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World War II
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Germany Invades Poland
Germany Invaded Poland after it created the Treaty with Russia, guaranteeing Russia wouldn't attack them. They used a style of war called the Blitzkrieg, or lightning war. It involved bombing Poland and then rushing all their forces at one point in the opponent's defense to get through and instigate chaos. It worked so well that Warsaw fell in less than a month. -
England and France declare war on Germany
Because Germany invaded Poland when they said they wouldn't, Churchill and de Gaulle declared war on Germany. -
Russia invades Poland
Russia and Germany created a treaty called the German-Soviet Pact, that let Germany invade western Poland and the USSR invade eastern Poland without fear of being attacked by each other. After Hitler attacked western Poland, Russia invaded eastern Poland. -
Warsaw, Poland surrenders to Hitler
Because of how effective the Blitzkrieg was, Germany had taken over western Poland in less than a month. -
France falls to Germany
After defeating Poland, Germany and the British French alliance took part in what is most commonly referred to as the Phony War. Both sides spent 6 months reinforcing their borders and creating trenches. Germany ended it to attack Denmark, and after he took them, he invaded France. France fell to the lightning warfare quickly, and surrendered the northern half to germany in less than 6 weeks. -
Battle of Britan begins
The Battle of Britan was a 57 day long bombing where Germany sent fleets of planes, trying to get Britain to surrender. Hitler didn't want to engage Britain's navy as he knew it was stronger than his. He hoped England would surrender to the constant bombing, but they never did. After 57 days, he gave up. -
Battle of Britan ends
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Hitler invades Russia
Hitler gave up on defeating Britain quickly after the Battle of Britain. Instead, he turned his sights to Russia. Despite his nonaggression pact, Hitler invaded Russia on June 22, 1941. They didn't expect it, but they managed to stop the lightning war with their numerous soldiers. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
Japan, led by Hirohito, realized that the US was likely going to join the war, and wanted to attack them to stop them from retailiating. hey bombed Pearl Harbor to try to get rid of the US's naval defense in the Pacific. Not only did they fail to destroy it all, but it made the US join the war sooner. -
United States and Great Britan declare war on Japan
After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the US decided to fight back. Britain was willing to help us, but they ended up being more focused on stopping Hitler. -
Germany, Italy, and Japan declare war on the US
When Hitler realized Hirohito was attempting to create an empire as well, they joined forces so that they could both gain as much territory as possible. This made Japan, Germany, and Italy all declare war on the US, since the US had declared war on Japan. -
US and Great Britan land on the beaches of Normandy
Often called D-Day, the US and Great Britain entered Normandy after stockpiling forces in Britain. Once they landed, they mangaed to fight the Germans out of France. Hitler's vast empire began to shrink. -
Hitler commits suicide
After seeing his empire's flame burn out, Hitler realized he would never win the war. The US was able to produce more weaponry than any other country. Once the US entered, Hitler's chances decreased dramatically. -
Germany Surrenders
After Hitler commits suicide, Germany loses hope. They the decide, that with the allies pressing in on Berlin from all sides, that they cannot win. They officially Surrender on May 7. -
Victory in Europe
After the Allies had proof Hitler was dead, they announced victory in Europe, also known as V-E Day. Germany surrendered to the US and Great Britan, but fought Russia for a few more days becuase they were trying to avoid Russia taking so many prisoners. Russia captured 2 million prisoners at the end of the war, and they celebrate VE Day a few days after the rest of the world because Germany kept fighting them. -
Atomic bomb on Hiroshima
When Japan entered the war on the side of Germany and Italy, they thought that the battle on the European Theater would last longer. They also hadn't anticipated the USA inventing the Atomic Bomb. Because it was considered extremely cowardly to surrender though, Japan fought on after Germany fell, so America dropped 2 bombs on it. The first was on Hiroshima. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
After we dropped a bomb on Hiroshima, we followed it with a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This devastated Japan, and caused them to surrender. Had they realized we didn't have any more atomic bombs, they might have kept fighting. -
Japan Surrenders
The bombings on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, coupled with the threat of more, made Hirohito surrender his vast Pacific Empire. Most Japanese soldiers still wanted to fight, because they considered surrendering, even when the war was hopeless, cowardly.
