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The Battle of Britain
The summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces fought in the skeis over the United Kingdom, locked in the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date. This battle proved to be a turning point in the war.The Battle of Britain ended when Germany's Luftwaffe failed to gain air speriority over the Royal Air Force. Britain's decisive victory saved the country from a groud invasion and possible occupation by German forces while proving that air power alone could be used to win battles. -
The Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The attack lasted two hours. The Japanese destroyed nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 American soldiers and sailors died and another 1,000 were wounded. This prompted the U.S. to join WWII. -
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The Battle of Midway
Thanks to major advances in code breakinf, the U.S. was able to preempt and counter Japan's planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. This victory allowed the U.S. and its allies to move into an offensive position. -
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The Battle of Stalingrad
Successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. One of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly two million. -
Operation Torch
124,000 British and American troops landed at Casablanca in Morocco, and Oran and Algiers in Algeria. About 500 Allied soldiers were killed, another 700 injured. -
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Program
Established to help protect cultural property in war areas during the war and after. The group of about 400 servicemembers and civilians worked with military forces to safeguard historic and cultural monuments from war damage, and as the conflict came to a close, to find and return works of art and other items of cultural importance that had been stolen by the Nazis or hidden. -
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Battle of Kursk
Unsuccessful German offensive against Soviet forces. The Soviet line was protruding into enemy territory, the Germans attempted to attack from differenent directions. THe Soviets held off the offensive before launching a counterattack, and reclaimed the cities of Orel and Kharkov. Hitler decided to call off operations, its failure shifting the balance of power on the Easten Front to the Soviets. -
D-Day
156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of France's Normandy coast. One of the largest amphibious military assaults in history. Known as the beginning of the end of the war. -
The Battle of the Bulge
Hitler attempted to split the Allied armes in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg through the Ardennes to Antwerp. American units fought desperate battels to stem the German advance at St. Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. The Allied line tookon the appearance of large bulge to block the Germans from securing vital bridgeheads. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
Stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island. It was defended roughly by 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from a network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. The marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting. -
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Battle of Okinawa
Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles. The Okinawa campaign involved 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan. At the end of the 82-day campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties-including 14,000 dead. -
Death of FDR
Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed away after four terms in office, leaving Vice Presdient Harry S. Truman in charge. He died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage. -
Death of Adolf Hitler
Burrowed away in a refurbished air-riad shelter, Hitler and his girlfriend Eva consumed a cyanide capsule, then shoots himself with a pistol as his "1,000-year" Reich collapses above him. He was cremated in the chancellery garden by the bunker survivors. The remains were recovered in part by Russian troops. A German court officially declared Hitler dead in 1956. -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
An American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb. The exlosion wiped out 90% of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. -
Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki
An American B-29 bomber dropped the second atomic bomb, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Use of the atomic bomb leads Japan to surrender.
