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German invasion of Poland.
Germany invaded Poland to regain lost territory and ultimately rule their neighbor to the east. Using the the “blitzkrieg” strategy, characterized by extensive bombing early on to destroy the enemy’s air capacity, railroads, communication lines and munitions dumps, followed by a massive land invasion with overwhelming numbers of troops, tanks and artillery. The Polish army made several severe strategic miscalculations early on and lost to the Germans. -
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Battle of Britain
On July 10, 1940, the Germans begin the first of many long series of bombing raids against Great Britain Germany needed to destroy Great Britain's Royal Air Force.The Battle of Britain was when Germany bombed Great Britain in order to try and destroy their air force and prepare for invasion. It was a turning point in World War II, if the RAF had not held off the Luftwaffe, Hitler would have likely moved forward with his Operation Sea Lion invasion of the British Isles. -
Attack on the Soviet Union
Hitler's armies were sent eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union.Three army groups with over 3 million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and 3,000 tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory.The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea.By this point German combat effectiveness had reached its apogee; in training, doctrine, and fighting ability, the forces invading Russia. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II. -
Doolittle's Raid on Japan
On April 18, 1942, 16 American B-25 bombers, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet 650 miles east of Japan and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, attack the Japanese mainland. This raid did very little real damage to Japan but it did hurt the Japanese government’s prestige. Believing the raid was launched from Midway island, approval was given to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s plans for an attack on Midway. Doolittle eventually received the Medal of Honor. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a clash between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy that occur six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.The U.S. Navy’s decisive victory in the air-sea battle and its successful defense of the major base located at Midway Island dashed Japan’s hopes of neutralizing the United States.After U.S. victory, Japan abandoned its plan to expand its reach in the Pacific, and remain on the defensive for the remainder of World War II. -
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Battle of Guadalcanal
The World War II Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific. Japanese troops stationed in this section of the Solomon Islands, U.S. marines launched a surprise attack in August 1942 and took control of an air base. Both sides endured heavy losses to their warship contingents.The Japanese suffered a far greater toll of casualties, forcing their withdrawal from Guadalcanal by February 1943. -
The Casablanca Conference
The Casablanca Conference meeting during World War II in Casablanca, Morocco, between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and their respective military chiefs and aides, who planned future global military strategy for the western Allies. Though invited, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin declined to attend. -
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Invasion of Sicily and Italy
After defeating Italy and Germany in North Africa the United States and Great Britain, the leading Allied powers, went for the invasion of occupied Europe.To secure the Central Mediterranean and divert German divisions from the northwest coast of France.Allies decided to move next against Italy, hoping an Allied invasion would remove fascist regime from the war.After 38 days of fighting, allies successfully drove German-Italian troops from Sicily and prepared to assault the Italian mainland -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. They met in the sort city of Yalta, located along the Black Sea coast of the Crimean Peninsula. The “Big Three” Allied leaders discussed the post-war fate of defeated Germany and the rest of Europe, the terms of Soviet entry into the ongoing war in the Pacific against Japan and the formation and operation of the new United Nations. -
Battle of Iwo jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan in the japanese island of Iwo Jima had three airfields that could serve as a staging facility for a potential invasion of mainland Japan. American forces invaded the island on February 19, 1945, and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks.it’s believed that all but 200 or so of the 21,000 Japanese forces on the island were killed, as were almost 7,000 Marines. -
Surrender of Germany
click here On May 7, 1945, the German High Command, in the person of General Alfred Jodl, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces, East and West, at Reims, in northeastern France. Fighting would still go on in the East for almost another day. But the war in the West was over. -
Potsdam conference
Held near Berlin,it was the last meetings held by the “Big Three” heads of state, American President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, the talks established a Council of Foreign Ministers and a central Allied Control Council for administration of Germany.The leaders made agreements on the German economy, punishment for war criminals, land boundaries and reparations and issued a declaration demanding “unconditional surrender” from Japan. -
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Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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In august 6, 1945 an American B-29 bomber dropped the fist atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima and three days later another was dropped in Nagasaki. Much of the cities' infrastructure was destroy and the total number of deaths is unknown but it could be around 70,000 to 135,000 people died in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people died in Nagasaki, mainly due to side effects of radiation. -
Surrender of Japan
click here On Sunday, September 2, at 9. am Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed on behalf of the Japanese government. General Yoshijiro Umezu signed for the Japanese armed forces. Ten more signatures were made, by the United States, China, Britain, the USSR, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The most devastating war in humanity was finally over.
