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Germany invades Poland
Location of the event:Poland
Nations or groups involved: Germany and Poland
Outcome or significance of this event:Germany invading Poland was the start of World War 2. Although Poland's forces was 1 million strong, they were very much under equipped so the German forces bombarded them from land and from the air, ultimately taking over Poland. After Germany invaded Poland, France and England decided that Hitler had taken to much territory in Europe, and declared war on Germany. -
Britain and France declare War on Germany
Location of the event: Poland, France and England
Nations or groups involved: Poland, Germany, France and England
Outcome or significance of this event:3 days after Germany invaded and took control over Poland, Britain and France had had enough of Hitler taking over territory in Europe and handed a note to the German government saying that unless Germany withdraw their troops from Poland by a certain time then they would declare war, so when they didn't withdraw their troops, World War 2 began. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Location of the event: Britain
Nations or groups involved: Britain
Outcome or significance of this event: A loss of confidence vote in the House of Commons led to the replacement of Chamberlain by Winston Churchill on May 10, 1940. This date was one of the most significant events that have occurred in British history when Churchill become prime minister of Britain. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
The Evacuation of Dunkirk, code named Operation Dynamo, was the evacuation of Allied troops off the French beaches and port of Dunkirk. The evacuation was called after large numbers of Allied soldiers were surrounded by the German military during the Battle of France. The operation went for 9 days and approximately 388,000 Allied troops were saved from capture by the Nazis. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers
The Axis powers was an alliance that Germany and Japan were already apart of and Italy joined the alliance on the 10th of June, 1940. It wasn’t until 10 days after Italy joined the Axis powers on the 20th of June, 1940, that Italy deployed its troops to France. The significance of this event was that the alliances of WW2 were growing and becoming more defined. -
France signs Armistice with Germany
On the 22nd of June 1940, French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud was replaced by Marshal Henri Petain, who was quick to announce his plans to sign an Armistice with Germany. The Armistice established two zones; a German occupation zone in Northern and Western France, and the remainder “free” to be governed by France. This gave extra land to Germany but also let France avoid full occupation by them. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to an air campaign that Germany (Luftwaffe) waged against Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF). It was the largest aerial bombing campaign to that date and was the first major campaign to be fought entirely in the air. The battle ended when Germany was unable to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force. Britain’s victory in the air saved the country from a ground invasion and possible occupation by Germany. -
Tripartite Pact signed
Japan, Germany and Italy signed an alliance called the Tripartite pact in Berlin on September 27th 1940. The alliance was created so that if one of the three countries involved in the pact were to become threatened by the United States the others would have to come and protect them and help fight with them. The Tripartite Pact was important because it bound three countries together to fight against the United States and it gave those countries an ally in the war. -
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was Hitler’s plan to invade Great Britain sometime in late 1940. The whole operation depended on whether or not the German Air Force was able to gain air superiority against Great Britain during the Battle of Britain. Because Germany was unable to achieve this goal, Operation Sea Lion had to be cancelled, which was announced on September 17th 1940. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was when the Axis forces surrounded the town of Tobruk, where the Allied forces were holding their ground. The aim of the siege was to get the allies to surrender by cutting off their vital living necessities. The allies held Tobruk from April to November until the siege was finally lifted. Britain, Germany, India, Poland and Australia were involved. -
Operation Barbarossa
On the 22nd of June 1941, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, the codename given to Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union. Over 3 million German troops and 3 thousand tanks smashed into Soviet territory, covering a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea, which is a distance over 3000km. Germany had underestimated how strong the Soviet army was and because of this, the end of the Third Reich had begun, making this event an important turning point in WW2. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
300 Japanese planes surprise attacked the US naval fleet at Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December 1941. Thousands of people died as Japanese air forces hammered the American’s at Pearl Harbor. This event was significant because it brought the United States into the war against Japan and later against Germany. The countries involved were America and Japan. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
In response to the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor the previous day, US president Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan, which officially brought them into WWII. Just an hour before the US announced this, Britain also declared war on Japan, in response to their attacks on Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaya. The nations involved were Japan, the US and Great Britain. It was a significant event because it was the first time the US came into the war and now Japan had two more nations fighting ag -
Japan take Singapore
On February 8th 1942, 5,000 Japanese soldiers landed on the shores of Singapore, an island which is located off Malaysia. Singapore had been a British colony since the 19th century but the number of Japanese troops outnumber the number of British troops on the island so on February 15th 1942 Japan took occupation of Singapore, which lasted until 1945. The main nations involved were Japan, Britain and Singapore. -
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Battle of Midway
The battle of Midway occurred six months after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, when the United States defeated Japan after the US were able to inflict damage on Japan’s Navy before they could ambush some of their few remaining vessels. This was a significant event because it allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position. -
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First battle of El Alamein
The first battle of El Alamein was a battle that was fought on the Northern coast of Egypt between Axis forces and Allied forces. Both the positions of the Axis and Allied forces led both sides to get more supplies for more attacks, which was against the constraints of time and distance, which then leads to the second battle of El Alamein. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad during WWII. The battle began on July 17th 1942 and ended on February 2nd 1943 and was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with nearly 2 million casualties. It was such a significant battle because it stopped the advance of Germany into the Soviet Union and favor was now on the Allies to win the war. -
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Second battle of El Alamen
The second battle of El Alamein took place in the Egyptian town of El Alamein following the first battle of El Alamein. With the Allies victorious over the Axis forces, the Axis threat to Egypt was over and it was a definite turning point in the war in Northern Africa. It was the only great land battle that was won without any direct American participation. -
D-Day landings
On the 6th of June 1944, more than 130,000 Allied troops with over 5,000 ships and 11,000 planes stormed the beaches of Normandy in the largest military operation by sea to date. The invasion’s aim to liberate France. The beginning of the Allied invasion of Western Europe began on this day, which is called D-Day. -
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Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge is that name for the 3 week battle that began on December 16th 1944 when German troops surprise attacked the Allied Forces in the Ardennes Mountains, which is a mountain range that continues through Luxembourg, France and Belgium. The Allied Powers achieved Victory over the Germany troops on January 25th 1945. The battle was the last major battle of WW2 and the nations involved were America, France, Britain and Germany. -
Mussolini captured and executed
The former dictator of Italy, Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were caught and shot by Italian partisians as they were attempting to flee over to Switzerland on April 28th 1945. Mossolini knew that the Axis powers were going to be defeated and he didn’t want to end up in the hands of the British or the Americans so he decided to flee. His body was hung upside down on public display in Milan. This was significant because Adolf Hitler committed suicide two days later. -
Hitler commits suicide
On April 30th 1945, facing a siege of Berlin by the Soviets, Hitler and his newly wedded wife committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head in their bunker in Berlin. Only 8 days after their bodies were found and cremated, the German forces issued an unconditional surrender. -
German forces surrender
On May 7th 1945 Germany signed an unconditional surrender document in a town in North-Western France called Reims. General Alfred Jodl surrendered all of Germany’s troops and brought an end to the six year war in Europe. The countries that were involved were Germany, Russia, France and Britain. -
VE day
After the surrender of Germany and the defeat of the Nazi, cities in the UK, America and formally occupied European cities celebrated by putting out banners and flags. This day is called VE day, which is also known as Victory in Europe day. This is significant because it allowed America and Britain to focus solely on defeating Japan without having to worry about Germany. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The United States became the first and only country to use atomic weaponry during wartime on August 6th, 1945, when it dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb was so strong that it completely destroyed 2560 acres of the city and instantly killed 80,000 people, with tens of thousands more dying of injury and radiation poisoning in the following weeks. The United States’ goal was to bring the war to an end but after the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan didn’t s -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
On August 8th, 1945 the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, sending more than 1 million troops into Japanese occupied Manchuria, located in North East China. The Japanese Army wasn’t worried about the Soviets and believed they wouldn’t attack, but instead, the Soviet troops were so strong against the Japanese that Emperor Hirohito began to plead with his War Council to reconsider surrender. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Location - Nagasaki, Japan
Nations - Japan and United States
A second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki which finally lead to Japan’s surrender of WW2. The bomb was dropped at 11:02 a.m., 1,650 feet above the city and the number of people killed is estimated to be between 60,000 and 80,000 people. -
Japanese surrender – End of WW2
Location – Japan
Nations – Japan
The Allies were destroying Japan’s navy and air force and were planning an invasion of their homeland, which promised to be the bloodiest seaborne attack of all time. After the United States detonated two atomic bombs on Japanese cities, many Japanese council members wanted to surrender but also some didn't. After long debates within the Japanese council, Japan decided to surrender the war, ending the most devastating war in history. -
United Nations was born
Location: United States
Nations: A total of 51 original members/countries including France, Britain, US, Soviet Union and China
Significance: The United Nations was established right after World War 2 ended to try to provide a global forum for all nations to come together and discuss issues and global problems to try and prevent another World War from happening by attempting to solve these issues by global cooperation.
