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Adolf Hitler and his German army invades Poland, defeating them in weeks.
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Britain and France declare war on Germany, with the president of Britain (Neville Chamberlain) broadcasting the announcement.
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Hitler bombs Britain for many days, but Britains airforce defends the civilians and bombing ceases on the 31st.
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Neville Chamberlain resigns after pressure from his other parties to be more active in the war, and Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister.
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After a brutal battle on the coast of France (Dunkirk) Many British and French soldiers are requiring evacuation. Many civilians with sea-worthy vessels helped, and over 338,000 soldiers were rescued.
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Italy decides to enter the war on the side of the axis powers, as there was a firm belief that they would be victorious.
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The French Marshall signs an armistice with Germany, allowing Germany to take over a devastated and destroyed France.
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Operation Sea Lion was Hitlers plan to attack Britain along the coast and on the ocean, but he did not succeed.
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A pact of a mutual alliance was signed between Japan, Italy and Germany.
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The Siege of Tobruk was the fight on the African front of Libya between the Axis forces and the Allies.
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Germany surprised Russia with an attack of 3 million soldiers and 3,500 tanks. Russia allied with Britain and USA, and launched an attack on the Eastern Front which would cause over 20 million casualties.
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The Japanese attacked an American base in Hawaii, an attempt to take out the main American fleet.
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Britain and USA declare war on Japan after the Pearl Harbor bombing.
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The Japanese overtook Singapore from the British, taking 60,000 prisoners.
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USA defeats the Japanese navy, and is able to push the Japanese front back.
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The first battle of El Alamein was fought on the western desert campaign and was a battle in which the African Army joined forces with the Allies to fight the Axis forces.
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The second battle of El Alamein ended with the African Army and Allies drawing Germany out of Africa.
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The Russians fought a tough battle against the Germans at Stalingrad, and managed to claim their first victory.
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Germany launched its final defensive through the Ardennes region of Belgium, but were defeated by the Allies.
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The D-day landings were the landing operations on Normandy. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history, and was a huge turning point towards the allies favour.
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Mussolini, after trying to flee to Milan, was caught and executed by Italian partisans.
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Hitler flees to his bunker where he commits suicide with his mistress, who had become his wife at the last minute.
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Germany surrenders to the Allies after the loss of Adolf Hitler.
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Victory in Europe is celebrated throughout the world.
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After a refused surrender from Japan, America unleashes the largest and most devastating weapon of all time on the city of Hiroshima - the atomic bomb.
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USSR declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria.
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Japan had still not surrendered after Hiroshima, so the US drops another atom bomb on Nagasaki.
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Japanese unconditionally surrender to the allies, ending WWII.
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50 Countries meet in California to form the United Nations.