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Germany invades Poland
This event is widely regarded as the catalyst for WWII. Adolf Hitler ordered his German troops to invade Poland so they could use the country for living space for his Aryan race. They used the land to build ghettos and concentration camps. By invading Poland, Hitler had broken the Treaty of Versailles. He believed that he could do whatever he wanted because Britain and France had appeased him for so long. Britain and France finally acted, beginning WWII. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
On this day, Britain and France finally acted on Germany by declaring war on them. In the UK at 11:15am, Neville Chamberlain announced that Britain was at war with Germany because they had breached their two-day deadline for the removal of their troops from Poland. France also declared war on Germany that day. France told Germany in Berlin that unless they removed their troops from Poland by 5pm that they would be in a state of war. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
On this date, Winston Churchill succeeded Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister of Britain. The war had been going for 8 months and Neville Chamberlain’s poor actions had lost the confidence of his party, his government and his country. Winston Churchill was instated as Prime Minister and he immediately united the government and created a sense of unity throughout the country in a time that unity was desperately needed. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
The Dunkirk Evacuation's aim was to evacuate Allied troops from the French port of Dunkirk due to the fact that Germany was invading parts of France at the time. Over 300,000 Allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk. However, it left the English Channel unprotected. It also meant that virtually all of the heavy artillery and weapons had to be left at Dunkirk. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers
Preluding the war, Benito Mussolini, the Prime Minister of Italy, was becoming increasingly interested in Adolf Hitler and his regime. Italy was not involved in WWI but they decided to enter the second war on the side with Germany and Japan, often referred to as the villains of WWII. Italy entered the war as part of the Axis Powers because the three countries shared common interests of what they aimed to get out of the war- more land and the destruction of communism. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the first military campaign to be fought solely in the air. It was fought between the British RAF and the German Luftwaffe. It was named the Battle of Britain after a speech by Winston Churchill. Hitler saw a German victory in the battle as a way to gain access to Britain in order to carry out Operation Sealion. The RAF defeated the Germans however. -
France signs armistice with Germany
Hitler dictates that the French capitulation take place at Compiegne, a forest north of Paris. This is the same spot where twenty-two years earlier the Germans had signed the Armistice ending World War I. Hitler intended to avenge the Germans by disgracing the French. To deepen the humiliation of the French, he ordered that the signing ceremony take place in the same railroad car that hosted the earlier surrender. -
Tripartite Pact signed
The Tripartite Pact was signed between the Axis Powers on the 27th of September, 1940. Representatives of Germany, Italy and Japan signed the treaty which was a way to formalise the alliance between the three nations. The treaty dictated that if one of the nations was attacked, the other countries would come to its assistance by supplying military aid. The Axis Powers tried to recruit other countries to the axis powers during the war, Bulgaria joining in the November of the same year. -
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was the name given to Hitler’s plan to invade the Great Britain in late 1940. However, this invasion never occurred due to Germany losing the Battle of Britain. Two army groups, Army Group A and Army Group B would invade Kent and Dorset respectively. Once this was achieved, Army Group A would separate and encircle London. It did not occur because control of the skies, the English Channel and good weather was needed, as well as Hitler’s support. They did not have all of this. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk occurred at the port of Tobruk in Libya over 241 days. Tobruk in Libya had become home to Italians and the Allied Forces came and created a Garrison at Tobruk, using their limited supplies to prevent the Italians and Germans, led by Erwin Rommel, to break the siege. This is widely regarded as one of Australia's most important efforts in WWII, with more than half of the 'Rats of Tobruk' being Australian soldiers. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa, also known as Operation Fritz, was the name given to the Germans plan to invade the Soviet Union. It began on the 22nd of June, 1941 and was unsuccessful. This was a turning point in the course of the war because this was one of the first times that the Axis Powers had been defeated in Europe. The failed invasion was the beginning of the end for the Third Reich. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbour
On the 7th of December, 1941, the Japanese attacked the USA. They bombed the naval base of Pearl Harbour, near Honolulu in Hawaii, causing over 2000 casualties, over 1000 others injured in the attack. The bombing of Pearl Harbour brought the USA into the war, which they had avoided for two years. The day after the bombing, they declared war on Japan, joining the war on the side of the Allies. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
The day after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the USA and Britain declared war on Japan. They made their declarations on the 8th of December, 1941. On this date and the following days, Panama, Australia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, The Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, China and many others also declared war on Japan and the Axis Powers. This was significant because the USA joining the war meant a very large military force joining the Allies to win the war. -
Japan take Singapore
On the 15th of February, 1942, Singapore fell to Japan. Singapore was a British colony at the time and was home to a British naval base. In 1941, Singapore was bombed by Japan. The invasion of Singapore was a devastating loss to the British. They had been expecting the Japanese to enter Singapore from the sea and their other intelligence meant that they were ill-prepared for the battle that the Japanese brought with them. -
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is noted for occurring exactly 6 months after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. One of the most important Naval battles of the war, the battle was fought between the USA and the Japanese with the USA annihilating their opponent. The Japanese Naval fleet never truly recovered after this battle. It allowed the Allies to move from the defensive to the offensive. -
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First Battle of El Alamein
After defeat in Libya, General Rommel's Afrika Korps managed to push the British soldiers into Egypt, forcing them to flee and leave many of their weapons in Libya. The First Battle of El Alamein began in Egypt, with the Allied soldiers defeating the Axis soldiers and forcing them back into the defensive. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The battle began with the Nazis bombing the Soviet city of Stalingrad. Stalingrad was named after Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union. Hitler's hatred of Stalin led him to attack the city and for 6 bloody months of battle, they Germans and Russians fought. The Germans were defeated however, with around 150,000 German soldiers dying within the duration of the battle. It was an embarrassing defeat for Germany, but it meant that Stalin gained confidence. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein was a decisive victory for the allies, forcing General Rommel's troops into Tunisia. It ended Hitler's hopes of adding Egypt to his empire and it ended the Axis' hopes of controlling the Suez Canal and accessing the Middle Eastern Oil Fields. -
D-Day Landings
The D-Day Landings, also known as the Normandy Landings, occurred on the 6th of June, 1944. The D-Day Landings were led by the Allied forces against the Germans, with the Allies landing in Normandy, France. Leading up to the landings, the Germans were misled over the target of the invasion. The landings were the beginning of the Allies final push to end the war, all of Northern France being liberated by the end of August, 1944, and Germany being defeated in the next year. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge occurred in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Western Front. It was the Germans last offensive of the war, which would end later in the year. The Germans attempted to push the Allies front line into Belgium. It was an attempt to split the Allied troops. It received its name from the way that the Germans created a bulge around the Ardennes Forest whilst disrupting the Americans defensive line. -
Mussolini captured and executed
On this day, Benito Mussolini and his mistress Claretta Petacci were executed by partisans as they attempted to flee the Italy. Mussolini hoped to make it to neutral territory but the guards were partisans. Mussolini then donned a Luftwaffe uniform and tried to sneak into Austria with his mistress, blending with German soldiers. This proved unsuccessful and he and his mistress were shot, their bodies brought back to Milan and hung upside down. Their bodies were desecrated by the public. -
Hitler commits suicide
Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, his wife, committed suicide on this day. The Third Reich was falling and Germany was losing the war. The Soviets had changed sided and were on their way to take Berlin. Hitler and Braun, his wife of two days, killed their dogs and took cyanide capsules. Hitler also shot himself in the head. This occurred in his underground bunker in Berlin. The Germans surrendered 8 days later. -
German forces surrender
On this day, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allied Forces. This occurred 8 days after Adolf Hitler committed suicide, leaving Karl Donitz responsible for surrendering. Germany was not allowed any say in the conditions of their surrender. Their surrender ended the war in Europe. -
V.E. Day
V.E. Day is the day that the German forces completely surrendered and stopped fighting. It was celebrated widely through Britain and America, with thousands of British POWs being released from imprisonment. On this day, many German soldiers were captured by the Soviet Union, taken as POWs. V.E. Day is still celebrated in some places today, with the Americans traditionally celebrating V.J. Day as well. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
On this day, American pilots flew a plane called the Enola Gay over Hiroshima in Japan, dropping a nuclear bomb on the city. This was the first ever use of nuclear weapons ever. The bomb immediately killed over 80,00 people, poisoning countless others. The aim of this act was for Japan to unconditionally surrender from the war, which they didn't. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
On this day, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. This was two days after the dropping of the first Atomic Bomb over Hiroshima. The Japanese did not surrender after this so the Soviet Union declared war on them and surprised them by invading the Japanese held town of Manchuria in China. The Soviet Union's army was strong and the Japanese were surprised and underestimated their capabilities. This began to prompt discussions over surrender by the Japanese government. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
As the dropping of the bomb over Hiroshima had not caused the surrender of the Japanese, the Americans dropped another bomb over a different place in Japan, Nagasaki. At least 60,000 people died instantly. The bomb did have the desired effect, with the Japanese surrendering the next day. However, it is believed that it was the spark that ignited the cold war between the USA and the Soviet Union. It also left a legacy of radiation illnesses and wounded people. -
Japanese surrender- End of WWII
On this day, the Japanese formally surrendered, ending the war. Their military forces were destroyed and the Americans had captured the island Okinawa and were preparing to invade. They had been bombed twice by the USA using nuclear weapons. On the 15th of August, 1945, the Japanese agreed to the terms set out in the Potsdam Declaration, the terms saying that they must surrender unconditionally. They surrendered and in the next month, the ceremony was held, officially ending the war. -
United Nations is born
Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt sent out a declaration which was signed by 26 countries. The declaration was one announcing the formation of the United Nations, an international organisation which would act as a council with every country as part. It dictated rules for the proceedings after the war and it set up preventative measures to prevent another disaster like WWII.
