-
Germany Attacks Poland
After signing the nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union, Hitler immediately turned his eyes towards Poland. This sudden and surprise attack on Poland took place the September 1st of 1939, when Nazi troops and tanks made their way towards the Polish border, and aircrafts started bombing the capital.This important event marked the beginning of World War II. Skipper, C.G. Invasion of Poland. Canada: Regensteiner Publishing Enterprises, Inc., 1983. -
France and Great Britain Declare War.
After seeing Hitler’s sudden yet bloody attack on Poland, France and Great Britain immediately wanted to take action. They declared war on Germany the September 3rd of that same year, and slowly began to prepare their military. However, when these military forces started to take action, Hitler had already conquered Poland, and it was too late for France and Great Britain to help. -
France Surrenders to Germany
After the escape of Dunkirk, resistance in France began to fall apart, and by early June, Hitler had already taken control of Paris. Having this huge loss, France finally surrendered to Germany on June 22, of 1940. While Hitler took control of the northern area of France, the southern part was left to a puppet government led by a French hero from World War I. As one of the most powerful countries in Europe, France was a huge and important victory for Germany. -
Germany Gives up Daylight Raids & Code Cracking
During this time, a German code-cracking machine named Enigma helped Britain be enable to decode German messages with important information. With this devices, the Royal Air Force could quickly launch deadly attacks on Germany. This is why Hitler gave up daylight raids in October of 1940, and went in favor of night bombing. This and the Battle of Britain gave the Allies a huge lesson, which was that Hitler’s attacks could be blocked. -
Rommel's Troops Attack
After retreating from the Battle of Britain, Germany immediately turned towards North Africa, specifically, Britain-controlled Egypt. Germany’s partner, Italy/Mussolini took the first step, and send its troops over 60 miles into Egypt, waiting for Britain to strike back. In December of 1941, Britain fought back and took thousands of Italian prisoners, which was a complete disaster for Mussolini. To help their ally, Germany send troops under the command of General Erwin Rommel, In March of 1941, -
Germany Tries to Take Over USSR
After taking control of the Balkans Hitler decided he could move along with Operation Barbarossa, and on June 22, of 1941, Germany moved their military towards the Soviet Union. Even though the USSR has the largest army in the world, Hitler had taken the country by surprise, and their army was neither well armed nor trained. From an Address by Chancellor Hitler to the German People, 22 Jun 1941 -
Roosevelt Cuts Off Oil Shipments
During this time, USA was well aware of Japan’s plans for Southeast Asia. Since U.S. was concerned about Japan wanting to attack the U.S.-controlled Philippines, they sent troops to aid the Chinese in resistance. When Japan took over Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, on July of 1941, Roosevelt decided to cut off oil shipments in Japan, and began to become much more involved in the war. This tension in between Japan and U.S. definitely played a very important role in United States joining the war. -
Pearl Harbour
Wanting to take U.S. by surprise, Japan launched a surprise attack on Hawaii on the 7th of December, 1941. This bombing of Pearl Harbour was the last straw for U.S, who declared war on Japan and it’s allies later that same day. This important event marked the final and ultimate reason for U.S. involvement in the war. -
Final Solution
At this time, German officials held a top-secret meeting deciding the fate for Germany, and specifically, the Jews, They all came to an agreement that the Jews needed to be completely eradicated, and soon discussed the means of killing. These means ended up becoming the concentration camps, and getting rid of the Jews through genocide. This time where the fate of Jews were discussed was known as the “Final Solution”, which occurred during 1942. Leesha Rose, The Tulips are Red, Yad Vashem, 199 -
Allies Strike Back
After Japan’s almost endless strip of victories, the Allies finally decided to turn towards Japan, and actually take action, anxious to strike back in the Pacific. Particularly, U.S. wanted to avenge the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This is what caused the Allies to send 16 B-25 bombers to Tokyo and several other Japanese cities during April of 1942, which showed that Japan and Germany were not completely invisible. -
Battle of Midway
Japan’s next target was an Island named Midway, a key location of the American airfield. Thanks to the cracked codes, the U.S. knew exactly what Japan’s plan to conquer Midway was, and was able to send troops hidden in the horizon, waiting for the attack on June 4th of 1942. This Battle was a complete success for the Allies, whose victory was declared on June 7th. Volume 4 of Samuel Eliot Morison's History of United States Naval Operations in World War II (Boston: Little, Brown, 1947-62). -
Battle of Guadalcanal
After Japan had taken over hundreds of islands in the pacific, General Douglas MacArthur developed the “island hop” plan to take care of this predicament. The plan was literally to
hoping on island to island, and seize not so defended islands closer to Japan. On August 7th, 1942, the American marines landed of an Guadalcanal, an island where Japan was building a very important massive air base. On February, Japan finally surrendered the island, later calling it the “Island of death.” -
D-Day
During this time, the Allies had been preparing a secret invasion in Great Britain, planning to attack Germany. Since Hitler already suspected an attack coming, the Allies sent a dummy, make-believe army that “was going to attack” a French seaport. Named Operation Overlord, the invasion took place June 6th 1944, known as D-Day. One month later, the Allies took control of France Bigelow, Barbera. "Veterans of D-Day." World War II Primary Sources. Detroit: U X L, an imprint of the Gale Group -
Battle of the Bulge
On December 16th, Germany fought back by sending it’s tanks to Ardennes where the American defences were quite weak. This was known as the Battle of the Bulge, and although the Allies were caught by surprise, they eventually managed to push the Germans back. This marked an important German retreat, that showed how Germany was practically already defeated. -
Yalta Conference
The war was not yet over during this time, but leaders of Britain, United States, and the Soviet Union met in the USSR to discuss Germany’s fate. They ended up agreeing on dividing up Germany into zones of occupation, all controlled by the Allies. Overall, this very important meeting ended up deciding the fate for Germany after they lost the war. "A Decade of American Foreign Policy : Basic Documents." Prepared at the Request of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Print. -
Allies take Okinawa
During this time, the Allies were completely focused on Japan, and wanted to defeat Japan once and for all. After months of battle, the Allies were able to take Iwo Jima, an island incredibly close to Tokyo. Then, on April 1st, U.S. troops took control of Okinawa, an island even closer to Japan! This marked a very important victory for the Allies, as Japan was practically within their reach. -
Nazi Surrender
After the Battle of the Bulge, the Allies moved along into Germany. Soviet troops flooded the country, and on May 7th of 1945, General Eisenhower accepted an unconditional surrender, and after seven years, putting an end to war in Europe. Von FRIEDBERG, HANS GEORG, G. WAGNER, and B. L. MONTGOMERY. "German Surrender Documents Ending World War II." US Historical Documents. 4 May 1945. Web. -
Hiroshima Atomic Bombing
Ever since the beginning of World War II, U.S. had been hard at work in a secret project named the “Manhattan Project” where they were developing severe atomic weapons. A long time later, in 1945, considering Japan’s resistance was still as hard as a rock, ithe Allies launched the B-29 bomber “Enola Gay” on August 6th. At 8:16am, the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima. Einstein, Albert. "Sir:." Einstein to Roosevelt, August 2, 1939. 2 Aug. 1939. Web. http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html. -
Nagasaki Atomic Bombing
Three days after the Hiroshima bombing, United States launched a second attack on Nagasaki, where over 70,000 people were immediately killed. This event basically made Japan realize that they were already defeated, which later led to their surrender. Foreign Affairs. Jan/Feb1995, Vol. 74 Issue 1, p135-152. 18p. 1 Black and White Photograph.
RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5d (copy from microfilm) -
Japanese Surrender
On September 2 of 1945, Japan finally surrendered to the Allies, and more specifically, to General MacArthur. World War two was completely over, what was next was rebuilding a world left in ruins. "Congressional Declaration of War on Japan." US Historical Documents. 8 Dec. 1941. Web. http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/japwar.shtml.
