1. Major Battles of World War II

2. The Battle of Britain July 10th – October 31st, 1940
Britain vs. Germany
Germany blitzkrieg
Use of radar helps
British defeat Germans

3. The Battle of Stalingrad
June
Stalingrad, Russia
Russia vs. Germany
Germans break Non-Aggression Pact
Land Battles
Casualties: 1.5 million
One of the turning points of WWII
Significance: German defeat allows Russians to move toward Berlin

4. D-Day: Operation Neptune/Overlord
June 6, 1944
Normandy, France
Britain/U.S. vs. Germany
Largest amphibious invasion of all-time
- 130,000 troops
- 195,700 naval personnel
- 5 Sections: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno,
Sword
Significance: Liberation of France from German occupation

5. D-Day

6. The Battle of the Bulge December 1944 French/German border
Allies vs. Germans
Officially named Battle of Ardennes by U.S. Army
“Bulge” was initial incursion of Germans into Allies’ line of advance
Germans defeated in land battles
Significance – Death Camps liberated
19,000 Americans dead – 41,493 wounded – 23,554 captured or missing

7. Battle of the Bulge

8. The Battle of Midway June 1942 Midway Island, Hawaii U.S. vs. Japan
Air/Sea Battle
Turning point in the Pacific (Island Hopping)
US Navy decisively defeats Japanese navy
Midway Atoll, several months before the battle. Eastern Island (with the airfield) is in the foreground, and the larger Sand Island is in the background to the west.

9. Battle of Iwo Jima – Operation Detachment
Feb-March 1945
U.S. vs. Japan
Most heavily defended Japanese base
US victory: 6,000 Marines - only 200 Japanese survived out of 20,000+

10. Iwo Jima U.S. flag over Mount Suribachi
U.S. Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery based on the famous photo by Rosenthal
U.S. flag over Mount Suribachi

11. V-E Day May 7-8, 1945 Europe Unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany
April 30 – Hitler commits suicide during Battle of Berlin

12. Battle of Okinawa- Operation Iceberg
June 1945 (last battle of WWII)
Okinawa, Japan
“Typhoon of Steel” in Japanese
Objective: Seize island only 340 miles from Japan (island hopping-land,air,sea)
Fighting in caves/bunkers
30 US ships sunk by kamikazes
High casualties: 100,000 Japanese –
50,000 Allies (mostly US)

13. Battle of Okinawa

14. Hiroshima August 6, 1945 U.S. drops atomic bomb on Japan
- Little Boy dropped by B-29 bomber Enola Gay
- Casualties: 90, ,000 + several hundred thousand due to radiation

15. Nagasaki August 9, 1945 U.S. drops atomic bomb on Japan
- Fat Man dropped by B-29 bomber
- Casualties:
73, several hundred thousand due to radiation
Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 60,000 feet into the air on the morning of August 9, 1945

16. V-J Day August 15, 1945: Official end of WWII
- Emperor Hirohito accepted terms of Potsdam Declaration
Formal signing took Tokyo Bay on battleship USS Missouri on September 2, 1945