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Germany Invades Poland
The invasion of Poland is what sparked the begining of World War II. The Germans that attacked Poland were members of the German secret police. These men were not recognized because they were dressed as Polish saboteurs. It took s short amount of time before Poland was completely taken over. Around five million people were killed and about three million of them were Polish jews. -
German Invasion of Western Europe
Germany invades Denmark, Norway, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Belgium and the Netherlands both surrendered to the Germans in May. Paris fell to the Germans on June 14, 1940. Germany then occupied Northern France. After this, Germans set up a government inside France that was called a Vichy government. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Briatain was between the Germans and Great Britain. This battle was an intense air battle fought from July of 1940 through May of 1941. When the bombing originally began, the Germans were mainly targeting airfields, but then they quickly changed their strategy and started to make targets. This battle was the first defeat that the Germans would face in World War II. -
Invasion of the Soviet Union
The invasion of the USSR by Germany is an operation that is known as Operation Barbarossa. Less than two years after the German-Soviet Pact was signed, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. At the front, there were 134 divisions. Behind that there were 73 more devisions ready for deployment. This is known to many people as the largest German military operation in all of World War II. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 1, 1941 Japan bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack on Peral Harbor was meant to be a prevenative action in the hopes that this would help keep the U.S.A. from interfering with the military actions of Japan. The naval base was attacked by 353 japanese fighters, torpedo planes, and bombers. All eight of the U.S. battle ships were damaged and four of them ended up sinking. The attack on Pearl Harbor left many people wounded and/or dead. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway took place between June 4 - June 7 of 1942 in the Pacific. This battle was fought between the Japanese and Americans. The Japanese initially thought that they would come out with a victory but the Americans ended coming out on the offensive side. The Americans had Admiral Chester M. Nimitz as the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander. The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war because the Japanese lost their aircraft carriers and could no longer launch attacks as easily. -
The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad is known to many people as the major turning point of World War II. This battle left Hitler and the Nazi's in retreat. Troops were using hand-to-hand combat during the fight for Stalingrad. Stalin and the Russian leader was fighting for Stalingrad along with Hitler and the Nazis. The Nazis were defeated and ended uo losing too much of their army, this made Hitler fear for Germany because he would no longer be able to protect it. -
D-Day
This day is known as the Invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord. There were two parts to the landings in Normandy: an airborne attack along with an amphibious landing. on June 6, 1944 at 6:30 allied forces landed on the coast of Normandy. This is what started the liberation of Europe from Germany. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
On April 30, 1945 Hitler committed suicide. He had been somewhere that not many people knew about and then he took his own life before someone else could. This was done shortly before the surrender of German forces in Europe. This was also shortly before the fall if Berlin. Hitler killed himself in his house in Berlin. His wife took her life as well. -
U.S.A. Bombs Japan
1945 is a very important year because this is the year that America developed the atomic bomb. On August 9, 1945 Americans dropped a bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. This bomb came three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. By the end of 1945, it is estimated that this bomb killed about 70,000 people. This bomb is what brought an end to World War II and it brought upon the surrender of Japan to the Allied forces.
