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The Munich Conference
Mussolini proposes a meeting of Germany, France, Britain and Italy in Munich, deliberately not inviting the Czechs. Neville Chamberlain of Britain believed that by giving in to Hitler would prevent war but Winston Churchill disagreed; Churchill was proven correct when Mussolini seized Albania and Hitler requested the German port of Danzig from Poland. -
Nonaggression Pact Between Nazis and Soviets
Britain and France turn to the Soviet Union to stop Hitler's aggression. Stalin and Hitler come to the agreement to not attack one another and sign a pact but secretly also decided to conquer and split Poland together. -
Hitler Attacks Poland
At dawn, German tanks and trucks cross the Polish border and aircraft heavily bomb Warsaw. This is the first major attack of World War II. -
Rescue at Dunkirk
After conquering the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, Hitler slipped through Allied lines into France. The Allied army was surrounded by the German army. Great Britain sent a fleet of 850 ships and civilian boats into Dunkirk through the English Channel. The boats traveled between Dunkirk and Great Britain under heavy fire to rescue the soldiers. -
France Surrenders to Germany
After the Germans took Paris, France resistance all but disappeared and they surrendered soon afterward. Germany claimed northern France and left the south under the rule of Marshal Philippe Pétain, a French hero but also a puppet ruler. However, a French general named Charles de Gaulle continued to rile the French people into reconquering their homeland. -
Germans invade Soviet Union
Hitler begins Operation Barbarossa and sends tanks and aircraft into the Soviet Union, violating the nonaggression pact with the Soviets. In one week, Hitler rolled advanced five hundred miles past the ill-prepared and poorly trained Soviet Union Soldiers, who attempted the scorched-earth policy in a desperate effort to turn the tide. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor; U.S. Declares War
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of Japan was threatened by the U.S. fleet in Hawaii. Japan sunk and damaged 19 American ships, killing 2,300 soldiers and wounding over a thousand more. President Roosevelt declared this "a date that will live in infamy" and Congress declared war on Japan and its allies. -
Battle of Midway
The Japanese planned to attack a key American airfield but America was able to learn of the attack through code breaking. Thus, the Japanese fleet was defeated by an American surprise attack while Japanese planes were still on aircraft carriers. This overwhelming victory turned the tide of Pacific War. -
Battle of Guadalcanal
After learning that the Japanese were building an air base on Guadalcanal of the Solomon Islands, the Allies attempted to stop the base's completion. Control of the island became a bloody standstill for six months of constant land and sea fighting, only ending when the Japanese abandon their base. -
Battle of Stalingrad
After easily breaking through Soviet lines, the Germans expected a quick victory when they attacked Stalingrad. However, the Russians proved far more tenacious then Hitler had imagined and a cold winter forced the Nazis to retreat. -
Operation Torch
About a month earlier, British troops began pressuring the German forces in Northern Africa. Operation Torch, led by American general Dwight D. Eisenhower, added 100 thousand more Allied troops in Morocco and Algeria, crushing the German Afrika Korps. -
Mussolini Arrested
Contrary to Stalin's requests to invade France, America and Great Britain attacked Sicily in Italy, capturing it in one month. After this defeat, Mussolini was voted out of power by his own Grand Council. King Victor Emmanuel then arrested him. Neither Mussolini nor the Italians had any objections. Mussolini would later be killed by Italian resistance fighters. -
Italy Surrenders
Following the arrest of Mussolini, Italy was still severely weakened. They surrender unconditionally. The Allied forces victoriously storm Rome but fighting in Italy continues until Germany surrenders. -
D-Day
In the largest land and sea attack in history, British, American, French and Canadian troops land on Normandy, suffering heavy losses due to the Germans' strong defense. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Once realizing American troops had arrived at the Philippines, the Japanese gambled their entire fleet in order to destroy the Americans. Four days later, the Japanese fleet was devastated and Japan was no longer a fighting force in the war. -
The Battle of the Bulge
Surrounded on two fronts, Hitler made a last gamble to break up Allied supply lines by pushing through American lines in the Ardennes. Eventually, the Germans were still forced to retreat. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
The Allies begin to slowly close around Berlin as Germany begins running out of methods of counterattack. Hitler hides in an underground headquarters with Eva Braun, a companion he married one day before. They commit suicide together and their bodies are burned. -
Victory in Europe
The Nazis surrender, officially signing a document in Berlin the next day. The Allied Powers celebrate this day as V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
As a response to the Japanese's refusal to surrender, the United States drops its first atomic bomb on the densely populated city of Hiroshima. Seventy to eighty thousand Japanese civilians perished while little more than rubble remained of the buildings. -
Japan Surrenders
Aboard a United States battleship in Tokyo Bay, General Douglas MacArthur carries out the ceremony with Japanese representatives, officially ending the war.
