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Germany's Invasion of Poland
This was the beginning of WWII. Adolf Hitler launched an invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Germany invaded Poland, because they wanted to claim lost territory and also just to control their eastern neighbor. Poland was extremely outnumbered. This would lead to Britain and France declaring war on Germany, because of their alliances with Poland. All throughout Poland, Hitler held a Reign of Terror, killing Jews left and right. 6 million people were killed. This event ended the... -
Germany's Invasion of Poland (continued)
...era of appeasement and also got Britain and France involved in the war. This event is what kick started the whole war. -
The Fall of Paris (continued)
...Germans, causing a new French state to be put up under German rule. The Nazis had completely taken over the French City. German propaganda filled the radios. Supplies were scarce and prices were increasing. Many Parisians were fleeing the city for the countryside. -
The Fall of Paris
On June 14, 1940, Paris fell to Nazi Germany. Germany wanted to take over France, because they knew that a war with Russia would also ensue a war with France, as they were allies. Germany also wanted to hurt France's economy and their morale, so they dropped bombs on France's capital. 254 people died and most of them were innocent civilians. The bombing succeeded and Paris became incredibly fearful. The Fall of Paris would lead to the French signing an armistice with the... -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was when Germany dropped bombs onto Britain beginning in July of 1940. Hitler had already conquered a great deal of Europe, so Great Britain was up next. The goal of the bombing was to take out Britain's air force and prepare for invasion. The British would continue fighting back, leading Hitler to bomb large cities, such as London. The Battle of Britain Day was on September 15, 1940 and this is when Britain shot down a large amount of German planes. This would slow the... -
Battle of Britain (continued)
...attack from Nazi Germany. In the end, Britain actually won despite the Germans having a lot more planes. This was one of Britain's most significant victories in World War II. German invasion into Great Britain was blocked and this would set Britain up to be safe throughout the rest of the war and to when they eventually took down the Nazis. -
German Blitzkrieg
The word Blitzkrieg means "lightning war" in German. Between September 7, 1940 and May 16, 1941, Nazi Germany performed many air bombing attacks on Britain. The goal of the Blitzkrieg was to win the war purely by bombing from the air. The capital of London was bombed for 57 nights straight. The Germans would also attack other cities. Over 43,000 civilians were killed, but Britain's morale was not.. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was Adolf Hitler's code name for his invasion of the Soviet Union. The goal of this operation was to destroy the Soviet Union's Red Army, to seize the Russian cities of Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev, and also to exploit the Soviet territory for the benefit of Germany. At 3:15 am, the Germans surprise-attacked the Soviet Union. The shock was mostly from the extreme number of soldiers that were sent, nearly 3 million.The operation was a failure. The Red Army did take some... -
Operation Barbarossa (continued)
...damages, however they were in no way destroyed. The Germans were unable to fight off the Soviet Army and the extreme Russian weather. The failure from Germany opened up a window of opportunity for the Soviet Union to perform counterattacks on the Nazis. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941 a Japanese aircraft attacked the American Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The Americans were caught completely off guard as it was so unexpected. The motivation from Japan was that they believed they could seriously harm the US fleet and buy themselves a bit more time in the war. They believed that the attack on Pearl Harbor would be so devastating that the US would immediately surrender. Eight American battleships were destroyed along with damage to seven other... -
Pearl Harbor (continued)
...warships. Over 2,500 Americans were killed. The Japanese only lost 29 planes. The attack was successful to the extent that it hurt some US ships, but not a success in the main way the Japanese wanted. The will of the American people was not lost and they would not surrender. The attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the main events that made World War II truly a global matter. -
Battle of the Coral Sea (continued)
...located. The United States had many losses from this battle. One of their carriers was destroyed, one carrier was severely damaged, 66 aircraft were lost, and 543 men were killed or wounded. The Japanese had worse losses, such as having 1074 men killed or wounded. The Americans won this battle. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea was fought between the Allies, including Australia, and the Japanese. It took place between May 4, 1942 and May 8, 1942. The goal of the Allies in this battle was to stop Japan from taking control of the Pacific Ocean area. The battle took place in the Coral Sea, near Australia. Each force would send out fleets to try and hunt down the other, but it was extremely difficult because of the poor weather and also the sheer amount of space that the enemy could be... -
Battle of Midway
This battle was primarily naval and was fought almost entirely by aircraft. Japan wanted to defeat the United States Pacific fleet and to take Midway, so that they could launch more attacks on Pearl Harbor. The US Navy defeated the Japanese when they attacked Midway and ended up destroying four of their aircraft. This American victory represented somewhat revenge from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that was not long before the Battle of Midway. Japan lost about 3,057 men while the US 362. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Soviet forces launched an attack against the Germans that were at Stalingrad, a city in Russia. The battle took place, because Germany and its allies wanted to be in control of Stalingrad, mainly because of the industrial capacities that were available there and also because of the proximity the city had to the Volga River. This river would allow trade and military sources to be cut off for the Soviets by the Germans. The German army which was being attacked contained over 220,000 soldier... -
Battle of Stalingrad (continued)
...After multiple months of fighting, Germany surrendered. The Soviet Union had won the Battle of Stalingrad. 1.2 million people died in the fighting. This battle marked a turning point in the war in favor of the Allies. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
The Western Allies were preparing an invasion of northern France. 12 nations were involved in invading and it was overseen by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The goal was to create a huge invasion in order to try and take down the German troops who were located in France. The nations split up the beach where they were landing to invade France. On the Omaha Beach, the Germans had mounted their defenses, and it would get extremely bloody. The German's machine guns would rain down on the Allies as... -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion) (continued)
...they dismounted their boats. Over 29,000 soldiers were killed and 106,000 wounded. This invasion was a turning point in the war. D-day was considered a military success. It marked that Europe was getting closer to the end of Hitler's reign. -
Battle of the Bulge
It took place during the cold winter and it was Hitler's last major offensive battle. On December 16, 1944, the Germans attacked the allies in the area around the Ardennes forest in Belgium and Luxembourg. Hitler was hoping to surround the Allied armies and be able to stall them against attacking the Germans. Originally, the German's took the allies by surprised and would push through a little bit, creating the bulge that the battle gets its name from. But the German victory would not last... -
Battle of the Bulge (continued
...long for the Allies would eventually win, because of their endless determination despite the extreme winter conditions. There were over 100,000 German deaths and about 81,000 for the allies. This was a major loss for Germany and it practically made the end of the war for the Nazis inevitable. They would not be able to launch any kind of large offensive after this defeat. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima (continued)
...would continue on until the Japanese were forced to surrender. The island would finally be conquered by the Americans on March 26, 1945. It would serve as a landing area and would save the lives of over 24,000 United States airmen. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was between the US Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan. The US wanted to take over Iwo Jima in order to clear a path for bombing assaults and also create an emergency landing area and base for refuelling. On February 19, 1945, the Marines landed on Iwo Jima. The Japanese attacked from the mountains above, stalling the battle quite a bit and causing a number of casualties on the American side. But, the Japanese would soon begin to run low on supplies. The fighting... -
Battle of Okinawa (continued)
...the war. The Americans won the Battle of Okinawa. This victory led to the indisputable end of World War 2 and the surrender of the Japanese by the dropping of the atomic bombs. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa would be the last major battle of the war, but it would also be one of the bloodiest. The US Army would send about 180,000 troops to the Pacific island of Okinawa. The goal was to invade and eventually occupy the Ryukyu Islands. Japan's most ruthless weapon in this battle would be the kamikaze suicide pilots, which would cause catastrophic damage to American fleets. The Japanese were relentless in surrendering, so the US would have to take to atomic bombs in order to end... -
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb (continued)
...from Japan which would not allow the Soviets to defeat them themselves. This information is not known for sure, but it is a plausible reasoning for dropping a second atomic bomb. It is not known for sure, but it is estimated that over 100,000 people were killed and one million would be left homeless. 70% of all buildings in the area were burnt and there was a large increase in cancer and chronic diseases. The cities were leveled. Japan was forced to surrender to the United States. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
The United States would drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The main reason that the US decided to use this destructive tactic was because Japan was being unwilling to surrender. Continuing to fight would just lose more lives on both sides of the war. The second bomb was dropped due to the Soviet Union, because they had just declared war on Japan. The United States wanted to show that they were the greatest military power, so they wanted a quick surrender... -
VJ Day
VJ Day means Victory Over Japan Day. This day marks the end of WWII! After the United States had dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan came to the conclusion that the war would be nearly impossible to win. The Japanese would surrender on August 14, 1945, or VJ Day. This marked the end of the Pacific conflict with Japan. The war was over!