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Germany invades Poland
Hitler pushes thousands of Nazi soldiers over Polands border in an attempt to capture territory. Hitler planned to use the extra land for 'living space' for the Aryan German race, but instead had sparked the start of WW2. The Germans bombed Poland and attacked through their Air Force and by land. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
Britain and France had sworn to defend Poland. Sticking to these obligations, the two countries sent a request to Hitler demanding his withdrawal from Poland. Hitler declined to respond, and so war was declared on Germany. By October 6, it was all over, and Poland had ceased to exist as a country despite all efforts from its allies to regain control. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Winston Churchill was known for his military leadership ability, and was appointed British prime minister on the 10th of May, 1940. He formed an all-party coalition and quickly won the popular support in Brittain. On May 13, in his first speech before the House of Commons, Prime Minister Churchill declared that “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat”. The Brittish never surrended. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
Germans launched their attack against the West, storming into Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. The allied forces escaped by boat. The nine-day evacuation was the largest of its kind in history and was unexpectedly successfull, saving 338,000 Allied troops from capture by the Nazis. -
Italy enters war on the side of Axis power
On the 10th of June 1940, Benito Mussolini. the dictator of Italy declared war on Britain and the other Allies including France. He went against the previous neutral allience. -
France signs Armistice with Germany
On the 22nd of June 1940, Italy signed as armistice with Germany. An armistice is an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time; in other words, it is a truce. -
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Battle of Britain
The battle of Britain was one of the largest air force battles in history, and took place over the United Kingdom. On the 17th of June, 1940, the defeated French signed an armistice to quit World War II (Britain now stood alone against Germany's forces). The battle ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain’s air bases, military posts, and civilians. -
Tripartite pact signed
On the 27th of September 1940, the Axis power was formed as Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. The Pact promised all sides to 'have each others back' when and if there was any conflict. This also aimed at making America think twice before chosong to be on the allies side. -
Operation Sea lion
Hitler planned to invade Great Britain later in the 1940's and named the plan 'operation sea lion'. The operation was never carried out during the war, as the Germans lost the Battle of Britain, adn had been weakened. Hitler was more interested in the forthcoming attack on Russia as opposed to invading Britain. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk began lasted for 241 days and almost 3000 Australian troops were either injured or killed during the siege. It was fought in North Africa, and whoever gained this territory would have given them base from which to attack occupied Europe, across the Mediterranean. At night, the allies moved out from behind their defences to conduct raids against German positions, crawling for miles for cover. The Germans had lost the seige, and the allies were a step further in advancement. -
Operation Barbarossa
Geramny invaded the Soviet Union on the 22nd of June, 1941, and was the largest military operation in history, involving more than 3 million Axis troops and 3,500 tanks. The reason behind this Nazi invade was that Hitler believed that his 'master race' needed more 'living space', and decided to invade the east where there was more open country. Some German units advanced 50 miles in the first day, and 250'000 Soviet troops were killed, as well as another 180'000 taken as prisoners of war. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
At around 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes bombed and attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, in Hawaii. Within two hours, the Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, eight of which were enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack. Just a day after the attack, Presedent Rosevelt declared war on Japan. -
Britain and the U.S. declare war on Japan
A day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, the Americans along with Britain declared war on Japan. The decision was made only an hour after the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a speech regarding the bombings of Pearl Harbor. -
Japan takes Singapore
Since the 19th Century, Singapore had been under British control. On the 8th of February 5,000 Japanese troops landed on in Singapore. The British were both outmanned and outgunned. The Japs handed out leaflets encouraging them to surrender. On February 13, Singapore’s 15-inch coastal guns–the island’s main defensive weapons–were destroyed.
Japanese forces were too powerful, and the Brittish were forced to hand over Singapore. -
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Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, during June 1942 the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II, known as the Battle of Midway. The U.S. used codebreaking to decifer messages sent by the Japanese, as planned to destroy some of Japan's last remaining aircraft carriers. The victory allowed the allies to move into a offensive position. -
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First battle of El Alamein
The first battle of El Alamein took place in an Egyptian town in North Africa, After the Allied defeat at Gazala in late June 1942. Auchinleck's Army retreated to prepare a new line in El Alamein. Both sides were tired and running low on resources, however the man named the "Desert Fox" was convinced that one more push eastwards would get him into Cairo. This only led to a tense standoff where both sides gave up little ground, and it lasted to the begining of the second battle of El Alamein. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was considered to be one of the bloodiest battles in hisory, with the Soviet Union, Romania, Nazi Germany, Italy, Croatia, and Hungary involved. The Germans bombed the Soviets by air, and Starlingrad was turned to ruins. However, they stood their ground and forced the Germans to surrender due to low ammunition, lack of food, and the freezing conditions. Nearly 2 million civilians and soliers were killed in the battle, making it one of the worst in history. -
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Second battle of El Alamein
The second battle of El Alamein took place in North Africa between the 23rd of October 1942 and the 4th of November 1942. The allied forces defeated the axis power, and were said to have had an advantage from the 300 sherman tanks that were shipped in from America to help the allies. The Italians and Germans were forced to retreat into Tunisia. -
D-Day landings
The battle of Normanby (also known as D-day) began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when around 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France (Normandy region). -
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Battle of the Bulge
The battlr of the Bulge was the Nazi's last major push against the allied forces, and was fought during the winter of 1944/1945. The battle was Hitler's last ditch effort to split the allies into two. The initial attack by Germany created a bulge in the front line of the allies, thus why it was named 'the battle of the Bulge'. -
Mussolini captured and executed
At the age of 61, Benito Mussolini and his mistress were shot by Italian partisians when they attempted to flee to Switzerland. Their bodies were then transported to Milan, where they were hund upside down for public humiliation and reassurance. -
Hitler commits suicide
On the 30th of April 1945, Aldolf Hitler, the leader of the German Nazi party commited suicide in his underground bunker in Berlin by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. -
German forces surrender
On the 7th of may 1945, General Alfred Jodl from the High Command, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces, East and West, at Reims, in northwestern France. -
V.E. day (Victory in Europe)
German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms, and surrendered to the allied nations, after 4.2 million Germans were killed. This day was celebrated all over the world. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
American forces had been working on the aomic bomb for years, and had dropped the 5 ton bomb on Hiroshima using a B-29 superfortress aircraft. The bomb was equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT, and turned four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people. Many who survived from the burns and ratiation suffered lifelong illnesses. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
On November 1943, Stalin agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan once Nazi Germany was defeated. On the 8th of August, 1945, it was made official that the Soviet Union decared war on Japan. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Only two days after the Americans first dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on the 9th of August, 1945. The first bombing was not devistating enough for the Japs to surrender, so Nagasaki was targeted as it was a major ship building port. Nicknamed“Fat Man,” the bomb was dropped on the 9th of august instaed of the originally planned date of the 11th of August, due to bad weather approaching. -
Japanese surrender - End of WW2
The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated. The Japanes had no other choice but to formally surrender on the 2nd of September, 1945, after their country was in ruins. -
United Nations is born
The United Nations was formed on the 24th of October, 1945, and was created to help solve international conflicts and negotiate peace, and was hoped to be better than the previous League of Nations, which did not solve the previous international conflicts as well as expected.
