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"Blitzkrieg" Germany invades Poland.
In late August, Germany signed a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union to divide Poland between them. Hitler then planned on starting an invasion August 26th but, on the 25th Britain signed a treaty to protect Poland if it got attacked. Now Hitler had to make sure Britain wouldn't ruin his plan. Eventually, more than 2,000 tanks and 1,000 planes arrived in Poland. Poland tried to keep them out but they couldn't. The effects of this invasion caused Britain and France to declare war on Germany. -
"The Miracle of Dunkirk" Germany invades France & Paris
Germany wanted to conquer France. Germany wanted to get back at them for WWI. The Germans bombed French air bases and tore through France on ground too. More than 300,000 men were trapped between the two German armies near the French port of Dunkirk. Operation Dynamo brought almost all of the men back to Britain. France tried to fight the German troops, but they couldn't keep up with their huge armies. On June 22, 1940, France was officially occupied by Germany. -
Germany bombs London & Battle of Britain
After France had left the war, Britain had to defeat the Germans themselves. Germany wanted to conquer Britain. Although, the Germans were not in very good shape from their previous battles. Britain was very prepared. They were winning the battle when Germany decided they needed to do something big in order to win. They successfully bombed London. They tried a second bombing but it didn't go as planned. They had many big losses, which resulted in Hitler postponing the battle with Britain. -
Germany invades Soviet Union & Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler wanted to eliminate the Communist threat to Germany. He wanted the Soviet Union's land. On July 17, 1942, Germany bombed Stalingrad. The city was destroyed but the Soviet military and civilians didn't give up. The Nazi army isn't doing well and by November, the Soviets have the Germans surrounded. On February 2, 1943, Germany surrendered. This was a turning point because Hitler thought this would be the battle to officially put Germany ahead of everyone else in the war. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor to destroy the American fleet units which would prevent any problems with the Pacific fleet. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes dropped bombs and destroyed almost 30 naval vessels and more than 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans were killed and about 1,000 were wounded. The day after the attack President Roosevelt asked Congress to go to war with Japan. The United States was now in the war after staying out of it for more than two years. -
Battle of Bataan & the Bataan Death March
The Japanese wanted full power of Southeast Asia. So after Peral Harbor they went to Luzon. The Filipino and American forces fought Japan for three months, but they eventually had to surrender. The day after the surrender, 75,000 Filipino and Americans were forced to walk 65 miles to a prison camp. This is now called the Bataan Death March. 1,000 Americans and 9,000 Filipinos died on the march. Those who survived were brought to camps with terrible conditions. Not many survived the camps. -
Internment of Japanese Americans
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt ordered internment camps to be built for all Japanese Americans. The census of 1940, there were 127,000 people with Japanese ancestry living in the US. Approximately 115,000 were forced into the camps. This happened because of Americans fear that the Japanese living in America could be part of the Japanese enemies. The Japanese Americans were released from the camps after the war was over. -
Battle of Midway
From June 3rd to the 7th, six months after the Pearl Harbor attack; the US attacked Japan. Japan was planning another attack, but the US stopped them by attacking the Japanese first. The United States navy sank many Japanese ships with many of Japans best soldiers trapped inside. The US also destroyed their aircraft. That being said, the US also lost 147 aircraft and more than 300 seamen. The US won the battle and could now go straight to Tokyo through the Pacific. -
D-Day invasion
After the Battle of Normandy, western Europe was under German control. D-Day was the beginning of the end of the war. About 156,000 American, British, and Canadians invaded a 50 mile stretch of five different beaches. For weeks the Germans thought this was a distraction and they ignored the invasion thinking they had to prepare for a huge attack. So, the Allied forces kept on gaining back territory and eventually got ready to fight Germany. This was the start of the fall of the Nazi's. -
US uses Atomic Bombs on Japan
The US had been preparing atomic bombs since 1940 but, by the time the US was ready with their bombs, Germany had already surrendered and lost the war. Although the war in the Pacific with Japan was still in full force. The US wanted a quick way to end the war so, they decided to use their bombs. On August 6th, Enola Gay was the first atomic bomb ever. Three days later another bomb was dropped, killing a total of about 120,000 people. Thousands of people died soon after. Japan had surrendered.
