Battles in World War II
Pacific Front-The Pacific War started on the December 7, 1941. On that day Japan invaded Thailand and attacked Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong which were in British control. In June 1942 the U.S. Navy had won the Battle of Midway. The Japanese Navy was forced back because of the damage that the U.S. Navy had caused. When this happened the Allied forces began to slowly gain Navy force in the Pacific. Although the Japanese had taken major hits in their military and naval forces they still managed to hold their position in China until 1945. In late 1944, American forces freed the Philippines and began bombing Japan. At this time the Japanese had started to use suicidal air attacks known as kamikazes. It was very effective and had a tolling cost of American deaths.
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Pearl Harbor-The Pearl Harbor attack was on December 7, 1941. That day, over a hundred Japanese fighter planes flew under the radar to the base near Honolulu, Hawaii. The attack destroyed nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. Even more soldiers and sailors had been killed and injured. The day after the attack President Roosevelt had declared war on Japan. Three days after Roosevelt declared war, Axis forces Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. Then after 2 years of WWII, the U.S. had finally joined the war. Pearl Harbor is said to be the most influential attack for the U.S. joining the war
Battle of Iwo Jima- The Battle of Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945. The American`s goal was to take control of a Japanese military base near the coast of Iwo Jima. It was a perfect location for the U.S. to drop off troops and supplies. It was defended by nearly 23,000 Japanese troops, who had secrets all throughout the island. They had tunnels dug underground and hidden artillery. It was attacked by 3 U.S. military divisions whom had used bombs and shells to try and flush out the Japanese defenders. In the battle more than 5,900 American soldiers were found dead and 17,400 wounded. The battle had ended on March 26, 1945.
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D-Day- The Battle of Normandy, also known as D-Day started on June 6, 1944. It was when more than 150,000 Allied forces stormed the heavily fortified coast of Normandy, France. The battle was one of the largest and most important battles in WWII. More than an estimated 4,000 Allied troops had died in the more than 150,000 soldier battalion. By June 11, the beaches were in Allied possession and over 326,000 troops and more than 50,000 vehicles were patrolling the area. The Allies had been proclaimed victorious on June 30, 1944. Following the battle the Allies had reached the Seine River and Paris was set free from Nazi Germany`s control.
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