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Germany invades Poland
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack. After heavy shelling and bombing, Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 27, 1939. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
On this day in 1939, in response to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. The first casualty of that declaration was the British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk by a German U-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and belligerent. 112 passengers died, including 28 Americans. As for Britain’s response, it was initially no more than the dropping of 13 tons of anti-Nazi propaganda leaflet over Germany. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Churchill was made prime minister on the same day that Germany invaded Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg ending the 'Phoney War'. Although Churchill's appointment as prime minister was not initially welcomed by many of his political colleagues, he did enjoy widespread public support. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk
The Dunkirk evacuation, also known as Operation Dynamo, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940, By the end the British had suffered a terrible defeat. The BEF (British Expeditionary Force) had been saved, but almost all of its heavy equipment, tanks, artillery and motorized transport had been left behind. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis Powers
The three principal partners in the Axis alliance were Germany, Italy, and Japan. These three countries recognized German domination over most of continental Europe; Italian domination over the Mediterranean Sea; and Japanese domination over East Asia and the Pacific. The Allied Powers were led by Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union. Their main interests was territorial expansion and foundation of empires based on military conquest and the destruction of Soviet Communism. -
France signs armitice with Germany
The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed at 6:36 pm near Compiègne, France, by the top military officials of Nazi Germany and more junior representatives from the French Third Republic. They included General Wilhelm Keitel, the German Army and General Charles Huntziger for the French side. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the Second World War air campaign waged by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom during 1940. The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date. -
Tripartite Pact signed
In 1940 the Tripartite Pact is signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan. They become allies with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. The Pact provided for mutual assistance should any of the signatories suffer 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 venturing in on the side of the Allies. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk lasted for 241 days in 1941 after Axis forces advanced through Cyrenaica from El Agheila in Operation Sonnenblume against the British Western Desert Force in Libya, during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. 749 Australian soliders were killed, 1996 wounded and 604 imprisoned. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. Barbarossa the largest military attack of World War Two and had appalling consequences for the Russian people. Occupied areas were not always properly controlled by the Germans and underground activity rapidly escalated. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, in the United States Territory of Hawaii. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans and completely destroyed the American battleship U.S.S. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
The United States declared war upon the Empire of Japan in response to its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the prior day. It was formulated an hour after the Infamy Speech of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Following the declaration, Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States, bringing the United States fully into World War II. -
Japan takes Singapore
The fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army is considered one of the greatest defeats in the history of the British Army and probably Britain’s worst defeat in World War Two. It ended with the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945. It resulted in the capture of singapore with about 85,000 British, Indian and Australian troops becoming prisoners. -
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a crucial naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Battle of Midway effectively destroyed Japan’s naval strength when the Americans destroyed four of its aircraft carriers. Japan’s navy never recovered from its mauling at Midway and it was on the defensive after this battle. -
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a crucial and decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Battle of Midway effectively destroyed Japan’s naval strength when the Americans destroyed four of its aircraft carriers. Japan’s navy never recovered from its mauling at Midway and it was on the defensive after this battle. -
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First Battle of El Alamein
The First Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought on the northern coast of Egypt. Soldiers from the Allies that fought were Britian, Australia, South Africa, India, NZ and French troops. Soldiers from the Axis were German and Italian troops. Niether army gave up much ground, as there was a tense stand-off lasting until the Second Battle of El Alamein. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad was a key turning point in World War II. It was also one of the most violent and bloody battles in WW2. The countries involved at Stalingrad were Germany and Russia. Germany used its blitzkrieg tactic to invad Russia. The outcome of the battle was the Soviets had a decisive victory over the Axis Powers. Both armies suffered heavy losses, but the Soviets came out succesful. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
The Seconf Battle was also held in Eygpt. Troops from the Allies that fought included Britian, Australian, South African, Indian and French. Troops from the Axis inculded German and Italian troops. By the end of the battle Allied had victory. During the battle 300 Sherman tanks were shipped to Egypt from the USA, that gave the Allied powers a significant advantage in firepower. -
D-Day Landings
D-Day Landings was located on Beaches of the Normandy coast in north western France. The battle include the Allies and the Germans. D-Day forced the Germans to fight a two front war again, like they had in WWI. Yet again the Germans could not handle war on both sides of them and Germans began to retreat. -
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Battle of Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive campaign launched through Belgium, France, and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. The Battle of the Bulge is a momentous battle of World War II, not just because it brought about the end of the German army and the Nazi reign, but also because of the profound effect it had on soldiers who fought in the icy weather as many people froze to death. German army lost 30,000 soliders by the end of the battle. -
Mussolini captured and exectued
Benito Mussolini was a dictator of Italy and was killed by Italian partisans along with his mistress in Italty. He attempted to escape the advancing Allied Army by hiding in a German convoy but was found by partisans. They took him prisoner and then hung him and his mistress. -
Hitler commits suicide
Hitler planned him and his wife's death. He had instructions given to him by a SS doctor that the most effective way to commit suicide is by taking cyanide poisoning followed by a gunshot to the head. He followed these instructions and died on the 30th April 1945. -
German forces surrender
On this day Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Reims, France, ending the World War II. Because the Germans knew that they would be defeated, Hitler commited suicide and left Karl Dönitz to carry out the surrender of the Nazis. -
V.E day
V.E day is the day after the German forces surrendered. The surrender was made official the following day (8th May), with a signing at a formal ceremony. This day was named Victory-in-Europe (V-E) Day and its a day still celebrated as a public holiday in some European countries. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
During World War II an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people and tens of thousands more died later from radiation exposure. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
On this day, the Soviet Union officially declares war on Japan. More than 1 million Soviet soldiers came into Japanese-occupied Manchuria, northeastern China, to take on the 700,000-strong Japanese army. The Soviets suprised them with an attack, where 650 Japanese soliers were killed on the first 2 days of fighting. The Japanese Emperor then pleaded with his War council to surrender and did so. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, a second B-29 dropped another bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito then announced his country’s unconditional surrender in World War II on August 15, citing the devastating power of “a new and most cruel bomb.” -
Japanese surrender- End of WW2
On Sunday, September 2, more than 250 Allied warships lay at anchor in Tokyo Bay. The flags of the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and China fluttered above the deck of the Missouri. Just after 9 a.m. Tokyo time, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed on behalf of the Japanese government officialy ending WW2. -
United Nations is born
The United Nations was formed in the final days of World War II by 51 countries committing to the Allied forces. The organization succeeded the League of Nations. By forming this alliance the countries were agreeing to maintain international peace and security and achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or human character. -
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was Nazi Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Operation Sea lion was never carried out during the war as the Germans lost the Battle of Britain and it is now believed that Hitler was more interested in the forthcoming attack on Russia as opposed to invading Britain.
