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Germany invades Poland
On September 1st, 1939, German forces were ordered on Hitler's command to invade Polish territory from East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south. The German troops attacked in both froms of air and on land and once they had broken through Polish defences along the border, they were able to advance on Warsaw. Hitler's objective was to regain the lost land, to rule Poland and expand his growing Nazi Empire. This invasion sparked the beginning of World War II. -
Britain & France declare war on Germany
Honouring their sworn obligations to Poland, Britain and France were quick to send Hitler commands, demanding his withdrawal from the occuring invasion. Hitler refused to listen and continued on with his attack, resulting in Prime Minister Chamberlain to announce on the 3rd of September, 1939, that their country was now at war with Germany. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minsiter of Britain
The month prior had seen Chamberlain fall ill-equipped for the task of saving Europeans from the advancing Nazi Party. After the British forces failed to secure Norway from German occupation, many of Chamberlains supporters left him. By May 10th, Chamberlain had lost all confidence of the House of Commons and that same day, Hitler invaded Holland, Belguim and the Netherlands and due to Chruchill's military leadership ability, he was appointed Prime Minister of Britain in place of Chamberlain. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
It all began on the 10th of May with the German's advanced on French territory. After days of war, General Viscount Gort, Commander of the BEF, could see that the Nazis were getting the upper hand against his desperately fighting army. Gort knew that he had to evacuate France immediately if any of his troops were to survive and this evacuation by Naval vessels and civillian boats began May 26th. It ended on June 4th, after 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belguim troops had been saved. -
Italy enters war, siding with the Axis powers
Italy enters war against Britain and France on the 10th of June, 1940, after withholding an alliance with either side for a long period of time. It is believed that Italy joined the Axis powers to claim wealth from the spoils of war, as Mussolini stated that he wanted in before the capitulation of France was completed due to fascism. The two countries had also been wooing Italy for some time due to concessions in Africa and of course, the urging Nazis, would've had some input into this decision. -
France signs a armistice with Germany
The French army surrender to Nazi Germany when an armistice is set up by Petain and signed by the French on the 22nd of June, 1940. With an already fallen Paris and a German strive to continue their conquest on France, after a change in decisions by many of those of importance to the French, Petain, vice premier of France at the time, made the decision of which lead the French army to be disbanded, over half of their territory to be occupied by the Germans and additional funds to be paid. -
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Battle of Britain
After occupying France, the Germans turned their attention to Britain and began an attack that included four phases. To start with, on the 10th of July, Hitler sent in his Luftwaffe bombers to attack British ports, followed by bombing raids concentrated on the RAF in August, then the Blitz in September of which destroyed much of London and lastly, a series of nightly bombing raids to attack other large cities. By October 31st, the RAF managed to defend the skies and cease the raids upon them. -
Tripartite Pact signed
During the large scale event of the Battle of Britain, a mutual alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan is signed. This becomes known as the Tripartite Pact of which ensures the countries with mutual assistance should any of signatories suffer from an attack by any nation not already involved in the war. The formality of the act was aimed directly at the United States, intending to force them to consider their options before joining the war on the wrong side of the battle, meaning the Allies. -
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was the name for the planned invasion on Britain. Hitler, creator of the attack, had originally desired for its occurrence on August 16th but it was deemed too unrealistic. After various meetings, it was said to be pushed back until fall the following year but Hitler refused to agree with that and instead went with late September. Through changed plans, the Battle of Britain, other affecting factors and the Nazis defeat against Britain, the invasion was never put into action. -
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Siege of Tobruk
Many small scale events initiated by various countries occurred in the lead up to The Siege of Tobruk of which officially began on April 10th and lasted for almost 8 months. With the Germans attacking on March 31st, to their advance along the coast leading to the of occupation of Benghazi in early April, the British's plan for retreat was far to predictable, causing them to hold their stance alongside the 9th Australian Division and allied soldiers. The attacks continued until November 27th. -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler was apparently much rather interested in the forthcoming attack on Russia than invading Britain with his Sea Lion Operation and therefore created Operation Barbarossa. Hitler invaded the Soviet Union on the 22nd of June, 1941, sending over 3 million troops and 3,500 tanks. This took the Russians by much surprised due to a signed treaty from 1939. Hitler intensions were to expand his 'master race' by gaining living space in the east, causing the launch of battle on the Eastern front. -
Bombing of Pearl Habor
The bombing of Pearl Harbor was initiated by the Japanese of which were already at war with the Chinese. The bombing, in a time frame of two hours, managed to kill around 2,300 Americans and to destroy nearly 20 naval vessels and over 300 planes. The attack on the US pacific fleet was done as an act of warning and as a sign of the beginning of the occupation of those who formed or helped the Allies. The day after, Congress approved Roosevelt's declaration and three days after, the US is at war. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
As an act of revenge and defiance, the US join the Allies and declare war, with Britain alongside, against the Japanese. This occurs the day following the bombing of Pearl Harbor with Roosevelt quick to ask Congress to approve his declaration of war. This happens in the effect of immediately, putting the US to war. With this declaration in action, the Japanese use their own advantages and come back with both the Italians and the Germans, resulting in them also, to declare war against the US. -
Japan take Singapore
The fall of Singapore occurred on the 15th of February, 1942, after more than two months of battle between the Japanese and the British forces that were situated on the Malay Peninsula. Between the months of December and January, many civilians and troops were killed and once the 8,500 Japanese troops landed on the island, flogged the British and distributed their propaganda leaflets encouraging surrender, the British had no choice but to surrender, resulting in over 60,000 taken as prisoner. -
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway occurred 6 months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor but this time saw the US come out on top rather than the Japanese. This naval battle was particualry crucial during WWII and due to advances in code breaking, the US were able to anticipate the Japanese's plans and ultimately damage the Japanese Navy. This victory was a key turning point in the Pacific campaign for not only the US but for the Allies as it enabled them to move into an offensive position against the Axis. -
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First Battle of El Alamein
The month prior to the First Battle of El Alamein had seen British success in driving the Germans into a defensive position. This didn't last for long as the Axis repelled hard with air and tank attacks, causing the British to retreat to El Alamein, Egypt. On July 1st, Rommel launched his attack but was halted by the Allies that same day. The same thing happened the next day and by day five, Rommel's army was exhaust causing them to go back into a defensive stance with an ordered pause of rest. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad lasted for quite some time and occurred along the Eastern Front of Southern Russia. After months of war, as a result, the Russians managed to stop the German's from advancing into the Soviet Union and expanding their empire. The battle marked a turning point in war in favour of the Allies, with the defeat much rather felt as humiliation than pain, due to Hitler's intensions. He believed he would be victorious as the win was vital for his empire but that wasn't the case. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
Although Auchinleck managed to stop Rommel earlier that year, Churchill was becoming increasingly impatient with progress in the Western Desert and therefore handed command over to Montgomery. An attack was launched by Montgomery in El Alamein on October 23rd. To begin with, Hitler managed to block an initial retreat, enabling Rommel to withdraw his men into Tunisia. After ten gurgling days however, an Allied victory came through, leaving the Axis powers on the brink of extermination. -
D-Day Landings
D-Day Landings, codenamed Operation Overload, was a massive launched attack on Germany's forces in Normandy, Western France. Carried out by the Allies, an army of thousands was transported by the command of general Eisenhower to the Normandy beaches of where they intended to capture a port. German superiors had been fed false information about a landing near Calais and had to rush troops to the beaches to try and prevent the Allies from forming a solid bridgehead, of which didn't succeed. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was Germany's last major attempt of an offensive campaign. Hitler intended to spilt the Allies armies by launching his attacks through the Western Front of the Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France and Luxembourg. As the German army went in further in attempt to secure bridgeheads, as smart as the plan was, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge and successful manoeuvred their forces, resulting in the neutralisation of German defence. -
Mussolini captured and executed
Whilst attempting to flee Switzerland due to the fact that he didn't want to be in the hands of the British nor the US or the recent title of being a war criminal, on the 28th of April, 1945, Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were captured and shot by Italian partisans. The pair were discovered by partisan guards at the Swiss border despite their attempt for disguise. They were both shot on site with their bodies immediately being transported to Milan for publicity to the nation. -
Hitler commits suicide
The last couple of years of the war, prior to Hitler's suicide, were very doom and gloom for Germany. At the beginning of WWII, Germany was powerful and claimed much territory from other countries, but that very quickly dispersed as the Allies took control. The constant defeats didn't sit well with Hitler as he grew increasingly mad but that didn't stop him from giving out orders until he lost his position. From there, Hitler retreated to his bunker, where he and Eva Braun committed suicide. -
German forces surrender
After the death of Adolf Hitler, Karl Donitz is left to carry out Nazi surrender to the Allies as defeat is imminent. Berlin is conquered by the Soviet Union on May 2nd, something that Hitler stated would never happen, therefore leaving Donitz and the Nazis no other choice but to surrender. This moment in history signifies the end of WWII and the Germans defeat for the second time around. An official signing of the surrender occurs the following day at a ceremony, remembered now as V.E day. -
V.E. day
V.E. day or otherwise known as Victory-in-Europe day is still celebrated on the 8th of May in various European countries to date. It is a day of significance, remarking not only the acceptance by the Allies of World War II of the Nazis unconditional surrender of its forces, but the end German war. The war was horrific as millions were devastatingly effected but seeing it come to an end as it did, for sure marks a date in history worth reflecting on and rejoicing as we have learnt much from it. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
With the death of Italian leader Mussolini and the Nazis surrender, it was almost intended that the Japanese surrender but they refused to conceal. This caused much difficultly and led to upset the Allies, resulting in the US to drop an atomic bomb on the island of Hiroshima to get their point across. The bomb immediately killed around 80,000, injured 35,000 and another 60,000 would be dead by the end of that year from effects of the fallout. This left the Japanese far to devastated to react. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
A few days following the drop of the atomic bomb, the Soviet Union declared war on the Japanese by invading Manchuria, North East China, with more than one millions soldiers. This attack was put into action as America's bomb didn't lead the Japanese to surrender. This attack was taken by surprise as the Japanese hadn't been too concerned with the Soviet Unions actions. After just days of battle, Emperor Hirohito began to plead his War Council to reconsider surrender, causing members to waver. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The Japanese's refusal to surrender yet again led to another atomic bomb being dropped upon them. The US, the second time around, attacked the island of Nagasaki of which they originally intended to attack on the 11th of August but due to the declaration of war and terrible weather set out for that date, the bombing was pushed ahead of schedule. This finally, after much effort and many casualties, resulted in the ultimate surrender of the Japanese to the Allies, signalling the end of WWII. -
Japanese surrender - End of WWII
The Japanese, after much destruction, finally give into surrender and end the events of the Second World War after what was about six gruelling years of battle. The countries navy and air force was destroyed, the cities were ruins and the economy was devastated. The Allies left the Japanese weak and vulnerable, basically enforcing the surrender upon them. It was a smart move and one that resulted in the end of war between the nations. The Japanese could've prevented this but refused to give in. -
United Nation is born
On the 24th of October, 1945, following the destruction and resolution of WWII, the United Nations Charter, of which was originally adopted and signed on June 26th earlier that year, was now ready to be enforced. The United Nation was deemed a necessity to serve as a better determinant of international conflict and as a means of peace to replace the old League of Nations. This Nation was put into action after WWII as the conflict was a world phenomenon that left many devastated.
