-
German Blitzkrieg
This was a offensive military tactic that was usually very quick. it used aircraft and quick moving artillery such as tanks to make a focused blow to the enemy. This war tactic led to quick victory and less loss o military troops and supplies. It also led to many Germany victories because of their military genius and power.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg) -
Germany's invasion of Poland
The leader of the Nazi party, Adolf Hitler, claimed that Polish troops had killed German troops in cold blood and this was why he was invading Poland. As they invaded Poland they used Blitzkrieg to destroy the Polish army and the German air force bombed Polish cities. Russia invaded Poland, destroying any chance they had. This invasion led to the start of WWII as Britain and France would declare war on Germany September 3rd.
(https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland) -
Battle of Britain
This was the first battle to ever be fought only between air forces. Hitlers original plan involved an attack of both sea and air but it was cancelled due to weather. Instead, Germany constantly bombed big cities in Britain in hopes of destroying their morale and economy, but it did not work and it killed many civilians. Britain held off long enough to deter Hitler and his air force and Hitler shift his focus to Russia.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-britain-1) -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl harbor was attacked by Japanese bombers. they destroyed tons of supplies and artillery and killed about 1,000 people. This caused the US to declare war on Japan and enter WWII. The reason for this attack was increased tensions between the US and Japan because Japan had declared war on China.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor) -
Bataan Death March
This was where the United States gave up the Bataan Peninsula during WWII and the American and Filipino troops had to make a trek to prison camps in the heat. Many of them died and were tortured by the Japanese guards .
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march) -
Battle of Coral Sea
This was a four day battle over control of the Coral sea near New Guinea. Japan wanted control of this area but the allied forces (mainly America) stepped in and stopped this very quick. The Americans took a out all of their air force so the Allied forces defeated them but both sides suffered casualties.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-coral-sea) -
Battle of Midway
This was a battle between Japan and US 6 months after the attack on pearl harbor. Unfortunately for the Japanese, the United States successfully defended a base at midway island and proved their naval excellence. This also helped turn the tide for WWII in favor of the Allied powers.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway) -
Battle of Stalingrad
This was a bloody, hard fought battle between Germany (and the axis powers) vs Russia. Hitler wanted to gain control of the city Stalingrad for propaganda and because this city was the main industrial city in Russia. Amazingly, Russia won this battle and this caused a shift in the momentum of the war, the allied powers had a better chance. Over 2 million people died in this battle and tens of thousands of civilians.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad) -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
This was an uprising of Jews in Ghettos in Warsaw. They were armed and there was around 400,000 of them. This uprising ended with the Nazi gaining control again and around 50,000 people that tried to revolt were sent to extermination camps. This revolt inspired many others like it in Germany.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/warsaw-ghetto-uprising) -
Operation Gomorrah
This was a plan to bombing the city of Hamburg in Germany. The British and US worked together to wreak havoc on the people and supplies that were in that area. 30,000 people died along with 230,000 buildings destroyed. Hitler could not look at this city as it meant the end for him and Germany.
(https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched) -
D-Day
This was a day during the Battle of Normandy where some 150,000 troops invaded a french coast that was occupied by the Germans. It was a very heavily fortified coast and the plan known as operation overload, took extensive planning and deception. The plan worked and this became know as the beginning of the end of the war.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day) -
Operation Thunderclap
This was a plan to use bombings as a way to take out Germany. This had been tried before and it failed many times but the US ignored the warnings and tried to execute this by bombing Berlin. They executed this and it was more of a show for their Soviet allies to see that they could damage their enemies through bombing. Although the bombings were devastating it was not nearly enough to take Germany out of the war.
(https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01402399108437441?journalCode=fjss20) -
Battle of Iwo Jima
This was an invasion of a Japanese air base island by the US. The US believed it would provide a great staging facility or the invasion of mainland Japan. After a ton of fighting between the US marines and Japans army, the US won and conquered the base. In the end the base was not used for anything and was kind of a waste of men and time.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima) -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
This was when the US used the worlds first atomic bombs in warfare. The first one was dropped on Hiroshima, killing 80,000 people instantly and many more would die of radiation after. The second on was dropped on Nagasaki killing 40,000 people. This would cause the surrender of Japan and would change the use of Atom bombs forever.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki) -
Battle of the Bulge
This was Germany last major offensive in WWII. The Germans had attacked in hopes of breaking the Allies apart as they drove towards Germany. The Germans almost succeeded because of the weather during that time but allied reinforcements made them retreat and they surrendered about 6 months later. This was a very costly war for the Americans as they lost over 100,000 troops. This was also the end for Germany
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge)
