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Hitler declared himself as the führer of Germany on this date. He was now the leader of the Nazi Party plus the head of the Reich, the German government. This was important because he could now do whatever he wanted and had control of all of Germany. He was now able to start his plan for world domination. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany for breaking the previously signed Munich Pact, which stated Hitler would not take any more countries. This is important because it is when Britain and France officially joined the war. -
When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, many people believed the US had to leave their "neutral" stance behind and declare war. The bombing had killed more than 2,000 Americans and destroyed Navy ships. Congress agreed and the next day we declared war with a near-unanimous vote. -
After Pearl Harbor, America declared war on Japan and entered into WW2. Over 15 million men would go on to serve in the war, with more than 400,000 dying. American involvement would help lead the Allies to victory. -
8/23/1942 - 2/2/1943 This battle was a bloody one with more than two million troops involved in the fighting and nearly two million people, including thousands of Russian civilians, being killed. No other countries came to the Soviet Union's aid and they ended up beating the Germans on their own. This was an important battle as it stopped Germany from advancing towards the East. -
6/10/1940 - 5/13/1943 The USA and Britain fought German in Morocco and Algeria. They were fighting for the control of the Suez Canal, which belonged to the British and was vital for oil reserves. Nearly 1 million died, but eventually, the Allies were victorious which allowed them to set up military bases and stopped German advancement to the South. -
Allied offensive to take back France. About 175,000 soldiers came ashore on the beaches, with nearly 4,000 casualties following. In this battle, Allied forces start to push Germany out of France, and it would eventually lead to the liberation of France. This was important because the Germans were starting to lose more and more land. -
Germany surrendered after losing much of the land they took and after Hitler took his own life about a week earlier. They surrendered unconditionally to the Soviets and Allies. This was important because the fighting stopped in Europe and the Allies only had the Asian front to worry about now. -
8/6/1945 and 8/9/1945 The USA dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki to try to end the war quickly and without an invasion. These bombs caused great damage, destroying very large parts of the cities and killing around 200,000 people in the Hiroshima bombing and around 40,000 people in the Nagasaki bombing. However, this led to the Japanese surrendering unconditionally. -
After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrenders unconditionally. After the surrender of the Japanese, the war was finally over and post-war processes could begin.
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