1942 The Battle of Midway (turning point against Japan)

1942
The Battle of Midway (turning point
against Japan)

The Battle of Midway

Midway: an American island used as
a refueling station

- Japan attempted a surprise attack
- U.S. broke their code and

launched an attack
- With this victory, the U.S. went on

the offensive

Midway

1942
Germany attacked Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad

Stalingrad: A city that served as a major supply route for the Soviet
Union

- Germans destroyed the city
- Stalin ordered the civilians to remain in the city and use the weapons of

fallen soldiers
- Became a battle fought on the streets and in destroyed buildings
- Winter arrived, and the German army, unequipped for the cold, began

to freeze to death
- Soviets surrounded the remaining German army and wiped them out
- Became one of the bloodiest battles in world history (1.5 million

casualties)
- Led to Hitler’s paranoia/distrust of his generals



Stalingrad

"After lunch on August 23, a colossal bombardment of the city began.
The whole city was razed in just two days. The central district was
destroyed first. We left for a refugee centre – on the next day, our house
just wasn’t there any longer." Boris Kryzhanovsky, memoirs of Stalingrad
resident















Stalingrad

"My dear brother! Sorry about the messy handwriting, my hands are
frostbitten and my head’s confused. We’ll never get out of here. The
breakthrough won’t happen. We’re all dead here – it’s just that we
don’t decompose, because of the Russian frost." Helmut Quantz,
OberLeutnant, January 24



Stalingrad

Stalingrad

“The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses ...
Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous cloud of
burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the
flames. And when night arrives, one of those scorching howling
bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately
to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them.
Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only
men endure.”

1943
Germany retreated from Stalingrad
(turning point against Germany)

1943: Italy surrendered



1943: Italy declared war on
Germany

June 6, 1944: The Allied Powers
invaded Normandy, France (D-Day)

D-Day

D-Day: The first day of the Allied invasion
of Normandy, France

- Largest naval attack in world history
- Led by Dwight Eisenhower
- 156,000 troops
- 5,000 ships
- 11,000 aircraft
- 5 beaches (50 miles wide)

The Nazis had a 2,400-mile fortification of bunkers, landmines, and beach and water obstacles

































D-Day: The Beginning of the End

 Hitler thought it was a distraction
and failed to call in reinforcements

 By the end of the day, more than
4,000 Allied soldiers were dead,
but the beaches were captured

 Less than a week later, the
beaches were fully secure

 By August, France was liberated
 By the following Spring, the Nazis

surrendered

D-Day

July 1944: Tojo resigned

December 1944
The Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge

 As the Allied Powers quickly
crossed France and Belgium and
neared Germany, the Nazis
attempted one final surprise
attack

 250,000 soldiers attacked the
unsuspecting American soldiers in
the heavily forested, snow-covered
Ardennes mountains

 Attempted to split the Allied forces
in half

 A Nazi fuel shortage and General
Patton’s leadership led to an
American victory









The Battle of the Bulge