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China falls to Japan
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria began on September 18, 1931. The Japanese established a puppet state called Manchukuo, and their occupation lasted until end of World War II. -
Blitzkrieg into Poland
Germany rolled into Poland using the Blitzkrieg which were fast moving troops supported by air power. Poland had an outdated military The Soviets also invaded from the east. The German invaded Poland because Hitler thought that this would bring living space for the German people. -
German invasion of France (1940)
Germany invaded the low countries, its blitzkrieg attack took place as part of Germany's overall operational plan to attack France and the British troops stationed in France. Both British and Dutch troops put up fierce resistance against the German paratroopers, but it was in vain; the Germans had gained the element of surprise (blitzkrieg) and quickly overthrew. -
Germany takes Greece
Germany and Italy captured Greece from Britain and started to attack North Africa, then Germany invaded Russia in June of 1940. -
Dunkirk
This battle took place in Dunkirk, France between the Allies and the Nazi Germany. It was the defense and evacuation of British and Allied forces in Europe. This battle is important because it rescued a huge amount of British and French soldiers and also it made it less likely the possibility of a German invasion in Britain. -
Battle of Britain/ The Blitz
This battle was a successful defense of Great Britain against the air raids conducted by the German air force. This was after the fall of France. The significance of this battle is that it saw the first defeat of Hitler's forces and it was also the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was when Hitler launched his armies eastward in a huge invasion of the Soviet Union, three great army groups with over three million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and 3,000 tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. This was important because it was the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. -
Pearl Harbor
360 Japanese planes attacked the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Our losses were 19 ships, 150 planes, 2400 soldiers. Japan intended this attack to keep US from interfering with the military actions that they had planned Southeast Asia. Japan attacking the Pearl Harbor is important because it caused the US to enter World War 2. -
Guam
The largest island in Micronesia and the only U.S.-held island in the region before World War II, Guam was captured by the Japanese on December 8, 1941, just hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and was occupied for two and a half years. -
Philippines 1942
The American troops were led by General MacArthur. We lasted three months but ran out of supplies and had no reinforcements, Mac ordered to a retreat to Australia, and Japan ended up capturing the Philippines. -
Bataan (battle and march)
Bataan Death March was when 60,000 prisoners marched 70 miles through the steamy jungles to POW camps and over 10,000 died from abuse, starvation and exhaustion. The battle was a representation of the most intense phase of Imperial Japan’s invasion of the Philippines during the war. This significance of this battle is that it showed the Americans how unprepared they were fighting against a highly trained army. -
Doolittle Raid
It was an air raid by the US on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on the island of Honshu during the war. The Doolittle Raid had specifically modified planes bomb Tokyo, it was very little damage but it boosted the US’ morale. Doolittle Raid is significant because it was the first air strike to attack the Japanese Home Islands. -
Coral Sea
The Japanese goals for this battle was to cut off shipping lanes between US and Australia, and set up for an invasion of Australia. It was two day air battle, the first naval battle was fought in air and the results were victory and Japan was forced to retreat. It was the first pure carrier-versus-carrier battle in history and it was an important turning point in the war in the Pacific because, for the first time, the Allies had stopped the Japanese advance. -
Midway
The Japanese believed that the Midway was a stepping-stone to capturing Hawaii, US Mainland. But, US code breakers learned the attack and Admiral Chester Nimitz prepared to defend the Midway. It was a 4-day battle that resulted in heavy losses for Japan but their significant losses were the battle, 275 planes, and 4 aircraft carriers. This battle was a turning point in the Pacific War since the Imperial Navy of Japan had defeated enemies from the Pacific and Indian oceans. -
El Alamein (2nd battle)
This battle took place near the Egyptian Railway halt of El Alamein. It marked the Allied Forces victorious, along with the watershed of the Western Desert Campaign. The Allied victory at El Alamein lead to the retreat of the Africa Korps and the German surrender in North Africa -
Operation Torch
This was when the Allies invaded the French North America. This was the first time the British and the Americans had decided to work on an invasion plan together. This operation was important because it allowed the allies to clear North Africa of Axis Powers and control it. -
Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad was a major battle fought on the Eastern Front in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for the control of the city of Stalingrad in southern Russia. The significance of this battle is that it marked the end of Germany's advances into eastern Europe and Russia. Also, it was the first major German loss during the war. -
Guadalcanal
The fighting took 6 months until the US controlled the island, the troops learned how to fight in jungles and a very complex native language that was used to communicate on the battlefield known as Navajo. This battle was important because it was the first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater. There were Japanese stationed in the Solomon Islands, the US troops launched a surprise attack and took control of an air base under construction. -
Sicily
American and British troops steadily pushed back axis forces and the city fell to allies on August 17th, 1943. This was important because the Allies now had a launch pad into Italy. -
Kursk
Hitler decided to put his Wehrmacht army to the test and
ordered that they go to Kursk to eliminate the red army. However,
terrible weather conditions, indecision, and distractions lead to a
delay giving them, and the Russians, more time to prepare for battle and they ended up withe the victory. The battle came to be one of the largest tank battle in all time. -
Salerno
This was the invasion of Italy. Almost a month after the allies secured Sicily; they began their invasion of Italy, with the first landing at Salerno. -
Gilbert & Marshall Islands
Gilbert Islands: Americans shocked by heavy losses which prompted retraining of troops, took about 72 hours to root the Japanese off the island.
Marshall Islands:Easier battle due to lessons learned in Gilbert Islands. -
Anzio
The battle of Anzio was an attempt by the Allied forces to draw German troops off of the Gustav Line during the Operation Shingle. The attacks were successful but resulted in many casualties on both sides and later on, Allies finally left and proceeded on invading Rome. -
Operation Dragoon
The Operation Dragoon was the code name of for the Allied invasion of Southern France. The goal of the operation was to secure the ports on the French Mediterranean coast and increase pressure on the German forces by opening another front. It effectively forced the German army to fall back and leave Southern France because of the constant attacks by the Allied Powers. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
It was the largest naval battle in history. Adm. Nimitz and MacArthur converged on the islands. Japanese fleet met US in the gulf and the US trapped them in a straight and pounded them. This was the first time the Kamikaze were used. The Results were regain of the Philippines in Feb, 1945 and US almost completely destroyed their navy. This is battle is significant because it was the largest naval battle fought. -
Bastogne
Only town where Americans hadn't retreated at Battle of the Bulge, Hitler said they needed to take the city to win. All roads went through this city, Tiger Tanks needed gas. 101st airborne refused to surrender this city. Germans sent message saying "surrender or be killed." Americans answered with "Nuts". Patton and his army rescued 101st airborne. -
Philippines 1944-45
The Philippines campaign of 1944-45, and the Battle of the Philippines 1944-45, or the Liberation of the Philippines was the American and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines, during World War II. -
Battle of the Bulge
This battle was the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe and it is also the largest battle ever fought the US army. The Germans lunched their last major offensive on the war, and this battle was an attempt for them to push the Allied front line west from the northern France to northwestern Belgium. -
Okinawa
It was the last and biggest battle of the war and it involved 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan. By the end of the battles, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties, including 14,000 dead. -
Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference was the second wartime meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt. During the conference, the three leaders agreed to demand Germany’s unconditional surrender and began plans for a post-war world. This conference was important because they made important decisions regarding the war. -
Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle in which the US troops landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese. They wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting and winning this battle earned respect for the United States. -
Hitler's Suicide
Adolf Hitler killed himself by a gunshot in Berlin. Along with him, his wife also committed suicide by taking cyanide. The significance of his suicide is that soon after his death, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler's dream of being rich. -
German Surrender
After Hitler's death, German surrendered. Soon, Germany agrees to unconditional surrender. The war in Europe is officially over. This event is important because it ended the war. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of Atlantic was when both the Axis Powers and Allied Powers fought for the control of the Atlantic Ocean. They wanted to use the the Atlantic to resupply the Great Britain and Soviet Union in their fight against Germany and Italy and the Axis wanted to stop this from happening. This battle was the longest continuous military campaign of World War II. -
New Guinea
During WWII the island of New Guinea was the large island just north of Australia and was divided into two administrative districts--New Guinea proper to the west and Papua to the east. The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
This was when an American bomber dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90% of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. Three days later, a second dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.These attacks were important because that was when the Japanese Emperor announced his country's surrender in World War 2. -
Potsdam
The Potsdam conference was the last of the World War II meetings held by the “Big Three”. They talked about establishing a Council of Foreign Ministers and a central Allied Control Council for administration of Germany. This conference was important because it shaped the future of Post-War Europe. -
Japanese Surrender
After American plans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Manchuria, the war was soon to be over. On August 10, 1945 Emperor Hirohito forced the Japanese government to surrender. On September 2, 1945, a formal peace treaty was signed on board the American battleship Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. -
Philippines 1944-45
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D-Day
D-Day was when the Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches in Normandy, France to prevent the Western Europe from Nazi Germany control. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history. This significance of this day is that the Allies successfully landed in Normandy and paved their way to liberate all of the Occupied Countries of Europe. -
Invasion of Manchuria by Japan.
The Japanese claimed that Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the railway. The Chinese army did not fight back because they knew that Japanese had always wanted to invade Manchuria so they were using that as an excuse. This event is important because it lead to the Japanese occupation of China during the war.
