World War II - Battles Diagram | Quizlet

Surrender of Japan

1945, signed on the deck of the USS Missouri

World War II in European Theater

A struggle essentially to halt German imperial expansion in Europe, fought by a coalition of allies that included Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

War World II in Pacific Theater

Japanese and Allied forces fight. Americans use island hopping as a strategy

Island Hopping

A military strategy used during World War II that involved selectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others

TERM

Invasion of Poland

DEFINITION

Germany invaded, breaking their agreement, so Britain and France declared war, starting World War II

TERM

Battle of Britain

DEFINITION

An aerial battle fought in World War II in 1940 between the German Luftwaffe (air force), which carried out extensive bombing in Britain, and the British Royal Air Force, which offered successful resistance.

Pearl Harbor

Base in Hawaii that was bombed by Japan on December 7, 1941, which made America declare war on Japan.

Battle of Stalingrad

Unsuccessful German attack on the city of Stalingrad during World War II from 1942 to 1943, that was the furthest extent of German advance into the Soviet Union.

TERM

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

DEFINITION

June 6th 1944, Invasion of the beaches of Normandy France (Largest amphibious invasion ever) commanded by General Eisenhower

TERM

Battle of the Bulge

DEFINITION

A 1944-1945 battle in which Allied forces turned back the last major German offensive of World War II; a final counterattack in the west

Dwight D. Eisenhower

American General who began in North Africa and became the Commander of Allied forces in Europe.

Liberation of Paris

1944: after D-day Allies move towards Paris and Germany gave it up, all signs pointed to German defeat

Battle of Midway

U.S. naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers. It marked a turning point in World War II; a turning point in the war

Battle of Iwo Jima

Lasted 6 weeks, several thousand marines, and more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers were killed, this battle is also notable for the famous photograph of US marines lifting the American flag to a standpoint. Early 1945 battles that showed the Americans how difficult it would be to invade the islands of Japan.

Battle of Okinawa

(1945) World War II victory for the Allied troops that resulted in the deaths of almost all of the 100,000 Japanese defenders; the battle claimed 12,000 American lives. Early 1945 battles that showed the Americans how difficult it would be to invade the islands of Japan.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who loaded their planes with explosives and crashed them into American ships. Japanese pilots did it for the honor and for their family's honor.

Blitzkrieg

"Lighting war", typed of fast-moving warfare used by German forces

V-E Day

May 8, 1945; Victory in Europe Day was the surrender of Germany

V-J Day

August 15, 1945 ; Victory in Japan was the unconditional surrender of Japan and the final end to World War II.

Nagasaki

Japanese city in which the second atomic bomb was dropped (August 9, 1945) making Japan surrender. Fat Man was the nickname for the bomb.

Hiroshima

Japanese city that was hit with the first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. Little Boy was the nickname for the bomb.

Pearl Harbor Attack

Japanese attacked US fleet in Hawaii December 7, 1941