Ww2

September 1,1939: German invasion of Poland

On September 1, 1939 German troops invaded Poland on three fronts; East Prussia in the north, Germany in the west and Slovakia in the south. Germany had 2600 tanks against the Polish 180, and over 2000 aircraft against the Polish 420. Their "Blitzkrieg," tactics of war first caught the Poles off guard. German armored columns burst through war saw which wan bombed on September 25, 1939. With in a few days western Poland became a Reich Protectorate. Finally on September 17, 1939 Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East, and by the end of the month Poland had been partitioned between Germany and the USSR.

The invasion of Poland is significant in World War two since it started the big war, which engulfed every country in the world, took millions of lives, and caused loss of immeasurable wealth. If Germany had not invaded Poland, the Soviet Union wouldn't have ventured into the war, and it wouldn't have started the chain of military expansion.

June 10, 1940: Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain began in the air on June 10, 1940, with attacks on costal ports and shipping. The German strategy was to bring the royal air force to battle over the English channel, when this did not work, Luftwaffe attacks moved inland to eliminate British fighter bases protecting the coast. But, the eight gun hurricane and spit fire fighters proved too much for the Messerschmidts and Stukas of Germany. The German bombers operating of a maximum range were often left with out fighter escort over targets, which made them vulnerable to the British fighters. One more disadvantage, the German had, was that the British had a chain of radar stations along the coast which gave them reasonable warnings of any enemy raids and even gave time to pilots for addition rest. Even so, it was a close battle with both air fleets losing

approximately the same number of machines, but losing

airplanes was not a problem as they were being replaced at a marvelous speed. It was the loss of trained pilots which was a concern for both sides. A misdirected German bombing rate on London resulted in retaliatory raid on Berlin. The London raid was aimed at causing panic among the British civilians but instead it hardened the British to resolve the fight till the end.

The battle of Britain was significant in World War two because it prevented Germany from gaining control over all of Western Europe. After Germany occupied France it only needed to capture Britain to assume supreme status, but the fall of Germany in the battle of Britain proved what Britain was capable of and that Germany could not invade every country and win.

June 22, 1941: German invasion of USSR

German invasion of the Soviet Union code named Barbarossa was Germany's attempt to crush Soviet Union. On June 22, 1941, German armies poured into the Soviet Union, and on the first day the Panzers forced their way behind Soviet lines and took all designated targets. The German Stuka dive bombers destroyed Soviet defenses, and with in weeks German's had whipped out 5000 aircraft, 15000 tanks and entire Soviet armies. The German Northern army group reached Leningrad, the second most important city of USSR after Moscow and captured, but the German's were never strong enough to maintain the hold of the city and lifted the siege after 30 months in January 1944. Much of the damage to the Red army of the USSR was done when Germany's central army group fought its way across Ukraine. Germany went ahead capturing Sevastopol in the Crimea and decided to attack Moscow in the last week of October, 1941. The German troops were in the suburbs of Moscow trying to encircle the city by December, but harch weather conditions and lack of food, and winter clothing supply prevented Germans from capturing Moscow even though there were just 5 km to cover.

German invasion of the USSR is significant in World War two, since it put the Germans in an insecure position. The German dream to crush the Soviet Union was left unfulfilled, which strengthened the allies position, and weakened Germany. This also proved that in spite of Germany's various victories, Germans were incapable of fighting a prolonged war.

October, 1942: Battle of El Alamein

The Battle of El Alamein, which was fought in the desert of North Africa, is seen as one of the decisive victories of World War two. The Battle of El Alamein was fought mainly between two commanders- Bernard Montgomery of the British eighth army and General Rommel of Afrika Corps. The battle lasted from October 23 to November 3 1942. The battle opened on October 23 with a sustained artillery barrage. The initial objective was the Oxalic Line with the armour intending to advance over this and onto the Pierson Line. The first night attac on October 25-26 was a success and Rommel's immediate counter attack failed. By the stage the allies had lost 6200 personnel against Axis losses of 2500, but while Romel had only 370 tanks left, Montgomery still had over 900. Endless small operaton and attrition from attacks by the allied air forces had by then reduced Rommel's effective tank strength to only 102. The second major allied offensive of the battle led by the New Zealand second division began on November 2, 1942, and by the third Rommel had only 35 tanks fit for action. The allied pressure was too great and the German forces had to withdrawal on the night of November 3-4.

The Battle of El Alamein was significant in World War Two, since this ten day battle at El Alamein near the Suez Canal was the beginning of liberation of North Africa. and the Germans suffered a serious reversal in north Africa, which turned the tide of the war. Moreover the allied landings in Morocco and Algeria were to have far reaching repercussions, the most important being the German occupation of the rest of France.

1941-1945: The Holocaust

The Holocaust was Nazi Germany's genocide of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War Two. Nazi racial policies were carried forward with depopulation programs of mass extermination killing more people than fell in battle. The main targets were the Jews, Gypsies, and Slavs in Europe and anyone who apposed the Nazi policies was to be put to death. Leading Jews were identified and asked together their co-religionists with their valuables. Victims were then stripped of their goods and clothing and marched away to be shot, their bodies tumbled into hastily