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Germany invades Poland
German forces cross the Polish border from the west, south and North. Countries prior to this had been invaded by Nazi Germany had surrendered and no punishment or action was taken against Nazi Germany until they invaded Poland. This signalled the start of World war 2 in Europe. German airforces bombed Polish communications and air bases and then follwed it with a heavy attack by land with Artillery which was later called the 'Blitzkreig'. Poland is split between Germany and the Soviet Union -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
After Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland, Britain and France had no choice but to declare war on Hitler and the Nazis This started the bloodist war in living memory that would go on for six years and leave millions dead and many more injured -
Churchill becomes prime minister of Britain
Winston Churchill was elected prime minister in May of 1940. Not only was he a figure that the British people could look up to for hope, he was also a great strategist and pulled Britain from near defeat to victory.His election brought morale to the british people and was part of the turning point of the war -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk
The evacuation of Dunkirk was a strategic move by the British forces that would save the lives of many soldiers and turn a military defeat into a move that would boost moral throughout the allied forces. When Nazi forces moved through France, defeat seemed definite but when British forces were told to launch an attack, General Gort instead ordered his troops to retreat to the small town called Dunkirk where they could be picked up by British ships so that the British army could live -
Italy enters war on side oof the axis powers
Italy was run by Benito Mussolini during the time of world war 2. He was a fascist just like Hitler. However he did not join the war until 1940. Italy invaded Albania and signed the ‘pact of steel’ with Germany which was a military pact. However Mussolini did not declare war on Britain and France until June 10th. -
Frane signs armistice with Germany
British forces retreat back to Britain meaning that the Nazis were free to invade France with little resistance. They attacked southwards and eventually Frence resistance fighters were forced to leave Paris, declaring it an open city. Meaning that Germany took Paris with no resistance. After this Frence forces surrnder and sign armistice with Germany, agreeing that two thirds of France will be occupied. This signing was done in the same place that Germany signed armistance in world war 1 -
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Battle of Britain
The battle of Britain was fought out in the skies over Great Britain and would be the first all air force battle in history. The German Luftwaffe was not able to win over British air space and the Royal air force proved superior, despite constant bombing and targeting of Air hangers and such by Nazi Germany. This was a huge trning point in the war in Europe, and made sure that Great Britain was not suseptible to land invasion. -
Operation Sealion
Operation sealion was the name given by Hitler to the plans to invade Great Britain. However Operation sealion never occured as Germany lost the Battle for Britain which meant that they did not own any British air space which would have left German land troops would have been exposed to ariel attack. They planned to invade Britain from France which they had successfully invaded just a few months earlier -
Tripartite Pact signed
The Tripartite Pact was an agreement between Japan, Germany and Italy. They agreed to be allies and that at the end of the war Germany would get most of Greater Europe whereas Italy would get the mediteranean and Northern Africa and Japan would get the Pacific and East Asis. The pact was signed in Berlin -
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Seige of Tobruk
The seige of Tobruk was one of the most important battles in world war two and probably the ost important in Northern Africa. The battle took place in Lybia, in and around the town of Tobruk and lasted 242 days. The Allies keeping of the town directly stopped Axis f9orces entering Egypt. This was the first major defeat tyhe Axis powers had seen in World War 2 -
Operation Barbosa
Operation Barbosa is the name given by Nazi Germany of it invasion of Russia in 1941. German forces attacked from the North, Sounth and center, with Hungarian and Romanian troops to help. The attack worked extremely well and thousands of thousands of Russian troops and equipment was captured. However Hitlers strategic descisions lost a lot of time. So much time that eventually winter fell on the German troops (who were ill equipped for freezing temperatures) and many German troops died. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbour
The bombing of Pearl harbour is one of the most infamous events in world war two. At about 8 am on the 7th of December, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes dropped bombs on the important port in Hawaii. hundreds of planes as well as manny Naval ships and quite a few large battleships were sunk. More than 2000 American soldiers lost their lives and 1000 were wounded in the attack. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
The United Kingdom and the United States declared war on the Empire of Japan as a direct result of the bombing of Pearl Harbour the previous day. Frankiln D Rooselvelt requested that the US declare war on Japan and there was only one vote aganst it in the House of Congress. America had now joined World war 2 close to two years after it had started. -
Japan takes Singapore
The battle of Singapore remains to this day one of the worst defeats the British army has ever experienced. The Japanese strategy relied on speed and this allowed Japnese troops to fight through Malaya quickly. Prior to the Battle of Singapore, both British air and naval presence were destroyed by Japanese troops so that the army was Singapore's only defense. 23,000 troops attacked Singapore and swept through the city. 10,000 POW's were captured of which 9000 died building the Burma railway. -
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Battle of Midway
The battle of Midway was a crucial battle in the war in the pacific because it allowed the US to go on the offensive. Aliies intellegence notified the US of an attack on Midway. The US forces caught the Japanese NAvy refueling and restocking and most of the Japanese Navy's ships were sunk. The Japnese Navy never fuly recovered from this attack and it was considered a huge turning point in World war 2 -
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First battle of El Alamein
This battle was another Crucial battle in Northern Africa. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel leads the Axis powers while Britain, Australia and New Zealand fight for the Allies. This battle firstly took place in Lybia. Rommel uses stolen tanks and equipment to drive the British forces back into Egypt. The Axis powers now held El Alamein, a city dangerously close to the ports of Egypt in Alexandria, which was a vital city in Northern Africa -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad is probably the most infamous battle in all of world war 2. Axis forces rolled across the Soviet border and one of the cities that needed to be captured was Stalingrad in south Russia. Capturing this city would be of great strategic advantage to Nazi Germany because it was an industrial town. Hitler made many strategic changes that would eventually be his undoing as the Allies kept Stalingrad. This event was the biggest turning point in WW2. 1100000 Russians died. -
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Second battle of El Alamein
While the first battle of El Alamein stalled the Axis invasion of Egypt, the second battle ended the Axis campaign all together. It took place in the railway halt city of El Alamein. Rommel descided to attack the Allies before they could get their defenses set. These attacks failed and the Allies' counter attack ended the battle of El Alamein. The countires involved on the Allied side were, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India, Greece, France and South Africa -
D-Day landings
the D-Day landings refer to the Allied troops landing on the beaches of Northern France in a battle called the Battle of Normandy. It was the largest amphibious attack in WW2. The intension of these attacks was to liberate Western Europe of Nazi occupation. The D-Day landings were very bloody ordeals leaving 4000 Allied troops dead or wounded in the first few hours. The Allies won this battle however and it is now considred the begginning of the end of WW2 in Europe -
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The battle of the Bulge
The battle of the Bulge was a last minute attempt to split the Allied forces in their attack on western Europe in a hope that they would seperate and become weaker and thus be easy to deal with. Hitler launched a huge attack on mostly American troops. The battle took place in the forested areas around Luxemberg and Belgium. The attack plan was never going to work but Hitler was desperate and decided to do it anyway. The Allies won this battle but Germany had 68000 people wounded or killed. -
Mussolini captured and excecuted
Mussolini was captured by anti-fascist partisans in Italy at the end of Worl War 2. He was excecuted in 1945 by partisan Walter Audisio by a machine gun wound to the head in the city of Giulino de Mezzegra. Although differnt versions of Mussolini's execution exist but this is the most credible version. Mussolini was then bound by his legs in the square for people to see -
Hitler commits suicide
Hitler retreated to his bunker under Berlin as his forces were driven back further and further into the heart of Germany. Rather than face execution like fellow fascist Benito Mussolini, Hitler chose to shoot himself in his bunker. This is the believed story even though his body was never found -
German forces surrender
Following Hitlers death and the Allied advances on Germany from the west, Germany signed complete unconditional surrender to the Allied forces. This was signed in Reims in North Western France. Hitlers successor wanted to only surrender the troops in the west but the Allies wouldnt hav it and eventually he signed complete surrender -
VE day
VE day (victory in Europe) is a public holiday to celebrate the end of the seond world war. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
This attack involved the first of the two only nuclear bomb droppings in the worlds history. While the war in Europe had ended with the surrender of Nazi Germany, the Japanese wouldnt accept the same terms so the war in the Pacific continued. As a way of ending the war quickly, a nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima which left 90000-146000 dead -
Soviets declare war on Japan
the Soviet Union declare war on Japan and invade MAnchuria with 1000000 men to take on an army of 7000000 Japanese. This is also considered a reason for the surrender of Japan later that year. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The second and last ever Nuclear bomb used in warfare was dropped on Nagasaki in August 1945 after Japan did not surrender surrender after the Hiroshima bombing. The attack left 39000-80000 Japanese dead, including civilians. -
Japan surrenders
After the savage bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan had no choice but to surrender. This meant the end of world war 2 and ceased all fighting around the world. -
United Nations is born
As world war 2 finishes, countries of the world create the United Nations, to better keep the peace and prevent conflicts such as world war 2 from ever happening again. The United Nations was a complete substitute for the League of NAtions which had obviously failed its job
