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This image was salvaged and recolorized, showing the destruction of Pearl Harbor

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Attack on Pearl Harbor December 7th, 1941

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Attack on Pearl Harbor December 7th, 1941

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The picture above is a picture of the devastation brought to Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. At 7:55 A.M., Japanese plane bombers began their bullet rain on the military base. The battle was a surprise attack, hoping to deter the US from joining/aiding their allies across the Atlantic. Many planes, aircraft carriers, and lives were lost. Japanese planes were sweeping down with their explosives and machine guns, destroying everything they could as fast as possible. The US stood no chance as they were completely unprepared. This was a major loss for the US, not only from the devastation of the military base, but the loss of innocent Americans. The next day, the US declared war on Japan. This battle is historically significant as it was a main factor in why the US eventually joined WWII.

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Some time after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese began to work fast, targeting American military bases, primarily in the Philippines. on the 6th of January, 1942, Bataan was attacked. For three months Americans and Filipinos fought bravely, but could not overcome the fierce Japanese fighters. The outcome was the surrender of the US and Filipino army. This led to the infamous Bataan Death march, where roughly 76,000 soldiers were taken as POWs by Japan, and forced to walk 66 miles to Camp O'Donnell. Along the way, they were stripped of their clothes (unnecessarily), bayonetted, beaten, and baked in the sun. This is historically significant because it adds onto the atrocities that Japan did while handling POWs and other acts of unnecessary violence.

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A ship being attacked during the battle.

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Battle of the Coral Sea Explorers May 3rd, 1942

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Battle of the Coral Sea Explorers May 3rd, 1942

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May 3rd, 1942 marks the beginning of the Battle of the Coral Sea Explorers. This battle only happened because the US had cracked the code to Japanese encryption, knowing about their plan to invade Tulagi and Port Moresby. The US intercepted the armada and battled fiercely for four days, although the aircraft carriers never shot at each other. This is because they had only planes fight. This battle is significant because although the Japanese would go on to take Tulagi, they lost so many experienced pilots that they had to cancel many other invasions, such as Port Moresby and Papua.

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The Battle of Midway started early in the morning, on June 4th, 1942. Japan was attempting to perform a surprise attack on an American Base on Midway. After after a quick bombing, they returned to their base to organize for another attack. Unfortunately for them, US aircraft carriers close by were notified and responded quickly, wreaking havoc on the Japanese fleet. This was a major victory for the US, as not only did they lose one tenth of the men Japan did, but stopped Japanese expansion in the pacific, allowing them to island hop and shrink the Japanese territory.

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After a major win for the Allies in the North African Campaign, a large amount of troops were available to fight and already in a strategic spot to hit Europe. After some decision, they decided to attack Sicily. On July 10th, 1943, this plan was put into action. Bad weather almost caused the cancellation of the invasion, but they decided to invade anyway. This worked to their advantage in the end as Axis defenders, mainly Italian and German soldiers, thought no army would attack in such conditions. After 5 weeks of fighting, the Italian Regime fell, which led to Italian forces starting to pull away from Sicily. Hitler forced his army to stay and fight the Allies, although allowed them to make a contingency plan. As the Allies expected to make one final battle, they found that the enemies had left. This is important because it led to a bitter-sweet victory in which they ultimately won, but failed to capturing the Axis army, which if that had happened, would have most likely shortened the war.

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On September 9th, 1943, the Battle of Salerno had begun. German forces, such as the Luftwaffe, had a very weak impact on stopping the Allies from progressing. However, once the Allied forces made it to Salerno, they faced big issues with the mines that had been laid, hindering the landing of planes and naval vessels. To aid in their invasion, they bombarded the Axis army, trying to make it easier for them to land their plans and boats. The German army was very well-prepared. Even though the Allies had defeated the army, it was a costly win. This is historically important because winning this battle was necessary to liberate Italy from Axis powers.

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The aftermath after a confrontation in Tarawa

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In the 76 hours spent fighting in Tarawa from November 20-23, 1943, US Marines were attempted to overtake the island from Japanese control. First, Naval and Air attacks were planned to weaken the Japanese defense for the US Marines to easily take control. This would help in shrinking Japanese control in the Pacific, however the battle was not won as easily as expected. Tarawa turned out to be the most fortified base in the entire Pacific Campaign. Landing was the hardest part, as unexpectedly low tides on the first day led to only 5000 exhausted Marines made it on land, with 1,500 deaths. As the tide went higher, destroyer ships could aid in support fire from far away. After a complete failure at an all or nothing charge from the unwilling to surrender Japanese soldiers, the US finally took control of the island. This battle was historically important as not only had the US overcome the strongest Japanese base in the Pacific Theater, meaning they almost couldn't be stopped, but it gave them another stepping stone to shrink Japanese territoy.

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Allied ships landing Fifth Army troops at Anzio, Italy, January 1944.

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The 22nd of January, 1944 marks the start of the Battle of Anzio. The Allies came in very strong, and within the first day, they had already taken control of Anzio. However, their goal was to get to Rome. The battle had been going on for longer than expected, and it was very costly for both sides. However, the Allies were able to break through the defenses after a long stalemate. It was historically important because it not only led the Allies one step close to liberating Italy from the grip of the Axis powers, allowed closer access to the center of Nazi-occupied Europe, but also broke through the Gustav Line, a heavily fortified blockade, designed to stall Allied progression.

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The Battle of Normandy started on June 6th, 1944. US, British, and Canadian forces landed on five different beach heads in Normandy. This was a huge attack. Over 6,000 ships and over 800 airplanes charged Normandy. Though, this was just the first wave. Several waves of attacks were implemented, including Air, Naval, and Amphibious raids. Eventually, the German forces were overwhelmed, and the Allies took the victory. This is historically important because the victorious outcome for the Allies this battle would also guarantee the end of Nazi Germany, as they lost many resources, men, and strategic points.

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Troops making their way through the frigid temperature

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The battle of the Bulge had it's first gunshots on December 16, 1944. It is notable for the awful winter weather conditions, which was a huge obstacle when fighting this battle. The US army was exhausted but resilient. This battle gets it's name because of how the division between battlegrounds look like; a bulge. At one point, the Nazi army had broken through the bulge and were on an onslaught, and people weren't sure who was going to win. In the end, the US got reinforcements and undermined the Nazis. This battle is historically significant not only from one of the most high casualty rates of the US, 100,000 soldiers, but that WWII ended in less than 5 months after this battle. This battle contributed significantly to the end of WWII.