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The German invasion of Poland was only the beginning of Adolf Hitler's insatiable appetite for land, and power. As Germany invaded, the Polish military realized that they stood little chance against the Germans. Both Britain and France waged war on Germany in hopes to help Poland gain back it's independence, but it instead began a six year long war that would claim the lives of millions. -
After a long battle the allied forces realized that they were surrounded by German troops. The allies lost their heavy equipment during battle and hadn't had assault planes to begin with. Around 68,000 allied soldiers were captured and/or killed during the battle. Afterward French, Belgian, and British Allied troops were stranded at Dunkirk, without backup and entirely vulnerable. After nine days of bombing from the skies backup came to rescue 338,226 soldiers, and civilians. -
In just 6 weeks Germany was able to absorb France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, through Blitzkrieg war tactics. This was a huge loss for the Allies as France was one of the first to even declare war on Germany. France had also provided lots of manpower and resources to the war effort. -
Germany carried out a surprise bombing in which they targeted civilian institutions. The bombing lasted eight months killing around 40,000 civilians, and destroying two million homes. -
The battle was started by the Germans lasted seven months. This is know as the bloodiest battle in WWII. The average amount of time that a soldier lived when first arriving at Stalingrad was 24 hours. Around 50,000 civilians were killed over the coarse of the battle. The fight ended in Allied victory. -
After almost two years of intense fighting the Germans surrendered to the Allied forces. The Allies had finally captured one of the Axis powers main territory, and now had control over the Mediterranean sea. -
Often called D- Day, the allied forces invaded the beaches of Normandy. The allies were met with heavy machine gun fire, bombing by air, and land mines. Many men died drowning on their way up to the beach due to their heavy equipment. The allies eventually won and made their way further into German territory. -
An Allied attempt to conquer the key bridges in the Netherlands. The plan included dropping bombs via aircraft. The nine day air-raid ultimately failed, and suffered heavy casualties. -
The Germans began the battle. The Allies won the battle making it the last major Western offense that Hitler attempted. The battle opened up the opportunity for Allied takeover of Germany. -
The day when Adolf Hitler and the Axis powers finally admitted to unconditional surrender. This is the day WWII ended, and it is still celebrated to this day.