course & turning point of ww2

Winston Churchill

The British Prime Minister who refused to compromise with Nazi Germany and believed he could lead Britain to victory

Battle of Britain

Germany's 1940 attempt to defeat Britain primarily using intense air attacks instead of a ground invasion

Royal Air Force (RAF)

The British military aviation branch that successfully defended the country from heavy German bombing

How did radar impact the Battle of Britain?

It provided crucial early warnings when German aircraft approached giving the RAF time to intercept them

Operation Barbarossa

The massive and sudden German invasion of the Soviet Union launched on June 22 1941

World War II Alliance System

The war was fought between the Axis Powers (Germany Italy Japan) and the Allied Powers (Britain France USSR USA)

Attack on Pearl Harbor

A surprise Japanese military strike on December 7 1941 that forced the United States to join the war on the side of the Allies

Which Pacific territories did Japan conquer between 1941 and early 1942?

Japanese forces took control of the Philippines Malaya Singapore Hong Kong and the Dutch East Indies

Why did Hitler declare war on the United States in December 1941?

He declared war shortly after the US declared war on Japan following the Pearl Harbor attack making it a truly global conflict

Battle of Stalingrad

A major turning point lasting from August 1942 to February 1943 where the Soviet Union claimed victory and forced a massive German retreat

Scorched Earth Policy

A military strategy where retreating armies destroy their own resources to starve the enemy which Stalin eventually ordered to end

Battle of Midway

A crucial turning point in the Pacific on June 4 1942 where the US Navy decisively destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers

Allied Invasion of Italy

A 1943 campaign that successfully led to the fall of dictator Benito Mussolini and forced Germany to fight on an entirely new front

Battle of Leningrad

A brutal 900-day German siege of a major Soviet city resulting in massive civilian starvation and suffering

Battle of Kursk

Fought in July 1943 it was the greatest tank battle in history and permanently ended German offensive power in the East

Blitzkrieg

Hitler's lightning war strategy that used fast and highly coordinated attacks with airplanes and tanks to quickly overwhelm enemies like Poland

The Phony War

A quiet period from October 1939 to April 1940 where Anglo-French forces waited behind defenses hoping Germany would stop its aggression

Maginot Line

A massive series of French concrete and steel fortifications armed with heavy artillery designed to block a potential German invasion

Why did Germany launch the Scandinavian Campaign in 1940?

They invaded Denmark and Norway to gain strategic naval bases and secure vital iron ore supplies from Sweden

How did Germany defeat France in 1940?

They invaded the Benelux countries in May 1940 to completely bypass the heavily fortified Maginot Line and strike France from the north

Vichy France

The authoritarian puppet regime established by Henri Petain after France officially surrendered to Germany on June 22 1940

Battle of Normandy (D-Day)

The massive Allied amphibious invasion of Nazi-occupied France that took place on June 6 1944

Why was D-Day essential to the Allied war effort?

It successfully opened a desperately needed second front in Western Europe to relieve military pressure on the Soviet Union

Battle of Berlin

The final major European battle in April 1945 where advancing Allied forces utterly destroyed the German capital

Hitler's Death

The Nazi dictator committed suicide in his underground Berlin bunker in April 1945 as Allied forces closed in

VE Day

Standing for Victory in Europe Day on May 8 1945 it officially marked the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany

What were the devastating effects of the war in Europe by 1945?

The continent was completely destroyed in terms of infrastructure and an estimated 20 million or more people had died

Battle of Okinawa

Recognized as the bloodiest battle of the Pacific theater as American forces pushed dangerously close to the Japanese mainland

Hiroshima

The Japanese city where the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on August 6 1945

Nagasaki

The Japanese city targeted by the second United States atomic bomb dropped on August 9 1945

VJ Day

Standing for Victory over Japan Day on September 2 1945 it marked Japan's official surrender and the absolute end of World War II