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Germany invades Poland
At 4:45 a.m, 1.5 million German troops invaded Poland along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. Hitler invaded Poland because it would provide more living space for Germans. Only Stalin and the Russian army could have stopped Hitler taking over Poland at this point. However, the Nazi-Soviet Pact not only freed up Hitler to attack Poland, it included a secret agreement to divide Poland up between them and Russia. This event is considered to be the start of WW2. -
Britain & France declare war on Germany
Britain and France had sworn to protect Poland after Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. When Germany then invaded Poland, the two countries honoured their obligations and sent Hitler ultimatums demanding his withdrawal from Poland. Hitler claimed the massive invasion was a defensive action, but Britain and France weren't convinced, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared war against Germany in Westminster, London. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
After Hitler invaded Poland, Chamberlain declared war against Germany. However, during the next eight months he proved himself to be ill-equipped for the daunting task of saving Europe from Nazi domination. British quickly lost faith in him, and on May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill was appointed Prime Minister. He was the one who lead Great Britain for most of WW2 and to many people in Britain, Churchill’s stand against Nazism and all it stood for summarised why the war was being fought. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
The Dunkirk evacuation, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers (mostly British and French) from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, The nine-day evacuation, the largest of its kind in history, saved 338,000 Allied troops from capture by the Nazis. However, the outcome of this was that it left France completely on its own against Germany, and in the coming weeks, France surrendered to the Nazis. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers
Italy entered the war on the Axis side after the defeat of France. This is because Mussolini wanted to be sure Italy was on the winning side. All in all the Italian army wasn't a huge success, and couldn't be a huge player like Germany or Japan because even if its leadership were better, it didn't have the industrial resources to be a strong military power. the Italian involvement, however, lengthened WW2. -
France signs armistice with Germany
By June 12, Germany had begun their final push against France. Although the British Prime Minister offered his personal encouragment, Britain didn't provide military assistance, wanting to conserve it for Britain in the near future. France became resigned to inevitable surrender, and signed an armistice with Germany, Hitler insisting it be signed in the same railway car in which Germany had surrendered to France in 1918. This surrender damaged Franco-British wartime relations. -
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Battle of Britain
Taking place in Great Britain, the battle was a struggle between the German Lutfwaffe and the British Royal Air Force. It was the first major military campaign to be fought entirely in the air, and was also the first time in history when air power alone decided the outcome of a major battle. The battle marked the first turning point in the war, as it was the first time that German forces failed to achieve a major goal. The value of the new technology of radar was also effectively demonstrated. -
Tripartite Pact signed
Also known as the Berlin Pact, the Tripartite Pact was an agreement between Germany, Italy and Japan that formed the Axis powers. It was signed in Berlin, where Japan acknowledged Germany and Italy in the establishment of a new order in Europe, while Japan was granted lordship over “Greater East Asia.” It also provided for mutual assistance if one country was attacked. the pact was significant because it bound all three countries together to form a formidable threat to the Allies and the world. -
Operation Sea Lion
Following the France's defeat, Operation Sea Lion was Nazi Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom, to take place some time in late 1940. The objective was to land 160,000 German soldiers along a forty-mile coastal stretch of south-east England. However, Germany never managed to make it past British air forces. The importance of this operation was that it was never actually carried out, allowing Britain to continue to fight and eventually help win the war. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 241 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa. The siege took place in Tobruk, Libya, which was an important destination because it was one of the last allied fortresses in North Africa. Countries involved were Australia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. The siege was important because it prevented the Germans from advancing and gaining territory. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany, and mostly took place in Russia. Hitler wanted living space for the German ‘master race’, at the expense of ‘subhuman’ Slav people. More than three million Axis troops and 3,500 tanks were involved, making this the largest military operation in history. Although Germans were initially successful, the operation failed in 1943 due to Germans having underestimated the Russians and the Russian winter. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
The bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred when the American naval base in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, was attacked by hundreds of Japansese fighter planes. The Japanese managed to destroy hundreds of American naval vessels and planes, and more than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, with plenty more injured. The Japanese hoped that such an audacious attack would convince the US to stay neutral, but it instead it brought the US into the fighting which greatly helped the Allies. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
Britain and the US declared war on Japan on the same day following attacks by the Japanese on the US at Pearl Harbour and Britain in Singapore and Hong Kong. Three days later, Germany declared war on the US. The United States was now at war with both Japan and Germany. This allowed the to be able to enter fully into its alliance with Britain. -
Japan take Singapore
Singapore had been a British colony since the 19th century and was a strategic stronghold. On the eve of the Pearl Harbor attack, 24,000 Japanese troops were transported to the Malay Peninsula, and Japanese fighter pilots attacked Singapore. By the time Japanese troops landed on Singapore island, British soldiers were outmanned and outgunned. This event was significant because with the surrender of Singapore, Britain lost its foothold in the East. -
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Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of WW2, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. Japan initiated the attack, bombing the US base on Midway Island. With a breakthrough in solving Japanese codes however, the US were able to retaliate and bomb aircraft carriers and planes. The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the Pacific campaign, with the victory allowing the Allies to move into an offensive position. -
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First Battleof El Alamein
The First Battle of El Alamein was fought between the Axis powers (Germany and Italy) and the Allied powers (Britain, British India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) on the northern coast of Egypt. The Allies had been pushed back all the way to Egypt, but they fought back to once again put the Axis powers on the defensive. This was significant because they kept the Axis from taking Egypt. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle fought by the Axis powers and the Soviet Union for control over the city of Stalingrad, located in Southern Russia. The battle was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with military and civilian casualties reaching almost 2 million. It is considered to be the turning point of WW2 in Europe, having stopped German advance into the Soviet Union and turning the tide in favour of the Allies. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein was a powerful British offensive which defeated German forces overwhelmingly, outnumbering the Germans two to one.The battle took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. With the Allies victorious, the battle was a decisive moment in the Western Desert Campaign. -
D-Day Landings
The Battle of Normandy began on a day known as D-Day, when 156,000 American, Canadian and British forces landed on five beaches of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. It was the largest amphibious operation in the history of warfare. The success of the D-Day Landings allowed the Allies to liberate Western Europe from German occupation. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge occurred when three German armies surged into the Ardennes Forest, lightly defended by only two inexperienced and battered American divisions. They divided up the Allied front, their ultimate goal to retake the Belgian city of Antwerp.The Allied defense managed to push back the German counteroffensive despite over 100,000 US casualties, the costliest action ever fought by them. The Battle of the Bulge was the German's last major counteroffensive of WW2. -
Mussolini captured and executed
While trying to flee to Switzerland, Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci were captured at the Swiss border by Italian partisans. They were both shot, their bodies then transported by truck to Milan where they, along with some close associates, were hung upside down and displayed publicly. Mussolini's death was the final end of an authoritative and ruthless dictatorial Fascist regime. It was also one of the reasons why Hitler committed suicide, because he didn't want to be captured. -
Hiter commits suicide
By the middle of 1945, it was clear to everyone within Hitler’s inner circle that Germany would be defeated in the war. The Nazis therefore tried to get rid of evidence of the Holocaust by killing prisoners and destroying death camps. On April 30, Hitler had his wife Eva Braun commit suicide by cyanide capsule. He then shot himself through the temple with a pistol in an underground bunker in Berlin. His death effectively marked the end of the Nazis. -
German forces surrender
Following Hitler's death, there was a lot of confusion in Germany. Some German forces surrendered, while others continued to fight. On May 7, General Alfred Jodl signed an unconditional surrender on behalf of all German forces at Allied headquarters in Reims, France. The surrender would take effect the next day, and would mark the end of the European conflict of WW2. -
V.E day
V.E day, also known as Victory in Europe Day was the public holiday celebrated on 8 May 1945 by Western Allies to mark Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces and the victory of the Allies. Because some fighting between Soviet and German forces continued that day, May 9 became the official Victory Day in Russia. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The United States dropped the first atomic bomb onto the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The blast obliterated most of the central city, killing 80,000 instantly. By the end of the year, 60,000 more victims died from radiation poisoning, and the total death toll is estimated to be 200,000. Harry Truman, US President at the time, made the decision to drop the bomb. Despite killing innocent people, he felt it would ultimately save US and Japanese lives that would come from a ground invasion of Japan. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
The same day that the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, 1 million Soviet soldiers invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in northeastern China, which was still held by the Japanese. Even after the first atomic bomb had been dropped, Japan refused to surrender unless their demands for Japan's future were met. This is why the declaration of war by the Soviets was important, because it made Japan reconsider surrendering unconditionally. The Soviets declared war to support the Allies. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Three days after the first atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima, the US dropped a second atomic bomb over the port city of Nagasaki in Japan, with similarily devastating results. This bomb resulted finally in Japan's unconditional surrender and caused much controversy around the world. Some people believed that it was unnecessary to use the bombs because Japan were on the verge of surrendering anyway. -
Japanese surrender- End of WW2
Following the two atomic bombings and the threat of a full scale USSR invasion, Japan lost hope that there was any chance of winning the war. Emporer Hirohito announced Japan's surrender in accordance to the Potsdam Declaration (a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces). The unconditional surrender was signed aboard the battleship USS Missouri. It marked the end of WW2 for the Japanese. -
United Nations is born
Before the United Nations, a similar organisation called the League of Nations was formed right after WW1. Their task was to ensure that war never broke out again. However, they ceased to exist after failing to prevent WW2. In 1945, a new organisation called the United Nations was formed in San Fransisco. It has been much more successful than the League of Nations and still exists today, maintaining peace and security and upholding international law.
