World Wars Final

Battle of Philippine Sea- June 1944

(June 19-20, 1944), naval battle of World War II between the Japanese Combined Fleet and the U.S. 5th Fleet. It accompanied the U.S. landing on Saipan and was known as "the greatest carrier battle of the war," ending in a complete U.S. victory. It began on the morning of June 19, when Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo, determined on a showdown with the U.S. invaders, sent 430 planes in four waves against ships under the command of Admiral Raymond Spruance. The result for the Japanese was a disaster: in the first day of the battle the Japanese lost more than 200 planes and two regular carriers; and, as their fleet retired northward toward safe harbour at Okinawa, it lost another carrier and nearly 100 more planes. Having already achieved a great victory, Spruance decided late on the second day not to press his attack further, a controversial decision to this day. During the two days of battle, U.S. losses totaled 130 aircraft and some damage to ships. The poor showing by the Japanese has been attributed to many factors, but two may be singled out for special mention: pilots and their aircraft. Some Japanese pilots went into action with as little as three months of training, whereas many U.S. pilots had spent two full years in training. Japanese planes were highly maneuverable and had a longer range than U.S. planes, but they were inferior in several respects, particularly in their inadequate armour protection and lack of self-sealing fuel tanks. U.S. submarines also played an important but less publicized role in providing U.S. commanders with intelligence of enemy movements and in sinking Japanese ships.

P-51 Mustang

- American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts -The P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean and Italian theaters, and also served against the Japanese in the Pacific War. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed 4,950 enemy aircraft shot down

Nanjing Massacre: 1937

-(1937): Japanese captured Nanjing, massacred hundreds of thousands of Chinese POWs and civilians, raped thousands of Chinese POWs and civilians, raped thousands of Chinese women -over a period of six weeks, Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people-including both soldiers and civilians-in the Chinese city of Nanking (or Nanjing). The horrific events are known as the Nanking Massacre or the Rape of Nanking, as between 20,000 and 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. Nanking, then the capital of Nationalist China, was left in ruins, and it would take decades for the city and its citizens to recover from the savage attacks

Tripartite Pact: 1940

-1940: Germany, Italy, and Japan signed Tripartite Pact, which created Axis of WWII -the Axis powers are formed as Germany, Italy, and Japan become allies with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. The Pact provided for mutual assistance should any of the signatories suffer attack by any nation not already involved in the war. This formalizing of the alliance was aimed directly at "neutral" America-designed to force the United States to think twice before venturing in on the side of the Allies. The Pact also recognized the two spheres of influence. Japan acknowledged "the leadership of Germany and Italy in the establishment of a new order in Europe," while Japan was granted lordship over "Greater East Asia."

Dunkirk May-June 1940

-British at Dunkirk manage to evacuate large portion of their forces (and some French) back to England - took place in Dunkirk, France, during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. As part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defense and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May-4 June 1940.

Operation Overlord- Summer 1944

-During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France's Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe. - the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day). A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.

Rasputitsa- October 1941

-During the Second World War, the month-long muddy period slowed down the German advance during the Battle of Moscow, and may have helped save the Soviet capital.[3] The Germans eventually developed the fully tracked Raupenschlepper Ost artillery tractor, that could cope with muddy conditions much better than wheeled vehicles, even their own extensive number of different half-tracked designs. -o By October 1941, heavy rains (rasputista) turned Russia's roads and steppes to rivers and swamps of mud

FUSAG- 1944 near Dday

-First United States Army Group was a fictitious paper command Allied Army Group in World War II prior to D-Day, part of Operation Quicksilver, created to deceive the Germans about where the Allies would land in France. To attract Axis attention, prominent US general George S. Patton was placed in command of the fabricated formation -a Second World War military deception. Undertaken by the Allies in 1944, the operation threatened an invasion of France in the Pas de Calais region through the simulation of a large Field Army in South East England. Quicksilver formed part of the Operation Fortitude deception, itself part of the strategic Operation Bodyguard plan. The key element of Quicksilver was the creation in German minds that "First United States Army Group" (FUSAG) commanded by General George Patton supposedly would land in the Pas-de-Calais for the major invasion of Europe, after the landings in Normandy had lured the German defenders to that front. (FUSAG was a genuine army group headquarters which later became Omar Bradley's 12th Army Group, but was given a fictitious role and many non-existent divisions for purposes of deception.)

Mein Kampf: 1924

-Hitler's 1924 trial provides first national platform. While in prison, composes his manifesto, Mein Kampf -political manifesto written by Adolf Hitler. It was his only complete book and became the bible of National Socialism (Nazism) in Germany's Third Reich.

Kwantung Army: August 1945

-Kwangtang Army, Japanese military force occupying northern Manchuria, seized all of Manchuria, established Japanese puppet state -August 9 1945: Soviet Union invades Manchuria. Campaign destroys Kwantung Army, Soviets occupy Manchuria and northern Korea -largely responsible for the creation of the Japanese-dominated Empire of Manchukuo. In August 1945, the army group, only around 713,000 (from a previous total of 1,320,000) men at the time, was defeated by and surrendered to Soviet troops as a result of the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.

Jiang Jieshi: 1941

-Nationalist (under Jiang Jieshi) consolidating control of country, building up military. Posed credible threat to Japanese interests in Manchuria -When the Allies declared war on Japan in 1941, China took its place among the Big Four. Civil war broke out in 1946, ending in a victory by Mao Zedong's Communist forces and the creation of the People's Republic of China.

Einsatzgruppen: 1939- Poland invasions 1941- USSR invasions

-SS massacre quads, einsatzgruppen, followed advancing German armies, carried out mass executions of Jews and Soviet communists -units of the Nazi security forces composed of members of the SS, the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo; "Security Police"), and the Ordnungspolizei (Orpo; "Order Police") that acted as mobile killing units during the German invasions of Poland (1939) and the Soviet Union (1941). Originally created in advance of the occupation of the Sudetenland and Austria prior to the outbreak of World War II, these units received orders to confiscate political and governmental materials and to identify and arrest political enemies, including Jews, Freemasons, members of the Communist Party, religious leaders, and those suspected of political opposition to the Nazi regime

Operation Bagration- summer 1944

-Soviets deployed 166 divisions against 37 German (all annihilated) -the codename for the Soviet 1944 Belorussian Strategic Offensive Operation\during World War II, which cleared German forces from the Belorussian SSR and eastern Poland between 22 June and 19 August 1944.[16] The operation was named after 18th-19th century Georgian Prince Pyotr Bagration, general of the Imperial Russian Army who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Borodino. The operation resulted in the almost complete destruction of an entire German army group, with the loss of Army Group Centre's Fourth Army, Third Panzer Army and Ninth Army. It is considered the most calamitous defeat experienced by the German armed forces during the Second World War.[17][18] By the end of the operation most of the western Soviet Union had been liberated and the Red Army had achieved footholds in Romania and Poland. German losses eventually numbered well over half a million men killed or wounded, even higher than the toll at Verdun in 1916

Enigma- developed around 1920

-The Enigma machine, which combined electrical and mechanical components, was descended from a number of designs that were submitted for patent as early as 1918 in Germany and were produced commercially beginning in the early 1920s. -The Enigma machine is a piece of spook hardware invented by a German and used by Britain's codebreakers as a way of deciphering German signals traffic during World War Two. It has been claimed that as a result of the information gained through this device, hostilities between Germany and the Allied forces were curtailed by two years

Winter War late 1939-early 1940

-a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939-1940. It began with the Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939 (three months after the outbreak of World War II), and ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the League on 14 December 1939

MAGIC- Mid 1930s, hit stride in 40s

-an Allied cryptanalysis project during World War II. It involved the United States Army's Signals Intelligence Service (SIS) and the United States Navy's Communication Special Unit

Phony War ("Sitzkrieg") September 1939 (8 month)

-an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there were no major military land operations on the Western Front. It began with the declaration of war by the western Allies (the United Kingdom and France) against Nazi Germany on 3 September 1939, following the German invasion of Poland, and ended with the German attack on France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940.

Lebensraum- 1890s-1940s

-conceptions and policies of a form of settler colonialism connected with agrarianism that existed in Germany from the 1890s to the 1940s. One variant of this policy was supported by the Nazi Party and Nazi Germany -an ideological element of Nazism, which advocated Germany's territorial expansion into Eastern Europe, justified by the need for agricultural land in order to maintain the town-and-country balance upon which depended the moral health of the German people.[5] In practice, during the war, the Nazi policy Generalplan Ost (Master Plan East) was to kill, deport, or enslave the Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and other Slavic populations and other peoples living there considered racially inferior to the Germans and to repopulate Eastern Europe with Germanic people to achieve Lebensraum. The populations of cities were to be exterminated by starvation, thus creating an agricultural surplus that would feed Germany, and thereby allow political replacement by and re-population with a German upper class. The eugenics of Lebensraum explicitly assumed the racial superiority of Germans as an Aryan master race (Herrenvolk), who, by virtue of their superiority (physical, mental, genetic) had the right to displace any people they deemed to be of inferior racial stock.

Rhineland: 1919 (treaty) March 1936 (broken treaty)

-historically controversial area of western Europe lying in western Germany along both banks of the middle Rhine River. -After World War I the Treaty of Versailles not only restored Alsace-Lorraine to France but also allowed Allied troops to occupy portions of the right and left banks of the German Rhineland for about 5 to 15 years. Moreover, the German left bank and a right-bank strip 30 miles (50 km) deep were to be permanently demilitarized. -Adolf Hitler on March 7, 1936, repudiated the Rhineland clauses of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact and announced that German troops had entered the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland

Heinkel 111- summer/fall 1940 (battle of Britain)

-main German bomber (Heinkel 111) not a true strategic bomber; made for ground support mostly. Not armed well enough -Perhaps the best-recognised German bomber due to the distinctive, extensively glazed "greenhouse" nose of later versions — in effect, a "stepless cockpit", with no separate windscreen panels for the pilot and co-pilot apart from the streamlined shape — the Heinkel He 111 was the most numerous and the primary Luftwaffe bomber during the early stages of World War II. It fared well until the Battle of Britain, when its weak defensive armament, relatively low speed, and poor manoeuvrability were exposed.[4] Nevertheless, it proved capable of sustaining heavy damage and remaining airborne. As the war progressed, the He 111 was used in a variety of roles on every front in the European theatre. It was used as a strategic bomber during the Battle of Britain, a torpedo bomber during the Battle of the Atlantic, and a medium bomber and a transport aircraft on the Western, Eastern, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African Fronts.

Supermarine Spitfire- summer/fall 1940 (battle of Britain)

-the most widely produced and strategically important British single-seat fighter of World War II. The Spitfire, renowned for winning victory laurels in the Battle of Britain (1940-41) -During the Battle of Britain, from July to October 1940, the Spitfire was perceived by the public to be the RAF fighter, though the more numerous Hawker Hurricane shouldered a greater proportion of the burden against the Nazi German air force, the Luftwaffe. Spitfire units, however, had a lower attrition rate and a higher victory-to-loss ratio than those flying Hurricanes because of its higher performance. Spitfires in general were tasked with engaging the Luftwaffe fighters (mainly Messerschmitt Bf 109E series aircraft which were a close match for the Spitfire) during the Battle

Benito Mussolini: 1919

1919: Fascism as unified political concept "invented" by Benito Mussolini in Italy -rose to power in the wake of World War I as a leading proponent of Facism. Originally a revolutionary Socialist, he forged the paramilitary Fascist movement in 1919 and became prime minister in 1922. Mussolini's military expenditures in Libya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Albania made Italy predominant in the Mediterranean region, though they exhausted his armed forces by the late 1930s. Mussolini allied himself with Hitler, relying on the German dictator to prop up his leadership during World War II, but he was killed shortly after the German surrender in Italy in 1945.

Manchurian Incident: 1931

1931 Manchurian Incident -Kwangtang Army, Japanese military force occupying northern Manchuria, seized all of Manchuria, established Japanese puppet state -Japan's civilian politicians responded meekly to Army's "initiative". League of Nations voted to condemn Japan -seizure of the Manchurian city of Mukden by Japanese troops, which was followed by the Japanese invasion of all of Manchuria (now Northeast China) and the establishment of the Japanese-dominated state of Manchukuo in the area.

Siegfried Line/Westwall- built 1930s

A First World War line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany in northern France during 1916-17 as a section of the Hindenburg Line. In English the term "Siegfried Line" commonly refers to the "Westwall", the German term for a similar Second World War-era defensive line built further east during the 1930s opposite the French Maginot Line. This line stretched more than 630 km (390 mi) and featured more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps. The network of defensive structures stretched from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the western border of the old German Empire, to the town of Weil am Rhein on the border to Switzerland. It was planned in 1936 and built between 1938 and 1940

ULTRA- adopted June 1941

Allied intelligence project that tapped the very highest level of encrypted communications of the German armed forces, as well as those of the Italian and Japanese armed forces, and thus contributed to the Allied victory in World War II. At Bletchley Park, a British government establishment located north of London, a small group of code breakers developed techniques for decrypting intercepted messages that had been coded by German operators using electrical cipher machines, the most important of which were the Enigma and, later in the war, the sophisticated Tunny machine. The flood of high-grade military intelligence produced by Bletchley Park was code-named Ultra (from "Top Secret Ultra"). According to some experts, Ultra may have hastened Germany's defeat by as much as two years. Every day the German military transmitted thousands of coded messages, ranging from orders signed by Adolf Hitler and detailed situation reports prepared by generals at the front line down through weather reports and supply ship inventories. Much of this information ended up in Allied hands, often within hours of being transmitted. The actual texts of the deciphered messages—the "raw decrypts"—rarely left Bletchley Park. Instead, analysts there sifted the decrypts and prepared intelligence reports that carefully concealed the true source of the information. (Nevertheless, the entire Ultra operation was endangered by John Cairncross, a member of the British Foreign Office assigned to Bletchley Park who smuggled Tunny and Enigma decrypts out to Soviet agents in 1943.)

Okinawa- Spring 1945

April-June 1945: Okinawa Campaign: largest and most costly amphibious invasion of Pacific War o Japan's first large scale use of kamikaze suicide attacks: nearly 2,000 aircraft deliberately flown into U.S. ships, sinking 36 of them, killing about 4,000 U.S. naval personnel o About 90% of Japanese garrison of 120,000 killed, US loses nearly 8,000 ground troops -PRINT CITE Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1—June 22, 1945) involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan. By the end of the 82-day campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties—including 14,000 dead.

"Sickle Cut" February 1940 (occurred in June)

Developed by German Lieutenant General Erich von Manstein, the plan greatly modified the original 1939 versions by Franz Halder of the invasion plan known as Fall Gelb. One way to look at the Manstein Plan was that it was the German Army's answer to the French Dyle Plan. Originally, in Aufmarschanweisung N°1, Fall Gelb, the German Army planned to push the Allied forces back through central Belgium to the Somme river, in northern France, like the first phase of the famous Schlieffen Plan of the First World War.[1] On 10 January 1940, the Mechelen Incident occurred, a German aircraft carrying documents containing parts of the operational plans of Fall Gelb crashed in Belgium, thus prompting another review of the invasion plan. While Fall Gelb was revised by Halder, not fundamentally changing it in Aufmarschanweisung N°3, Fall Gelb, Manstein was able to convince Hitler in a meeting on 17 February, that the Wehrmacht strategy should be an attack through the Ardennes, followed by an advance to the coast

Georgii Zhukov- 1941

During the Winter War, which the Soviet Union fought against Finland at the outset of World War II, Zhukov served as chief of staff of the Soviet army. He was then transferred to command the Kiev military district and in January 1941 was appointed chief of staff of the Red Army. After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union (June 1941), he organized the defense of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and was then appointed commander in chief of the western front. He directed the defense of Moscow (autumn 1941) as well as the massive counteroffensive (December 1941) that drove the Germans' Army Group Centre back from central Russia. In August 1942 Zhukov was named deputy commissar of defense and first deputy commander in chief of Soviet armed forces. He became the chief member of Joseph Stalin's personal supreme headquarters and figured prominently in the planning or execution of almost every major engagement in the war. He oversaw the defense of Stalingrad (late 1942) and planned and directed the counteroffensive that encircled the Germans' Sixth Army in that city (January 1943). He was named a marshal of the Soviet Union soon afterward. Zhukov was heavily involved in the Battle of Kursk (July 1943) and directed the Soviet sweep across Ukraine in the winter and spring of 1944. He commanded the Soviet offensive through Belorussia (summer-autumn 1944), which resulted in the collapse of the Germans' Army Group Centre and of German occupation of Poland and Czechoslovakia. In April 1945 he personally commanded the final assault on Berlin and then remained in Germany as commander of the Soviet occupation force. On May 8, 1945, he represented the Soviet Union at Germany's formal surrender. He then served as the Soviet representative on the Allied Control Commission for Germany.

Douglas MacArthur- 1941-1945

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 - April 5, 1964) was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines Campaign. MacArthur was recalled to active duty in 1941 as commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East. A series of disasters followed, starting with the destruction of his air force on December 8, 1941, and the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese. MacArthur's forces were soon compelled to withdraw to Bataan, where they held out until May 1942. In March 1942, MacArthur, his family and his staff left Corregidor in PT boats, and escaped to Australia, where MacArthur became Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area. For his defense of the Philippines, MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor. After more than two years of fighting in the Pacific, he fulfilled a promise to return to the Philippines. He officially accepted Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945

Volkssturm- October 1944

German national militia established during the last months of World War II. It was set up, not by the traditional German Army, but by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and its official existence was not announced until October 18, 1944.[3] It was staffed by conscripting males between the ages of 16 and 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard. The Volkssturm comprised one of the final components of the Total War promulgated by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, part of a Nazi endeavor to overcome their enemies' military strength through force of will

Guadalcanal- August 1942-Februrary 1943

Guadalcanal, August 1942-Februrary 1943 • Guadalcanal campaign = longest island battle of Pacific War (lasted 6 months) • Guadalcanal: first significant attempt by US to take Japanese-held territory; after victory here, U.S. forces maintained offensive momentum, Japanese forces fought almost entirely on defensive • Guadalcanal = air, sea, land campaign, with several major naval engagements, as well as grueling ground war for island under atrocious jungle fighting conditions • Japanese withdrew after they could no longer keep forces supplied -The World War II Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater. With Japanese troops stationed in this section of the Solomon Islands, U.S. marines launched a surprise attack in August 1942 and took control of an air base under construction. Reinforcements were funneled to the island as a series of land and sea clashes unfolded, and both sides endured heavy losses to their warship contingents. However, the Japanese suffered a far greater toll of casualties, forcing their withdrawal from Guadalcanal by February 1943.

Tarawa- November 1943

In the Battle of Tarawa (November 20-23, 1943) during World War II (1939-45), the U.S. began its Central Pacific Campaign against Japan by seizing the heavily fortified, Japanese-held island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. The 18,000 U.S. Marines sent to tiny Betio were expected to easily secure it; however, problems quickly arose. Low tides prevented some U.S. landing crafts from clearing the coral reefs that ringed the island. Japanese coastal guns pounded the snagged vessels and desperate Marines gave up on freeing the boats and instead waded toward shore-hundreds of yards away- through chest-deep water amidst enemy fire. Despite heavy resistance from the 4,500 Japanese troops dug in on Betio, the Marines finally took the island after a bloody, 76-hour battle in which both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Battle of Britain- summer/fall 1940

In the summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces clashed in the skies over the United Kingdom, locked in the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date. A significant turning point of World War II, the Battle of Britain ended when Germany's Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain's air bases, military posts and, ultimately, its civilian population. Britain's decisive victory saved the country from a ground invasion and possible occupation by German forces while proving that air power alone could be used to win a major battle.

Battle of Midway- June 1942

June 1942 • Japanese still needed to defeat remaining U.S. naval forces. Led to plans to seize American outpost at Midway Island • American cryptanalyst (MAGIC) had broken Japanese naval code, and so learned about Japan's plans • Japanese in Pacific employed 6 to 3 aircraft advantage. A victory for U.S. would be sinking at least two Japanese carriers, while not losing more than one American carrier • Ultimately, Japan lost 4 carriers, while U.S. lost one. Moreover, Japanese lost 3,000 dead, including several hundred highly-trained, battle-hardened, irreplaceable pilot • Midway gave U.S. essential time and breathing room for recovery in Pacific: o America's tremendous industrial advantage over Japan's soon kicked in. 1943-1944: Japanese shipyards produced 7 aircraft carriers. During same period, U.S. shipyards produced 14 fleet carriers (many Essex Class), 9 light carriers, and 66 escort carriers -Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Thanks in part to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to preempt and counter Japan's planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. An important turning point in the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position.

Versailles Treaty: June 1919

Key Points • German Demilitarization • Reparations • Loss of overseas colonies • Demilitarization of Rhineland • Loss of German homeland to France (Alsace-Lorraine), Poland ("Polish/Danzig Corridor") -one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Saipan- June 1944

On June 15, 1944, during the Pacific Campaign of World War II (1939-45), U.S. Marines stormed the beaches of the strategically significant Japanese island of Saipan, with a goal of gaining a crucial air base from which the U.S. could launch its new long-range B-29 bombers directly at Japan's home islands. Facing fierce Japanese resistance, Americans poured from their landing crafts to establish a beachhead, battle Japanese soldiers inland and force the Japanese army to retreat north. Fighting became especially brutal and prolonged around Mount Tapotchau, Saipan's highest peak, and Marines gave battle sites in the area names such as "Death Valley" and "Purple Heart Ridge." When the U.S. finally trapped the Japanese in the northern part of the island, Japanese soldiers launched a massive but futile banzai charge. On July 9, the U.S. flag was raised in victory over Saipan.

Battles of El-Alamein- summer/fall 1942

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 on Oct. 23, 1942. German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel returned to battle from illness and tried to halt the tide, but the British advantage in personnel and artillery proved too overwhelming. After Hitler blocked an initial retreat in early November, Rommel managed to escape annihilation by withdrawing his men to Tunisia.

Battle of Kursk- summer 1943

The Battle of Kursk marked an unsuccessful German offensive against Soviet forces in 1943. With the Soviet line at Kursk protruding into enemy territory, the Germans attempted to attack from different directions. Given time to reposition their defenses, the Soviets held off the offensive before launching a counterattack, and reclaimed the cities of Orel and Kharkov. Facing the Anglo-American invasion of Sicily and the threat of an Italian collapse, Hitler decided to call off operations at Kursk, its failure shifting the balance of power on the Eastern Front to the Soviets.

Battle of Stalingrad- July 17, 1942-Feb. 2, 1943

The Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942-Feb. 2, 1943), was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million.

Polish/Danzig Corridor: March 1939

The Polish Corridor was the issue, or at least the apparent pretext, over which World War II began. In March 1939 the Nazi dictator of Germany, Adolf Hitler, demanded the cession of Danzig and the creation of extraterritorial German highways across the corridor connecting to East Prussia. Poland refused these demands and secured French and British guarantees against German aggression. In September Germany invaded Poland, thus beginning the war. Hitler annexed the Polish Corridor, Danzig, Posen, and districts along the Silesian frontier and placed the rest of the conquered Polish territory under a German governor

Battle of Leyte Gulf- October 1944

This World War II clash followed the Allied landing at the Philippine island of Leyte in October 1944. The Japanese sought to converge three naval forces on Leyte Gulf, and successfully diverted the U.S. Third Fleet with a decoy. At the Suriago Strait, the U.S. Seventh Fleet destroyed one of the Japanese forces and forced a second one to withdraw. The third successfully traversed the San Bernadino Straight but also withdrew before attacking the Allied forces at Leyte. With much of its surface fleet destroyed in the battle, Japan was hamstrung in its ability to move resources from Southeast Asia to the home islands

Type IX- 1935 and 1936

Type IX U-boat was designed by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern United States in an attempt to disrupt the stream of troops and supplies bound for Europe. The extended range came at the cost of longer dive times and decreased maneuverability. It was derived from the Type IA, and appeared in various sub-types

Schweinfurt Raid- October 1943

World War II air battle that took place October 14, 1943, over Germany between forces of the United States 8th Air Force and German Luftwaffe's fighter arm (Jagdwaffe). The aim of the American-led mission was a strategic bombing raid on ball bearing factories in order to reduce production of these vital parts for all manner of war machines. This was the second mission attacking the factories at Schweinfurt. American wartime intelligence claimed the first Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission in August had reduced bearing production by 34% but had suffered heavy losses. A planned follow-up raid had to be postponed to rebuild American forces. As the squadrons rebuilt, plans for the return mission were modified based on the lessons learned. Planners added additional fighter escorts to cover the outward and return legs of the operations, and sent the entire force against Schweinfurt alone, instead of splitting the force. Despite these tactical modifications, a series of minor mishaps combined with the ever-increasing efficiency of the German anti-aircraft efforts proved to be devastating. Of the 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses sent on the mission, 60 were lost outright, another 17 damaged so heavily that they had to be scrapped, and another 121 had varying degrees of battle damage. Outright losses represented over 26% of the attacking force. Losses in aircrew were equally heavy, with 650 men lost of 2,900, 22% of the bomber crews. The American Official History of the Army Air Forces in the Second World War acknowledged losses had been so heavy that the USAAF would not return to the target for four months; "The fact was that the Eighth Air Force had for the time being lost air superiority over Germany".[3] The operation was a failure at all levels. At this time there were no Merlin engined P-51 Mustangs squadrons for long-range escort and the P-47 Thunderbolt was totally inadequate for the job so the bomber formations were left exposed to unrelenting attacks by German fighters; and the improper preparations for the creation of reserves in the summer of 1943 meant that current logistics could not sustain such costly operations. The intelligence of the Allied Air Forces were also flawed. Arthur Harris, Air Officer Commanding RAF Bomber Command questioned the intelligence that claimed ball bearings to be the critical node in the German war economy. Harris refused to cooperate with the Americans, believing ball bearing targets to be a false "panacea".[9] Post-war analysis has shown Harris' objections to be correct.[10] The Germans had built up enormous reserves of ball bearings and were receiving supplies from all over Europe, particularly Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. The operation against these industries would, even if successful, have achieved little.[11][12] By 1945 the Germans had assembled more reserves than ever before.[13]

T-34- 1941

a Soviet medium tank that had a profound and lasting effect on the field of tank design. Although its armour and armament were surpassed later in the war, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential tank design of the Second World War.[5] At its introduction, the T-34 possessed an unprecedented combination of firepower, mobility, protection and ruggedness. Its 76.2 mm (3 in) high-velocity tank gun provided a substantial increase in firepower over any of its contemporaries;[6] its heavy sloped armour was difficult to penetrate by most contemporary anti-tank weapons. When first encountered in 1941, the German tank general von Kleist called it "the finest tank in the world"[7] and Heinz Guderian confirmed the T-34's "vast superiority" over existing German armour of the period.[8][9] The T-34 was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces throughout the Second World War. Its design allowed it to be continuously refined to meet the constantly evolving needs of the Eastern Front: as the war went on it became more capable, but also quicker and cheaper to produce. Soviet industry would eventually produce over 80,000 T-34s of all variants, allowing steadily greater numbers to be fielded as the war progressed despite the loss of thousands in combat against the German Wehrmacht.[10] Replacing many light and medium tanks in Red Army service, it was the most-produced tank of the war, as well as the second-most-produced tank of all time

B-17: introduced 1938

a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry outperformed both competitors and exceeded the air corps' expectations. Although Boeing lost the contract because the prototype crashed, the air corps was so impressed with Boeing's design that it ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances.[5][6] The B-17 was primarily employed by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial and military targets. The United States Eighth Air Force, based at many airfields in southern England, and the Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, complemented the RAF Bomber Command's nighttime area bombing in the Combined Bomber Offensive to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for the invasion of France in 1944.[7] The B-17 also participated to a lesser extent in the War in the Pacific, early in World War II, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields

Norden Bombsight- popular by 1930s

a tachymetric bombsight used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the United States Navy during World War II, and the United States Air Force in the Korean and the Vietnam Wars to aid the crew of bomber aircraft in dropping bombs accurately. Key to the operation of the Norden were two features; an analog computer that constantly calculated the bomb's trajectory based on current flight conditions, and a linkage to the bomber's autopilot that let it react quickly and accurately to changes in the wind or other effects. Together, these features allowed for unprecedented accuracy in day bombing from high altitudes; in testing the Norden demonstrated a circular error probable (CEP) of 23 metres (75 ft),[clarification needed] an astonishing performance for the era. This accuracy allowed direct attacks on ships, factories, and other point targets. Both the Navy and the AAF saw this as a means to achieve war aims through high-altitude bombing, without resorting to area bombing, as proposed by European forces. To achieve these aims, the Norden was granted the utmost secrecy well into the war, and was part of a then-unprecedented production effort on the same scale as the Manhattan Project. Carl L. Norden, Inc. ranked 46th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.[1]

"Area Bombing"

a type of aerial bombardment that targeted indiscriminately at a large area, such as a city block or an entire city.[1] The term "area bombing" came into prominence during World War II.[1] Area bombing is a form of strategic bombing.[1] It can serve several intertwined purposes: to disrupt the production of military materiel, to disrupt lines of communications, to divert the enemy's industrial and military resources from the primary battlefield to air defence, and to demoralise the enemy's population

"Combined Bomber Offensive"- 1943-1945

an Anglo-American offensive of strategic bombing during World War II in Europe. The primary portion of the CBO was against Luftwaffe targets which was the highest priority from June 1943 to 1 April 1944.[3] The subsequent highest priority campaigns were against V-weapon installations (June 1944) and petroleum, oil, and lubrication (POL) plants (September 1944). Additional CBO targets included railyards and other transportation targets, particularly prior to the invasion of Normandy and, along with army equipment,[4]:241 in the final stages of the War in Europe.

Waffen SS- early 1940s

created as the armed wing of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel (SS, "Protective Squadron"). Its military formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and un-occupied lands.[2] The Waffen-SS grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, and served alongside the Heer (regular army) but was never formally part of it.[3] Adolf Hitler resisted integrating the Waffen-SS into the army, as it was intended to remain the armed wing of the Party and to become an elite police force once the war was won.[4] Prior to the war, it was under the control of the SS Führungshauptamt (SS operational command office) beneath Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Upon mobilization its tactical control was given to the High Command of the Armed Forces (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), but it would also remain a "unit of the NSDAP", according to Hitler.[5] Initially membership was only open to people of Germanic "Aryan" origin,[6] the "master race", according to Nazi racial ideology. The rules were partially relaxed in 1940, although groups considered by Nazis to be "sub-human" like ethnic Poles or Jews remained excluded.[7][8] Hitler authorized the formation of units composed largely or solely of foreign volunteers and conscripts. Foreign SS units were made up of men from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium (both Wallonia and Flanders), Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Galicia, Georgia, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia (including Cossack and Tatar, Turkic SSR Republics), Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, Independent State of Croatia, Asian Regiment, Arab Regiment, USA (15-20 volunteers) and a small number of British troops. At the post-war Nuremberg trials the Waffen-SS was condemned as a criminal organisation due to its connection to the Nazi Party and involvement in numerous war crimes. Waffen-SS veterans were denied many of the rights afforded to veterans who had served in the Heer (army), Luftwaffe (air force) or Kriegsmarine (navy). An exception was made for Waffen-SS conscripts sworn in after 1943, who were exempted because of their involuntary servitude.

Crete- May 1941

fought during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany began an airborne invasion of Crete. Greek forces and other Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island.[9] After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered heavy casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would defeat the invasion. The next day, through communication failures, Allied tactical hesitation and German offensive operations, Maleme airfield in western Crete fell, enabling the Germans to land reinforcements and overwhelm the defensive positions on the north of the island. Allied forces withdrew to the south coast. Over half were evacuated by the Royal Navy; the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance. The Battle of Crete was the first battle where Fallschirmjäger (German paratroops) were used en masse, the first mainly airborne invasion in military history, the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from the decrypted German messages from the Enigma machine and the first time German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population.[10] Due to the heavy casualties suffered by the paratroopers, Adolf Hitler forbade further large-scale airborne operations. In contrast, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers and started to form both airborne assault and airfield defence regiments.

Essex Class: 1943-1944

o America's tremendous industrial advantage over Japan's soon kicked in. 1943-1944: Japanese shipyards produced 7 aircraft carriers. During same period, U.S. shipyards produced 14 fleet carriers (many Essex Class), 9 light carriers, and 66 escort carriers -a class of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy that constituted the 20th century's most numerous class of capital ships. The class consisted of 24 vessels, which came in both "short-hull" and "long-hull" versions. Thirty-two ships were originally ordered; however as World War II wound down, six were canceled before construction, and two were canceled after construction had begun. No Essex-class ships were lost to enemy action, despite several vessels sustaining very heavy damage. The Essex-class carriers were the backbone of the U.S. Navy's combat strength during World War II from mid-1943 on, and, along with the addition of the three Midway-class carriers just after the war, continued to be the heart of U.S. naval strength until the supercarriers began to come into the fleet in numbers during the 1960s and 1970s

Kamikaze- October 1944

o Japan's first large scale use of kamikaze suicide attacks: nearly 2,000 aircraft deliberately flown into U.S. ships, sinking 36 of them, killing about 4,000 U.S. naval personnel - suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy warships more effectively than was possible with conventional attacks. During World War II, about 3,860 kamikaze pilots died, and about 19% of kamikaze attacks managed to hit a ship.[1] Kamikaze aircraft were essentially pilot-guided explosive missiles, purpose-built or converted from conventional aircraft. Pilots would attempt to crash their aircraft into enemy ships in what was called a "body attack" in planes laden with some combination of explosives, bombs, torpedoes and full fuel tanks; accuracy was much better than a conventional attack, the payload and explosion larger. A kamikaze could sustain damage which would disable a conventional attacker and still achieve its objective. The goal of crippling or destroying large numbers of Allied ships, particularly aircraft carriers, was considered by the Empire of Japan to be a just reason for sacrificing pilots and aircraft. These attacks, which began in October 1944, followed several critical military defeats for the Japanese

B-29 Superfortress- August 6, 1945

primarily used in the Pacific theater during World War II. As many as 1,000 Superfortresses at a time bombed Tokyo, destroying large parts of the city. Finally, on Aug. 6, 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later a second B-29, Bockscar, dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Shortly thereafter, Japan surrendered.

Precision Bombing

the attempted aerial bombing of a target with some degree of accuracy, with the aim of limiting collateral damage. An example would be destroying a single building in a built up area causing minimal damage to the surroundings. Precision bombing was initially tried by both the Allied and Central Powers during World War I, however it was found to be ineffective because the technology did not allow for sufficient accuracy. Therefore, the air forces turned to area bombardment, which inevitably brought about civilian casualties.[1] "Precision bombing" was notably attempted by the United States Army Air Forces over Europe during World War II, as it was believed that heavy bombers could accurately bomb targets from high altitude using the Norden bombsight. Since then, the development and adoption of guided munitions has greatly increased the accuracy of aerial bombing. Because the accuracy achieved in bombing is dependent on the available technology, the "precision" of precision bombing is relative to the time period. Precision has always been recognized as an important attribute of weapon development. The noted military theorist, strategist, and historian Major-General J. F. C. Fuller, considered "accuracy of aim" one of the five recognizable attributes of weaponry, together with range of action, striking power, volume of fire, and portability

Operation Fortitude- 1944 pre-D-Day

the code name for a World War II military deception employed by the Allied nations as part of an overall deception strategy (code named Bodyguard) during the build-up to the 1944 Normandy landings. Fortitude was divided into two sub-plans, North and South, with the aim of misleading the German high command as to the location of the imminent invasion. Both Fortitude plans involved the creation of phantom field armies (based in Edinburgh and the south of England) which threatened Norway (Fortitude North) and Pas de Calais (Fortitude South). The operation was intended to divert Axis attention away from Normandy and, after the invasion on June 6, 1944, to delay reinforcement by convincing the Germans that the landings were purely a diversionary attack.

National Socialist German Worker's Party: 1920, Hitler 1921

• 1919: German Worker's Party founded in Munich. Re-named National Socialist German Worker's Party - Nazis for short - in 1920 • Adolph Hitler joins party in 1920. By 1921 is leader of party -or Nazi Party, grew into a mass movement and ruled Germany through totalitarian means from 1933 to 1945. Founded in 1919 as the German Workers' Party, the group promoted German pride and anti-Semitism, and expressed dissatisfaction with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the 1919 peace settlement that ended World War I (1914-1918) and required Germany to make numerous concessions and reparations. Hitler joined the party the year it was founded and became its leader in 1921. In 1933, he became chancellor of Germany and his Nazi government soon assumed dictatorial powers. After Germany's defeat in World War II (1939-45), the Nazi Party was outlawed and many of its top officials were convicted of war crimes related to the murder of some 6 million European Jews during the Nazis' reign.

"Happy Time"- 1940-1942

• 1940-1942 = "happy time" for German U-boat crews: Sank 328 British merchant ships between April and December 1941. After US entered war, between January and June 1942, German subs sank nearly 2 million tons of American shipping

Hiroshima- August 6, 1945

• August 6: Enola Gay (B-29 bomber) dropped uranium weapon on Hiroshima, Japan, killing 80,000 (out of population of 350,000) from immediate, blast, fire, and radiation effects -On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced his country's unconditional surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15, citing the devastating power of "a new and most cruel bomb."

Erich von Manstein: June 1940

• Battle of France -Original German invasion plan = repeat of Schlieffen Plan -New plan proposed by Gen. Erich von Manstein: "Sickle Cut" -After leading an infantry corps in the assault on France in June 1940, Manstein was promoted to general that month. He commanded the 56th Panzer Corps in the invasion of the Soviet Union (1941), and nearly captured Leningrad.

Manhattan Project- 1942-1945

• By 1942, American nuclear weapons project began outpacing all others. Why? o Massive infusion of government funding: eventually more than $2 billion allocated to "Manhattan Project" o Program placed under central direction of military (headed by Gen. Leslie Groves) • 1943: British and Americans combined nuclear weapons programs • More than 600,000 personnel worked on Manhattan Project o Weapons research conducted in labs at University of Chicago, Columbia and Berkley o Important components manufactured at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford, Washington o Construction and testing of bombs primarily in New Mexico

Singapore- February 1942

• Capture of Malaya: o British entirely unprepared for war in Pacific o Naval base at Singapore supposedly impregnable o However, Singapore on an island: Japanese seize city's water reservoir; facing civilian catastrophe, British commander surrenders (February 15, 1942). Japanese take captive more than 130,000 British and imperial troops -The Battle of Singapore, also known as the Fall of Singapore, was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the British stronghold of Singapore—nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East". Singapore was the major British military base in South-East Asia and was the keystone of British imperial interwar defence planning for South-East Asia as well as the South-West Pacific. The fighting in Singapore lasted from 8 to 15 February 1942 although this was preceded by two months of British resistance as Japanese forces advanced down the Malaya peninsula. It resulted in the capture of Singapore by the Japanese and the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.[3] About 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops became prisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken by the Japanese in the earlier Malayan Campaign. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the ignominious fall of Singapore to the Japanese the "worst disaster" and "largest capitulation" in British military history

Erwin Rommel- February 1941

• February 1941- German troops (Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps) arrive in North Africa. Begin string of Axis victories there -German World War II Field Marshal. Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel gained immortality in the North African campaign of 1941-1943. Sent with a small German force to help the Axis against the British after the Italians had suffered severe defeat, Rommel-reaching Tripoli in February 1941-was soon master of Cyrenaica and imposing his will on the enemy. For two years the opposing forces alternately advanced or withdrew over the desert, and Rommel's name became legendary-a master of mobile operations who was rapid, courageous, and audacious.

Iwo Jima- February 1945

• February 1945: Iwo Jima campaign = savage struggle for 4-mile long island results in U.S. victory, at cost of 7,000 Marine and nearly 20,000 Japanese dead -The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Following elaborate preparatory air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting, and the battle earned a place in American lore with the publication of a photograph showing the U.S. flag being raised in victory

"Battle of the Bulge"- December 1944

• German attack (December 16, 1944) initially successful, created large "bulge" in Allied lines -In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle's name. Lieutenant General George S. Patton's successful maneuvering of the Third Army to Bastogne proved vital to the Allied defense, leading to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive despite heavy casualties.

Weimar Germany: between 1919 and 1933

• Germany's first republic, full democracy • Revolutionary turmoil in Germany, 1918-1925 • Republic attacked by political Right and Left • Combination of effective Weimar crushing of left-wing militant groups (using Freikorps; comprised largely of old WWI soldiers), and renegotiation of reparations payments, briefly stabilized political/economic situation in Germany • German economic recovery, 1926-29 -The people of Germany blamed the Weimar Republic, not their wartime leaders, for the country's defeat and humiliation caused by the Treaty of Versailles. The Weimar Republic successfully reformed the currency, and unified tax policies and the railway system. Germany eliminated most of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles and never completely met its disarmament requirements, and eventually only paid a small portion of the war reparations by twice restructuring its debt through the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan. Under the Locarno Treaties, Germany accepted the western borders of the republic, but the Eastern border remained debatable for the Weimar German governments

Gen. Bernard Montgomery: El-Alamein- 1942 D-Day- 1944

• July - November 1942- First and Second Battles of El-Alamein: British decisively defeat Axis troops in Egypt with defensive stand in first battle, successful offensive (under Ge. Bernard Montgomery) in second -British Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery (1887-1976) was among the most decorated military leaders of World War II. Tapped to take command of the Eighth Army, he earned renown for his part in the first major Allied land victory at El Alamein, Egypt, in 1942. Montgomery became ground commander of the Anglo-American forces under Dwight D. Eisenhower, and his insistence that invasion forces be increased from three to eight divisions was essential to the Allies' success on D-Day in 1944

Operation Barbarossa: June 1941

• June 22, 1941: Hitler launches Operation Barbarossa, = German invasion of Soviet Union • June 22: Massive German blitzkrieg caught Soviets by surprise, achieved remarkable initial success • Great envelopment battles June-September: Minsk, Smolensk, Kiev result in capture of nearly 3 million Soviet prisoners (including 700,000 at Kiev alone), about 1.5 million Soviets killed • But by October, German advance was slowing considerably, due to: troops' exhaustion, overextended supply line, the weather o By October, heavy rains (rasputista) turned Russia's roads and steppes to rivers and swamps of mud o By November, artic Russian winter in full force • Germans' final push toward Moscow halted only 18 miles away from campital in early December, 1941 • That month, Red Army forces commanded by General Georgii Zhukov launched surprise counter-attack, pushed Germans back 50-150 miles -On June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union: three great army groups with over three million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea, a distance of two thousand miles. By this point German combat effectiveness had reached its apogee; in training, doctrine, and fighting ability, the forces invading Russia represented the finest army to fight in the twentieth century. 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

Operation Torch- November 1942

• November 1942- US and British troops land in North Africa (Operation Torch). After fighting in Tunisia, Axis is defeated and surrenders throughout North Africa by May, 1943 -the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African Campaign of the Second World War which started on 8 November 1942. The Soviet Union had pressed the United States and United Kingdom to start operations in Europe and open a second front to reduce the pressure of German forces on the Soviet troops. While the American commanders favored Operation Sledgehammer, landing in Occupied Europe as soon as possible, the British commanders believed that such a course would end in disaster.[1] An attack on French North Africa was proposed instead, which would clear the Axis powers from North Africa, improve naval control of the Mediterranean Sea, and prepare for an invasion of Southern Europe in 1943. American President Franklin D. Roosevelt suspected the African operation would rule out an invasion of Europe in 1943 but agreed to support British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Deep Battle

• Soviets employed tactic of "deep battle", resulting in destruction of Germany's strongest Army Group o Bagration: Soviets deployed 166 divisions against 37 German (all annihilated) • German resistance in East doomed, but remained ferocious (includes use of Volkssturm -a tenet that emphasized destroying, suppressing or disorganizing enemy forces not only at the line of contact, but throughout the depth of the battlefield. It was a military theory developed by the Soviet Union for its armed forces during the 1920s and 1930s by a number of influential military writers, such as Vladimir Triandafillov and Mikhail Tukhachevsky who endeavoured to create a military strategy with its own specialised operational art and tactics. The concept of deep operations was a national strategy, tailored to the economic, cultural and geopolitical position of the Soviet Union. In the aftermath of several failures or defeats in the Russo-Japanese War, First World War and Polish-Soviet War, the Soviet High Command (Stavka) focused on developing new methods for the conduct of war. This new approach considered military strategy and tactics, but also introduced a new intermediate level of military art: operations. The Soviet Union was the first country to officially distinguish the third level of military thinking which occupied the position between strategy and tactics