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Hitler invades Poland
Hitler invades Poland on September 1st, 1939. France and Britain then declare war on Germany two days later. -
Auschwitz
Construction started in 1940 after Hitler had invaded Poland (1940-1945) Auschwitz was a German concentration camp that was built for the main purpose of being a death camp for holding people the Germans deemed fit. Auschwitz was actually composed of three main camps; Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II, and Auschwitz III. There were an estimated 1.3 million people deported to the camps and estimated 1.1 million were murdered there. -
The German Blitzkrieg overwhelms France, Belgium, and Holland
The German Blitzkrieg overwhelms France, Belgium, and Holland. The Germans overflowed streets with tons of German soldiers that overwhelmed and eventually occupied these areas. -
The British victory in the Battle of Britain
This battle was a major turning point in the war. The British winning this made Hitler postpone his invasion plans. -
The Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk was the scramble in North Africa that lasted 241 days against the Germans and this was the first major land loss against the Germans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oM3CJjHi6s -
German Blitzkrieg continues their attacks against major British cities.
The German blitzkrieg had many nighttime bombing raids against London and many of Britains other cities. 43,000 British civilians were killed and 139,000 more were wounded. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was Germany's invasion of Russia. In the two years preceding, Hitler and Stalin were previously on a treatise. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a devastating attack made by the Japenese that was just before 8 A.M. on a Sunday that destroyed and damaged 20 American naval ships. -
The Burma Campaign
(1942-1945) British rule in Burma was strong, until the Japenese wanted the land for a much easier way into China, and put them very close to India. Britain and India were not happy with the Japenese plans, and besides neither wanted to fight on the land, they fought for the land anyways because of its very integral point in the war. -
The Battle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was the battle of Singapore people versus the Japenese who invaded. They successfully took the land and it was a major hit against the allies, Japan taking 25,000 prisoners. -
The Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a three-day battle lasting from June 4, 1942- June 7, 1942. The United States was able to, in recent code breaking advancements, able to decipher Japan's plans to destroy some of America's last few naval aircraft carriers. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
The Battle of Stalingrad
(07/17/1942- 02/02/1943) The Battle of Stalingrad was a battle between Germany and the USSR in which Russia was on the defensive. Germany was trying to attack and conquer Russian city Stalingrad. The Germans failed for a number of reasons including; hard winter, shortage of food, and inevitable bloodshed. This battle was a huge turning point for the Allies and resulted in over 2 million civilian casualties. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
The Surrender of Stalingrad
Stalingrad was finally surrendered on February 2nd, 1943. Hitler had said that there would be no surrender, the troops would fight till their last, but unbeknownst to him, they surrendered anyway. Due to guerilla attacks, diminishing food source, and bracing the harsh Russian winter, the Germans were not looking too strong. Von Paulus, the commander in charge of the army, finally surrendered and ended up joining the Soviets in hope of making other Germans surrender. -
The North African Campaign, victory in Tunisia
The North African Campaign is an ongoing campaign since June of 1940 that included the Siege of Tobruk. The allies believed that holding down parts of North Africa would be a good way to get to Italy. The final battle in Tunisia in 1943 led them to be able to focus their resources on Italy. -
Italy's surrender
Italy surrendered on September 8th, 1943 after Mussolini was deported from power and a new man had taken his place. This man, named Gen. Pietro Badoglio, negotiated with General Eisenhower for weeks before the initial surrender of Italy. -
Allied bomb of Monte Cassino
The Allies first put planes into the skies with leaflets telling the monks and people of the monastery to negotiate their safe passage on the 14. They thought their passage out on the 16th would be fine, but on the 15th, they were bombed. -
D-Day
D-Day was the allied invasion of North France by starting at the beaches of Normandy. This was an important battle because of helping liberate Western Europe from Nazi control. Some 156,000 American, Canadian, and British forces landed at Normandy. This was one of the largest amphibious invasions. This invasion is known as the "beginning of the end of the war in Europe." -
Operation Bagration
With more than 2.3 million men, the Soviets offensive strengthens their pace on the Eastern Europe front. In the South, the Germans and their allies held the front from the Soviets. The Soviets, however, were better equipped and came out victorious. -
Hitler commits suicide
Hitler, the German Führer, commits suicide on April 30th, 1945. His self-proclaimed thousand years Reich has no succeeded. In an underground bunker, it is said that he had shot himself after giving his wife a chemical to kill her. The SS was commanded to burn both their bodies so that they may not be mangled after death. -
Russian troops reach and capture Berlin
The Russian offensive had already broken the Eastern Europe border, Berlin was heavily bombed to the point where the area was devastated. The cost of this battle was enormous, almost 250,000 people died during the last three weeks of the war, which would leave lots of time for rebuilding. -
The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6th, 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed by new atom bomb technology. Hiroshima's bomb wiped out 90% of the population of the city, instantly vaporizing some 80,000. Tens of thousands would later die from radiation poisoning. Nagasaki's bomb instantly vaporized 40,000 people, also later killing many. Japan's Emporer, Hirohito later announced their surrender on August 15th. These atomic bombings were the first of their kind and were remarked as being the cruelest and devastating. -
Aftermath of WWII
This aftermath was started by the decline of most of the powers, including Great Britain. The Soviets and the United States were the only great powers to grow from the ending of this war. Declines of the other countries left the U.S. and USSR to prosper. The deaths of WW2 is in ranges of 50-80 million, more probable being on the upper scale.
