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German Blitzkrieg
A military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. During the Spanish Civil War in 1938 and against Poland in 1939. Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on a new military tactic called the "Blitzkrieg" (lightning war). -
Germanys invasion of Poland
German forces bombard Poland on land and from the air. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler claimed the massive invasion was a defensive action. France and Great Britain had to decide if they would once again try the policy of appeasement or stand up to Hitler. -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Japan wanted to move into the Dutch East Indies and Malaya to conquer territories that could provide important natural resources such as oil and rubber. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
The Allied Forces of Britain, America, Canada, and France attacked German forces on the coast of Normandy, France. Allied forces launched a combined naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France. D-Day forced the Germans to fight a two front war again just as they had in WWI. -
Battle of the Bulge
Unsuccessful attempt to push the Allies back from German home territory. Around the area of a forest in pushing through the American defensive line. The Germans lost so many experienced troops and equipment that there was no way their army could launch another attack on Allied forces. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
One-third of all Marine losses during World War II happened at Iwo Jima. It was the first major battle of World War II to take place on Japanese homeland. The concurring of Iwo Jima was very important. On the island, before the battle, Japan had two air fields, but because the U.S. won the air fields were shut down. -
Battle of Okinawa
World War II battle fought between U.S. and Japanese forces on Okinawa. Okinawa was to prove a bloody battle even by the standards of the war in the Far East but it was to be one of the major battles of World War II. By the time American troops landed on Okinawa, the war on the European front was nearing its end -
VE Day
The formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. It marked a temporary end of World War II in Europe. Allied servicemen who had fought their way through Europe prepared for their transfer to the Far East and the Pacific, where fighting would continue for three more months. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
An American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world’s first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Since 1940, the United States had been working on developing an atomic weapon, after having been warned by Albert Einstein that Nazi Germany was already conducting research into nuclear weapons. Mismatch between public perception and decades of research on nearly 200,000 survivors and their children. -
VJ Day
