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Germany Invades Poland
Germany invaded Poland on this date in 1939. Germany easily defeated the two million man Poland army. After this, Germany was attacked by Russia according to the Nazi-Soviet non-Aggression Pact that was signed. After this, Britain declared war on Germany. picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/39/German_cavalry.jpg/250px-German_cavalry.jpg -
Germany invades Holland and Belgium
The Dutch were attacked by 136 divisions of German soldiers and tanks. They never stood a chance against the mighty German army losing 100,000 men. Queen Wilhelmina escaped to England. The same fate unfortunately awaited Belgium -
Paris is Attacked
Refugees started fleeing from Paris as 2000 tanks closed in with lightning speed. Next, the government left on June 11. The World War I hero Marshal Henri Petain took control and surrendered to the Germans. They signed an armstice on June 22 in the same rail car as Germany signed their's to end World War II. -
Nuclear Technology is Studied
Nuclear Technology is starting to be explored by the Allies. Great Britain even formed a special committee for this purpose. President Roosevelt formed the National Defense Research Comittee for the purpose of using the weapon. It was in the summer of 1941 that Britain reported that the nuclear bomb was possible. -
Battle of Britain
The German airforce also known as the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London. 30,000 Londoners died; however, Germany did lose 1700 aircraft. The attack was led by Herman Goering. The attacks became less because the British started using early forms of RADAR to locate them.
picture: http://www.dipity.com/michellee/Unit-9/ -
Hitler Almost Takes Over Moscow
Hitler and his army made the long voyage from Germany to Russia across the Russian Tundra. This severly wore his men down, and his army became very weak by the time they made it to the capital. They were ill-prepared for the weather and were pushed back by the Russian infantry. They were forced to return to Germany. -
The Nuclear Bomb Program Begins in the US
The US begins a program to create an atomic bomb. It was code named the Manhattan. It was the research and development project in American, and it started to involve British and Canadian scientists. The size of this project was amazing, involving over $2 billion and employing more than 100,000 people. picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Trinity_shot_color.jpg/300px-Trinity_shot_color.jpg -
The Bombing of Pearl Harbor
The Japanese air force and navy attacked the US at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The Americans were not ready for the surprise attack and 2350 men died. They also took heavy losses in the harbors as well. The US took this opportunity to only attack Japan but also Germany. picture: http://latimesphoto.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/fa_487_pearlharbor12_970.jpg http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g470000/g474789.jpg -
Japan takes over the Phillipines
The day after Japan destroyed Pearl Harbor, they overtook the Phillipines. General Douglas Macarthur and his troops had to escape after they were forced to almost near starvation. He had only 90,000 troops.He did promise on leaving that, " I shall return." -
Battle of Stalingrad
Russian soldiers and citizens died in droves hoping to keep the Germans out of their city. The Germans were eventually defeated. The Germans were forced to retreat after losing 146,000 soldiers. The German were now on the defensive in the east. -
Battle of the Atlantic
Germna U Boats patrolled the Atlantic in the hopes of keeping American supplies from reaching Britain. The used unrestricted submarine warfare many they destroyed any type of ship heading their way. The allies did, however, finally gain an advantage in the Atlantic. They used a system like radar to detect the submarine.
picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/U534.jpg/250px-U534.jpg
picture of German u boat: http://capytan.com/German U-boat.jpg -
D- Day
The US, Canada, and Britain came to Normandy in Northern France where a huge and deadly battle took place. The worst losses were at Omaha beach were troops were killed as they stepped off of the ships. Dwight D. Eisenhower led the attack. The troops were finally able to form a beachhead and move inwards. picture:http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/dday_06_07/d01_0p011976.jpg -
The US agrees to Use the Atomic Bomb
Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt agree to use the atomic bomb against the axis powers. The technology is not quite yet available, but when it is they will use the bomb. The bomb is almost ready to be used at this time. They agree to withhold the news from the Soviet Union. -
Battle of Bulge
Hitler sent 250,000 troops along an 85 mile stretch from Luxemburg to Belgium. It was the middle of winter. The Germans were able to push fifty miles into the allied lines creating a bulge. At the end of the month, the battle ended. 76,000 Americans had been captured, killed, or wounded. picture: http://www.britannica.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/battle-of-bulge.jpg -
Battle of Okinawa
This was an important batttle fought in the Pacific. The US faced the Japanese with air bases at stake. The Japanese tried different tactics including suicide fighter pilots. Eventually, the US won the battle after both generals died in the battle. picture:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/OkinawaMarineCaveDemolition.jpg/220px-OkinawaMarineCaveDemolition.jpg -
Franklin Roosevelt Dies
Frankiln Roosevelt died leaving a big gap in the nuclear research plan. He had been the head of all of the nuclear bomb research. Harry Truman took over as President, and he knew nothing about the project. He had to briefed about the project by the the Secretery of War and the general. picture: http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRxbWM03j5xBI_sHTEvfaV69l9gBz00yWOyS5stKN5hTMoDd2gK2g -
Germany surrenders
Germany surrendered on this date to the allied forces. Japan vowed though to push on to the "bitter end". Since Japan will not surrender, the US and the other allies strt to test the nuclear bomb. A successful test occurs during the summer at Alamogorado, New Mexico. picture: http://www.nashville247.tv/files/may-7-1945-ny-newspaper-wwii-germany-surrenders_370493575199.jpg -
Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
The US dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima killing tens of thousands of people and flattening the city. It was a B-29 bomber that did the damage. 70,000 people were estimated to have died from the damage caused by the "Enola Gay". The end product was well worth the $2 billion spent to produce it. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki
Three days after the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, they did the same to Nagasaki. Japan refused to surrender after the last bomb was dropped, but they did after this one was dropped. It killed anywhere from 60,000 to 80,000 people. It was dropped from the plane "Bock's Car" and the bomb itself was named "Fat Man" picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Atomic_bombing_of_Japan.jpg/300px-Atomic_bombing_of_Japan.jpg -
Japan Surrenders
The Japanese surrendered to the Allies on this date while aboard the USS Missouri. Japan could no longer afford to lose so many civilains as a result of the atomic bombs. The Soviet Union had also recently entered the War against Japan, so they had lost a lot of hope. The War was basically every country left against Japan. picture: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g700000/g701293.jpg
picture: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g700000/g701293.jpg
