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Start of the war in Atlantic/European Theater
Similar to Pacific Theater; different area of the globe. Spanned for close to all of war mostly because of Germany's involvement. Started with an invasion of Poland and ended with German surrender. -
Battle of the Atlantic
This battle was the longest to take place during World War II. The majority of this battle was fought on the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This battle ended up being a victory for the Allied powers. -
Battle of Britain
This was a battle fought in the Great Britain skies. Germany had conquered all other major countries in Europe except for Great Britain. In the end, the Germans lost more than twice as many aircrafts as their opponents. -
Pearl Harbor
This was a naval and air surprise attack to keep the Americans from interferring with future Japanese actions. Half of the U.S. Navy battleships were sunk and the other half were seriously damaged. War was declared on Japan the following day. -
Start of war in Pacific Theater
Helped to limit Japanese power over Pacific Ocean. America gained control of areas that would eventually lead to more war. Japan could not produce quick enough to fully protect itself and ran into trouble because of this. -
U.S. joins the war
Day after attack on Pearl Harbor. Three days before Germany and Italy declare war on U.S. Joins to defend and fight for the freedom of the American people. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
This battle was a successful air and naval attempt to stop the Japanese from gaining full control of the Coral Sea area. Before this battle, the Japanese were yet to be unsuccessful during World War II. This battle was the first to be fought between aircraft carriers. -
Battle of Midway
This Pacific Campaign battle is thought to be the most important naval battle during World War II. The Japanese planned to inflict more pain into the Americans only half a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States Navy fought hard and defeat the Japanese to a point of long recovery. -
D-day
Military forces from America, Great Britain, and Canada came together to take over Germany and end Hitler's rule. The soldiers arrived by boat but marched on land to Germany. More than 9,000 soldiers were killed or injured. -
Battle of the Bulge
This battle took place in the forrests of the Western Front. The result of this battle for the Germans was a large loss of people and equipment that would mean a lot in the near future. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
This battle was mainly fought on land with help from both the air and water and was one of the bloodiest during the time of World War II. The Americans took the island of Iwo Jima away from the Japanese. One of the main reasons the Americans wanted the island was because it included three airfields. -
V-E day
The official end of World War II in Europe; Hitler is no longer in charge. Many parties on this day of happiness. -
Hiroshima
Hiroshima is the place in which an atomic bomb was dropped in the early morning hours killing close to 200,000 people. Hiroshima was a target because it was not involved in the war. This was the first time an atomic bomb had been dropped from a plane. -
V-J day
On this day Japan surrendered to the Allies. The time period of aggressiveness/hostility ends. -
Nagasaki
The bombings on Nagasaki was a follow up only three days after Hiroshima. This bombing destroyed 40% of the city. This bomb was stronger but the terrain change helped to limit the damage. By the end of 1945, 70,000 people died.
