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German invasion of Poland (European Theater)
Germany invaded Poland with 1,5 million troops. Hitler's goal was to create 'living' space for the German people who the Nazi's believed were a superior race, though they claimed it was an act of self defense. On August 23rd 1939 Germany signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR to keep them neutral and agreed to divide Poland between them. Germany had annexed Austria, the Sudetenland without resistance from Britain and France, so Hitler believed he could get away with annexing Poland. -
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German invasion of Poland cont'd
In response to the invasion, Britain and France, soon declared war on Germany. Germany used Blitzkrieg tactics to successfully annex Poland. This event is often considered to be the beginning of WWII since finally provoked Britain and France to declare war. -
Britain and France Declare War on Germany (European Theater)
Britain, France and the League of Nations had taken little action when Germany annexed Austria and the Sudetenland. However, when Poland was invaded Britain and France sent an ultimatum to Germany which demanded that they withdraw otherwise they would face war. By September 1st, this ultimatum had expired, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced that Britain was at war. France declared war on Germany the next mourning. This event marked the beginning of WWII. -
Operation Sealion
Operation Sealion was the name given for Hitler's plan to invade Britain. The invasion plan involved different sections of the German military encircling Britain and attacking from all sided. In order for the plan to be successful, Germany would require control of the English channel and the British airspace, and would therefore need to win the Battle of Britain. Because of the Luftwaffe failed to defeat the RAF during the Battle of Britain, the invasion never took place. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain (European Theater)
As Britain became threatened during WWII, many people believed that British prime minister Neville Chamberlain was incompetent in dealing with the war, especially since he appeased Germany previously in the Munich agreement. After the Norway debate, Chamberlain resigned and the Labor party agreed to serve under Winston Churchill as part of a coalition government. Churchill was an important figure during WWII and he made it clear to the public that Britain would not be defeated by Germany. -
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Dunkirk Evacuation (European Theater)
Dunkirk is a small town on the Northern coast of France. As Germany continued their attack on Western Europe, they invaded Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. The British forces in France were pushed back to Dunkirk, where the Dunkirk evacuation or 'Operation Dynamo' began. Many ships, including civilian ships and fishing boats, came to support the evacuation, while the RAF resisted the Luftwaffe. Once the Germans had closed in on Dunkirk over 338,00 soldiers had been saved. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers (European theater. )
Italy entered the war to side with Nazi Germany on June 6th 1940, when it was clear that France was going to be defeated. Both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini had similar ideologies which is what led their countries to becoming allies. -
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Battle of Britain (European Theater)
After France signed an armistice with France, the British Empire was alone in battling Germany, is it had no European allies left. The battle of Britain occurred when the German Luftwaffe launched attacks on British military outposts and air bases in an attempt to gain superiority over Britain's airspace. The Luftwaffe came into combat with the British RAF, and this formed the first all-air battle in history. -
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Battle of Britain CON'D
Britain was in a fairly good position to attack Germany. Germany had poor intelligence regarding Britain's tactics and weaknesses. Furthermore, Germany did not have a navy left after their attack on Norway and Britain had a strong air defense system. Being unable to gain superiority over British airspace, the Luftwaffe changed their system of attack and launched large air raids on many British cities, including London. This began the period known as the 'Blitz', short for Blitzkrieg. -
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Battle of Britain CON'D
The goal of these air raids was to reduce British morale and eventually cause them to surrender. This failed, however, as the war effort in Britain continued on normally when there were no attacks. This is largely due to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who made it clear that Britain would not surrender and helped increase morale among Britain. Germany had failed to annex Britain, however Britain did not have the capacity to successfully invade Germany. This lead the war into a stalemate. -
France signs armistice with Germany (European Theater)
On June 22nd, France surrendered to Germany and signed an armistice. This was six weeks after the war began. The terms of the armistice stated that France was to pay for the cost of the German invasion. After the armistice, Northern France ran under Nazi occupation, while Southern France ran under the Vichy government, which was in collaboration with Germany and the axis powers. Germany's annexation of France could be seen as an act of for the harsh terms of the treaty of Versailles. -
Tripartite Pact Signed (European and Pacific Theaters)
The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was a three way agreement between Germany, Italy and Japan. The terms of the agreement stated that if any of the three nations were attacked the other two would unite against their attackers. One of the main goals of the Tripartite act was to deter the USA from entering the war, which put the three nations in a good position. -
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Siege of Tobruk (North African Theater)
In April 1941, German field Marshall Erwin Rommel wished to take the city of Tobruk, in Libya, so he could advance with the offence on North Africa. During the siege, access to food and water was limited and disease was common. However, morale was not lost. The Australian soldiers called themselves "The Rats of Tobruk" . Eventually the Australian troops were withdrawn and replaced by the British, who lifted the siege. -
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Operation Barbarossa (European Theater)
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Before invading Poland, Germany had signed a non aggression pact with the USSR, causing them to remain neutral initially. However, Hitler had always planned to invade as part of Germany's conquest of Western Europe. Although the invasion initially succeeded, the Germany was not equipped to deal with the conditions of the Russian winter, so the attack eventually failed. Britain had now gained another ally. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor (Pacific Theater)
On the 7th December Japanese planes attacked a US naval base at Pearl Harbor. The attack sank or beached 12 ships and destroyed 160 aircraft. It also killed over 2,300 people. This attack to the US completely by surprise and the naval base was not prepared to deal with it. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan (European and Pacific theaters)
The US had been close to joining the war but still wished to remain neutral. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was done with the aim of deterring the Us from entering the war, however this had the opposite effect, and the next day the US declared war on Japan. Japan's Axis partners Germany and Italy soon declared war on the US and Britain declared war on Japan after their attacks on Singapore. -
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Battle of Stalingrad (European Theater)
The battle of Stalingrad was a major turning point in the European theater during WWII where Germany attacked the city of Stalingrad, in Russia. Germany's primary aim was to secure the oil fields in the Caucasus and to do so they would need to first take Stalingrad. However, some believed that Hitler ordered the attack only because the city was named after Joseph Stalin. The army of the USSR was highly damaged after operation Barbarossa and were intent on not letting Stalingrad fall. -
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Battle of Stalingrad CON'D
This was one of the largest battles during WWII. Germany was able to take some sections of the city during the day but these were re-taken at night. The USSR launched a counter attack on November 17th and surrounded the city, trapping the 6th army inside. They then had to survive the Russian winter which they were ill equipped for. Despite Hitler's orders for them not, eventually they were forced to surrender. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Stalingrad was a major turning point in the war since it cost Germany an entire army and large amounts of equipment. Because of this Germany was unable to defend the Soviet advance on Germany, which helped lead to their defeat. -
Japan Takes Singapore (Pacific Theater)
Japan had decided to attack Singapore, which at the time was a British colony, and on the evening of the Pearl Harbor attack the sent 24,000 troops to the Malaya Peninsula. Japanese and British forces fought for two months and on February 8th 5,000 Japanese troops arrived on Singapore island. Singapore surrendered on which February the 15th which caused Britain to loose its position on the Pacific theater. This was one of the largest military defeats for Britain during WWII. -
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Battle of Midway (Pacific Theater)
The battle of Midway was a naval battle between Japanese and American forces. The Japanese intended to sink the US aircraft carriers that had survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor. American radio nets were able to intercept the Japanese orders and solve their fleet codes. This enabled the US prepare for the attack and eventually win. This victory was major turning point in the Pacific theater, inflicting damage on the Japanese navy. -
D-Day Landings
D-Day was the beginning of the battle of Normandy, code named Operation Overlord, where an invasion force of 156,000 British, American and Canadian troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. Hitler feared an allied invasion of Northern France, however Germany was unaware where the attack would be. Before the landings, a large deception operation was carried out which led Germany to believe the invasion would take place at Pas-de-Calais. -
D-Day landing CON'D
The allies successfully secured the five Normandy beaches, code named Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah and Omaha, landing over 326,000 troops there, as well as 50,000 vehicles. From there the allied troops continued across France and by the end of August they successfully they reached the Seine river and liberated Paris. This put the allied troops in a position to advance into Germany, along with the Soviets. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battles fought on the Western front during WWII. This was a final attempt from Germany to defend themselves by separating the US and British army and retake the port Antwerp. Even though they ultimately failed, they did manage to create a bulge in the American lines, which is where the battle's name came from. Among those killed were approximately 3,000 civilians, some of which were executed by the German military. -
Mussolini Captured and Executed
As the allied were advancing on the Italian peninsula, it was clear that Italy and the axis powers would soon be defeated. Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci attempted to escape into Switzerland, since they were a neutral country. This did not work, however, as the Swiss guards at the boarder had become partisans. While Mussolini attempted to disguise as a Luftwaffe member and sneak into Austria, he and Petacci were recognized by partisans ans shot. -
Hitler Commits Suicide (European Theater)
During the end of WWII the Soviet army were advancing on Berlin and Outnumbered the German army 15-1. Despite this Hitler was determined not to surrender and anyone who displayed a white flag outside their house was shot. After is was confirmed to him that Berlin would be lost to the Soviet Union, Hitler committed suicide with his wife, Eva Braun, who he married just two days earlier. He ordered their bodies to be burned. -
German Forces Surrender (European Theater)
On May 7th, 1945 Germany signed an unconditional surrender with the allies at their headquarters in Reims. This marked the end of the war in the European theater. However the war was not over since Japan was still fighting. -
V.E day (European Theater)
V.E refers to 'Victory in Europe', which was declared one day after Germany surrendered. Though there were many celebrations, people were still aware that the war in the Pacific theater would need to be won before WWII could end. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima CON'D
An atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima as a quick solution by US president Harry Truman in an attempt to end the war quickly by getting Japan to surrender. 80,000 people were killed instantly in the blast, and many more were killed from the radiation that followed. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima (Pacific Theater)
Although the US had the capacity to successfully attack Japan, it was clear that such an invasion would result in a huge number of casualties. The US had been attempting to develop an atomic weapon, since they had been warned by Albert Einstein that Germany was attempting to do the same. The first successful nuclear weapons test took place in July 1945, after Germany surrendered. -
Soviet Union Declares War on Japan (European and Pacific Theaters)
On August 8 1945, shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima, the USSR declared war on Japan. This was followed by an invasion of Manchuria, where they deployed 1 million soldiers. If the Soviet Union were to attack Japan they have gained large parts of Asia. Because of this the US feared they were gaining too much power. -
Japanese surrender (Pacific Theater)
From August 14th to September 2nd, Japan surrendered to the allies. Japan's Emperor Showa announced his decision to surrender over public radio. This event marked the end of WWII. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki (Pacific Theater)
The bombing of Hiroshima had not been enough to provoke the Japanese into surrendering, so just three days later another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Some believed that the US bombing Japan had two intentions - to end the war with Japan quickly, but also to display their military power to the USSR, who they believed were gaining two much power. There are also some who believe that, even though the atomic bombs ended WWII they also served as a cause of the Cold War. -
United Nations is Born (All Theaters)
The United Nations was formed shortly after the end of WWII, succeeding the league of nations formed after WWI, and it consisted of 51 allied countries. The war had a huge impact across the world. The aim of the United Nations was to establish cooperation between countries in order solve problems on an international scale, so nothing like the war could happen again.