Key Battles and Events of WWI

By DARCY.H
  • Germany invaded Poland

    Germany invaded Poland
    Involved party members: Nazi Party
    Location: Poland
    Major action: Blitzkrieg is the strategy that Germany first used in Poland.
    Blitzkrieg - A rushing invasion strategy where they use air and ground forces to overwhelm.
    Outcome: Because of Britain policy they were forced to attack Germany because Poland was invaded. Britain's and Poland's policy was a defensive alliance.To Hitler, the conquest of Poland would bring Lebensraum and where they could take western Prussia.
  • Britain & France declare war on germany

    Britain & France declare war on germany
    Britain and France declare war on Germany. Britain and France are at war with Germany following the invasion of Poland. Germany attacked France through Belgium. Within hours, Britain declared war on Germany. Britain and Poland had a defensive alliance so they had some sort of ally for them to avenge them.
  • Churchill becomes prime minister of Britain

    Churchill becomes prime minister of Britain
    Churchill, who was known for his military leadership ability, was appointed British prime minister in his place. He formed an all-party coalition and quickly won the popular support of Britons.
  • Period: to

    Evacuation of Dunkirk

    Location: Dunkirk, France
    Nations: Britain, France, Belgium, Poland, Canada, Netherlands, Germany
    major actions of this event: the successful evacuation of over 330 thousand soldiers out of approximately 400 thousand.
    Outcome: If those 300 thousand soldiers had died during the battle that could most likely spell defeat because both sides were already struggling with manpower.
  • Period: to

    Evacuation of Dunkirk (operation dynamo)

    The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France. The British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. Outcome: Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of around 350,000 British, French and Belgian troops from Dunkirk, enabled the Allies to continue the war and was a major boost to British morale.
  • France signs armistice with Germay

    Location: Compiegne Forest, France
    Nations or groups involved: France, The Axis
    major actions of this event: The Armistice was signed at the same place as France forced Germany to sign their surrender during the end of WW1.
    Outcome: Pieces of France were chopped off and given to Germany and Italy.
  • Period: to

    Battle of Britain

    Location: Southern Britain, British Channel
    Nations involved: Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy
    major actions of this event: Although outnumbered Britain was able to pull off a victory that saved them the war.
    Outcome: A decisive Victory by the British that caused a stalemate between Britain and Germany because neither side could muster a force that could invade or make any clutch plays, so Germany kept rampaging through Africa with Italy.
  • Opertation Sea Lion

    Location: Britain, British Channel
    Nations involved: Germany, Britain and other allied forces.
    major actions of this event: They had a plan of rushing the beachers of kent, sussex, devon and the isle of wight.
    Outcome or significance of the event: On September 17th the plan was cancelled.
  • Italy enters war on side of axis powers

    Nations or groups involved: Italy, Japan, Germany
    major actions of this event: Even though Germany went against the pact that they currently had and attacked Poland, Italy joined them
    Outcome: Because of Italy's colonies in Africa, the axis powers were able to spread the war to Northern Africa. They now had access to allied nations. Italy also contributed to the invasions of France and Greece.
  • Tripartite Pact signed

    Location: Berlin
    Nations involved: Germany, Italy, Japan
    major actions of this event: Japan was guaranteed ownership over Greater Eastern Asia, and for Italy to Transform back into the Roman Empire which they have been striving for since the colonisation of Africa but when the allies denied Italy any substantial land gains during the treaty of Versailles. This was the reason why italy sided against them.
    Outcome or significance of the event: The formation of the Axis power.
  • Period: to

    Siege of Tobruk

    Location: Dunkirk, Libya
    Nations involved: Australia, Britain, India, Germany, Italy
    major actions of this event: Battle of Salient, one of the most famous Australian moments in all of history, an Australian post was attacked by a combination of both Italian and German soldiers for almost a whole week while being vastly outnumbered.
    Outcome: Tobruk was taken by a mixed force of New Zealanders, Australians and Brits, though it was taken back soon after.
  • Period: to

    Operation Barbarossa

    Location: Russia
    Nations involved: Germany, Romania, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Soviet Union
    major actions of this event: The breaking of the non-aggression pact between the reds and Nazi German on the behalf of Adolf Hitler.
    Outcome: The failure of Germany defeating the soviets turned the tide of the war, and turned what seemed to be a decisive Axis successive into an Allied victory
  • Bombing of Pearl Harbour

    Location: Pearl Harbour, Hawaii
    Nations involved: Japan, USA
    major actions of this event: In the space of two hours at about 8am hundreds of bombers from Japan bombed one of the USA's biggest Naval bases and was able to take control. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American ships, including 8 enormous battleships, and more than 300 planes. there were 3000 casualties with 2/3 of that number being KIA.
    Outcome: This led America to fight with the allies in WW2.
  • Britain and US declare war on Japan

    Location: Britain, USA
    Nations involved: Great Britain, old and current British colonies, USA, Japan
    major actions of this event: The Bombing of Pearl Harbour, which led to the declaration of war.
    Outcome or significance of the event: The official start of the pacific war.
  • Japan takes Singapore

    Location: Singapore
    Nations involved: Britain, India, Malaya, Australia, New Zealand, Japan
    major actions of this event: As Japan was breaking the lines and advancing further into Singapore in their waylaid Alexandra Hospital which was a military hospital, out of the 900 patients 150 were killed. During war time it is illegal to execute medics or patients that bear the red cross.
    Outcome or significance of the event: The Allies lost their foothold in Asia
  • Period: to

    First Battle of El Alamein

    Location: Egypt
    Nations or groups involved: Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, British RAJ
    major actions of this event: The allies were able to hold a railway line for the whole battle
    Outcome or significance of the event: The outcome was the holt of the Germans advance led by Erwin Rommel.
  • Period: to

    Battle of Midway

    Location: North central pacific ocean
    Nations involved: USA, Japan
    major actions of this event: This was the most decisive naval battle in the whole war, the battle was fought 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbour.
    Outcome: The Americans were able to counter the Japanese naval ambush and were able to win, Americans were able to sink Japans main heavy cruiser.
  • Period: to

    Battle of Stalingrad

    Location: Stalingrad, Russia
    Nations involved: Germany, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Soviet Union
    major actions of this event: Considered to be the greatest and bloodiest battles of the war by many historians which spelt out the halt of the German advance in Russia and the turning point for the whole war.
    Outcome: the reds successfully defended Stalingrad and started the push westwards back to Poland and Germany.
  • Period: to

    second Battle of El Alamein

    Location: Egypt
    Nations involved: Germany, Italy, Britain, India, Palestine, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Free France, US
    major actions of this event: Erwin Rommel was unable to attend most of the battle because he grew severely ill and had to leave for Germany.
    Outcome: Due to the excellence of British General Bernard Montgomery and his ability to maintain the infantry and the air force.
  • D-Day Landings

    Location: Normandy, northern occupied France
    Nations involved: Germany, Britain, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland
    major actions of this event: The D-Day landings took places at Utah Beach, Pointe De Hoc, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach and Juno Beach.
    Outcome or significance of the event: The suicide of Adolf Hitler and the eventual surrender of Nazi Germany.
  • Period: to

    Battle of the Bulge

    Location: Belgium, Amsterdam
    Nations involved: USA, Britain, France, Canada, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany
    major actions of this event: Allies used the Blitzkrieg method on Germany which is a famous German tactic, The battle seemed lost for the nazis because they ran out of fuel for their trucks and were unable to commence their blitzkrieg tactics.
    Outcome: Allied victory though both sides sustained heavy losses.
  • Mussolini captured and executed

    Location: Italian/Austrian border
    Nations involved: Italian
    major actions of this event: As Allied forces made their way up Italian, Benito planned to flee into Switzerland with his wife, though they found out that the border guards had switched sides and are adding the Italian communist coup. They disguised themselves as soldiers and tried to pass them. In the end they got caught and were shot.
    outcome or significance of the event: The collapse of the Kingdom of Italy.
  • Hitler commits suicide

    Location: Berlin
    Nations involved: Allied forces in Europe.
    major actions of this event: He chose to take his life and the lives of his family because when the allies eventually won, he wouldn't be tried for his crimes.
    Outcome or significance of the event: The surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of war in Europe, leaving Japan as the only opposing force. This also led to the discovery of the German concentration camps and the true horrors of Germany's crimes.
  • German forces surrender

    Location: Europe
    Nations involved: Allied forces, Germany
    major actions of this event: The signing of Germany surrender
    Outcome: The end of war in Europe only leaving a battered Japan to fight by themselves.
  • V.E. day

    Location: Europe, America
    Nations involved: All participants of WW2
    Outcome: Now an internationally celebrated day to commemorate all who fought and died for their countries and what they had to give so that the world could prosper.
  • Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima

    Location: Hiroshima, Japan
    Nations involved: Japan, USA
    major actions of this event: The first ever use of a Nuclear Bomb during wartime detonated on Hiroshima, The fallout was able to reach America west coast in just 10 days and was as strong as 750 rads.
    Outcome: extreme Radiation levels, which devastated the populous for many years prior the event.
  • Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki

    Location: Nagasaki, Japan
    Nations involved: Japan, USA
    major actions of this event: The largest Nuclear payload detonated during the war time. Because of the first nuke, the exploded in Hiroshima and the Soviet invasion of Japan hadn't caused Japan to surrender the US dropped an additional bomb named the "fat man" and it pushed the Japanese war council to plea for a surrender.
    Outcome: The surrender of Imperial Japan and the end of WW2.
  • Soviet Union declares war on Japan

    Location: Northeastern Asia
    Nations or groups involved: Japan, Soviet Union
    major actions of this event: Soviet union Invade occupied Manchuria with over 1 million men.
    Outcome: Caused Emporer Hirohito to push for a surrender though his war council turned it down.
  • Japanese surrender – End of WWII

    Location: The Worldwide
    Nations involved: Everyone who participated in the war
    major actions of this event: The end of all conflict worldwide
    Outcome: The end of WW2 further pushed the point that war is hell and that it shouldn't be seen as an adventure, it should been seen as something u wanna do for the greater good of your country and planet.
  • United Nations is born

    Location: Europe, USA
    Nations involved: America, Europe and Oceania, most of Asia and some of Africa
    major actions of this event: The formation of the UN
    Outcome: The push for world peace was slowly being accepted by the world after suffering through two devastating world wars.