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Germany invades Poland
German army destroyed the air force, railway, communication lines of Poland and then used overwhelming numbers of troops, tanks and artillery to defeat Poland with a short time. The invasion meant WW2 had began. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
In response to Hitler's invation of Poland, Britain and France allied and declare war on Germany, thought American still remain neutral. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
After failing to prevent the German invasion of Norway, the previous Prime Minister Chamberlain lost the support of many members of his party. Churchill becomes the Prime Minister of Britain. -
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Evacuation of Dunkrik
The great nine-day evacution saved about 338000 Allied troops from capture by Hitler. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers
Under the lead of Benito Mussolini, Italy declares war on the Western Allies. Mussolini said that Italy needed to territorially expand to provide vital space for the Italian nation. Later, in September 1940 German, Japan and Italy signed the Tripartite Pact. -
France signs armistice with Germany
The French had lost their best heavy weaponry and their best armored formations during the Battle of France. French losses were 92000 dead and more than 200000 wounded, they were over two times of the losses of Germany. The French government declared Paris to be an open city after Germany threatened to occupy Paris.
The armistice was signed near Compiègne, France. Compiègne was the site of the 1918 Armistice, Hitler saw using this location as a supreme moment of revenge for Germany over France. -
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Battle of Britain
The battle was the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date. Hitler wanted to invade and occupy Britian. However, he failed because of the failure the great all-air battle. -
Tripartite Pact signed
On that day, the Tripartite Pact is signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan in Berlin. It marks as the Axis power become allies. -
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was Nazi Germany's code name for a provisionally proposed invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain. Hitler expected the British to seek a peace agreement after France surrended. German expected to destory the air force of Britain first and then use land force to occupy Britain. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk lasted for 241 days in 1941. Britain had established control of Tobruk after routing the Italians in 1940. But the Germans attempted to win it back by reinforcing Italian troops with the Afrika Korps of Erwin Rommel. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Hitler wished to occupy the Soviet Union and get its resources. Howevver, he failed. The failure of Operation Barbarossa was a turning point in the fortunes of the Third Reich. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
On the morning of that day, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 2000 American soldiers died and more than 1000 were wounded. One day later, American declares war on Japan. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
Because of the attack, American finally declares war on Japan after two years' neutrality. -
Japan take Singapore
Japan wished to transfer Singapore to its own empire. Just after the attack of Pearl Habour, Japan sent over 24000 troops to invade Singapore. Finally, Singapore is taken by Japan and Britain lost its foothold in the East. -
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Battle of Midway
It was one of the most decisive naval battles of WW2. America defeated Japan in that historical battle. It is much said that Battle of Midway is a turning point of WW2 because Japan had lost to many battle force. -
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First Battle of El Alamein
Germany and Italy expected to get decisive victory in the First Battle of El Alamein. However, the Axis failed to do that because of the resistance of Britain. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein was a major battle of the Second World War. With the Allies victorious, it marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. It ended the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal, and of gaining access to the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields via North Africa. -
D-Day Landings
D-Day landings is also known as Normandy landings. It lasts for two months. It was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history. It have been called as the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. -
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Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe. On December 16, three German armies launched the deadliest and most desperate battle of the war in the west. The quiet place turned into a battle field. The Allies won the war at last. A German soldier said that they thought they can defeat the Allies like they did to the French army in 1940, however, the result is helping the Allies seized Berlin faster. -
Mussolini captured and executed
On that day, Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot by Italian partisans. They were captured when they attempted to flee to Switzerland. -
Hitler commits suicide
On this day, Adolf Hitler suicides by shooting himself in head. Before his death, he clearly knew that Germany would be defeated in the war. He also killed Braun and their dog. -
German forces surrender
On that day, General Alfred Jodl signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces include East and West. -
V.E. Day
V.E. stands for victory in Europe. Both Britain and the United States celebrated Victory on Europe day. Russian celebrated V.E. day until German finally surrendered. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The dropping of atomic bomb makes WW2 ends faster. However, the bomb killed 80,000 people in a sudden. There were also lots of death and wounded afterwards. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
The Soviet Union officially declares war on Japan and pouring over one million soldiers to take on the Japanese army. The Japanese thought that the Soviet Union wouldn't declare war on them until the spring of 1946, however, the Soviet Union gives them a big surprise. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The second atomic bomb dropped by America is called "Fat Man". The reaon why America chose Nagasaki is because it was the an industry centre. More than 60000 people were killed. The two atomic bombs finally makes Japan's unconditional surrender. -
Japanese surrender-End of WW2
Japan surrenders to te Allies the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay and finally brings an end to World War 2. Signatures of the United States, China, Britain, the USSR, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand were signed. It marks the end of the most devaststing war in human history. -
United Nations is born
The United Nations was adopted and signed on June 26, 1945. Now the war is over, the United Nations was born. The Security Council is made up of the United States, Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China. Each would have veto power over the other.
