Battles & Campaigns
Code-named Operation Overlord, this massive 1944 Allied invasion took place on the beaches of Normandy.
D-Day
This British Prime Minister famously vowed that his nation would "never surrender" during the Blitz.
Winston Churchill
This top-secret American project led to the development of the first atomic bombs.
Manhattan Project
This iconic cultural figure represented the millions of American women who worked in factories and shipyards.
Rosie the Riveter
This June 1942 naval battle is considered the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
Midway
This 1941 surprise attack on a U.S. naval base in Hawaii brought the United States into the war.
Pearl Harbor
He was the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and later became the 34th U.S. President.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
The Germans used this famous "unbreakable" machine to send encrypted radio messages.
Enigma
To ensure fair distribution of scarce goods like sugar, meat, and gasoline, governments issued these to citizens.
Ration Stamps/Books
This 1945 conference saw the "Big Three" leaders meet to discuss the post-war reorganization of Germany and Europe.
Yalta Conference
This brutal winter battle in the Soviet Union is often cited as the bloodiest in human history and a major defeat for Germany.
Stalingrad
Known as the "Desert Fox," this German field marshal was respected by both sides for his tactical skill in North Africa.
Erwin Rommel
This British invention used radio waves to detect incoming enemy aircraft before they could be seen.
Radar
These Japanese-American citizens were forcibly relocated to "relocation centers" in the U.S. interior following Executive Order 9066.
Internment Camps
The capture of this island in 1945 provided a vital base for long-range bombers and produced the famous flag-raising photo.
Iwo Jima
This desert campaign saw the British "Desert Rats" face off against Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps.
El Alamein (North African Campaign)
This Emperor of Japan remained on the throne after the war ended, despite the country's surrender.
Hirohito
This Soviet tank, the T-34, is often considered the most effective and influential tank design of the war.
T-34 Tank
These "Victory" plots were planted by civilians in private residences and public parks to reduce the pressure on the food supply.
Victory gardens
This 1944 German counter-offensive in the Ardennes forest was their last major attempt to push back the Allies in the West.
Battle of the Bulge
During this 1940 operation, over 300,000 Allied soldiers were evacuated from French beaches by a fleet of "little ships."
Dunkirk
This U.S. General famously declared "I shall return" after being forced to evacuate the Philippines in 1942.
Douglas MacArthur
Allied codebreakers at Bletchley Park used this early electromechanical device to crack the German Enigma code.
The Bombe.
This 1944 U.S. bill provided veterans with funds for college education, unemployment insurance, and housing loans.
G.I. Bill.
El Alamein