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Germany Invades Poland
As Hitler continuously argued and pushed the limits of the Treaty of Versailles, the Invasion of Poland was his last chance. On September 1, 1939, Hitler marched his troops to Poland, and within weeks, the polish army was defeated after 2,000 tanks and 1,000 planes broke through their defenses. After breaking the Laws of the Treaty once more, Chamberlain demanded that Hitler withdraw his forces from Poland or war would be declared. After no reply from Hitler, this marked the beginning of WWII. -
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Britain & France declare war on Germany
After Hitlers sudden invasion of Poland, it was at this point when Britain and France could simply not allow Hitler to gain anymore power. On the 3rd of September,1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sent a demand for Hitler to remove German forces from Poland immediately, or else war would be declared. After waiting 15 minutes for a response, at 11:15 am, Chamberlain publicly announced that Britain and France were at war with Germany. This marked the start of the second world war. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
After promising Britain "peace in our time" when Chamberlain signed the Munich Pact with Hitler which allowed the Nazi's control over Czechoslovakia, that promise broke when Hitler invaded Poland, which broke Chamberlain's confidence in stopping Nazi's taking over Europe. He lost many supporters within Britain when the Nazi's gained power in Norway in 1940, which was when he resigned and Churchill took over the spot. Churchill was known for his leadership skills and soon lead Britain to Victory. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation of Dynamo)
Operation Dynamo was the first ever setback for the Nazi's when British, Belgium and French soldiers defended the small port of Dunkirk in France against the Germans. As the Germans continued to invade France, British Commander Gort was ordered to help the defense of Dunkirk. If he didn't, many of his soldiers would be killed. So in an attempt to flee, they rushed to the Port and defended it until friendly ships pulled them off the coast. Hitler actually haltered the attack: saving 340,000 men. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers
In soon relation of the Tripartite Pact (Germany, Italy, Japan), on the 10th of June,1940, Italy officially entered World War II on the Axis Powers as the defeat of Paris had occurred. Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini had very similar interests with Hitler and met in Munich. They both wanted to destroy Soviet Communism, both had wanted territorial expansion, both to create a foundation of empires based on military conquest and to overthrow international order. Therefore making them good friends -
France signs armistice with Germany
France signing the armistice with Germany is also known as the official French surrender to Germany. As the German mission to invade France was coming to an end, new French PM Paul Reynaud announces his plans to sign an armistice with the Nazis. The armistice came into effect on the 25th of June with the half of France occupied by the Nazi's. This lowered the odds of British soldiers receiving French reinforcements, which was a devastating blow considering France played a vital role in the war. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a 3 month battle fought between the British Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe. It was a battle fought in the skies as the British successfully gained air superiority over the Luftwaffe. This was a significant turning point in the war. Despite months of numerous attempts to target Britain’s air bases, military posts and generally the entire civilian population, Britain proved that air power alone could be used to win major battles, and to protect their country. -
Operation Sea Lion (Abandoned)
Operation Sea Lion was a planned invasion on Britain, given out by Hitler himself. However the invasion did not occur due to Germany's loss to the British Air Force at the Battle of Britain. Hitler also didn't fully execute the plan, because he then turned his interest to Russia, and wanted to plan a forthcoming attack on the Soviets rather than trying to take Britain once more. Germany's plan was to cripple the British Air Force and to control the English Channel, so planes couldn't attack them -
Tripartite Pact signed
The Tripartite Pact marked a critical point in WWII when Axis powers Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan became allies. The Tripartite pact provided for mutual assistance if any of the countries who signed the pact suffer an attack by any nation not already involved in the war. This formalizing of the alliance was aimed directly at “neutral” America–designed to force the United States to think twice before moving in on the side of the Allies. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk lasted for 241 days and was fought between Australians, Italians, Germans and the British when the Axis forces charged through to El Agheila against the British Western Desert Force in Libya, during the Western Desert Campaign. The Allies defense of Egypt was vital for preventing the Axis powers control of northern Africa. Around 14,000 Australians, four regiments of British artillery and some Indian troops resisted constant fire and shelling from their enemies. -
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Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a massive invasion plan executed by the Germans on Russia It involved over 3 million Axis troops and 3,500 tanks. Catching the Russians by surprise, the Luftwaffe gained Air control quickly, and crashed the front lines. the Germans were successful at first, some units advancing 50 miles on the first day, although resistance was fiercer than expected in the south. Stalin's superior persistance lead the Russians to survival as they gradually fought back and won the battle -
Bombing of Pearl Habour
Just before 8 am, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The devastating attack lasted 2 hours, with 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes destroyed. More than 2,000 American soldiers and sailors were killed, and another 1,000 were wounded. The day after, the U.S president declared war on Japan, which made Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S. U.S.A was now in WWII. -
Britain and the U.S declare war on Japan
In response to Japans attack on Pearl Harbor the previous day, U.S president Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Due to the Tripartite pact signed by the Axis Powers, Italy and Germany declared war on the U.S, finally involving America in the European war. After 2 years of avoiding the European war, the U.S were now to included. Roosevelt made a 10 minute speech about the declaration, which the American people accepted proudly. The U.S were ready for the 4 devastating years ahead. -
Japan takes Singapore
Since the 19th century, Singapore had remained a British colony. By July 1941, Japan had occupied French Indochina. On February 8, 5,000 Japanese troops landed on Singapore Island. The British were both outmanned and outgunned, and were forced to abandon and evacuate many of their positions these positions included Kuala Lumpur and Port Swettenham. The battle lasted throughout December and January, killing hundreds of civilians in the process. Britain had now lost it's hold in the east. -
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Battle of Midway
Six months after the Bombing of Pearl Harbour, the U.S defeated Japan in one of the biggest naval battles of WWII. With the U.S' advances in code cracking, they were able to counter and prevent Japan's planned ambushes of its few remaining aircraft carriers. This had now inflicted permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. This victory allowed the U.S and its allies to move into an offensive position in the Pacific campaign. -
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First battle of El Alamein
The Battle for North Africa continues as German field Marshal Erwin Rommel fights constantly against Australian and British soldiers. After the British managed to put Rommel back into a defensive position in Libya, Rommel repeated air and tank attacks, delivering heavy losses to the armored strength of the British, and finally, using his panzer divisions, managed to force a British retreat. The Allies gradually succeded to put Rommel to a standstill as they gained supplies and reinforcements. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was possibly the greatest battle in all of WWII. It was the Soviet successful defense of the city of Stalingrad against the German forces. It marked a critical trurning point in the war for the Allies due to the Soviets blockage of German advances into Russia. With one of the bloodiest battles in History, there were nearly two million military and civilian casaulties. Russia consider the Battle of Stalingrad the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War. -
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Second battle of El Alamein
The second Battle of El Alamein marked the day where German field Marshall Rommel was forced back into Tunisia. Three hundred Sherman tanks that were hastily shipped to Egypt from the USA were a crucial influence on the outcome of this battle. The tanks gave U.S commander Montgomery a significant advantage in firepower and strength. Montgomery's army resisted large amounts of attacks from Rommel. Montgomery had planned multiple counter attacks against the Failing Rommel that gained their success -
D-Day Landings
The Battle of Normandy, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s occcupation. The battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and the Allies had won the battle. This battle was known as the beginning of the end of WWII in Europe. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was Hitler's attempt to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by the hand of a surprise blitzkrieg charge through the Ardennes to Antwerp. The Americans caught off guard, desperately fought battles to thin the German advance. As Hitler drove deeper within the Ardennes, the Allies defence pushed back German forces. Lieutenant Patton's successful military maneuvering was a vital importance for the Allies, which lead to Germany's failed counter offensive attack. -
Mussolini captured and executed
Mussolini was the facist Italian dictator, who tried to flee to Switzerland with his Mistress near the end of the war. After the Allied increased occupation of Europe, Mussolini considered his options about his escape. He did not want to be captured by the British or the U.S, and he knew he would be tried as a war criminal. So he decided to flee to a neutral country. When he and his mistress reached the border, they were shot by Italian partisans and hung upside down in Italy for public exposure -
Hitler commits suicide
Since 1943, Germany gradually understood that Hitler's dreams of a 1000 year reich would soon come to an end. On the 30th of April 1945, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler commits suicide by consuming a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head, in his bunker in Berlin. As the Soviets continued to siege Berlin, Hitler decided to flee to his bunker where he would soon die. In the bunker he grew increasingly more mad and paranoid. After his suicide his soldiers quickly cremated his body in the garden -
Germany forces surrender
On the 7th of May 1945, Germany signs and unnconditional surrender in France to take into effect the following day, ending the European conflict of WWII. V-E day would soon take place when both the United States and Europe would celebrate Germany's defeat. On the 2nd of May, the Soviets would successfully conquer Berlin where 70,000 Nazi troops laid down the weapons, which Hitler said would never happen. All remaining Nazi's were tried as war criminals and were either executed or held prisoner. -
V.E day
V.E day, also know as Victory in Europe day, was the day when both the United States and Europe, celebrated the surrender of the Nazi's. Flags and banners were put out as the world rejoiced after their victory against Nazi germany. However, V-E day could not be celebrated in Moscow until the 9th of May when pockets of German and Soviet confrontation would occur. The soviets would lose 600 more soldiers before the Germans surrendered, and before Stalin declared Russia's victory. -
Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima
On August 6, America Bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion was equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT, destroyed four square miles of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. As the weeks grew on, tens of thousands more died from radiation poisoning and wounds. The U.S saw this attack on Japan as a speedy attempt to end the conflict with Japan which soon came into effect after the second bombing on Nagasaki. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
After the devastating atomoc bomb on Hiroshima, Japan still did not surrender. With the U.S already having another bomb prepared, they decided to drop it on the industrial ship making city Nagasaki, which was a vital importance for Japan's Naval survival. At 11:02 am, 1,650 feet above the city, the bomb was dropped. The explosion unleashed the equivalent force of 22,000 tons of TNT. Kt is estimated that between 60,000 to 80,000 people were killed. The bombing finally caused Japan's surrender. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
On the 9th of August, the Soviet Union finally declares war on Japan, followed by the surprise invasion of Japanese occupied Manchuria, with more than 1 million Soviets to fight the 700,000 Japanese soldiers. With the Soviets strong attack on Manchuria, the Japanese emperor Hirohito began to reconsider the option of surrender. Japan did not worry about the Soviet's at first and didnt think they needed to lauch a Soviet attack until 1946. But the invasion of Manchuria destroyed their confidence. -
Japanese surrender - End of WWII
On the 2nd of September, 1945, WWII finally came to an end when Japan signed its unconditional surrender. With the two bombings on Japanese cities, the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria and America's invasion of Okinwa, Japan had no choice but to surrender. Japan's naval and air structure were both completely destoyed, leaving Japan economically devastated. By this point, Emperor Hirohito prepared a text informing surrender at the ready. He declared this on the USS Missouri battleship. -
United Nations is born
Shortly after the end of WWII, the United Nations charter was signed on June 26 1945 and is now still fully effective today. The first principles were signed at the San Francisco conference which happened on April 25. U.S president Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin including over 100 more foreign countries and states constructed a series of acts conducting of enforcements of peace, equality and freedom.