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Period: to
Major Events
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Germany Invades
Germany invaded Poland, setting off war in Europe. The Soviet Union also invaded Poland
and the Baltic nations. (German Blitzkrieg). Hitler wanted to regain lost territory and to give living space for the Germans. When Poland surrendered 10 days later, it was split into Nazi-Soviet land due to the secret German-Soviet Non Aggression Pact.
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France Falls
Germany invaded France and captured Paris. Hitler wanted to defeat the Eastern European Allies. When all of France fell into the German hands it was renamed Vichy France, it was a free country ruled under Germany. Link text -
Germany Bombs Britain
Germany bombed London, and the Battle of Britain began. Hitler sent fighter and bomb planes, targeting populated areas, factories, and dock yards. It lasted for a year leaving London in rubble. Link text -
Lend Lease Act
The United States gave Britain war supplies and old naval warships in return for military
bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean (Lend Lease). Congress passed the act to supply foreign countries that deemed to be vital for the defense of the United States. After the war, it worsened the United State's debt as they were already trying to pay off the debt from WW1. Link text -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. Hitler went against the Nazi-Soviet pack and tried invading the Soviet Union but failed due to heavy losses. Link text -
Pearl Harbor
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor; a naval base in Hawaii. The Japanese planned the aerial attack because they wanted to destroy the U.S. naval ships to prevent the U.S. from stopping Japan from expanding their sphere of influence. Link text -
US Enters The War
After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, The United States declared war on Japan and then Germany declared war on the United States. Helping the Allies fight the Axis. Link text -
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war from Saysain Point, Bagac, Bataan and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, via San Fernando, Pampanga, where the prisoners were loaded onto trains. Link text -
The Battle Of Midway
The United States was victorious over Japan in the Battle of Midway. This victory was the
turning point of the war in the Pacific. Link text -
The Battle Of Stalingrad
Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union defeated Germany at Stalingrad,
marking the turning point of the war in Eastern Europe. Link text -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged the armed revolt to prevent deportations to Nazi-run extermination camps. The Warsaw uprising inspired other revolts in extermination camps and ghettos throughout German-occupied Eastern Europe. Link text -
D-Day
American and other Allied troops landed in Normandy, France, on D-Day to begin the
liberation of Western Europe. Link text -
Battle Of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II Link text -
Liberation Of Concentration Camps
The camps were liberated by the Allied forces between 1944 and 1945. When the war was coming to an end, the Soviets were liberating camps. Most famously Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Union Link text -
The Bombing Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki
The United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) forcing Japan to surrender and ending World War II. Link text -
Battle Of The Bulge
The last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II—an unsuccessful attempt to push the Allies back from German home territory. Link text
