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World War II
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Beginning of WW2
Invasion of PolandIn March 1939, Hitler had seized the rest of Czechoslovakia and had begun to move on to Poland. Britain and France had guaranteed the integrity of Poland, but Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a secret pact in August 1939. Through the pact, Stalin had been able to buy time to build up his strength with the help of Britain and France, and Hitler was able to deal with Poland directly. When Hitler's army invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, World War II began. -
German Liberation
Liberation
When Hitler announced that Germany would "liberate" the ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia, England and France had recognized the growing danger of a second world war caused by German expansionism. Although, England and France were politically unprepared for war, however, and appeased Hitler with the Munich Pact, which effectively compelled Czechoslovakia to relinquish its frontier districts to Germany. -
German Invasion
German InvasionOn September 1, 1939, the German invasion of Poland started World War II. Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand all declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. Nepal, Newfoundland, Tonga, South Africa, and Canada followed suit within days. On September 17, 1939, the Soviets invaded Poland from the East. The following year, the U.S.S.R. annexed the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) together with parts of Romania, and attacked Finland. The German-Soviet agreement was brought to -
Why Hitler Invaded Poland
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Big Four
1The big four Allied powers of World War II were England, the United States of America, the Soviet Union, and France. The involvement of many of the Allies in World War II were for the most part natural and inevitable, they were either invaded or had been threatened by invasion. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl HarborGreat needs for war material caused many shortages in consumer goods. Most governments, both Allied and Axis, had to ration the amount of consumer goods each person could use. In the United States, these items included meats, butter, sugar, fats, oil, coffee, canned foods, shoes, and gasoline. Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 brought the United States into the war on the Allied side. Every country in the Americas eventually declared war on theAxis, but only Brazil, Canada, Mexico -
United Nations
United NationsDuring December 1941, the United States President, Franklin Roosevelt had devised the name "United Nations" for the Allies. Later, President Roosevelt referred to the Big Three (which were the United States, the Soviet Union, and France) and China as a “trusteeship of the powerful", and then later with all four, the “Four Policemen”. -
Battle of Guadalcanal
WebsiteThe battle was an important Allied strategic victory, which blocked Japan’s push south-eastward. The Allies' goal was to capture or neutralize Rabaul, an important enemy base on New Britain Island, north of Australia. They planned an invasion of the nearby Solomon Islands, while other Allied forces approached Rabaul by way of New Guinea. On August 7, 1942, the Allies began their first offensive action in the Pacific. -
Invasion of Sicily
WebsiteThe Allied and Axis countries circled the globe in World War II. The Allies had acquired about 62 million men and women, while the Axis had about half that number. Hitler was preoccupied with the Russian front and many divisions of the German army were already committed to the front because of Hitler. North Africa was essentially used as a springboard for the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and also in Italy later that year. -
Operation Overlord
OperationOn June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops and 30,000 vehicles landed along a 50-mile front on the French coastline and had begun fighting on the beaches of Normandy. It was to be known as D-Day. The invasion, code named Operation Overlord, remains the largest seaborne invasion in history. It was the first battle in which aircraft carriers attacked each other, and the first naval battle in which neither side's ships had even seen the other. -
Operation Neptune
OperationThe Normandy Landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, June 6, 1944 (D-Day), beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time (GMT+2). In planning, D-Day was the term used for the day of actual landing, which was dependent on final approval. -
Video of D-Day