Battles of World War II

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3 Start of WW 2 Germany & Russia Invade Poland

Blitzkrieg (1939) German “lightening war” Rapid assault backed by tanks, artillery, infantry and airmen. Invasion of Poland, then throughout Eur. clip

Battle of Britain (summer 1940) Germany (Luftwaffe) outnumbers Britain (RAF) 4 to 1 in military planes. British losing until Hitler changes plans to attack cities. Airfields + RAF rebuild. End Result: British beat back German assault

Pearl Harbor(Dec. 7, 1941) Japanese surprise attack on U.S. naval base; Hawaii. Japanese pilots sunk 4 U.S. battleships; + planes & airfields End Result: 2,402 Americans were killed, next day U.S. declares war on Japan clip

Midway (June 1942) Most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign. Japanese goal = Attack/destroy U.S. fleet to end U.S. involvement in Pacific. Result = Japanese fleet destroyed; Japan’s defensive campaign begins clip

El Alamein (Oct.-Nov. 1942) Allied Victory; major turning point in the North African Campaign. German Erwin Rommel “Desert Fox” is defeated and goes to Normandy.

Battle of Stalingrad (Aug Feb. 1943) USSR vs. Germany for control of Russian City. Russians win Turning point on the eastern front. Bloodiest battle of modern day warfare.

D-Day (June 6, 1944) Operation Overlord Allied storming Normandy (Fr.) beaches. Led by General Eisenhower; largest amphibious attack ever used. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft Allies gained stronghold in Normandy. D-Day clip

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Battle of the Bulge (Dec Jan. 1945) German attempt to divide and encircle Allied line to force a peace treaty. decisive Allied victory; turning point on W. Front clip

13 Germany Surrenders

14 - Allies close on Germany from 2 sides. - War ends in Europe

Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 1945) Hiroshima bombed first; three days later Nagasaki. Ended war. + Demonstration to gain respect from other countries.

Japanese Surrender Sept Hostilities of WW 2 over U.S./Allied occupation of Japan begins; ends 1951.

Winston Churchill British Prime Minister during WW II; responsible for British resistance against German air assaults.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe during WW II. Planned & Commanded D-Day invasion

Franklin D. Roosevelt - U.S. President during most of WW II - worked with Churchill & Stalin leading Allies against Germany & Japan

Douglas MacArthur - Allied Commander in Pacific Theatre during WW II - defeated Japanese in S. Pacific/Philippines - Accepted Japanese surrender

Harry S. Truman - U.S. President authorized use of atomic bomb against Japanese -Truman Doctrine = support any country resisting communist aggression. - developed policy of “Containment” against Russia/Communism

Erwin Rommel “The Desert Fox” - One of Germany’s most respected military leaders of WW II - Successfully commanded N. African campaign until El Alamein - Commanded D-Day defenses

Kamikaze Aerial Japanese suicide bomber. Aim= destroy U.S. warships

Marshall Plan considered one of the most successful foreign policy initiatives in U.S. history. - contributed to the containment of the spread of communism. - provided 13.3 billion dollars to participating Western European countries and was based on George Marshall’s conviction that economic recovery and stability were vital to the rebuilding of a democratic Europe.

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Yalta Conference The Big Three Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin Feb Meeting of Big Three Goals: -Post-war Europe -Partition of Germany -Borders of Poland -Russian help w/Japan for lands given to Russia -Framework for U.N. and NATO

Iron Curtain military, political, and ideological barrier established between the Soviet bloc and western Europe from 1945 to 1990

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