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Germany's Invasion of Poland
In the hopes to contain Hitler's expansion, Britain and France gave him the Sudetenland, but, despite his promise, Hitler was not done. after optaining Czechoslavakia, Hitler used blitzkrieg tactics and Luftwaffe bombers to destroy Poland's key infrastructure and fighters, forcing them to surrender on October 6th. Germany occupied the remainder of Poland until January 1945. -
Blitzkrieg Strategy: German Invasion of Western Europe
Blitzkrieg, or "Lightning War," was a method of warfare used by the Germans involving fast-moving armor and fast-reaching air forces, and proved to be highly effective. Germany used this strategy to successfully invade Western Europe. As a result, Germany occupied Belgium, the Netherlands, northern France and all of France's Atlantic coastline down to the border with Spain. -
Operation Barbarossa
The largest German military operation of World War II
Germany's goal was to destroy the Soviet Union, resulting in the elimination of the Communist threat to Germany and allowing the Germans to sieze the prime land. They invaded the Soviet Union less than 2 years after the German-Soviet Pact was signed. The army of more than 3 million German soldiers and an additonal 650,000 from their allies attacked from the Baltic to the Black Sea. It resulted in a German victory. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan's goal was to incorporate much of the Pacific in its sphere of influence. They went to Washington with a formal declaration of war, making the Americans sure of what was to come. They tried to warn Hawaii but they were too late. In the end American lost 8 battleships, 200 American aircrafts, and 2,403 lives, and resulted in a declaration of war against Japan. -
Bataan Death March
After the U.S. surrender on April 9, 1942, at the Bataan Peninsula, approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops were forced to make a 65-mile march to prison camps. They hiked through the intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands died in what became known as the Bataan Death March. General Douglas MacArthur, who had promised to return to the Philippines after the defeat, liberated Manila in early March and recaptured the Bataan Peninsula. -
Battle of Stalingrad
During this battle, the Soviet Union stopped the German advance into Stalingrad, a strategic point for both the Germans and Russians. The Germans could use it to launch further assaults in the Caucasus, but he Russians were determined to defend the city for its vital industrial and transportation value. The victory of the Soviet Union during this battle marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. -
D-Day
Opening a second front in western Europe was a part of the Allied strategy during World War II. D-Day was code named Operation "Overload," and under the command of Dwight D. Eisenhower, more than 130,000 Allied troops landed on 5 different beaches in France. The Germans were lead by Rommel and deployed 5 infantry divisions, but the Allies had a major advantage naval and air power, and on August 25th, Paris was liberated. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was a key island for America's island hopping technique. Japan defended the island in an elaborate web of dug outs, caves, tunnels, and underground installations, that were hard to find and destroy. Nevertheless, America came out victorious. Joe Rosenthal captures the victory in one this famous photograph. -
VE Day
Allied bombing raids had devastated many German cities, and on April 21, 1945, Russian troops had formed a ring around the inner city. Grand Admiral Dönitz traveled to Eisenhower's headquarters to surrender unconditionally, on a date now known as VE Day. The threat of the Nazis was eliminated, but the war in the Pacific was still unresolved. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
In an effort to end the war in the Pacific, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Japan lost tens of thousands of people in the initial explosion, but would lose many more died from radiation exposure. These heavy casualties in addition to the ones they would face from the bombing in Nagasaki forced Japan to surrender to the Allies. -
VJ Day
Although thousands upon thousands of Japanese lives were being lost in the war, they refused to accept the unconditional surrender. It wasn't until after the U.S. bombed both Hiroshima and Nagasaki that Japan was forced to surrender. This day, known as Victory in Japan Day, marked not only the end of the war in the Pacific, but also the end of World War II. -
Battle of the Bulge
Adolph Hitler wanted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by using a surprise blitzkrieg through the Ardennes to Antwerp. The Allies were caught off guard, and as the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes, the Allied line began to take to shape of a bulge. Because of Lieutenant General George S. Patton’s successful maneuvering of the Third Army to Bastogne, the Allies brought the neutralization of the German counteroffensive.
