Germany attacks the Soviet Union.
Under the codename Operation "Barbarossa," Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, in the largest German military operation of World War II.
The destruction of the Soviet Union by military force, the permanent elimination of the perceived Communist threat to Germany, and the seizure of prime land within Soviet borders for long-term German settlement had been a core policy of the Nazi movement since the 1920s. Adolf Hitler had always regarded the German-Soviet nonaggression pact, signed on August 23, 1939, as a temporary tactical maneuver. In July 1940, just weeks after the German conquest of France and the Low Countries, Hitler decided to attack the Soviet Union within the following year. On December 18, 1940, he signed Directive 21 (code-named Operation "Barbarossa"), the first operational order for the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Britain and the United States declare war on Japan
On December 8, 1941 the United States Congress declared war upon the Empire of Japan in response to that country's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the prior day. It was formulated an hour after the Infamy Speech presidential address of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Following the declaration, Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States, definitively bringing the United States into World War II.
The Battle of Coral Sea
The Battle of Coral Sea took place in May 1942. If the Japanese had succeeded at Coral Sea, the way would have been open for the Japanese to have captured New Guinea and leave Australia isolated from Allied help and more open to a Japanese attack. The Battle of Coral Sea was fought entirely by planes – no ship on either side made any visual contact with any enemy ship.
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway, fought in June 1942, must be considered one of the most decisive battles of World War Two. The Battle of Midway effectively destroyed Japan’s naval strength when the Americans destroyed four of its aircraft carriers. Japan’s navy never recovered from its mauling at Midway and it was on the defensive after this battle.
The Battle of Guadalcanal
The Battle of Guadalcanal took place in 1942 when the US Marines landed on August 7th. The landing at Guadalcanal was unopposed - but it took the Americans six months to defeat the Japanese in what was to turn into a classic battle of attrition.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.
Battle of Britain
In the summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces clashed in the skies over the United Kingdom, locked in the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date. A significant turning point of World War II, the Battle of Britain ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain’s air bases, military posts and, ultimately, its civilian population. Britain’s decisive victory saved the country from a ground invasion and possible occupation by German forces while proving that air power alone could be used to win a major battle.
Germans bomb Paris
On this day in 1940, the German air force bombs Paris, killing 254 people, most of them civilians.
The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle for Stalingrad was fought during the winter of 1942 to 1943. In September 1942, the German commander of the Sixth Army, General Paulus, assisted by the Fourth Panzer Army, advanced on the city of Stalingrad. His primary task was to secure the oil fields in the Caucasus and to do this, paulus was ordered by Hitler to take Stalingrad. The Germans final target was to have been Baku.
The Battle of Barents Sea
The Battle of Barents Sea took place on December 31st, 1942. Barents Sea, as a battle, is not frequently referred, to but it did lead to Adolf Hitler ordering the scrapping of his entire battle fleet.
Under the codename Operation "Barbarossa," Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, in the largest German military operation of World War II.
The destruction of the Soviet Union by military force, the permanent elimination of the perceived Communist threat to Germany, and the seizure of prime land within Soviet borders for long-term German settlement had been a core policy of the Nazi movement since the 1920s. Adolf Hitler had always regarded the German-Soviet nonaggression pact, signed on August 23, 1939, as a temporary tactical maneuver. In July 1940, just weeks after the German conquest of France and the Low Countries, Hitler decided to attack the Soviet Union within the following year. On December 18, 1940, he signed Directive 21 (code-named Operation "Barbarossa"), the first operational order for the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Britain and the United States declare war on Japan
On December 8, 1941 the United States Congress declared war upon the Empire of Japan in response to that country's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the prior day. It was formulated an hour after the Infamy Speech presidential address of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Following the declaration, Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States, definitively bringing the United States into World War II.
The Battle of Coral Sea
The Battle of Coral Sea took place in May 1942. If the Japanese had succeeded at Coral Sea, the way would have been open for the Japanese to have captured New Guinea and leave Australia isolated from Allied help and more open to a Japanese attack. The Battle of Coral Sea was fought entirely by planes – no ship on either side made any visual contact with any enemy ship.
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway, fought in June 1942, must be considered one of the most decisive battles of World War Two. The Battle of Midway effectively destroyed Japan’s naval strength when the Americans destroyed four of its aircraft carriers. Japan’s navy never recovered from its mauling at Midway and it was on the defensive after this battle.
The Battle of Guadalcanal
The Battle of Guadalcanal took place in 1942 when the US Marines landed on August 7th. The landing at Guadalcanal was unopposed - but it took the Americans six months to defeat the Japanese in what was to turn into a classic battle of attrition.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.
Battle of Britain
In the summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces clashed in the skies over the United Kingdom, locked in the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date. A significant turning point of World War II, the Battle of Britain ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain’s air bases, military posts and, ultimately, its civilian population. Britain’s decisive victory saved the country from a ground invasion and possible occupation by German forces while proving that air power alone could be used to win a major battle.
Germans bomb Paris
On this day in 1940, the German air force bombs Paris, killing 254 people, most of them civilians.
The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle for Stalingrad was fought during the winter of 1942 to 1943. In September 1942, the German commander of the Sixth Army, General Paulus, assisted by the Fourth Panzer Army, advanced on the city of Stalingrad. His primary task was to secure the oil fields in the Caucasus and to do this, paulus was ordered by Hitler to take Stalingrad. The Germans final target was to have been Baku.
The Battle of Barents Sea
The Battle of Barents Sea took place on December 31st, 1942. Barents Sea, as a battle, is not frequently referred, to but it did lead to Adolf Hitler ordering the scrapping of his entire battle fleet.
Operation Barbarossa
German troops cross the border and walk into Soviet Russia. An event that would have calamitous consequences for Germany four years later.
Ukrainian women give German soldiers water to drink. Initially the German were welcomed in Ukraine. They were sick of Stalin's brutal ways. But when the bad boys from the Einsatzgruppen came in the wake of the Wehrmacht it began to dawn on the people there that the Germans were worse; they turned against them.
Russian sniper V A Sidorov takes position to pick a German victim in August 1941. He is armed with a Mosin rifle. Soviet snipers became legends during the war and they got special treatment.
Captured women Soviet soldiers at Nevel (Pskov area). With reference to the mass rape of German women in 1945 by the Russian army; we must keep in mind the number of rapes that German soldiers committed in Soviet Union. German soldiers were no angels.
Ukrainians of Lutz welcome the Germans. If Hitler had used his head and not his Untermenschen-Jews-to-be-wiped-out theory, he might well have conquered Russia.
WWII Artifacts
The Sturmgewher 44 was the world's first true assault rifle and was introduced by the German army late in WWII. It was the direct inspiration for the Russian AK47, the most prolific gun in the world. If the war had continued another year, the SG44 would have replaced every other rifle, ligh machine gun, and submachine gun in the Wehrmacht, including the antique Karabiner 98k and anemic MP38.
Almost 70 years ago ( 1942-1943) during the WWII, a German plane was shot down by the Royal Air Force. It fell into the English channel. It was under water for so long. The water had done a lot of damage.
Long live Red Army of workers and peasants - the true guard of the Soviet borders!
The tank looks like the T-35 soviet Tank that was used in WWII. The T-35 is a heavy tank produced in 1933 in the soviet Union. Is was in service from 1935- 1941. And it can reach maximum speed of 30 km/h
The tank looks like the T-35 soviet Tank that was used in WWII. The T-35 is a heavy tank produced in 1933 in the soviet Union. Is was in service from 1935- 1941. And it can reach maximum speed of 30 km/h