Major events, battles, and turning points of WWII
25 cards · history
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| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact | Aug 23, 1939; German–Soviet non-aggression pact Contained secret protocols dividing Eastern Europe into spheres. |
| Invasion of Poland | Sep 1, 1939; Germany invades Poland; war begins in Europe Blitzkrieg overwhelmed Poland; the USSR invaded from the east on Sep 17. |
| Britain and France declare war | Sep 3, 1939; UK and France declare war on Germany Marked the start of the wider European conflict against Nazi Germany. |
| Fall of France | Jun 22, 1940; France signs armistice with Germany Germany occupied northern/Atlantic France; the Vichy regime formed. |
| Battle of Britain | Jul 10–Oct 31, 1940; RAF defeats Luftwaffe over Britain First major campaign fought entirely by air forces; invasion averted. |
| Lend-Lease Act | Mar 11, 1941; U.S. aid program for Allies Roosevelt’s “arsenal of democracy” supplied arms, food, and ships. |
| Operation Barbarossa | Jun 22, 1941; Germany invades the Soviet Union Opened the Eastern Front; war became one of annihilation. |
| Pearl Harbor | Dec 7, 1941; Japan attacks U.S. Pacific Fleet Triggered U.S. entry into World War II the next day. |
| Wannsee Conference | Jan 20, 1942; Nazi plan to coordinate the Final Solution Senior Nazis organized deportation and mass murder of Europe’s Jews. |
| Battle of Midway | Jun 4–7, 1942; decisive U.S. naval victory over Japan Turned the tide in the Pacific; four Japanese carriers sunk. |
| Guadalcanal campaign | Aug 7, 1942–Feb 9, 1943; first major Allied offensive in Pacific Secured Henderson Field and halted Japanese expansion. |
| Second Battle of El Alamein | Oct 23–Nov 11, 1942; Allied victory halts Axis in North Africa Montgomery’s assault forced Axis retreat toward Tunisia. |
| Battle of Stalingrad | Aug 23, 1942–Feb 2, 1943; German 6th Army surrenders Turning point on the Eastern Front with catastrophic Axis losses. |
| Battle of Kursk | Jul 5–Aug 23, 1943; largest tank battle; Soviet victory Operation Citadel failed; Germany lost the strategic initiative. |
| D-Day | Jun 6, 1944; Allied invasion of Normandy, France Largest seaborne invasion; opened the Western Front. |
| Battle of Leyte Gulf | Oct 23–26, 1944; largest naval battle; U.S. retakes Philippines Severed Japan’s oil lines; mass kamikaze attacks debuted. |
| Battle of the Bulge | Dec 16, 1944–Jan 25, 1945; last German offensive in the West Allies held Bastogne; German reserves were exhausted. |
| Liberation of Auschwitz | Jan 27, 1945; Red Army liberates Auschwitz camp complex Liberation exposed the scale of Nazi genocide. |
| Yalta Conference | Feb 4–11, 1945; Allied leaders plan postwar Europe Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin set occupation zones and UN plans. |
| Battle of Okinawa | Apr 1–Jun 22, 1945; brutal battle near Japan’s home islands High casualties foreshadowed costs of invading Japan. |
| V-E Day | May 8, 1945; Germany surrenders in Europe Celebrations marked the end of war in Europe. |
| Potsdam Conference | Jul 17–Aug 2, 1945; Allies issue Potsdam Declaration to Japan Truman, Attlee/Churchill, and Stalin set postwar terms. |
| Hiroshima | Aug 6, 1945; U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima First nuclear weapon used in war; massive destruction and casualties. |
| Nagasaki | Aug 9, 1945; U.S. drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki Second atomic bombing pushed Japan toward surrender. |
| V-J Day | Sep 2, 1945; Japan formally surrenders aboard USS Missouri Ends World War II; Allied occupation of Japan begins. |