World War II Timeline

  • Hitler becomes chancellor

    Hitler becomes chancellor
    Germany's Economy was struggling. Hitler began to gain popularity among the population because he made many promises to improve their struggles. The Nazis had achieved being the larger political party among the others. Due to this, President Paul Von Hindenburg appointed Hitler to be the new chancellor.
  • Munich conference

    Munich conference
    This conference consisted of leaders Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. The topic of conversation was the Sudetenland, located in Czechoslovakia. These countries had agreed to let Hitler take over the Sudetenland in hopes to avoid future war. This ultimately helped Hitler's ulterior motives to keep expanding in europe.
  • German invasion of Poland

    German invasion of Poland
    This invasion marks the start of world war 2. Germany planned a surprise attack on Poland using a war strategy called blitzkrieg. The literal meaning of the word is "Lightening warfare", the Germans would use the elements of shock, speed, and surprise. This lead them to many victories throughout WWll.
  • Great Britain and France declare war

    Great Britain and France declare war
    Great Britain and France decided to declare war on Germany two days after the invasion of Poland. This was announced via radio podcast by the prime minister of Great Britain.
  • Germany invades France

    Germany invades France
    Germany had used the same blitzkrieg strategy of warfare. The French were expecting Germany to attack their heavily armed area. Known as the Maginot line, which is the area of France along the German border. They instead avoided this line and attacked France through the Ardennes forest. Which gave them success.
  • battle of Britian

    battle of Britian
    The significance of this battle is that it was the first major defeat of Germany. The allied powers managed to stop the Nazis from advancing. This battle also secured Britain, it prevented German control.
  • Pearl harbor attack

    Pearl harbor attack
    On December 7th 1941 Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor. They were victorious in their attack killing and wounding 3,500 Americans. This gave America good reasoning to officially join the war. Prior to this attack the US had remained neutral.
  • Battle of midway

    Battle of midway
    The battle of midway is considered a turning point in the war for the Pacific theatre. Prior to this battle Japan had an advantage and were mainly on the offensive. This allowed the US to take charge and advance on Japan.
  • Battle of stalingrad

    Battle of stalingrad
    This was fought between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It led to Germany's decline in the Eastern front. This battle also lasted almost 6 months. There were many casualties and destruction to cities caused by this 6 month battle.
  • Battle of the buldge

    Battle of the buldge
    This battle was a huge loss for Germany. They lost many men and supplies. It is also considered a turning point in the war, as it ultimately led to Germany's defeat. This was a deadly battle for Germany, but also the US. The US lost a significant amount of manpower.
  • Yalta conference

    Yalta conference
    This conference took place post defeating Germany. Key points: Talk of creation of the UN (United Nations), Stalin agrees to declare war on Japan and assist the US, and they decided the division of Germany. Germany is divided into 4 zones, the US, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union all control one.
  • Nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima

    Nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima
    There were two bombs the US planned to drop on Japan. The first being the Bombing of Hiroshima. The nickname of this bomb was called "Little boy". This bomb led to the destruction of the entire city, over 80,000 people were immediately killed.
  • Nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki

    Nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki
    This bomb was dropped three days later on Nagasaki, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths in Japan. Truman had threatened to drop this bomb if Japan had not surrendered. They decided not to surrender so the bomb was dropped. There was also a third bomb planned to drop on August 19th, but Japan surrendered before that could play out.
  • United Nations founded

    United Nations founded
    Representatives from 50 nations gathered together for the charter of the UN. Although there are only 5 core members, The US, China, France, The Soviet Union, and Great Britain. It was not officially signed until June 26th 1945