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German Blitzkrieg
blitzkrieg is a warfare tactic that leads to a quick victory without the loss of many soldiers. the word means "lightning war" and it was most famously used by the germans in early WW2. the Germans used some tactics associated with blitzkrieg in the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and the invasion of Poland in 1939. this included air-ground attacks and the use of panzer tank divisions.
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Fall of Paris
Paris fell to Nazi Germany on June 14, 1940, one month after the German Wehrmacht stormed into France.German resistance was light, and General Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison, defied an order by Adolf Hitler to blow up Paris’ landmarks and burn the city to the ground before its liberation. 8 days later france signed an armistice with the Germans, and a puppet French state was set up with its capital at Vichy.
history.com -
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941, Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II, with the code name, "operation barbarossa." Adolf Hitler predicted a quick victory, but after the success, the brutal campaign dragged on and eventually failed. this was because strategic blunders and harsh winter weather, as well as a determined Soviet resistance and attrition suffered by German forces.
history.com -
Pearl Harbor
pearl harbor is a us base in Honolulu, Hawaii. this was the place of a surprise attack from japan on December 7, 1941. on that Sunday morning hundreds of ships from japan flew out and attacked the base. they destroyed 20 American vessels, 8 battle ships, and over 300 airplanes. more than 2,400 American civilians were killed and over 1,000 were injured. the day after this attack president Rosevelt asked congress to declare war on japan after inching towards it for decades.
history.com -
Wannsee Conference
on january 20, 1942 fifteen high ranking nazi party and german government officials gathered at a villa to discuss and coordinate the implementation of the "final solution of the jewish question". The "Final Solution" was the code name for the physical annihilation of the European Jews. The men at the table did not know whether such a plan should be undertaken, but instead discussed the implementation of a policy decision that had already been made.
encyclopedia.ushmm.org -
Bataan Death March
After the April 9, 1942 U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula during World War II. the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. thousands of people died and this event became known as "the bataan death march"
history.com -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a military campaign between Russian forces and the people of Nazi Germany and the Axis powers during World War II.The battle is known as one of the largest, longest and bloodiest engagements in modern warfare. more than two million troops fought in close quarters and nearly two million people were killed or injured in the fighting. -
normady invasion
During World War II , the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. the code name was operation overlord and it began on June 6, 1944, also known as d-day. 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the coast of France’s Normandy region.The invasion was one of the largest military assaults in history and required much planning.
history.com -
Battle of the Bulge
the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium was called “the greatest American battle of the war” by Winston Churchill. this battle was Adolf Hitler’s last major offensive in World War II against the Western Front. hitlers plan was to split the allies in their drive towards germany. this battle lasted 6 weeks and took place during bad weather conditions.
history.com -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan in early 1945. the island of Iwo Jima had three airfields that could serve as a staging facility for a potential invasion of the mainland. American forces invaded the island on February 19, 1945, and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks. -
Liberation of concentration camps
On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated. this camp was a Nazi concentration camp and extermination camp in Poland where more than a million people were murdered. this was all part of the Nazi's "final solution" to the Jewish question. this camp was liberated by the red army during the vistula.
history.com -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the more gruesome battles. On April 1, 1945 the Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and Marine troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final attack towards Japan. By the time American troops landed on Okinawa, World War II on the European front was nearing its end. Though it resulted in an Allied victory, the harsh weather and fighting led to a large death toll on both sides.
history.com -
VE Day
On May 8, 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. cities in both nations put out flags and banners celebrating the defeat of the nazi war machine. The war had been happening for almost five years when the U.S. and the Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. The invasion brought the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. In less than a year, Germany would surrender and Hitler would be dead.
defense.gov -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The explosion killed an estimated 80,000 people immediately. over 10,000 more people would die due to radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 bomber dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki. 40,000 people people died from this bombing.
history.com -
VJ Day
vj day is known as the "victory over japan" day. on Aug. 14, 1945, President Harry Truman announced the surrender of Japan to reporters gathered at the White House. Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom celebrate Aug. 15 as V-J Day. The term "VJ day" has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan’s formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri,
defense.gov/history.com
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