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The Invasion of Poland and the Baltics by Germany and the USSR
On 9/3/1939 German troops invaded Poland in hopes of gaining ethnically German territory to add to their empire. Two weeks later the USSR invaded the eastern border of Poland, however they were welcomed by Polish troops as they thought the Soviet troops were coming to assist in the war w/ Germany, but they were really coming to claim their half of Poland. These two powers invaded Poland to expand their territory into areas near home. This resulted in Britain and France declaring war on Germany. -
Invasion of France and Capture of Paris Picture
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The Invasion of France and the capture of Paris
On May 10th, 1940 the Germans began their offensive on France and the low countries. The French had been expecting an attack, but they were wrong about where the main assault would take place. Because they were wrong the Germans easily punched through French lines and took the city of Paris about a month after. The Germans attacked France because they declared war on Germany and had been attacking German territory. This resulted in France falling and Germany setting up a puppet government. -
The Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a battle fought by Germany and Britain over the island of Britain. It resulted in a British victory despite The fact that Britain had roughly only half the amount of planes! The Germans attacked Britain in hopes of crippling much of the islands defenses so it could be easily defeated, but mostly due to superior technology the British were able to fend off the attacks, all but destroying the German air-force. -
The Lend-Lease Act was Signed
The Lend-Lease act was a policy created by Franklin D. Roosevelt which supplied allied powers with weaponry, food and materials to help in the war effort. It was created to aid the US and give the Allied powers the ability to win, hopefully without direct US involvement in the war. In the later years of the war US supplies were influential to the Allied powers, particularly Britain. -
The Bombing of Pearl Harbour
On December 7th, 1941 "A day which will live in infamy" Japanese forces bombed the US naval base of Pearl Harbor. Japan did this as a preemptive assault so that the US navy would have difficulty interfering with events in the pacific. These actions by Japan caused the US to enter the war on the side of the Allied Powers, and ultimately defeat Japan. -
America enters the war
On Dec 7th 1941 Japan declared war on the US. Then on Dec 8th due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and declaration of war the US declared war on Japan. Then as a show of loyalty to Japan on Dec 11th, 1941, Germany declared war on America and America declared war on Germany, Officially entering America into WW2. -
America Wins the Battle of Midway
On June 7th, 1942 Japan attacked the US controlled island of Midway. They did this because during previous battle they had severely weakened US naval forces and were confident they could finish off most of the rest of the US navy. They underestimated the strength of our forces and almost all Japanese Naval forces were destroyed during the offensive. -
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The Battle of Stalingrad
During the ~8 months of conflict in Stalingrad, German troops invaded the city in an attempt to gain a position from which they could launch an assault & take control of more of the Volga River while the Soviets wanted to keep control of the city for it was a major Soviet industrial area. At first, Germans took control of much of the city, but then the Soviets surrounded their men, trapping them in the city, blocking off any help to the Germans. The Soviets won & went on the offensive westward. -
D-Day
On June 6th, 1944 Allied forces landed on German controlled territory on Frances northern coast. They attacked so they would be able to continue an assault further into mainland France and liberate it and the rest of west Europe. The attack was a success and resulted in the allied powers retaking France and liberating the rest of western Europe. -
The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During early august, 1945 the war was coming to the end but Japan wasn't giving up. America wanted to put an end to the war quickly, so on August 6th, 1945 America dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima and three days later on Nagasaki. The bombing worked and ultimately did cause the Japanese to surrender, ending WW2.
