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Germany invades Poland
In 1939, the German army invades Poland from land and from the air, Hitler believes the territory belongs to him. The technology and numbers of the polish army were simply no match for the modern and mass numbers of the Nazis. Within one day of the invasion Hitler was setting up SS regiments to terrorise the citizens and round up the Jews. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
At around 9am on September 3 1939 Neville Chamberlain delivered an ultimatum to Hitler stating that if he didnt withdraw his troops from poland a state of war would exist between them. At 11am Hitler had not withdrawn his troops and Neville Chamberlain delivered the news that war now exists between them. -
Winston Churchill becomes prime minister
Due to the dissatisfaction of Neville Chamberlains decisions the British people decided to elect a new prime ministers. On the 10th of May 1940 Winston Churchill was sworn in to be the new prime minister. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk
The German army trapped British and French troops in the Belgian area of Dunkirk. The evacuation lasted nine days and it was the biggest of its time saving around 338,000 troops from being captured by the German forces. On the 4th of June the operation came to an end and the German forces closed in -
Italy enters war on side of Axis Powers
Before june 10 italy didn’t plead allegiance to either side of the war but on this day Mussolini devoted his troops to the nazi cause. -
France signs armistice with Germany
On june the 22nd france surrenders to the Nazis after the fall of all of their major cities including paris. The newly appointed prime minister Marshal Henri Petain who was a war hero in world war 1 -
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battle of britain
Britain and Germany finally met in battle in the skies of Great Britain. However, the Nazis underestimated the sheer might of Britain’s air forces and were obliterated by the superior force. This battle was significant because not only did it spare Britain from ground assault, it also demonstrated the uses of military planes in WWII. -
Operation sea lion
Operation Sea lion was a planned attack on Great Britain by sea, from the German forces, who in theory would invade the island whilst the air force overwhelmed England. However, the attack never went through, due to the Nazis failing to win the Battle of Britain. -
Tripartite pact sign
The signing of the Tripartite Pact cemented the alliance of the Axis Powers: Germany, Italy and Japan. The Pact supposedly guaranteed assistance from the other participants, should an Axis powers’ land be attacked. The reason for the publicised official nature of the signing was to intimidate the United States and to keep them neutral. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was a 241-day battle in the Western Desert Campaign in 1941. After defeating the Italian 10th army during Operation Compass, the British were attacked by the German and Italian reinforcements, forcing them to retreat into the border of Egypt. The allied troops the garrison at Tobruk to deprive the axis forces of the use of the essential port at the Egypt-Libya border . -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union. The attack involved over 3,500 Tanks and 3 million Axis troops. The German forces attacked the Soviets because Hitler wanted more “living space” for the German people, as well as to expand his agricultural industry upon the Russian fields. What he didn’t expect was the ferocity of the Soviet’s retaliation. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbour
The Japanese bomb pearl harbour. The bombing killed over 2,300 Americans, utterly destroying the USS Arizona, Capsizing the USS Oklahoma over 160 aircrafts were destroyed and a further 150 were damaged. The surprise attack on the US made it certain that they had to enter the war. -
Britain and the US declare war on Japan
Following Japan’s surprise bombing of Pearl Harbour, Britain and France were basically forced into declaring war, escalating again the severity and range of the War. -
Japan takes Singapore
Singapore stood as a strong British colony, and on the eve of Pearl Harbour around 24k Japanese soldiers entered the Malay Peninsula from Indochina. After a battle during December and January, the British Forces were ordered to retreat. 100s of civilian deaths. On February 18, 5000 Japanese troops landed on Singapore Island, tearing apart the outnumbered British. 62,000 British soldiers captured, many POW killed, following British surrender of Singapore. -
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battle of midway
6 months following the Pearl harbour bombings, the Japanese had planned another assault on the States, with aircrafts and ships. However, by intercepting Japanese codes, the Americans were able to foresee the coming attack, and won thanks to this strategic advantage. -
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The battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the USSR’s successful defence of their city. Stalingrad (now Volgograd). It stopped the Nazi’s advance into Russia and ultimately turned the war in favour of the Allies. -
D-day landings
A large number of paratroopers and lightweight plane troops behind enemy lines, securing barricades and streets. The land and water intrusions started at 6:30 a.m. -
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Battle of the bulge
Hitler uses Blitzkrieg offensive against the Allies in the Ardennes Mountains. The Battle got its name from the formation of the Allied defence, which managed to neutralise the German assault, however sustained heavy casualties. -
Mussolini captured and Executed
The dictator of Italy, Mussolini and his wife Clara were killed by an Italian man who had captured them while the couple tried leaving Switzerland. -
Hitlers suicide
Hitler hid in his underground bunker as his empire crumbled above him. He and his wife took cyanide pills to avoid the consequences for what they had done, and Hitler shot himself to make sure he died, to try to escape revenge from the Soviets. -
German forces surrender
German forces laid down their arms following the suicide of the Fuhrer in his bunker below. They feared above all the Soviet troops. -
Victory in Europe
Great Britain and the United States, as well as other Allied supporters across Europe and around the world, rejoiced as the Nazi war machine was defeated at last. The German forces laid down their arms, and feared above all being taken as prisoners by the USSR. The soviets took approximately 2 million German prisoners of war during this period. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
On this day America dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima named little boy. It immediately ended world war 2 and some say it started the cold war. -
Soviet Union declare war on Japan
The USSR sent 1 million troops into Japanese occupied Manchuria as well as North Eastern China, to take on Japan’s army of 700K. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The atomic bomb "fat man" was dropped on nagasaki resulting in around 80,000 deaths. although having a higher firepower then "little boy" it didn't kill as many people -
Japanese surrender
Following the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ( as well as the USSR’s declaration of war and subsequent invasion) the resilient Supreme War Council was finally convinced Japan should concede the war, and WWII finally drew to a close. -
The United Nations is born
U.N. Charter were first made at the San Francisco Conference. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin also attended by representatives of 50 nations, including 9 continental European states, 21 North, Central, and South American republics, 7 Middle Eastern states, 5 British Commonwealth nations, 2 Soviet republics (in addition to the USSR itself), 2 East Asian nations, and 3 African states all attended this conference.
