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Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed by the Germans and the Soviet Union as a non-aggression pact. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact took place August 23rd, 1939. The countries agreed that they would not attack each other in the pact as an idea of peace. They also secretly divided the countries that layed between them very passively. The result of the agreement gave Adolf Hitler a free hand to attack Poland without fear of Soviet intervention. -
Germany's invasion of Poland
Germany invaded Poland because they claimed that Poland was planning, with its allies Great Britain and France, to dismember the powerful Germany. They also claimed Poland was persecuting ethnic Germans living in Poland. Russia joined as they were allies. Poland was invaded the most because it sits in the middle of Europe. That means Poland can be invaded from any direction by anyone. -
Fall of Paris
The cause of the Fall of Paris can be essentially summarized as a German assault on north-western Europe resulting in the capture of France. This was done in order to wreck France's economy and military while reducing its population, and ruining its morale as well as its ability to support other close nations. Due to this, supplies grew more scarce and the prices also rose higher. People left the city for the provinces, where there was more food and fewer Germans. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a major air campaign fought over southern England in 1940. Germany planned to gain air-ground in an event to prepare for an invasion of Britain. Both sides suffered a big loss of life and aircraft. Britain also weakened the Luftwaffe and prevented Germany from achieving air superiority. It was the first big defeat for Hitler. -
German Blitzkrieg
The German Blitzkrieg was known as the "Lightning War" and was Germany's strategy to avoid a long war in the first phase of WWII in Europe. Germany's idea was to defeat its opponents in short campaigns. Germany quickly was on top of much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by using this new military tactic of Blitzkrieg. It lead to a quick victory, but also was a mass destruction tool and resulted in many casualties. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Habor summarized shortly was essentially Japan intending the attack as a preventive action. Its aim was to prevent the United States Pacific Fleet from getting in the way of its planned military actions in Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and of the United States. It killed about 2,500 people and was completely unseen. It sparked a major conflict and Influenced the US to come back stronger. -
Wannsee Conference
15 high-ranking Nazi Party officials gathered at a large villa in the Berlin town of Wannsee to discuss the implementation of what they called the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question." The mass murder of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators required the coordination and cooperation of governmental agencies. Essentially, The Wannsee Conference was a high-level meeting of German officials to discuss the final solution. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a naval battle with air fighting as well when the United States destroyed Japan's carrier strength and most of its naval pilots. Imperial Japan lost four carriers and over 100 trained pilots. The outcome of the battle of Midway was essentially the Japanese offense in the Pacific was overturned and the United States began offensive action in the Pacific. The US gained major ground and sort of flipped the script. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Stalingrad was one easily identified of the most decisive battles on the Eastern Front. The Soviet Union inflicted a huge defeat on the German Army. Both the Soviet Union and Germany stopped at nothing in order to achieve victory. The casualties were around 2.2 million, making it the bloodiest battle that has ever taken place. The effect was it stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and amounted to the turning point of the war in favor of the Allies. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
D-Day was the largest invasion ever assembled, and probably the bloodiest as well. 156,000 soldiers landed on the beach of Normandy to attack. The goal of this invasion was the start of something special. They ultimately wanted to achieve the liberation of Western Europe, defeat Nazi Germany, and end the Second World War. It is regarded as one of the greatest military achievements ever or of all time. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was very special because it was a hail-mary German military counter-offensive against the Allied armies in the West. Hitler prayed that this last-ditch effort would scare the Allies, and cause a stall in the offensive side. It marked the last German offensive movement. Almost less than four months after the end of the Battle of the Bulge, Germany surrendered to Allied forces. This battle gave the Allies the upper hand in the war. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was seen considered a big step for the invasion of mainland Japan. It was targeted by the Americans as part of the Allies' island-hopping strategy. The island-hopping strategy was in which they would invade an island, establish a military base there and then launch an attack on another island. This was essentially how they would gain ground gradually until they reached the goal. Using this strategy, the island was finally secured in the end. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was started by the United States as they had the objective to secure the island while getting rid of the last barrier standing between U.S. forces and Imperial Japan. Even though the United States won this battle, both sides suffered a huge loss. The Japanese had just as much to fight for as the US did. Rather than actually being taken as prisoners, most actually committed suicide on the spot. Suicide was a large cause of casualties in this battle. -
Liberation of concentration camps
The advancements in the liberation of concentration camps happened as American forces closed in on the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald. Headquarters at Weimar telephoned the camp administration to announce that it was sending explosives to blow up any evidence of the camp. Camp admin had already fled camps as they were in such fear of the Allies. This saved the lives of many and actually revealed the harsh truths of what brutal torture the Germans were inflicting. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
The first bomb was called "Little Boy" and was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The second bomb was called "Fat Man" and was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. The ultimate driving force in this was the US wanting to force a quick surrender by the Japanese to reduce the number of American lives lost. The effects struck Japan strongly and many died due to the radiation aftermath. It terrorized the country for a long time.