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Germany Invades Poland
On September 1, 1939, 1.5 million Germans invaded Poland :(approx) 4:45 am. The German Luftwaffe bombed Polish Airfields, and German battleships attacked the Polish navy in the Baltic Sea. On September 3, they declared war on Germany, which started World War 2. -
Tripartite Pact signed
The Tripartite pact was signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan on September 27, 1940. The enemy powers were formed as Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies with the signing of this Pact. In November 1940, Hungary was dragged into the alliance by Germany. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor. More than about 2,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors died in the battle. The Japanese managed to destroy 20 American ships, including 8 enormous battleships. The USS Arizona was also sunk. You can see the USS Arizona underwater at the Memorial. -
Battle of Midway
This battle between Japanese and the U.S. navies in the Pacific Ocean developed due to Japan's desire to sink the U.S Aircraft Carriers that managed to escape Pearl Harbor. The USS Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet were fighting at Midway. This battle lasted from June 4 to June 7, 1942. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was fought from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943. It was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during World War ll. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. -
D-Day Invasion
D-Day was fought from June 6, 1944 to August 1944. More than
160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily
fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Dwight D. Eisenhower called this The Crusade. About 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the invasion. -
Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944, Adolf Hitler tried to separate the Allied armies in Northwestern Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg. U.S. units fought battles to stem the German advance at St.- Vith, Elsenborn Ridge. On December 16, three German armies started the deadliest battle of the war. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought from February 19, 1945 to March 26, 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations.
The Americans won the battle of Iwo Jima and they raised the flag to victory. -
V-E Day
V-E means Victory in Europe. The Germans have surrendered Great Britain and the U.S. celebrated the defeat if the Nazi war machine. The main worries of many German soldiers was to prevent being taken as prisoners by Russians. -
V-J Day
V-J means Victory over Japan Day. Japanese soldiers had surrendered to the Allies on August 14 and August 15, 1945.
Japan's surrender in the Pacific brought 6 years of hostiles and war to an end. On August 14 in Washington DC, President Harry S. Truman announced that Japan had finally surrendered.
