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Hitler becomes Chancellor
Paul Von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party), as chancellor of Germany. -
Invasion of Poland
On Sep. 1 1939, some 1.5 million German troops invade Poland all along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. The Luftwaffebombed polish air fields, German warships and U-boats attacked Polish naval forces in the Baltic Sea. -
Invasion of Poland and Denmark
German warships enter Norwegian ports, deploying thousands of troops and occupying Norway. At the same time German forces occupy Copenhagen and other Danish cities. -
The French quit World War II
The defeated French signed an Armistice and quit World War II. Britain was now standing alone in the fight against Germany. -
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The Battle of Britain
In the summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces clashed over the skies of the United Kingdom. A significant turning point of WWII, the Battle of Britain 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, ultimately, its civilian population. -
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Pearl Harbor and United States declares war on Japan
December 7, 1941 Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the U.S naval base of Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The devastation nearly lasted 2 hours, destroying 20 American vessels and more than 300 airplanes. The day after the Japanese attack, President D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on the Empire of Japan. Three days later the Japanese allies Germany and Italy also declared war on the U.S. The U.S has finally joined WWII. -
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Battle of Midway
The U.S defeated the Japanese in one of the most decisive naval battles during World War II. Thanks to advances in code breaking. The U.S could preempt and counter Japan's planned ambush on america's few remaining aircraft carriers. The U.S inflicted permanent damage to the Japanese Navy, also put them in an offensive position. -
Germans surrender at Stalingrad
Pockets of German belligerence continued until February 2. Hitler berated Von Paulus for not committing suicide. Von Paulus, captured by the Soviets, repaid Hitler by selling out to the Soviets, joining the National Committee for Free Germany, and urging German troops to surrender on other battlegrounds in the USSR. -
Italian surrender is announced
On this day in 1943, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower publicly announces the surrender of Italy to the Allies. Germany reacted with Operation Axis, the Allies with Operation Avalanche.
The Germans too snapped into action. Ever since Mussolini had begun to falter, Hitler had been making plans to invade Italy to keep the Allies from gaining a foothold that would situate them within easy reach of the German-occupied Balkans. -
D-Day Invasion
During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, Operation Mist, also known as the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Bulge, an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge, so-called because the Germans created a “bulge” around the area of the Ardennes forest in pushing through the American defensive line, was the largest fought on the Western front. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
The American invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Following elaborate preparatory air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from a network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Despite the difficulty of conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting. -
Germany surrenders
On May 7, 1945, Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, bringing an end to the European conflict in World War II. -
Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The U.S dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later another was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. -
Japan Surrenders
By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. 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.
