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German invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland marked the beginning of World War Two, when Germany invaded Poland. The Germans rushed across the border and quickly broke through the Polish defenses. The Germans invaded with 2,000 tanks and 1,000 planes, which completely overwhelmed the Polish army. After only a few short weeks, Poland surrendered to Germany. -
Battle of Britain (Part 2)
Once the British began getting their aircraft in the air and began shooting down huge amounts of German bombers. Hitler stopped the attacks on Britain because of the huge loses of his airforce and because the British would not surrender. -
Battle of Britain (Part 1)
The Battle of Britain was a series of bombing raids on Britain. The German Luftwaffe bombed RAF air bases, military instilations and residential areas, hoping to crush the British morale. The British did not give into these attacks and began to turn the tides of the battles. The Royal Air Force eventually began to get there planes in the air before attacks. This happened when the British obtained a German encryption tool, which allowed them to know the Nazi plans before they happened. -
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Battle of Britain
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Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a German offensive against the Soviet Union. The attack consisted of 4.5 million axis soldiers, who stormed across the Polish border and advanced 200 miles into the Soviet border. The Nazi's destroyed 4,000 aircraft and killed, captured or wounded 600,000 soldiers of the Red Army. The Germans were able to gain a quick victory using their blitzkreig attacks. The Germans would have taken Moscow if a brutal Russian winter didn't halt the German offensive. -
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Operation Barbarossa
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Battle of Moscow
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Battle of Moscow
The goal for the battle of Moscow, named "Operation Typhoon" was for the Germans to employ a double-pincer move against the Soviet Western and Reserve Fronts near Vyazma. Also, a second force moved to capture areas to the south. The Germans were hoping to cut off the city and force it to surrender. The Soviets however were able to beat the Germans by setting up defenses before the attacks and because the Germans were too battered to fight the Russians and were defeated. -
Operation Barbarossa (Part 2)
By the end of this, one of the largest, deadliest military operations in history, Germany had suffered 775,000 casualties. More than 800,000 Soviets had been killed, and 6 million mroe Soviet soldiers had been wounded or captured. -
Battle of Stalingrad
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a seven month battle over a city that was 99% destroyed. The Germans held 90% of the city, but the remaining soviets in the ctiy launched a huge counterattack. This attack was aided by a Russian winter, that killed many Germans from frostbite and exposure. The Soviets ended up surrounding the Germans and soon they surrendered. Of the 330,000 Germans that invaded the city, only 90,000 soldiers survived to surrender to the Russians. -
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Battle of Kursk
This was a battle that the Germans were hoping to get a victory and get back on the offensive after their defeat at Stalingrad. The battle of Kursk was the last major German offensive of the war and was one of the greatest armored battles of the war. The Soviets however, had good intelligence about the upcoming attck and made improvements to their defensive positions and also brought up large amounts of reserve troops. This allowed the Soviets to gain a crucial victory and push back the Germans. -
D-Day (Part 1)
D-Day, or "Operation Overlord", was the largest amphibious assualt in modern history. The goal of this operation was to punch a hold in the German defenses in Western Europe and to begin to push the Nazis back to Germany. The assualt consisted of thousands of soldiers landing on the beach by boats, hundreds of aircraft which provided support, was well as thousands of paratroopers, dropped behind enemy lines. -
D-Day (Part 2)
The operation was a huge sucess, the allies took all of the five beaches they attacked. This also was the beginning of the end to the Nazi rule in Europe. -
Battle of the Bulge
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Battle of the Bulge
The battle was a counterattack against the Allies in a final effort of regain a crucial supply line. This was the most costly U.S. engagment, with 81,000 casualties. The United States held its ground against the Germans, who lost 100,000 men during this conflict and were pushed back even further, back to Berlin. -
Battle of Berlin
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Battle of Berlin
This was the final battle in the European theater. The Nazis were pushed back all the way to Berlin and were surrounded by U.S. and Britiah soldiers to the West and South, and Soviet soldiers to the East and North. The Soviets then invaded the city and soon pushed the remaining 10,000 soldiers into a small area of the city. The Germans tried to break out of the city, but failed and surrendered to the Allies. -
Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The bombings of the two Japanese cities brought and abrupt end to the war in the Pacfic. The Japanese were warned that if they did not surrender, their country would face utter destruction. With no answer from the Japanese, the United States dropped the first atmoic bomb on Hiroshima, killing 60,000-70,000 people and destroying many Japanese militaru instilations. Three days later Nagasaki met a similar fate. The Japanese surrendered on September 2, 1945 onboard the USS Missouri
