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The Maginot Line
Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. The Maginot Line dominated French military thinking in the inter-war years. The Maginot Line was a vast fortification that spread along the French/German border. -
Battle of France
It involved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances.
the world war is generally said to have begun on 1 September, 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and Britain. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
Britain and France are at war with Germany following the invasion of Poland two days ago. He said the British ambassador to Berlin had handed a final note to the German government this morning saying unless it announced plans to withdraw from Poland by 1100, a state of war would exist between the two countries. -
France declared war on Germany the day after Germany invaded Poland
The first casualty of that declaration was not German—but the British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk by a German U-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and belligerent. There were more than 1,100 passengers on board, 112 of whom lost their lives. Of those, 28 were Americans, but President Roosevelt was unfazed by the tragedy, declaring that no one was to "thoughtlessly or falsely talk of America sending its armies to European fields. -
Battle of France
Adolf Hitler and Walther von Brauchitsch versus Maurice Gamelin: A French army under Gamelin sits on the defensive to defend against the expected onslaught of a German army under Hitler and Brauchitsch. -
Rescue at Dunkirk
In 1940- sensing a catastrophic loss in the making, winston churchill orders preparation of vessels to evacuate the British expeditionary forces from northern facts. French and British forces began congregating at French port city of Dunkirk.The Belgian defense had now fallen, though German resources were partially ties to this effort. -
Nazi Occupation of France
It took only six weeks for France to capitulate to the German invaders. A stunning defeat - particularly since before the war the French army was considered the most powerful in Europe. -
D-Day
D-Day was significant because it was the turning point of World War II. It marked the start of the Allies' invasion of Western Europe and covered the way for an Allied victor -
The Invasion of Normandy
On 6 June 1944 the Western Allies landed in northern France, opening the long-awaited "Second Front" against Adolf Hitler's Germany. Though they had been fighting in mainland Italy for some nine months, the Normandy invasion was in a strategically more important region, setting the stage to drive the Germans from France and ultimately destroy the National Socialist regime. -
The Japanese surrendered to the allies
On September 2, 1945, the Japanese representatives signed the official Instrument of Surrender, prepared by the War Department and approved by President Truman. It set out in eight short paragraphs the complete capitulation of Japan. The opening words, "We, acting by command of and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan," signified the importance attached to the Emperor's role by the Americans who drafted the document. The short second paragraph went straight to the heart of the matter: "We hereby pr
