WWII+Turning+Points

World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Germany. From there in Europe things went downhill, pretty soon only Britain was left fighting Germany and they needed help. Across the Atlantic, America was at peace and leaving Europe to deal with their own problems, until one event occurred. On December 7th 1941 Japan bombed the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This is a turning point because it made America enter the world on the Allies side and provide help everywhere where needed. Japan was a major power house in the pacific, and wanted more land. They started conquering the land around the island and then eventually wanted Hawaii. They chose to attacked Pearl Harbor first because the American naval fleet was there, and they thought that if they took out the navy in one swift move then America would be unable to fight back and they could take control. This worked for the most part, sinking five ships and damaging 16 others, but luckily the aircraft carriers were not docked. The aircraft carriers could hold off the Japanese while repairs were made to the ships damaged in the attack. This event is extremely important to the outcome of WWII because this is the cause of why America enter the war. If America did not enter the war then who knows what Europe and Asia would look like today. Below is a picture of the USS Maryland and the USS Oklahoma in the middle of the attack on Pearl Harbor. America’s entering of the war was very important to the outcome of WWII. Europe was in drastic need of help and America had an army ready to jump into the war, but the only problem was getting into mainland Europe. On one day more than 175,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, making the largest beach invasion of all time and allowing America to enter the European theater. This one day, June 6th 1944, is referred to as D-Day. This is one of the most important events in the entire war because this allowed America to move into Europe, which needed help. America’s entry into Europe ultimately lead to the fall of Germany. This day was not all positive for the war, there were thousands of casualties for the Allied forces landing on the beach. These great losses were worth it though because after the landing the war quickly ended. Only a little more than a year after the landing happened and American forces moved into Europe the war in Europe ended. The overwhelming size and moral was too great for the German army. Below is a picture of the landing on Normandy. This put me in the perspective of the soldiers that were there. Perhaps the greatest and most long lasting event of WWII was Hiroshima. Hiroshima was a city in Japan that was victim to atomic weapons by the United States. The bomb was dropped August of 1945, and from then on the world would never be the same. This was an unnecessary way of ending the war. This was a turning point not only in the war, but in world history. The atomic bomb was a secret project in America throughout the war. This technology was not necessary for ending the war though. Japan was on the edge of surrendering before the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and conventional bombing was proving to be just as effective. President Truman thought otherwise and dropped the first atomic bomb ever used in war. Soon after a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and these two bombs cause Japan to surrender. This is a turning point in the war because it was a key factor to the surrender of Japan. Hiroshima alone could have ended the war, Nagasaki was more of a power show than anything else, but it not only changed the war. This was a turning point in world history too; it showed the world how powerful America is. Being the only country with Nuclear weapons is a lot of power, and this helped America a lot, but soon after the world would change again. It is also the turning point for an international arms race to get the most Nuclear weapons. If this weapon was never created the world would be very different today. [] This is a clip showing the bombs being dropped on the cities, this helped me see the destruction that was caused and helped me see how it was a major factor in the ending of the war. This is a map of Europe during Pearl Harbor and D-Day. The black is Germany land, so you can see that they had taken control of Europe. Normandy is in the north of France, on the map there is an explosion where it is.

Bibliography "Untitled Document." //Warriner Primaries Home Page//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. . "Pearl Harbor: The Day of Infamy, 7 December 1941 ." //Military History Encyclopedia on the Web//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. .

Timeline: June 29, 1919: treaty of Versailles January 30, 1933: Hitler becomes leader of germany September 30, 1938: Munich Agreement September 1, 1939: invasion of Poland March 1941: Lend-Lease Act June 22, 1941- December 5, 1941: Operation Barbarossa- December 7 1941: Pearl Harbor June 4, 1942: Midway July 17, 1942: Stalingrad June 6, 1944**:** D-Day January 31, 1943: German surrenders at Stalingrad May 8, 1945: VE day August 6th, 1945: the Atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima August 9, 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki August 14, 1945: Japanese Surrender August 15, 1945: VJ day declared