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Germany Invades Poland
Where: Poland
Germany sought to destroy any chances of a French-Polish alliance as they feared this. They destroyed these chances by taking over Poland. This invasion was a direct breach of the Munich Agreement. -
Britain and France Declare War on Germany
In response to Hitler's direct breach of the Treaty of Versailles (the invasion of Poland), Britain and France (Allies of Poland) declared war on Germany. Not long after hearing of the declaration, Germans bombed a UK ship 'Athenia' with U-30 submarine bombers. During this time of war Britain dropped anti-Nazi propaganda leaflets throughout the streets. Neville Chamberlain was the person to announce the declaration of war. -
Churchill Becomes Prime Minister of Britain
On May 10 1940, Winston Churchill succeeded Neville Chamberlain in the role of PM of Britain. Chamberlain, the declarer of war, realised he was unable to follow up on his mission to save Europe. He lost the support of many members of his conservative party after Norway was taken by the Nazis in April, 1940. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo) 27 May-4 June
Where: France
France called upon Britain for defensive assistance as German invasion was approaching. General Viscount Gort of Britain knew that this would destroy his entire army, and so ordered his troops to evacuate to Dunkirk. 340,000 French, Belgian and British troops were rescued because of this evacuation from the coasts. -
France Signs Armistice with Germany
Marshal Petain replaced the PM of France Paul Reynaud and announced his intention to sign an armistice with Nazi Germany. The Armistice was signed on June 17 and went into effect on the 25th. After the invasion of Normandy, Petain was found of treason for this armistice and was sentenced to die. -
Battle of Britain
German Luftwaffe set out to destroy the British RAF. The Battle of Britain was fought solely in the air. Luftwaffe bombed British streets by night, a campaign known as The Blitz. The first major bombings took place on September 7th 1940 in London. By May 10, more than 43,000 people were dead. Major cities bombed were Liverpool, London, Belfast, Plymouth, Glasgow and worst of all Coventry. September 15th saw 1000 Luftwaffe attack the RAF. It was clear that the RAF were stronger though. -
Italy Enters War on Side of Axis Powers (and Tripartite Pact)
Italy officially became aligned with both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan with the signing of the Tripartite Pact on 27th September 1940, but there were many other agreements binding the Axis powers prior to that. November 6, 1937, Italy joins the Anti-Comintern Pact. May 22nd, 1939, Italy and Germany sign the Pact of Steel. And, after the Tripartite Pact, we have June 10, when Italy 'officially' joined the Axis powers as the defeat of France became apparent. -
Operation Sealion (PROPOSED)(NO REAL DATE)
This was the planned invasion of Great Britain that did not take place because the Germans were devastated in the Battle of Britain eventually. The plan relied on Germany having control of the English Channel. The Nazis underestimated the British's power in the Battle of Britain and though they would easily be able to overthrow them, but decided to call off the operation. -
Siege of Tobruk (31 March-27th November)
In the place of Tobruk, Libya, 14,000 Australian soldiers were besieged by a German-Italian army commanded by Gen. Erwin Rommel. The groups involved were basically the Germans and Italians versus the British Commonwealth (Britain, Australia, India, New Zealand.) This battle was an important victory as it was the first victory against the Germans. Also, if the Germans had've conquered Tobruk, they would have had a grand access to a large oil supply. This would've given the Germans so much power. -
Operation Barbarossa
Where: USSR
The Germans attempted to conquer the Soviet Union. They first believed the attack to be a success, however, they were unprepared for a long fight and had not prepared for the winter of Russia. Soviet counter attacks hindered Germany greatly and many man died from starvation and cold. Germany invaded the wrong cities and the two major Soviet cities were failed to be conquered. In the end it was a clear German defeat by the Soviets. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Where: Pearl Habor, Hawaii
Japan unleashed bombs onto Pearl Harbor. 18 warships were sunk and 200 aircrafts were destroyed. The death toll was 2400 for Americas and only 64 for the Japanese. The first wave of attacks happened on a Sunday, at 7.48AM. That day was supposed to be a rest day for the US soldiers, and they were not at all prepared. -
Britain and US Declare War on Japan
Where: USA
President Roosevelt requested and received a declaration of war on Japan.He entered the House of Representatives at noon to request the declaration via radio. Civilian defense groups were immediately mobilised on the streets. Japanese nationals were rounded up and held in custody indefinitely on Ellis Island. Units of anti-aircrafters were set up on Long Beach and Hollywood Hills. Japanese-Americans paid newspapers to prove their loyalty and allegiance to the US. -
Japan Takes Singapore
Where: Singapore
A base in Singapore was attacked by Japanese. Seeing white people surrendering to Asians shocked the world as it had never been witnessed before. Britain's reputation never recovered. On the 8th of February, Japanese landed on NW outskirts of Singapore. They took control because the British were under constant air attack. -
Battle of Midway
Where: Midway, an island in the Pacific Ocean
The Japanese had a plan to sneak up on the US forces in Midway. They intended on trapping the US aircrafts to destroy them. Codebreakers allowed the US to know of the trap. There was a loss of 4 Japanese aircraft carriers (248 aircrafts) and 3000 soldiers. Torpedo bombers were sent into the Japanese. While the Japanese were aimed at the torpedo bombers, dive bombers attacked from the skies. It was an Allied victory. -
First Battle of El Alamein
Where: North Africa
It was Rommel's Afrika Korps versus the Allies. There were twice as many British men as there were Afrika Korps. It was an inevitable defeat for Rommel. The Axis soldiers had to surrender, and did so in Tunisia. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle was a costly defeat for the Germans. It was the Soviets versus the Germans. Streets fights broke out to stop the Germans taking control. Civilians were evacuated, streets were reduced to rubble. Snipers picked off excess enemies. Soviet forces trapped the Germans inside the city and picked them off. Food could only be supplied by junker planes. In the end it was a German surrender as by January 1943, all their men were starving and dying. -
Second Battle of El Alamein
Rommel came back for more, but again it was an Allied Victory. The dispute ended with 13,200 Allied casualties and 17,000 Axis casualties. -
United Nations is Born
Where: NY, US
Major wartime allies came together to keep world peace. It was a post war League of Nations, but better, and improved. -
D-Day Landings
Where: Normandy, France
Britain launches an attack on German troops on Normandy shores. Fighting was the heaviest of the Omaha beach. Many US soldiers were killed in the water. At the end of D-Day, almost 150,000 Allied troops in France were stationed. Bad weather made the invasion seem unlikely for the Germans so they were totally unprepared. It was a success for the Allies as they had 850,000 men stationed in Normandy by the end of D-Day and significantly less death counts. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germany launched a major attack on the Allies, intending to separate them and drive them off of mainland Europe. This attack lasted around a month. It occurred primarily in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium. Germany used 200,000 troops and 1000 tanks. The Americans were not ready as they believed that the war was coming to an end, but despite this they held their ground, not wanting to have come so far only to allow German takeover. It was an Allied victory in the end. -
Mussolini Captured and Executed (date: death)
In July 1943 the Allies invaded Sicily. A new Italian government came to power and made peace with the Allies. German forces took over the defense of Italy and resisted the Allies invasion of the Italian mainland. Mussolini was dismissed from office by King Victor 3. He was shot by partisans who had captured he and his wife on April 28th, 1945. -
Hitler commits suicide
During the Battle of Berlin, Soviets invaded Berlin streets. Hitler locked himself in his bunker with his mistress, Eva Braun. Together, they killed themselves to avoid capture. Germany's military surrendered, now leaderless. -
German Forces Surrender
Where: Reims, France
German forces surrendered after Hitler's death as they had no leader anymore. Admiral Friedeburg surrendered to Field Marshal Montgomery on May 4th. The final unconditional surrender was on the 7th. -
V.E DAY
This day marked the formal end of Hitler's war. Despite this the fighting still continued in many places across the world. Hitler's suicide on April 30th was followed by a surrender on behalf of the German army. The official surrender took place in Reims, France. Celebrations took place across the globe. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
The Enola Gay atomic bomb carrier was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th. The death toll for this attack is estimated to be 80-140,000 people. Many thousands of people died instantly from the heat and light, but others died slowly from radiation poisoning and fire storms. -
Soviet Union Declares War on Japan
1 million Soviets poured into the city of Manchuria in China. Japan denied surrender after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, demanding guarantees of the nation's future regarding the Allies. While distracted by Germans on the Eastern Front, Japanese didn't believe there was a risk of Soviet attack. The Soviets invaded Manchuria and the attack was so strong that Emperor Hirohito begged for surrender. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki
A second atom bomb was dropped on the Japanese city Nagasaki. The bomb was intended for the highly populated city of Kokura. The death toll after this attack was 35-70,000. -
Japanese Surrender-End of WW2
The Japanese surrendered after the second atom bomb attack. Japan announced they would surrender if their Emperor could stay on the throne.