The European War

• The Invasion of Poland
  Describes the steps and tactics used in the German takeover of Poland.
• The Axis Powers Expand
  Describes the fall of Finland, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
• The Fall of France
  Desribes how France fell to the Germans
• Battle of Britain
Describes how, why, and when the great air battle over the English Channel began.
• The Battle of the Atlantic
  Describes the sinking of The Athenia, The Royal Oak, The Graf Spee, The Bismarck, The Scharnhorst, The Tirpitz, and the German U-Boats.
• The Battle for the Mediterranean
  Describes Mussolini's trek into Africa and how the British threw them out. The Germans also threw the British out of Africa. It describes the fall of the Balkans and how the British evacuated from Greece to Crete. It tells how Crete fell and why Hitler wanted the Middle East.
• Germany Attacks Russia
  Explains the German attack on Russia, the standoff at Leningrad, and explains why Hitler attacked Russia?
• Hitler's Europe
  Describes how Hitler robbed, murdered, and enslaved millions of people. Also briefly describes the extermination of Jews. It also describes the neutrals in World War II, how pockets of resistance sprang up, and what the Axis had conquered lately.
• The Battle for Africa
  Describes the Battle of El Alamein, Operation Torch(the U.S. invasion of North Africa)
• Germany's Last Stand in Russia
  Describes the Battle of Stalingrad and how Russia had a very successful counterattack.
• Stopping the Italians
  Describes the Battle for Sicily, the capture and rescue of Benito Mussolini, and describes the Allies attempt to take Italy.
• D-Day Preperations
  Describes the steps and planning of D-Day
• D-day
  Describes the Allied assault on Normandy Beach in France. This was the turning point in the European War.
• The Allies in France
  Describes how D-Day was successful, The Battle of Normandy, the drive to Paris, and how the Allies advanced towards Germany.
• Battle of the Bulge
The famous counterattack by Adolf Hitler in the Ardennes Mountains in France. The final battle that decided the war in Europe.
• Hitler's Setbacks
  Describes the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler, and the death of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
• The End of Axis Italy and Mussolini
  Describes the Allies drive to Rome and how the Germans were thrown out of Italy. Also describes the death of Mussolini.
• The Battle of Germany
  Describes the drive into Germany and the crossing of the Rhine River at Remagen. Also tells the steps into taking Berlin.
• Roosevelt's Death
  Describes the tragic death of the beloved American President.
• The Battle of Berlin
  The final decision in World War II. The Battle of Berlin was the last battle fought in Europe, and was the place that the Russians made Germany surrender.
• Hitler Commits Suicide
  Describes the suicide of Hitler and his wife.
• Germany Surrenders!!!
  Tells about the German surrender.

The Pacific War

• Pearl Harbor
Describes the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that crippled the American Navy.
• Japan's Expansion
Describes what the Japanese took from the Allies. Also describes the sinking of the British ships Repulse and the Prince of Wales.
• Japan and the Philipines
Describes how Japan took over Manilla, Bataan, and Corregidor. Also talks about the Bataan death march.
• Japan Wont Stop Fighting
Describes the fall of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Burma.
• Japan and Australia
Describes the taking of Java and the preperations of Japan taking Australia.
• Battle of Coral Sea
Describes the first all-air sea battle fought in World War II.
• Battle of Midway
Describes the sea battle of Midway Island and sea. Midway was the turning point of the war.
• Battle for the Aleutians
Describes the Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor, and the capture of Attu and Kiska.
• Battle of Guadalcanal
Describes the famous Battle of Guadalcanal in the Soloman Islands. Talks about the sea, land, and air battles in and around the island.
• Japan is being stopped
Describes the steps America took to prepare itself for war. It also describes the death of Yamamoto.
• America Takes Back Australia
Describes the Japanese fall of the Solomans, New Guinea, and the Battle of Bismarck Sea.
• The Gilbert Islands
Describes the American invasion of the Gilbert's, including Tarawa and Makin.
• The Aleutians, Marshalls, and the Carolines
Describes how the Americans took the Aleutians, Marianas, and the Carolines.
• The Marianas
Describes the taking of the Mariana Islands. This included Guam, Taipan, and Saipan. Also talks about the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.
• The Philipines
Describes the Battle of Peleliu Island, The Battle of Leyte Gulf and Island, the invasion of Luzon and Mindanao, and the liberation of Manilla and P.O.W. camps.
• Reconquest of Burma
Describes the special operation Chindits and Merrill's Marauders. Also talks about the building of the Ledo Road and how Burma was liberated.
• The Allies Take China
Describes how the Allies took back China, and how General Stilwell took control of Chiang Kai-Shek's Army.
• Battle of Iwo Jima
Describes the attack on the island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific. This island would give America a firm grasp for a Japanese invasion.
• The Kamikazes
Describes the attempt by the Japanese to hurl planes at ships and targets in a suicidal charge.
• Battle of Okinawa
Describes the American invasion of Okinawa. With Okinawa in American hands, a Japanese invasion was almost inevitable.
• Nuclear Weapons- The Atomic Bomb
Describes the making, the explosion, and the components of an Atomic Bomb.
• Hiroshima and the Japanese Government
Describes the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and how the people reacted.
• The Japanese Surrender
Describes the Japanese unconditional surrender, and the end of the war.

Summary:

      World War II was a conflict that involved almost every part of the world. The war started in 1939 and ended dramatically in 1945. The war mainly involved the the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers. The Axis Powers consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The Allied Powers consisted of the United States, Great Britain, Soviet Union, France, and China.

      The cause of World War II was simple. It was just a continuation of disputes that were left alone after World War I. Germany was very bitter because of their catastrophic defeat in World War I. They also disagreed with the harsh terms by the Treaty of Versailles. Adolph Hitler was given dictatorial powers in 1933. He made the Intensely Nationalistic and Anti-Semitic National Socialist (Nazi) Party.

     After Hitler was given dictatorship powers he started rebuilding the German Army secretly. Germany violated the Treaty of Versailles in March 1936 when Hitler ordered the military occupation of the Rhineland.

     Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy joined Germany and Japan on the axis powers in 1936. In the name of anti-communism, Germany and Italy both intervened in the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

     German troops occupied Austria on March 1938. Germany annexed and neutralized Czechoslovakia by March 1939. In April 1939 Italy annexed Albania. On September 1, Hitler began an invasion of Poland. Poland was being protected by Great Britain and France, so two days later the two countries declared war on Germany.

     Germany and Soviet Union divided Poland between themselves by the end of 1939. The Soviet Union had occupied Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and attacked Finland which they defeated in March, 1940.

     Any ships that were going to Great Britain were heavily attacked by Germany submarines that occupied the seas around the country. Germany occupied several Norwegian ports and all of Denmark. On May 10, 1940 Germany occupied the Netherlands and Belgium. By June 22, 3/5ths of France was occupied by Germany, including Paris.

     Great Britain received numerous bomb raids from the Germany Lutfwaffe (Air Force) to set it up for the Battle of Great Britain. The Battle of Great Britain was won by the Royal Air Force so Hitler postponed the attack.

     In November of 1940, The Axis Powers gained Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. In 1941, Bulgaria joined the Axis Powers. In April, Hitler attacked Greece and Yugoslavia, both of which were occupied. Hitler abandoned the Nonaggression Pact of 1939 and attacked the Soviet Union. Germany drove it's units deep into Soviet territory almost reaching Moscow. Heavy counterattacks and winter slowed down the attack.

     Japan got tired of its war in China and took advantage or Europe in it's dire situation and seized European colonial holdings in the far east. Japan wanted to cripple it's main opponent in the Pacific War. Japan attacked United States installations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the Phillipines on December 7-8, 1941. On December 8, 1941 the U.S. Congress declared war on the U.S.

     Although Japan laid out numerous attacks on the Americans in the Pacific they lost many sea battles(Coral Sea and Midway) on May and June, 1942. In North Africa the British had beaten Italian forces in 1940-1941. The British in Africa, however, were also in a seesaw battle with German Afrika Korps.

     In 1942 the allied offensive began with U.S.-British landings in North Africa. In may, 1943 German forces were squeezed into Tanisia by allied troops. Troops from North Africa landed in Sicily and invaded Italy in September. Italy joined the Allies, and rest of the war would be fought bitterly with Japan and Germany.

     After an unsuccessful siege of Stalingrad(August 1942-February 1943) Germany lost momentum in Russia. German forces withdrawed partially because of an expected allied invasion. The invasion came on June 6, 1944, also called D-Day. There, 156,000 allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. They were under command of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

     The allies then began the advance eastward that ended the German occupation of the homeland in March-April 1945. Soviet forces- moving west- occupied the eastern half of Germany.

     Berlin was eventually surrounded by Soviet troops. Hitler then commited suicide on April 30; German forces surrendered May 8th.

     U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur's "island hopping" strategy led to the Allied invasion of the Phillipines on October 1944. The naval battle in Leyle Gulf eliminated the Japanese Navy. The capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in March and June of 1945 opened a hole for bombing or an invasion.

     The Pacific War came to a close after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th of 1945. Japan surrendered Septermber 2nd, 1945. World War II was now at an end.