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GERMAN FORCES INVADE YUGOSLAVIA AND GREECE
German forces invade Yugoslavia and Greece, supported by contingents from Germany's allies and quickly subdue the Balkans. British forces, sent to aid the Greeks, are forced to withdraw to the island of Crete. In mid-May, German paratroopers land on Crete and, after heavy fighting, defeat the British there. Yugoslavia and Greece are partitioned among the victors. -
GERMAN FORCES ATTACK THE SOVIET UNION
more than three million German soldiers reinforced by half a million auxiliaries from Germany's allies . they attack the Soviet Union across a broad front, from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. Three German army groups advance deep into Soviet territory.German troops continue to advance to the outskirts of Moscow. the Soviet Union launches a counteroffensive, forcing a German retreat from Moscow. -
germans invade europe
The Germans and their allies invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, in direct violation of the German-Soviet Pact. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin then became a major wartime Allied leader, in opposition to Nazi Germany and its Axis allies. the troops went deep into the Soviet Union. -
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european battles
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U.S enters WWII
On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States immediately declared war on Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States as the military conflict widened. -
GERMAN FORCES DRIVE TO THE VOLGA
German forces begin a new drive to the east. This time the goals are the oil fields of the Caucasus and the city of Stalingrad on the Volga River. German forces cross the Don River and by mid-September reach the suburbs of Stalingrad. The Soviet army command decides to defend the city, no matter what the cost. Soviet forces fight for every street in the city. By the middle of November 1942, the Germans gain control of most of the city, but the Soviet defense has not been broken. -
GERMAN 6TH ARMY SURRENDERS AT STALINGRAD
The Soviet army launched a counteroffensive against the German forces arrayed at Stalingrad in mid-November 1942.They quickly encircled an entire German army, After months of fierce fighting and heavy casualties, the surviving German forces, now only about 91,000 soldiers, surrender. Soviet forces push the Germans back to the banks of the Dnieper River in 1943. The Soviet army remains on the offensive for the remainder of the war. -
D-Day
On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), as part of a massive military operation, over 150,000 Allied soldiers landed in France, which was liberated by the end of August.he first US troops crossed into Germany, one month after Soviet troops crossed the eastern border. In mid-December the Germans launched an unsuccessful counterattack in Belgium and northern France, known as the Battle of the Bulge. -
SOVIET FORCES LAUNCH CRUSHING OFFENSIVE
Soviet forces launch a powerful offensive along the entire eastern front. German forces are pushed back nearly to Warsaw by the end of July 1944. In August and September 1944, Germany's remaining eastern European allies leave the war effort. Hungary, occupied by Germany in March, remains in the German camp. -
soviet offensive
The Soviets began an offensive liberating western Poland and forcing Hungary to surrender. A final Soviet offensive on April 16, 1945, enabled Soviet forces to encircle the German capital, Berlin. As Soviet troops fought their way towards the Reich Chancellery. -
GERMAN FORCES SURRENDER
In mid-April 1945, Soviet forces launched a massive offensive toward Berlin. Soviet forces linked up with American forces attacking from the west at Torgau in central Germany. As Soviet forces neared his command bunker in central Berlin on April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide. Berlin surrendered to Soviet forces on May 2, 1945. The German armed forces surrender unconditionally in the west on May 7 and in the east on May 9, 1945.
