Timeline: World War 2 Timeline

Sep 1, 1939

Start of WW II

Article Germany invaded Poland, starting WW II.

May 10, 1940

Nazis invade France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

[Article](httphttp://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/as-germany-invades-holland-and-belgium-winston-churchill-becomes-prime-minister-of-great-britain://) "On this day in 1940, Hitler begins his Western offensive with the radio code word “Danzig,” sending his forces into Holland and Belgium. On this same day, having lost the support of the Labour Party, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns; Winston Churchill accedes to the office, becoming defense minister as well."

Aug 14, 1941

Roosevelt and Churchill announce the Atlantic Charter

Article "...Atlantic Charter, a joint proclamation by the United States and Britain declaring that they were fighting the Axis powers to "ensure life, liberty, independence and religious freedom and to preserve the rights of man and justice." "

Sep 3, 1941

First experimental use of gas chambers at Auschwitz

On this date, the Germans were starting to experimant with Zyclon-B gas. They were determining what they would use for "execution", and how they would do it; this day was a big part of how they would kill their victims.

Dec 7, 1941

Attack on Pearl Harbor

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/pearl-harbor-day-december-7-1941-date-live-infamy-pearl-harbor-photos-gallery-1.25192 The Japanese brought the United States into the war when they attacked us at Pearl Harbor.

Sep 13, 1942

Battle of Stalingrad Starts

Article "he Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942-Feb. 2, 1943), was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict."

Jul 27, 1943

Allied air raid causes a firestorm in Hamburg

Article Hamburg was bombed in July 1943. According to Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister for Propaganda, the bombing of Hamburg was the first time that he thought Nazi Germany might have to call for peace.

Nov 28, 1943

Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin meet at Teheran

Article
" In Teheran, Iran, the first meeting of the 'Big Three.'. Topics during the four-day conference included: Confirmation of the decision to invade Western Europe in the Spring of 1944; Plans for the invasion of Southern France; and a promise by Stalin to join in the war against Japan when Germany was defeated. "

Jan 17, 1944

First attack toward Cassino, Italy

Article
"A 240-mm Howitzer of Battery B from the U.S. 697th Field Artillery Battalion prepares to fire into German-held territory near Cassino, Italy. January 1944."

Feb 16, 1944

Germans counter-attack against the Anzio beachhead

Article
"German prisoners at the Anzio beachhead below Rome, soon to be sent to prison camps. February 1944."

Mar 18, 1944

British drop 3000 tons of bombs during an air raid on Hamburg, Germany.

Article
"Adolf Hitler, accompanied by other German officials, grimly inspects bomb damage in a German city in 1944."

Jun 6, 1944

D-Day

Article "...the day the Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II. "

Jun 13, 1944

First German V-1 rocket attack on Britain

Article
"The 'V' came from the German word Vergeltungswaffen, meaning weapons of reprisal. The V-1 was developed by German scientists at the Peenemünde research facility on the Baltic Sea, under the direction of Wernher von Braun and Walter Dornberger
They were nicknamed "buzz bombs" by the British due to the distinct buzzing sound made by the pulse-jet engines powering the bombs, which overall resembled a small aircraft. Other British nicknames included "doodlebugs" and "flying bombs." "

Jun 27, 1944

U.S. troops liberate Cherbourg, France

Article
"A dead German soldier who was one of the "last stand" defenders of German-held Cherbourg. Captain Earl Topley, who led one of the first outfits into the fallen city, said he likely killed three of his men. Below: French refugees return to liberated Cherbourg."

Oct 21, 1944

Massive German surrender at Aachen, Germany

Article "The long, endless procession of German POWs after the fall of Aachen. October 1944."

Dec 16, 1944

Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes

Article
"A heavily armed German soldier on the offensive. Below Left: American soldiers taken prisoner by the Nazis. Below Right: Two Americans lie dead in the slush, stripped of all equipment."

Feb 4, 1945

Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin meet at Yalta

Article " British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, along with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet Leader Josef Stalin, attend the conference at Yalta. February 1945."

May 8, 1945

Victory in Europe

Article "On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day."

Sep 2, 1945

Japan Surrenders

Article "By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated. At the end of June, the Americans captured Okinawa, a Japanese island from which the Allies could launch an invasion of the main Japanese home islands."