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Germany invades Poland (Europe)
On this day, German troops marched through Polish towns, bombarding them from the air and the ground. This was an act from Hitler to regain and grow his already conquered territory. Hitler used a strategy called 'blitzkrieg'. The way this was done is prior to the invasion, he dropped bombs all over the country, damaging resources, communication lines and air capacities. He then invaded with troops, artilitery and tanks. -
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World War 2 Dates
The dates for the start and end of World War 2 -
Britain and France declare war on Germany (Europe)
On this day, after Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France join together to declare war on Germany. The first casualty of this war was the British oceanliner Athenia, sunk by a German submarine. America was unfazed from this event, even with troops on board the ship. Britain also was unfazed, dropping over 13 tonnes of anti-Nazi leaflets over Germany before bombing their ships. During the bombing, Britain was under strict instruction to not harm civilians. -
France Surrenders to Germany (Europe)
Hitler unleashes great force against British and French forces, pushing them right back to the English channel. He began his invasion by taking Paris forst, before moving out towards the country's borders.This invasion caused the fleeing of over 10 million refugees from France. On June 14, Germany enter Paris for free as the French are far pushed back and declare the city an open city. On June 17, the French army leader announces on French radio that the army must stop fighting. -
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Batte of Britain (Europe)
Germany unleash a string of airaids over the UK. It was the largest sustained campaign to that date. It locked British and German Air Forces in a massive dogfight above Britain. It was a major turning point in the war. After months of bombing British military bases, Germany still was unable to gain air superiority, leading them to not being able to launch a ground invasion to ultimately occupy Britain. -
Japanese bomb the American fleet at Pearl Harbour (Pacific)
On this day, starting in the morning, hundreds of Japanese bombing planes airraided the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbour, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The attack lasted 2 hours but left devastating effects. They managed to destroy 20 naval vessels, including 8 battleships and destroyed around 300 airplanes. More than 2000 American soldiers died in the attack and it left more than 1000 wounded. The next day, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan. -
USA declares war on the Axis powers (Pacific)
After declaring war on Japan, the House then decalres war on the Axis Powers, Japan, Germany and Italy. In response, Hitler announces in a rambling speech that Germany has declared war against America. -
Japanese Bomb Darwin (Pacific)
The Darwin Bombings/Battle of Darwin was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. In 2 separate raids, 242 Japanese aircraft attacked the town, bombing its harbour and ships within, and surrounding airfields, to ensure the bases cannot be used for the war going on in Europe and Asia. Urban areas of Darwin were slightly affected and there were some civilian casualties. -
Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney (Pacific) [1]
On this afternoon, 3 large submarines sitting 13 kilometres outside of the Harbour, launched midget submarines into the Harbour, their aim to sink ships anchored in the Harbour and one specific ship, the USS Chicago, an American heavy cruiser. Electronic detection equipment picked up the signal of one of the midget submarines which had entered the Harbour, this was looked over as it was thought to have been another boat entering. Later, other boatsmen noticed the subs and the alarm was raised. -
Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney (Pacific) [2]
When the 2 Japanese men inside the midget submarine realised they had been spotted and were trapped, they blew up themselves and the midget submarine. Later, sailors spotted the second midget submarine. They put a spotlight on it and opened fire but it got away, later that night, gunners on the HMAS Geelong also opened fire at a midget submarine. At around 12:30am, a torpedo fired at the USS Chicago missed and instead, hit HMAS Kuttabul, destroying the craft, killing 21 sailors on board. -
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Australians fight Japanese on the Kokoda track (Pacific)
Australians fight against the Japanese along the Kokoda track to prevent them from taking over Port Moresby. More than 600 troops are killed and 1600+ wounded. Port Moresby was Australia's main military base in New Guinea, so the Japanese had tried to invade and capture it. The Japanese pushed the Australians and Papua New Guinea troops away from Kokoda Village, and had out numbered them until more troops were sent in, veterans from the Middle East and more Battalions were sent in to help. -
Germany lose battle of Stalingrad to the USSR (Europe)
This defeat left Germany unable to recover from. It was a shattering blow to the Nazi army. They were defeated by the USSR when they launched operation Uranus, which led troops to surround the German troops. Lacking resources like ammunition and food, the Germans were unable to escape from the counter attack. -
D-Day Landings in Normandy, France (Europe)
This was the largest ever seaborne invasion in history. It was called Operation Overlaord and was the beginning of the liberation German-occupied Europe in the North-Western side. This massive invasion contributed to the win over the Nazi's in World War 2. Allied countries had started planning the invasion since 1943, and in the months leading into the invasion, they launched Operation Bodyguard, creating a diversion for the German army so they were distracted, letting the landings be a success. -
Allies Enter Germany (Europe)
As the allies enter Germany, Hitler knows defeat is near, allegedly commiting suicide in a bumker under the completely destroyed Berlin. -
End of World War 2 (Europe)
This date marked the end of World War 2 in Europe. During the liberations, allied troops start to capture enemy forces, capturing around 1.5 million Axis troops and over 800,000 German troops. All these troops surrendering as the war had been won by the allies. In early April, a place governed by the allies was developed to hold all the surrendered and captured troops established in Western Germany. In the last months of the war and after the war, allied troops liberate concentration camps. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Pacific)
The US drop a uranium gun-type atomic bomb named Little Boy on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It missed its intended target, the Aioi Bridge, because of crosswind and instead landed on a clinic. The explosion was the equivalent of 16 kilotons of TNT. The radius of total destruction was about a 1.6km, and fires accross starting up to 11km. Some 80,000 people were killed in the blast, 20,000 of whom were soldiers, and left 70,000 injured. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki (Pacific)
The atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki was named Fat Man. It carried around 6.4kg of plutonium. It was dropped above an industrial area and exploded 47 seconds after launch. The explosion was the equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT, and heated up to 3,900 degrees celsius and winds at 1,005 km/h. Although this bomb was much more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima, hillsides blocked out some of the explosion, dealing less damage. Casualties ranged from 29,000 to 75,000 as immedaite deaths. -
Japan unconditionally surrendered (Pacific)
The surrender of Japan was announced on 14th August, 1945, and signed on 2nd September, 1945. Together, the American, Chinese and British forces call for an unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration. The Potsdam, standing for Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, surrendered all Japanese armed forces and if they did not sign, Japan would have to face "prompt and utter destruction".
![Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney (Pacific) [1]](https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.timetoast.com/public/uploads/photo/8088311/image/e9ff454727096be3a7d8e76b53de33c3?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAJB6ZCNNAN7BE7WDQ%2F20240827%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240827T011842Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=dfce5ef1ef135f303ebd9368952e123120da371c43cbc2064c9f475d22b2a932)
