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Germany invades Poland
WHO: Germany and Poland. Adolf Hitler.WHAT: Hitler tries to gain back the lost territory and rule Poland. WHERE: Poland.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: It was the start of World War II. -
Battle of Britain
WHO: German Air Force, Britain, UK.WHAT: The Luftwaffe tried to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force.WHERE: Great Britain.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: One of the most famous battles of WWII and the first major campaign to be fought only by air forces. -
Lend-Lease Act Signed
WHO: Congress passed. WHAT: Gave President FDR the power to sell, transfer, exchange, and lend equipment to any country to help it defend itself against the Axis powers.WHERE: It went to 38 different countries.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: It empowered the British to resist the German onslaught until Pearl Harbor brought American into it. It also avoided the post WWI war debts. -
Germany declares war on the United States
WHO: Hitler, FDR.WHAT: American destroyers attacked German submarines which caused tension.WHERE: Germany, United States.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: Marked the beginning of WWII. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
WHO: Germany, allies, Soviet Union.WHAT: Nazis and dallies fought the SU for control of StalingradWHERE: StalingradWHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: It was the turning point in WWII in Europe. -
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Battle of El Alamein
WHO: Germany, Italy. WHAT: Fight between two commanders.WHERE: EgyptWHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: Seen as on of the decisive victories of WWII. Led to retreat of Africa Korps and German surrender. -
Allies land in Italy
WHO: Italian government, Mussolini, Allied forces.WHAT: Italian government surrendered to the allied forces while the British and Americans began an assault on Italy.WHERE: Sakerno, Cakabria, and Taranto, Italy.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: Mussolini now had less power. -
DDay Invasion
WHO: Allied troops, Nazis, Eisenhower.WHAT: Allied troops landed on French coastline to fight Germany.WHERE: Normandy, France.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: Allies gained a foothold in Normandy. -
Battle of the Bulge
WHO: Hitler and the Allies.WHAT: Hitler ordered a huge attack to break up the alliance between Britain, France and America and defeat them.WHERE: 80 mile front running from South Belgium through Ardennes forest.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: Hitler wanted to split up the Allied powers while they were heading toward Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves. -
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Yalta Conference
WHO: 3 chief Allied leaders, FDR, Winston Churchill, Joseph StalinWHAT: They were planning the final defeat and occupation of Nazy Germany.WHERE: Yalta in the CrimeaWHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: Defined the world politically, militarily, economically, and set the stage of the Cold War. -
Franklin Roosevelt dies
WHO: FDR.WHAT: His health deteriorated and he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.WHERE: Warm Springs, Georgia.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: Got them out of the depression, was a president during most of WWII, came up with the New Deal. -
Hitler commits suicide
WHO: Adolf HitlerWHAT: Hitler committed suicide by shooting himself in the temple.WHERE: In his Fuhrerbunker in Berlin, Germany.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: The war was coming to an end, and it ended the “thousand-year Reich.” -
Germany surrenders (VE day)
WHO: World War II allies, Germany, Hitler.WHAT: The allies accepted the surrender of the Nazi armed forces and Hitler’s Third Reich ended.WHERE: Europe, Germany.WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT: Germans surrendered, ending the war.
