Madi and Izzy

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest battle of World War II. It began almost immediately as the British declaration of war against Germany in September 1939 and ended with Germany surrendering to the Allies in May 1945. During six years of the battle, German U-boats and warships were set up against Allied convoys that were responsible for transporting military equipment and supplies from the Atlantic to Great Britain and the Soviet Union. This battle had begun in order to control the Atlantic shipping lanes. The 'hedgehog' depth-charge mortar was one innovation during the battle that was making life increasingly dangerous for U-boat crews.
Historical Significance: The Battle of the Atlantic and the overall control had a major impact on the outcome of the war. By keeping Britain supplied, it kept the Germans from taking over all of Western Europe.

The Battle of Dunkirk took place on the shores of Dunkirk, located in the north of France. As German forces advanced, all communication and transport was cut off between the northern and southern branches of Allied forces. This disconnection from communication pushed several hundred thousand Allied troops into the shores of Dunkirk, a small sliver of the French coast. In the beginning, Churchill and the rest of British commanders expected that the evacuation from Dunkirk couldn’t rescue many of the men. Surprisingly, the success of Operation Dynamo exceeded all expectations that they initially had.
Historical Significance: Germany had hoped that the ultimate defeat at Dunkirk would lead Britain to surrender from the conflict. Instead, the “Miracle at Dunkirk” gave new hope for the British and allowed a legacy of pride and perseverance to endure.

The Battle of Britain took place in the air between Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Luftwaffe, Nazi Germany’s air force. It was the first battle in history that was fought purely in the air. By the end of October, 1940, Hitler called off his planned invasion of Britain and the Battle of Britain ended. Both sides of the battle had suffered vast amounts of lives and aircraft lost. Ultimately, Britain weakened the Luftwaffe, Nazi Germany’s air force. It was the first major defeat of the war for Hitler.
Historical Significance: If the RAF had not equally fought the Luftwaffe, Hitler would have likely moved forward with his Operation Sea Lion, ultimately invading the British Isles. This would have been a major defeat to the British people and all their efforts to detach themselves from Hitler’s power.

The Blitz was a bombing tacktick in London that Hitler tried to use to defeat the British. It may have killed 43,000 civilians and lasted for eight months, however, Churchhill's responses to the Blitz was not defeat. It was quite the opposite. He believed that the country could take it. This minset lead Britian to be a very determined country and showed they would not give up. This lead to the victory in Battle of Britian.
HIstorical Significance: The significance of this event was that it showned the determination and character of Churchill and the British people. There could have been very servere consequences if the British didn't have courage, however instead they rose to the challenge of this battle and didn't let this bombing techinique defeat them.

Before the war even began, Anti-semitism began to emerge and Hitler began the start of unleasing his plan to exterminate the race. When Jews were killed in gas chambers and burned, the term Holocaust, which literally meant destruction by fire, became the term for this terrible genocide. The Nazis were strategic and systematic in their ways of attempting to destroy a race. When Hitler incaded Poland, the largest Jewish population (about 3.35 million) were his victims. The Gestpo dealt strictly with the Jews under Hitler's orders. The Final Solution was the way to kill a mass amount of people in a short time by gasing them to death, and finishing touches of the this act was accomplished at the Wannsee Conference in January, 1942. This occured in concentration camps like Auschwitz. The people were separated from the strong and the weak and were either put to work or were murdered. Finally, by July 24, 1944 the Allies noticed what was happening at places like Auschwitz, and they became liberated. By the time the war was over, about 6 milliion Jews were killed and another 6 million killed because of other ethinic or racial backgrounds.
Historical Significance: The results of the Holocaust resulted in massive change. Millions of Jews and other ethinically diverse people died and it affecting people still to this day. The Holocaust is a well known tragedy that people all around the world recongize, especially Europeans still to this day. It showed how during this time, a genocide of this mass was able to occur without someone stepping in. It showed how one attitude of hate against a race can cause many others to feel the same way. We see this clearing in how the Nazis carried out Hitler's commands. If this event didn't occur in history, we wouldn't have been able to learn from the actions of Hitler in order to make sure this never happens again. Sadly, we still today see genocide and persecution of ethnic, religious and racial people in countries all over the world.

Operation Barbarossa covered land from the North Cape to the Black Sea. The Invasion, Operation Barbarossa, was the crucial turning point in World War II. To increase the effectiveness of their attacks, the German forces were divided into three strike forces. The first strike force was set to attack in the direction of Leningrad, the second in the direction of Kiev and the third was the center force and attack in the direction of Moscow, which was also it’s final and ultimate target. In the end, the spring thaw in March, 1942 brought Operation Barbarossa to a halt and the Soviets had overreached and failed. Hitler and Nazi Germany faced a two-front war that it could not conquer.
Historical Significance: Hitler’s planned decision to attack the Soviet Union, resulting in a huge battle that would be fought for the next four years, had a staggering impact on the rest of the war. This adequately allowed Germany’s defeat to be held in the hands of the Allies.

Pearl Harbor is located at a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, and that was the scene of an attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. The Japanese had created a simple plan which was to destroy the Pacific Fleet. By destroying the Pacific Fleet, the Japanese could spread across the South Pacific without the Americans being able to fight back. By expanding into neighbouring territory and taking over its import market, the Japanese government believed that it would solve problems. The day after the surprise attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt took matters into his own hands by asking congress to declare war on Japan.
Historical Significance: The resulting damage of the Pearl Harbour attack left many vital facilities intact; repair shops, shipyards, oil storage depots and submarine docks. To the U.S. Navy’s relief, they were able to rebound somewhat quickly from the attack by Japanese forces.

The Battle of Midway was an air-sea battle that the U.S. Navy’s successful defense led to their victory. This battle took place at the major base located at Midway Island, vastly turning the tide of World War II in the Pacific. Japan hoped to have the same successful outcome as the Pearl Harbor attack. Yamamoto had decided to seek out and destroy the rest of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at the Allied base at Midway Island.
Historical Significance: The U.S. victory in the Battle of Midway resulted in Japan altering its plan to expand into the Pacific. The battle allowed U.S. forces to gain confidence, meanwhile erasing Japanese hope, ultimately enabling the victory to be in favor of the Allies.

The Battle of Stalingrad was a long battle of the Soviets defeating the Germans and Allieson for Stalingrad, which is in southern Russia (now known as Volgograd). The fighting was some of the most brutal fighting that occured, especially in urban areas. The Red Army fought the German army, and resulted in caualties for both sides, but more for the Germans. The Germans were cut off in Stalingrad by November 23rd, and when Hitler ordered them to keep going, the German troops were forced to surrender. This caused a massive problem for Hitler. He lost what might have been the strongest part of his army, he was denied access to the Caucasus oil fields, and now had to become devensive instead of offensive. This was the start of liberation for Eastern Europe.
Historical Significance: Many historians believe that this battle was the greatest battle of the war. The casualties were about 2 million soliders, which is the largest amount in the history of warfare. There were many soliders from countries all around the world fighting, which means it impacted many different people. This made Germany rethink their strategies, since they lost many of their men, and on the contrary, was a huge advancement for the Soviets.