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Poland defeated
Marking the beginning of the Second World War, The Poles were defeated swiftly by the German Blitzkrieg (lightning war), which they were ill-equipped to deal with. It consisted of rapid thrusts by motorized divisions and tanks (Panzers) supported by airpower. When the Russians invaded eastern Poland, resistance collapsed. On 29 September Poland was divided up between Germany and the USSR (as agreed in the pact of August 1939). -
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The Battle of the Atlantic
Was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II. This was the struggle against German U-boats attempting to deprive Britain of food and raw materials. At the beginning of 1942, the Germans had 90 U-boats in operation and 250 being built. Losses reached a peak of 108 ships in March 1943, almost two-thirds of which were in convoy. By July 1943 the Allies could produce ships at a faster rate than the U-boats could sink them, and the situation was under control. -
The 'phoney war'
Very little happened in the west for the next five months (October 1939–March 1940). The French and Germans manned their respective defences - the Maginot and Siegfried Lines. Hitler seems to have hoped that the pause would weaken the resolve of Britain and France and encourage them to negotiate peace. This lack of action pleased Hitler's generals, who were not convinced that the German army was strong enough to attack in the west. The American press described this period as the 'phoney war' -
Denmark and Norway invaded
Hitler's troops occupied Denmark and landed at the main Norwegian ports in April 1940, rudely shattering the apparent calm of the 'phoney war'. Control of Norway was important for the Germans because Narvik was the main outlet for Swedish iron-ore, which was vital for the German armaments industry. The British were interfering with this trade by laying mines in Norwegian coastal waters, and the Germans were afraid that they might try to take over some of Norway's ports. -
Hitler attacks Holland, Belgium and France
The attacks on Holland, Belgium and France were launched simultaneously on 10 May, and again Blitzkrieg methods brought swift victories.The Dutch, shaken by the bombing of Rotterdam, which killed almost a thousand people, surrendered after only four days. Belgium held out for longer, but her surrender at the end of May left the British and French troops in Belgium perilously exposed as German motorized divisions swept across northern France; only Dunkirk remained in Allied hands. -
The Battle of Britain
This was fought in the air when Goering's Luftwaffe tried to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a preliminary to the invasion of Britain. The Germans bombed harbours, radar stations, aerodromes and munitions factories; in September they began to bomb London, in retaliation, they claimed, for a British raid on Berlin. When it became clear that British air power was far from being destroyed, Hitler called off the invasion. -
Mussolini invades Egypt
Mussolini sent an army from the Italian colony of Libya which penetrated about 60 miles into Egypt (September 1940), while another Italian army invaded Greece from Albania (October). However, the British soon drove the Italians out of Egypt, pushed them back far into Libya and defeated them at Bedafomm, capturing 130 000 prisoners and 400 tanks. They seemed poised to take the whole of Libya. -
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THE HOLOCAUST
The Holocaust, was the World War II genocide of the European Jews. Between December 1941, when the first Jews were killed at Chelmno in Poland, and May 1945 when the Germans surrendered, some 5.7 million Jews were murdered, along with hundreds of thousands of non-Jews - gipsies, socialists, communists, homosexuals and the mentally handicapped. -
Hitler's forces invaded Greece
Hitler's first moves in 1941 were to help out his faltering ally. In February together with the Italians, they drove the British out of Libya. In April 1941 Hitler's forces invaded Greece, the day after 60 000 British, Australian and New Zealand troops had arrived to help the Greeks. The Germans soon captured Athens, forcing the British to withdraw, and after bombing Crete, they launched a parachute invasion of the island; again the British were forced to evacuate (May 1941). -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler's motives seem to have been mixed: He feared that the Russians might attack Germany while his forces were still occupied in the west. He hoped that the Japanese would attack Russia in the Far East. The more powerful Japan became, the less chance there was of the USA entering the war (or so Hitler thought). But above all, there was his hatred of communism and his desire for Lebensraum(living space). -
Stalingrad
The Germans had reached Stalingrad at the end of August 1942, but though they more or less destroyed the city, the Russians refused to surrender. In November they counter-attacked ferociously, trapping the Germans, whose supply lines were dangerously extended, in a large pincer movement. With his retreat cut off, the German commander, von Paulus, had no reasonable alternative but to surrender with 94 000 men (2 February 1943). -
The USA enters the war
The USA was brought into the war by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (their naval base in the Hawaiian Islands). Until then Americans, still intent on isolation, but remained neutral, though, after the Lend-Lease Act (April 1941), they had provided Britain with massive financial aid. Japanese motives for the attack were tied up with economic problems. Declaring war on the USA was perhaps Hitler's most serious mistake. -
Midway Island
At Midway Island in the Pacific the Americans beat off a powerful Japanese attack, which included five aircraft carriers, nearly 400 aircraft, 17 large warships and an invasion force of 5000 troops. The Americans, with only three carriers and 233 planes, destroyed four of the Japanese carriers and about 330 planes. -
El Alamein
At El Alamein in Egypt Rommel's Afrika Korps were driven back by the British Eighth Army, commanded by Montgomery. This great battle was the culmination of several engagements fought in the El Alamein area: first, the Axis advance was temporarily checked (July); when Rommel tried to break through he has halted again at Alam Halfa (September); finally, seven weeks later in the October battle, he was chased out of Egypt for good by the British and New Zealanders. -
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The fall of Italy
This was the first stage in the Axis collapse. British and American troops landed in Sicily from the sea and air (10 July 1943) and quickly captured the whole island. This caused the downfall of Mussolini, who was dismissed by the king. Marshal Badoglio, Mussolini's successor, signed an armistice and brought Italy into the war on the Allied side. However, the Germans, determined to hold on to Italy, rushed troops through the Brenner Pass to occupy Rome and the north. -
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord the invasion of France also known as the Second Front -began on 'D-Day', 6 June 1944. It was felt that the time was ripe now that Italy had been eliminated, the U-boats brought under control and Allied air superiority achieved. The landings took place from sea and air on a 60-mile stretch of Normandy beaches between Cherbourg and Le Havre. There was strong German resistance, but at the end of the first week, 326 000 men with tanks and heavy lorries bad landed safely. -
The assault on Germany
Determined British and American action stemmed the advance and pushed the Germans back to their original position. But the Battle of the Bulge, was important because Hitler had risked everything on the attack and had lost 250 000 men and 600 tanks, which at this stage could not be replaced. Early in 1945, Germany was being invaded on both fronts, from east and west. -
Germany surrendered.
On 30 April 1945, Hitler committed suicide and days later on 07 May Germany surrendered. -
The defeat of Japan
On 6 August 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing perhaps as many as 84 000 people and leaving thousands more slowly dying of radiation poisoning. Three days later they dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, which killed perhaps another 40 000; after this, the Japanese government surrendered. The dropping of these bombs was one of the most controversial actions of the entire war.
