WWII Starts – Gleiwitz Radio Station

The Gleiwitz incident was a false flag operation by Nazi forces posing as Poles on 31 August 1939, against the German radio station at Gleiwitz in Germany on the eve of World War II in Europe. Under the pretense of this supposed Polish attack Germany attacked the next day.

The Fall of France – Paris – June 1940

Spring 1940, the Germans have invaded France and after the withdrawal of the BEF, Germany launched a second operation, Fall Rot. While the depleted French forces put up stiff initial resistance, German air superiority and armoured mobility overwhelmed the remaining French forces. German armour outflanked the Maginot Line and pushed deep into France with German forces arriving in an undefended Paris on 14 June. France was now out of the war, Europe was under the Nazi Jackboot.

US Joins the War – Pearl Harbor / USS Arizona

The attack on Pearl Harbor was the surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, in the United States Territory of Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States’ entry into World War II.

First Japanese Defeat – Midway Island

The Battle of Midway was a crucial and decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater. Between 3 and 7 June 1942, only six months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor the United States Navy decisively defeated an attacking invasion fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

The Beginning of the End – Stalingrad

The battle for Stalingrad was a turning point on the eastern front, over a million men died in this battle, The German 6th Army was destroyed and the Germans slowly pushed into a defensive role. Pictured is the Flour Mill, before the battle and as it is preserved today.

Liberating Western Europe – D-Day / Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944.

A Major Setback – Market Garden / Arnhem Bridge

The Bridge at Arnhem, heroically defended by the British 1st Airborne division during the failed Market Garden operation.

Crossing the Rhine – Remagen Bridge

The Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen was in early March 1945 one of two remaining bridges across the River Rhine in Germany when it was captured by United States Army forces. After 10 days it collapsed into the river but by then a sizable bridgehead had been established on the eastern bank of the Rhine.

Island Hopping – Iwo Jima / Mount Surabachi

The invasion of Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945, and continued to March 27, 1945. On February 23 Mount Surabachi was captured and the famous picture of the flag raising was taken by Joe Rosenthal 

The End in Europe – Berlin / Fuhrerbunker

The Führerbunker was an air-raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases which were completed in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters used by Adolf Hitler.

The End in Japan – Hiroshima – Atomic Bomb

The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, during the final stage of the Second World War. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history. The use of the atomic bombs caused Japan to surrender, ending the second world war.