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German Blitzkrieg Invasion of Poland
Germany forcibly invaded Poland, which marked the beginning of World War II. Germany's Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler, promised living space, Lebensraum, to his German citizens. He had a powerful totalitarian mindset, which made him by any means capture new territory and that includes invading Poland. This marked the beginning of a rough journey for Poland. Firstly, hundreds of thousands of Polish civilians were killed and Germany also gained control of once Polish territory. (history.com) -
Fall of Paris
The Fall of Paris was when the Nazi Germany officers occupied the capital of France, Paris. The French government departed Paris on June 10 and the Germans occupied Paris on June 14. This was very significant because the Nazis knew that invading France would spark a response from Britain due to the treaty they had with each other. He also knew an occupied France would stop the British from being able to pose a threat. This was a very deadly battle ultimately won by Germany. (history.com) -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. This operation was Hitler's attempt to help Germany conquer the western Soviet Union so that it could be repopulated by Germans. This was an ironic invasion because not long before this invasion Germany and the Soviet Union signed political and economic pacts for strategic purposes. Ultimately this invasion failed and was a huge setback for Nazi Germany. (jewishvirtuallibrary.org) -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Japanese Air Force bombed Pearl Harbor in one of the most infamous attacks on American soil ever. People thought it was without motive, but it actually did have a motive. The United States placed on oil embargo on Japan which angered them. The Attack on Pearl Harbor left nearly 2,500 Americans dead and destroyed 188 U.S. aircraft. Also the attack in general inspired the U.S. to declare war on Japan and ultimately enter WWII. (americaslibray.gov) -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior government officials of Nazi Germany and Schutzstaffel leaders in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. The Wannsee Conference had the purpose of sparking the Holocaust. The Nazi officials came up with the "final solution." The Wannsee Conference unfortunately decided the fate of European Jews for the rest of WWII. It would influence the Nazis to build concentration camps, which would house Jews throughout Europe. (jewishvirtuallibrary.org) -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place between June 4 and 7 1942 only six months after Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. This changed how the war was fought in the Pacific. The U.S. knew that if they won this battle it was stop the planned attack on the Aleutian Islands and it would put Japanese on its defense. This was the turning point of the war in the Pacific. This weakened the Japanese Navy. (bbc.uk -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the largest confrontation of World War II, in which Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia. Hitler pretty much wanted to invaded this city because it had "Stalin" in the name. Hitler knew that if the Soviet Union lost a city named after Stalin it would be very demoralizing for them. Ultimately, this invasion failed and it was the turning point in Eastern Europe. It was a huge setback for Hitler. bbc.uk -
D-Day Normandy Invasion
The United States and its Allies invaded the beaches of Normandy, France and ended up coming out victorious. This is known as the turning point of Western Europe. The Allies invaded these beaches to be able to push toward Paris, to help take away the Nazi stranglehold of France. This battle wasn't without a blow though, the beaches were exposed to German defenses, leaving over 6,000 American troops dead. (nationalww2museum.org) -
Liberation of concentration camps
The Concentration Camps, which Nazi Germany used to house Jews and other innocent people, were liberated between 1944 and 1945. This is when the true horrors of the Holocaust were first discovered. The Allied Troops were able to liberate these concentration camps when the Nazi officers surrendered. Eisenhower, from the United States, was one of the war generals involved in the liberation of the concentration camps. This event was one of many that symbolized the victory of the Allies. (iwm.org) -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during WWII. With the Allies pushing deep into France, Germany was desperate to keep control of France, so Hitler's army ended up putting a bulge in the approaching Allied line. Ultimately, it wasn't enough and the Allies won further hurting Hitler's totalitarian dreams. The Battle of the Bulge marked the end of the German army and Nazi reign. This was an overall very deadly battle. (www.army.mil) -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Iwo Jima is a small island in the Pacific and may seem useless to capture, but it was actually a very important island because the United States Air Force were able to use runways on the island. Iwo Jima was one of the islands needed for the U.S. to get to Japan. It was a very deadly battle. (history.com) -
VE Day
VE or Victory in Europe Day was celebrated on May 8, 1945 to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. Adolf Hitler was relentless in Europe even after battles as demoralizing as Stalingrad, D-Day, and the Battle of the Bulge. Finally the Nazi's were pushed all the way back into Berlin. Hitler ultimately committed suicide in his bunker. This was just part of Nazi Germany's downfall. (bbc.co.uk) -
Potsdamn Declaration
The Potsdam Declaration was a statement by the United States and its allies that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. The ultimatum stated that if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction. This was part of the United States showing that dropping the atomic bombs on Japan was necessary because they were by any means trying to end the war in the Pacific ever since the Bombing of Pearl Harbor. U.S. morale was boosted. osti.gov -
Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stage of World War II, the United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was the first time ever, an atomic bomb was dropped on a city. The Japanese did a lot of war crimes to the U.S. during WWII including Pearl Harbor. The Japanese refused to surrender and the United States saw the bomb as quick way to force a surrender. The bomb caused catastrophic damage and ultimately ended the war by boosting U.S. morale. (bbc.uk) -
VJ Day
VJ Day is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect to bringing the war to an end. VJ Day was a very significant day because the Japanese committed the infamous war crime of bombing Pearl Harbor. The U.S. was able to get it's sweet revenge by not only firebombing Tokyo, the actual dropping of the atomic bombs. The atomic bombs actually weren't quite enough to force a Japanese surrender. The Potsdam Conference was where the Allied Powers ordered a surrender (bbc.com)
