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Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier, and Mussolini met in Munich and agreed that Adolf should have Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. The Czechs were then forced to turn over Sudetenland due to lack of representation at the meeting.
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On this date, Hitler invaded Poland. He invaded with more than 2,000 tanks and 1,000 planes. On September 27, 1929 the mayhem stopped and the Polish (Warsaw) surrendered.
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Britain and France declared war on Germany. This was due to border regulations and previous alliances.
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Adolf Hitler launched Blitzkrieg. It was a brutal war with several thousand casualties. Also, Rotterdam was bombed to near extinction
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General Gort was forced to retreat to the coast of Dunkirk. 338,000 men were rescued. Among them were 140,000 French who worked as the platform for the Free French army.
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Italy entered the war on the side of the Axis powers. Their only motive for entering the war was picking up the scraps from the aftermath.
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July, 1940: Hitler sent Luftwaffe bombers to British ports. He wished to enter with speed and quality of response by the RAF.
August, 1940: Attacks on shipping remained prevalent, but bombing raids were concentrated on RAF airfields.
September 7, 1940: The city of London was destroyed. Hitler looked to destroy the morale of the British. Hitler began a series of night time bombing runs on London and other major cities. The RAF defended the skies.
October 31, 1940: The raids finally stopped. -
The Japanese attacked the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This was a prefatory to the Japanese taking British, French, and Dutch colonies in South East Asia.
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Britain and The United States declared war on Japan following the attacks on Pearl Harbor.
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The Russians achieved their first victory against Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad
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Prime Minister Mussolini was thrown out of office. The new government of Italy surrendered to the British and US. They soon after joined the allied forces. The Germans took control of the Italian army, freed Mussolini, and made him head of a "puppet government" in Northern Italy. This blocked further allied advance through Italy.
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Allies attacked German forces in Normandy. Transports carried an invasion army (under command of General Eisenhower) to the beaches of Normandy. The Germans were mislead, landing in Calais, and rushing troops to the area. However, despite the efforts, they were unable to prevent the allies from forming a solid bridgehead, and they captured the First Port.
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After the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Russia declaring war on Japan, and resources quickly becoming limited. Japan had no other choice than to surrender.
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After Hitlers death, German forces in Italy surrendered. Only two days later, Northwest Germany, Holland, and Denmark surrendered to General Montgomery.
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Italian partisans captured and executed Prime Minister Mussolini.
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Adolf Hitler committed suicide with his recently acquainted wife, Eva Braun, in his bombproof shelter in Berlin, Germany.
