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WWII officially started when Germany invaded Poland. The attack on Poland was reffered to as "Blitzkrieg". In this event Hitler officially began WWII.
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Britian and France declare war on Germany.
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Italy enters the war on June 10, 1940 and invades southern France on June 21, 1940.
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6 weeks after Germany invaded Poland, France (a member of the Allies) surrendered to Germany.
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Germany, Italy and Japan sign the Tripartite pact.
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Hungary joined the Axis powers.
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Romania joined the Axis powers.
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Slovakia joined the Axis powers on this date.
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Bulgaria joins the Axis powers.
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Japan bombed Pearl Harbor (an American military base in Hawaii), causing America to join WWII.
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The Battle of Coral Sea begain on May 4th 1942. This was an attack by the Allies on the Japanese. The Japanese were defeated which kept them from adavancing in the Pacific.
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The Battle of Coral Sea ended with the defeat of the Japanese. Japanese were unable to advance in the Pacific.
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The Tehran Conference occured November 28th through December 1st 1943.
Joesph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and President Roosevelt met to discuss the events that were later known at D Day. -
The Allied forces invaded Normandy, France under the command of Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was an "amphibious" invasion in which soldiers were transported to Normandy by ship. The Germans began to retreat.
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The Germans launched a final offensive in the west in an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allies along the German border.
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Yalta Conference- Feb 4-11 1945 At this conference, Joesph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and President Roosevelt met once again. The United Nations was created.
Germany split into four militarized zones. -
President Roosevelt died without seeing the end of World War II. His Vice President, Harry S. Truman took his position as President.
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Hitler committed suicide on this day.
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Berlin fell to the Soviets.
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Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies. (Victory-in-Europe Day) Ends WWII in Europe. (Fighting in the Pacific continues against Japanese.)
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Potsdam Conference- July 17th - August 2nd 1945. At this conference the Eastern European Discussion continued. Finished the plan for the occupation of Germany.
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President Truman of America ordered that the first atomic bomb be dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. America justified this by saying invasion in Japan would have been costly in dollars and lives.
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The second atomic bomb was dropped by the Americans on Nagasaki.
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Japanese finally surrender ending WWII completely. (Although WWII had officially ended when Germany surrender on May 8th the Pacific fighting continued until this date.)
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Not necessarily an event during the war, the Iron Curtain was directly caused by the war.
The Soviet Union enforced and enclosed themselves behind an "Iron Curtain" from the rest of the world. The Iron Curtain did not fall until after the Cold War in 1991.
