On April 1, 1945, more than 60,000 soldiers and US Marines of the US Tenth Army stormed ashore at Okinawa, in the final island battle before an anticipated invasion of mainland Japan.

On December 16, 1944, the German army launched a massive offensive in the Ardennes Forest. The Battle of the Bulge would be the largest engagement ever fought by the US Army—and ultimately hasten the end of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.

After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they invaded Luzon, Philippines in January 1942. Despite insufficient supplies, American and Filipino troops were able to fight for three months. Eventually, they surrendered to Japanese troops and were forced into the Bataan Death March—where some of the most horrific war crimes were committed by the Japanese. 

In June 1942, US and Japanese naval forces engaged in a five-day battle in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that changed the course of the war in the Pacific. 

Explore Museum digital assets to learn more about the six-month fight to take the island of Guadalcanal, a vital step in defeating the Japanese in the Pacific theater.