Ebook168 pages3 hours
Decisive Moments of World War II: The Battle of Britain, Pearl Harbor, D-Day and the Manhattan Project
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
During World War II, the free world literally hung in the balance, with the Axis and Allies engaging in warfare on an unprecedented scale. Though the ultimate result is now known, in 1940 it looked very much like the Axis might win the war and usher in a new world order.
It took several important decisive moments to help turn the war. The Battle of Britain, fought throughout the summer and early autumn of 1940, was unquestionably epic in scope. The largest air campaign in history at the time, the vaunted Nazi Luftwaffe sought to smash the RAF as a prelude to German invasion, leaving the British public and its pilots engaged in what they believed was a desperate fight for national survival. That’s what it looked like to the rest of the world too, as free men everywhere held their breaths. Could these pilots, many not yet old enough to shave, avoid the fate of Poland and France? The fate of the free world, at least as Europe knew it, hung in the balance over the skies of Britain during those tense months.
All Americans are familiar with the “day that will live in infamy.” At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, the advanced base of the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet, was ablaze. It had been smashed by aircraft launched by the carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. All eight battleships had been sunk or badly damaged, 350 aircraft had been knocked out, and over 2,000 Americans lay dead. Pearl Harbor was unquestionably one of the seminal events in American history, and given the nature of the surprise attack, the entry of the U.S. into the war, and the lingering controversies and conspiracy theories, the attack on Pearl Harbor continues to be a highly charged and heavily debated event.
On June 6, 1944, a date that will forever be known as D-Day, the Allies commenced the liberation of Europe by staging the largest and most complex amphibious invasion in human history. The complex operation would require tightly coordinated naval and air bombardment, paratroopers, and even inflatable tanks that would be able to fire on fortifications from the coastline, all while landing over 150,000 men across nearly 70 miles of French beaches. Given the incredibly complex plan, it’s no surprise that General Eisenhower had already written a letter apologizing for the failure of the invasion, which he carried in his coat pocket throughout the day.
While the War raged in Europe and the Pacific, a dream team of Nobel Laureates was working on a project so secretive that vice president Harry Truman didn’t know of it when he took the presidency after FDR’s death. This secretive project, The Manhattan Project, would ultimately yield the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” bombs that released more than 100 Terajoules of energy at Hiroshima and Nagaski; changing the course of the War and the course of civilization.
Decisive Moments of World War II covers the strategic situation and the logistics that went into the planning for the Battle of Britain, Pearl Harbor and D-Day, as well as examining the course and collaboration of the Allies on the Manhattan Project. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about these key turning points like you never have before.
It took several important decisive moments to help turn the war. The Battle of Britain, fought throughout the summer and early autumn of 1940, was unquestionably epic in scope. The largest air campaign in history at the time, the vaunted Nazi Luftwaffe sought to smash the RAF as a prelude to German invasion, leaving the British public and its pilots engaged in what they believed was a desperate fight for national survival. That’s what it looked like to the rest of the world too, as free men everywhere held their breaths. Could these pilots, many not yet old enough to shave, avoid the fate of Poland and France? The fate of the free world, at least as Europe knew it, hung in the balance over the skies of Britain during those tense months.
All Americans are familiar with the “day that will live in infamy.” At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, the advanced base of the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet, was ablaze. It had been smashed by aircraft launched by the carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. All eight battleships had been sunk or badly damaged, 350 aircraft had been knocked out, and over 2,000 Americans lay dead. Pearl Harbor was unquestionably one of the seminal events in American history, and given the nature of the surprise attack, the entry of the U.S. into the war, and the lingering controversies and conspiracy theories, the attack on Pearl Harbor continues to be a highly charged and heavily debated event.
On June 6, 1944, a date that will forever be known as D-Day, the Allies commenced the liberation of Europe by staging the largest and most complex amphibious invasion in human history. The complex operation would require tightly coordinated naval and air bombardment, paratroopers, and even inflatable tanks that would be able to fire on fortifications from the coastline, all while landing over 150,000 men across nearly 70 miles of French beaches. Given the incredibly complex plan, it’s no surprise that General Eisenhower had already written a letter apologizing for the failure of the invasion, which he carried in his coat pocket throughout the day.
While the War raged in Europe and the Pacific, a dream team of Nobel Laureates was working on a project so secretive that vice president Harry Truman didn’t know of it when he took the presidency after FDR’s death. This secretive project, The Manhattan Project, would ultimately yield the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” bombs that released more than 100 Terajoules of energy at Hiroshima and Nagaski; changing the course of the War and the course of civilization.
Decisive Moments of World War II covers the strategic situation and the logistics that went into the planning for the Battle of Britain, Pearl Harbor and D-Day, as well as examining the course and collaboration of the Allies on the Manhattan Project. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about these key turning points like you never have before.
Read more from Charles River Editors
Religions of the World: The Religion of Ancient Mesopotamia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Legends: The Salem Witch Trials Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Celtic Mythology and the Religion of the Ancient Celts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Legends of Music: The Life and Legacy of Tupac Shakur Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Any Means Necessary: The Life and Legacy of Malcolm X Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ancient Artifacts: The Dead Sea Scrolls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Hopi (Pueblo) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Decisive Moments of World War II
Related ebooks
Iwo Jima Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Expeditionary Force: France, 1917–1918 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 390th Bomb Group Anthology: by Members of the 390th Bombardment Group (H) 1943-1945 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Battles at Sea in World War I - Heligoland Bight (1914) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOfficial History of the Royal Air Force 1935-1945 — Vol. II —Fight Avails [Illustrated Edition] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers Over Britain: The German Air Force's Tip and Run Campaign, 1942-43 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsD-Day General: How Dutch Cota Saved Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCanopies Of Blue:: The U.S. Airborne Experience In The Pacific In WWII As A Case Study In Operational Art And Multi-Role Flexibility Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld War II From Above: An Aerial View of the Global Conflict Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLufthansa to Luftwaffe-Hitlers: Secret Air Force Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNorwich Blitz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpitfire Pilot [Illustrated Edition] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAir Battle for Moscow 1941–1942 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings1918: The Year of Victories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTorpedo Bombers Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5An American Hero: Eugene Trowbridge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBattle of Britain The Gathering Storm: Prelude to the Spitfire Summer of 1940 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarines on Iwo Jima: Volume 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGloucestershire Hero: Brigadier Patsy Pagan's Great War Experiences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRetreat through the Rhone Valley: Defensive battles of the Nineteenth Army, August–September 1944 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Fokker Leader: Carl Degelow—The First World War's Last Airfighter Knight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding the Fallen: Outstanding Aircrew Mysteries of the First World War to Desert Storm Investigated and Solved Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhilippines Disaster 12/8/41 Vol 1: The Missing Ten Hours Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5To Defeat the Few: The Luftwaffe’s campaign to destroy RAF Fighter Command, August–September 1940 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKosciuszko Squadron 1919-1921 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsD-Day Bombers: The Stories of Allied Heavy Bombers during the Invasion of Normandy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Held To A Higher Standard: The Downfall Of Admiral Kimmel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlymouth: A City at War, 1914-45 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Life- My War- World War 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHornchurch Offensive: A Definitive Account of the RAF Fighter Airfield, Its Pilots, Groundcrew and Staff, 1941–1962 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
United States History For You
Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5U.S. History 101: Historic Events, Key People, Important Locations, and More! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A People's History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln: A Nutty Story About Edwin Booth and Boston Corbett Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Just Kids: A National Book Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51776 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Reset: And the War for the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes: Revised and Complete Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fifties Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Library Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Decisive Moments of World War II
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Decisive Moments of World War II - Charles River Editors
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1