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Using the blueprint for his "blitzkrieg" strategy of warfare, Adolf Hitler and his troops invaded Poland by land and air.
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Taking to sea, German warships enter ports in Denmark and Norway.
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Hitler sends ground troops into Holland and Belgium, and more than 2,500 aircraft to bomb Holland, Belgium, France and Luxembourg
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After occupying France, the German forces begin a series of air raids on Great Britain.
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More than 3 million German troops make up the most powerful invasion in history on multiple points across a 1,000 mile front.
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FDR Speech - "A Day in Infamy"Japanese aircraft engage in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii, prompting the U.S. to enter into WWII.
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This decisive four-day battle in the Pacific between the U.S. and Japanese Naval forces proved to be a key turning point in the war.
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Marking the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, despite Hitler's demand for death before surrender, his troops finally give in after approximately 8 months of battle..
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With Mussolini no longer in power, the Italians surrender to the Allies and allow them to enter Italy to fight against the Germans.
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One of the most recognizable and decisive events in WWII, D-Day was the successful invasion of Normandy, France, by the Allied troops to release the German hold on mainland Western Europe.
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As the last major offensive launched by the Germans, Operation Mist pushed through the American defensive line in the largest battle of the Western Front.
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The underwater demolition teams, known as "Frogmen," helped clear the way for the Marine invasion of Iwo Jima, and the slow defeat of the nearly 21,000 Japanese Troops guarding the stockpiled island.
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In northwestern France, the German High Command surrenders all their troops unconditionally in the East and West.
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The Enola Gay drops "Little Boy," the first atomic bomb used on Hiroshima, Japan, killing approximately 80,000 people, injuring another 35,000, and causing another 60,000 more deaths within the year from effects of the fallout. Three days later, "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki, killing another 60,000 - 80,000.
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After a bloody summer of battles with Allied Forces, the Japanese defeat became inevitable. Emperor Hirohito met with the supreme war council and decided on their surrender, which marked the official end of WWII.
