Major WW2 Events

1. European Theater

1.1. Heavy fighting across Europe, from September 1939 to May 8, 1945

1.2. Allied forces fought Axis powers on two major fronts, the Eastern Front and Western Front

1.3. The air war in the European Theatre started in 1939

1.4. Allied powers won

1.5. Collapse of Nazi Germany

1.6. Collapse of Fascist Italy

1.7. June 22, 1941, Germany on invasion of the Soviet Union

1.7.1. Bloodiest conflict

1.8. United States is 114,000 casualties

1.9. Battle of the Bulge: last of the German military campaigns

1.10. Battle of Stalingrad: Germany defeated by Russia

1.11. Neville Chamberlain: British Prime Minister

1.11.1. Liked a policy of appeasement toward the Fascist regimes of Europe before WWII

1.12. Winston Churchill: led Britain through WWII

1.13. D-Day: Allied invasion at Normandy, France on June 6th 1944

1.14. Charles De Gaulle: Started Free French Movement

2. African Theater

2.1. Italy invaded Egypt in September of 1940

2.2. Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942

2.3. Italy declared war on the Allied Nations in 1940

2.4. North African Campaign June 1940 for three years

2.5. Allied and Axis pushing against each other in desert

2.6. Axis troops surrender in Tunisia in May of 1943

2.7. Allies won, fought because of territory and power

2.8. East African Campaign June 1940-November 1941 Allied vs Axis

3. Pacific Theater

3.1. War between Allies and Japan

3.2. Allied forces were commanded by US General Douglas MacArthur

3.3. Imperial Japanese Navy and Army

3.4. Major battles

3.4.1. Mariana and Palau Islands campaign 1944

3.4.2. Pearl Harbor 1941

3.4.3. Battle of Wake Island 1941

3.4.4. Battle of Midway 1941: turning point

3.4.5. Doolittle Raid 1941

3.5. Japan surrendered September 2, 1945

3.6. August 8th, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria

3.7. Last two major campaigns of the Pacific war were Luzon and Okinawa

3.8. Loss of Saipan precipitated a political crisis in Tokyo

3.9. Massive air battle