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Invasion of Poland
Location: Poland
Germany invaded all sides of Poland, the Soviet Union invaded eastern front. Germany broke all of Poland's defenses in a matter of weeks using sheer numbers and power. After breaching the borders Germany advanced straight to Warsaw, they surrendered on September 27th. The Soviet Union invaded Poland on September 17th. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
Location: Britain, France After Germany invaded Poland, which was not only an act that breached the Treaty of Versailles but also the Munich agreement, both Britain and France declared war on Germany. At 11:15 Britains Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany. France followed 6 hours later after Germany failed to recall their troops from Poland. The resulting factors are mass destruction for all parties involved. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Location: Britain After Neville Chamberlain lost confindence vote in the House of Commons. This was due to Britain's failed attempt to prevent Germany from invading Norway in April 1940. Churchill is appointed Prime Minster in Chamberlain's place, known for his military leadership abilities which the country was in dire need of. Churchill was elected Prime Minister on May 10th 1940. Churchill's plan was to lead Britain through the war and to victory. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
Location: Dunkirk, Belgian coast After being surrounded by the German army and losing the battle of France, British, French and Belgian troops were evacuated in large numbers. In total 338,226 troops were evacuated using over 800 boats. Whilst the Allies saved hundreds of thousands of troops, they lost ground and lost over 100,000 troops during the French campaign. "We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations." Churchill -
Italy enters the war on the side of the Axis powers
Location: Italy After the defeat of France was apparent, Italy joined the Axis powers. The Axis alliance consisted of Germany, Japan and Italy. Each nation wanted territorial expansion and then total domination. Italy would launch attacks against Greece and East and North Africa, these would fail and the idea of a restored 'Roman Empire' slowly became distant. -
France signs armistice with Germany
Location: Compiègne, France The signing of the armistice took effect on June 25th, 1940. The armistice outlined the surrender of France and Germany occupation in selected areas. The location of the signing was chosen by Hitler himself, it took place where the Germans surrendered to France in WWI. He picked the location to show that Germany has achieved revenge. The ramifications of the armistce were that France was now under Nazi Germany and they were one of the major Allies. -
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Battle of Britain
Location: Britain airspace The battle that was a major turning point in the war. It was the defense of Britain against Nazi air force, the plan was to scare Britain into a negotiated peace settlement. The campaign only took place in British airspace as the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended against the Nazi air force (Luftwaffe). They were successful, saving Britain and depleting the German air resources. This victory also led to the postponing of Operation Sea Lion and eventual cancelation of it. -
Operation Sea Lion
Location: Britain The code name Operation Sea Lion was given by Hitler, it was a planned attack and invasion of Great Britain. However, due to their loss in the battle of Britain, the German predicted the plan would fail and canceled it. The attack, if carried out, would have won Germany the war. -
Tripartite Pact Signed
Location: Berlin, Germany Also known as the Berlin pact, this is when the axis powers were officially allies in the war. The pact stated that if Germany, Italy or Japan was attacked by a country not already involved in the war, the others would assist. This caused the war to become more complicated for the allies. Hungary was later dragged into the pact by Germany in November 1940. -
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Siege of Tobruk
Location: Tobruk, Lybia This was the siege of the Western Defense Force for territorial control and power. German forces accompanied by Italian reinforcements battled with the Allied forces over control of Tobruk, this included Australia (who defended Tobruk), Britain, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The end result was that Britain relieved Tobruk on the 27th of November. -
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Operation Barbarossa
Location: Soviet Union This was Hitler's plan to invade the Soviet Union (USSR). Even though the two nations had signed political and economic pacts Germany decided to invade the Soviet Union. Other countries that were on Germanies side were Romania, Italy, Finland, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Croatia. At first, the plan was going well, Germany was gaining very important economical areas. However, the USSR launched a counter-offensive and halted the German and axis forces. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Location: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii This was a surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy. This attack was to prevent the US from interfering with Japans other operations around Southeast Asia. The end result was what Japan anticipated, they had a major tactical victory and brought America into the war. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
Location: Britain, France Following the events of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Rosevelt asked the US Congress to declare war on Japan. Britain followed soon after Japan attacked Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. -
Japan takes Singapore
Location: Malaya Japan Invaded the British stronghold in Singapore. There was resistance long after the initial surrender but most British, Australian and New Zealand troops were held as prisoners. Over 100,000 were held during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. -
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Battle of Midway
Location: Midway Atoll An ambush by the Japan Navy against the US Navy. However, it was poor judgment and tactical decision making that led to Japans defeat. US cryptographers were able to find the planned date and time of the ambush, warning the Navy in advance allowing them to come up with their own ambush plan. This was considered a pivotal turning point in the Pacific campaign. -
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First battle of El Alamein
Location: El Alamein, Egypt The axis powers (Germany and Italy) were trying to gain control of North Africa. They successfully pushed the British back and were mounting a second attack. However with the help from Australian, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa troops they were able to defend their ground, causing the battle to become a standstill, allowing each side to gather resources and mount offensives. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Location: Stalingrad, Soviet Union Germany's major offensive on the Eastern Front, fighting against the Soviet Union for control over the city Stalingrad. It was considered one of the largest and most gruesome battles in the war. Over 2 million people died and even more wounded. Germany had Italy, Romania, Hungary and Croatia helping them, the battle came to a close with a decisive victory for the Soviet Union. This became a major turning point because Germany had lost lots of resources. -
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Second battle of El Alamein
Location: El Alamein, Egypt There was a change in command on the allied side. General Claude Auchinleck who won the first battle and stopped Rommel was unable to do anymore. Churchill became impatient and ordered General Bernard Montgomery in charge of the Western Desert Campaign. This proved effective, the strategy was to wait for reinforcements and then mount an assault. This worked and led the British, Australian, New Zealand, South African, French and US forces to victory. -
D-Day landings
Location: Normandy, France More commonly known as the Normandy landings, it was the Allied invasion of Normandy. Codenamed Operation Neptune the invasion was carried out through the sea and was the beginning of the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe. Those involved were Britain, US, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland. The outcome was a victory for the allies and a big blow for the axis powers. -
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Battle of the Bulge
Location: The Ardennes: Belgium, Luxembourg Hitler's last stand against the allied forces. This was an all out attack in an attempt to split the allied forces and encircle them, ultimately destroying them. This at first seemed to work, having caught the allies off guard, this was short lived and the allies prevailed with the Germans unable to replace the men and resources were defeated. This is considered to be a battle that ended the war. Britain, US, France, Canada and Belgium were involved. -
Mussolini captured and executed
Location: Dongo, Italy The war over Europe was coming to a quick close, The capture of Mussolini happened whilst he was travelling with other fascist leaders in a German convoy. A group of communist partisans halted the convoy, they made a deal with the Germans that if they could have the rest of them the Germans could continue. They agreed and Mussolini was put under arrest. He was subsequently killed the following night. This was less important, with the allies about to capture Germany. -
Hitler commits suicide
Location: Berlin, Germany The man who started the European war ended it himself. Adolf Hitler committed suicide just a single day after marrying his wife. After launching the last offensive he chose to stay in Berlin knowing that he was going to be found and killed. He locked himself away in his underground bunker, there he took a cyanide capsule and shot himself with a pistol. As he requested, his body was cremated by Nazi officers. His body was never found, some people believe he survived. -
German forces surrender
Location: Reims, France After the death of Adolf Hiter and the German forces depleted, the allies advanced on Berlin. When they had captured it, Germany was forced to sign the unconditional surrender of German forces, Eastern and Western. This marked the end of the European war. -
V.E. day
Location: Europe This was known as Victory in Europe day. It was a public holiday celebrating the surrender of Nazi Germany. However the war in Asia was not over as the US and Japan were still in a state of war, -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
Location: Hiroshima, Japan America was trying to find a way to bring the war to a speedy end. They had been testing nuclear weaponry in the past years and were ready to put it into action. President Harry S. Truman was told that it would be impossible to mount an invasion of Japan, it would lead to many American casualties. So he ordered the atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima, it killed over 100,000 people. They followed with a second bomb on Nagasaki. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
Location: Manchukuo, Japan The Soviet Union declared war on Japan after invading Manchukuo. They then terminated other Japan-controlled areas such as North Korea. This largely influenced Japans surrender and the end of WWII. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Location: Nagasaki, Japan After refusing to unconditional surrender, the US had another bomb ready to drop on Nagasaki. The original date was the 11th of August, due to bad weather they pushed it to the 9th. The bomb killed around 80,000 people and injured man more. This was enough to convince the Japanese high council and Emperor to surrender. -
Japanese surrender- End of WWII
Location: USS Missouri (US Navy ship) The surrender of Japan was inevitable after the Soviet Union betrayed them and both atomic bombs had been dropped by the US. The Emperor announced Japans surrender via radio communications on August 15th. The Formal surrender and signed Japanese instrument of surrender happened on September 2nd, prompting an end to WWII and to all of the conflict. -
United Nations is Born
Location: New York, United States In order to prevent other wars from occurring, the allies decided to create an organisation that promoted world peace and a place where countries may discuss international affairs without the need for arms. Unlike its predecessor the League of Nations, which didn't achieve its goal of world peace, the United Nations is still an organisation that operates today.