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German Blitzkreig
Germany invaded Poland, setting off war in Europe. The Soviet Union also invaded Poland and the Baltic nations. The Soviets completed the liberation of Poland in 1945 and established a communist government in the nation.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland -
The Capture of Paris
Germany invaded France and captured Paris. German forces defeated Allied forces by mobile operations and conquered France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, bringing land operations on the Western Front to an end until 6 June 1944. Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 and attempted an invasion of France.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_France -
Germany bombed London, leading to the Battle of Britain.
300 German bombers raided London in the first 57 nights of bombing. British military units were alerted with the code name "Cromwell". Germany used blitzkrieg to attack London, and they decided they would fight back!
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-blitz-begins -
Lend Lease
Lend Lease of March 11, 1941 was the way for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. The act authorized the president to transfer arms or any other defense materials with other nations. The United States gave Britain war supplies and old naval warships in return for military bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/lend-lease-act -
Operation Barbarossa
The code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during WWII, which was launched on June 22, 1941. Hitler and the Nazis wanted solely to conquer the Western Soviet Union so that it could be repopulated by Germans.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack by the Japanese forces against the United States at Pearl Harbor (Hawaii Territory) on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor led to the United States' entry into World War II.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor -
US victory in the Battle of Midway
In the four-day sea and air battle, the outnumbered U.S. army succeeded in destroying 4 Japanese aircraft carriers with the loss of only one of its own. The United States was victorious over Japan in the Battle of Midway. This victory was the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-midway-ends -
The Soviet Union defeated Germany at Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Russia. By the beginning of February in 1943, the Axis forces in Stalingrad had used all of their ammunition and food. They surrendered.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stalingrad -
D-Day
On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along 50 miles of Normandy beaches to fight Germany. More than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were injured, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 Soldiers to begin the slow trudge across Europe, to defeat Adolf Hitler’s crack troops. France, American and other Allied troops landed in Normandy, France, on D-Day to begin the liberation of Western Europe.
Source: https://www.army.mil/d-day/?from=features -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign of World War II. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces pulled through the attack and received their highest casualties of any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's armored forces on the Western Front, and they were unable to replace them.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge -
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Battle of 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 troops during WWII. The US had a goal of capturing the entire island, to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. This five-week battle was composed of some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the War in the Pacific of WWII.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima -
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The US drops the Atomic Bombs
The US (ordered by President Harry S Truman) dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945, forcing Japan to surrender and ending WWII. (Hiroshima- August 6, 1945) (Nagasaki- August 9, 1945)
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
After Pearl Harbor
On December 11, 1941, (four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States declaration of war against the Japanese Empire) Nazi Germany declared war against the United States, in response to what was claimed to be vexation while the US was still neutral. The decision to declare war was made by Hitler, almost without discussion.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_declaration_of_war_against_the_United_States_(1941)
