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Battle of the Atlantic
Ended May 8th, 1945. It was a contest of between the western Allies and Axis powers (mostly Germany) in pursuit of control of Atlantic Sea routes. The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, believed it was Germany's best chance to defeat the western Allies. The battles location was mostly the Atlantic Ocean but also included the Labrador Sea, Outer Banks, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. Naval Warfare was the primary fighting type. -
Battle of Britain
Ended October 31st, 1940. British Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against large scale attacks by the German Air Force. Was described as the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. Thousands of serviceable aircraft took the sky for both Britain and Germany. The German Air force was specifically instructed to target British factories and important infrastructure. -
The Military Draft
Required all men between the ages of 21 to 45 to register for the draft. By the end of the war in 1945, 50 Million men between the ages of 21 to 45 had registered for the draft. Men were divided by district, the number of the district was placed in a capsule, the capsule was placed in a fishbowl and stirred, and the capsules were selected. The ones picked were checked for eligibility and physical disabilities. More than 10 Million men were chosen to serve in World War II from being selected. -
1940 NFL Championship
The Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73-0 in the 1940 NFL championship game. The game was played at Griffith stadium in Washington D.C. The game is still the most lopsided game in NFL history to this date. George Halas, the Bears head coach, had his Bears up 28-0 at halftime. They then scored 45 points in the second half to give the Redskins a good ole fashioned spanking. -
First McDonald's Hamburger Stand
Siblings Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald's hamburger stand in San Bernardino, CA. They would eventually partner will business man Ray Kroc who helped them file for the trademark name and logo we know today. -
Pearl Harbor
A surprise military strike carried out by the Imperial Japanese Air Force on the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. One-Hundred eighty eight U.S. Naval Ships were destroyed, 2,403 Americans died, and 1,178 were wounded. The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft. The U.S. did send Anti-Aircraft to attack the Japanese aircraft after the Japanese's second wave, but made a little dent in Japan's attacking forces. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
Ended May 8th, 1942 -
Invasion of Italy
Ended September 16th, 1943 -
D-Day
Landing operations carried out on Tuesday, June 6th, 1944. The operations were carried out by Allied forces of Normandy, France during Operation Overlord. The code names of the beaches that were invaded were Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Heaviest casualties were at Omaha due to its high cliffs. The invasion was carried out by General Eisenhower . The time for the invasions were shortly after midnight. -
Cold War
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Breaking of Sound Barrier
Pilot Chuck Yeager was credited to being the first person to break the sound barrier at 807.2 MPH/Mach 1.06. He did it by flying in a Bell X-1 aircraft at an altitude of 45,000 feet. At that time though, the sound barrier was still not completely understood. -
Berlin Airlift
Ended May 12th,1949 -
Warsaw Pact
