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Germany invades Poland
On September the 1st, around 1.5 million Nazi soldiers attacked and started to invade along the 1,750-mile border of Poland which was Germany’s controlled territory. Germany used their war power and materials to attack both on land, and in the air. This was very significant to our history as this was one of the main causes of WW11, which would inevitably kill thousands of people. If Hitler never invaded Poland, WW11 may have never existed. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
Britain and France were not happy with Germany invading Poland, so on the 2nd of September Britain and France told Germany if they didn’t surrender by the next day, war would be declared on Germany. Sure enough, by 11am the next day, war was declared on national radio by the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, as Germany had not surredered. This was very significant as such a large amount of people were killed and it is still a very large part of our history, still to this day. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Neville Chamberlain signed the Munich Pact with Adolf Hitler, basically handing over Czechslovakia to him. However, when Hitler invades Poland the Pact is over. Chamberlain struggled to keep Europe from the Nazi's invasions. Winston Churchill had been known for his military leadership and was appointed the British Prime minister, in Britain, on the 10th of May. This would help the Britsh Empire to defeat the Nazi army, it would also help reduce the fatalities due to wars and battles etc -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
All people in the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops, who were from the French seaport of Dunkirk, were sent to England. The British Commander did this so that the troops could be saved to fight future wars and battles. The long nine-day evacuation saved the lives of around 338,000 allied troops. This was important as the soldiers who were saved, would be apart of defeating Hitler in upcoming years. Which would overall save many other countries from being invaded by the Nazi's. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis Powers
On June the 10th, 1940, the Italian dicataor, Benito Mussolini declares that they are joining the Axis alliance in Italy. Mussolini wanted strength and power for his country, to do that he needed an alliance which is why he decided to join Hitler and his Nazi army. This was significant as it dramatically increased the severity of WW11. It gave Hitler much more power to take over, due to the sharing of resources, and just the fact that their enemies had to now defeat another country. -
France signs armistice with Germany
Near Compiègne, in France, the French decide to sign an armistance with Germany at 6:36pm. This was significant as around 3 days later, more than half of France was now occupied the Germans, giving Hitler and his Nazi's more lebensraum. As it was now Hitlers land, he could use the resources and materials their to make an even stronger army, also increasing the severity of WW11. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the named used for one of the largest bombing campaigns to this day. The German and Britain armies fought in the air. Germany targetted many of British army bases, military posts and their main population on the ground. However, Britain proved to the Germans that air power alone could be used to win a major battle, as the British gained victory. -
Tripartite Pact signed
On the 27th of September, Germany, Italy and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. This was signifant as it allowed the countires to assist eachother, by providing eachother with resources and materials for war. It would also make Great Britain and France think twice about attacking the Axis Powers, as they were now a united alliance. -
Operation of Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was the name given to the German plan to invade Britain. However, it did not take place, the plan was the place 160,000 Nazi’s along the forty-mile coast of south-east England, at the end of 1940. The reason why Hitler didn’t go ahead with the invasion is that they lost the Battle of Britain, meaning their resources were low. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was the siege in which the German-Italian army surrounded 14, 000 Australian troops in Tobruk. The troops who were located in Tobruk, mostly Australian, soon became known as the 'Rats of Tobruk' due to living in the ground. The 241 day long siege, resulted in 832 Australians killed, 2,177 were wounded and 941 were taken prisoners. However, this was one of the first wars that Australia would fight in WWII, this let other countries know that Australia was able capable of war. -
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22nd, 1941, Operation Barbarossa took place, which was the name given to the German invasion of the Soviet Union. More than 3 million Axis troops were involved in gaining more lebensraum for Hitler. It was soon to be known as one of the largest military operation in History. Initially the plan was successful as the Soviet Union was not prepared, however the plan soon failed as it led to Germany having to fight Russia, and France and Belgium on the West. -
Bombing of Pearl Habour
At 8am on the 7th of December, the American Navy base at Pearl Harbour, near Honolulu in Hawaii, is attacked and bombed by Japanese. Around 2,000 military and civilians were killed during the attacks, which soon leads to war. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
On the 8th of December, 1941, Britain and the US declare war on Japan at the House of Representatives. A declaration was signed by Franklin Roosevelt at 4:10pm, declaring war on the Japanese Empire. This was significant as it was the start of war, which would soon cause thousands of deaths, and loss of resources etc. -
Japan take Singapore
After the Pearl Harbour attacks, around 24,000 Japanese troops were transported from Indochina to the Malay Peninsula. Singapore was occupied by the British, and as they were in an Alliance with the US, the Japenese empire started to attack Singapore. Thousands of people and resources were destoyed by the Japanese. Singapore was both outmanned and outgunned, and in the end Singapore eventually surrenders to the Japanese. -
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway lasted 3 days, and consisted of the Japanese and the United States. Both of the countires were fighting a naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The United States used coding to defeat Japanese, as they were able to reempt what the Japanese had planned. -
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First Battle of El Alamein
The First Battle of Alamein was fought in Egypt, in a battle of the Western desert. The battle was fought against the Axis powers and the Afrika Korps. The battle turned out to be the climax in the North African campaign, with the British Empire and the German-Italian army, which was led by Erwin Rommel. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle in Stalingrad consisted of Nazi Germany bombing the Soviet Union in Stalingrad. Through all the bombing and fighting the Soviet army persist on, and by November the Soviet Union had besieged the Germans in Stalingrad. On the 2nd of Feb, 1943, the Germans surrender. The bloodiest battle ever fought finished with a death rate of 2 million people from both Germany and the Soviet Union. The victory was so significant, as it was ultimately the downfall of the Nazi army. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein started on the 23rd of October, in 1942. The Axis and the Allies battled near the Egyptian railway hut, near El Alamein. By the end of the battle, the Allies had defeated the Axis power, which then forced Rommel to retreat into Tunisia. -
D-Day Landings
Western Europe is invaded by the Allies on June the 6th, 1944. It would soon to be known as one of the largest marine attacks in history. More than 130,000 approach the east coast of France, and in less than a few weeks more than a million men had landed on the beaches of Normandy. This was significant because on the 25th of August, France was liberated, giving the Allied forces more of a chance of victory in Europe. -
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Battle of the Bulge
Hitler's main plan of the Battle of the Bulge was to split the Allies and guide them into enemy terrority. So, on the 16th of December when Germany surprise attacks the Allies, in the Ardennes mountains of Belgium, France and Luxemburg. However, Hitler's plan failed due to a lack of fuel and the courage of the American troops proved to be fatal, for the Nazi army. -
Mussolini captured and executed
Benito Mussolini was the Italian Fascist leader of Italy. While trying to escape to the Swiss border, Mussolini, his mistress and few other close assosciates were captured by his own people. They were all shot and sent to the to the Piazzale Loreto, which was were the bodies were beaten and urinated on. The beaten corpses were then finally left to hang upside down, for public display. -
Hitler commits suicide
On the 30th of April, 1945, Hitler commits suicide. Hitler and his wife both consume cyanide capsules. Hitler then shoots himself with a service gun, in his air raid bunker that he just recently refurbished which was loctaed underneath the Reich Chancellery building. This led to the downfall and ineviatibly the end of the Nazi army. -
German forces surrender
On the 7th of May, 1945, the German Nazi army surrender, bringing an end to WWII. As Hitler had now passed, General Alfred Jodl was put in charge of the siging of the 'Act of Military Surrender'. This was a very significant event as it brought an end to WWII, however, some battles did still go on for several more months, so it was not entirely over. -
V.E. day
The following day, Germany had just surrendered to the Allied forces. A public holiday was created called the 'Victory in Europe Day' which celebrates the Victory the the Allies, due to Germany's unconditional surrender. The Public holiday was celebrated in both Great Britain the the United States. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The battle against Japan and the US was rising and President Harry S. Truman was wanting it to end quickly. So the American bomber 'Enola Gay' dropped a 5-tonne bomb onto the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb automatically killed 80,000 people, later killing over a tens of thousands of people from burns and being projected to too much radiation. Truman believed that this would end the battle quickly, he was correct as later Japan would surrender. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
At 11pm on the 8th of August, the Soviet Union declares itself at war with the Empire of Japan. The Soviet union later invade Manchuria with 1 million Soviet soliders. As the Japnese were not worried about the Soviet union, they had alrady adressed the issue, the only time they could surrender was when Japan’s future were given by the Allies. The inavsion was so forceful and violent that the Japanese had to consider surrendering. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
On the 9th of August, 1945, the United States dropped their second bomb on the city of Nagasaki, in Japan. The bomb, also nicknamed 'bock's car' killed around 60,000 to 80,000 people. The bombing of Hiroshima was not enough to convince the War Council to let Japan surrender. However after the bombing in Nagasaki, Japan was given permission for unconditional surrender. -
Japanese surrender - End of WWII
Due to the bombings, the invasion of Manchuria etc., it left Japan economically unstable, Japan had no other choice but to surrender. So on the 2nd of the September, 1945, after several signatures were made, by the United States, Japan China, Britain, the USSR, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand, World War 2 was now officially over. This was such a significant event as it dates the day that the most devastating war in history, was now officially over. -
United Nations is born
The United Nations was officially formed on the 24th of October, 1945. In replacement for the League of Nations, the United Nations was made to promote international co-operation and to prevent another devestating conflict, such as WWII. The 26 nations at war with the Axis powers met in Washington to sign the Declaration, forming the United Nations.