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Germans invade Poland
Germany invaded Poland, setting off the war in Europe. The Soviet Union also invaded Poland and the Baltic nations. -
Germans enter Paris
German troops enter and occupy Paris. They surrendered before America could come and save the French.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris -
Germany bombs England
Germany bombed London from 10 July – 31 October 1940. For 3 months London was bombarded and they were barely able to hold their ground.
www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/germany_bombs_london -
Lend-lease act
United States gave weapons and supplies to Europe (Allies). They tried doing this without getting fully involved in World War II.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/lend-lease-act -
Operation Barbarossa
Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The largest German military operation of World War II. -
Pearl Harbour
Japanese fighter planes managed to bomb the base. Roosevelt declared war on Japan the day after.
www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Germany declares war on US
Four days after Pearl Harbour was bombed, Germany declares war on the United States. The US now has both Germany and Japan to worry about but decides to focus their attention on Japan. -
Bataan Death March
The day after the surrender of the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese, the 75,000 Filipino and American troops captured on the Bataan Peninsula begin a forced march to a prison camp near Cabanatuan. They would march for 65 miles.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bataan-death-march-begins -
Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. An important turning point in the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position.
www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
The successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising
The Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. By May 16, 1943, the Germans had crushed the uprising and left the ghetto area in ruins.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005188 -
D-day
Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control. 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.
www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. The last major offensive of the war for the Germans.
www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
As the Allies advanced across Europe at the end of the Second World War, they came across concentration camps filled with sick and starving prisoners.The first intake of food proved fatal for many prisoners, too weak from starvation to digest it. For the survivors of the Nazi camps, the road to recovery would be long and painful. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
American soldiers make their first strike on the Japanese Home Islands at Iwo Jima. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting, and the battle earned a place in American lore with the publication of a photograph showing the U.S. flag being raised in victory.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
US bombs Japan
President Harry S. Truman, warned by some of his advisers that any attempt to invade Japan would result in horrific American casualties, ordered that the new weapon be used to bring the war to a speedy end. An atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 80,000 people and fatally wounding thousands more.