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Period: to
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg was a method of offensive warfare which was made to be one swift strike on the enemy using mobile forces. It was made to lead to a quick victory limiting soldier deaths. German forces swept through Poland, Norway, Belgium, Holland, and France with this quick method.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg) -
Operation Barbarossa
Germany launched an invasion of the Soviet Union. they were trying to expand territory for more living space. Operation Barbarossa failed.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa) -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese forces surprise attack U.S. naval base Pearl Harbor destroying/damaging about 20 American naval vessels, 8 battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died, 1,000 were wounded. This attack caused America to join World War 2.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor) -
Wannsee Conference
Fifteen high-ranking Nazi Party and German government leaders gathered for a meeting. This meeting was to discuss the "Final Solution." The meeting was not the beginning, but where the "Final Solution" was revealed to other non-Nazi leaders.
(https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-wannsee-conference-and-the-final-solution) -
Period: to
Bataan Death March
America was defending the Philippines from Japan. U.S.-Filipino army was crippled due to starvation and disease. Edward King Jr. surrendered about 75,000 American troops at Bataan to Japan. As Americans were rounded up by Japanese, they were forced to march 65 miles from Mariveles to San Fernando. Thousands of troops died due to the brutality of their captors. Estimate of about 650 American and 16,500 Filipino soldiers were killed. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march) -
Period: to
Battle of Midway
A clash between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. Japan wanted to have naval and air superiority. U.S. won and Japan retreated and had lost as many as 3,000 men, nearly 300 aircraft, one heavy cruiser, and four aircraft carriers in battle. Japan abandoned their plan to expand to the Pacific and remained defensive.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor) -
Period: to
Battle of Stalingrad
Brutal battle between Russian forces, those of Nazi Germany, and the Axis powers. Infamously known as one of the largest, longest, and bloodiest battles in modern warfare. The city was an industrial center, producing artillery along with lots of other goods. The Volga River was also an important shipping route that ran through the city. Nearly 2 million soldiers were killed or injured including over 10,000 Russian civilians.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad) -
Period: to
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Jewish insurgents revolted against German occupation in Europe. They resisted being deported which meant certain death. They refused to assemble at collection and burrowed in underground bunkers. Germans crushed the uprising and deported all the survivors to concentration camps and killing centers. At least 7,000 Jews died fighting or hiding in the ghetto.
(https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/warsaw-ghetto-uprising) -
D-Day
United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other countries invaded the beaches at Normandy in northern France. At the time, France was occupied by the Nazi army. 156,000 allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy by the end of the day. They successfully defeated the Germans but there were 4,000 allied troops killed.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day) -
Period: to
Battle of Bulge
Hitler wanted to split the Allies. Germany drove inot the Ardennes and Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge. The battle was the costliest ever fought by the U.S. Army, which suffered over 100,000 casualties.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge) -
Period: to
Battle of Iwo Jima
Marines invade Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima had 3 airfields that could serve as a staging facility. U.S. troops weren't used to the terrain of the beach and struggled. Many Americans were wounded or killed. Estimates suggesting more than 25,000 casualties and nearly 7,000 deaths. U.S. captured the island.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima) -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
US Troops liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp after the discovery of the horrors of these camps. Only after the liberation of these camps was the full scope of Nazi horrors exposed to the world. Camps were burned down to prevent the spread of epidemics. Survivors faced a long and difficult road to recovery.
(https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/liberation-of-nazi-camps) -
VE Day
German troops throughout Europe surrender. German forces had lost more than 8,000 soldiers. More than 13,000 British POWs were released and sent back the Great Britain.
(https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe) -
Period: to
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
America dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese forces inflicted Allied casualties totaling nearly half those suffered in three full years of war. Truman ordered the bombs to be sent ending in about 70,000 to 135,000 people died in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people died in Nagasaki.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki) -
VJ Day
Japan had surrendered to the Allies. Americans sent atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki causing thousands of deaths. It was the end to World War 2.
(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day)