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1939
- Hitler invades Poland on 1 September. Britain and France declare war on Germany two days later.
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Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was born in Oxford in 1874. He was a Britsh statesman, orator and author. He was prime minister of United Kingdom for two periods and, in one of them, he led the United Kingdom to victory against Nazi Germany and the Axis power in the Second World War. In 1953 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in London in 1956. -
Charles De Gaulle
Charles De Gaulle was born in France. He was a military general and statesman. He was the leader of Free France and the head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic. In 1958, he founded the Fifth Republic and was elected as the 18th President of France, a position he held until his resignation. He was the dominant figure of France during the Cold War era and his memory continues to influence French politics. -
Period: to
The Second World War
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1940
- Rationing starts in the UK. *German "Blitzkrieg" overwhelms Belgium, Holland and France. *Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain.
- British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk.
- British victory in Battle of Britain forces Hitler to postpone invasion plans.
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1941
- Hitler begins Operation Barbarossa- the invasion of Russia.
- The Blitz continues against Britain´s major cities.
- Allies take Tobruk in North Africa, and resist German attacks.
- Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the US enters the war.
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1942
- Germany suffers setbacks at Stalingard and El Alamein.
- Singapore falls to the Japanese in February- around 25,000 prisoners taken.
- American naval victory at Battle of Midway, in June, marks turning point in Pacific War.
- Mass murder of Jewish people at Auschwitz begins.
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1943
- Surrender at Stalingrad marks Germany´s first major defeat.
- Allied victory in North Africa enables invasion of Italy to be launched.
- Italy surrenders, but Germany takes over battle.
- British and Indian forces fight Japanes in Burma.
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1944
- Allies land at Anzio and bomb monastery at Monte Cassino.
- Soviet offensive gathers pace in Eastern Europe.
- D Day: The Allied invasion of France. Paris is liberated in August.
- Guam liberated by the US. Okinawa and Iwo Jima bombed.
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1945
- Auschwitz liberated by Soviet troops.
- Russians reach Berlin: Hitler comunists suicide and Germany surrenders on 7 May.
- Truman becomes President of the US on Roosevelt´s death, and Attlee replaces Churchill.
- After atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrenders on 14 August.
