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Invasion of Poland
Nazi Germany declared war on Poland on the 1st of September 1939, the French and British declaring war on Germany not long after. About two weeks later, on the 17th of September, the Soviet Union declared war from the east. This new alliance stunned the west. Poland mobilised late and were heavily outnumbered. -
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World War Two
World War Two was the largest and most costly war in human history. It was fought between September, 1939, with the Invasion of Poland, and ended in September, 1945 with the surrender of Germany, then Japan. The war directly or indirectly ended the lives of 70 to 85 million people, with over 30 countries participating worldwide. -
Poland Surrender
The unorganised and unprepared Polish army was taken apart withing weeks, ceding to the Germans on the 6th of October, 1939. -
Battle of France
German forces managed to annex Denmark and Norway, overrun troops in Belgium and Netherlands, and force the British to perform a last-ditch escape at Dunkirk. What followed was the capture of Paris, with little to no resistance. -
France Surrender
The French surrender came shortly after the capture of Paris, leaving Britain alone in the war. In approximately six weeks, Hitler was able to do what the German Empire could not through the entire course of World War One. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was an air and naval campaign that raged on through the British Isles and saw destructive air raids conducted by the Luftwaffe after France surrenders. Daily air raids in London and other cities had become common and children were sent to the countryside to avoid this. -
Battle of Britain Concludes
RAF were victorious in defeating the Germans, failure to defeat the Luftwaffe over the English Channel would have seen Britain open to land invasion. We surely would have seen German domination in Europe, possibly German victory over the Allied powers. -
Siege of Tobruk
From April 1941 until August 1941, a combined force of German-Italian forces commanded by the famous General, Erwin Rommel, operated a besiegement of approximately 14,000 Australian Soldiers in Tobruk. This port city was absolutely crucial to halt the German offensive and defend Egypt and the Suez Canal. Half of the Australian garrison was relieved in August, the rest in September and October, however British forces stayed. -
Siege of Tobruk Concludes
After two failed British attempts to break the siege, Erwin Rommel attacks the port, and Tobruk falls to the Germans. Giving Germans necessary supplies. However, taking the port was not without consequence. -
Attack on Pearl Harbour
The Attack on Pearl Harbour was a ruinous surprise attack on the United States port of Pearl Harbour, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hundreds of Japanese fighters descended on the port and barraged the Americans with bombs. The objective of the attack was to pull America out of the war before they were inevitably going to join. The plan backfired as soon after, the United States declared war on the Japanese. The attack had aggravated the Americans, not paralysed them. The war in the pacific commences. -
Battle of Midway
The island of Midway is a very important United States air and naval base. Wishing to extend the Japanese defensive perimeter and to set up a staging base to take over Hawaii, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto intended to occupy the island. Early morning on June 4th, Japanese aircraft carriers greatly damaged the base on Midway. While the Japanese aircraft were in transit back, they became aware of United States navy presence. -
Battle of Midway Concludes
This critical U.S. victory stopped the growth of Japan in the Pacific and put the United States in a position to begin shrinking the Japanese empire through a years-long series of island-hopping invasions and several even larger naval battles. -
Kokoda Track Campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign, commonly referred to as The Battle of Kokoda, was a four-month long battle that began with the Japanese landing of Papua in July, 1942. The Japanese attack strategy was to take Port Moresby with the use of a track through the mountains. It was along this track the Japanese and Australians fought in combat. This would give the Japanese control of a base from which to attack the Australian mainland. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a brutal military campaign between Russian forces and those of Nazi Germany and the Axis powers during World War II. The battle is infamous as one of the largest, longest and bloodiest engagements in modern warfare. -
Kokoda Track Campaign Concludes
The result of these conflicts saw Allied victory in the end. The battle of Kokoda had definitely saved Australia form the threat of invasion and was the turning point for war against the Japanese. -
Battle of Stalingrad Concludes
From August 1942 through February 1943, more than two million troops fought in close quarters – and nearly two million people, including civilians were killed or injured in the fighting, including tens of thousands of Russian civilians. But the Battle of Stalingrad ultimately turned the tide of World War II in favor of the Soviet Union in the eastern front. -
D-Day Invasions
The Normandy Invasion, also known as Operation Overlord or D-Day, was a World War II Allied invasion of western Europe that began on June 6, 1944 with the combined landing of US, British, and Canadian troops on five different beachheads in Normandy, France. Northern France was liberated by the end of August 1944, and the occupying forces were defeated. The D-Day invasions were a major turning point in the war, if it were to fail, the battle in Europe may have lasted much longer. -
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II and one of the most intense battles of the war. The Soviet offensive resumed on 16 April, Berlin was attacked from the east and south, while a third overran German forces positioned north of Berlin. Before the main battle in Berlin commenced, the Red Army encircled the city. -
Battle of Berlin Concludes
The Fall of Berlin eventually ended on May 2, 1945, after one of the most intense fights in human history. The silence that accompanied the battle, according to Soviet veterans, was deafening. Adolf Hitler had killed himself in his bunker just before the Soviets had taken the city, unable to bear the defeat of his country for a second time. This battle was one of the last major offensives in the European Theatre, and led to the surrender of Germany, five days later. -
Germany Surrender
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Japan Surrender