Major Events of World War II

1. The African Theatre

1.1. Began in June of 1940 and contiuned for three years

1.2. Axis powers tried to deny the Allies access to Middle Eastern oil supplies.

1.3. Offered the Allies new opportunity to open up a new front against the Axis powers

1.4. It had three phases

1.4.1. The western desert campaign, Operation Torch and the Tunisia campaign

1.5. German and Italians suffered 620,000 casualties

1.5.1. British Commonwealth lost 220,000 men

2. The Pacific Theatre

2.1. Japanese gained control over huge areas of the Pacific

2.2. In the mid-1942 there was history's first great carrier battle

2.2.1. The US Navy checked the Japanese in the battle of midway and won

2.3. After the Battle of Midway, the allies launched a counter offensive

2.3.1. Led by Admiral Nimitz and Marine, the Us engaged in island hopping that would strike the enemy's weak points

2.4. Massive air battles took place on June 19 and the Japanese lost more than 400 planes

2.4.1. This victory paved the way for eventual success in the Marianas area

2.5. New planes called the B-29 allowed the non stop flight to Tokyo and back

2.5.1. They were used for strategic bombing

2.6. Last major campaigns of the Pacific Theater were Luzon and Okinawa

2.7. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were atomic bombed and the Soviet union declared war

2.7.1. The Japanese surrendered

3. The European Theatre

3.1. September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland, marking the outbreak of WWII

3.1.1. UK and France declared war on Germany

3.1.1.1. The Soviet Union invaded Poland

3.2. Germans occupied all the non neutral allied states in Europe

3.3. The axis powers seized control over the European part of the Mediterranean and the Balkans

3.4. Germans invaded the soviet union in Operation Barbossa

3.4.1. It was a failure which opened up the eastern front

3.5. June 1944: The Normandy landings led to the defeat of the German Army in France

3.5.1. Marked the beginning of allied victories against German