Timeline: Historical Events of WW2

Period: Aug 1, 1939 to May 2, 1945

The Use of Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg, or lightning war, was a wartime strategy developed and first employed by Germany in WW2, to much success. The tactic combined fast moving mechanized infantry, being tanks, motorized vehicles, supported by an initial airstrike and artillery. This strategy was developed to avoid trench warfare like the first world war, and it accomplished that. This strategy provided Hitler much success in his conquest of Europe, and other nations adopted this tactic for the success it brought.

Jun 10, 1940

The Fall of Paris

The French mobilized for war one Nazi Germany had attacked Poland. Many French people believed the war to be far away. However, Germany invaded on May 10th, and within 46 days, occupied Paris. During the fighting, the government fled Paris June 10th, and the Germans had the city four days later. This had happened due to carelessness in the French defenses, The Maginot Line was unfinished through the Ardennes Forest because the assumption the Germans would not be able to move tanks through it.

Jun 22, 1941

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was code for the German invasion of Soviet Russia. June of 1941, Hitler committed 150 divisions and almost 3 million men to the invasion force. This invasion took the Red Army by surprise. The German's broke through the first lines, and after capturing or killing most of the men in the initial battles, they were surprised to find that the Soviets raised another 200 divisions. Overall, the German's inability to push in and capture Russia lead to their defeat in the war.

Dec 7, 1941

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor is a military base on the island of Honolulu, Hawaii. It was the first location of a surprise attack from the Japanese, as they believed that the U.S. would be their only competition on the Pacific. Hundreds of Japanese aircraft attacked the base in the early morning of Dec. 7th, 1941. Here they managed to damage or destroy almost 20 American ships, including 8 battleships among others, and more than 300 planes. 2400 Americans died in this attack, including civilians.

Jan 20, 1942

Wannsee Conference

"Final Solution of the Jewish Question", was the topic of this conference, and to debate the "issue" that Jews posed on Germany. Fifteen high ranking Nazi officers and government officials gathered in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss the implementation and coordination of this plan. The systematic destruction of European Jews was dubbed the Final Solution. The discourse sparked the use of able bodied Jews for labor, and the outright murder of those who were not considered useful.

Jun 4, 1942

The Battle of Midway

One of the goals of the Japanese was to eliminate the US as a threat in the Pacific. Midway was an ideal target as Pearl harbor was in aircraft range from there, establishing dominance on the Pacific and forcing the US to negotiate peace. A trap was set for the Japanese after coms were intercepted indicating they would attack Midway. US carriers were ready to attack when fighting broke out. This resulted in the destruction of all 3 Japanese carriers, one American, and a victory for the US.

Aug 23, 1942

The Battle of Stalingrad

A clash between the Red Army and Germany for control of Stalingrad. Infamous as one of the bloodiest and longest battles in modern warfare. Taking place from Aug. 23rd 1942 to Feb. 2nd,1943, the goal was to take the city The resulting fighting destroyed most of the city, causing more 2 million to fight house to house in CQC. In the end, casualties numbered almost at 2 million, including thousands of civilians. Ultimately, Russia flanked and encircled the Germans, forcing surrender.

Jul 24, 1943

Operation Gomorrah

In the evening of July 24th, 1943 British air force began bombing the German city of Hamburg in retaliation for German air raids. British aircraft dropped 2 300 tons of incendiary bombs on the city in a few hours. Tech to avoid German radar had recently improved, resulting in only 12 of 791 planes being lost in this raid. However, as these continued into November, the Germans adapted to this tech and began shooting down more planes. The operation proved devastating to Hamburg and German morale.

Jun 6, 1944

D-Day (Normandy Invasion)

Codenamed Operation Overlord, the objective was to create a second front to roll back German aggression from Russia. Beginning on D-Day, 156 000 Allied soldiers landed on 50 miles of beaches on the Normandy coast in France. This invasion was one of the largest amphibious military attacks in history, and thus required much planning. Distraction and misdirection was used to draw Germans away from the point of attack. By August 1944, the Allies have pushed back the Germans out of northern France.

Period: Jul 24, 1944 to May 9, 1945

Liberation of the Concentration Camps

As the Allies advanced towards Germany, they began to stumble across camps full of sick and starving prisoners. The first camp to be liberated was Majdanek, near Lublin, Poland. Unable to destroy all the evidence in favor of retreating, parts of these murder camps stood, like gas chambers. Germany moved these prisoners deep into Germany, either by train or forcing them to march in horrible conditions. Liberation continued, and the Allied discovered more and more atrocities committed by Germany

Dec 16, 1944

The Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge, named aptly so as the defensive line of the Allies resembled a bulge, was a crucial battle in the war, as it paved the way for the Allies to claim victory. Dec. 16th 1944-Jan. 25th 1945, in Hitler's last offensive in the western front, German forces tried to push a wedge between British, French, and American troops. This costly battle was fought in freezing weather conditions, causing Americans, to struggle immensely. in the Ardennes Forest, northern France.

Feb 19, 1945

The Battle of Iwo Jima

A battle fought between the Americans and the Japanese, on an island 750 miles from Japan. The thought was the island could be used for the potential invasion of mainland. This battle took weeks instead of days. Japanese hid artillery posts on mountains, bombarding Americans storming the beach. It was an extremely bloody fight resulting in more than 25 000 American casualties, and believed that all but 200 of the 21 000 Japanese were killed.

May 8, 1945

Victory in Europe (VE) Day

May 8th, 1945 was the day that Germany unconditionally surrendered in WW2. This is the day that German troops all through Europe gave up and laid down arms. There were pockets of resistance in the next day, where continual surrender followed. Many countries celebrated the defeat of the German war machine, while others turned their sights onto the other part of the war, with Japan

Sep 2, 1945

Victory in Japan (VJ) Day

After VE day, Japan faced the full brunt of the Allies attacks. Due to this, Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allies on Aug. 14th 1945. This was mainly in part to the dropping of two atomic bombs, the Little Boy and the Fat Man, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Peace deal was signed on the U.S.S Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. This happened only a few months after VE day, resulting in the end of the second world war.

1947