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WWII BEGINS
It was a war of rapid movement; with major campaigns taking place in the Pacific and the Far East, in North Africa and deep in the heart of Russia, as well as in central and western Europe and the Atlantic -
THE GERMANS & RUSSIANS INVADES POLAND
Working with Hitler, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin orders the invasion of Poland, securing a share of Polish territory. -
NORWAY & DENMARK INVADED
After a fivemonth pause (known as the 'phoney war'), German forces occupied Denmark and Norway -
OPERATION BARBAROSSA
This is the codename for the invasion of the Soviet Union. The failure of German troops to defeat Soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war. -
USA PLUNGED INTO THE WAR
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, starting war with the US. Sensing weakness, Hitler declares war on America 4 days later. -
BATTLE OF MIDWAY
the Americans drove off a Japanese attack on Midway Island, inflicting heavy losses. -
EL ALAMEIN
the Germans under Rommel, advancing towards Egypt, were halted at El Alamein and later driven out of North Africa. -
STALINGRAD
Was in Russia,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. -
THE AXIS POWERS DEFEATED
The United States and the USSR were combined with Great Britain, so that exhausted the Axis powers. Italy was eliminated first, and the Anglo-American invasion of Normandy liberated France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In the east, the Russians drove out the Germans and advanced towards Berlin through Poland. -
AN ATOMIC BOMB
Germany surrendered in May and Japan in August, after the Americans had dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and one on Nagasaki.