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Germany invades Poland
Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, destroying the Polish army and taking the country in a few weeks. Hitler utilised the ‘Blitzkerg’ strategy which involved heavily bombing the army and then rushing the German troops on the ground. The air strikes would eliminate railroads, communication lines and munition dumps. -
Britain & France declare war on Germany
After the invasion of Poland by the German army and the fact that Hitler had agreed to not invade anywhere else cause France and Britain to declare war on Germany kicking off the war in Europe. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Winston Churchill had been a minister during World War 1 and when World War 2 broke out and Chamberlain resigned he stepped in to take control. Churchill kept Britain under control as it was besieged by the Germans and their allies. He was a brilliant tactician and a formidable adversary. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk
Operation Dynamo or the evacuation of Dunkirk is a widely celebrated military event on the British side even though it was from a major loss on the British and French armies. The Germans cut the British and French armies in two. This left the British and French forces split, forcing them to fight into Dunkirk which was allowed by a mistake from the Germans. Followed by many more mistakes from the Germans the British and French were able to eventually evacuate 338,226 troops from Dunkirk by boat, -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers
Due to the similar interests that Mussolini and Hitler had, Italy joined the war in aid of the Germans. Although this formal allegiance didn’t coordinate things such as foreign or military policies such as the Allies, they had common interests that allowed them to align with each other. -
France signs armistice with Germany
France surrendered to Germany. A war hero of world war 1, Marshal Henri Petain, was appointed prime minister of France and struck an armistice with Germany to maintain piece in the divided nation. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was an air based confrontation between the Germans and the British. The battle ended after German Luftwaffe’s failed to destroy British air bases, military posts and hit the civilian population. The British’s victory stopped a ground invasion from the Germans as well as denying the Germans occupation of Britain. This battle is also noted as proof that air power can be a major component in warfare. -
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Operation Sea Lion - Planned for late 1940
Operation Sea Lion was the name of an attack Hitler was planning on Britain. It was never executed due to the loss of the Battle of Britain and Hitler ended up turning his attentions to attacking Russia. The attack involved three army groups attacking different areas of Britain that would end up surrounding London forcing Britain to surrender. -
Tripartite Pact signed
The pact was signed by Germany, Japan and Italy and it stated that if any of the countries were attacked that the other two would provide assistance in protecting the defending nation. This pact was aimed at the United States that was still neutral and was meant to warn the states of joining the allies. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was a 241 day attack on the British Western Desert Force in Libya during the Western Desert Campaign. After the British had defeated Italian troops, a counter attack from the Axis forces pushed the British back to the Egyptian border. A garrison was left at Tobruk to deny the Axis from gaining the port so the WDF could re-organise themselves. The occupation of Tobruk by the Allies denied the Axis a supply port that was closer to the border. Many Axis troops were diverted to j -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler declared an invasion of Russia and used 3 million Axis troops and 3,500 tanks, codenamed Operation Barbarossa. The Germans had however underestimated Russia’s resources. Tanks were diverted from their main objective of attacking Moscow to go quell a resistance. This gave the Russians time and destroyed the flow of the offensive. The Germans finally were in sight of Moscow after coming back from the resistance but a Russian counterattack pushed back the Germans -
Bombing of Pearl Harbour
Possibly one of the most silly mistakes made during war, Japan bombed the neutral United States in the hopes of keeping them docile. They attacked the navy bass pearl harbour and killed 2,300 people in the bombing. The attack, instead of keeping the United States docile, angered the United states and they joined the allies and turning the war to the Allie’s side. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
After the attack on Pearl Harbour the US, along with Britain, officially declared war on Japan in response to the attack. Japanese nationalists were rounded up in New York and anti-aircraft guns were placed around California. -
Japan takes Singapore
Singapore was a British settled area. The Japanese attacked it via bombing with only a small RAF squad in the way. The British were forced out of Singapore, losing a foothold in the east. -
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The Battle of Midway
6 months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour they lost an important naval battle to the US. The US had been able to break the code that was being used by the Japanese and used this information to pre-empt and counterattack the Japanese’s planned ambush on the remaining US Naval fleet. This victory gave the US and its allies an offensive position in the Pacific Campaign. -
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The First Battle of El Alamein
The first battle of El Alamein was between the Axis, Panzer Army Africa, commanded by Erwin Rommel, or ‘The Desert Fox’, and the Allies, a combined force of Britain, British India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The Allies were on the defensive, pushing the Axis back after another advance. The Axis were close to EL Alamein and this put them close to the ports of Egypt. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was between the Russians and the Germans. With the Germans attacking the city of Stalingrad the Russians were on the defensive. The Germans fought their way into the city. They raised the flag in the centre but then the Russians had a counterattack that surrounded the Army. The Germans could have fought through but were given strict orders not to and were eventually crushed by the Russians. 2 Million Military and Civilian casualties were counted. -
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The Second Battle of El Alamein
Churchill was becoming impatient with the stalemate that was the war in Africa. He arrived at Cairo and handed command over to Montgomery. At the same time ‘The Desert Fox’ fell ill and was sent back to Germany. The Allies held their ground against the Axis and finally made a major counterattack. ‘The Desert Fox’ sent a message back to Germany claiming that the army was going to be destroyed. Hitler first told them to stand their ground but then gave the command to retreat. -
D-Day Landings
D-Day was part of the infamous Battle of Normandy. A huge assault that included 156,000 American, British and Canadian troops. Boats carrying the aforementioned troops ran up a 50-mile stretch of French beach which was heavily fortified. The attack had been lead with a fake campaign meant to confuse the Germans and make them assume another area was their target. The Battle of Normandy was a pivotal moment in the allies victory. -
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The Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a German offensive launched in the forest areas of Ardennes in the region of Wallonia found in Belgium, France and Luxemburg. It was a surprise attack and caught the Allies off guard, leaving the United States to take most of the brunt and incurring their highest casualty rate for any operation during the war however it also majorly depleted the German armoured forces on the western front. -
Mussolini is captured and shot
After being deposed as the Dictator of Italy, Mussolini tried to escape to Switzerland with his wife. They disguised themselves as Germans but were discovered by Anti-fascists and shot. Their bodies were transported to Milan where they were hung on display. -
Hitler commits suicide
After retreating back to his bunker for the last moments of the war, Hitler spent most of his time micromanaging the remains of the German army. After finding out the Russians were closing in, he and his wife of two days committed double suicide. Hitler ate a cyanide pill and then shot himself in the head. His body was then cremated by his soldiers. A German court pronounced him dead in 1956 -
German forces surrender
The German High command, in person General Alfred Jodl, wanted only limited surrenders of German forces but General Dwight Eisenhower convinced Jodl to take a complete surrender. General Susloparov from the Russians signed the surrender without permission from Stalin. Even though the surrender was put in action, Susloparov was taken back to Russia by the secret police, never heard from again. -
V.E. Day
This was the date that the surrender from Germany was formally accepted by the Allies, marking the end to the war in Europe. -
Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima
Being told that any American invasion on Japan would result in many American casualties, President Harry Truman ordered the use of the new weapon, the atomic bomb, be used to bring a swift end to the war in the Pacific. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
With Russia freed up no longer fighting Germany, they could turn their attention on the other part of the War, Japan. With the help of the Mongolians, the Soviet Union attacked and took over Japan’s puppet state, Manchuko, helping with the eventual Japanese surrender. -
Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki
After dropping the first Atomic Bomb, President Truman called for Japans surrender. After not complying America dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. The effects of both bombs caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, most of which came from the first day but countless others at the hands of radiation sickness and burns caused by the explosion. -
Japan surrenders - End of World War 2
Japans surrender was announced on August 15th and was finally signed on September 2nd. After July of the same year, Japan couldn’t conduct any major naval operations. And with the Soviet Union attacking them and the dropping of the two Atomic Bombs, Japan finally gave in and surrendered. This signified the end of the war in the Pacific and the overall end of World War 2 -
United Nations is born
Having begun the basics of the United Nations in 1942, signed by 26 countries and lead by Britain, Russia and America to combat the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan, the principles were eventually completely formulated on April 25th 1945. The conference was attended by 50 nations including Asian, European and African countries. Once the war finally finished, the United Nations’ first job was to keep the peace and negotiate terms.