-
D-Day
The June 6, 1944, D-Day operation brought together the Allied armies' land, air, and sea forces in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history. The operation, given the codename OVERLORD, delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy, France. -
Liberation of Paris
On the morning of August 25, the 2nd Armored Division swept clear the western half of Paris while the 4th Infantry Division cleared the eastern part. Paris was liberated. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks, and it was the last naval battle between battleships in history. The Japanese navy suffered heavy losses and never sailed in comparable force thereafter since it was stranded for lack of fuel in its bases for the rest of the war. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge marked the last German offensive on the Western Front. The German side's catastrophic losses prevented it from resisting the advance of Allied forces following the Normandy Invasion. Less than four months after the end of the Battle of the Bulge, Germany surrendered to Allied forces. -
Period: to
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge marked the last German offense on the Western Front. The catastrophic losses on the German side prevented Germany from resisting the advance of Allied forces following the Normandy Invasion. Less than four months after the end of the Battle of the Bulge, Germany surrendered to Allied forces. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, held in February 1945, was a pivotal meeting between Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin, where the leaders discussed the post-World War II reorganization of Europe. They agreed on the division of Germany into occupation zones, the creation of the United Nations, and the Soviet Union's entry into the war against Japan. However, the conference also highlighted tensions, especially regarding the future of Eastern Europe. -
Firebombing of Dresden
On the night of 13 February, the British bombers created a firestorm that engulfed the city's center. The 8th Air Force's B-17s, sent to Dresden to bomb its rail yards, attacked over the next two days. The two waves of American bombers restarted fires throughout the city and added to the destruction. -
Iwo Jima
The Battle: U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, after months of naval and air bombardment. The Japanese defenders of the island were dug into bunkers deep within the volcanic rocks. Approximately 70,000 U.S. Marines and 18,000 Japanese soldiers took part in the battle. -
Firebombing of Tokyo
The firebombing of Tokyo took place on the night of March 9-10, 1945, when American B-29 bombers dropped incendiary bombs on the Japanese capital. The raid caused widespread fires, destroying large parts of the city and killing an estimated 100,000 civilians, making it one of the deadliest air raids in history. It significantly weakened Japan's ability to continue fighting in World War II. -
Okinawa
The battle for Okinawa dragged out over nearly three months and included some of the worst kamikaze attacks of the war. By the time Okinawa was secured by American forces on June 22, 1945, the United States had sustained over 49,000 casualties including more than 12,500 men killed or missing. -
Soviet Invasion of Berlin
In house-to-house fighting the Soviet soldiers faced desperate German resistance. The Western Allies stopped their air attacks on 16 April 1945. The Soviet Union continued the air war to support the ground offensive in Berlin. On 2 May 1945, the Berlin garrison surrendered to the Soviet army. -
Hitler's suicide
Hitler committed suicide in his bunker with his wife. He shot himself in the head with his pistol, and his wife took the pill that he gave her and killed herself also. -
Germany's Surrender
The Allies demanded the unconditional surrender of the German army, and the German command had no choice but to agree. On 7 May 1945, German General Alfred Jodl signed the surrender in the French town of Reims. Eisenhower's Chief of Staff and a Soviet general signed on behalf of the Allies. -
Potsdam Conference
According to the Protocol of the Conference, there was to be “a complete disarmament and demilitarization of Germany”; all aspects of German industry that could be utilized for military purposes were to be dismantled; all German military and paramilitary forces were to be eliminated. -
Nagasaki bombing
According to a Nagasaki Prefectural report "men and animals died almost instantly" within 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) of the point of detonation. Almost all homes within a mile and a half were destroyed, and dry, combustible materials such as paper instantly burst into flames as far away as 10,000 feet from ground zero. -
Hiroshima Bombing
The U.S. got a little mad, so they threw a big surprise. They dropped a gift called Little Boy that went kaboom, don't mess with the U.S... -
Japan's surrender
It was the deployment of a new and terrible weapon, the atomic bomb, which forced the Japanese into a surrender that they had vowed never to accept. Harry Truman would go on to officially name September 2, 1945, V-J Day, the day the Japanese signed the official surrender aboard the USS Missouri.