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Germany invades Poland
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France and Great Britain declare war on Germany
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Germany invades and takes control of Denmark and Norway.
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Germany uses quick strikes called blitzkrieg, meaning lightning war, to take over much of western Europe including the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France.
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Winston Churchill becomes leader of the British government.
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Italy enters the war as a member of the Axis powers.
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Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain. These attacks last until the end of October.
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Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact creating the Axis Alliance.
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Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia with a huge force of over four million troops.
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The Japanese attack the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. The next day the US entered World War II on the side of the Allies.
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The US Navy defeats the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway.
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The Allies invade and take the island of Sicily.
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Italy surrenders to the Allies.
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Germany helps Mussolini to escape and set up a government in Northern Italy.
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Allied forces invade France and push back the Germans.
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Paris is liberated from German control.
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The Germans launch a large attack in the Battle of the Bulge. They lose to the Allies sealing the fate of the German army.
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US Marines invade the island of Iwo Jima. After a fierce battle they capture the island.
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The US Third Army under General Patton crosses the Rhine River.
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US President Franklin Roosevelt dies. He is succeeded by President Harry Truman.
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Adolf Hitler commits suicide as he knows Germany has lost the war.
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Germany surrenders to the Allies.
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The United States drops the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The city is devastated.
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Another atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
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Japan surrenders to US General Douglass MacArthur and the Allies.
