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Preparation for the war
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Militarizing the Rhineland
Hitler sent troops to Rhineland , It was a violation of Treaty of Versailles. -
Annexation of Austria
In early 1938 Hitler began to demand that Austrian officials accept annexation by Germany. When it beacme clear that Hitler would conquer Austria by force and that many of the Austrian people supported unification with Germany, the Austrian government gave in. -
Pact of Steel is signed ( Axis Power is formed)
On this day in 1939, Italy and Germany agree to a military and political alliance, giving birth formally to the Axis powers, which will ultimately include Japan. -
Nazi- Soviet Pact ( Nonaggression pact)
Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the Nazi German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.It was a non-aggression pact signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939 -
THE WAR BEGINS
On September 1, Germany invaded Poland without warning. Great Britain and France sent Hitler an ultimatum - withdraw German forces from Poland or Great Britain and France would go to war against Germany.
On September 3, with Germany's forces penetrating deeper into Poland, Great Britain and France both declared war on Germany. -
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WORLD WAR II
On September 1, Germany invaded Poland without warning. Great Britain and France sent Hitler an ultimatum - withdraw German forces from Poland or Great Britain and France would go to war against Germany.
On September 3, with Germany's forces penetrating deeper into Poland, Great Britain and France both declared war on Germany.
The World War II ended when the Americans decided to launch a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, after what Japaneesee people surrended -
Germany Invades Soviet Union ( Operation Barbarossa)
Operation Barbarossa beginning 22 June 1941, was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Over four million soldiers of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km front, the largest invasion in the history of warfare. In addition to troops, Barbarossa used 600,000 motor vehicles and 750,000 horses.The ambitious operation was driven by Adolf Hitler's persistent desire to conquer the Soviet territories. It marked the beginning of the pivotal phase in war -
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Eastern War between Soviets and Nazis
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Battle of Kiev
The First Battle of Kiev was the German name for the operation that resulted in a very large encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II. It is considered the largest encirclement of troops in history. The operation ran from 23 August – 26 September 1941 as part of Operation Barbarossa. In Soviet military history it is referred to as the Kiev Defensive Operation. -
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation undertaken by the German Army Group North against Leningrad—historically and currently known as Saint Petersburg—in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. The siege started on 8 September 1941. -
Invasion on Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the largest Soviet city. Moscow was one of the primary military and political objectives for Axis forces in their invasion of the Soviet -
The Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad is considered by many historians to have been the turning point in World War Two in Europe. The battle at Stalingrad bled the German army dry in Russia and after this defeat, the Germany Army was in full retreat. -
Operation Saturn
Operation Saturn, revised as Operation Little Saturn, was a Red Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in the northern Caucasus and Donets Basin regions of the Soviet Union from December 1942 to February 1943.
The success of Operation Uranus, launched on 19 November 1942, had trapped 250,000 - 300,000 troops of General Friedrich Paulus' German 6th Army and 4th Panzer Army in Stalingrad. -
End of Stalingrad Battle
Marshal Zhukov used six armies of one million men to surround the city. The 5th tank regiment led by Romanenko attacked from the north as did the 21st Army (led by Chistyakov), the 65th Army (led by Chuikov) and the 24th Army (led by Galinin).
The bulk of the Sixth Army – some 250,000 to 300,000 men - was in the city and Zhukov, having used his resources to go around the city, north and south, had trapped the Germans in Stalingrad -
End of Leningrad Siege
Many of the people were evacuated through the Lake Ladoga.
Many of the city's students continued their studies and even passed their finals exams. Dmitry Shostakovich wrote his Seventh "Leningrad" Symphony and it was performed in the besieged city. In January 1943 the Siege was broken and a year later, on January 27 1944 it was fully lifted. At least 641,000 people had died in Leningrad during the Siege -
Romania Switches Sides
On 23rd November 1940 Romani Joins the Axis powers as it has no choice, as most of the country supported Nazis and Nazis suppoted them, Later as Germany beacame weaker, Romania make an alliance with Soviets and Allied powers. -
Upon turning Romania and Bulgaria against Germany, Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front (under Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin) and Bulgarian troops marched into eastern Yugoslavia on 14 Sep, engaging positions held by German 7th SS Mountain Division troops, Chetnik fighters, and Serbian Front Guard troops along the way. On 28 Sep, Soviet 57th Army began a separate advance toward Belgrade from the south, also aided by Yugoslavian troops.
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The final chapter in the destruction of Hitler's Third Reich began on April 16, 1945 when Stalin unleashed the brutal power of 20 armies, 6,300 tanks and 8,500 aircraft with the objective of crushing German resistance and capturing Berlin. By prior agreement, the Allied armies (positioned approximately 60 miles to the west) halted their advance on the city in order to give the Soviets a free hand. The depleted German forces put up a stiff defense, initially repelling the attacking Russians.
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Hitler Suicide
Hitler shot himself in Fuhrerbunker in Berlin and then his body was burned -
End of the Battle of Berlin
On the night of 2–3 May, General Hasso von Manteuffel, commander of the III Panzer Army along with General Kurt von Tippelskirch, commander of the XXI Army, surrendered to the US Army. Von Saucken's II Army, that had been fighting north east of Berlin in the Vistula Delta, surrendered to the Soviets on 9 May. On the morning of 7 May, the perimeter of Wenck's XII Army's bridgehead began to collapse. Wenck crossed the Elbe under small arms fire that afternoon and surrendered to the American Army. -
End of World War II in Europe
