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Germany invaded Poland
The Wehrmacht's 'blitzkrieg' invasion technique forced the Polish army to surrender
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Britain and France declared war to Germany.
The German invasion of Poland was the trigger of the war. Britain and France were Poland’s allies and it’s invasion, after many others, was too much. The Prime Minister announced that the country was at war, one year after the Munich conference that Neville Chamberlin considered as a success because peace was preserved at this moment. https://home.bt.com/news/on-this-day/september-3-1939-britain-declares-war-on-germany-after-hitlers-troops-invade-poland-11364001286165 -
Hitler invades Denmark and Norway
The aim of this invasion and occupation of those two countries was to secure their steel supply from Sweden that was used to make weapons of war. This occupation also made the blockade of the Royal Navy ineffective and to fight them. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/fr/article/norway -
Launch of the Blitzkrieg
Hitler decided to make the first step in this war that was really strange because there were no military operations and nicknamed “Phoney war”. The Netherlands, Belgium were defeated really quickly by the Wermhacht. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belgium#/media/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-127-0396-13A,_Im_Westen,_deutsche_Panzer.jpg -
The battle of Dunkirk
In Dunkirk, after the retreat of the British commander-in-chief, troops had to fight in Dunkirk under bombardments of the Luftwaffe. They had to fight to survive before their evacuation. More than 338 000 soldiers were saved, among them 140 000 French soldiers that formed the free French army under the orders of Charles De Gaulle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dunkirk -
France signed armistice with Germany
After the defeat, Marshall Petain is named at the head of the government. He signed the armistice with the Nazis and the occupation started. https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/europe/allemagne/armistice-de-1940-des-enregistrements-inedits-des-negociations-devoiles_3172691.html -
The battle of England, the first defeat of the Wehrmacht
After they defeated France, the Nazis wanted to defeat Great Britain to control Europe. Goering promised to Hitler that the Luftwaffe could defeat the Royal Air Force. Hopefully, Winston Churchill refused to surrender even if the city of London was strongly bombarded by the Germans. The Nazis decided to stop the raids on October 31. http://warbirdsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/scramble-e1436551121735.jpg -
Italy and Germany attacked Yugoslavia
Hitler and Mussolini invaded Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete. They did that to lead those troops to North Africa under the commandment of the Marshall Rommel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Yugoslavia -
The breach of the non-agression pact
To conquest the « Lebensraum », Hitler launched the operation Barbarossa. 3 millions soldiers were sent to the east front. By the end of the year, the nazis were close to 3 main cities, Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad. They won lots of battle but they were slowed down by the snow and more generally the tough Russian winter. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Japan attacked Pearl Harbour
Japan was already at war against China but the United States prevented the Japanese domination in the Pacific and they imposed a blockade on oil that was used to produce firearms. Japan attacked the United States through the base of Pearl Harbour. More than 2.400 Americans died in this attack. The day after this attack, the United States of America and Great Britain declared war to Japan. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/07/world-war-ii-pearl-harbor/100117/ -
The Battle of Midway, the turnover of the war in the Pacific
The USA defeated Japan’s navy at the battle of Midway. This was one of the major victories of the American army to take control of the Pacific Ocean. https://warontherocks.com/2016/06/the-battle-of-midway-the-complete-intelligence-story/ -
The battle of Stalingrad, the turnover on the East front
The battle of Stalingrad was one of the biggest defeats of the German Army. This battle destroyed the city of Stalingrad. The Russian took back their city on February 2nd 1943. This is the first Russian victory in World War II. 1.2 millions people died in this battle, 800,000 Russian soldiers and civilians and 400,000 nazis soldiers. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad -
The battle of El Alamein
The general Montgomery attacked the German and Italian troops that were in North Africa with a massive bombardment. This attack is due to the order given by Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to destroy the German and Italian troops that were based in North Africa. -
The Allies took back the control of French colonies
Under the order of the American General Dwight Eisenhower, the allies took the control of Morocco and Algeria after a landing in the north west of Africa with the operation Torch. https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-ii-operation-torch-2361497 -
The Allies’ victory in North Africa
The British and the American defeated the German and Italian troops in North Africa. https://pin.it/4FAicDB -
Liberation of Rome
Even if Italy surrendered in September, the allies could not liberate Rome before June 1944 from the Germans that controlled the Italian soldiers. https://barrystrauss.com/my-honor-for-myself-the-liberation-of-rome-1944/ -
The Allies invades and occupied Sicily
In order to liberate Italy, the Allies landed in Sicily and won the small island in the Mediterranean Sea. This gave access to Italy but also to the south of France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_invasion_of_Sicily -
Italy surrendered
After their arrival in Italy, Mussolini was thrown out of office and the new government agreed to join the allies and to fight by their side.The nazis took the control of the Italian army so the allies could not avance more in Italy. http://ww2history.com/key_moments/Western/The_Italians_surrender -
The Allies met in Tehran
At this meeting, Churchill, Roosevelt and Staline coordinated their plan to defeat the Nazis and Hitler but they also agreed on the settlements after the war. https://www.history.com/news/tehran-conference-1943-wwii-importance-roosevelt-churchill-stalin -
The British evicted the Japanese from Burma
The British forces with the help from guerilla-fighting Chindits, evicted the Japanese from Burma in July at the end of a battle that started in March https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_campaign -
The D-Day
In the early morning, the allies attacked the Nazis in Normandy. Hitler was sure that the allies were going to land in the north of France, in Calais, so most of the German troops were not in Normandy. They arrived too late to prevent the allies from entering in the French territory. They were also helped by the aerial bombardments on the nazis defenses to destroy them. https://www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-2-facts -
The liberation of Paris
After 6 days of combat, the city of paris is finally liberated by the allies. The general Charles de Gaulle, who was unknown at the beginning in the war is now a national hero that liberated France from the nazis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_of_Paris -
The Allies crossed the Rhine
10 months after the landing in Normandy, the allies crossed the border between France and Germany. At the same moment, the soviets were approaching Berlin on the west front. -
The Russian reached Berlin
The Russian soldiers reached Berlin just before the US army. -
The death of Mussolini
Mussolini was captured and assassinated by Italian partisans. His dead body is exhibited in the streets. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mussolini-s-mistress-faces-final-ignominy-in-death-8tqb99xv5 -
The victory of the Allies
The day after the German unconditional surrender,, the allies and Germany signed the armistice. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Signature_de_la_reddition_le_7_mai_1945.jpg -
The death of Hitler
Hitler committed suicide in his bunker encircled by the soviets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Adolf_Hitler -
The first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
To make the Japanese surrender, the president of the United States decided to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-bomber-drops-atomic-bomb-on-hiroshima -
The USSR declared war to Japan
The USSR invaded the part of Manchuria that was occupied by Japan. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2016/10/04/soviet-invasion-of-manchuria/ -
The second atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
3 days after the attack of Hiroshima, the US Army dropped the second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35699060 -
The end of World War II
After they surrendered, the Japanese signed the armistice with the United States and the USSR. This is officially the end of the Second World War. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulation_du_Japon
