When Adolf Hitler set his sights on winning the Battle of Stalingrad, he proclaimed all male residents would be killed and women deported, prompting Joseph Stalin to order civilians to take up arms in defense of his namesake city. Historians argue that the Battle of Stalingrad was a significant turning point towards allied victory in WWII.

After racial skepticism prohibited African Americans from flying in the US military, the Tuskegee Airmen became decorated heroes against Nazi forces.

The most celebrated African-American fighting regiment during WWI, the Harlem Hellfighters faced racism at home before facing off with Germany longer than any other fighting unit in the war.

400 women from the Soviet Union became known as the night witches of WWII. These pilots endured frigid temperatures, braved radio- and parachute-less missions, and delivered 23,000 tons of bombs on Nazi frontline positions.

In the bloodiest day of the American Civil War, the Battle of Antietam was fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17th, 1862, when the Union Army faced Confederate offensive into the north.

Early Union Army victories gave Abraham Lincoln the confidence to order a strike on Confederate troops in the first battle of bull run with the intent of clearing defensive positions of Richmond, the Confederate capital.

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, General Douglas MacArthur failed to take decisive action against Japanese forces 300 miles away from Manila, his Philippine command. Resulting in retreat and the brutal Bataan Death March.