-
Invasion of Manchuria (War in Pacific)
In 1931, The Chinese was experiencing political turmoil. Japan, with a growing population and need of resources, decided it was time to take advantage of China's situation. In September, 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria. This event is important because it was in some sorts, a wake up call for Japan. The world protested Japan's actions, and Japan was waiting to see what the world would do. In the end, they just complained, and Japan realized they could do this more with no major consequences. -
Blitzkrieg into Poland (War in Europe)
On September First, 1939, Germany invaded Poland after demanding it be theirs using their Blitzkrieg tactic, which is fast moving offense supported by air power. The Soviets also invaded from the east. Poland was no match for Germany and Russia's superior army, their forces included soldiers on horseback! This is important because two days later, on the third, Britain and France declared war on Germany. The invasion of Poland is also known as what had begun the second world war. -
German Invasion of France (War in Europe)
After The Allies declared war on Germany, they slowly mobilized their armies. France was building up their defenses, and their Maginot Line. It was not enough to stop Germany during the second world war either. Germany once again used the Blitzkrieg tactic against France, driving a wedge between English and French troops. Germany did this in order to obtain France, leaving England with no support in Europe. By June 22, 1940, France officially surrendered to the overpowering German forces. -
Dunkirk (War in Europe)
After Germany drove a wedge between English and French troops in France, British troops were forced to evacuate 340,000 troops from Northern France, in Dunkirk, back to Britain, through the choppy waters of the English Channel. If England was to fail at this mass evacuation, Germany would have had much higher chances of taking over England, and with that, Europe as a whole. Luckily, with help from almost every English ship in the waters, military and civilian, most of the troops survived. -
Battle of Britain (War in Europe)
In July of 1940, Germany began bombing British airfields, ports, and military bases, in order to start the invasion of the last enemy in Europe to the Germans. Britain's royal air force was able to hold off the German Luftwaffe, which resulted in Germany bombing English cities as well. By Spring of 1941, Hitler realized the invasion attempts were going nowhere, and temporarily gave up on the invasion of Britain. -
Invasion of Greece (War in Europe)
After the failed invasion of Britain, Germany and Italy moved their sights to Greece. Greece was working with Britain but was no match for the German army. They successfully invaded Greece in just a month, adding more territory to the German Empire. -
Operation Barbarossa (War in Europe)
Operation Barbarossa was code name for the German back stab, and invasion, of Russia. Before the invasion took place, Russia and Germany were in a non-aggression pact with one another. Hitler most likely decided to back stab Russia because of his hatred towards communism, and to expand Germany's empire. Fortunately, German troops were ill prepared for the Russian winter, leading to the failure of the invasion. -
Pearl Harbor (War in Pacific)
In December of 1941, Japan shocked the United States by surprise attacking Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. The U.S lost 19 ships, 150 planes, and 2400 soldiers. Japan decided to do this because the U.S sanctions imposed on Japan angered them, they also thought that this attack would disable the U.S navy from doing any damage to Japan for months to come after the attack. This attack led to Congress voting for war on Japan on December 8, 1941. -
Philippines 1942 (War in Pacific)
Beginning in March, Japan was consistently focused on invading the U.S territory of the Philippines, along with every other Island in the Pacific. On May 6, They successfully invaded after months of battle. General MacArthur ordered a retreat to Australia after three months of defending the Island, but vowed to return. Japan successfully took nearly every island in the Pacific, greatly increasing their control and power in the world, and in the war efforts. -
Bataan battle & march (War in Pacific)
After successfully invading the Philippines, Japan needed to relocate the remaining soldiers who did not retreat in time. They set up POW camps over 70 miles away on the island, and forced over 60,000 prisoners of war to march through steamy, dangerous jungles to the camps. Over 10,000 died through the journey from abuse, starvation, or exhaustion. The prisoners were treated terribly by the Japanese. -
Doolittle Raid (War in Pacific)
After Pearl Harbor and the invasion of the Philippines, the United States were in need of a major morale boost. The Doolittle Raids was what they decided on. It was a plan where specially modified planes would bomb Tokyo, Japan. Although it did minor physical damage to the Japanese, it was considered a success to the United States for the great boost of morale it provided. -
Coral Sea (War in Pacific)
Off of the Northeast of Australia, Japan attempted to cut off shipping lanes between the U.S and Australia, making it easier for their plan to invade Australia. This resulted in a two day air-battle. The battle resulted in the U.S winning, with Japan forced to retreat, along with their plans of invading Australia. -
Midway (War in Pacific)
After the plans to invade Australia fell apart, Japan focused on invading Hawaii. To do this, they would need to first capture Midway. Luckily, U.S code breakers learn of the attack and prepare to defend the island. The 4 day battle resulted in heavy losses for the U.S, but even heavier for the Japanese. Japan lost 275 planes & 4 aircraft carriers! This was a turning point in the war as Japan completely lost it's ability to fight offensively against the U.S. -
Second Battle of El Alamein (War in Europe)
One of the Axis Power's goals was to control Africa, and the Middle East, for their resources. Specifically, they wanted oil. If they could control the oil, it would be immensely harder for an allied victory against the axis. The second battle of El Alamein was fought in Egypt. The fighting lasted less than a month, with the allies being victorious. El Alamein was also a railway station, and if it were invaded, it would be hard for Egypt to regroup and resupply forces. -
Operation Torch (War in Europe)
Operation Torch was a plan led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower to invade the axis powers through Africa, then to Sicily, then to Italy. The allies believed attacking from Africa going north would be a weakness of the Axis. If successful, Operation Torch would also create a second front. German forces were trapped in Africa and had to retreat into southern Italy. By May of 1943, the allies controlled North Africa. -
Stalingrad (War in Europe)
Russia needed to stop the German advance by defending Stalingrad. If Germany was to take Stalingrad, that would be a devastating blow to the Russian Army. The battle was in the streets of Stalingrad, with soldiers fighting in the rubble of the bombarded city. Fortunately for Russia and the allies, they held off the German forces, and were victorious. -
Guadalcanal (War in Pacific)
The Battle of Guadalcanal was a fight that took over six months, for the purpose of fighting back against Japan. The battle was considered the first major offensive attack against Japan by the allies. This battle was important because it taught the United States how to fight in the jungles. After months and months of battle, the allies stood victorious, with the Japanese defeated. -
Kursk (War in Europe)
The battle of Kursk was a notorious for the large scale use of tanks. Germany was attempting another advance into Russia, this time attacking into the city of Kursk. After over a month of fighting, Russia again successfully defended against the German advance, while also capturing over 300,000 German troops! This was such a vital moment in the war as this battle resulted in Germany losing it's ability to fight offensively at all on the eastern front. -
Battle of Anzio (War in Europe)
The battle of Anzio was fought in Anzio Italy, with the overall goal for the allies of liberating the country from Axis control. German forces tried to defend the land, but were defeated in battle by the allies. The fighting took over five months. -
D-Day (War in Europe)
After a lot of planning, The Allies were prepared to launch a cross channel invasion into Axis territory. Weather experts told the U.S that June 6 was a perfect day to cross the English Channel. It started with paratroopers dropping behind German lines to sabotage railroad lines and capture airfields. In the morning, troops landed in Normandy, France, where Germany was not expecting an invasion. Although it was overall an easy invasion, some beaches were more difficult than others. -
D-Day Continued
By the end of June 6, 10,200 Allied soldiers died, but The Allies did secure control of the 60 mile stretch of beaches. This created a second front the Germans now had to fight against, which made Russia very happy, as that made their lives easier. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf (War in Pacific)
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was located in the Philippines. The battle was very short, as it lasted only a few days. Admiral Nimitz & MacArthur had decided to invade to weaken Japan even further by invading. It was the largest naval battle in history. It was also the first battle with kamikaze pilots, which were planes loaded with explosives that would purposefully crash into enemies. This battle resulted in Japan almost completely losing their navy, and America closer to retaking the Philippines. -
Battle of The Bulge (War in Europe)
This battle was the last counter-offensive Nazi Germany launched against the allies with the slim hopes that they could turn the tide of the war around in their favor. They hit a weak spot in allied lines, creating a 50 mile deep, 80 mile wide bulge at Bastogne, Belgium. Luckily, the U.S dug in defenses, stopped the offensive, and then forced a retreat. The U.S lost 80,000 soldiers while Germany lost 120,000. This victory for the Allies was basically the last nail in the coffin for Nazi Germany. -
Philippines 1944-45 (War in Pacific)
After the successful battle of Leyte Gulf, this left the Japan navy utterly useless against the might of the U.S Navy. This led to the U.S retaking the Philippines from Japanese rule in February of 1945. -
Yalta Conference (War in Europe)
The Yalta Conference was attended by Joseph Stalin, FDR, and Winston Churchill. During the conference, Stalin demanded control of Poland & much of Eastern Europe after the war ends. FDR approved of it, as long as Russia would help with the war in the Pacific, and if free elections would be held in areas of Russian control. -
Iwo Jima (War in Pacific)
The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought against the Japanese by the U.S to take the Island from them. The U.S wanted to take the Island from the Japanese, and then use it to help attack Japanese mainlands. After over a month of battle, the U.S was victorious over the Japanese. -
Hitler's Suicide & The German Surrender (War in Europe)
As the Allies rolled into Germany, the country was crumbling before them. After Hitler saw the horrors of what the Italian people did to the body of Mussolini, he was determined to not let himself have the same fate. He killed himself April 30, 1945, and his body was burned so it could not be identified to be messed with. Then, days later, on March 7, Germany surrendered to The Allied forces. -
Battle of the Atlantic (War in Europe)
In the Atlantic, German U-Boats were making it a near impossible task for the allies to sail without being attacked or sunken. In response, the allied forces began using convoys and using the newly invented technology of sonar to detect the submarines. These tactics proved to work and the allies had less trouble with the German U-Boats. This battle technically lasted the duration of the whole war, from September of 1939, to May 8, 1945. -
Okinawa (War in Pacific)
The Battle of Okinawa was fought on the Island of Okinawa by the Japanese and the Allies. After three months of battle, The Allies successfully took the Island from Japan. This invasion was also part of the U.S Island Hopping strategy against Japan. Okinawa had an air base on it, that the Allies used to their advantage after taking the Island. -
Hiroshima & Nagasaki (War in Pacific)
After Germany fell, Japan still vowed to never surrender. At the same time, the U.S Manhattan Project was completed, which was the creation of the first atomic bomb. The U.S warned Japan of destruction if they did not surrender, and they did not listen. Then, on August 6, 1945, the first Atomic Bomb to ever be launched in war was launched on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Then, on August 9, another Atomic Bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Over 100,000 people died from both bombs. -
Japanese Surrender (War in Pacific)
After having two atomic bombs, weapons the world has never seen, dropped on their homeland, Japan decided to surrender, to avoid further damage. On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally. Then, on September 2, a peace treaty was signed on board the USS Missouri.
