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-German Blitzkrieg (1939-1940)
When Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and Great Britain declared war. After a quick victory, Germany and the Soviet Union, acting as partners rather than as potential enemies, divided Poland between them as had been prearranged by treaty. Britain, France, and the still neutral United States condemned the division. -
-Pearl Harbor (1941)
On the morning of 7 December 1941, aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s carrier strike force attacked the battleships and other assets of the U.S. Navy at anchor in Pearl Harbor. It is quite likely that the attack on Pearl Harbor in the subsequent years was influenced by the attack on Taranto, but a considerably large operation in the later years. Concluding the Taranto attack because both of these attacks had one thing in common; they were both attacks on shallow harbors. -
Wannsee Conference (1942)
The conference marked a turning point in Nazi policy toward the Jews. An earlier idea, to deport all of Europe’s Jews to the island of Madagascar, off of Africa, was abandoned as impractical in wartime. Instead, the newly planned final solution would entail rounding up all Jews throughout Europe, transporting them eastward, and organizing them into labor gangs. A high-level meeting with German officials to discuss the "Final solution to the Jewish question which was held in Berlin." -
Bataan Death March (April 9, 1942)
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded Filipino and took Filipino and American soldiers for prisoners. The Japanese forced them to march some 65 miles from Mariveles, on the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula, to San Fernando. America came back and defeated the Japanese with the invasion of the island of Leyte in October 1944. -
Battle of Midway (Jun 4, 1942 – Jun 7, 1942)
The U.S. defended the Japanese military base located at Midway Island which was a successful victory and would be one of the battles that shaped the outcome of World War II in the Pacific. On this day in 1942, the Battle of Midway–one of the most decisive U.S. victories against Japan during World War II–begins. During the four-day sea-and-air battle, the outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded, while losing only one of its own, the Yorktown, to the previously invincible Japanese navy. -
Allied invasion of Italy (Sep 3, 1943 – Sep 16, 1943)
The British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery begins the Allied invasion of the Italian peninsula, crossing the Strait of Messina from Sicily and landing at Calabria–the “toe” of Italy. On the day of the landing, the Italian government secretly agreed to the Allies’ terms for surrender, but no public announcement was made until September 8. The U.S. invaded Italy and the Italian government agreed to surrender to the Allies. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion - 1944)
This was the day allied forces invaded France which they gained victory by attacking them from the beach shores because this happened, they forced Germany to fight two wars at the same time. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring, the Allies had defeated the Germans. -
Battle of the Bulge (Dec 16, 1944 – Jan 25, 1945)
Germany took the offensive approach to drive the allied forces out of France to Belgium, so they created a "bulge" around the Ardennes forest, the war ended with the Americans bombing the Germans' positions with aircraft. The Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium was Adolf Hitler’s last major offensive in World War II against the Western Front. The German troops’ failure to divide Britain, France and America with the Ardennes offensive paved the way to victory for the allies. -
Battle of Iwo Jima (Feb 19, 1945 – Mar 26, 1945)
The Americans invaded the island Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, which would go on to last for five weeks. In the process of losing more than 25,000 soldiers, the U.S. later won the battle and captured the island. Located 750 miles off the coast of Japan, the island of Iwo Jima had three airfields that could serve as a staging facility for a potential invasion of mainland Japan. American forces invaded the island on February 19, 1945, and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks. -
Liberation of concentration camps (April 11, 1945)
This was the day that the Americans freed the last concentration camps, more than 100,000 prisoners were freed after they seized control of the camps after the camp guards retreated. On April 11th, 1945, the 6th Armoured Division of the US army liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp, making its inmates the first on German soil to be freed from the grip of the Nazis. By the end of the war, Buchenwald and its surrounding sub-camps made up the largest camp in Germany. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe was celebrated due to Germany surrendering to the allied forces, this was the official end of World War II. On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. -
Battle of Okinawa (Apr 1, 1945 – Jun 22, 1945)
With it being the last major battle of World War II, it was the bloodiest. Many took their own lives believing if they were captured they would be killed on the spot. On April 1, 1945—Easter Sunday—the Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. The invasion was part of Operation Iceberg, a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa. -
Potsdam Declaration (July 26, 1945)
It was made by the allied forces to call for the surrender of Japan, made officially in the Potsdam Conference. Two months after Germany surrendered, Allied leaders gathered in Potsdam, Germany, to discuss peace settlements, among other issues. Thus drafted a declaration that defined the terms for Japan’s surrender and made dire warnings if the country failed to put down its weapons. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was not part of the ultimatum because his country had not yet declared war on Japan. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs (Aug 6, 1945 – Aug 9, 1945)
The United States dropped its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima which would kill over 80,000 people and even 10,000 more would die from the radiation exposure. Even with that Japan still did not surrender, which in cause would move the U.S to drop its second bomb in Nagasaki which would kill 40,000 people on impact. Eventually, Hirohito would announce Japan surrender days later. -
VJ Day (August 15, 1945)
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory over Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.” Victory over japan day would be celebrated in honor of the allied forces accepting the surrender and defeat of Japan. Coming several months after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Pacific brought six years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated close.
