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German Blitzkrieg
The German-Soviet Pact of August 1939, which stated that Poland was to be partitioned between the two powers, enabled Germany to attack Poland without the fear of Soviet intervention. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. -
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Invading of France and the Capture of Paris
The Battle of France is also known as the Fall of France. It was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries. This occurred in 1940 during World War II. -
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Germany Bombed London and the Battle of Britain begins
The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of WWII. This was when the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom.It was against the German Air Force attacks from the end of June 1940. -
Lend Lease
The material and services supplied by the U.S. to its allies during World War II under an act of Congress (Lend-Lease Act) passed in 1941. The United States gave Britain war supplies an old naval warships in return for military bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean. -
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The Bombing of Pearl Harbor
On this day, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. This bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans. It completely destroyed the American battleship U.S.S. -
United States Declared War on Japan and Germany
On this day, America’s Pacific fleet lay in ruins at Pearl Harbor after Japan bombed them. President Franklin Roosevelt requests, and receives, a declaration of war against Japan. Later they also declare war against Germany. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway, fought in World War II, took place on June 5, 1942 (June 4-June 7 in US time zones). The United States Navy defeated a Japanese attack against Midway Atoll. Thus, marking a turning point in the war in the Pacific theater. -
Turning Point of the War in Eastern Europe
Under the code name Operation "Barbarossa," Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. It was the largest German military operation of World War II. This marked the turning point of the war in Eastern Europe. -
Liberation of Western Europe
American and other Allied troops landed in Normandy, France, on D-Day to begin the liberation of Western Europe.The liberation of Europe was far from the clean sweep the US had hoped for. Among many civilian casualties, it became clear that the Soviet Union was using the fallout to pursue its own agenda. -
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The Ending of World War II
The United States became the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when they dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Though the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II, many historians argue that it also ignited the Cold War.
