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Germany Invades Poland
On the 1st of September 1945, around 1.5 million German troops began the invasion of Poland. By 6am that same day Poland’s capital city was hit by the first of many bombing raids. At the same time, two German army groups attacked Poland from Prussia (in the north) and Slovakia (in the south.) Fleeing civilians and refugees blocked roads and stopped reinforcements from reaching the front. The Polish capital fell on the 27th of September, only four weeks after the initial invasion. -
Britain and France Declare War on Germany
At 8am on September 1st Poland requested military help from Britain and France. So on September 2nd Britain and France demanded that Germany withdraw from Poland by September 3rd. The ultimatum expired and at 11:15pm Britain and its empire declared war, with France joining later on. Britain began bombing German ships on September 4th. And two weeks later France began an attack on Germany’s western border. -
Churchill Becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Winston Churchill was called in to replace Neville Chamberlain as the Prime Minister of Britain on May 10, 1940. He formed an all-party coalition and won the support of the public. Outlining his plan for British resistance, Churchill declared that “[he] had nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” The first year of his term, Britain stood alone against Germany and its allies, so Churchill promised his country that the British people would “never surrender,” and they never did. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
British and French troops were stranded at Dunkirk’s beaches and cornered by the advancing German army, and needed to be evacuated. With only a few days to prepare a plan, Admiral Ramsay created one in bunker within the Dover cliffs. On the 29th of May the evacuation was announced to the people of Kent, and they rallied together with privately owned boats to sail to Dunkirk. This group of vessels became known as the ‘Little Ships.’ Just under 338 000 troops were rescued. -
Italy Enters War on Side of Axis Powers
Italy, under the leadership of Benito Mussolini, wanted to expand its territories and destroy communism. On November 1st 1936 Italy and Germany signed the Rome-Berlin Axis as they had similar interests. Then, on May 22 1939, the Pact of Steel was signed, formalising military provisions. After the invasion of Poland unleashed the European war, Italy entered. It was June 10, 1940, and the defeat of France became apparent. -
France Signs Armistice with Germany
The German army advanced southward, forcing the French to abandon Paris. This allowed the Germans to enter the French capital on June 14 without any resistance. After Paris had fallen Marshal Henri Petain was elected Prime Minister, and announced his intentions to sign an armistice with the Nazis. The armistice was signed on June 22, 1940, and went into effect three days later. France was made to bear the cost of the German invasion, and loose two thirds of its land to the Nazis. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a fight in the airspace above Britain, between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force. It was fought between the 10th of July 1940 and the 31st of October 1940. This battle was the first fought entirely in the sky, as the Germans planned to win total air superiority over the English Channel and Southern Britain. Over the 12 week battle, 1733 German planes had been destroyed, while only managing to bring down 915 British planes. -
Tripartite Pact Signed
On September 27th, 1940, Germany, Italy and Japan formed the Axis Powers. They signed the Tripartite Pact in Berlin, which promised economic and military assistance to any of the Axis Powers who were to come under attack. The creation of this alliance was to make the United States think twice before joining the Allies in the war. The pact also made Japan acknowledge the “leadership of Germany and Italy,” in Europe, while granting it lordship over East Asia. -
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was the planned invasion of Great Britain by the German army in late 1940, but was cancelled on the 17th of September 1940. In order for the German army to take Great Britain it needed control of the English Channel, the skies and good weather. Hitler met with his service chiefs to make battle plans on July 21st 1940, However, all of the plans depended on the Luftwaffe beating the RAF, which the German’s failed to do. -
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Siege of Tobruk
Between the 10th of April 1941 and November 27th 1941, over 14 000 soldiers from Australia, Britain, India and New Zealand were besieged at Tobruk in Libya. The German-Italian Army (commanded by General Irwin Rommel) assaulted the garrison from the air as well as the ground with constant bombing and shelling. The garrison suffered almost 900 deaths, over 2000 injuries and had around 900 prisoners. The troops held Tobruk against the Germans for 8 months, gaining the nickname “The Rats of Tobruk.” -
Operation Barbarossa
After the Battle of Britain Hitler drafted attack plans on the Soviet Union, and chose Operation Barbarossa (or Operation Fritz), The attack on Russia’s borders was launched on June 22, 1941, and was the largest military attack during World War Two. Although successful, the German army moved too fast and managed to compromise supply and communication lines. While the army waited it lost valuable time and was ill-equipped for the winter, becoming cutoff and stuck in freezing temperatures. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbour
Around 8:00am on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbour was bombed. Hundreds of Japanese planes attacked the naval base, the bombing lasting just over 2 hours. Nearly 20 American vessels, 8 battleships and 200 airplanes were destroyed, as well as 2 000 soldiers killed and 1 000 wounded. Japan believed that this attack would frighten the United States into staying neutral. -
Britain and US Declare War on Japan
One day after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, US President Franklin D Roosevelt requested and received a declaration of war on Japan. He then addressed the nation via radio, and signed the declaration at 4:10pm that same day. Britain had previously signed an agreement with the US that if they entered a war with Japan, Britain would follow. Also, Australia declared soon after the attack on Pearl Harbour as the Japanese were moving closer and closer to the Mainland. -
Japan Takes Singapore
On the 15th of February 1942 the British surrendered Singapore to the Japanese army. This was one of the greatest military losses to the British during the course of World War Two. 24 000 Japanese troops were transported to the Malay Peninsula on December 6th 1941, and aided by fighter pilots the battle begun. On February 8th, 5 000 Japanese troops landed in Singapore, dropping propaganda and destroying the British defence, resulting in the British abandoning their positions. -
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Battle of Midway
On June 4th 1942 the battle of Midway begun. It was between Japanese forces and the US. The Japanese planned to destroy the US naval fleet before it became too much of a threat. However, the United States learnt of the upcoming attack and prepared. Over 4 days the Japanese had lost four carriers, a cruiser and almost 300 aircraft, as well as suffered around 2000 casualties. On the other hand, the US lost two ships, 145 aircraft and had only 300 casualties. -
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First Battle of El Alamein
Between the 1st and 22nd of July 1942, Irwin Rommel’s success in North Africa came to a halt. Earlier on, the British had managed to push Rommel into a defensive position, only to be forced to retreat and leave behind huge quantities of supplies. Rommel then succeeded in pushing the British into Egypt. Italian forces closed in and were saved by Rommel, and were now back on the winning side. However, US supplies and fresh troops arrived to battle Rommel and his exhausted troops. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was fought between July 17 1942 and February 2nd 1943. This battle stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and turned the war into the favour of the Allies. The Nazis fought their way into the city but couldn’t remove the Russians from along the Volga River. They fought with urban street tactics, until winter came. The Germans were forbidden to leave their posts, and were freezing and starving to death until the Russian army surrounded them and won the battle. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
General Bernard Montgomery planned out an attack on the German army and set it into action on the 23rd of October 1942, in Northern Africa. But Rommel and his army’s defences proved to be stronger than they looked. So on the 1st of November Montgomery launched the second phase of his plan. It worked, and Rommel decided the battle was lost. On November 2nd, Rommel warned Hitler about the impending defeat of the army. Finally, on November 4th, Rommel’s last defences caved in and he withdrew. -
D-Day Landings
At dawn on June 6th 1944 thousands of troops were on the ground infiltrating enemy lines. By 6:30am the amphibious invasions had begun. By day’s end over 156 000 Allied troops made up of American, Canadian and British forces had successfully stormed 5 beaches in Normandy, France. Prior to the invasion a massive deception campaign was used to give the Germans false information about the intended target. By late August Paris and most of northern France was liberated. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge began on December 16, 1944. It was Hitler’s last attempt to split the Allied armies in two and cut off their supplies. Hitler ordered a massive attack against American forces in the Ardennes, creating a bulge in the Allied front line, hence the name “Battle of the Bulge.” This success lasted only two days as the Germans began to run low on fuel and supplies, since they had been on retreat since D-Day. By January 1945, the Allies had won the battle. -
Mussolini Captured and Executed
Benito Mussolini, after seeing the definite defeat of the Axis powers, didn’t want to be caught by the Allies and tried as a war criminal. So he and his mistress Clara Petacci fled to the border of Switzerland, where they disguised themselves as Luftwaffe. However, they were shot by partisans who discovered their true identities. Their bodies were transported back to Milan, and were hung upside down and publicly displayed to the masses. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
Hitler had retreated to his underground bunker on January 6th 1945, after he decided to remain in Berlin during the final siege of the war. After being told that Russian troops were only a few days away, Hitler chose suicide over escaping to the Bavarian Alps. He tested cyanide capsules on his dog and her pups, and then his wife and he took the capsules. Hitler then shot himself in the head with his pistol before the two bodies were cremated .He was not officially declared dead until 1956. -
German Forces Surrender
On the 7th of September 1945 General Alfred Jodl signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces, at Reims in France. General Dwight Eisenhower demanded the surrender to General Jodl, who radioed Karl Donitz (Hitler’s successor). Donitz ordered Jodl to sign. This was witnessed by General Ivan Susloparov, General Francois Seves, and General Walter Bedell Smith. The fighting in the West stopped, but the fighting in the East continued for over a day. -
V. E. Day
Victory in Europe Day signified the end of the war in Europe, as well as the defeat of the Nazis. The 8th of May was when German troops in Europe surrendered in a final cease-fire. 1 000 000 Germans attempted to avoid being caught by the Soviet army, but the Soviets managed to capture over 2 000 000 before and after the surrender. At the same time, 13 000 British POWs were released. However, due to many German-Soviet fights continuing, V. E. Day wasn’t celebrated until the 9th in Moscow. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
On the 6th of August 1945 the United States become the only country to use atomic weaponry during a war. Since 1940, America had been working on atomic weapons after being warned about the Nazis conducting research on them. In July 1945 they had conducted a successful test of an atomic bomb in New Mexico. President Truman knew that he couldn’t invade Japan without huge casualties, so he instead sent Enola Gay to drop an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. It instantly killed 80 000 people. -
Soviet Union Declares War on Japan
On August 8th 1945, the attack on Hiroshima didn’t have the desired effect on Japan. The only people in Japan that new about the atomic bomb were either dead or dying. However, the Soviet Union, whom Japan had not been worried about as it was heavily engaged on the Eastern Front, declared war on Japan by attacking Manchuria. This assault was powerful, killing 650 of the 850 soldiers within the first two days. This made Emperor Hirohito to try and convince his was council to reconsider surrender -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki
On August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, this time on the shipbuilding centre of Nagasaki. The bomb equalled 22 000 tons of TNT, killing somewhere between 60 000 and 80 000 people. After this attack, the Emperor of Japan gave his permission for unconditional surrender as he believed that “continuing the war can only result in the annihilation of the Japanese people…” -
Japanese Surrender - End of WWII
After the dropping of the two atomic bombs, the Japanese Emperor managed to convince his War Council to reconsider surrender. By the 15th of August 1945 the United States had accepted the surrender under the Potsdam Declaration, and picked the place to meet. On September 2nd, there were more than 250 Allied warships in Tokyo Bay. The Allied and Japanese leaders entered the Missouri battleship, and signed. The ceremony went for 20 minutes, and then the war in the Pacific was over. -
United Nations is Born
The United Nations Charter was signed on the 26th of June 1945, and was ready to be enforced on the 24th of October that same year. It was born to settle international conflicts and negotiate peace, which was seen as a necessity after the Second World War. Also, the United Nations was also responsible for solving social humanitarian, cultural and economic problems around the world. Finally, the Charter’s objectives were to respect the equal rights and self-determination of all peoples.
