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Germany Invades Poland
Adolf Hitler and his German army invades Poland, defeating them in weeks. -
Britain and France Declare War on Germany
Britain and France declare war on Germany, with the president of Britain (Neville Chamberlain) broadcasting the announcement. -
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Battle of Britain
Hitler bombs Britain for many days, but Britains airforce defends the civilians and bombing ceases on the 31st. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Neville Chamberlain resigns after pressure from his other parties to be more active in the war, and Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
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. -
Italy Enters War on Side of the Axis Powers
Italy decides to enter the war on the side of the axis powers, as there was a firm belief that they would be victorious. -
France Signs Armistice With Germany
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
Operation Sea Lion was Hitlers plan to attack Britain along the coast and on the ocean, but he did not succeed. -
Tripartite Pact Signed
A pact of a mutual alliance was signed between Japan, Italy and Germany. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk was the fight on the African front of Libya between the Axis forces and the Allies. -
Operation Barbarossa
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. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
The Japanese attacked an American base in Hawaii, an attempt to take out the main American fleet. -
Britain and USA declare war on Japan
Britain and USA declare war on Japan after the Pearl Harbor bombing. -
Japan takes Singapore
The Japanese overtook Singapore from the British, taking 60,000 prisoners. -
Battle of Midway
USA defeats the Japanese navy, and is able to push the Japanese front back. -
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First battle of El Alamein
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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Second battle of El Alemein
The second battle of El Alamein ended with the African Army and Allies drawing Germany out of Africa. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Russians fought a tough battle against the Germans at Stalingrad, and managed to claim their first victory. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germany launched its final defensive through the Ardennes region of Belgium, but were defeated by the Allies. -
D-Day Landings
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. -
Mussolini captured and executed
Mussolini, after trying to flee to Milan, was caught and executed by Italian partisans. -
Hitler commits suicide
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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German forces surrender
Germany surrenders to the Allies after the loss of Adolf Hitler. -
V.E. Day
Victory in Europe is celebrated throughout the world. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
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. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
USSR declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki
Japan had still not surrendered after Hiroshima, so the US drops another atom bomb on Nagasaki. -
Japanese Surrender - End of WWII
Japanese unconditionally surrender to the allies, ending WWII. -
United Nations is Born
50 Countries meet in California to form the United Nations.