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Hitler Attacks Poland
Hitler attacked Poland by surprise, German tanks and trucks made way into Poland’s border as well as German airplanes began bombing Warsaw, Poland’s capital city. -
Period: to
WW2
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France and Britain declare War
The title says it all. Those nations took action long after Poland was harshly damaged. Hitler had already taken control of Poland, including all of the Germans living in the western side. -
French Leaders Surrender
France was already falling, and accepting the certain fate, the French surrender on this date. German took control of northern France. Southern France was left to a puppet government led by Marshal Philippe Pétain. -
Germany Bombs Cities At Night
During the Battle of Britain, Germans started attacking British cities like London, for example. They started bombing them at night. This continued for a few more months. -
Lend-Lease Act Passes
The Lend-Lease Act states that the president of the United States (Franklin Roosevelt) can lend or lease any arms and supplies to any ally of the country (Britain, China, etc.) -
Germany Invades the Soviets
Operation Barbarossa consists of the invasion of Soviet Union. In the morning of June 22, 1941 Germany attacks with surprise with the use of tanks and airplanes. The Soviets, unprepared for the attack, weren’t well equipped or well trained despite having the largest army. -
Roosevelt Cuts Off Oil
Seeing as Japan was clearly not part of the Allies, President Franklin D. Roosevelt decides to cut off oil shipments to Japan in July 1941. The Japanese don’t like this at all which lead to many battles and deaths. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
Also called “the day of infamy” by Roosevelt, the Pearl Harbor Attack was the first attack on the United States by Japan in Hawaii. Japan sunk 19 ships, 2,300 American troops were killed, and 1,100 were wounded with a dropped bomb. Roosevelt, Franklin. Profosed Message To The Congress. Http://www.nnwwiim.org/images/ed-lesson-plan-pearl-harbor1.gif, 1941. Print. -
The Final Solution Begins
After the Wannsee Conference, Germans decide the best way to achieve a perfect race is to eliminate every non-aryan by genocide. Gas chambers, firing lines of people in front of their own graves, working to death were some of the ways to achieve a "perfect race." -
Tokyo Bombing
Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle sent 16 B-25 bombers in April 1942 to some Japanese cities (one of them being Tokyo), however the bombs didn’t do a lot of damage. But the point after that was clear: Japan is vulnerable. -
Battle of Midway Starts
In the Battle of Midway, in the Pacific Ocean, the American pilot destroyed 332 Japanese planes, 4 aircraft carriers and a support ship. All of this by attacking planes just as they got into the air as well as firing to those still on the decks. Yamamoto retreated and 3 days later the battle was over. -
Battle of Guadalcanal Starts
The Battle of Guadalcanal was the start of America’s island hopping plan. It was the first real land battle in the pacific front. The battle was long and brutal. It was also very different in the pacific front than in the european front because of the jungle, humidity, etc. The battle lasted for 6 months. -
Period: to
Battle of Guadalcanal
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D-Day
Also called, Operation Overlord, consisted of an invasion by the Allies which began on June 6, 1944. All of the allied troops fought their way through Normandy. Germans had machine guns, rockets, cannons, concrete walls, etc. more than 2,700 people died that day. Jenkins, Ralph. "Voices of D-Day: Ralph Jenkins." American Experience. PBS. Web. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dday/sfeature/sf_voices_01.html. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germany looking at a defenseless America, though they could attack. Tanks broke into American in the Ardennes. Although America wasn’t looking while it started, the Allies pushed the Germans away after a while. Germany retreated, as they had no other choice. -
Yalta Conference
The allies reunite to discuss Europe’s future after Germany is defeated. This only means that those countries were already assuming Germany’s future. -
U.S. Troops Move To Okinawa
U.S. troops advanced to the Okinawa Island, near Japan. They didn’t want to surrender, and on June 21st, the bloody battle ended. Japan lost more than 100,000 troops and the U. S. lost 12,000. -
Eisenhower Wants To Surrender
General Eisenhower was ready to surrender to the Germans. The president of the United States, Roosevelt didn’t agree with him. As the Allies were rushing towards Berlin, the president died. His successor, Harry Truman, got the news that Germany had finally surrendered. After six years of fighting, the war had ended. -
1st Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima
To make Japan surrender as well, America dropped an atomic bomb, the first of its kind, on Hiroshima, a Japanese City. It killed more than 70,000 people. -
2nd Atomic Bomb: Nagasaki
Receiving no surrender notice, America dropped another bomb on Japan 3 days later. This time it was on Nagasaki, and also more than 70,000 people were killed. The radiation from both killed many more through time. -
Japan Surrenders
Japan surrenders after a long lasting fight to McArthur on the 2nd of September. They celebrated outside the United States battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The war ended with Japan’s surrender.
