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WW2 Battles
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Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45),
an American B-29 bomber dropped the worlds first
deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of
Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of
the city and immediately killed 80,000 people
tens of thousands more would later die of
radiation exposure. Three days later, a second
B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing
an estimated 40,000 people. Japans Emperor
Hirohito announced his countrys unconditional
surrender in World War II in a radio address on
August 15, citing the devastating power of a new
and most cruel bomb.
http//www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/287123/The
-Most-Controversial-Decision-The-Atomic-Bombs/
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Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, which lasted from
September 1939 until the defeat of Germany in
1945, was the wars longest continuous military
campaign. During six years of naval warfare,
German U-boats and warships and later Italian
submarines were pitted against Allied convoys
transporting military equipment and supplies
across the Atlantic to Great Britain and the
Soviet Union. This battle to control the Atlantic
shipping lanes involved thousands of ships and
stretched across thousands of perilous square
miles of ocean
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10
Battle of Bastogne
The dawn that followed the dark and frigid night
of December 15, 1944, was foggy, dreary, and
foreboding to the troops of the VIII Corps in
their positions along the front line
between Echternach and just south of Konschau in
Belgium, a distance of approximately 75 miles,
facing the defensive structures the Germans
called the Siegfried Line.  It had been a quite
sector since early October, and the American
front was thinly held, with three infantry
division on the line and an armored division in
reserve.  But it would have been "thinly held" if
it had twice those troops, consisting as it did
of widely separated strong points connected
generally by a few motorized patrols.
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The Battle of Bloody Gulch
The actions of the 507th Parachute Infantry
Regiment during the Graignes incident (better
known as the Battle of Graignes) south-west of
Carentan, played a part in the successful capture
of Carentan and the Battle of Bloody
Gulch.
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12
Battle of Pearl Harbor
Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds
of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American
naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii.
The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was
devastating The Japanese managed to destroy
nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight
enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes.
More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors
died in the attack, and another 1,000 were
wounded. The day after the assault, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare
war on Japan Congress approved his declaration
with just one dissenting vote. Three days later,
Japanese allies Germany and Italy also declared
war on the United States, and again Congress
reciprocated. More than two years into the
conflict, America had finally joined World War II.
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13
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad, which saw Hitlers
major push for dominance on the Eastern Front,
was marked by terrible losses on both sides. The
Russians alone had over a million men wounded or
killed. Barring their inability to conquer Moscow
in the previous year, the war had generally been
progressing well for the Germans up until this
point, with valuable successes in North Africa
and Europe. However, previously unseen brutality
and crippling losses devastated the German
offensive and severely dented their confidence.
Once their Romanian and Italian allies had been
eliminated, the Germans found themselves
surrounded in Stalingrad, vulnerable and starving
in the rubble to which the Luftwaffe had reduced
the city. Some would argue that the Germans never
fully recovered from this most destructive of
battles one of the bloodiest of all time.
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Battle of Berlin
The last major offensive of the war in Europe,
the Battle of Berlin saw the fall of the German
Army, the suicide of Hitler and the beginning of
the end of the Second World War. The inexorable
push of the Soviet army westwards saw them
advance as much as 25 miles a day before stopping
just 35 miles east of the German capital. The Red
Army then proceeded to attack the city from the
east and south, while a third group devastated
German defenses from the north. The relentless
Soviet army marched ever onwards, causing
widespread panic in the already depleted German
defenses (bolstered by inexperienced Hitler youth
members) and, following fierce and bloody
fighting, took the Reichstag on the 30th of April
1945, more or less signaling the conclusion of
the war.
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Battle of Moscow
Soviet Russias successful defense of their
capital against the German forces who sought to
capture it in 1941 was a major turning point in
the war. Hitler believed that if he could capture
Moscow, the spirit of the Red Army war machine
would be crushed and they would be at the
Germans mercy. However, due to a combination of
fierce and strategically well-executed Russian
resistance (bolstered by reinforcements from the
east) and a terrible winter with temperatures
down to minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit (30C) and
colder, the Germans were destined not to take
Moscow. Losses were massive on both sides. The
Soviets suffered at least 650,000 casualties
(perhaps many more) while in just twenty days of
fighting the Germans are believed to have lost
around 155,000 men a mark of the devastation
they suffered here.
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Artifact 9
The selection of a site for the largest
amphibious landing in history was one of the
biggest decisions of World War II. Allied
planners needed a sheltered location with flat,
firm beaches and within range of friendly fighter
planes based in England. Most important was a
reasonable expectation of achieving the element
of surprise. Five beaches, code-named Utah,
Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword, on the northern
coast of Normandy, France, met all the criteria
and were chosen as invasion sites. On the
evening of June 5, 1944, more than 150,000 men, a
fleet of 5,000 ships and landing craft, 50,000
vehicles, and 11,000 planes sat in southern
England, poised to attack secretly across the
English Channel along the Normandy coast of
France. This force was the largest armada in
history and represented years of training,
planning, and supplying. Because of the highly
intricate Allied deception plans, Hitler and his
staff believed that the Allies would be attacking
at the Pas-de-Calais. In the early morning of
June 6, thousands of Allied paratroopers landed
behind enemy lines, securing key roads and
bridges on the flanks of the invasion area. As
the sun rose on the Normandy coastline, the
Allies began their amphibious landings, traveling
to the beaches in small landing craft lowered
from the decks of larger ships anchored in the
Channel. The attack on four of the beaches went
according to plan. But at Omaha Beach (see large
map), between Utah and Gold, the bravery and
determination of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division
was tested in one of the fiercest battles of the
war. Surrounded at both ends by cliffs that
rose wall-like from the sea, Omaha was only four
miles long. To repel the Allies at the waters
edge, the Germans built a fortress atop the
cliffs at Pointe du Hoc overlooking Omaha from
the west. They dug trenches and guns into the
150-foot bluffs lining the beach and along five
ravines leading off it. As Allied troops waded
into the surf, many were cut down as the doors of
their landing craft opened. The survivors had to
cross more than 300 yards across a tidal flat
strewn with man-made obstacles. Winds and
currents pushed landing craft into clumps as the
men moved ashore. As a result, soldiers ran onto
the beach in groups and became easy targets. Of
the more than 9,000 Allied casualties on D-Day,
Omaha accounted for about one-third. Allied
planners had hoped that the forces at Omaha would
advance 5 to 10 miles after 24 hours of fighting.
Stiff German resistance, however, stopped the
invaders cold on the beach. Progress inland was
excruciatingly slow and painful. The Allied
forces reached their first day goal (dotted blue
line on the large map) only after more than two
days of bloody fighting. Although many died, the
Allies eventually took control of the beach and
fought their way inland
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17
Dashing Through the Desert Operation Compass
Operation Compass was the first major campaign of
the war in the Western Desert. Beginning in
December 1940, British troops pushed the Italians
out of Egypt and drove them back across Libya.
Relying on superior mobility, the British troops
in Operation Compass were able to encircle and
destroy the Italian Tenth Army.
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18
World War II Battle of Gazala
The Battle of Gazala was fought May 26 to June
21, 1942 during the Western Desert Campaign of
World War II. Attacking, Panzer Army Afrika
engaged British and Free French forces along the
Gazala Line. Breaking the Allied position, Gen.
Erwin Rommel drove them back into Egypt.
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Artifact 12
Operation Torch was launched November 8, 1942,
and saw British and American forces land in North
Africa. During Operation Torch, troops came
ashore at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers. Meeting
mixed resistance from the Vichy French, the Torch
landings saw the Allies establish a position in
western North Africa.
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20
Bombing of Dresden
From February 13 to February 15, 1945, during the
final months of World War II (1939-45), Allied
forces bombed the historic city of Dresden,
located in eastern Germany. The bombing was
controversial because Dresden was neither
important to German wartime production nor a
major industrial center, and before the massive
air raid of February 1945 it had not suffered a
major Allied attack. By February 15, the city was
a smoldering ruin and an unknown number of
civiliansestimated at somewhere between 35,000
and 135,000were dead.
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21
Battle of Guam
Part of the plan of the Empire of Japan during
World War II was to capture Guam. By March of
1941, the Empire of Japan was already flying
photo reconnaissance over the island. By
September of that year, the plans for an invasion
of Guam were completed. The US government did not
think it would be practical or possible to defend
the island of Guam if the Japanese attacked it.
Even with the low priority given to Guam, small
steps were taken to increase its defenses. By
December 8th of 1941, George McMillin received
notice about the Pearl Harbor attack. By 827 the
same day, the Japanese were already attacking the
Piti Navy Yard, the Marine Barracks and Libugon
Radio Station as well as Panamerican Hotel and
the Standard Oil Company. The USS Penguin, which
was the largest vessel for the US Navy at the
time, was sunk. By December 10th, the Marines
surrendered after some resistance. The official
surrender came from Governor McMillin at 6 pm
that day. The toll of the Battle of Guam hit the
Guam Insular Force Guards which saw 4 killed as
well as 22 wounded. The US Marines reported 5
killed in addition to 13 wounded while the Navy
reported 8 killed. For the Japanese side, only
one naval soldier died in action while 6 were
wounded. After the surrender, Pfc Kauffman was
killed by Japanese troops. Back in 1938, the Navy
asked for permission for new fortifications on
Guam but the proposal was rejected.
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22
Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the
United States defeated Japan in one of the most
decisive naval battles of World War II. Thanks in
part to major advances in code breaking, the
United States was able to preempt and counter
Japans planned ambush of its few remaining
aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on
the Japanese Navy. An important turning point in
the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the
United States and its allies to move into an
offensive position.
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Battle of Moscow
As early as Jul 1941, the Russians knew the
Germans were going to breach their defenses and
threaten Moscow. On 3 Jul, Lenin's body was moved
from Moscow to Tumen to prevent German capture or
destruction. Little over two weeks later, on 22
Jul, 127 German bombers raided Moscow, even
lightly damaging the Kremlin. As a response,
Moscow residents were ordered to build mock
houses on Kremlin's grounds and paint the
distinct roof of the building in order to blend
it in with the rest of the city. Streets were
also barricaded in preparation of a German
attack. Moscow was proud, however, aided by
Joseph Stalin's propaganda machine. One such
example was the 7 Nov parade in celebration of
the anniversary of the October Revolution, where
Russian soldiers marched straight through Red
Square toward the battlefields to the west.
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Battle of Okinawa
Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of
World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1June
22, 1945) involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S.
Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the
Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air
bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan.
By the end of the 82-day campaign, Japan had lost
more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had
suffered more than 65,000 casualtiesincluding
14,000 dead.
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Artifact 18
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Artifact 19
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Artifact 20
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Artifact 21
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Artifact 22
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Artifact 23
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Back Wall Artifact
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