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The invasion of Poland
Hitler invaded Poland, from the West, In September of 1939, knowingly starting WW2. His troops used the blitzkrieg strategy (blitzkrieg being the German word for lightening war). He bombed them and used his massive army to destroy all their forces. After only a couple of weeks Poland had fell to Hitler's growing power. On September 17, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East until they encountered German forces. The Germans quickly receded, giving the Soviet Union control of Poland. -
The fall of France
During May of 1940. Hitler invaded and conquered France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands (a.k.a. the low countries). The swift fall of those countries, especially France, within 6 weeks shocked the world and disrupted the balance of power in Europe to Hitler's advantage. He used surprise land attacks and unexpected war strategies, along with air raids to conquer France and occupy Paris, increasing his power and status. -
Battle of Britain
Germany's blitzkrieg on Great Britain was intended to win over London and conquer the country, however, this did not happen. Because of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's ability to rally his country and troops despite the harsh odds against them, Great Britain was able to defend off a German occupation and win an aircraft-only war. -
The Lend Lease
The lend lease act was a policy that the U.S. created and President Roosevelt signed in order to be able to legally lend military help to their allies. Because of this policy, the U.S. was able to lend the Allied forces military assets as well as money, food, and various other supplies in an attempt to win the war and defeat the Axis powers. -
The bombing of Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese at 8 a.m. on December 7th 1941 because they were hoping to shock the U.S. and destroy so much of their military supplies that they couldn't enter WW2. Fortunately this wasn't the case. Despite the immense damage to the ships sunk and damaged at the harbor, the military supplies destroyed, and lives lost, the U.S. entered the war strong and eventually defeated Japan. -
Declaration of War involving the U.S.
Only 4 days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, the U.S. declared war on the Japanese Empire. Because Japan and Germany were allied, Germany then declared war on the U.S., leading the U.S. to also declare war on Germany. Because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S.got involved in WW2 and tipped the scales in favor of the allied powers -
The Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely known as the turning point for the allies, it's where the allies switched from a defensive position in the war to an offensive. American forces successfully ambushed the few remaining Japanese aircraft carriers left, which severely crippled the Japanese military and lead to their eventual surrender. -
The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a huge loss for Hitler and a huge win for the Soviet Union, since the battle marks the turning point for eastern Europe. Possible the greatest battle of WW2, Hitler sent troops to capture Stalingrad in the summer of 1942, fully expecting a win and to be out before the harsh winter set in. However, this did not happen and the troops were trapped by the snow and ice and slowly dies off because of the cold, resulting in a loss of the battle for Germany. -
D-Day
D-Day, also known as Operation Overlord, was the start of the Normandy landings. Allied troops, including American, invaded Normandy, France, in a successful attempt to liberate western Europe. D-Day was the largest water-to-land invasion of the war and required extensive planning as to where, how, when and what was going to be used during the operation. By August, all of northern France had been liberated from the Germans and by spring of 1945 they were defeated. -
The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Hiroshima, one of the largest cities in Japan, was bombed by the U.S. near the end of 1945 in an attempt to end the war by pounding Japan into submission. After the U.S. government decided to drop their atomic bomb over this city, President Truman issued the Potsdam Proclamation as a final warning for Japan. 3 days after the bombing and still with no surrender, the U.S. dropped another bomb over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. They received the official surrender of Japan on September 2 1945.
