being repaid after the war. -
Operation Barbosa
Adolf Hitler sent his armies east in a huge invasion on Russia, breaking the bond the two dictators had formed. Hitler sent three groups with over three million soldiers. This turned the war with Germany's huge loss of men and resources in the harsh Russian winters. -
Pearl Harbor
"A date which will live in infamy' The famous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to over 2,000 American deaths and nearly 20 naval ships being sunk. The Japanese strategised this attack in hopes of disabling the US Pacific Fleet for expansion and in retaliation for the US ending oil trade with Japan. -
War is Declared
The following day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, The US declared on Japan. Three days later Germany and Japan declare war on the United States. The US declared war on Japan first, but fight Germany first because they see them as the bigger threat.(Notes) -
Bataan Death March
U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II, the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Bataan-Death-March -
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. 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.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad -
Uprising of the Ghetto at Warsaw
Residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt against deportations to extermination camps. The Warsaw ghetto uprising inspired other revolts in extermination camps and ghettos throughout German-occupied Eastern Europe.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005188 -
D-Day
The Battle of Normandy resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Code named Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name.
https://www.army.mil/botb/ -
Liberation
German Gestapo began a murder spree in the camps, shooting sick prisoners and blowing up crematoria in a desperate attempt to destroy the evidence of their crimes. When the Red Army finally broke through, Soviet soldiers encountered 648 corpses and more than 7,000 starving camp survivors. There were also six storehouses filled with literally hundreds of thousands of women’s dresses, men’s suits, and shoes that the Germans did not have time to burn. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Following elaborate preparatory air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
An American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
