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The timeline of WW2
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German invasion of Poland
The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack.After heavy shelling and bombing, Warsaw surrendered.Britain and France,standing by their guarantee of Poland's border,had declared war on Germany on September 3,1939.This started World War 2. -
Battle of Britain (1)
With the fall of France in June 1940, Britain alone was left to face the growing power of Nazi Germany. Hitler had hoped for a negotiated peace. This hope quickly eroded as new Prime Minister Winston Churchill reasserted Britain's commitment to fight on to the end. Reacting to this, Hitler ordered on July 16 that preparations begin for the invasion of Great Britain. -
Battle of Britain (2)
From July 1940, coastal shipping convoys and shipping centres, were the main targets; one month later the Luftwaffe shifted its attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed the Luftwaffe also targeted aircraft factories and ground infrastructure. Eventually the Luftwaffe resorted to attacking areas of political significance and using terror bombing strategy. -
Battle of Britain (3)
On September 5, Hitler issued orders that London and other British cities be attacked without mercy.This signaled a key strategic change as the Luftwaffe ceased hitting the beleaguered airfields and focused on the cities. With the Luftwaffe having massive losses in the past few months, Hitler finally gave up and the forces were dispersed.This battle was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces, and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date. -
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Battle of Britain (4)
This was the first significant defeat for Hitler, and a crucial turning point in the Second World War. It broke the people's fear of that Hitler was unbeatable, and the Battle of Britain ensured that Britain would continue the fight against Germany. A boost for Allied morale, the victory helped cause a shift in international opinion in favor of their cause. In the fighting, the British lost 1,547 aircraft with 544 killed. Luftwaffe losses totaled 1,887 aircraft and 2,698 killed. -
Operation Barbarossa-Russia (2)
The Germans won resounding victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the Soviet Union, but was pushed back from Moscow , due to the impact of the freezing temperatures. -
Operation Barbarossa-Russia (1)
Operation Barbarossa was the name given to Nazi Germany’s invasion of Russia on June 22nd 1941. Operation Barbarossa was the largest military operation in human history in both manpower and casualties and was to have appalling consequences for the Russian people. Its failure was a turning point in the Third Reich's fortunes. Most importantly, Operation Barbarossa opened up the Eastern Front, to which more forces were committed than in any other theater of war in world history. -
Battle of Moscow, Russia (1)
The Battle for Moscow - code-named as 'Operation Typhoon' -started on October 2 1941. The capture of Moscow, Russia's capital, was seen as vital to the success of 'Operation Barbarossa'. The plans called for a double-pincer movement against the Soviet Western and Reserve Fronts near Vyazma while a second force moved to capture Bryansk to the south. With the success of these maneuvers,German forces would advance to encircle Moscow and hopefully compel Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to make peace. -
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Battle of Moscow,Russia (2)
Though reasonably sound on paper, the plans for Operation Typhoon failed to account for the fact that German forces were battered after several months of campaigning and that their supply lines were having difficulty getting goods to the front.The failure of German forces at Moscow doomed Germany to fighting a prolonged struggle on the Eastern Front. This part of the war would consume the vast majority of its manpower and resources for the remainder of the conflict. -
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Battle of Stalingrad, Russia (2)
Russians consider this battle to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. -
Battle of Stalingrad, Russia (1)
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. The Soviet victory at Stalingrad was a great humiliation for Hitler, who had elevated the battle's importance in German opinion. He now became more distrustful than ever of his generals. Stalin, on the other hand, gained confidence in his military, which followed up Stalingrad with a westward drive and remained largely on the offensive for the rest of the war. -
Battle of Kursk, Russia (1)
On this day in 1943, one of the greatest clashes of armor in military history takes place as the German offensive against the Russian fortification at Kursk, a Russian railway and industrial center, is stopped in a devastating battle, marking the turning point in the Eastern front in the Russians' favor. -
Battle of Kursk, Russia (2)
In June, the German invaders launched an air attack against Kursk; on the ground,Operation Cottbus was launched, ostensibly dedicated to destroy Russian partisan activity, but in reality resulting in the wholesale slaughter of Russian civilians, among whom Soviet partisan fighters had been hiding. The Russians responded with air raids against German troop formations.The fight was hard,but they stopped the German advance dead in its tracks.The Germans' stay in Soviet terrtory was coming to a end. -
D-Day, France (1)
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. -
D-Day,France (2)
The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe. -
Battle of the Bulge, Lux/ Beglgium
On this day, the Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, 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.The Battle of the Bulge was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army, which suffered over 100,000 casualties. -
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Battle of the Bulge-Lux/ Beglgium
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Battle of Berlin (1)
The battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II. Before the battle was over, Adolf Hitler and a number of his followers committed suicide. The city's defenders finally surrendered on 2 May 1945. -
Battle of Berlin (2)
The Battle for Berlin all but marked the end of World War Two in Europe. The Battle for Berlin, along with the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic and D-Day, was of vital importance in the European sector. It was fought between April and May 1945, and the Russian victory saw the end of Hitler's Third Reich and the occupation of the city by the Red Army before it was divided into four as a result of the wartime meetings between the Allies. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan
On August 6, 1945, the first time nuclear weapons were used, and later ushered the world into a Nuclear Age. Unwilling to risk more American casualties, the United States used a massive, atomic weapon against Hiroshima, Japan. This atomic bomb, the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, flattened the city, killing tens of thousands of civilians. While Japan was still trying to comprehend this devastation three days later, the United States struck again, this time, on Nagasaki. -
Atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan
On August 9 1945, the USAAF(the United States Army Air Force) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, causing 40,000 people killed and 23,000 injured. The following day, the Japanese government requested the terms of surrender.The results of the attacks shaped world history during the Cold War and the nuclear arms race for the 45 years after the attack until 1991.The bombings essentially ended the Second World War, and shaped international politics and United States policy since.
