-
War is declared on Germany
German troops invaded the Polish border and the Blitzkrieg assault is dispalyed to the world. In response, both Britain and France send ultimatums to Hitler demanding his withdrawl from Poland, however, Hitler does not respond. Thus, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany, starting World War II. -
Battle of Atlantic
Video - Battle of the AtlanticThe Battle of the Atlantic spanned throughout the entire war between Britain and Germany. It was said that this Battle was crucial in determining the outcome of Britian. This is on the basis that if Germany had taken the Atlantic, Germany could have prevented merchant ships from carrying food, raw materials, troops and their equipment from North America to Britain. Additionally, it could have prevented D-Day as it would've been impossible to project forces to Mediterranean theatres or on D-Day -
Invasion of Iceland
The invasion of Iceland was a British military operation conducted by the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines during World War II. The intention of this invasion was to establish naval and air bases on this Atlantic island. -
Battle of Dunkrirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was a great defeat for Britain. The end result left many French and British troops dead with approximately 338,226 of the troops being pulled off the beaches. However, the damage was still catastrophic, almost all the army's heavy equipment had been abandoned in France.
During this crisis, the War Cabinet discussed whether they should try to negotiate with Hitler, using Mussolini as a possible go-between. However, the war effort was continued under Winston Chruchill -
Fall of France
The Fall of France, was the German invasion of France in which the French were unsuccesful. As such, after the Fall of France, the positions charged drammatically, A combination of the French, German and Italian navies could have potentially denied the United Kingdom command of the Atlantic and starve the country into submission. -
Battle of the Mediterranean
Video - Battle for the Mediterranean The Battle of the Mediterranean was fought mostly between the Italian Royal Navy with support from the axis naval forces and the British Royal Navy with support from the allied naval forces. Both sides had three goals: attack the supply lines of the other side, keep open the supply lines to their own armies in North Africa, and to destroy the ability of the opposing navy to wage war at sea. The outcome of this battle resulted in the Allied powers reigning victorious. -
Channel Islands Invaded
Off the French Coast the Channel Islands were left vunerable to an attack because they had no strategic importance to Britain. The Islands were evacuated; however, some people still stayed. As such, on June 28, Germany invaded the Islands and attacked Jersey and Guernsey. The Channel Islands was the only area taken by Germany during World War II -
Battle of Britain begins
Battle of Britain - Video In order to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF) Germany's Lufftwaffe began an attack on the United Kingdom. The main objectives were to destroy coastal shipping convoys and shipping centres, howeever, a month later month later the Lufftwaffe attacks RAF airfields and infrastructure. -
The Blitz
The Blitz was a continous bombing on Britain from Germany which began on Sept. 7, 1940. The intention of the attack was to demoralize and force Britain to surrender; however, Hitler began to focus more on the Eastern region. On the other hand Britain took a catastrophic amount of damaging during this time: London was bombed for 76 nights straight along other with important military and industrial centres -
Colonies
During World War II the Colonies established in the Middle-East were attacked. By Sept. 13, 1940, the Italian Tenth Army crossed the border from the Italian colony of Libya into Egypt, where British troops were protecting the Suez Canal. -
Battle of Taranto
The Royal Navy launched and attack flying a small number of aircraft from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea and attacking the Italian fleet at harbour in Taranto.
This was significant as the success of the British in the Battle of Taranto changed the way military experts viewed aircraft carrier attacks. torpedo attacks against ships were only at water depths of 100 ft or over and Taranto had a shallow depth of 40ft.
Which the Japanese later adapted in Pearl Harbourr -
Operation Compass
Operation Compass was an Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. This resulted in British and Commonwealth forces pushing across a Libya and capturing almost all of Cyrenaica with very few casualties of their own. This operation could have potentially played a crucial role in WWII because if the Operation had not taken place, Italy still would have had a great deal of power over the Middle-East -
aranto had a shallow depth of 40ft.
A force of British Royal Navy ships accompanied by several Royal Australian Navy ships, under command of British Admiral Andrew Cunningham, intercepted and sank or severely damaged the ships of the Italian Regia Marina under Admiral Angelo Iachino
The strategic importance of this battle was that now the Allies could concentrate most of their stretched resources against the Afrika Korps in North Africa under General Rommel after the fall of Greece to Germany. -
The U.S. and Britain conclude the Arcadia Conference in Washington, DC.
Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to establish a Combined Chiefs of Staff and to the make defeating Germany their first priority. Winning the war in Europe would come before winning the war in the Pacific. In other words, While the majority of resources would be devoted to Europe, the Allies planned on fighting a holding battle with Japan. Furthermore, The Arcadia Conference also created the Declaration of the United Nations. -
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the allied invasion of Vichy France's North african territories. This was to open a front on the German army in Africa.
This war was the first major English/American invasion of WWII. Additionally, it left an opportunity to invade Italy. -
Tunsia Campaign
The Tunsia Campaign was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African Campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces. The initial succes was seen by the Axis powers, Germany and Italy, however; soon after the Allies had overwhelmed them taking 230, 000 POW's which included most of the Afrka Korps -
The Casablanca Conference between the U.S. and Britain begins.
During this conference Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that Germany and other Axis powers damust surrender unconditionally and also called for Allied aid to the Soviet Union, the invasion of Sicily and Italy, and the recognition of joint leadership of the Free French by de Gaulle and Giraud. This is significant as many of the events that were decided upon lead the Allies to many crucial victories which lead to the outcome of WWII -
The Trident Conference between the U.S. and Britain begins.
During the conference several things were agreeed upon Churchill got the invasion of Italy, Roosevelt got the invasion of France he wanted, and Americans were free to attack the Japanese-held Marshall and Caroline islands. This fell in line with what the Americans had planned previously. -
Invasion of Sicily
The Invasion of Sicily, code named, Operation Huskey was a major campaign in which the Allies took Sicily from Italy and Germany. -
The Teheran Conference between the U.S., Britain, and the USSR is successfully concluded.
This was the first conference in which the big three had met, Soviet, United Kingdom and the United States. The objective of the Tehran conference was to plan the final strategy for the war against Germany and its allies, and the chief discussion was centered on the opening of a second front in Western Europe.
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed that the Western Allies would invade France in June 1944 and that when it began the USSR would launch a new offensive from the east. -
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The invasion began on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy Landings, also known as D-Day. The allied forces that fought on D-Day consisted of troops from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. The result was decisive Allied strategic victory. -
The Yalta Conference between the U.S., Britain, and the USSR begins
The objective of this conference was to discuss Europe's postwar reorganization after the war. Additionally, during this conference, Stalin agrees to declare war on Japan. In the Pacific, the Allies finally retake Manila in the Philippines after three years of brutal Japanese occupation.
This plays a significant role as the it is commonly argued that race for Berlin was a contributing factor to the Cold War. -
VE Day
By May 8, 1945 victory in Britain had already come. On this day Churchill announced the victory from the balcony of the Ministry of Health in Whitehall. "This is your victory!" the crowd roared back, "No. It's yours!" Churchill continued,
"God bless you all. This is your victory! It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land . . ." -
Battle of France
Battle of France - Video Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, to be replaced by Winston Churchill Most Allied forces were in Flanders, anticipating a re-run of the World War I Schlieffen Plan, and were cut off from the French heartland -
Potsdam Conference
During this conference Truman, Stalin, and Churchill met to discuss European peace settlements, the administration of defeated Germany, the demarcation of the boundaries of Poland, the occupation of Austria, the definition of the Soviet Union's role in eastern Europe, the determination of reparations, and the further prosecution of the war against Japan. -
Japan signs the formal surrender agreement on board the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
The war is finally over.
