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Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria. By 1937, Japan controlled large sections of China, and accusations of war crimes against the Chinese became commonplace. Japan wanted to expand their empire. They already had control of the Manchuria railroad, and they claimed Chinese soldiers had sabotaged it and the Japanese attacked. The Chinese did not fight back and Japan continued to invade the land. The conquest of Manchuria, a land rich in natural resources, was widely seen as an economic "lifeline" to save Japan from the effects of the Great Depression, generating much public support. It led to the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. Japan needed a reason to invade China, but they did not want to outright invade China.

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A week after the Nazi Soviet Pact the invasion of Poland occurred on September 1, 1939. The Germans brought troops, trucks, and tanks across the border. German aircraft and artillery bombed Poland's capital, Warsaw. Germany invaded Poland to regain lost territory and ultimately rule their neighbor to the east. The German invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war–what would become the “Blitzkrieg” strategy.

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The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands during the Second World War. On 3 September 1939, France had declared war on Germany, following the German invasion of Poland. Germany invaded the Low Countries. Their Blitzkrieg attack took place as part of Germany's overall operational plan to attack France and the British troops stationed in France. Both British and Dutch troops put up fierce resistance against the German paratroopers, but it was in vain; the Germans had gained the element of surprise (blitzkrieg) and quickly overthrew the Low Countries as they worked their way up to France. This was important because it set up the French Underground. France was already taken over by Germany, but the  French Underground was against the Germans which angered them. They were eventually able to tell the Allies what Germany was doing in France and it kept Germany moving forward and on the attacking side of the war.

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After the failure of the Maginot line in early May of 1940, a full-scale defense barrier along the German border, the French were abandoned by British troops to face German invaders at Dunkirk. Allied soldiers were forced to evacuate Dunkirk harbor because the British, French, and Belgian troops were blocked by German forces during the Battle of Dunkirk. The French resistance lasted 10 days; on June 14th, the French surrendered. If the British Expeditionary Force had been captured, it would have meant the loss of Britain's only trained troops and the collapse of the Allied cause. The successful evacuation was a great boost to civilian morale, and created the 'Dunkirk spirit' which helped Britain to fight on in the summer of 1940.

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The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. The Battle of Britain was a turning point in World War II. If the Royal Air Force had not held off the Luftwaffe, Hitler would have likely moved forward with his Operation Sea Lion invasion of the British Isles.. With this being said, it also enabled the Americans to establish a base of operations in England to invade Normandy on D-Day in 1944.

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The Germans invaded Greece and Yugoslavia and overran both countries within a month, despite British aid to Greece in the form of an expeditionary corps. Greece itself was occupied and divided between Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria, while the King and the government fled into exile in Egypt.

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Hitler, drawn to the idea of ending communism in Europe, taking the Soviet Union's raw resources and overpowering Stalin, began Operation Barbarossa. Three million Germans charged into the Soviet Union, starting a new blitzkrieg. Two and a half million Russian soldiers were pushed back and along the way they burned factories and crops, preventing the Germans from taking them. The Nazis, ready to invade Moscow and Leningrad, were delayed by Russia's harsh winter, which killed thousands of Germans. Operation Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, for its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources. The Germans had serious deficiencies.

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Surprise on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii had received intel that there might be an attack but didn't know where. Within 2 hours sunken 19 ships more than 2,300 Americans killed congress accepted Roosevelt's request to declare war on Japan. Kamikaze planes ran into ships killing many. Pearl Harbor was the most important American naval base in the Pacific and home to the US Pacific Fleet. In strategic terms, the Japanese attack failed. Most of the US fleet and aircraft carriers were not present at the time of the attack.

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The Philippines campaign, also known as the Battle of the Philippines or the Fall of the Philippines was the invasion of the Philippines by Imperial Japan and the defense of the islands by United States and Philippine forces during the Second World War. The importance of this location forced the United States to call Army General Douglas MacArthur, who had retired in the Philippines, to serve in the Filipino Army as a field marshal.

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The Battle of Bataan was fought by the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth against Japan during World War II. The battle represented the most intense phase of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II. The Battle of Bataan was the first major land battle for the Americans in World War II and one of the most-devastating military defeats in American history. The force on Bataan, numbering some 76,000 Filipino and American troops, is the largest army under American command ever to surrender.

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The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first air operation to strike the Japanese archipelago. This was significant because it was the first air operation to strike the Japanese archipelago. It demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attack, served as retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and provided an important boost to American morale.

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This battle was fought in the water southeast of the Solomon Island and eastward from New Guinean, the first of the pacific war. The battle resulted from Japanese naval operation intended to capture Port Moresby. The Japanese's intended to place an air base there which would threaten Australia and help them with further plans. The United States attack the Japanese invaders and they withdrew. It was between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia.

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The Japanese, who had been invading Asia and the Pacific, had their eyes set on Midway to use as a base and a way to destroy the US Pacific fleet. On account of good communication, the US Pacific fleet managed to sneak up on the Japanese and destroy four Japanese carriers. After this, the Allies now had the offensive, rather than the Japanese. The Battle of Midway became one of the most important American naval victories of World War II. Code-breakers were able to decipher Japanese naval code, allowing American leaders to anticipate Japanese maneuvers. The U.S. Navy was then able to launch a surprise attack on the larger Japanese fleet in the area.

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In order to eliminate the advantage of Japanese islands in the Pacific, the U.S. adopted an "island hopping" strategy and staged an American offensive on a location embedded in the Solomon islands named Guadalcanal in the summer of 1942. This cruel battle lasted over six months, where sickness and unrelenting heat diseased the premise. Japan lost 25,000 men during this six month period as well as the battle itself, Japan's first territorial loss since the start of the war. The Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater. Strategically, possession of a Guadalcanal air base was important to control the sea lines of communication between the United States and Australia.

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During this major battle, Nazi Germany and his allies fought the Soviet Union for control over the city Stalingrad, named after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, located in southwestern Russia. The battle began with bombardment by Germany's Luftflotte 4, the most powerful air force unit. Stalin then rushed troops to protect the River Volga but the Luftflotte had already destroyed Soviet ferries and callously swept citizens of the Volga, resulting in an evacuation that was discouraged by Stalin because he was afraid the crowd of civilians would call unnecessary attention. The Soviet counter offensive eventually captured Berlin in 1945. By cleverly using a German tactic, the Soviets attacked the flanks of the German Army, turning the tide and marking some of the last days of Nazi Germany glories. The Battle of Stalingrad was a significant factor that supported an Allied victory during World War Two. The first reason is that the Battle of Stalingrad marked the end of Germany's advances into eastern Europe and Russia. The second reason is that this battle was the first major German loss during World War II.

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The Battle of El Alamein marked the culmination of the World War II North African campaign between the British Empire and the German-Italian army. Deploying a far larger contingent of soldiers and tanks than the opposition, British commander Bernard Law Montgomery launched an infantry attack at El Alamein. The Second Battle of El Alamein was a turning point in the North African campaign. It ended the long fight for the Western Desert, and was the only great land battle won by the British and Commonwealth forces without direct American participation.

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Operation Torch was the Anglo-American invasion of French Morocco and Algeria during the North African Campaign of World War II. It resulted from an uneasy compromise between the Western Allies, and was intended to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union by imperiling Axis forces in the region and by enabling an invasion of Southern Europe in 1943. Operation Torch was significant because it marked the largest American campaign to date in the Atlantic theater, and the first major operation carried out jointly and combined by the United States and the United Kingdom during World War II. It opened a "second front"; access to Italy for Allies and Europe; British/American forces combine for first major victory.

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The Battle of the Atlantic was the struggle between the Allied and German forces for control of the Atlantic Ocean. The Allies needed to keep the vital flow of men and supplies going between North America and Europe, where they could be used in the fighting, while the Germans wanted to cut these supply lines. To do this, German submarines, called U-boats, and other warships prowled the Atlantic Ocean sinking Allied transport ships.The control of the Atlantic had a major impact on the outcome of the war. Keeping Britain supplied helped to keep the Germans from taking over all of Western Europe. The losses in the battle were staggering. Over 30,000 sailors were killed on each side.

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The Battle of Kursk occurred in July 1943 around the Soviet city of Kursk in western Russia, as Germany launched Operation Citadel, Hitler’s response to his devastating defeat by the Soviet Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad. The battle was Germany’s last chance to regain dominance on the Eastern Front during World War II and would be their final blitzkrieg offensive. The Battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle in history, involving some 6,000 tanks, 2,000,000 troops, and 4,000 aircraft. It marked the decisive end of the German offensive capability on the Eastern Front and cleared the way for the great Soviet offensives of 1944–45.

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The Battle of Anzio stemmed from the Allied attempt to draw German troops off the Gustav Line during Operation Shingle. An expeditionary force commanded by U.S. Major General John P. The Allies finally broke out of the beachhead in late May, facilitating the advance that led to the eventual capture of Rome. The Battle of Anzio was significant because we were eventually able to liberate Italy from Germany and win the offensive battle.

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D-Day is a military term that referred to the start of the Battle of Normandy in France. It was the first day of the Battle of Normandy. It was the day during World War II when Allied forces invaded northern France by landing on the beach in Normandy. It was one of the greatest turning points of 20th century history. The D-Day invasion is significant in history for the role it played in World War II. It marked the turn of the tide for the control maintained by Nazi Germany; less than a year after the invasion, the Allies formally accepted Nazi Germany's surrender.

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The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar, and Luzon, between the combined American and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy. The United States troops invaded the island of Leyte as part of a strategy aimed at isolating Japan from the countries it had occupied in South East Asia, and depriving its forces and industry of its oil supplies. The IJN mobilized nearly all of its remaining major ships as well as some of the first Japanese kamikaze attacks in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion, but it was stopped by the US Navy's 3rd and 7th Fleets. Japan failed to achieve its objective, suffered very heavy losses, and never sailed to battle afterwards for its surviving ships were deprived of fuel and remained at their bases for the rest of the war. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was significant because it was a decisive air and sea battle of World War II that crippled the Japanese Combined Fleet, permitted U.S. invasion of the Philippines, and reinforced the Allies' control of the Pacific.

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The battle for the liberation of Manila was between Philippine, American, and the Imperial Japanese forces is widely considered to be one of the greatest tragedies of the Second World War. One hundred thousand men, women, and children perished. This battle was significant because it was the naval battle of World War II between the Japanese Combined Fleet and the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Known as “the greatest carrier battle of the war,” it accompanied the U.S. landing on Saipan and ended in a complete U.S. victory.

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The Battle of the Bulge was a major battle in the European theater of WWII fought in the winter in which the Nazi armies launched an offensive against the Allies in Belgium but lost. This battle was significant because the Nazi loss sealed the Third Reich's fate-- the Allies were free to invade Germany, causing its downfall.

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The Battle of Iwo Jima is a battle during the Pacific War, as known as the part of World War II. It was a war between the United States and Japan at a small island near Tokyo called the Iwo Jima. The U.S Marine eventually captured the island from Japan. A costly victory for the United States, the battle was one of the bloodiest in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps and was cited as proof of the Japanese military's willingness to fight to the last man. U.S. Marines raising the American flag over Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, in February 1945.

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The Yalta Conference was a meeting of three World War II allies: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. The trio met in February 1945 in the resort city of Yalta, located along the Black Sea coast of the Crimean Peninsula. The “Big Three” Allied leaders discussed the post-war fate of defeated Germany and the rest of Europe, the terms of Soviet entry into the ongoing war in the Pacific against Japan and the formation and operation of the new United Nations. This conference was important because, at Yalta, the Big Three agreed that after Germany's unconditional surrender, it would be divided into four post-war occupation zones, controlled by U.S., British, French and Soviet military forces. The city of Berlin would also be divided into similar occupation zones.

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Okinawa, an island in the Ryukyu Islands chain that was early established as the frontline in the defense of mainland Japan, was invaded by 60,000 U.S. troops that began with an unbelievable amount of naval gunfire. Two United States Marine and two Army divisions landed on Okinawa on April 1st and faced 155,000 Japanese ground, air and naval troops in an area in which many civilians still inhabited. This battle was the last hope for the Japanese and many already knew of the defeat that lay ahead but merely fought in the name of honor. By June 21st, Japanese resistance terminated and troops were surrendering by the hundreds while the U.S. mounted their last attacks. On June 22nd, General Geiger declared that the U.S. had secured Okinawa after an 82-day battle. This battle was significant because it was the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific theater of World War II. It also resulted in the largest casualties with over 100,000 Japanese casualties and 50,000 casualties for the Allies.

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Hitlers Suicide and the German Surrender (1945)

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Hitlers Suicide and the German Surrender (1945)

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For two years, Germany had been demolished by bombs which destroyed military bases, factories, railroads, oil deposits and cities. By March, the Allies had taken over West Germany and the Soviet army had the east, almost conquering Berlin. Axis Powers began to surrender and in Italy Mussolini was killed. As the Soviet army got closer and closer to Berlin, Hitler hid in his underground bunker and committed suicide there. Without a leader, Germany decided to surrender unsure enough if they had the power to win. Hitler’s Suicide and the German Surrender was significant because it led to the end of World War ll. The Germans did not believe they were powerful enough to win without Hitler and decided to back off before things did not go their way.

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As the war in the Pacific continued, the mass of Europe as well as China and the United States called for a surrender of Japan, promising nothing less than "prompt and utter destruction". Meanwhile, American scientists had successfully constructed the first atomic bomb. President Truman chose to use this weapon against the Japanese on Aug. 6, 1945 on the city of Hiroshima. Six days later, on Aug. 9, the U.S. dropped the second atomic bomb, nicknamed the Fat Man, on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Five days later, the Japanese government surrendered. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were significant because they achieved their objectives and it also resulted in Japan's unconditional surrender. More importantly, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ushered in the age of nuclear weapons.

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After American planes dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Manchuria the war was soon to be over. on August 10, 1945 Emperor Hirohito forced the Japanese government to surrender. On September 2, 1945, a formal peace treaty was signed on board the American battleship Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. The Japanese surrendering was significant because if they hadn’t surrendered, the US would have continued to bomb Japanese cities. There was a third atomic bomb being readied at Tinian, and conventional bombing had been very effective. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated.