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Nazi Germany attacks Poland
Briefly after signing the Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany continued on to invade Poland. This ruthless surprise attack was carried out by German tanks and troop trucks by land while German aircraft and artillery began to bomb Poland's capital: Warsaw. Beck, Roger B. "Chapter 16: World War II." Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. Orlando, FL.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pub., 2012. 490-91. Print. -
The War begins
France and Great Britain declare war on Germany, but by the time the French and British could send troops to Poland, the Western Poland had already become part of Nazi Germany. Hitler had violated the agreement he had signed with the Allied countries, promising not to invade Poland, so the Allied countries had no choice but to declare war on Germany, -
France signs Armistice
After launching full force on France and the Lower Countries in May, forcing the British army to retreat, and forcing the French to abandon the capital of Paris. Hitler and the Nazis took control of Paris on June 14th without any resistance. A new government is formed, and on June 17 the leader announced France will surrender. On June 22nd, 1940 France signed the armistice with Nazi Germany, putting Hitler in control of all the West European countries except Great Britain. -
Greco-Italian War
On this day in history 1940, during the early years of World War, Il Duce Benito Mussolini’s government declared war on Greece, starting the Italo-Greek War. This conflict would become the earliest front in the Greek campaign of the greater Mediterranean-North African campaign between by fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and the Allies, principally Britain and her. Benito Mussolini invaded Greece in a move that would end in utter disaster for Italy and the Axis powers. -
Suez Canal is blocked & Italy launches major attack on Greece
On March 6th, British forces invaded Ethiopia, the start of a three week blockage of the Suez Canal by the Germans placing magnetic and acoustic mines there. On March 9th, Italy launched a major attack on the Greeks but to no avail. -
Operation Barabrossa
Hitler invades Russia in an attempt to build Lebensraum (Living Space). Over 3 million Germans flung into this, Hitler refused to listen to Generals. In 1944 his own Generals tried to kill him (Valkyrie). Hitler thought he could get to Stalingrad quickly because he thought the Ukraine would simply let them pass, but they fought, and it set him back. Hitler had not yet learned that if you invade Russia in the summer, you should always pack for the winter. -
Einsatzgruppen is charged & Stalin calls for "Scorched Earth" Defense
Nazi German Einsatzgruppen (Special Action Groups), charged with the execution of Adolf Hitler's plan to exterminate Jews, murder 7,000 Jews in the Polish city of Lvov. Joseph Stalin calls for a "scorched earth" defense, in which both the Red Army and ordinary Russian citizens would lay waste to the land as they retreat from the advancing Germans, leaving nothing to support the enemy troops. -
Invasion of Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise torpedo attack on the US Naval Base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The next day President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a speech, also known as the “Infamy Speech” to the American citizens, informing them while the US was in the midst of talks for peace. America entered World War II.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. "FDR's Proposal to Congress." PBS, 08 Dec 1941. 04 Oct 2014 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/fdr-harbor/. -
Wannsee Conference
On January 20, 1942, 15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of what they called the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question." "The Wannsee Protocol." The Wansee Conference Protocol. Nazi Germany, 20 Jan. 1942 04 Oct. 2014 http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/Holocaust/wansee-transcript.html. -
The Doolittle Raid on Japan
Was the first U.S. air raid to strike Japanese home islands during WWII. The raid demonstrated how vulnerable Japanese home islands were to air attack after their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The raid boosted American morale and set in motion a chain of Japanese military events that were disastrous for their long-term war effort. Doolittle, James H. Mission Report. Rep. US Military, 20 Apr. 1942. 04 Oct 2014 <http://www.doolittleraider.com/interviews.htm#James H. Doolittle - Flight Report>. -
Battle of Midway
In May 1942, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto sought to draw the US Pacific Fleet into a battle where he could overwhelm and destroy it. Using decrypted Japanese radio intercepts, Admiral Chester Nimitz was able to counter this offensive. On June 4, 1942, US aircraft flying from USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, and USS Yorktown attacked and sunk four Japanese carriers, forcing Yamamoto to withdrawal. The Battle of Midway marked the turning point of World War II in the Pacific. -
Guadalcanal Campaign begins
Series of World War II land and sea clashes between Allied and Japanese forces on and around Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. Japanese troops had landed on Guadalcanal on July 6, 1942, and had begun constructing an airfield there. By February 1943 the Japanese, were forced to evacuate 12,000 of their remaining troops from Guadalcanal. Along with the naval Battle of Midway, the fighting on Guadalcanal marked a turning point in favor of the Allies in the Pacific War. -
D-Day
In Normandy Region of France; AKA Operation Overlord; by General Eisenhower, USA to become part of European part of War through a Secret Surprise Attack; was the Turning Point in War; First troops suffered tremendous Death Rates but the Technology & Massive Numbers tipped the scales for the Allies. Eisenhower, General. Letter to General Marshall. 06 June 1944. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Web. 04 Oct. 1944. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/d-day-memo/images/d-day-memo.jpg. -
Battle of the Bulge
In late 1944, in the wake of the allied forces' successful D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, it seemed as if the Second World War was all but over. But on December 16, with the onset of winter, the German army launched a counteroffensive that was intended to cut through the Allied forces in a manner that would turn the tide of the war in Hitler's favor. -
Yalta Conference
Meeting between Soviet Union, Britain & US to determine World after War. Everyone had different idea, no one could agree on anything.
Historic World Meeting, that would shape future destinations, seal Hitler’s State and establish everlasting Peace "The Yalta Conference" Modern History Sourcebook: The Yalta Conference, Feb. 1945. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1945YALTA.html. -
Battle of Okinawa
Also known as Operation Iceberg. The battle resulted in victory for the Allies, with huge casualties being inflicted on the Japanese army despite substantial losses for the Americans as well. This proved to be almost the last serious defense of Japanese territory before the end of the war. Becton, Frederick J. "Oral History: Battle for Okinawa." EHistory at OSU | Primary Sources. Naval Historical Center, 30 Jun. 1945 04 Oct. 2014. http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/oral/oralview.cfm?oralid=3 -
Germany Surrenders
The unconditional surrender of the German Third Reich was signed in the early morning hours of May 7, 1945. The scene was the war room at SHAEF, located in Reims. Across the conference table, representatives of the four Allied Powers: France, Great Britain, the USSR, and the US faced the three German officers. "German Unconditional Surrender." University of Oklahoma. 7 May 1945. Web. 04 Oct. 2014. http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/germsurr.shtml. -
USA bombs Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, the United States used a massive, atomic weapon against Hiroshima, Japan. This atomic bomb, equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT, flattened the city, killing tens of thousands of civilians. Truman, Harry S. "Announcing the Hiroshima Bomb." PBS, 06 Aug. 1945. 03 Oct. 2014. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/truman-hiroshima/. -
US bombs Nagasaki
Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s unconditional surrender in WWII on August 15, citing the devastating power of “a new and most cruel bomb.” Laurence, William L. "Eyewitness Account of Atomic Bomb Over Nagasaki." Atomic Archive. New York Times, 9 Sept. 1945. Web. 04 Oct. 2014. http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hiroshima/Nagasaki.shtml. -
Japan officially 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 Hiroshima and Nagasaki had left the country and its economy devastated. Mamouru, Minister. "Official Japanese Surrender." The Avalon Project: Formal Surrender. N.p., 02 Sept. 1945. Web. 05 Oct. 2014. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/j1.asp.
