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Nonaggression Pact of Soviets and Germany
On August 23, 1939, Hitler and Joseph Stalin met to discuss the nonaggression pact that the Soviet Union and Germany would not fight. It was a form of appeasement, and Stalin didn't want to join the war and Hitler promised him land. Hitler didn't want to fight a war on both sides of his country, so it was a good idea to make peace with the USSR. The pact didn't last long as they soon fought. -
Invasion of Poland
Once the Nonagression Pact was in place, Hitler thought there was no threat if he took over Poland. So Hitler went in to conquer Poland by first surprise attacking the airspace. He soon attacked Warsaw and started to bomb and use infantry, also known as a blitzkrieg. This was known as the start of WWII after France and Britian declared war with Germnay after Hitler annexed Poland. -
Phony War
After the fall of Poland, when France declared war on Germany, things seemed calm in Europe. The French troops were stationed along the Maginot Line and they waited for the German army to attack. Both armies were prepared for war, but no one made the first move. They both sat around waiting for the other army to attack. The Phony War ended when Hitler took over Norway and Denmark and ignored France. -
Battle for France
By this date, German forces had swept through France and the Aliies found themselves trapped in the coast city of Lille. With a German victory inevitable, Belgium surrendered and the Allies retreated to Dunkirk. They were soon trapped with their backs to the sea and things did not look so good. Britians then went across the English Channel and brought the Allies to Britian. Once in Britian, a French General, Charles de Gaulle, set up a government in exile in London. -
Battle of Britian
In 1940, the Luftwaffe, or German's air force, attacked Britians Royal Air Force airfields and aircraft factories. Led by Winston Churchill, the British prime minister, the RAF fought back. The Germans then focused on british cities to weaken their morale. The British never gave up and the RAF started to pull ahead. Soon, stunned by British resistance, Hitler called off his attacks. It was a great turning point for the Allies, as we knew Hitler could be stopped. -
Balkans Campaign
At this point, Hitler was very active in the Balkans. His plan was to attack the USSR, but he needed to have bases that were close by to prepare and avoid Britian. He decided on taking over the Balkans. Many countries in the Balkans simply accepted Hitler as he took them over, but a few disagreed and fought back. No one could stop Hitler's army though, and he was easily able to capture them and prepare to attack the USSR. -
Battle of Greece
This battle was one of the major battles that was a part of the Balkans Campaign. It began when Italian troops entered Greece and the Greeks pushed them out. Later, an Italian counterattack failed, so Hitler was forced to come help their ally. The Greeks fought back, but were outnumbered and held no math to the Axix Powers. Britian was able to come evacuate many Greeks before the country fell, but nevertheless, Athens soon fell. -
Battle of Crete
On this morning, Nazi Germnay launched a surprise air raid on the island of Crete. The Greeks and Allies desperatly tried to defend the island, and after one day, the casualty amount of Germans was appalling. Soon enough, the Germans recovered and the Allies miscommunicated, so Germany took over a major airfield. Germans could soon send reinforcements so the Allies retreated and soon surrendered. -
Operation Barbarossa
Once the Balkans were under his control, Hitler could attack the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was not prepared for this attack of blitzkriegs because they didn't think Hitler would attack after their pact. As the Russians retreated, they burned down everything, but Hitler soon got them trapped. The Soviets refused to fall, so Hitler moved to Moscow, where he met a counterattack and bad weather. Moscow was saved for now as Hitler moved back. -
Pearl Harbor
This was the day when the Japanese, part of the Axis powers, attacked Pearl Harbor. It was a surprise attack on the US naval base and the Japanese used airplanes to bomb us. It was a form of the German's blitzkrieg attack. At the time, the US was not involved in WWII, but FDR soon persuaded us to join Aliied forces after this attck. -
FDR Pearl Harbor Speech
On this day, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President FDR gave his speech on the attack. His goal qwas to get the American people and Congress on his side to join the war. He stated all that had happened the night before in the Pacific and how it was premediated and hostile. He did infact convince Congress to declare war on Japan and we joined WWII. -
Bataan Death March
After the Battle of Bataan, the US was forced to surrender to the Japanese. The Japanese then took all the PoWs and walked them to a camp, which was 65 miles away and took 5 days. The Japanese killed anyone who stopped, ran, or fell on the walk. Once at the camp, men were dying at a rate of 400 per day! When American reinforcements drew near, the Japanese moved the prisoners to Japan as slaves. When the Japanese did surrender, 2/3 of all prisoners had died. -
Battle of Midway
By this time in the war the Japanese wanted to create an empire in the Pacific, but they first needed to take control of the Pacific island of Midway. The Japanese Generals made diversions in the north and south, and then struck Midway. Their plan would have been beautiful and they might have won, if they hadn't missed the US fleet with their bombs. The US had time to recover and retailiate becuase of this miss and took out Japanese aircraft carriers. The Japanese gave up and retreated back. -
Battle of Stalingrad
On this date, the Luftwaffe went on many night raids that set the city ablaze. Although the stakes were high, Stalin told his Generals to defend his city at all costs. The Germans soon controlled 90% of this city, but another Russian winter was setting in. Soviet troops led a counterattack and surrounded the Germans inside the city and held offf the supply source. The Germans begged Hitler to retreat, but he said no. The Germans soon did surrender and the Germans were on the defensive now. -
El Alamein
The Allies were fighting in North Africa against the Germans. The Germans launched an attack on the Allies, but without nay success. At this point, both armies prepared for a war. The Germans had one major problem, and that was illness and therfore, the army was uncompleted. The Germans lost both of their Generals and were close to losing the battle. Rommel asked Hitler to retreat, but the Allies intercepted this message. The Germans had to retreat against Hitlers decision and the Allies won. -
Allied Invasion of Italy
On this day, Allied troops landed in Italy with the hopes of taking over the country. This operation was following many successful invasions in the Mediterranean, and the Allies had the momentum. Winston Churchill was one of the main figures who wanted to invade. He said that they could eliminate Italy from the war and the south would be free to Allied traffic. Italy was the weak side of the Axis, and soon enough the unexpected invasion was successful after many battles. -
D-Day Invasion
On this date, the invasion of Normandy happened. Allied forces attacked the shore of France that was under control of the Germans. Hitler knew an attack was coming, but not where. The US set up a fake army and "attacked" somewhere else. Allied forces then attacked Normandy, but the Germans were very protected. Despite many casualties, the Allied held the beaches and punched a hole in the Germans defense. Soon enough the Germans retreated and Allies had liberated France. -
Battle of the Bulge
On this day, the Allies were moving in around Germany from the west and the Soviets from the east, which meant that Hitler faced a war on two sides. Hitler counterattacked as a desperation move in the west, hoping to split US and British forces. The German tanks and infantry broke through American defense lines in a "bulge". The Allies were unprepared, but soon recovered for a victory in which the Nazi's retreated. -
Yalta Conference
In February of 1945, the three leaders of the Allies, FDR, Churchill, and Stalin, met to discuss what to do with Germany after the war and fix Europe after what Hitler had done. They agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation controlled by Aliied forces. Germany would also pay the Soviets for damage and loss of life. They didn't administer a harsh treaty like after WWI because of what happened. Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan and let Poland have "free" elections. -
Iwo Jima
By this time in the Pacific war, America had the ascendancy. The Americans decided to attack Iwo Jima to take out the Japanese fleet . Iwo Jima had a great tactical advantage, with two airfields, and America needed these. The Japanese were determined to keep control. America first started bombing the island and sson landed and attacked. It was a difficult place for America to control. Japan used kamikazes to turn us back, but we eventually took out Japanese forces and we secured it. -
Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the largest operation in the Pacific War. This is known as the final major battle befoire Japanese surrender. It was also the heaviest amount of naval gunfire in the war. Before the invasion, the Allies had control of the water and air around the island. Despite the Americans larger numbers and forces, it took a long time to secure the isalnd because the Japanese would not surrender. Japan failed to keep control of this critical island and they surrendered. -
Hitlers Death
On this day, Hitler commited suicide with his wife who he married the day before. After the Battle of the Bulge, a noose was forming around Berlin. The city was surrounded by the Allies and Soviets and it was getting hammered with artillery. Hitler prepared for his end in an underground HQ and wrote his final address to the Germans blaming the Jew for all that happened. He and his wife then took poison, but he shot himself before it took effect. -
Victory in Europe Day
This day commemorates the unconditional surrender of Hitler to the Allies. It signals the day the Nazi party surrendered and the Third Reich came to an end. The only other major Axis power left was Japan so the Allies could turn all their attention to them. The war in Europe had officialy ended and all could be started to come back from WWII financially and economically. -
Bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima
Before the drop of two atomic bombs on Japan, the US, Britian, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration demanding Japans unconditional surrender. Japan, though, was only willingly to surrender if they could keep their leader. The Allies said no and we had to decide whether or not to drop the bombs. There was many factors, including VE Day, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and kamikazes. W decided to drop Little Boy on Hiroshima and Fat Man on Nagasaki. -
Victory in Japan Day
After the US had dropped the bombs on Japan, the whole world was amazed at our power. Both cities had been virtually wiped off the map and many had died. Japan was very scared and were on the brink of surrender. The Soviet Union then invaded Manchuria and pushed the Japanese out. So on September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies. This was the end of WWII.
