-
Germany Invades Poland and WWII begins.
-
Japan bombed United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans.
-
Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Declaration of War on Japan, entering the United States into World War II.
-
On this day, Adolf Hitler declares war on the United States.
-
The United States defeated Japan in a naval battle with the few ship they had left. This win allowed US and allies to move into an offensive stance.
-
Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. By day’s end, 155,000 Allied troops–Americans, British and Canadians–had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches. Within 3 months, the northern parts of France would be freed from Germans.
-
Adolf Hitler commits suicide as he knows that the Germans had lost the war.
-
Germany surrenders to the Allies.
-
On this day, the US dropped the first atomic bomb, named Little Boy, on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. The bombed immediately killed more than 80,000 people, about 40,000 later died of radiation exposure.
-
The US dropped the second atomic bomb, nicknamed Fat Man, on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. This bomb killed more than 40,000 people. This bomb weighed more than 10,000 pounds but did less damage because it was released in a valley between mountains.
-
Japanese Air Force and navy had been destroyed, their cities bombed, and their economy left devastated. On August 15, the Japanese had announced their surrender. September 2, the ceremony was held for Japans surrender, as they signed their defeat.
