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The invasion of Poland by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis was the beginning of World War II in Europe. This invasion kicked off World War II due to Britain and France's guarantees of military support to Poland incase it was attacked by Germany. Hitler invaded Poland after secret negotiations with the U.S.S.R. guaranteed there would be no intervention by the U.S.S.R., in exchange Germany would split Poland with them. 7 days after these negations Hitler called for the invasion to begin. -
The Battle of Britain began after the Luftwaffe began attacking British supply ships in the English Channel. This battle was a large scale aerial battle and bombing by the Nazis in an attempt to prepare for land invasion, which caused many civilian casualties on the British side, in response the British bombed Berlin. The daytime bombings on British soil ended on October 30th, 1940 which was considered the end of the Battle of Britain, however the nighttime bombings continued until late 1941. -
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The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most important battles in the European front. The offensive launched by Hitler was an attempt to destroy the Soviet Army and capture the Caucasus oilfields. The Soviets were ordered to defend Stalingrad by any means necessary, every solder and civilian was mobilized to fight. The Soviets launched their counter in Winter of 1942 and reclaimed Stalingrad in Feb. 1943. The Nazis lost 500k men as well as 91k taken prisoner. -
The invasion of Sicily was significant in the lessons learned by the Allies. This was an amphibious invasion that was supported via sea and air as well. They used the knowledge gained in this invasion to correct mistakes and improve coordination when planning the D-Day invasion. This Allied invasion also showed the Nazis they were left to fight the war alone. This also led to the fall of Benito Mussolini and a new government established in Italy. -
This was one of the largest offensives by the Allies. It began with the D-Day invasions which was an all-out offensive by sea, air, and land on 5 French beach fronts. This was also the largest amphibious invasion in history. This battle allowed the allies to establish logistics in mainland Europe, which helped liberate France by August 1944. This began the German retreat on the western front. This battle did not stop in France, it led to the Allied occupation of Belgium and the Netherlands. -
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Following the Battle of Normandy the Allies had made their way to the Belgian region. This battle was started with a surprise attack by the Nazis in response to the Allied advancement. Initially it was somewhat successful but due to some American units continuing to fight while being completely surrounded, it led to delays in Nazi planning. This allowed the Allies to retaliate and counter. The Germans retreated in Feb. 1945 which depleted their capabilities on the western front. -
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This was considered the last major battle in Europe during World War II, and the final assault on Hitler and his Third Reich. The Allies on the western front halted to allow the Soviets to launch their assault. This 2 week long battle led to Adolf Hitlers suicide and fall of Berlin into Allied hands. The fall of Hitler and Berlin led to the German surrender on May 7th, 1945, officially ending the war in Europe.