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Germany invades Poland. WW2 begins.
The German and Soviet powers invaded Poland in 1939. This country was meant to be split between the two forces. The Polish army was defeated. -
France and Great Britain declare war on Germany
Great Britain and France were allies of the nation, Poland, that was overrun. At first Britain and France sent Germany an ultimatum to Hitler to leave Poland. He declined these requests. In response to Hitler not following their commands and because they were allies of Poland they declared war on Germany. -
The United States declares neutrality
Since the beginning of the war, the United States organized the Neutrality Patrol. This was made to monitor warlike movements along the western hemisphere's South Coast. -
Deportation of Jews begins
A Nazi commander named Adolf Eichman started to deport Jews from Czechoslovakia and Austria. He sent them to prisoner camps in Poland. -
Charles de Gualle becomes the leader of Free France
Free France was made up of military units and individual people who pledged their alliance to "Free France". This was set-up by Charles de Gaulle during his exile in 1940. His mission was to fight against the Axis. De Gaulle became one of the greatest military heros of France for his leadership of the Free France. -
The First Battle of Narvik
This was the first battle war which was considered a naval battle. It was fought between Britain and German destroyers while the invasion of Norwasy was taking place by Germany. On the 9th, all of Norway's six ports had been attacked by Germany. Narvik was the northernmost port. It was attacked by a small army, but was very important because of it's suply of iron. -
Germany makes bold moves
Germany started taking over countries such as France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. -
Lend-Lease program is put into action
The Lend-Lease act was giving the United States the power to suply Allied powers with War supplies. (Free France, United Kingdom, USSR, Republic of China, and other Allied nations) Between 1941-1945 the U.S. government circumvented the neutrality laws on the basis that they would be returned after war. A sum of 50.1 billion dollars was supplied to the Allied forces. -
Operation Barbarossa, The Final Solution begins
Germany invades the Soviet Union. This became the largest military invasion in history with more than four million Axis troops and covering almost 2000 miles of Eastern front. The regular German army spearheaded the avance into Russia. These units were ordered to destroy anyone who could occupy resistance against the German forces. They were actively killing Jewish men. Hitler decided on a new course. He said that all German Jews should be deported to USSR to begin the Final Solution. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Japanese surprised the entire world with a surprise attack on December 7th 1941. The attack was aimed at an American Naval base at Pearl Harbor. The attack led to the death of 2400 Americans, destruction of 188 U.S. air-crafts, and the sinking or damaging of 21 battle ships. The United States declared war on Japan one day later. -
Adolf Hitler declares war on the U.S.
Adolf Hitler had made an agreement with Japan to support their country in the event it was invaded by an outsider. On December 8th, the Japanese ambassador told German Foreign Minister that he demanded a formal declaration of war by Hitler agents against the United States. On the 11th, the U.S. received the war letter bringing the once neutral America into the European conflict. -
Executive Order 9066
President Roosevelt signed the Japanese-American Internment order. This law was meant to place all Japanese decendents in internment camps until the war with Japan was done. -
Battle of Midway
The battle of Midway was a naval battle between the U.S. and Japan. It took place between the 4th and the 7th of June. This battle was an American victory. -
Turning point of World War II
This is one of the largest battles of WWII. It was fought between the Soviet Union and the Axis forces led by Nazi Germany. The battle lasted between Aug. 23rd 1942- Feb. 2nd, 1943. After Germany suffered from heavy losses, there were no more major German victories on the Eastern Front in WWII. -
Operation Husky
The Allied forces attacked the Italian island of Sicily in the summer of 1943. This battle lasted from July 9th to August 17th 1943. When the Allied forces won, Hitler forced Benito Mussolini out of office as a result of the defeat. He was replaced by Pietro Badoglio and then Hitler had Mussolini arrested immediately. -
D-Day
This operation took place on June 6th 1944 at 6 p.m on the beaches of Normandy. It was separated into two main phases: airboune assault and amphibious landing. This operation was delayed because of bad weather. It was supposed to take place on the 4th. This was an Allied victory despite 9,000 Allied soldiers being wounded or killed. -
The Battle of Bulge
The Battle of Bulge was the only counteroffensive ordered by Hitler. The goal of this battle was to split the Allied armies. He wanted the Allied forces to surrender. He thought this would be a game changer battle. Germany did not succeed in this plan.The battle took place between Dec 16th, 1944- Jan 25th, 1945. This was a great devastation for Germany. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was the biggest amphibious assault in the Pacific theater of WW II. This battle was a victory for the allies. This was almost the last serious and bloodiest defense of Japanese territory before the end of the war in August. The battle took place from April 1st, 1945- June 22nd, 1945. -
Mussolini's execution
Benito and his wife are caught trying to fell from Italy to Switz. Him and his wife were executed on April 28th 1945 in Giulino.They were put on public desplay. The people beat him and his wife and laughed at the man who had made empty promises to their country. -
Hitler's death
Hitler and the Nazi party started facing defeat. He started to suffer from major health problems and could not make many public appearances.
Many saw that the war was coming to a close. When Hitler saw that there was no place for him to run he decided to commit suicide. -
Germany surrenders
With their leader gone and much debt, the Germans sign papers on May 7th and 8th surrendering from the war. May 8th became known as Victory Day in Western circles. In Germany, it is known as "Tag Der Kapitulation." In English, it translates to "The day of Capitulation." -
The first atomic bomb is dropped
The United States attacked Japan with the world's first atomic bomb with the code name "Little Boy." The bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. It killed thousands of people and completely destroyed the city. Three days later, the U.S. dropped another bomb in Nagasaki with the code name "fat man", it weighed over 10000 lbs. -
Japanese surrender, end of World War II
After the attack on Japan, the Japanese had a meeting and signed the papers to end war and surrender to the U.S.
