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Battle of Stalingrad
This monumental battle is justly considered a turning point in the war on the Eastern Front and one of the most
crucial engagements of World War II. The invading Germans saw the conquest of Stalingrad as essential to their
campaign in southern Russia, since from this strategic point on the Volga River they could launch further assaults in
the Caucasus. The Russians were determined to defend the city as a vital industrial and transportation center.
Both Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler understood the symbolic importance of the only city to bear the Soviet
dictator’s name.
On September 3, 1942, the German Sixth Army reached the outskirts of Stalingrad, expecting to take the city in
short order. But the Russians had built up their defenses and continued to bring in reinforcements. In subsequent
days the invaders fought their way into Stalingrad against fierce resistance. This was urban street fighting of the
most bitter sort, occasioning tremendous losses on both sides. The blasted ruins of houses and factories began to
stink as hot winds carried the smell of decaying corpses into every nook and cranny. By late September the
Germans could raise the swastika flag over the center of town, but they could not dislodge the Russians from the
sprawling industrial quarters along the Volga.
In mid-November, as the stalled invaders were running short of men and munitions, the Russians launched a
counteroffensive to encircle the enemy. At this point the Germans probably could have fought their way out, but
Hitler would not allow them to: they were ordered to hold their ground at all costs.. As winter set in a rescue
mission was mounted, but it was halted short of its goal, and the freezing and starving Germans in Stalingrad were
forbidden to try to reach their would-be rescuers. On February 2, 1943, German General Paulus surrendered what
remained of his army-some 91,000 men. About 150,000 Germans had died in the fighting.
The Soviet victory at Stalingrad was a great humiliation for Hitler, who had elevated the battle’s importance in
German opinion. He now became more distrustful than ever of his generals. Stalin, on the other hand, gained
confidence in his military, which followed up Stalingrad with a westward drive and remained largely on the
offensive for the rest of the war.
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for
decades. The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan’s increasingly belligerent attitude toward China.
The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to
expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market; to this end, Japan had declared war on China
in 1937. American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade
embargoes. They reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil,
Japan would have to rein in its expansionism. Instead, the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to stand
their ground. During months of negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, D.C., neither side would budge. It
seemed that war was inevitable.
The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not be able to fight back
as Japan’s armed forces spread across the South Pacific. On December 7, after months of planning and practice,
the Japanese launched their attack.
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 more than 300
airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded.
But the Japanese had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. By the 1940s, battleships were no longer the most
important naval vessel: Aircraft carriers were, and as it happened, all of the Pacific Fleet’s carriers were away from
the base on December 7.
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
Operation Overlord and the D-Day Invasion
Supreme Allied Commander General Eisenhower selected June 5, 1944, as the date for the invasion;
however, bad weather on the days leading up to the operation caused it to be delayed for 24 hours.
On the morning of June 5, after his meteorologist predicted improved conditions for the following
day, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord. He told the troops: “You are about to
embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the
world are upon you.” Later that day, more than 5,000 ships and landing craft carrying troops and
supplies left England for the trip across the Channel to France, while more than 11,000 aircraft were
mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion.
The Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation
of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began
on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces
landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy
region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required
extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to
mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France
had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy
landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.
By the end of August 1944, the Allies had reached the Seine River, Paris was liberated and the
Germans had been removed from northwestern France, effectively concluding the Battle of
Normandy. The Allied forces then prepared to enter Germany, where they would meet up with Soviet
troops moving in from the east.
Battle of Guadalcanal
The World War II Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major offensive and a decisive victory
for the Allies in the Pacific theater. With Japanese troops stationed in this section of the
Solomon Islands, U.S. marines launched a surprise attack in August 1942 and took control of
an air base under construction. Reinforcements were funneled to the island as a series of
land and sea clashes unfolded, and both sides endured heavy losses to their warship
contingents. However, the Japanese suffered a far greater toll of casualties, forcing their
withdrawal from Guadalcanal by February 1943.
The battle lasted for six-months. The Guadalcanal campaign proved to be the turning point
of the Pacific war. By the end of the battle on February 9, 1943, the Japanese had lost twothirds of the 31,400 army troops committed to the island, whereas the U.S. Marines and the
U.S. Army had lost less than 2,000 soldiers of about 60,000 deployed. The ship losses on
both sides were heavy. But by far the most significant loss for the Japanese was the
decimation of their elite group of naval aviators. Japan after Guadalcanal no longer had a
realistic hope of withstanding the counteroffensive of an increasingly powerful United
States.
Battle of El Alamein
The Battle of El Alamein, in Egypt, marked the culmination of the World War II North African
campaign between the British Empire and the German-Italian army. Deploying a far larger contingent
of soldiers and tanks than the opposition, British commander Bernard Law Montgomery launched an
infantry attack at El Alamein on Oct. 23, 1942. German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel returned to battle
from illness and tried to halt the tide, but the British advantage in personnel and artillery proved too
overwhelming. After Hitler blocked an initial retreat in early November, Rommel managed to escape
annihilation by withdrawing his men to Tunisia.
El Alamein was a battle of World War I character–methodical, using massed artillery, with limited
advances made good and counterattacks defeated until breakout. Its significance was great.
The Panzerarmee (German tank divisions) withdrew, ultimately to Tunisia; within days of El Alamein,
Anglo-American forces landed in Morocco. By May 1943 the campaign was over and the
Mediterranean dominated by the Allies. Meanwhile, in Russia the Germans were suffering disaster at
Stalingrad: the two battles–Stalingrad and El Alamein–proved to be the watershed of the war against
Germany.
Tehran Conference
The Tehran War Conference was held between November 28th and December 1st 1943.
The Tehran meeting was the first time the so-called ‘Big Three’ met (Joseph Stalin of the
Soviet Union, Winston Churchill of Great Britain and Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United
States). It was to set the direction of World War Two in Europe.
The Tehran meeting was held after the war meeting in Casablanca. Stalin had not been
invited to Casablanca and the relationships between the three principal men at the Tehran
meeting was clouded in suspicion between Roosevelt and Churchill against Stalin.
The Tehran meeting discussed three key issues:
1. The second front against the Germans (the eventual D-Day) was to be coordinated with
a Soviet offensive against the Germans in an effort to split the military resources of the
Germans.
2. The possible entry of the Soviet Union in the war against Japan was also discussed.
3. The ‘Big Three’ also discussed the possible creation of an international organization to
be set-up after the war that would be responsible for maintaining peace in the world.
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
Soviet premier Joseph Stalin, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt early in February
1945 as World War II was winding down. The leaders agreed to require Germany’s
unconditional surrender and to set up in the conquered nation four zones of
occupation to be run by their three countries and France. They scheduled another
meeting for April in San Francisco to create the United Nations. Stalin also agreed
to permit free elections in Eastern Europe and to enter the Asian war against Japan.
In turn, he was promised the return of lands lost to Japan in the Russo-Japanese
War of 1904-1905. At the time, most of these agreements were kept secret.
Yalta became controversial after Soviet-American wartime cooperation
degenerated into the cold war. Stalin broke his promise of free elections in Eastern
Europe and installed governments dominated by the Soviet Union. Then American
critics charged that Roosevelt, who died two months after the conference, had
“sold out” to the Soviets at Yalta.
Potsdam Conference
Held near Berlin, the Potsdam Conference (July 17-August 2, 1945) was the
last of the World War II meetings held by the “Big Three” heads of state.
Featuring American President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill (and his successor, Clement Attlee) and Soviet Premier
Joseph Stalin, the talks established a Council of Foreign Ministers and a
central Allied Control Council for administration of Germany. The leaders
arrived at various agreements on the German economy, punishment for war
criminals, land boundaries and reparations. Although talks primarily
centered on postwar Europe, the Big Three also issued a declaration
demanding “unconditional surrender” from Japan.