Non-aggression Pact signed with the Soviet Union, intended to keep Britain out of the war.

Unexpected merge of two ideological opposites

Massive defensive fortification structure from France

Response to WW1 trauma

German's used the Ardennes Forest to avoid French fighting positions

Limited effectiveness to modern warfare

May 1940

Having extensive defenses, and a significantly larger army, the French were caught off guard by the German invasion

Using Blitzkrieg tactics, the Germans dismantled the Maginot line, and within a matter of weeks moved into Paris, and France fell.

The fall of France brought Vichy France, a German puppet state

Spring 1940

Evacuation of British and Allied forces from the beaches of Dunkirk, France.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers surrounded

Over 9 days, Operation Dynamo rescued around 338,000 soldiers and evacuating them despite the air raids

Large morale boost

July-October 1940

British RAF and German Luftwaffe fight for aerial superiority over Britain

Meant to secure aerial superiority for an invasion

Despite being massively outnumbered, skilled RAF pilots successfully repelled German air forces

First major German defeat

Nightly bombing raids from Germans

New technology

• Enigma Cipher

• Radar

Nazi invasion of Soviet Union

June 22, 1941

Largest military operation in history (at the time)

Germans using similar Blitzkrieg tactics to French invasion, encircled hundreds of thousands of soldiers at a time, capturing them

Scorched earth back to Leningrad

THE WINTER

Soviet troops and Advisors from the Siberian front came to front lines during winter, and pushed German advance to a halt

Massive strategic German failure

August 23 1942 - February 2 1943

Strategic city

Soviet's simply threw bodies at the battle

City bombed to rubble

1 million Soviet deaths

99% destroyed city

One of the bloodiest battles in history

Now Volgograd

Soviets surrounded the entire German 6th army, using harsh winter and supply shortages weakened Germans

Devastating defeat for Germany

December 7th 1941

Japanese surprise attack on the US in retaliation for cutting off their oil supply

19 American ships sunk or damaged

Death of 2,400 Americans

Led to US declaration of war on Japan

Entry of the US into WW2

• German declaration of war towards US aswell

Did not destroy American repair shops, and Fuel-Oil tanks

No american carriers at pearl harbor that day

Led to modern day policy of a docked navy

• The entire fleet cannot port at once, some must always be at sea in the event of an attack

June 6, 1944

Pushed into Paris, and freed France

French Liberation provided foothold against German army

Grueling intense battles with Germans

Paris liberated, August 1944

Battle of Berlin

• Final major offensive of WW2 in the European theatre

• Capture of Berlin by Soviet forces

• April 16 - May 2 1945

• Adolf Hitler remained in his bunker, and committed suicide on April 30th

• Surrender of German forces

• End of European war

• Collapse of the Third Reich

June 4 - June 7 1945

Midway Attoll

US broke Japanese naval codes, and anticipated the attack

Devastating defeat for Japan

4 carriers lost for Japan

Enabled allies to push further into the pacific

Japan hoped to take out the entire US fleet

August 7 1942 to February 9 1943

First major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan

The battle was had heavy casualties, intense jungle warfare, and naval clashes around the nearby waters

February – June 1945

Formidable Japanese defenses

Heavy casualties

One of the most iconic photos in US history, the photograph of the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi, became a symbol of American resilience and sacrifice was taken on Iwo Jima

Manhattan project was top-secret development of Atomic Bombs

1939, brought thousands of the best scientists, engineers, and military personnel to develop the next generation of weapons

Finished at the test of the first atomic bomb, named Trinity in July 1945

Marked the beginning of the nuclear age

August 6th & 9th 1945

President Truman informed an invasion of Japan might cost a million lives

Dropping the bomb would be the quickest possible end to war

Approximately 140,000+ Japanese civilians died in the atomic bomb

• Still less deaths than Japanese deaths during the Tokyo firebombing campaign

Radiation fallout killed more

Led to Japanese surrender

"Little Boy" dropped from "Enola Gay" and "Fat Man"

August 14, 1945

Iconic photo, marking the surrender of Japan and subsequent end of WW2