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Invasion of Poland
On September 1, 1939, the German Luftwaffe (airforce) and their Panzer (tanks) attacked Poland. The Soviet's Red Army joined the Nazis in this invasion on September 17, 1939. This was a fulfillment of the promises made in the Nazi-Soviet Pact. The Polish airforce was easily knocked out, and soon Poland ceased to exist. Hitler now had full control over Poland, and the Nazi-Soviet Pact had been fulfilled. Britain and France declared war on Germany, but there was little they could do. -
Battle of the Atlantic
An ongoing battle between Britain and Germany for control of the Atlantic Sea came to a head in 1942 as German U-Boats attacked. By Spring 1943 they had sunk 107 Allied ships. If Germany won, she would have full control of the Atlantic and Britain would be cut off from North America and her colonies. The British counter-attack on the U-Boat became so effective that between June and August 1943 they had sunk 79 German U-Boats and taken down roughly 40 German aircrafts. The Allies were victorious. -
Winter War
The Red Army attacked Finland. The Finns surrendered. On March 12, 1940, the Finns and the Soviets signed a peace treaty. This event led up to Barbarossa. The Soviets now had control over Finland. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
The British navy went into Dunkirk to evacuate trapped Allied troops. By June 4, 1940, 340,000 Allied troops had been safely evacuated. To the surprise of everyone, Hitler restrained his forces while Allied troops were being evacuated, even though the Nazis had a high advantage. This represented a moral victory for the Allies, and the best of the British forces would live to fight another day. -
Fall of France
Mussolini declared war on France, and used blitzkrieg to take out their forces. German troops entered Paris on June 14, in order to help with demolishing an opposing country. France surrendered on June 22, 1940. This proved the Maginot Line to be useless, and that the Luftwaffe was of higher quality than the French aircrafts. There was now internal division in France: both the extreme right (fascists) and the extreme left (communists) opposed war. Hitler now had control over France. -
Battle of Britain
German and British troops fought over the skies above the English Channel. Hitler viewed this battle as a necessary step to lead to the invasion of the British Isles (Operation Sealion). On September 30, 1940, Hitler's troops were stopped, and the RAF won the "battle of the skies". This was the first time Hitler had been denied, and he was now setback. This showed the war would be a long one. The future Allies now had a springboard from which to launch a reinvasion of Europe. -
Barbarossa
Hitler attacked a front stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. Hitler went against the Nazi-Soviet Pact in an attempt to maintain a “master race” and wipe out all “inferior races”. Hitler wanted the resources of the Soviet Union, and wanted to destroy communism. Nazi forces had laid siege to Leningrad, captured many Red Army troops as prisoners of war, and advanced to fifty metres from Moscow when they were stopped by the Russian Winter. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler’s Nazis attacked the suburbs of Stalingrad in an attempt to capture the city bearing the hated Stalin’s name, and proceed to the Caucasus oil fields. Between January 31 – February 2, 1943, 300,000 German troops surrendered to the Red Army. Hitler was denied access to the Caucasus oil fields, and lost some of the best units of his once mighty army. Germany was now on the offensive, and this battle led to the liberation of Europe. -
Battle of El Alamein
Britain and Germany face a battle for the control over the skies of Britain and the English Channel. Whoever won this battle would control a strategic strip of water, as El Alamein is about sixty miles from the Suez Canal. Britain's General Montgomery and his "Desert Rats" defeated Rommel of Germany's Afrika Korps, and the Suez Canal remained in Allied hands. Hitler was denied access to the oil of the Middle East, and his troops were proved to be beatable. -
Italian Campaign
The Allied forces landed in Sicily to prepare for a landing on Italy itself. Italian forces offered a weak resistance, but the German army in Sicily fought tenaciously until they were forced to evacuate at Messina. During the fighting in Sicily, the Italians deposed Mussolini and his fascist government, and the new government announced Italy's surrender on September 8, 1943. Hitler rescued Mussolini and reinstalled him as a puppet dictator in the North. -
Normandy Invasion
Allied troops were to take five beaches in Normandy: Americans would take Utah and Omaha; British would take Gold and Sword; and Canadians would take Juno Beach. Rommel correctly guessed that whoever won the day on the beach would also win the war. By the end of the first day, the Allies had their beach head. The Allies won the day on the beaches, and were shown to be more and more involved in the war. -
Battle of the Bulge
200,000 German troops attacked Ardennes, an area held by 80,000 Allies, in "one last offensive" attempt. German troops advanced sixty miles before being stopped on Christmas Day. On February 13-14, 1945 the Allies launched a raid upon Dresden, killing 100,000 Germans, in hopes of rushing them to surrender. In late April American and Soviet forces met in Germany. America's increasing involvement in these affairs aggravated Japan, and would eventually lead to the bombing of Pearl Harbour. -
Battle of the Bulge, continued
Hitler committed suicide on April 30,1945. Berlin fell to Russia on May 2, and Germany unconditionally surrendered on May 7, 1945. -
Victory in Europe
Following Germany's surrender on May 7, May 8, 1945 became known as V-E (Victory in Europe) Day.
