-
Period: to
Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima, fought between February 19 and March 26, 1945, saw US Marines invade and capture the volcanic island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese during World War II. Approximately 70,000 U.S. Marines and 18,000 Japanese soldiers took part in the battle. -
D-Day
The largest amphibious invasion in history, when Allied forces landed in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. Involving land, sea, and air forces from the United States, Britain, Canada, and France. The operation was codenamed Operation Overlord. -
Liberation of Paris
saw the French capital liberated from Nazi occupation by Allied forces, primarily the French 2nd Armored Division, following a period of uprising by the French Resistance, ultimately forcing the German garrison to surrender on August 25, 1944. Most of the 20,000 troops surrendered or fled, and those that fought were quickly overcome. -
Period: to
Battle of Leyte Gulf
A decisive Allied victory against the Japanese Navy near the Philippine island of Leyte. Effectively destroying the Imperial Japanese fleet as a fighting force by inflicting heavy losses on their ships and marking a turning point in the Pacific War. -
Period: to
Battle of the Bulge
A major World War II offensive launched by Germany against Allied forces in the Ardennes Forest during December 1944, where a surprise attack initially pushed Allied lines back, creating a "bulge" in the front. But ultimately failed due to Allied counterattacks and German logistical issues, resulting in heavy casualties for both sides; considered the bloodiest battle fought by the US Army in the war. -
Period: to
Yalta Conference
a meeting between the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union in February 1945. -
Period: to
Firebombing of Dresden
On the night of 13 February, the British bombers created a firestorm which engulfed the city's center. The 8th Air Force's B-17s, sent to Dresden to bomb its rail yards, attacked over the next two days. The two waves of American bombers restarted fires throughout the city and added to the destruction. -
Period: to
Firebombing of Tokyo
The firebombing of Tokyo was a devastating air raid on the Japanese capital city on the night of March 9–10, 1945. Killing an estimated 100,000 civilians and leaving over a million homeless, marking one of the most destructive single bombing raids in history -
Period: to
Soviet Invasion of Berlin
The Soviet Red Army attacked Berlin from the north, east, and south on April 16, 1945. The battle lasted for two weeks, and the city surrendered on May 2, 1945. -
Period: to
Okinawa
Okinawa was the site of a major World War II battle and is now a prefecture of Japan. Dawn on Easter, April 1, 1945, a fleet of 1,300 U.S. ships and 50 British ships closed in for the invasion of the island, which is part of Japan's southernmost prefecture. -
Hitler's Suicide
On April 30, 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. -
Potsdam Conference
In addition to settling matters related to Germany and Poland, the Potsdam negotiators approved the formation of a Council of Foreign Ministers that would act on behalf of the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and China to draft peace treaties with Germany's former allies. -
Hiroshima Bombing
The uranium bomb detonated over Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 had an explosive yield equal to 15,000 tonnes of TNT. It razed and burnt around 70 per cent of all buildings and caused an estimated 140,000 deaths by the end of 1945, along with increased rates of cancer and chronic disease among the survivors. -
Nagasaki Bombing
On 6 August, a Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima. Three days later, a Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. Over the next two to four months, the effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people in Nagasaki; roughly half occurred on the first day. -
Japan's Surrender
It was the deployment of a new and terrible weapon, the atomic bomb, which forced the Japanese into a surrender that they had vowed never to accept. Harry Truman would go on to officially name September 2, 1945, V-J Day, the day the Japanese signed the official surrender aboard the USS Missouri.