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The Battle of Britain: Jul 10, 1940 – Oct 31, 1940
It was, during WWII, the successful defense of Great Britain against unremitting and destructive air raids conducted by the German air force (Luftwaffe) from July to September 1940, after the fall of France. Britain's victory in the Battle of Britain demonstrated the courage and resilience of the country's military and its people and allowed them to remain free from Nazi occupation. It also enabled the Americans to establish a base of operations in England to invade Normandy on D-Day in 1944. -
The Bombing of Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941
It was a surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island, Hawaii, by the Japanese that precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II. The strike climaxed a decade of worsening relations between the United States and Japan. The attack also destroyed 188 U.S. aircraft and sank or damaged 19 Navy ships. Now, 76 years later, the significance of Pearl Harbor stays with us as Americans remember that this attack launched the United States into World War II. -
The Battle of Midway: Jun 4, 1942 – Jun 7, 1942
Battle of Midway, World War II naval battle, fought almost entirely with aircraft, in which the United States destroyed Japan's first-line carrier strength and most of its best trained naval pilots.
It became one of the most important American naval victories of World War II. Code-breakers were able to decipher Japanese naval code, allowing American leaders to anticipate Japanese maneuvers. The U.S. Navy was then able to launch a surprise attack on the larger Japanese fleet in the area. -
The Battle of Stalingrad: Aug 23, 1942 – Feb 2, 1943
The successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad now Volgograd, Russia, USSR, during WWII. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. Russians consider it to be one of the greatest battles of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. -
Operation Torch: Nov 8, 1942 – Nov 16, 1942
Operation Torch was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. While the French colonies formally aligned with Germany via Vichy France, the loyalties of the population were mixed. Reports indicated that they might support the Allies.The Operation resulted from an uneasy compromise between the Western Allies, and was intended to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union by imperiling Axis forces in the region and by enabling an invasion of Southern Europe in 1943. -
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Program: It was founded in 1943
The MFAA, often referred to as the Monuments Men, was an international group established in 1943, that worked under the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections to help protect cultural property during and after WWII. Together they worked to protect monuments and other cultural treasures from the destruction of WWII. About two dozen Monuments Men braved the front lines to track, locate, and recover looted objects. It was dangerous: 2 Men were killed in combat while protecting works of art. -
The Battle of Kursk: Jul 5, 1943 – Aug 23, 1943
It was, unsuccessful German assault on the Soviet salient around the city of Kursk in western Russia during WWII. The Germans advanced only 10 miles into the salient in the north and 30 miles in the south, losing many of their tanks in the process. It was the largest tank battle in history, involving some 6000 tanks, 2000000 troops, and 4000 aircraft. It marked the decisive end of the German offensive capability on the Eastern Front and cleared the way for the great Soviet offensives of 1944–45. -
D-Day: June 6th, 1944
'D-Day' means the day on which a military operation begins. But to the general public it is used to refer to the Allied landings in Normandy on June, 6 1944. More than 160000 Allied troops landed along a 50 miles stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy in France. The invasion it marked the turn of the tide for the control maintained by Nazi Germany; less than a year after the invasion, the Allies formally accepted Nazi Germany's surrender. -
The Battle of the Bulge: Dec 16, 1944 – Jan 25, 1945
Battle of the Bulge, also called Battle of the Ardennes, was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II—it was an unsuccessful attempt to push the Allies back from German home territory. She marked the last German offensive on the Western Front. The catastrophic losses on the German side prevented Germany from resisting the advance of Allied forces following the Normandy Invasion -
The Battle of Iwo Jima: Feb 19, 1945 – Mar 26, 1945
It was a military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan. It's believed that all but 200 or so of the 21000 Japanese forces on the island were killed, as almost 7000 Marines. It was one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. After the battle, Iwo Jima served as an emergency landing site for more than 2200 B-29 bombers, saving the lives of 24000 U.S. airmen. Securing Iwo Jima prepared the way for the last and largest battle in the Pacific: the invasion of Okinawa. -
The Battle of Okinawa: 1er avril 1945 – 22 juin 1945
The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. On April 1, 1945 the Navy's Fifth Fleet and more 180000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final to Japan. It was the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific of WWII. It was in the largest casualties with over 100000 Japanese casualties and 50000 for the Allies. For the Japanese Okinawa was no more than a delaying battle of attrition on a grand scale. -
The Death of FDR: April 12, 1945
On April 12, 1945, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died after four memorable terms, leaving Vice President Harry S. Truman at the head of a country still struggling with World War II and in possession of a weapon with a unprecedented and terrifying power. The president died of a massive brain hemorrhage. FDR led the United States from isolationism to victory over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. He is therefore now considered one of the saviors of the US during WWII. -
The Death of Adolf Hitler: April 30, 1945
On April 30, 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to Allied forces putting an end to Hitler's dreams of a "1000-year" Reich. He was primarily and solely responsible for WWII. Before his death, Germany was losing its battles, France was then liberated, which resulted in Hitler's suicide. Will result after the surrender of Germany. -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima:Aug 6, 1945 – Aug 9, 1945
The US bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6 1945 was the first instance of atomic bombs used against humans, killing tens of thousands of people, obliterating the city, and contributing to the end of WWII, the atomic bomb killed about 100000 people. President Truman authorized the use of the atom bombs in an effort to bring about Japan's. Hiroshima was chosen because it had not been targeted during the US Air Force's conventional bombing raids on Japan and it was a military base -
Atomic Bombing Nagasaki: Aug 6, 1945 – Aug 9, 1945
On August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki by the United States, ultimately resulting in the unconditional surrender of Japan. The devastation of Hiroshima was not enough to convince the Japanese War Council to accept the Potsdam conference's call for unconditional surrender. It razed and burned about 70 percent of all buildings and caused about 140000 deaths, as well as increased rates of cancer and chronic disease among survivors. After that, Japan surrendered during WWII.