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Germany invades Poland
At 4:45 AM, 1.5 million German troops invaded Poland for German 'Luftwatte' which means living space. Adolf Hitler claimed that this invasion was an act of defence against the Polish who were displaying acts of 'agression' against the German homeland. The Polish army was wiped out in just two weeks. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
After Germany's invasion of Poland which was against the Treaty of Versailles. Britain and France who were allies with Poland at time, didn't believe that the invasion was self-defence and declared war on Germany. They signed the Ultimatum and it stated that if 'forces didn't withdraw immediately' Britain and France would come to Poland's aid. This is the official beginning of world war 2. -
Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Winston Churchill was elected Prime Minister of Britain and succeeds Neville Chamberlain who had recently resigned. Churchill quickly gained support from his fellow citizens as he was admired for his militairy leadership qualities. He was in Parliment for 5 years before he lost his spot to General Clement Attlee's not long after the war had finished. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
This was the evactuation of all British armed forces from the port of Dunkirk located in Northern France. Germany had been advancing through France relentlessly and General Viscount Gort could see that if Britain wanted to have a defence in the future, they would need to evacuate immediately. The allied forces fought their way to Dunkirk and defended the port for a number of days before all kinds of boats came to take them away. 340,000 British, French and Belgian troops were saved. -
Italy joins war on the side of the Axis Powers
Italy joined Germany's side when they signed the Pact Of Steel. The Pact of Steel was believed to be one of the most powerful and strongest alliances in the world. The two axis partners how ever weren't perfect and there leaders Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler didnt always get along as Mussolini thought of Nazism as 'uncultured' and 'simplisic'. -
France signs armistace with Germany
Marshel Henri Petain, the Prime Minister of France, signs an armistace with Nazi Germany in Compiègne, France. Even though Petain had been originally elected to boost confidence in the people, it only took 1 month for him too surrender and come to a deal with the Nazi's. It was signed on the 22nd and went into effect on the 25th with half of France being occupied by Germans. French citizens suffered and their only hope then was the British. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was major turning point in World War 2 as the Royal Air Force went up against the seemingly unstoppable German Luftwaffe. After what seemed like an endless bombing campaign by both sides, the battle finished after the Luftwaffe failed to gain control of the skies over the RAF. -
Operation sea lion
Operation sea lion was a plan devised by Hitler to overtake Britain. Britain was the only major European power left standing after the fall of France so it was only a matter of time before the Nazi's moved on to invade it. However, the operation ended up being cancelled when the German's Luftwaffe lost a battle against the RAF on the 17th of September. -
Tripatite Pact signed
Also known as the Berlin pact, was signed by Germany, Italy and Japan. This meant that these three countries were now officially an alliance and if one of them was attacked or invaded by another power, they would be assisted by the other two nations in striking back. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The port of Tobruk on the Libyan coast was very significant because it was any easy alternative route to deliver supplies and resources for the Axis Powers in Libya. That was why it was important to be defended by the allies at all costs. Soldiers from Canada, Australia, France, Poland and Britain defended Tobruk for 241 days and this was the first time that the Germans had attempted a Bleikskreig and failed. -
Operation Barbarossa
In one of the largest Military operations ever, three million Axis soldiers with 3,500 tanks stormed into Russia as Hitler attempted to create even more living space for 'master race'. At first, The Soviet Union caught by surprise and many soldiers were killed or taken prisoner. As the Germans marched deeper into Russia however, The Soviet Union utilized the resources they had and with a massive counter-attack started pushing the Germans back until the operation was completely abandoned. -
Bombing of Peral Harbor
At around 8 am, Pearl Habor near Honolulu Hawaii, was bombed by around 200 to 300 Japanese fighter planes killing over 2,000 people.The Japanese thought that in doing this, they would strike fear into the American people's hearts and stop them from even considering joining the war. However, the complete opposite happened and the next day, the U.S declared war on Japan. -
Britain and US declare war on Germany
After the devastating attack on Pearl Habor, the U.S and President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew that they must retaliate and declared war on Japan with Britain at their side. Britain was in desperate need of reinforcements and with the U.S now in the war they finally had a chance to strike back. -
Japan takes Singapore
Singapore had been a colony of Britain's since the 19th century and was very important to them during the war especially for trade routes. It was also considered a fortress so when it became apparent that the Japanese were planning an invasion of Singapore, the British army scoffed and didn't take them seriously. However, the Japanese were fast and ferocious and ended up taking over Singapore and capturing 62,000 allied prisoners. This showed the world that the Japanese were no laughing matter. -
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Battle of Midway
This battle took place six months after the bombing of Pearl Habor and was between the American and Japanese naval fleets. The Japanese planned to launch one last attack on the United States Carrier ships and allow Japan to continue invading without them being a threat. When they attacked however, the U.S were ready and destroyed 4 of their own Carrier vessels. The devastating effects of this failure meant that Japan was pushed back onto the defensive for the rest of the Pacific-war. -
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First battle of El Alamein
This was a battle that took place in Egypt between Erwin Rommel's German, Italian, Afrika Korps and the allies. The Axis Powers planned to add Egypt to their expanding empire but the Allies managed to halt them and keep them at a standstill. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
German troops were marching through Russia, when it was decided that their next target would be the Soviet town of Stalingrad. This battle is considered to be one of the harshest battles of the war with terrible conditions and withering supplies to sustain the German army. As the battle began to take its toll on them, the Soviet Union saw and seized an opportunity to counter-attack. They quickly isolated the German soldiers and they were slowly killed off before they surrendered on February 2nd. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
The allies were not satisfied with just stopping the Axis powers in Egypt, so Winston Churchill landed in Cairo and handed the command of the 8th division to General Montgomery. Montgomery reconstructed the 8th division and devised a plan to drive the Axis out of Egypt once and for all. The Allies succeeded and by the 4th of November, Erwin Rommel had been driven back to Tsunia -
D-Day Landings
After nearly a year of planning, Allied forces including Britain, France, Canada and The U.S landed on the coast of Normandy. The job of the 150,000 troops that had traveled from Britain was to breach the German defensive placed high on the cliffs. This battle was a key turning point and set up the beginning of the end for Germany. -
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Battle of the Bulge
On the 16th of December, The German army made a sudden and surprising push forward in a last ditch effort to split up the allies. It was the last major Nazi offensive and the allied forces struggled to keep them at bay. However, in the forest at Ardennes, the allies set up a defence which resembled a large bulge and proved to be impenetrable. This is where the Battle of the Bulge got its name. -
Mussolini captured and executed
Mussolini could see that it was only a matter of time before the war was lost and he attempted to flee with his mistress. His attempt was unsuccessful and he was captured by Partisans on April 27th. The next day, the Partisans took them both to a small village known as Giulino di Mezzegra and execeuted them both by machine-gun fire. Mussolini was 61 years old. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
Only two days after Mussolini's execution, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker under his headquarters in Berlin. Hitler knew that the Soviet Union was closing in on him and resources with troops had withered down to a bare minimum so he took a cyanide capsule ending his life along with the dream of a 1,000 year Reich. -
Germans Forces Surrender
General Aflred Jodl, the German High Command, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces in Kalshorst, Berlin. This meant that all German armed forces across Europe are to seize fire immediately and return home to Germany. This marked the end of the European war and the end of the Nazi terror. -
V.E. Day
V.E is a day of celebration for the allied countries in europe as it is the day where they celebrate Germany's surrender. On this Victory day, they also thank all the allied soldiers for the bravery they showed on the battlefield. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
The U.S have finally designed there master weapon and plan to drop it on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The Hiroshima bomb was the first atomic bomb ever deployed and its effects were devastating. 80,000 innocent civilians were killed on impact with another couple hundred thousand dying from radiation poisoning not long after. Most of the city became completely leveled with the ground and the Japanese were left shocked and weak. -
Soviet Union Declares War on Japan
The Soviet Union declared war on the Japanese by deploying 1 million troops into Japanese-occupied Machuria. The Japanese had originally not been worried about the Soviet Union as they were so preoccupied with Germany, but they ended up suprising them and striking so hard that the Japanese Emperor Hirohito, started to beg his war council to reconsider surrender. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki
Despite the Hiroshima bomb's devastating effects. The Japanese still were not giving in to unconditional surrender. This led to the dropping of a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, approximately 80,000 people were killed and at this moment, it was only a matter of time before the Japanese gave their unconditional surrender. -
Japanese Surrender - End of WW2
With the fear of utter annihilation coming from the U.S and so many civilians left dead from the bombings. Japan finally surrenders and signs a peace treaty on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. This is the official end of World War 2 meaning peace has finally been bestowed upon the world once again. -
United Nations is Born
The United Nations was basically the worlds solution to stop all world wars from happening before they even began by negotiating and maintaining peace. This meant watching over dictators like Hitler and making sure they never rise up to any kind of power.