Discuss the major events of world war two Essay

Discuss the major events of world war two - Essay Example Among these are the attack on Pearl Harbor that began America’s involvement with Japan in such famous events as the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Coral Sea and the alliance that developed between America and the Western European nations as they engaged with Germany in battles such as the D-Day battle at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. The major events of World War II, such as those just listed, came to an end with the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan following Germany’s defeat, finally and decisively ending the last global war of the 20th century. On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese planes attacked America’s Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. The two-wave assaults came at 7:53 and 8:55 AM. It ended by 10 AM and by 1 PM, the planes had rejoined the Japanese carriers and were headed on their way home to Japan. In the wake of the chaos that followed the attack, 2,403 American servicemen were dead, 188 planes were destroyed and eight battleships were either heavily damaged or completely destroyed (â€Å"Attack at Pearl Harbor†, 1997). The U.S. immediately began fighting on both European and Pacific fronts fully supported by the American public. The day after the Pearl Harbor attack, President Roosevelt made his famous ‘a day that lives in infamy’ speech to Congress that requested this body declare war against Japan. Congress quickly agreed to that request then declared war on Germany and Italy on December 11 (Holt, 2006). The Pacific War was the largest naval conflict in history. At the start of 1942, the United States was decidedly outmatched by the Japanese. As a way to raise the morale of the troops, Army Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle was sent to guide 16 bombers to raid Tokyo, and three other Japanese cities in April 1942. The bombing raid was not intended to nor did it inflict much physical damage to Japan, but the psychological damage of the attack was significant as the Japanese thought this