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Period: to
Key Dates of World War II
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Germany invades Poland
-Spark of World War II
-Hitler invaded Poland and divided the country with Stalin
-Captured Poland within four weeks
-During the invasion, Hitler employed strategy known as Blitzkreig meaning lightning war. In this strategy, the Germans broke through Polish lines and quickly encircled Polish troops. -
England & France declare war on Germany
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain still hoped to avoid declaring war on Germany, but a threatened revolt in the cabinet and strong public feeling that Hitler should be confronted forced him to honor the Anglo-Polish Treaty. Britain was at war with Germany for the second time in 25 years. -
Russia invades Poland
Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov declares that the Polish government has ceased to exist, as the U.S.S.R. exercises the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact. -
France falls to Germany
More than 2 million German troops on land and in the air invaded France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands using blitzkrieg tactics. -
57 Day Battle of Britain ends
A significant turning point of World War II, the Battle of Britain ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain’s air bases, military posts and, ultimately, its civilian population -
Hitler breaks non-aggression pact and invades Russia
Under the codename Operation "Barbarossa," Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 in the largest German military operation of World War II. Adolf Hitler had always regarded the German-Soviet nonaggression pact, signed on August 23, 1939, as a temporary tactical maneuver. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was an unannounced military strike conducted by the Japanese navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the morning of December 7, 1941. It resulted in the United States' entry into World War II the next day. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from influencing the war that Japan was planning in Southeast Asia. -
United States & Great Birtain declare war on Japan
They were brought into the war due to the Pearl Harbor bombing and they teamed up with an old ally because they had a common enemy. -
Triple axis powers declare war on United States
After the U.S. and Britain joined forces the axis powers, allies with Japan in the war, declared war on the U.S. because they had a common enemy with Japan. -
Allied forces land in Normandy to liberate France (D-DAY)
The invasion of Europe succeeded in landing 150,000 troops on the beaches of Normandy on the first day, through a massive combined operation requiring hundreds of ships and total air superiority. Behind the lines, Allied paratroops seized key strategic targets, while the French resistance sabotaged rail and communication links. By the end of D-Day, five beachheads were secured, and the Allies had a foothold in France. -
Hitler suicide
The cause of death is suicide by a gunshot wound to the head and cyanide posioning. The lack of public information concerning the whereabouts of Hitler's remains, confused reports stemming from the dual method and other circumstances surrounding the event encouraged rumours that Hitler may have survived the end of World War II. -
Germany surrenders
At first, General Jodl hoped to limit the terms of German surrender to only those forces still fighting the Western Allies. But General Dwight Eisenhower demanded complete surrender of all German forces, those fighting in the East as well as in the West. If this demand was not met, Eisenhower was prepared to seal off the Western front, preventing Germans from fleeing to the West in order to surrender, thereby leaving them in the hands of the enveloping Soviet forces. -
Victory in Europe (VE Day)
German forces had been utterly defeated by the end of April 1945. Adolf Hitler committed suicide on 30 April as Soviet forces closed in on his Berlin bunker. The German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz surrendered to Allied General Dwight Eisenhower in France on 7 May. The following day was officially celebrated in Britain as Victory in Europe Day. The entire country came to a standstill as people celebrated the end of war. -
Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against Japan in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After six months of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities the Japanese government ignored an ultimatum given by the Potsdam Declaration. By executive order of President Truman the U.S. dropped the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945. -
Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against Japan in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After six months of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities the Japanese government ignored an ultimatum given by the Potsdam Declaration. By executive order of President Truman the U.S. dropped the nuclear weapon "Fat Man" on the city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. -
Japan surrenders (VJ Day)
On 6 August, an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the American bomber 'Enola Gay'. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on the port city of Nagasaki. In all, 140,000 people perished. Less than a week later, the Japanese leadership agreed to an unconditional surrender, and the Emperor Hirohito broadcast his nation's capitulation over the radio. Victory over Japan day also marked the end of World War Two.
