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Fall of Paris
German invaded Holland and Belgium a few days previous to their first attack after crossing the Ardennes, Fighting lasted two days between the German and French forces. Germany was eager to expand after successfully invading Poland. Bad weather delayed the attack. The French were pushed back to the coast as most Allied forces were fighting another attack in Belgium. France collapsed unexpectedly. Germany gained the land area of France. -
Pearl Harbor
A surprise attack committed by the Japanese on the Americans in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This was an attempt by the Japanese to keep America out of the war effort in Europe. America ended up with 8 battleships destroyed, 2,407 lives lost and 1000+ wounded. Japan's reasoning for the attack backfire on them as the US joined the Allied forces and 4 years later, dropping the first two atomic bombs used in warfare on the Japanese towns Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
Operation Gomorrah
British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany during the night. After the British suffered 167 deaths of civilians, they wanted to get back at Germany for the innocent lives. During the night raids, Britain dropped 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg, Germany. This resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 German civilians. Britain lost 12 out of the 791 bombers in this attack, a significantly smaller amount compared to others, thanks to a radar jamming device. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
Also given the name of Operation Overlord, it was an Allied invasion on the beachheads of western Europe. This was an attempt to gain northern France back after the Fall of Paris. At the end of invasion, Allied forces had seized and liberated all of northern France. The invading forces kept pushing Germany back until Germany was met with Soviet forces, leading to the end of the Nazi Reich. -
Battle of the Bulge
Three German armies started the deadliest and most desperate battle in the war. Located in the Ardennes forest, German and US forces went at it until January 25, 1945. The Germans attacked in order to split the allied forces and secure vital bridgeheads. The US suffered 100,000+ casualties but won the battle thanks to a remarkable move by Lieutenant General George S. Patton. -
Liberation of the Concentration Camps
Allied forces liberating Nazi concentration camps. The Allies were devastated with all that they saw. They found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners in the camps, along with deceased bodies lying around. The US liberated these after seizing control of the land that they occupied. This increased the Allied forces war efforts so that a large amount of lives could be saved. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
US Marines took ashore and were met with heavy artillery and machine gun fire. The US made advances on the island and won the battle. The US wanted to seize some of Japan's land and take power over the Pacific. US forces gained Iwo Jima, lost 6,800, and had 19,200 wounded. Japanese forces suffered heavy losses, with 18,000 dead and 216 captured. -
VE Day
Known as Victory in Europe day, Great Britain and the United States celebrate a victory against the Nazi army. German forces laid down their arms after losing a large amount of soldiers. This resulted in 13,000 British prisoners of war being released and a hard-fought victory for allied forces. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
The American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five ton bomb on Hiroshima, and three days later another on Nagasaki. American forces struggled to invade on land as heavy losses could be possible. So, they resulted to the use of the atomic bomb. 80,000 people from Hiroshima were killed instantly and tens of thousands die in the following weeks. 40,000 were killed due the bomb dropped in Nagasaki. Japan soon announced their surrender. -
VJ Day
Japan formally surrendered to the US. This was because two atomic bombs were dropped on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Similar to VE Day, VJ Day is the celebration of the victory the US had over the Japanese.
