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German President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler Chancellor of Germany, making the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of the Nazi dictatorship. Before this, economic depression and political instability occurred, causing conservative leaders to pressure Hindenburg to appoint Hitler in a, ultimately failed, effort to control him. -
On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, marking the start of the World War II, driven by Hitler's quest for living space and the desire to regain lost territory after WWI. Over 1.5 million German troops and 2,000+ tanks invaded the north, south and west, while aerial warfare heavily bombed cities. -
The Treaty of Munich was signed on the 30th of September 1938 by Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy. It allowed Nazi Germany to seize the Sudetenland, a German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia, in a policy of appeasement to prevent war. British PM (Neville Chamberlain) later declared "peace of our time", but months later the agreement failed as Germany seized the entirety of Czechoslovakia, leading to world war II. -
On March 31, 1939, PM Neville Chamberlain announced a British guarantee to protect Polish independence against potential German aggression, marking a shift from appeasement to active deterrence. -
The Dunkirk evacuation occurred between 26 may and 4 June 1940 (during World War II), following the German blitzkrieg through the Netherlands and Belgium. Allied forces (mostly British and French) were cut off and surrounded near the coast of northern France. More than 338,000 troops, including French and Belgium soldiers were evacuated. From beaches and the harbor of Dunkirk to England, using a quickly assembled fleet of naval vessels and hundreds of "little ships". -
The "Phoney War" was an 8 month long period of inactivity on the Western front at the start of World War II, lasting from 3 September 1939 to 10 May 1940. The war served as a period for the Allies to build up forces, although they were desperately short of equipment. The event was a sense of unreality for the public, as they experienced the blackout, while the government anticipated a non existent air attack. -
The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed between Nazi Germany and the French Third Republic in the Forest of Compiegne. Marking France's surrender and division into occupied and unoccupied areas. This Armistice was effective June 25, this agreement ended France's active participation in WWII, leaving Britain alone against Germany. -
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's massive, surprise invasion of the Soviet Union, launched on June 22, 1941, during World War II. Over 3.8 million Axis troops attacked along a 2,900-kilometer front, seeking to destroy the Soviet army, capture vast resources, and secure "Lebensraum". Although initially advancing rapidly, the campaign stalled by December 1941. -
On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise military strike on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing over 2,400 Americans and destroying or damaging nearly 20 ships and 300 aircraft. The attack aimed to neutralise the U.S. Navy, allowing Japan to expand in Southeast Asia. This event brought the United States into World War II, prompting a declaration of war on Japan the next day. -
The Doolittle Raiders were a group of 80 U.S. Army Air Corps who executed the first air raid on the Japanese mainland on April 18, 1942, during World War II. Led by Lt. Col. James "Jimmy" Doolittle, the mission involved launching 16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet for a daring, one-way strike. The aim was to boost morale and damage Japanese morale following the attack on Pearl Harbour, also to make Japan divert their military resources for home defense. -
Operation Torch was the Allied invasion of French North Africa (Morocco and Algeria) starting on November 8, 1942, during WWII. Led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, over 100,000 British and American troops landed to seize key positions, trap Axis forces, and open a second front, securing a major strategic victory by May 1943. The main goal was to relieve pressure on the Eastern Front, secure the Mediterranean for shipping, and trap German and Italian forces between the new force and the British. -
D-Day on the 6th of June, 1944, was the massive Allied amphibious invasion of Normandy, France, codenamed Operation Overlord. Over 150,000 troops from the U.S., Canada, UK and allies landed on five beaches Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword, to liberate Western Europe from Nazi control. Supported by intense air/sea bombardment and airborne drops, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. -
In March 1945, allied forces executed multiple successful crossings of the Rhine River via the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. Marking the final major obstacle crossed in their invasion of Germany, allowing the US and British troops to advance rapidly into the interior of Germany. -
On the 6th of August 1945, the united states dropped their first atomic bomb, codenamed "Little boy", on Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb was dropped from the B-29 bomber Enola Gay at 8:15 a.m. The uranium bomb exploded 1,800 feet above the city, instantly killing an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 people and causing widespread destruction, ultimately forcing Japan's surrender. -
On the 9th of August, The US dropped their second atomic bomb nicknamed the "Fat Man" on Nagasaki, Japan. This bomb was dropped from the B-29 bomber Bockscar. The plutonium-based implosion device exploded at 11:02 a.m. at 1,650 feet, producing a 21-kiloton yield. It caused an estimated 40,000–70,000 deaths by early 1946, forcing Japan's surrender.