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Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
Adolf Hitler vows to change the Treaty of Versailles, the people of Germany hearing this in a time of desperateness vote him to be in a place of higher power, The Chancellor of Germany. -
Germany Anschluss of Austria
March 11th-13th, Nazi Germany took over their neighbouring country, Austria. This is known as Anschluss (a united Austria and Germany that would become a 'Greater Germany.'). The Anschluss is the first act of the Nazi regime that showed their hunger of territorial expansion. -
Treaty of Munich
On September 29-30, Great Britain, Italy, France, and Germany sign the Munich agreement. The agreement stated that Czechoslovakia must surrender its defences and border regions to Nazi Germany. The German troops later occupied these regions between October 1st 1938 to October 10th 1930. -
Invasion of Poland
Germany invades Poland on the 1st of September expanding their empire. On the 3rd of September the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, on the same day France joins the United Kingdom. -
Phony War
During this period France and United Kingdom had declared war on Germany yet did not act on their actions and instead ignored their claim of war out of fear, till France was invaded by Germany. -
Germany invades Denmark and Norway
Called 'Operation Weserübung' the Germans invaded Denmark and Norway 9th of April 1940. The Germans invaded Denmark first, and used it as a base of operations, which proved useful whilst battling Demark, they resisted for 2 months and later surrendered. -
Dunkirk
The evacuation of all people who reside in Dunkirk, Operation Dynamo. More than 338,000 British and French soldiers from the French port of Dunkirk had escaped between 26th of May till 4th of June 1940. The evacuation is often referred to as "The Miracle of Dunkirk," which was a big boost for morale in Britain. The reason this evacuation was even possible is a large amount of supplies was left behind from the Germans and could be used to escape. -
France signs armistice with Germany
On June 22, 1940, The France entails its surrender in the second world war, by signing an Armistice agreement with Germany. It would mean that France would now become divided into two zones, one would be under the control of the Germany military for it to occupy and one to be under Frances full authority. -
Operation Barbarossa
The German invasion of the Soviet Union, often called Operation Barbarossa, was launched on June 22nd, 1941. The Barbarossa force had around 3000 tanks, 2500 aircraft, and 7000 artillery pieces. It was the largest and most powerful invasion force recorded in human history. The operation resulted in a failure as the German troops were defeated by Soviet forces due to their knowledge, correctly estimating how many divisions were in the western part, this resulted in a turning point in the war. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, 1941, The naval base of the United States located at Hawaii was attacked by surprise by Japan. Since the start of 1941, the US had been aiding Great Britain in its battle against Nazi Germany. The Us had also been pressuring Japan to cease its military expansion in Asia. The reason behind the attack was to prevent the United States Pacific Fleet from impeding into Japan's military plans in Southeast Asia. -
Doolittle Raid
A bombing operation led by James H. Doolittle called The Doolittle Raid, was a mission where the aim was to lead an American air raid bombing the city of Tokyo and other Japanese provinces. As a result of the raid a boost of morale was found on the side of the Allies, but Japan retaliated during 1942 to 1943. -
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allies planned an operation called Operation Husky, it was to be before sunrise. A massive amphibious attack on the southern shores of the island. The battle was 3 days long involving 3000 ships, 150,000 ground troops, and the sky being polluted by more than 4000 aircrafts. -
D-day of Normady
The beaches of Normandy France was in the middle of a huge battle. Air forces, land forces, and naval forces were all in the fight, making it the largest 'amphibious' invasion in history. The operation was given the name, OVERLORD. -
Mussolini captured and executed
In the village of Dongo, on Lake Como, Mussolini and his wife Claretta Petacci were captured by local partisans, then later executed in public, 2 days later followed the suicide of Hitler. -
Hitler commits suicide
In the heart of Berlin Soviet troops had invaded it, Hitler knowing this was in his underground chambers, where he had decided to take his own life on the 30th of April, 1945, as he had realized that the war was lost, it's believed he shot himself but we do not know. -
Germany Surrenders
The unconditional surrender of Germany had been signed early in the morning on May 7th, 1945. France, Britain, United States of America, and The Soviet Union were present. -
V.E Day
8th of May was the day after Germany had unconditionally surrendered, this day was marked as the end of world war 2 on the eastern front of Europe, this day was celebrated and is a national holiday in Britain. -
Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The United States made two atomic bombs, dropping one on Hiroshima of Japan codenamed 'little boy', leveling the entire city and killing hundreds of thousands from radiation, the impact of the bomb, the ash in the atmosphere, and hot temperatures. -
Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki
On the 6th of August, 1945, The United States dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki of Japan, causing yet another hundreds of thousands to die from the moment of impact, to the radiation and scorching temperatures, these two major events led to the surrender of Japan. The bomb was codenamed 'fat boy'. -
Japanese Surrender
On September 2, 1945 Japan signed the official Instrument of Surrender, something they vowed never to do, however a major event took place which forced them to surrender, the invention of the atomic bomb which levelled Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and killed hundreds of thousands. The final agreement allowed the United States to keep a base in Okinawa and in other locations in Japan.