Brendan+K+WWII

media type="custom" key="6103073" It was a surprise attack by the Japanese on the morning of December 7, 1941 on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On December 8, 1941 people gathered around their radios as president Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his speech calling it “a date which will live in infamy”. That same day congress declared war on Japan, and on December 11, 1941 congress declared war on Germany. The Japanese sank or badly damaged the eight ships that were docked at Pearl Harbor. Thankfully there were some ships that were not docked during the time of attack.

Works Cited: // Attack on //// Pearl Harbor //// : Ships, Heroes and Speeches //. Web. 10 May 2010. .

Germans wanted Russia’s resources so they broke their non-aggression pact with Russia in the Battle of Stalingrad. This battle was fought in 1942 and 1943. The one thing the Germans did not expect were Russia’s harsh winters. While they were fighting some of Russia’s army circled up behind the Germans and trapped them, cutting off their connections and making them face the winter without supplies. Hitler ordered the generals to keep fighting “to the last bullet”, but they were running out of supplies. With soldiers afflicted with frostbite and low supplies they had to surrender despite Hitler ordering them not to.

Works Cited: "The Battle of Stalingrad." //History Learning Site//. Web. 11 May 2010. .

D-Day is considered the largest land, air, and sea battle even to this day. The Allied Leaders thought that we had to take care of Hitler first since he was the most threatening because he had taken control of France and he had the resources to attack Britain, the United States, and Russia. The big three, FDR, Churchill, and Stalin had decided that we were to push Germany from North Africa and invade Europe through Italy. The operation was codenamed operation “Overlord”. We sent in Paratroopers first to cut off their communications and then on the day of June 6, 1944 we invaded the beaches of Normandy. By the end of the day the allies had secured the beaches.

Works Cited: "Normandy Invasion, June 1944." //Naval History and Heritage Command//. Web. 11 May 2010. .

Victory in Europe day also known as VE-Day was on May 8, 1945. With this the Soviets were pushing Hitler west out of Russia; Allied troops were pushing north from Italy, and now east through France. With Germans being pushed back to their capital plus the Suicide of Hitler the Germans had no other option but to surrender unconditionally to the allies. The war in Europe was finally over. Works Cited:  "V-E Day: May 8, 1945 — Infoplease.com." //Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research & Homework Help. — Infoplease.com//. Web. 11 May 2010. .

The Japanese were colonizing islands in the pacific to gain power and were spreading to Australia and other American held islands. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the United States deployed troops to protect American interests in the Pacific. At the Battle of Coral Sea ships launched airplanes to fight the battle. This was the first time in naval history that ships fought without ever seeing each other. The Japanese used Kamikaze tactics or suicide missions to fly their airplanes into enemy ships. This battle along with the battle of Midway stopped Japan’s advance towards Australia.

Works Cited: Day, The Next. "Coral Sea; Naval Battle That 'saved' Australia." //Digger History; (ANZAC) Australia & NZ at War, a History//. Web. 11 May 2010. .

After a message was decoded describing the Japanese plans to attack at a little island in the pacific called Midway Island. Because we intercepted the message the navy was waiting for them and we surprised them and destroyed some of their ships. Some of which were the ships that bombed Pearl Harbor. After this battle the allies went on the offensive.

Works Cited: "Overview." //EHistory at OSU | Welcome to EHistory//. Web. 11 May 2010. .

Guadalcanal is part of the Solomon Islands and provided an advantage to both sides. The Japanese could use it to cut off the sea route between America and Australia. If America were to get control of the island we could better protect Australia and protect the Allie’s build up to launch a major assault on the Japanese. The weather provided some problems for the American troops; the heat and humidity caused problems for soldiers carrying heavy equipment. After six months of constant fighting the Japanese withdrew and we gained a secure route to Australia.

Works Cited: Japan, In. "The Battle of Guadalcanal." //History Learning Site//. Web. 11 May 2010. .

The Allied forces had to get islands closer to the mainland so they turned to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. First they invaded Iwo Jima in 1945 this is where the flag was planted on top of Mount Suribachi giving the troops that were still fighting more confidence. In April they invaded Okinawa, it took several months for the marines to take control over these two islands. It was crucial for us to get these islands because these islands got us so close to the mainland.

Works Cited: "Battle of Okinawa." //Military History Online//. Web. 11 May 2010. .

We had to end the war with FDR dying just after inauguration we had to end the war quickly. President Truman had two goals which were to end the war quickly and save American lives. He then decided to obtain these goals we had to drop the atomic bomb. So that is precisely what we did. First on the morning of August 6, 1945 the Enola Gay took off from the island of Tinian and dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, killing off tens of thousands of people in Hiroshima and the radiation killing even more. Since Japan wouldn’t surrender we dropped another bomb in Nagasaki killing more people, The Japanese then surrendered thus the end of WWII on August 15, 1945 which was called VJ day or Victory in Japan day.

Works Cited: Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Hiroshima and Nagasaki." //20th Century History//. Web. 11 May 2010. .