World war II key events

  • Invasion in Poland

    Invasion in Poland
    On September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany.
  • Blitzkrieg(lightening war)

    Blitzkrieg(lightening war)
    On April 9, 1940: Germany launched the blitzkrieg (“lightening war”) on Denmark and Norway. The attacks involved with tanks, war planes and bombs which destroyed the territory in a lightening speed.
  • Invasion of Western Europe

    Invasion of Western Europe
    On May 10, 1940: Germany began to invade (Western Europe) the Netherlands with Wehrmacht (armed forces). They moved through Belgium and finally got into France.
  • The evacuation of Dunkirk

    The evacuation of Dunkirk
    On May 26, 1940: The evacuation began in Dunkirk of France by navigating the English Channel.
  • The rescue of Dunkrik

    The rescue of Dunkrik
    On June 4, 1940: The evacuation was completed and got a successful rescue--nearly 340 000 soldiers been saved.
  • Surrender of nothern France

    Surrender of nothern France
    On June 22, 1940: France surrendered and Germany occupied Northern France.
  • Bombing campaign in England

    Bombing campaign in England
    On July 10, 1940: Germany started a massive bombing campaign to destroy the harbours and shipping facilities in southern England.
  • Raids in factories

    Raids in factories
    On August 1-25, 1940: The German bombing raided targeted air fields and aircraft factories.
  • The Blitz

    The Blitz
    On September 7, 1940: The “Blitz” began in London, bombing, terrifying and killing civilians and destroying buildings and streets.
  • Defeat in Britain

    Defeat in Britain
    On May 15, 1941: German lost the battle of Britain. 23 000 British Civilians were killed. Hitler finally gave up invading Britain.
  • Operation Barbarossa

    Operation Barbarossa
    On June 22, 1941: Hitler launched “Operation Barbarossa”, the invasion of the Soviet Union by the campaign in Balkans. It’s the largest Germany military operation in WWII.
  • Bombing in Pearl Harbour

    Bombing in Pearl Harbour
    On December7, 1941: Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. Then the U.S. declared war on Japan.
  • The falling of Hongkong

    The falling of Hongkong
    On December 25, 1941: Hong Kong had fallen to the Japanese. Canada had sent troops to protect Hong Kong but failed.
  • The Dieppe raid

    The Dieppe raid
    On August 19, 1942: The Dieppe raid had occurred on the northern coast of France. The casualties were high and results were terrible.
  • Defeat to the Soviet Union

    Defeat to the Soviet Union
    On February 2, 1943: German Army surrendered to the Soviets due to the quantities of casualties and ill-equipped troops. Soviets were advancing into Eastern Europe.
  • Invasion of sicily

    Invasion of sicily
    On July 10, 1943: Canadian participated into the invasion of Sicily. The Allies took two weeks to take over it.
  • Invasion of Italy

    Invasion of Italy
    On September 3, 1943: The Allies invaded the mainland of Italy. The battles conditions of soldiers are difficult especially the battles of Ortona.
  • D-Day

    D-Day
    On June 6, 1944: The Allies launched “Operation Overland”—a full-scale invasion of Europe, called “D-Day”. This invasion had been planned in detail, inferred to the Dieppe raids. The landing points were in the beaches in Normandy in northern France.
  • Liberation of France

    Liberation of France
    On August 25, 1944: The Allies liberated France and got a great victory in Europe.
  • Invasion of Germany

    Invasion of Germany
    On March 26, 1945: Allies Forces attacked Germany and requested to liberate the Netherlands. American and Montgomery also involved into the battles.
  • Liberation of Netherlands

    Liberation of Netherlands
    On May 4, 1945: German troops surrendered and the Netherlands had been successful liberated. Canadians were hailed as heroes by the Dutch resulted in the quantity of food and fuel dropped into the Netherlands.
  • Surrender of Germany

    Surrender of Germany
    On May 7, 1945: By the attacks from the east of the Allies and the west of the Soviet Union, Germany finally surrendered. Hitler and his wife had suicide in a bunker in Berlin.