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The Battle of Britain.
The Battle of Britain, 10 July – 31 October 1940. The Battle of Britain was fought above the skies of Britain, between the RAF and the German Luftwaffe. It was a day of heavy fighting, and the Luftwaffe suffered significant casualties. -
The Bombing of Pearl Harbor.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Since early 1941 the U.S. had been supplying Great Britain in its fight against the Nazis. -
The Battle of Midway.
This critical US victory stopped the growth of Japan in the Pacific and put the United States in a position to begin shrinking the Japanese empire through a years-long series of island-hopping invasions and several even larger naval battles. -
The Battle of Stalingrad.
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later renamed Volgograd) in Southern Russia. -
Operation Torch.
British and American forces began Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa. François Darlan was in Algiers visiting his ill son when the Allied invasion began. He convinced the local Vichy authorities not to oppose the landings. Operation Brushwood was executed as part of Torch. -
The Battle of Kursk.
Battle of Kursk, (July 5–August 23, 1943), unsuccessful German assault on the Soviet salient around the city of Kursk, in western Russia, during World War II. -
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Program
In 1943, the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA) was established under the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied armies as part of a concerted effort to protect artworks, archives, and monuments of historical and cultural significance as the Allies advanced across Europe. -
D-Day.
This event brought together the land, air, and sea forces of the Allied armies 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. -
The Battle of the Bulge.
The Battle of the Bulge started on December 16, 1944, when German forces launched a surprise attack on Allied forces in the forested Ardennes region in Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. The battle lasted until January 16, 1945, after the Allied counteroffensive forced German troops to withdraw. -
The Battle of 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. -
The Battle of Okinawa.
The Battle of Okinawa (April 1 - June 22, 1945) was one of the hardest fought in the history of the US military. The U.S. Navy lost 32 ships and craft, mostly to kamikaze attacks, and 368 ships and craft were damaged. Seven-hundred and sixty-three aircraft were lost with over 4,900 sailors killed or missing in action, with an additional 4,824 being wounded. Okinawa was declared secure on June 21. -
The Death of FDR.
Roosevelt won reelection in 1944 but died in 1945 after his physical health seriously and steadily declined during the war years. Since then, several of his actions have come under substantial criticism, including his ordering of the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps. -
The Death of Adolf Hitler.
Adolf Hitler, chancellor, and dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945 died by suicide via a gunshot to the head on 30 April 1945 in the Führerbunker in Berlin after it became clear that Germany would lose the Battle of Berlin, which led to the end of World War II in Europe. -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima.
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, during World War II, American bombing raids on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) marked the first use of atomic weapons in war. -
Atomic Bombing Nagasaki.
The first ever atomic bomb was dropped on the center of Hiroshima. 'Little Boy' was a gun-type atomic bomb. It used a simple design by firing one piece of uranium 235 into another, triggering a powerful explosion with about 15 kilotons of force.