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Germany Invades Poland
• 1 September – 6 October 1939
• Beginning of World War 2 in Poland
• The first time the Blitzkrieg strategy was used in a war
• Was after the Gleiwitz incident, in which German troops who dressed up as people in the Polish army, occupying a radio station and then transmitting anti-German messages. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
• Was on 3 September, 1939
• At 11:15am British time, Neville Chamberlain announced the British involvement in the war.
• Chamberlain said that the ambassador to Berlin gave the German government a note saying to withdraw from Poland by 11am that day, or war would be declared.
• The French Government gave an ultimatum at 12:30pm for Germany withdraw troops from Poland before 5pm, which lead them going to war. -
New British Prime Minister
• Winston Churchill was appointed Prime Minister on May 10, 1940
• He also became the Minister of Defence
• Speeches inspired the people of Great Britain.
• Friends with then US president Franklin Roosevelt, which meant the US gave Britain vital supplies during the war -
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Operation Dynamo/Evacuation of Dundirk
• Started at 6:57pm on 26 May 1940
• Aim to evacuate 40,000 troops that were under attack. Overall more than 330,000 troops were rescued before the 3rd of June
• Planned to evacuate British Expeditionary Force and French troops from Dunkirk's beaches, Northern France.
• Announced to British public on May 29, and many boats (‘little ships’) started arriving at Dunkirk to ferry them away safely. -
France-Germany Armistice
Made a German Occupation Zone in Northern and Western France, with the rest being free from German rule. Despite this non-occupied France (“Vichy France”) collaborated with Germany a lot. -
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Battle of Britain
When Germany attacked Britain, trying to make them sign a peace deal. Coastal shipping convoys, ports and shipping centres were the main targets for the Luftwaffe. Forced Hitler ro cancel Operation Sea Lion -
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was a planned invasion of the UK during the Battle of Britain. It was considered the last option, and would've only been used if all other options failed. It also needed Germany to have full control of the English channel, which they never achieved. It was postponed indefiantly of the 17th of September,1940. -
Triparte Pact signed
A defensive alliance with Germany, Italy and Japan. It was directed to the United States, but due to Japan being on the other side of the world when working with Italy and Germany, it wasn't very practical. Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia all signed by the end of 1941. -
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Siege of Tobrok
The siege of Tobrok was when the German–Italian army tried to take over the town of Trobrok in Egypt. It was important, because it meant that the Axis countries had to use a port in Tripoli that you had to travel 1,500 kilometres over land to get to.After 241 days of fighting, there was an allied victory. -
Operation Barbarossa
The planned invasion of the Soviet Union by Gernamy. It was the largest battle of World War 2, and Hitler said that “when the attack on Russia starts the world will hold its breath.” The Nazis used the Blitzkrieg strategy, which is the one that they used to invade Poland in 1939. Eventually, the Nazis were driven all the way back to Berlin. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
The Bombing on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack on the United States by Japan. It is what lead to the US joining the Second World War in the Pacific. In the attack, 2390 people died. Japan also declared war on America on the day of the attack. -
US & Britain delcare war on Japan
A few minutes after the American president finished his speech about the attack on Pearl Harbor, their Congress voted to declare war on Japanese. People in the US started blaming Japanese and German Americans for the attack, and because of this, 110,000 Japanese, 31,000 German and 3,000 Italian Americans were sent to internment camps. On the same day, Britain declared war on Japan after the Japanese attacks on Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. -
Japan takes Signapore
On the 15th of February, 1942, Japan invaded Singapore after fighting since the 8th of February for the nation. It is often seen as the biggest surrended in British-lead personell ever, with around 80,000 people from Australia, Britain and India becoming prisoners of war. -
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was attacks by Japan, which was aimed to weaken the United States in the war. This would cause Japan to become the biggest power in the reigion. It was the most important battle in the Pacific in World War 2, and it was a big win to America. -
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First Battle of El Alamein
This was a battle with Italy and Germany fighting against the allies in the Egyption town of El Alamein. This town tas close to Cairo Alexandria, and several ports, meaning the power that one this would affect how the war played out. The battle was a stalemate, but it halted the Axis countries and their advance on Alexandria -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad was a battle on the eastern frount marked by close combat and attacks on cavilians by air attacks. It is considered to be one of the bloodiest battles ever, with 800,000 Axis deaths and 1.1 million Soviet deaths. It turned the tide of the war. After the Axis countries exhausted their ammunition and food, they surrended. It shattered the Nazi's reputaion as 'invincible' and gave the Soviet army a lot of confidence. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Amanain was a battle that turned the tide in the Western Desert compaign of World War 2. After the first battle halted the campaign of the Axis powers, the second battle was the first major offensive for the allies since the beginning of the war in Europe. Because of this, it lifted the morale of the Allied people serving in the war. -
D day landings
The invasion of Normandy (often called D-day) were the landing operations in the largest seabourne invasion in history. The allies did substantial military deception before the landing to confuse the Germans on when and where the attacks were. The weather on the day of the attacks were unfavourable, meaning that it didn't go exactly to plan. It was the start of the invasion of German-occupied northwest Europe. It also contributed to the Allied victory on the Western Frount -
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Battle of the Bulge
It was a battle in the Ardennes reigion of Belgium, France and Luxembourg. It caught the allied off guard, and it had the largest death toll for US during the war.
The allies were overconfident after previous battles that they won, and this battle brought them back down to reality. It was on a weakly defended area of the allied frount.
The Germans weren't able to seize the western frount, but they did suprise the allies. It was the first time that black Americans fought in a desegragated unit. -
Death of Mussolini
Mussolini was executed in the final days of World War 2 by anti fascists in the village of Giulino di Mezzegra, Northern Italy. The official,version of events is that he was shot by Walter Audisio (also known as "Colonel Valerio"), a communist partisan, but this has been widely speculated in Italy and elsewhere. At least 12 people have claimed to be the killer since his death. -
Hitler dies
Hitler shot himself in his Führerbunker on the 30th of April, 1945. His wife, Eva, also killed herself by consuming Cyanide.
Stalin was weary of Hitler's death, and released very little to tne public. It also caused mass suicides in Germany due to the influence Naxi propaganda had on them, loyalty to the Nazi party and a reaction to the leader dying. -
German forces surrender
The German surrended of World War 2 is what ended world war 2 in Europe. In Europe, May 8 (9 in Russia due to it being after midnight when the document was signed) is known as 'Victory in Europe Day' to celebrate the war ending in the continent. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
An atomic bomb named "Little Boy" was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which was the first time a nuclear weapon was used in a military operation. It killed 90,000–146,000 people, and is one of the reasons why Japan surrendered in World War 2 -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
The Soviet-Japanese war began on the 8th of August, when the Soviet Union invaded the Japanese puppet state of Manchuko. In this war, Japan lost a lot of its territory, including places such as Northern Korea and the Chishima Islands. It is one of the reasons why Japan surrendered at the end of the Second World War. -
Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki
America dropped a second atomic bomb in Japan on the 9th of August, 1945. It was the second nuclear weapon ever used in warfare, and one hasn't been used in warfare since. It killed approximately 39,000–80,000 people, with around half of them being on the day of the bombing. -
Japane Surrenders
The announcement of the Japanese surrender in the war was on the 15th of August, 1945 but the documents weren't signed until the 2nd of September. Japan was no longer able to support their military and there was about to be an allied invasion of Japan. Despite this, some isolated soldiers refused to surrender, with the final soldiers surrendering in December 1974. Some were not aware of the retreat due to not having contact with the Japanese government -
Start of the United Nations
The United Nations started on the 24th of October, 1945, when the Majority of countries who signed the United Nations Charter ratified the agreement.
It was created to stop wars in the future and a place where countries can discuss varios matters.