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German Blitzkrieg
The German blitzkrieg was a tactic used by German forces from 1939-1940. The tactic created physiological shock and resulted in mass confusion in the enemy forces through force, speed and surprise. Germany's strategy was to defeat its opponents in quick campaigns and avoid a long war. Germany successfully used the Blitzkrieg tactic against nine countries including Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia and Greece. -
Pearl Harbour
At 7:55 am on December 7, 1941, the American Naval base Pearl Harbour was hit by a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces. The base was hit by 100 Japanese fighter planes descending on the base launching bombs, torpedos and shooting machine guns. If Japan were to destroy Pearl Harbour it would give them control over the Pacific however Japan did not fully destroy Pearl Harbour allowing America to come back. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The brutal Battle of Stalingrad started on July 17, 1942. It was a military campaign between Russia and the forces of Nazi Germany and the Axis powers. German forces tried to take the city of Stalingrad because they felt it was important in the effort to take control of the south of Russia. More than two million troops fought in close quarters and almost two million people were killed or injured in the fighting. -
Battle of Midway
In June of 1942, U.S. and Japanese naval forces fought a five-day battle in the middle of the pacific that altered the course of war in the pacific. Defeating the U.S. fleet and taking Midway would have allowed the Japanese forces to launch added attacks onto Peal Harbour. The Japanese thought if they did this it would secure their dominance in the area and force the U.S. into a peace deal. 3000 Japanese were killed compared to the 317 Americans. -
Wannsee Conference
Wannsee Conference was a meeting between Nazi officials on January 20, 1942, in the Wannsee suburb of Berlin to plan the “final solution” to the said “Jew problem. Representatives from several government ministries, including state secretaries from the Foreign Office, the justice, interior, and state ministries, and representatives from the SS were at the conference. This is where the Nazi leaders envisioned killing 11 million Jews, they later succeeded in killing 6 million. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
In 1943 the act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland in an attempt to fight back against the final effort to transport the remaining Jews to death camps. The largest single revolt started l when the ghetto refused to surrender to the police commander SS-Brigadeführer Jürgen Stroop. After the uprising, the SS and police deported approximately 42,000 Jews to death camps. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was the proposed idea to bomb Berlin. The bomb would have caused many casualties but the plan was never put into action. The plan was intended to end the war against Germany. The bombing was estimated to have caused 220,000 casualties and shatter German morale. -
Allied Invasion of Italy
The allies wanted the Mediatatrianian. On 3 September 1943, the Allies launched an amphibious landing onto the mainland of Italy. The British and American forces inland and caused the Germans to withdraw north. The invasion helped take pressure off the Soviet forces in the East and opened up a second front. Allied forces sustained 2,009 KIA, 7,050 wounded, and 3,501 missing while German casualties numbered around 3,500. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
D-Day happened on June 6 1944 to kick off the battle codenamed Operation Overlord. The battle was an allied invasion of western Europe from June 1944 to August 1944. Around 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast. The battle resulted in an allied victory. During the Battle of Normandy over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing. -
Battle of the Buldge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last German offensive on the western front in 1945. The battle was intended to stop Allied use of a Belgian Port, Antwerp and split the allied lines. The Allies won the Battle, despite the German surprise attack on Allied forces the Germans had significantly higher casualties. Losing Military supplies and 120,000 people, German forces were dealt an unrecoverable blow, while Allied forces suffered only 75,000 casualties. -
Dropping the Atomic Bombs
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped a bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Three days later on August 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki. The bombs were dropped in a successful attempt at making japan surrender on August 14, 1945. Total combined direct casualties of the bombings are estimated at 199,000 while many more are estimated to have died in the next four-month period from indirect factors such as cancers and radiation sickness. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
The first major concentration camp to be liberated was Majdanek. On January 27, 1945, the largest Nazi kill center Auschwitz was raided by the Soviets. Some 10 camps were liberated by the Soviets, U.S. and British forces. Only after the liberation of these camps was the full site of Nazi horrors exposed to the world. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle in 1945 where the U.S. landed on and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army. The island would be a strategic place for the U.S. because they needed somewhere for fighter planes and bombers to take off and land. The battle is known as one of the bloodiest battles of all time and lasted 5 weeks. Almost 21,000 Japanese forces on the island were killed compared to the near 7,000 Marines. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day or VE Day celebrates the unconditional surrender of German forces on 8 May 1945. The day marks the end of WWII in Europe. The day is also celebrated in many towns across Canada. The celebrations erupted into looting and rioting in Halifax. -
VJ Day
Victory over Japan Day or VJ Day is the day Imperial Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945. The day marks the end of WWII. The day gave Canadians and the other Allied nations an overwhelming sense of relief. Canadians took it to the streets to celebrate, and what would be the start of the war heroes coming home. -
Work Cited
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/blitzkrieg-lightning-war
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor
https://www.britannica.com/event/Wannsee-Conference
https://www.britannica.com/event/Normandy-Invasion#ref236170
https://www.historyhit.com/how-long-was-the-battle-of-the-bulge/
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ve-day-victory-in-europe
https://codenames.info/operation/thunderclap-ii/ -
Work Cited
https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-1945
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vj-day-victory-over-japan
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/liberation-of-nazi-camps
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/warsaw-ghetto-uprising
https://www.thoughtco.com/invasion-of-italy-2360451
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/battle-of-midway
