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Germany invasion of Poland which officially began WWll
German forces bombard Poland on land and from the air. The German invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war–what would become the “blitzkrieg” strategy. Hitler had a base of operations within the target country. The Polish army made several severe strategic miscalculations early on. The Polish forces were severely under-equipped and attempted to take the Germans head-on, rather than falling back to more natural defensive positions. -
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The Miracle of Dunkirk
The advancing German Army trapped the British and French armies on the beaches around Dunkirk. 330,000 men were trapped here and they were a sitting target for the Germans. Admiral Ramsey formulated Operation Dynamo to get off of the beaches as many men as was possible. The British troops, were professional soldiers and trained men that we could not afford to lose. From May 26th 1940, small ships transferred soldiers to larger ones which then brought them back to a port in southern Britain. -
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Battle of Britian
After Germany and Hitler had conquered most of Europe, including France, the only major country left to fight them was Great Britain. Germany wanted to invade Great Britain, but first had to destroy Great Britain's Royal Air Force. Germany bombed Great Britain to try and destroy their air force and prepare for invasion. The German bombings continued, and the British did not stop fighting back. Hitler switched tactics and started bombing large cities like London. The British won the battle. -
Japan bombing of Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese destroyed nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. America finally joined WWll. -
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The Battle of Bataan
After three months of fierce fighting, the Japanese defeated the U.S. and Filipino army on at the Battle of Bataan. Bataan Death March was when the Japanese forced 76,000 captured Allied soldiers to march about 80 miles across the Bataan Peninsula. The Japanese commander planned to move the large army of American and Filipino troops he had captured to Camp O'Donnell which he would turn into a prison. The prisoners didn't get food or water and became very weak. Between 5,000 and 10,000 died. -
The internment of Japanese Americans
Two months after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 ordering all Japanese-Americans to evacuate the West Coast. This resulted in the relocation of approximately 120,000 people, many of whom were American citizens, to one of 10 internment camps located across the country. Japanese Americans were suspected of remaining loyal to their ancestral land. In 1988, Congress awarded restitution payments to each survivor of the camps. -
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The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the bloodiest battle in WW2. It was a turning point in the war. After losing the battle, the German army lost so many soldiers and took such a defeat that they never quite recovered. It began with the German air force bombing the Volga River and the then Stalingrad. Then the German army moved in and took a large portion of the city. Fighting in the city of Stalingrad was fierce. This brutal battle began to take its toll on the Germans. -
D-Day invasion to begin the liberation of Western Europe
Germany had invaded France and was trying to take over all of Europe including Britain. However, Britain and the United States had managed to slow down the expanding German forces. They were now able to turn on the offensive. Over 150,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. By June 17th over half a million allied troops had arrived and they began to push the Germans out of France. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
The island of Iwo Jima was a strategic location because the US needed a place for fighter planes and bombers to land and take off when attacking Japan. 30,000 US marines landed on the shores. The first soldiers that landed weren't attacked by the Japanese. They thought that the bombings from US planes and battleships may have killed the Japanese. The Japanese had hiding places all over the island. Once a number of marines were on shore they attacked. The US placed a flag on Mt Suribachi. -
Manhattan Project
Many people feared that Hitler would build an atomic bomb after word spread that German scientist had split the uranium atom. One of Hitlers mistakes was his persecution of Jewish scientists. This persecution resulted in numerous scientists seeking asylum in the US. Einstein, abandoning his belief in pacifism, urged Roosevelt to develop an atomic bomb before Hitler did. Eventually Roosevelt agreed and the United States attempt at building the atomic bomb was codenamed The Manhattan Project.
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