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Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, using swift "Blitzkrieg" tactics, triggered World War II, with Britain and France declaring war. This was followed by a Soviet invasion from the east on September 17, as pre-planned in the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, leading to Poland's division and conquest by both totalitarian powers, ending organized Polish resistance by early October. The invasion introduced new mobile warfare, rapid destruction of Polish defenses, and immediate Nazi -
Great Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany, two days after Hitler’s invasion of Poland, marking the official beginning of World War II in Europe. Following the failure of an ultimatum for Germany to withdraw from Poland, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced the declaration on radio -
On May 10, 1940, Nazi Germany launched a rapid, overwhelming blitzkrieg invasion of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, concurrently invading France to initiate the Battle of France. Utilizing armored, aerial, and airborne forces, Germany overcame low-country resistance in days before forcing France to surrender by June 22, 1940. -
rescued over 338,000 Allied troops trapped by German forces in Northern France. A makeshift fleet of nearly 1,000 naval and civilian vessels ("Little Ships") saved the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from destruction. This "miracle" of survival allowed Britain to continue fighting, turning a potential military catastrophe into a morale-boosting symbol of resistance -
the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the UK from large-scale Nazi German Luftwaffe attacks, preventing Hitler's planned Operation Sea Lion invasion after France fell. Germany sought air superiority to facilitate invasion but failed, as Britain's use of radar (the Dowding System), superior fighter technology (Spitfires, Hurricanes), and strategic defense outlasted the Luftwaffe's assault, marking Britain's first major victory of WWII and a turning -
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was the U.S.'s first peacetime draft, signed by President Roosevelt, requiring men aged 21-36 to register for potential military service as the nation prepared for World War II; it established the Selective Service System, which conscripted millions of men during WWII and subsequent conflicts like the Korean War, though the draft ended in 1973, with registration for men aged 18-25 remaining active today for future national emergencies -
allowed the U.S. to supply war materials—ammunition, tanks, airplanes, and food—to Allied nations (primarily Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and China) without immediate payment, effectively ending U.S. neutrality. This legislation, which ran through 1945, was critical for the Allied war effort. -
Yes, Japan came to regret the attack on Pearl Harbor, especially its commander Admiral Yamamoto, who foresaw the devastating consequences, and Emperor Hirohito, who called it a "reckless war," as it awakened American military might and unified the U.S. in a way Japan couldn't overcome, leading to catastrophic defeat. While Japanese leaders initially believed war was inevitable and sought to cripple the U.S. -
the next day, December 8, President Roosevelt asked Congress for a war declaration against Japan, which was swiftly granted, and then Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. on December 11, leading to U.S. declarations of war against them, officially bringing America into the global conflict. -
Germany and Italy formally declared war on the United States, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Adolf Hitler announced the decision in Berlin, citing U.S. hostility and the Tripartite Pact, while Mussolini followed suit in Rome. This move, widely considered a strategic blunder, unified the U.S. against the entire Axis alliance. -
stopping Japan's invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea, resulting in heavy carrier losses on both sides (U.S. lost Lexington, Japan lost light carrier Shōhō), and marking a strategic Allied victory by halting Japanese expansion in the Pacific -
was a decisive U.S. victory against Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Following intelligence from Station Hypo, the U.S. Navy intercepted a Japanese invasion fleet, sinking four carriers—Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu—and halting Japan's expansion, marking the turning point in the Pacific -
Operation Torch was the Allied invasion of French North Africa (Morocco and Algeria) in November 1942 during World War II, marking the first major U.S.-British amphibious operation. Led by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, it aimed to seize key ports, secure a second front against Germany/Italy, and relieve pressure on the Soviet Union. -
Operation Husky: The Allied Invasion of Sicily. On July 10, 1943, the Allies launched Operation Husky before sunrise, a massive amphibious assault on the southern shores of the island. -
was the massive Allied amphibious invasion of Normandy, France (Operation Overlord), the largest seaborne assault in history, launching the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany by landing over 150,000 troops on five heavily fortified beaches (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword) with huge naval and air support, marking a crucial turning point in World War II despite heavy casualties, and ultimately leading to Germany's defeat. -
Nazi concentration camps were discovered by Allied forces, primarily Soviet troops, who liberated them as they advanced across Europe toward Germany during 1944-1945. While the Nazis tried to hide evidence by destroying camps (e.g., Sonderaktion 1005), Soviet forces found camps like Majdanek nearly intact in July 1944. -
The Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944 - Jan 1945) was Hitler's last major offensive on the Western Front, a surprise German attack in the Ardennes Forest aimed at splitting Allied forces, but it failed, depleting German resources and hastening the end of WWII in Europe, despite inflicting heavy casualties, especially on the U.S. Army, making it their bloodiest battle of the war -
At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan and all three agreed that, in exchange for potentially crucial Soviet participation in the Pacific theater, the Soviets would be granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria following -
On May 8, 1945 - known as Victory in Europe Day or V-E Day - celebrations erupted around the world to mark the end of World War II in Europe. The war had been raging for almost five years when U.S. and Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944 -
The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, was named "Little Boy," a uranium-based, gun-type fission bomb detonated from a U.S. B-29 bomber called the Enola Gay, causing immense destruction and an estimated 90,000 to 166,000 deaths by the end of that year. It was the first nuclear weapon used in warfare, releasing energy equivalent to about 15 kilotons of TNT and creating a devastating fireball and shockwave -
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed 150,000 to 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only uses of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. -
commemorates Imperial Japan's surrender on August 14/15, 1945, effectively ending World War II. While often associated with the Aug. 14 announcement, the US officially recognizes Sept. 2, 1945—when surrender documents were signed aboard the USS Missouri—as the official V-J Day.