Leading up to D-Day

  • Spanish Civil War Begins

    Begins as a revolt by the right-wing, General Franco announces a message asking for all army officers to join the uprising to overthrow the left-wing. The rebels captured a lot of northern Spain and some key cities in southern Spain. The Republicans shut down the uprising in other areas, including Madrid.
  • Rape of Nanking

    The Japanese took of the capital of China which is Nanking, the government fled. The Japanese General Matsui Iwane ordered Nanking to be destroyed. The Japanese made brutal attacks against the Chinese and killed around 50,000 civilians and many more male war prisioners. The Japanese soliders raped at least 20,000 women and young girls.
  • Munich Ageement

    The Munich agreement was settled by Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy that allowed Germany annexation of the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia. Later on, German troops took over without resistance.
  • Nonaggression Pact

    Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union concluded a few days before the start of WW2. Stalin thought that if signed the pact it would give him more time to build his army, so he signed it. Hitler signed it so he could invade Poland.
  • World War II Begins

    Hilter leads Germany into invading Poland. When the Germans claimed they invaded Poland for defensive reasons, France and Britain did not believe them.A few days later France and Britain declared war on Germany.
  • Battle of the Atlantic

    Was mainly fought with U-boats and warships and the mission that these had was to cut trade supply lines between Britain and its 2 biggest trade partners, which were the U.S. and Canada. The Germans were trying to deprive the British of food, weapons, and other valuable supplies. The Allied ships used a Convoy system as a defense tactic, but the air cover was the turning point for them. The Allies eventually won the battle.
  • Atlantic Wall

    The Atlantic Wall was a defensive structure built on Hitlers command that went from Normany to the Spanish border. It was built to turn away an Allied attack. It mainly had weapons and obstacles for the enemy to get through.
  • Battle of Midway

    Some people says this battle was one of the most decisive U.S. victories against Japan during World War II. It was a four day battle taking place in the air and sea. The U.S. Pacific Fleet was outnumbered yet they still beat the Japanese.
  • Battle of Stalingrad

    The battle stopped the German advance into the Spviet Union that was the turning point in the war for most Allies. This battle was one of the bloodiest with a lot of casualties. The Soviets had a great victory at Stalingrad but it was humiliating for Hitler.
  • D-Day

    The Allies objective, codename being Operation Overload, was to invade Normandy. They wanted to push the Germans off the Atlantic wall to gain a foothold in France. They had a staged area to distract the enemy.