Key Players- Allied Powers: Soviet Union (Stalin); Axis Powers: Germany (Hitler) Events- The German Luftwaffe

bombed Stalingrad nightly, took over it house by house, and eventually was in control of 90% of the city. When the harsh winter struck, the Soviet Army took it to their advantage by building up tanks and surrounding Stalingrad. The Germans knew they were trapped and were determined to continue fighting. Finally, the winter was too much for the Germans and they surrendered. Outcome- The Soviet Union won because of their advantage with the winter and when Germany finally surrendered. Although the Soviet Union won, they lost more soldiers than the number of deaths in America in the entire war. This battle marked a turning point in the war for the Soviet Union and they began to move towards the westward side of Germany. Map: "The Soviet Union in 1985. The Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Russian, Turkmen, Ukrainian, and Uzbek socialist..." Cold War Reference Library. Ed. Richard C. Hanes, Sharon M. Hanes, and Lawrence W. Baker. Vol. 2: Almanac Volume 2. Detroit: UXL, 2004. Gale World History In Context. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.

The Battle of Stalingrad took place here, 1942.

Key Players- Allied Powers: England (Eisenhower), Britain, America, Canada; Axis Powers: France, Germany (Hitler) Events- This was the largest planned invasion in world history. It occurred on June 6, 1944. It was launched by the Allies to invade European land on the shore of Normandy. The idea behind this was to have more people to invade than the Axis Powers had bullets for. This day was the day of a very harsh battle with men whose lives on average only lasted 45 seconds when they landed on the beach. Outcome- The strategy that the Allies used to attack Normandy were successful and they ended up getting an 80-mile strip of France after just 7 days of fighting. Map: http://decisionday.wikispaces.com/Act ual+Outcome

Key Players- Allied Powers: Soviet Union (Stalin), U.S. (Eisenhower & Roosevelt), Britain (Churchill); Axis Powers: Germany (Hitler) Events- The Soviet Union pressured America and Britain to make a second front in western Europe. Britain and America didnt think they had enough troops to do so. Instead, in November 1942, they launched Operation Torch to invade the Axis-ruled North Africa. Outcome- America and Britain fought in North Africa until they had surrendered. The Allies had won again. Map: http://placetoland.wordpress.co m/category/maps-and-images/

Key Players- Allied Powers: U.S. (Roosevelt), Britain (Churchill); Axis Powers: Germany (Hitler) Events- On December 16, 1944, Germany drove tanks into a weak American front hoping it would break up the British and American forces and Allied supply lines. The tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory and created a bulge in which the battle was named. Germany captured several Allied soldiers in the process. Outcome- The German army retreated at the end, unable to do anything else because of their massive loss of troops and supplies. The Allied powers definitely had the upper hand in this battle. Map: http://www.defense.gov/home/special s/bulge/

Key Players- Allied Powers: U.S. (Roosevelt); Axis Powers: Japan Events- On February 19, 1945, Allied troops surrounded this island called Iwo Jima which in Japanese means sulfur island. This island had many volcanoes for which it was named, so it was easy for the Japanese to stay behind them in order to have the advantage in this battle. This island was critical to the U.S. because it was Japans base for heavily loaded bombers and the most defended spot on earth. About 20, 700 Japanese troops were entrenched in tunnels and caves. Outcome- About 6,000 of our troops died that day taking the island and only 200 Japanese survived. Map: http://www.biggb.net/BattlesPacific/Iw oJima2.html

Key Players- Allied Powers: U.S. (Roosevelt); Axis Powers: Japan Events- In April 1945, the U.S. invaded Okinawa. The Japanese fought back strongly before the marines even reached the shore. Outcome- The U.S. lost 7,600 lives in this battle that lasted until June 21, 1945. Japan lost 110,000 people in defending this island. This battle helped the Allies see how resistant Japan would be if the Allies attacked Japans home islands. Map: http://japanfocus.org/Aniya-Masaaki/2629