-
Germany invades Poland
The invasion of Poland was the offical start of WW2. It was also the first major battle in which tanks where used as a main attack with major air support and infintry following behind. It was a ground breaking strategy. The German army defeated Poland in three weeks. Before the allies could muster an army the invasion was over and the Polish surrendered.
The battle left armies shaking, 3 weeks,100,000 Polish and 6 million jews were dead after the Luftwaffe's terror bombing operations, -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
3 days after the German army invaded Poland, Britain and France declare war on Germany. Athough nothing happened at first, Britain's first response was to drop aniti-Hitler pamphlets over Germany. They would start bombing German ships on the 4th. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Churchill, who was known as a military leader and a good strategist was appointed President after Chamberlain resigned. Chamberlain only resigned after being discraced by his "peace in our time" failure. He lost support in the lower house and was forced to resign. This meant that Britain had a President who knew his army's capability. Somthing that would help Britain in the coming years. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
27 May-4 June 1940 is one of the most celebrated military events in British history, and yet it was the direct result of one of the most crushing defeats suffered by the British army. The German army push through France with little resistance even though the allies outnumbered the Germans by one german tank to 2 allied tanks. Superior tactics and air support forced the allies to the beaches of Durkirk where they left in a mass panic leaving masses of tanks and artillery behind. -
Italy enters on the side of the Axies Powers
Even though they hadn't previously had joint military operations, they shared common goals and each had their region to invade. Japan had the Pacific, Italy had the Middle East and Germany had Europe. They supported each other financially. Italy was key in helping the German Army to advance so quickly with the production of planes and the attack on the south of France whch lead to France's surrender. The Italian army also launched an attack on Egypt which failed. -
France signs armistice with Germany
On the same spot where 22 years earlier the Germans had signed the Armistice ending World War I, the French signs an Armistice surrendering France to Germany and Italy. Before the signing of the Armistice the French pull out all forces from Paris so that historical land marks may be saved from the bombing of the Luftwaffe. Italy got a small part of France in the south. The last allies in France pulled out at Dunkirk with the Germans hot on their heels. -
Period: to
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britan was given its name by a speach from Priminister Churchill. it was the battle for controll over Englands skyes between the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe. it consisted of fearce battles almost every night as the Luftwaffe bombed British air bases, militry bases and for the large part the civilans. it was a major turning point in the war. some how after months of suckseful boming campanes by the Luftwaffe the did not gain air supiriorty and stoped an ground invasion. -
Operation Sea Lion
The name Operation Sea Lion was the name that Hitler gave for the Invasion of Britain. The closest estimate for a date was 22 September when all German Troops where in place and ready only to be put off by bad weather. The plan never really happen for two reasons. One was that Hitler lost interest in Britain as it was a small island and instead turned to Russia. Two was that Britain won the Battle of Britain. With Britain still functional it was able to continuosly bomb the French coastline. -
Tripartite Pact signed
The Tripartite Pact was meant to intimidate the United States from joining the war on the allies side. it stated that if any Axis country was attacked by a non involved country, I.E. the U.S.A, they would then become at war with all of the Axies. It unified the Axies in a formal way. It also signified the two "spheres of influence" Japan who would control the pacific and Germany and Italy who would make a new empire in Europe. Hungry was also involved in the pact but had little impact. -
Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was vital for the allies defence of Egypt. Made up mostly of Australian troops with 4 regiments of Brittish artillery and 2 regiments of Indian troops were constantly shelled and bombed by the German army. It lasted until November 17, 1941. It was vital because if the Nazis had Tobruk it would enable them to skip bringing most of their supplies overland from the port of Tripoli, across 1500 km of desert. The Nazis got so frustrated with the diggers they called them rats. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion plan by the German army to invade Russia. It involved the largest attacking force in history with both sides fighting to the death. 3 million German troops and 3,500 tanks were deployed in the south of Russia. Stalin gave death threats to his generals to not take a step back. The Luftwaffe was vital in helping the infintry advance. Overall both sides took huge losses and left the southern German occupied land weak. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbour
On the 7th of December 1941 over 200 planes bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbour and destroyed more than 20 US destroyers and 300 planes as well as killing 2,000 soldiers. This was meant to scare America off from joining the war on the allies side. It lasted two hours, but the effect was devastating for America's pacific fleet. It was the last push for the American goverment on persuading the public to join the war. Without Pearl Harbor Japan nearly swept through the pacific. -
Britain and the US declare war on Japan
After the 7th Dec, President Franklin Roosevelt requests to congress that America and her allies go to war on Japan and the axies. This was very important for the war efforts and spelled the beginning of the end for the axis. The following day more than 700,000 men and women signed up all over America and would continue to register. After two years of war came a new super power with fresh resources and technology. -
Japan take Singapore
The defeat of Singapore was the biggest for the commonwealth of WW2. It showed the world that the Japansese were a super power and that it's army was first class. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbour the Japansese moved further into the pacific and gained masses of land. Singapore was unfit to mount a defence. Most of the troops were Australians. They were untrained and were forced to go by Britain. Most POWs were shot on surrender. -
Battle of Midway
The major navel battle at Midway was the Japanese attempting to destroy the few aircraft carriers that escaped the bombings of Pearl Harbour. It was the beginning of the end for the Japenese navy. The US broke the code and figuered out what the Japenese were planning. It was a great loss for the Japenese military with the deaths of 5,000 sailors and 300 planes as well as losing the majority of their ships. The US lost 300 crew and 157 planes. This led to a major US offensive. -
The first battle of Alamein
The first battle of Alamein was when the British troops were forced to retreat and left huge amounts of spuplies behind. The Nazis were able to march into Egypt with captured vessels and tanks alone. The German army was over confident in their victory and underestimated the British, Australian, New Zealend, Indian and South African troops. This left the African front open and resulted in fierce shelling and bombing from both sides. -
The second battle of Alamein
The second battle of Alamein was a major turning point in the desert campaign in Africa and the Middle East. After the Nazis drove the allies back to Alamein they halted and waited. When the offensive from the Axies was halted and a fierce battle broke out with both sides taking huge losses. It was the Allies fighting for their last fingerhold on the African campaign. This led to a major victory for the Allies and they pushed back through Africa and onto Europe. -
Battle of Stalingrad
With the two million combined dead of both military and civillians the battle for Stalingrad was the bloodiest and most fierce battle on the Western front. The German army got trapped and ran out of fuel, ammunition and food. The Soviet army surrounded the Germans in the city and attacked in "hand to hand combat". The Germans surrendered and ended the advance into Russia at a great cost and took Germany's defeat a step further. -
D-Day landings
The D-Day landings were hell for the allied troops. They were tasked with landing on the beaches of Hitler's "southen wall" with miles upon miles of bunkers and foundations. but the under prepared Germans lost the battle and the allies successfully invaded and overwhelmed the Germans. The German reinforcements were overwhelmed by allied para troopers who destroyed supplies and tanks. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was one of the last German offensive movements. A massing of tanks stormed through the allies. the Panzer divisions supported by artillery was massed and pushed the allies back but sheer man power and massive troops. The Germans suffered when they ran out of fuel and ammunition and most of the tank crews left. -
Mussolini captured and executed
With the defeat of the axies power definite, Mussolini tried to escape the allied troops moving up Italy. He disguised himself as a soldier and tried to get into Austria. He was discoverd and shot on the spot and then transported to a nearby town where he and uther Italian Generals were being executed. His wife was also shot and hung upside down. This marked the end for Italy in the war. -
Hitler commits suicide
Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head whilst holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin. A few hours later Germany surrender to the Allies as Russian troops storm Berlin. Hitler's body was taken away to Russia where it remained in a mystery location until 2001. With his deat, the few thousand active troops in camps and still in the field surrender to the Allies. -
German forces surrender
After Hitler commited suicide it was only a matter of days before Germany surrendered. The surrendering of Germany's forces was left to Alfred Jodl. His only condition was that German troops fighting on the northen front didnt have to surrender. This was denied and the papers were signed by Germany, France, UK and America leaving the Russains out as political issues between the three contries worsened. -
V.E. day
Victory in Europe Day is also know as V.E. day. It is the day that all allied countries rejoiced at Germany surrender. They threw a global party to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. It still reminds us of a time of rebuilding and sorrow for those who died. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The USA dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and killed 80,000 people and flattened the city. The bomb was dropped for two reasons: to end the war without the massive personnel losses it would take to invade Japan and to show the USSR what they were capable of. Hiroshima was chosen because it was the largest city in Japan. The aftermath of the bomb was enough to make the last remaining soldiers lose faith and stop fighting. It was the effective end of the fighting -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
The Soviet Union invaded the Japanese controlled Manchuria, north east of China with more than 1 million troops against a Japanese 700,000 strong army to force a surrender from the Japenese empire. They were already considering a formal surrender. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The bomb dropped on Nagasaki was meant to be the final conclusion to WW2 without having deployed troops onto Japenese soil. With the emperor of Japan begging his war counsel to surrender - this was the final straw. The bomb instantly killed 60,000 people and wounded many more. It also destroyed one of Japan's last functioning air bases, destroying 30 planes. With the USA sitting in the seas and the Red Army successfully controllling China, Japan was surrounded and out of resources. -
Japenese surrender- end of WWII
The long awaited surrender of Japan was announced by 2nd September and formally signalled the destruction of Japan's army, navy and air force. After the two atomic bombs at Nagasaki and Hiroshima as well as the invasion of China left the emperor of Japan to beg his war council to surrender. With the surrender of Japan came the release of more than 70,000 P.O.W.s back to their countries. It was the formal end of WWII. -
United Nations is Born
The United Nations charter was signed on this day to signify an agreement between 26 countries whereby they would attempt to negotiate and resolve issues and ultimately avoid another war.
