significant events of WWII by Georgiou, Savannah (School SA)

Operation Barbarossa: 22nd June, 1941 - 5th December, 1941

savannahgeorgiou901 — 2022-03-09 02:05:32 UTC

On June 22, 1941, Hitler fulfilled on a long-standing threat. He ordered the German invasion of Russia, breaking a contract he had signed with Josef Stalin. This was a massive decision. Invasion of Russia by Germany would be disastrous for Russian citizens as well as German and Russian soldiers. Due to Stalin's instructions for the arrests of the Russian Army's leading generals between 1938 and 1941, the Russian Army was unprepared and lacked leadership. 40 000 Russian army officers had been captured or executed by the time the Germans invaded. As a result, the German Blitzkrieg pushed aside the Russian Army at first. Russia's lack of preparation for the invasion resulted in humiliating setbacks. The German Army moved 200 miles in the first week of the invasion, destroying 4000 Russian planes and killing over 600,000 Russian soldiers.

Operation Barbarossa: Analyzing the fighting - Part 1 2021, Global Village Space, viewed 9 March 2022, .

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Pearl Harbor: 7th December, 1941

savannahgeorgiou901 — 2022-03-09 02:08:23 UTC

The United States had no intention of joining World War II when it began in 1939. When the Japanese Air Force attacked the naval station at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, it destroyed this sense of security. The location of Pearl Harbor was a long way from Japan's military expansion operations in Asia. Despite tensions over China's treatment, Japan and the United States were not at war prior to the attack. On December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese planes bombed the Hawaiian military base from aircraft carriers, severely damaging and destroying 20 ships and killing approximately 2400 American naval troops. When the ship sank, all 1000 sailors died. The attack on Pearl Harbor was catastrophic, but it fell short of its goal of destroying the American Pacific fleet.

Wikipedia Contributors 2022, Attack on Pearl Harbor, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 9 March 2022, .

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The Battle Of Stalingrad: 17th July, 1942 - 2nd February, 1943

savannahgeorgiou901 — 2022-03-09 02:09:43 UTC

The Battle of Stalingrad was World War II's significant battle. German bombers began by blasting the city into ashes, but when the order to enter came, they were met with fierce resistance. As they battled from house to house, street to sewer, the German Army was drawn further into Stalingrad. They fought without weapons at times. Those who attempted to flee were shot and killed by their fellow soldiers. Each side had lost at least a million soldiers to warfare, malnutrition, and the cold by the end of the battle. Throughout the five-month war, there were numerous acts of tragedy and courage. Vasily Zaytsev, a renowned Russian shooter and propaganda hero, claimed to have killed over 300 German soldiers. Inside the encircled city, 200 000 German soldiers would eventually die from exposure. Only 6000 soldiers out of 91 000 who disobeyed orders and surrendered survived their term in Russian prisoner-of-war camps.

https://www.facebook.com/thoughtcodotcom 2019, The Battle of Stalingrad: A Turning Point on the Eastern Front, ThoughtCo, viewed 9 March 2022, .

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Guadalcanal: 7th August, 1942 - 9th February, 1943

savannahgeorgiou901 — 2022-03-09 02:10:30 UTC

Guadalcanal was a defining moment in the battle with Japan. It was strategically vital to the Japanese because it could be used as a base to attack Australia and the US. Japan had controlled Guadalcanal since May 1942. A battalion of US Marines, the US Army's strongest troops, landed on the island on August 7, 1942, with unexpectedly little resistance. The war that unfolded was a brutal one, waged in harsh and punishing tropical conditions. The war was also fought at sea and in the air, leaving the opposing land-based forces on the island to fight alone. After getting malaria, 2000 US Marines died and over 8000 were evacuated. To capture the airfield, soldiers had to fight uphill, only to be bombarded by Japanese ships anchored off the coast. The marines’ eventual victory in February 1943 would put the Japanese forces on the defensive for the remainder of the war.

Battle of Guadalcanal | Facts, Map, & Significance | Britannica 2022, Encyclopædia Britannica, viewed 9 March 2022, .

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D-Day: 6th June, 1944

savannahgeorgiou901 — 2022-03-09 02:11:11 UTC

On June 6, 1944, the Allied invasion of German-occupied France was historic. One of the various military actions that took place on D-Day was Operation Fortitude. The Allied Forces utilised mock landing craft, fake tanks, spies, false news reports, and double agents to persuade Hitler that the invasion would take place in Calais, France, as part of Operation Fortitude. The invasion of France began on June 6, 1944, with Operation Overlord. 5000 Navy ships transported troops from England to French beaches, while 20 000 paratroopers were launched behind enemy lines in fragile gliders. Despite tremendous deaths from those arriving on the beaches while being shot at by German machine guns before reaching the ground, over 156 000 troops had landed by the end of the day. By the end of June, 800,000 Allied troops had landed. Many soldiers died before they even reached the beach's sand. However, Hitler misread the invasion for a hoax and did not build sufficient defences in Normandy.

What is D-Day 2022, What is D-Day?, The D-Day Story, Portsmouth, viewed 9 March 2022, .

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Berlin In The Last Days Of WWII: 16th April - 2nd May, 1945

savannahgeorgiou901 — 2022-03-09 02:12:47 UTC

This was the world's largest tank battle, with 6000 tanks and over two million troops engaged in a massive conflict that forced the German Army to retreat. The German Army's fighting capacity had been shattered by the time the Russian Army arrived on the outskirts of Berlin in 1945. As Hitler's health began to worsen, his obsession with directing every element of the war led to failures, such as the disastrous defeat at Stalingrad two years prior. The Russian Army arrived in Berlin ahead of the Americans and the British. Refusing to surrender, Hitler suddenly ordered armies that had previously been wiped out to strike and defend Germany in its final war. Hitler had been unwell since the German Army's defeat at Stalingrad. He had been unable to sleep and had grown paranoid. According to sources, Russian forces sexually assaulted at least 100,000 women in Berlin. The German Army formally surrendered to the Allies on May 8, 1945.

Wikipedia Contributors 2022, Battle of Berlin, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 9 March 2022, .

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The Atomic Bombing Of Japan: 6th August, 1945

savannahgeorgiou901 — 2022-03-09 02:13:34 UTC

On August 6, 1945, an American bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the most catastrophic weapon the world had ever seen. The city of Nagasaki was hit by a second atomic bomb three days later. The use of the atomic bomb had far-reaching effects that the world is still dealing with today, although it was used to end a world war at the time. The idea was sparked by the knowledge that Germany was working on a similar weapon. The US did develop a working atomic weapon. A bomber dropped a single bomb on the Japanese industrial city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. In a blazing blast of pure atomic energy, it annihilated 80 000 of the city's 350 000 residents. Japan's surrender was confirmed and it may have brought the war to an end, but the damage it left behind was dreadful.

The Most Fearsome Sight: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans 2020, The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, viewed 9 March 2022, .

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