World War II Timeline

HItler Becomes the Chancellor of Germany

Jan 30, 1933

Adolph HItler was a very charming and charasmatic speaker. At the time he was elected, Germany was very deep in a depression. HItler gave the people hope for a better, more stable government and ecnomy,

Japan Invades China

Jun 7, 1937

Japan was very eager to get into China to take advantage of the natural resources, like oil and gas, China had. This caused tensions between the two countries. Both sides went to war with one another. Though China had lots of aid, Japan quickly captaured all major Chinese cities and trading posts.

Rape of Nanking

Jul 1, 1937

Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people–including both soldiers and civilians–in the Chinese city of Nanking. Between 20,000 and 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. The men responsible for this attack were put on trial and found guilty, and were later executed. There is no official death toll, though historians estimate between 200,000-300,000 people were killed.

German Blitzkrieg

Jun 10, 1939

A German term meaning "lighting war," blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. German forces tried out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 before successfully employing the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940.

German Invasion of Poland

Sep 1, 1939

1.5 million German troops invade Poland all along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. HItler invaded Poland in order to gain more space for the German people. This expansion began in 1938 when Germany annexed Austria. This conquest was called "Lebensraum" or "living space."

Fall of Paris

Jun 14, 1940

The citizens of Paris were awoken to hear an announcement that they were going to have an 8PM curfew because German troops were beginning to invade Paris. When the Germans arrived, over 2 million Parisians had already fled the city. Those there were interrogated and help captive. The United States was going to send aid, but later hesitated because the Axis powers would see there as an entrance into the war. Though they did freeze the American assets of the Axis powers, Germany

Operation Barbarossa

Jun 22, 1941

Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union: three great army groups with over three million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. Germany underestimated their opponents, and severly under estimated the fighting ability of their soldiers. Its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese successfully destroyed 20 naval vessels and 300 hundred airplanes. MOre than 2,000 American soldiers and sailors died during the attack. The day after President Roosevelt asked to declare war on Japan. Three days later, Japan, Germany, and Italy declared war on the United States.

Wannsee Conference

Jan 20, 1942

A meeting of senior officials of Nazi Germany, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. This meeting was held to discuss "The Final Solution," a plan to exterminate all of the Jewish population living in Germany, approxtimately 11 million people.

Operation Gomorrah

Jul 24, 1943

British bombers bombed Hamburg, Germany, while American bombers bomb it during the day during "Blitz Week." British aircraft drop 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg in just a few hours. The explosive power was the equivalent of what German bombers had dropped on London in their five most destructive raids. More than 1,500 German civilians were killed in that first British raid.

D-Day [Normandy Invasion]

Jun 6, 1944

156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. The Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.

Battle of Bulge

Dec 16, 1944

HItler attempted to split the Allied forces in Northwesr Europe with a surprise blitzkrieg. In order to confuse the Allies, the troops got together to form a large bulge, making it look like there were more soldiers than there actually were. This defense proved to be very vital later on in the war.

Battle of Iwo Jima

Feb 1, 1945

This battle was started when the US found the need for a military base near the coast of Japan. About 23,000 Japanese soldiers defended the coast. They hid in a delicate series of caves and dugouts, this was because the Japanese changed their tactic from changing the coastline, to defending the island. The United States Marines fighting there wiped out the enemy force in about a month.

Operation Thunderclap

Feb 13, 1945

A British plan to break German morale with a massive Allied assault on the German capital, Berlin, and refugee centers. While the American government did not accept the idea to bomb Dresden, they made no move to stop it. When the news of the bombing at Dresden was heard by the world, there was much protest and outcry as to why it was necessary to bomb such a beautiful country.

Battle of Okinawa

Apr 1, 1945

The last battle and the biggest battle of WWII. 287,000 US Troop and 130,000 Japanese troops fought. Again, the Japanese had changed their defense tactics to defensive, instead of openly attacking. The location of this battle was in a heavily populated town and over 100,000 Japanese citizens were killed. This battle is known as one of the worst, bloodiest battles throughout the war.

VE Day

May 8, 1945

"Victory in Europe Day"
Both Britain and the United States celebrate their victory in Europe Day. They did this by creating posters and banners rejoicing over the victory over the Nazi Party and their allies. This day was the day that the German forces finally layed down their arms and surrendured. Though there was some intial resistance, by May 9th all troops had surrendured and the Allies had officially won the war.

Dropping of the Atomic Bombs

Aug 6, 1945

American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90% of the city and immediately killed over 80,000 people. Later thousands more would die from the harmful radiation that still lingered in the air.
August 9th, 1945- Nagasaki
A second B-29 dropped a bomb on Nagasaki, immediately killing over 40,000 people. These bombings brought on the complete surrender of Japan from the war.