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Germany invades Poland
When Germany was invading Poland, the first use of Germany's new tactic, Blitzkrieg, was used. Blitzkrieg consisted of a high speed attack that used tanks supported with fighter planes and dive-bombers. This invasion signalled the start of WWII. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
As Germany invades Poland, Britain, France and other countries such as Australia and New Zealand declares war on Germany as they promised to protect Poland if Germany attacks Poland. However, the allies were too far away to provide help to the Poles. -
France surrenders to Germany
Germany invades France and the British were able evacuate Dunkirk. With the new French government as Germany's ally, France could not help Britain fight against Germany, meaning that Britain must face the threat of Germany by themselves. -
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The Battle of Britain(German air raids over the UK)
When Winston Churchill, the new Prime Minister, declared that Britain would not negotiate for peace, Hitler created Operation Sea Lion, where devastating air attacks were to be followed by landings of German troops. For a seaborne invasion to succeed, Germany first had to win control of the air. Germany destroyed convoys of ships, airfields, military installations, ports and cities. However the RAF were able to deny the Nazi control of the air and end the Battle of Britain. -
Japanese bomb the American fleet at Pearl Harbour
Waves of Japanese planes from several aircraft carriers attack the US naval base, Pearl Harbour, and in doing so, were able to destroy half of the US fleet. This attack is what pushed America to join the war against the Axis Powers and join the Allies. -
USA declare war on the Axis powers(Japan, Germany and Italy)
One day after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the US President, strongly sympathised with the Allies despite many Americans opposing America's involvement in the war, this brought a powerful ally to Britain. -
Japanese bomb Darwin(the first of 64 attacks)
The Japanese first attack against Australia was in Darwin. The Japanese bombed Darwin, this attack being the first of 64 attacks, bringing the war to Australia while unprepared, adding to panic and fear. -
Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney
After a few months after bombing Darwin, the Japanese make a daring attack against Sydney and managed to get midget submarines to shell houses and sink a ferry with 19 on-board dead. This raised the level of fear in Australians as the attack occured in a majorly populated area. -
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Australians fight the Japanese along the Kokoda track, Papua, preventing them from taking Port Morseby
Japan attempted to capture Port Moresby in Papua to strengthen their hold on Rabaul and attack south of New Guinea. The Australians fought against the Japanese with the Natives, nicknamed the 'fuzzy wuzzy angels', supporting them. The war was shortened due to the Japanese, who were forced to retreat due to a lack of supplies and the territory was regained by Australia. -
D-Day Landings in Normany, France
The Allies realised that the key to winning the war was to create a second front in western Europe, but to do so they must invade Hitler's ‘Fortress Europa’. The largest invasion fleet of all time set sail from the southern coast of England to land an invasion force on the coast of Normandy. The landings took place of five key beaches along the French coast. -
Allies enter Berlin and Hitler commits suicide
With the Allies advancing on Germany from France and the Soviets from the west, defending the capital Berlin would prove to be difficult. The Soviets were able to capture the Reichstag, and Hitler committed suicide inside his underground bunker. The Germans then knew that the war would soon be over. -
The end of the war in Europe
Around a week after the Nazi were defeated and Hitler's death, Germany was forced to sign an unconditional surrender to the Allies. This surrender finally brought the end of World War II in Europe. -
Japan rejects the Allied offer of armistice(peace)
With the Japanese losing control of islands in the Pacific to the US forces, the allies were close to defeating Japan. Japan was then demanded to unconditionally surrender, however the Japanese government opposed this and refused, causing the war in the Pacific to last longer. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The atomic bomb developed from the top-secret 'Manhattan Project' was first used on the Japanese due to the Japanese government refusing to unconditionally surrender to the Allies. The results were devastating and is seen as one of the most destructive events in human history. -
Japan unconditionally surrendered
After the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the Japanese government knew that they had lost. Japan then agreed to thhe unconditional surrender to the Allies and ended World War II in the Pacific, finally bringing the war to its end.
