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Germany invasion of Poland
Start of the second world war, aka WWII.
Hitler launched an invasion into its neighbouring nation, Poland.
Grear Britain and France declared war on Germany two days after the invasion -
Dunkirk
Germany invades Holland and Belgium, followed by an attack on Northern France.
The British and Allied forces were ordered to evacuate from Dunkirk.
The evacuation took nine days and involved both navy warships and civilian crafts. Over 338,000 troops were evacuated. -
The Battle of Britain
France surrenders in June 1940 to Nazi Germany.
Germany attacks the island of Great Britain in order to gain air superiority. Luftwaffe launches the attack while RAF pilots fight back over British airspace. -
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The Blitz
Abbreviation for the work Blitzkrieg (lightning war), given to the German air attacks on Great Britain.
London was bombed and the following night, Churchill ordered an attack on Berlin.
The attack was shifted from attacking RAF airfields to bombing Britain towns and cities. London was bombed for over 57 consecutive nights. -
Operation Barbarossa
The Germans invade Russia.
Hitler began planning his attack on Russia after the fall of France and in the midst of the attack on going over Britain.
Stalin was taken by surprise despite repeated warnings, the German achieved spectacular victories for the first few months.
However, the Germans failed to take Moscow or Leningrad before the winter set in.
The Red Army launched a counter-attack on 12/5 and 12/6, removing the immediate threat to the Soviet capital. -
A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
The Bombing of Pearl Harbor.
After the Japanese occupied French Indo-China, the US froze many Japanese assets.
The attack occurred on December 7, 1941. Japanese carrier-borne bombers attack the US Naval Base of Pearl Harbor and its Pacific Fleet. The Americans were caught by surprise and suffered a tremendous loss.
However, the American aircraft carriers were deployed out at sea and managed to escape the battle.
Congress declared war on Japan the following day. -
Battle of Midway
Six months after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese made tremendous advancement in the Asian-Pacific region.
Admiral Yamamoto seeks out to make an attempt to eliminate the US as a strategic Pacific power.
The plan was to lure out the US carriers and attacking and occupying the island of Midway. The loss of the carriers would give the Japanese the upper hand.
However, the Americans broke the Japanese code and inflicted a crushing defeat amongst the Japanese forces. -
Start of the Battle of Stalingrad
The German troops of the Sixth and Fourth Panzer Armies reached the city of Stalingrad's suburbs.
The Red Army put up a stubborn defence against the Nazis and was able to launch a counterattack.
The Germans faced ultimate defeat at Stalingrad due to a series of strategic errors from the higher command.
This defeat effectively marked the end of Hitler's dreams of an empire in the east. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The German troops of the Sixth and Fourth Panzer Armies reached the city of Stalingrad's suburbs.
The Red Army put up a stubborn defence against the Nazis and was able to launch a counterattack.
The Germans faced ultimate defeat at Stalingrad due to a series of strategic errors from the higher command.
This defeat effectively marked the end of Hitler's dreams of an empire in the east. -
D-DAY
D-Day, Operation Overlord, the invasion and liberation of north-west Europe.
Allied forced began to mount a shore invasion of the coast of Normandy.
The British forces were suffering the same percentage rate of casualty rates they had on the Western Front from 1914-1918.
Paris was eventually liberated on August 25, Brussels followed. -
V-E Day
Victory in Europe.
On May 8, 1945, after continuous losses and defeats, Nazi Germany officially surrendered, unconditionally, to the Allied forces, which marked the end of the war on the European theatre.
Hilter committed suicide on April 30, 1945, during the Battle of Berlin. -
Atomic Bombing
The Manhattan Project was initiated in an attempt for the Americans to develop their own Atomic Weapon, fearing that the Germans were doing the same.
The secrecy of the project means that Roosevelt's Vice-President, Harry Truman, was not aware of it until he became president after the death of Roosevelt.
The weapon was used to quickly end of the war with Japan and to apply political pressure on the Russians.
Two bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 8/6 and 8/9. -
V-J Day
Victory in Japan. After the devasting atomic bombing on two Japanese cities. Japan had no other option but to unconditionally surrender to the US and Allied Forces.
The formal surrender took place on the US Battleship, USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.
Marking the end of the war, six years and one day after Germany first invaded Poland.
The USS Missouri is now decommissioned the currently serve as a museum ship in Pearl Harbor.
