-
The Invasion (Blitzkrieg) of Poland
German forces launched a surprise attack on Poland. Army Group North attacked from Pomerania and East Prussia -
Great Britain and France Declare War on Nazi Germany
two days after the German invasion of Poland. The guarantees given to Poland by Britain and France marked the end of the policy of appeasement. -
The Invasion (Blitzkrieg) of Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands & France
Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.French there, with the aim of fighting the German occupation of France. -
The Battle & Great Escape at Dunkirk
involved the rescue of more than 338,000 British and French soldiers from the French port of Dunkirk between 27 May and 4 June 1940 -
The Battle of Britain
it kept Nazi materials of war focused on Britain, steeled the will of the British people to find the war to the end, and demonstrated that the Nazis were not invincible. -
Selective Service & Training Act
which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft. This was the first peacetime draft in United States' history. -
Lend-Lease Assistance Act
this act set up a system that would allow the United States to lend or lease war supplies to any nation deemed "vital to the defense of the United States -
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, just before 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941. -
America Enters World War II
Japanese carrier planes attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, knocking out over 200 planes and sinking or damaging eight battleships, the pride of the US Pacific fleet -
Germany and Italy Declare War on the United States
Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. Hitler announced in Berlin that Germany, Italy On December 16, 1941, Congress approved legislation giving President Roosevelt virtually unlimited powers over defense contracts, the reorganization of government -
The Battle of the Coral Sea
was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. -
The Battle of Midway Island
the United States destroyed Japan's first-line carrier strength and most of its best trained naval pilots. -
The Invasion of North Africa
Operation Torch, and it was agreed that the supreme command of the invasion should be given to an American. -
The Invasion of Sicily & Italy
he fall of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and the surrender of the Italian government to the Allies. -
The D-Day Invasion of France
brought together the land, air, and sea forces of the allied armies in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history. -
Nazi Concentration Camps Discovered
Russian and Polish investigators photographed the camps at Majdanek and Auschwitz, and US army photographers made a documentary on Struthof, the only Nazi concentration camp based in what is now France. -
The Battle of the Bulge
was a major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II which took place from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg -
The Yalta Conference
was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. -
V-E (Victory in Europe) Day
day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official end of World War II in Europe in the Eastern Front, with the last known shots fired -
The Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima
The bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict -
The Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki
The bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. -
V-J (Victory over Japan) Day
would officially be celebrated in the United States on the day formal surrender documents were signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay: September 2, 1945. But as welcome as victory over Japan was, the day was bittersweet in light of the war's destructiveness.