-
Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.
This pact between Germany and the USSR, were also against the
war. The long period of inaction during the 'phoney war' allowed time for a peace
party to develop on the right, headed by Laval. He argued that there was no point
in continuing the war now that the Poles, whom they were supposed to be helping,
had been defeated. -
Germany invades Poland, starting World War II.
Hitler went on to negotiate a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
In response to Hitler's invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. -
The Battle of the Atlantic
This was the struggle against German U-boats attempting to deprive Britain of food and raw materials. -
Warsaw captured
- September - After they captured the city, the Germans built a wall round the Jewish districts.
-
Germany invades Norway
Norway needed protection from British and French interference, Germany invaded Norway. -
Germany invades Holland, France and Belgium.
-
Churchill becomes Prime Minister
of Churchill's mistakes, there is no doubt that he supplied what was needed -
Evacuation begins of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France
The events at Dunkirk were important: a third of a million Allied troops were rescued
to fight again, and Churchill used it for propaganda purposes to boost British morale with
the 'Dunkirk spirit'. -
Italy declares war on France and Great Britain.
Germans greet the news that Italy has declared war on Britain and France enthusiastically in June 1940. -
France surrenders to Germany.
France surrendered to the Nazis in 1940. -
Battle of Britain begins
This was fought in the air, when Goering's Luftwaffe tried to destroy the Royal Air Force
(RAF) as a preliminary to the invasion of Britain.
The end of this was in October 1940 -
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease bill
After the Lend-Lease Act
(April 1941), they had provided Britain with massive financial aid. -
The British ship is sunk by Germany's Bismarck.
Germany's only battleship at the time (May 1941) -
Germany invades the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa).
Germany launched a surprise attack against the Soviet Union, its ally in the war against Poland. -
Siege of Leningrad begins
A great tank battle at Kursk, they forced the Germans to keep on retreating. Early
in 1944 the Germans had to abandon the siege of Leningrad and to retreat from their position
west of Moscow. It was now only a matter of time before the Germans, heavily
outnumbered and short of tanks and guns, were driven out of Russia. -
The Japanese launch a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor
The USA was brought into the war by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (their naval
base in the Hawaiian Islands) on 7 December 1941 -
Germany and Italy declare war on the United States; then the United States declares war on Germany and Italy.
Four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States declaration of war against the Japanese Empire, Nazi Germany declared war against the United States. -
The Wannsee Conference
Was a meeting of senior government officials of Nazi Germany and Schutzstaffel leaders, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. -
The Battle of Midway begins.
The Americans drove off a Japanese attack on Midway Island, inflicting heavy losses. -
Battle of Stalingrad begins.
The Germans had penetrated
as far as Stalingrad on the river Volga. Here the Russians put up such fierce
resistance that in the following February the German army was surrounded and
forced to surrender. -
Battle of El Alamein begins
This battle was the culmination of several
engagements fought in the El Alamein area: first the Axis advance was temporarily
checked (July); when Rommel tried to break through he was halted again at Alam Halfa
(September); finally, seven weeks later in the October battle, he was chased out of Egypt
for good by the British and New Zealanders. -
The Allies invade North Africa
The Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942 was intended to draw Axis forces away from the Eastern Front, thus relieving pressure on the hard-pressed Soviet Union. -
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins.
In April 1943 the remaining Jews of the Warsaw ghetto rose in revolt; the rising
was brutally crushed and most of the Jews were killed. -
The Battle of Kursk begins
It was around the Soviet city of Kursk in western Russia, as Germany launched Operation Citadel. -
Mussolini resigns
He is forced to resign in 1943 -
The Siege of Leningrad is finally over.
Germans had to abandon the siege of Leningrad and to retreat from their position
west of Moscow. -
D- Day
It was felt that the time was ripe now that Italy had been eliminated,
the U-boats brought under control and Allied air superiority achieved. -
The Battle of the Bulge begins.
Was important
because Hitler had risked everything on the attack and had lost 250 000 men and 600
tanks, which at this stage could not be replaced. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt dies.
The policy was continued by Roosevelt until his
death in April 1945, and by his successor, Haffy S. Truman. -
Allies begin bombing Dresden.
Sometimes raids seem to have been carried out to undermine civilian morale, as
when about 50 000 people were killed during a single night raid on Dresden (February
1945). -
Adolf Hitler commits suicide.
Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrendered. -
Germany signs an unconditional surrender.
When it was all over, many Germans tried to blame the Allied
policy of 'unconditional surrender' for their determination to fight on. -
The United States drops the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
The Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing perhaps
as many as 84 000 people and leaving thousands more slowly dying of radiation poisoning. -
The United States drops a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.
They dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, which killed perhaps
another 40 000; after this the Japanese government surrendered.