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German Invasion of Poland - The Beginning of the War
This invasion was conducted in the form of air and ground strikes after a staged incident that made Poland look like the first to strike. After resisting Germany for a while, they were forced to give up because they were severely outmatched. This shows it's the war to end all wars because of Germany's brutal and unexpected attack on Poland -
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World War II
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Invasion of Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg
All occurring at about the same time, these takeovers added to the German and the USSR's territories. These coordinated attacks were very unexpected, and after awhile allies of these countries had to withdraw. These events are almost as unexpected and evil as the Invasion of Poland, and are here for the same reason -
Italy joins WWII as an ally of Germany
Mussolini, the leader of Italy at that time, saw the advantages of joining Germany due to their recent takeover of countries, and joined Hitler as an ally in the war. Mussolini then declared war on the allies. This act can be interpreted as Italy taking advantage of Germany, which is pretty low down, which relates to the main topic -
German Invasion of France
France's army was at 800,000 and was thought to be one of the strongest, but one fault they had was not progressing from the World War I defensive mindset, so Germany took this opportunity. They used tanks and planes to siege the French fortifications. They finally marched into Paris and basically forced submission on them. This brutal takeover makes it a prime example for this "War to end all Wars." -
Battle of Britain
The battle consisted firstly, of air attacks by Germany, who needed surprise, because of their planes' fragility, but with British radar Germany couldn't get it. Then they had to send troops by the English Channel, which was hard because of English patrol boats. The German troops couldn't be sent, due to the number of British planes still up. The battle was eventually ended and Britain obviously won. This attack on England shows the optimism on Germany's part which relates to the theme of WWII. -
"Barbarossa" Plan
The Barbarossa plan was an attack planned to take place in 1943, but had to be put into action in 1941 instead. It consisted of small attacks against the USSR to get precious oil mines to Germany from the USSR and to eliminate the USSR giving Germany power over Europe and Japanese control of the Pacific. The plan didn't work, but it was a turning point in the war, and was one of the most optimistic "tries" in history, which relates to this being one of the most brutal wars in history -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
In December 1941 an American fleet landed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On the 7th they were bombed by Japanese aircraft. More than 2000 people were killed. This brutal tragedy ties in with this war being the "war to end all wars." -
Allies' attack on Italy and the liberation of Rome
First, the Allies landed in southern Italy and made their way to Sicily. They then made their way to Rome and took it from the power of Mussolini. Germany then took the northern part of Italy to keep the Allies from attacking. This great siege adds to the fact that this was "the war to end all wars" -
D-Day
This event took place when many Allied troops landed at Normandy. Many airplanes took out German reserves, while the soldiers moved in. Paris was retaken then. This was thought to be the biggest seaborne invasion launched, which relates to the theme of the war. -
Battle of the Bulge
This battle was the last attempt to keep the Allies from German soil. It took most of the German army and still didn't work. This is a turning point in the war which adds to the underlying theme -
V-E Day
Victory in Europe is proclaimed after Germany surrenders to the Allies. All of Europe celebrated on that day. This basically the end of the war and is important to the war's theme. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
One of the first atomic bombs in history was dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This brutality was because of Japan's refusal to surrender and was the last big event in the war. This war was the first to use atomic bombs, showing its superiority, and the theme.
