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WWII Timeline

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    WW2

  • Selective Service Act of 1940

    The act provided that not more than 900,000 men were to be in training at any one time, and it limited service to 12 months—later (1941) extended to 18 months. After the United States entered World War II, a new selective service act made men between 18 and 45 liable for military service and required all men between 18 and 65 to register.
  • Greece surrenders to the Nazis

    Greece surrenders to the Nazis
    The Greeks finally surrenders to the Nazis force
  • Attack on Pearl Harbor

    Attack on Pearl Harbor
    Planes and small submarines attacked Pearl Harbor at 7:51 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941. They chose this time because most people were at church. At 08:30, a second wave of 170 Japanese aircraft, mostly torpedo bombers, attacked the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The battleship Arizona was hit with an armor-piercing bomb which penetrated the forward ammunition compartment, blowing the ship apart and sinking it within seconds. Overall, nine ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and 21 ships wer
  • America enters the war

    America enters the war
    On December 7, 1941, while German armies were freezing before Moscow, Japan suddenly pushed the United States into the struggle by attacking the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Four days later Hitler declared war on the United States. President Roosevelt called on Congress for immediate and massive expansion of the armed forces. Twenty years of neglect and indifference, however, could not be overcome in a few days.
  • Soviets Surrender

    Soviets Surrender
    Soviet generals send in the formal request for surrender of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad, a request which is formally rejected.
  • Operation Shark

    Operation Shark
    The Soviets enact Operation Spark and cut a path through the German lines clearing a path to Leningrad. This offers the citizens of the city some much needed foot rations.
  • The Normandy invasion

    The Normandy invasion
    The Invasion of Normandy was the invasion and establishment of Allied forces in Normandy, France, during Operation Overlord in 1944 during World War II. It was the largest invasion force in history, as well as the largest amphibious operation ever to take place.
  • Soviets at the Concentration Camp

    Soviets at the Concentration Camp
    Soviet troops liberate first concentration camp at Majdanek.
  • Auschwitz

    Auschwitz
    Mass murder of Jewish people at Auschwitz begins.
  • Atomic Bombs

    Atomic Bombs
    After atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrenders on 14 August.