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Nazi forces, along with the Soviet Union, invade the country of Poland.
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Great Britain and France, because of the invasion, declare war on Germany.
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The Japanese land a surprise attack on a U.S. Naval base in Hawaii. Virtually the entire U.S. Naval fleet is destroyed. The U.S. now declare war on Japan and the Axis Powers.
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Germany & Italy join Japan in the War against the United States.
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Widely regarded as the most important Pacific Battle in World War II. Lasted from June 4th - June 6th. U.S. victory and considered a major turning point in the war.
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Great Britain and U.S. began the invasion of French North Africa.
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Allied forces take Rome, Italy and Mussolini is captured and imprisoned. Italy is the first Axis Powered country in the war to fall to the Allied forces.
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The Allied Forces land on the beaches of Normandy.
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Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and FDR meet for the final time. They discussed what was going to happen after the war.
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U.S. marines storm the volcanic beaches of Iwo Jima. The most famous photo of World War II was taken by Joe Rosenthal atop Mt. Surbachi after the U.S. won the battle.
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During the Battle of Berlin, fearing capture and persecution by the Allied forces, Adolf Hitler commits suicide along with his lover Eva Braun.
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The Allied forces accept the unconditional surrender of the armed German forces and marks the end of Hitler's Third Reich.
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U.S. drops the A-bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan.
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U.S. drops the second A-bomb on the city of Nagasaki, Japan.
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Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender declaring Japan's surrender and the official end to World War II.
