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World War ll begins
Germany invades Poland, inciting Poland’s allies Britain and France to declare war on Germany. -
Britain's wins War's First Sea Battle
British cruisers defeat a German pocket battleship at the Battle of the River Plate, the first major naval engagement of World War II. The first major naval engagement of the Second World War, was a great boost to British morale during the Phoney War. When war broke out in September 1939, the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, commanded by Hans Langsdorff, was patrolling in the Atlantic. -
Church Hill becomes Prime Minister
Winston Churchill replaces Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister. The same day, Germany invades Belgium. -
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Battle of Dunkirk
Dunkirk is a small town on the coast of France that was the scene of a massive military campaign during World War II. During the Battle of Dunkirk from May 26 to June 4, 1940, some 338,000 British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk to England as German forces closed in on them. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. -
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The Blitz
The intense bombing campaign undertaken by Nazi Germany against the United Kingdom during World War II. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. The attacks were authorized by Germany’s chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. -
Singapore falls to Japan
Singapore, the “Gibraltar of the East” and a strategic British stronghold, falls to Japanese forces. The fighting in Singapore lasted from 8 to 15 February 1942. The Japanese victory was decisive, resulting in the Japanese capture of Singapore and the largest British surrender in history. In the lead-up to the battle, the British destroyed the causeway into the city, forcing the Japanese to embark on a naval crossing. -
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Battle of D-Day
The amphibious invasions began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture beaches codenamed Gold, Juno, and Sword, as did the Americans at Utah Beach. U.S. forces faced heavy resistance at Omaha Beach. By day’s end, approximately 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches. According to some estimates, more than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing. -
VE- Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces marking the end of World War II in Europe. -
End of World War ll
The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced by Japanese Emperor Hirohito on August 15 and formally signed on September 2, 1945, bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close.