World War II

World War II

A major global military conflict involving most countries in the world which began in 1939 and ended in 1945. With about 70 million in fatalities, World War II is the most widespread and deadliest conflict in human history. The war was marked by significant events that saw unprecedented mass killing of civilians including the Holocaust, the Nanjing Massacre and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare.

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World War II

V-J Day

Military; World War II

Victory over Japan Day - August 15, 1945. The fighting had ended the day before on August 14 when the Japanese agreed to unconditionally surrender. The surrender was made formal on September 2 aboard ...

Sicilian Campaign

Military; World War II

Sicily is the island "football" across from the toe of the "foot" of mainland Italy. The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Husky, began on July 10, 1943. It ended on August 17, 1943 with an Allied ...

Rendova Island

Military; World War II

An island just off New Georgia in the Solomons in the Pacific. U.S. Army and Marine forces landed here in June 1943 with the principal goal of taking the Japanese air base at Munda. The air base fell ...

Strait of Messina

Military; World War II

The straight that separates the island of Sicily from the mainland of Italy. Americans took Messina on August 17, 1943, but the Germans were able to evacuate some 60,000 troops across the straight.

Omaha Beach

Military; World War II

One of the beaches in Normandy on the coast of France, together with Utah Beach, invaded by American forces on D-Day. This was the site of the bloodiest fighting on D-Day.

Neptune

Military; World War II

Operational code name for the Allied D-Day Normandy beach landings - the naval assault phase of Operation Overlord.

Arcadia Conference

Military; World War II

Also called the First Washington Conference, it's a summit between the U.S. and Britain on military strategy following the United States' entry into World War II. The conference began began in ...