# data[].attributes.body
Hitler announcing the declaration of war on the United States to the Reichstag on 11 December, 1941

# data[].attributes.headline
On 11 December 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States declaration of war against the Japanese Empire, Nazi Germany declared war against the United States, in response to what was claimed to be a series of provocations by the United States government when the U.S. was still officially neutral during World War II. 

# data[].attributes.subject
On 11 December 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States declaration of war against the Japanese Empire, Nazi Germany declared war against the United States, in response to what was claimed to be a series of provocations by the United States government when the U.S. was still officially neutral during World War II. 

# data[].attributes.body
The Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. Fought near the western frontier of Egypt between, El Alamein was the climax and turning point of the North African campaign in the Second World War (1939-45). The Axis army of Italy and Germany suffered a decisive defeat by the British Eighth Army.

# data[].attributes.body
Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery (1887-1976) was one of the most capable and controversial British commanders. In August 1942, he was appointed Eighth Army's commander and immediately set about transforming its fighting spirit.

At Alamein, he commanded over 190,000 men from across the British Empire, Greece, Poland and France. They were equipped with over 1,000 tanks, 900 artillery pieces and 1,400 anti-tank guns.

# data[].attributes.body
February 1945
Over 1,200 Allied bombers of the RAF and US Army Forces launched four aerial attacks against Dresden.

The raids destroyed 75,000 homes and around 25,000 people were killed.

The raids became a symbol of the “terror bombing” campaign against Germany, which was one of the most controversial Allied actions of the war.

Churchill had called for increased British air raids against the population centres of Germany in order to swamp German authorities and services, particularly transportation, with hordes of refugees.

# data[].attributes.body
There was no major military action in western Europe during the winter of 1939–1940, and this period came to be called the ‘Phoney War’. Britain and France were not prepared to negotiate an end to the conﬂict, but nor were they prepared to launch an oﬀensive.

# data[].attributes.body
July 1943, Eastern Front
Five Soviet armies were concentrated near the city of Kursk, The Nazi army saw the opportunity for an offensive battle to encircle the Soviet forces.

The summer of 1943 would see the battle of Kursk. The battle of Kursk was significant for a number of reasons, often referred to as the greatest tank battle in history, and more importantly dealt a final blow to the Nazi forces on the eastern front and changed the tides of the war.

More than 900,000 German soldiers and a force of 2700 tanks attack the Soviet forces which made up of approximately 1.3 million soldiers and 6,700 tanks. The battle lasted from the 5th of July to the 23rd of August and resulted in a Soviet victory.

German forces lost 200 thousand soldiers and 500 tanks, and the Soviets lost 800 thousand soldiers and approximately 1,500 tanks.

# data[].attributes.body
“Blitzkrieg” is German word meaning “lightening war”

An offensive warfare method designed to be quick, relatively easy and mobile, along a narrow front. The mobile aspect of this method means it utilises air support, tanks, motorised artillery and dive bombers.

This was employed by the Germans in WW2 in 1939 with the aim of avoiding a long war

# data[].attributes.body
After the D-Day landing in june 1944 Germany faced heavy resistance from the British,American and French troops from the west and Russian troops from the east.

In march 1945 the Allied armys crossed the Rhine River which was the last natural barrier for the heart of Germany, Berlin.

On the 16th of April 1945 the soviet offensive to take Berlin began. The resistance from the Germans towards the Russian advances was strong, as by the time Russia took Berlin over 100,000 Russian troops were killed.

On the 30th of April 1945 the Russian troops occupied the Reichstag and hoisted on top of the roof the soviet flag

# data[].attributes.body
A surprise attack to drive breath in the defences of the enemy, this would allow offensive tools, such as tanks, to go behind enemy lines, therefore disrupting emery defences. AirPower then stops the supply of resources and forces.

# data[].attributes.body
D-Day, the 6th of June 1944, was the first day of the Normandy landings that would largely define the United State's involvement in the war in Europe. The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive naval and aerial bombardment. On midnight before the landings, over 24000 American, British, and Canadian troops landed behind German lines as amphibious allied divisions begun landing off the coast of Normandy at 6:30 that morning. The target was a 80km stretch of French coast that was divided into multiple beaches. Strong winds blew many aircraft off course and the Allies were largely unsuccessful in achieving many of their goals on the first day, however were able to succeed within the month. 50% of all soldiers in the first wave were killed after the first day. The British considered D'Day their last opportunity to stay within the war.

# data[].attributes.body
A group of army officers decided that Hitler's death could avert a catastrophe. The attempt was to wrest political control of Germany and armed forces from the Nazi's, and to make peace with the Western Allies as soon as possible.

On 20 July 1944, Count Claus von Stauffenberg carries a bomb concealed in a briefcase into a military conference that Hitler was attending at his headquarters at Rastenberg, in East Prussia. Stauffenberg placed the briefcase under the table less than a metre from where Hitler was standing, then left the room. A few minutes later, an explosion destroyed the meeting place and killed three people. Hitler was injured, but survived.

The people involved in the conspiracy were arrested, and 200 were executed. The families of the conspirators and another 5000 people thought to be opposed to the regime were sent to concentration camps.

# data[].attributes.body
Map of battle

# data[].attributes.headline
Russian soldier hoisting the soviet flag on top the Reichstag 

# data[].attributes.subject
Russian soldier hoisting the soviet flag on top the Reichstag 

# data[].attributes.body
This tactic was used on Poland in September of 1939. As Poland lacked modern arms and could deploy no more than 300 planes, most of which were destroyed rather quickly, being defeated in a few weeks. Poland was fighting a two front war from the east when they were later invaded by the Soviet Union (September 17th). Poland (Warsaw) surrendered officially to Germany on the 28th of September.

By the 29th Poland had been partitioned by the Soviet Union and Germany.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Londoners taking cover within an underground station

# data[].attributes.body
In Great Britain, this battle is recognised as taking place between the 13th July and 31st October 1940, with Winston Churchill as Prime Minister. This battle saw the successful defence of Great Britain conducted by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe). If Germany was victorious in this attack, it would’ve provided the opportunity for the German army to invade from the occupied French ports mere miles away across the English Channel. The victory of the RAF not only limited the chance of a German invasion on Great Britain, but they also created conditions for GB’s survival and the eventual defeat of the Nazis.

https://www.britannica.com/video/22972/air-ground-Battle-of-Britain-documentary-The-June-1940

# data[].attributes.body
Nazi Germany occupied Poland, especially utilising the area along the eastern German boarder (west Prussia, Poznan ect), organised into Generalgouvernement (General Government). It remained this way until 1945, the end of January.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Allied Officials Planning Operation Overlord (1943-44)

# data[].attributes.body
Operation Overlord was the code name given to the planned invasion of occupied Europe that involved a variety of separate operations and phases that would eventually, in part, lead to the downfall of the Third Reich.
A variety of high profile land, sea and air commanders and generals were employed in what would become the most significant amphibious invasion in history. General Dwight Eisenhower was appointed as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and would oversee the entirety of the Operation.
General Bernhard Montgomery, a veteran of both the First World War and the Irish War of Independence would oversee much of the British component of the invasion.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory would be in charge of the air sector of the invasion, and Admiral Ramsey would be in control of the significant naval part of Operation Overlord.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rommel's Worst Defeat: Second Battle of El Alamein | Animated History

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
A destroyed apartment complex in East London caused by the last German V2 rocket to fall on London on March 27, 1945.

# data[].attributes.body
March 18th, 1945

1,329 bombers and 733 fighters of the US Eighth Air Force formed up over England and set a course for Germany. This mission to bomb Berlin was to support by the Russian advance by attacking rail stations and tank factories in the city.

# data[].attributes.body
In April 1940 Germany launched its long-awaited attack in the west with a surprise invasion of Norway and Denmark, followed by an attack on Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and France.
Again the Germans used blitzkrieg tactics, which were even more overpowering than the attacks against Poland. Holland was quickly overwhelmed, and surrendered on the 15th of May. British forces had landed to assist in the defense of France and Belgium, but they were eﬀectively cut oﬀ when the Germans launched a daring attack through the forests of the Ardennes, an area believed to be unsuitable for motorized warfare, and by 21 May the French and British armies in Belgium were trapped.
By late May and early June 1940, most of the trapped British and French troops had been forced back to the sea. In a remarkable feat of daring, most were taken back to England by a ﬂeet of small vessels and naval ships from the coast of France at Dunkirk. More than 330 000 men were carried across the English Channel to the relative safety of England; 40 000 others were captured.
Winston Churchill had taken over from Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister that May, and in one of his ﬁrst wartime speeches he told the British people,
‘We must be careful not to assign to this
deliverance the attributes of victory … Wars are not won by evacuations.’
On 14 June the victorious German troops entered Paris. One week later, France surrendered.
Hitler accepted the French surrender in the same railway carriage in the forest of Compiègne that the French had used to accept Germany’s surrender in 1918. With this symbolic act, Hitler had avenged Germany’s World War I defeat and ﬁnally erased the insult of the Treaty of Versailles.
For the Germans it was a supremely triumphant moment. In just seven weeks the German armies had achieved what the Kaiser’s armies had failed to achieve in the entire of World War I. Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and France had been defeated and were under German control, leaving Britain to face the enemy alone. To the German people, Hitler appeared as a triumphant warlord who had given them a great victory.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Hitler tours Paris with architect Albert Speer (left) and sculptor Arno Breker (right), 23 June 1940

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C7lFUG8pw0

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
WWII Dog Fights: Breathtaking Battles in the Sky | War Archives

# data[].attributes.body
re-enactment of the bomb plot.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Valkyrie (7/11) Movie CLIP - The Bomb Explodes (2008) HD

# data[].attributes.headline
Hitler had originally planned to invade the U.S.S.R on mid May 1941.  Hitler was convinced that the Red Army could be defeated in two or three months and that by the end of October the Germans would have conquered the whole European part of Russia and Ukraine west of a line stretching from Arkhangelsk (Archangel) to Astrakhan. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Hitler had originally planned to invade the U.S.S.R on mid May 1941.  Hitler was convinced that the Red Army could be defeated in two or three months and that by the end of October the Germans would have conquered the whole European part of Russia and Ukraine west of a line stretching from Arkhangelsk (Archangel) to Astrakhan. 

# data[].attributes.body
watch from 10 seconds to 1.30 minutes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Blitzkrieg: The German Invasion of Poland 1939 (Restored)

# data[].attributes.body
At 3:00 pm, Hitler addressed the 855 deputies of the Reichstag gathered in the Kroll Opera House, with a speech lasting for 88 minutes in which he listed German successes to date. The second part of the speech was devoted to an attack on Roosevelt and "the Anglo-Saxon Jewish-capitalist world", concluding that "In the 2,000 years of German history known to us, our Volk has never been more unified and united than it is today". On the same day, German ambassadors in the capitals of the other Tripartite Pact signatories; Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia, were instructed to obtain their declarations of war against the United States.

# data[].attributes.body
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later renamed to Volgograd) in Southern Russia. The battle was marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, with the battle epitomizing urban warfare. The Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest battle to take place during the Second World War and is one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with an estimated 2 million total casualties. Today, the Battle of Stalingrad is universally regarded as the turning point in the European Theatre of war.

The battle of Stalingrad was a change in German plan following the disastrous German defeat during the Battle of Moscow (30 September 1941 – 7 January 1942). The German oil supplies were rapidly dwindling, and the early successes of the German army were being reversed due to enormous amounts of Soviet manpower and the growing industrial might of Russia. The German army had established a front from Leningrad to Rostov, a kilometres long front and was trying to establish control of major cities and centres of production with civilians captured being taken to Germany as forced labourers. The German army was racing the Soviet forces to the Caucasus mountains to establish control of oil resources in the South of Russia. The city of Stalingrad was situated on the Volga river and was a stronghold for American supplies being sent through Iran into Soviet Azerbaijan control of this city would allow the German to cut off one of the Soviet’s amin supply routes this would have severely damaged the Soviet war effort.
"If I do not get the oil of Maikop and Grozny then I must finish this war."
— Adolf Hitler

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Berlin in July 1945 (HD 1080p color footage)

# data[].attributes.headline
Bernard Law Montgomery in the MiD records

# data[].attributes.subject
Bernard Law Montgomery in the MiD records

# data[].attributes.body
"The Germans brought it to a pitch of excellence, and since then everyone's been trying to copy them."
"They generally manage to get away with it when the enemy wasn't very good," Clark said. "But when they came up against stronger opponents, it proved difficult to achieve success."
- Lloyd Clark, senior lecturer of war studies at Britain's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

# data[].attributes.body
50 per cent of bombs fell on residential areas, and only 12 per cent on factories. Thus, German industrial production continued to increase until mid-1944.

Dresden and Hamburg suffered most. In Dresden alone, 70 per cent of buildings were destroyed and 150,000 people were killed.

Overall, in Germany 3.6 million homes were destroyed, 7.5 million people were made homeless and 300,000 – 400,000 civilians were killed in the raids. 800,000 people were wounded.

The massive destruction of houses led to severe overcrowding in the buildings left habitable.

The raids had a limited impact on the morale of the German population as Nazi propaganda tended to downplay their destruction and the number of deaths. The raids boosted German morale. However, the citizens of Germany developed a hatred towards the Nazi regime.

# data[].attributes.headline
Resistance - The 'White Mouse', the Australian spy on the top of the Gestapo's Most Wanted

# data[].attributes.subject
Resistance - The 'White Mouse', the Australian spy on the top of the Gestapo's Most Wanted

# data[].attributes.body
Trained in hand-to-hand combat, espionage, sabotage, and able to drink almost all of her male counterparts under the table, Nancy Wake was known as one of the most fearsome French Resistance fighters during World War II. By 1942, the Gestapo had put her at the top of their most wanted list, offering a five million franc prize for her capture, dead or alive. They referred to her as the “White Mouse,” as she had managed to evade capture several times throughout the war.

Wake’s resistance had begun in 1933. While working as a freelancer for a Parisian newspaper, the Australian expatriate was asked to travel to Vienna to interview the new German Chancellor – a man named Adolf Hitler. In Vienna, Wake witnessed firsthand the horrific treatment of Jewish men and women at the hands of devoted Hitler followers.

In 1940, the Nazis invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Rather than leave her home, Wake remained in Paris and joined the French Resistance with her husband, Henri Fiocca. For two years they worked as couriers for the resistance, later becoming part of an escape network to get downed Allied soldiers back to safety. The Gestapo knew of the resistance occurring and were working tirelessly to stop it, searching Wake’s mail and staking out her home.

Eventually, it became too dangerous for Nancy Wake to continue her work from inside France’s borders. Leaving Fiocca behind to continue their work from Paris, she planned to travel to Britain. Shortly after she departed, her husband was captured and tortured for information on her whereabouts, but he kept her secret – which eventually cost him his life. Wake didn’t learn of Fiocca’s death until after the war was over.

On her way to Britain, Wake earned her nickname of the White Mouse as she evaded capture by SS guards and Gestapo officers several times. She would later remark on her tactics, which usually consisted of flirting or talking her way out of precarious situations.

“A little powder and a little drink on the way, and I’d pass their (German) posts and wink and say, ‘Do you want to search me?'”

When she was caught on a train outside of Toulouse, she claimed she had to be let go because she was the mistress of one of the guards and that she had to conceal her identity from her husband. The German guards let her go, and she eventually escaped through the Pyrenees into Spain, and later into Britain.

Once in Britain, Nancy Wake joined the Special Operatives Executives and was trained in several combat and intelligence programs.

Before long she was a high ranking officer for the SOE in charge of organizing and allocating arms to 7,500 men. She herself led several attacks on the Gestapo in Montluçon and at one point offered to personally execute a German spy that her men were too scared to kill themselves.

Throughout the war, Nancy Wake saved thousands of lives, most notably those of her Maquis comrades. She was awarded the Medal of Freedom by the United States, The Medaille de la Resistance and the Croix de Guerre from France, and countless other honors from European nations.

Her fellow Resistance officer Henri Tardivat said:
“She is the most feminine woman I know, until the fighting starts. Then, she is like five men.”

# data[].attributes.body
Bader joined the RAF after becoming aware war was inevitable. In 1940, he flew his first plane, a Supermarine Spitfire, undertaking convoy patrols but without seeking action. On the 24th June 1940, he was promoted to squadron leader and was given command of No. 242 Squadron at Coltishall. This squadron suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of France and the moral was low. Bader immediately tried to improve this by working on his pilots’ flying, teamwork and confidence. They then claimed their first victory on August 30th when they claimed 12 enemy aircrafts, of which Bader shot two.

Bader then began to lead larger formations, with 242 and several other squadrons making up the Duxford Wing. By the e and of 1940, Bader’s squadron had shot down 67 enemy aircrafts, with only 5 pilots being killed in action.

In March 1941, Bader left the 242 and was promoted to lead the fighter wing based Tangmere. The RAF then began daylight raids on occupied Europe, with bombers escorted by fighters, mainly to draw out German fighters. Bader’s score then rose to 20 confirmed destroys, with 2 shared. Although, on the 8th August he was forced to bale out of his Spitfire. He records of being shot down and colliding with another POW. Although, some state he may have been a victim of friendly fire.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
The individual who carried the briefcase bomb.

# data[].attributes.body
The Germans began with bombing raids over the city quickly destroying Russian airbases and leading to many civilian casualties within the first 48 hours the Germans had dropped 1,000 tonnes of bombs the city was reduced to rubble and involved fierce fighting between Soviet and German forces. The destruction meant that the Germans had control of the skies for the duration of the battle. Before the battle, Stalin refused to evacuate the 400,000 civilians. By the end of the battle (in February) only 10,000 to 60,000 civillians remained alive, although around 40,000 civilians were taken to Germany as forced labourers. Throughout the battle, leaders sent wave after wave of men at the city to try and take Stalingrad due to its strategic and morale value, as well as the significance of it as the city was named after Joseph Stalin. Victory at Stalingrad was a significant morale boost for the Soviet army, which gave them a greater will to fight which marked a turning point in the war.

# data[].attributes.body
The Battle of Stalingrad was marked by the intense street fighting with soviet forces defending each foot of territory to the death in accordance with Stalin's Order No. 227—"not one step back". One particular example Pavlov’s house was an apartment building held for sixty days from heavy German attacks.

# data[].attributes.body
This map shows the initial planned attacks of the German Air Forces (Luftwaffe) off the coast of the UK.

# data[].attributes.body
·      Operation Barbarossa was launched on 22 June 1941Over three and a half million German and other Axis troops attacked along an 1,800-mile front.

·       Seventeen panzer divisions, formed into four Panzer Groups, formed the vanguard with 3,400 tanks. They were supported by 2,700 aircraft of the Luftwaffe. It was the largest invasion force to date.

·       The Germans quickly established air superiority. On the first day alone 1,800 Soviet aircraft were destroyed, most of them on the ground.

·       Russian forces in this sector were thinly spread and the panzers covered 500 miles in three weeks. By mid-July they were only 60 miles from their objective of taking Moscow.

·        Despite being so close, Hitler decided to halt the advance on Moscow and reinforce Army Groups North and South, against the will of his generals. The panzers were only 220 miles from Moscow. But Hitler regarded the resource-rich Ukraine as more important. On 21 August he ordered that the conquest of the Crimea and the Donets Basin be given priority.

·       By the end of September, Kiev had fallen and over 650,000 Russian troops killed or captured. Another German success.

·       Hitler now decided to resume the battle for Moscow. On 2 October he unleashed Operation 'Typhoon'. He believed the Russians had been fatally weakened and lacked the strength to defend their capital

·    The initial assault was a success. The panzer divisions stormed ahead and over 600,000 Russian soldiers were captured in two more huge encirclements near the cities of Bryansk and Vyazma. The Russians were down to about 90,000 men. But as they reached the approaches to Moscow, the German formations slowed down.

·       In mid-November, the Nazis tried one more push. The northern German pincer was the most successful and got within 12 miles of the city.

·       On 5 December the Soviets launched a surprise counter-offensive. The Germans were forced into a retreat despite Hitler's orders.

·       Reasons for failure included: Russian tank superiority, German intelligence failures, impact of Hitlers involvement and the successful Soviet resistance

# data[].attributes.body
The battle began with the Germans sending 270,000 personnel 3,000 artillery pieces 500 tanks 600 aircraft, 1,600 by mid-September these forces had to go building to building slowly removing Soviet entrenchments. The Soviets had 187,000 personnel 2,200 artillery pieces 400 tank 300 aircraft the Germans almost immediately removed Soviet resistance in the air but unlike previous military engagements the Germans failed to sweep through the city. The Germans remained fighting Soviet for several months, but the Soviets moved to attack the Italian, Romanian, and Hungarian forces that acted as forces that secured the German armies flanks. The Soviets launched Operation Uranus which was designed to encircle the German forces and capture the German Sixth army this happened on the 19th of November 1942 3 months after the start of the battle. The German forces at the time were c. 1,040,000 men 400,000+ Germans 220,000 Italians 200,000 Hungarians 143,296 Romanian 40,000 Hiwi (auxiliary volunteers) 640+ tanks 732 (402 operational) aircraft Soviet forces at the time of counterattack was 1,143,000 men 13,451 artillery pieces 894 tanks 1,115 aircraft. After the success of the Soviet counter-offensive the German army would hold on for two more months before surrendering this was due to Hitler’s policy similar to Stalin’s orders of not surrendering and fighting to the last bullet and last man. The German sixth army was the first to surrender in the field, the Soviet victory was a significant turning point in the war and was a significant morale boost for the Soviet forces.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
An Aerial Photo of Omaha Beach During D'Day

# data[].attributes.body
D'Day was one of the most testing days for Allied forces in the entirety of the Second World War. 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded within the first 24 hours of the invasion. German casualties numbered 4000-9000. Overall, including civilian deaths during the pre-invasion bombing, as many as 40,000 were killed during the operation. 200,000 German soldiers would be captured.
After D'Day, the days of German resistance were numbered. Meanwhile, the Soviets were pushing toward Germany from the East. Hitler would launch one final major counterattack during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944, which would be unsuccessful.

# data[].attributes.body
Operation Barbarossa was a code name for Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union. It was launched on June 22 1941. The invasion along the front took the Soviet's completely by surprise and caught the Red Army in an unprepared and partially demobilized state. Over three and a half million German and other Axis troops attacked along 2900 km front. A total of 148 divisions - 80 per cent of the German Army - were committed to the enterprise. Seventeen panzer divisions, formed into four Panzer Groups, formed the vanguard with 3,400 tanks. They were supported by 2,700 aircraft of the Luftwaffe. It was the largest invasion force to date.