World War 2 Timeline

Start of WW II

Sep 1, 1939

Article Germany invaded Poland, starting WW II.

Nazis invade France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

May 10, 1940

[Article](httphttp://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/as-germany-invades-holland-and-belgium-winston-churchill-becomes-prime-minister-of-great-britain://) "On this day in 1940, Hitler begins his Western offensive with the radio code word “Danzig,” sending his forces into Holland and Belgium. On this same day, having lost the support of the Labour Party, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns; Winston Churchill accedes to the office, becoming defense minister as well."

Roosevelt and Churchill announce the Atlantic Charter

Aug 14, 1941

Article "...Atlantic Charter, a joint proclamation by the United States and Britain declaring that they were fighting the Axis powers to "ensure life, liberty, independence and religious freedom and to preserve the rights of man and justice." "

First experimental use of gas chambers at Auschwitz

Sep 3, 1941

On this date, the Germans were starting to experimant with Zyclon-B gas. They were determining what they would use for "execution", and how they would do it; this day was a big part of how they would kill their victims.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/pearl-harbor-day-december-7-1941-date-live-infamy-pearl-harbor-photos-gallery-1.25192 The Japanese brought the United States into the war when they attacked us at Pearl Harbor.

Battle of Stalingrad Starts

Sep 13, 1942

Article "he Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942-Feb. 2, 1943), was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict."

Allied air raid causes a firestorm in Hamburg

Jul 27, 1943

Article Hamburg was bombed in July 1943. According to Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister for Propaganda, the bombing of Hamburg was the first time that he thought Nazi Germany might have to call for peace.

Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin meet at Teheran

Nov 28, 1943

Article
" In Teheran, Iran, the first meeting of the 'Big Three.'. Topics during the four-day conference included: Confirmation of the decision to invade Western Europe in the Spring of 1944; Plans for the invasion of Southern France; and a promise by Stalin to join in the war against Japan when Germany was defeated. "

First attack toward Cassino, Italy

Jan 17, 1944

Article
"A 240-mm Howitzer of Battery B from the U.S. 697th Field Artillery Battalion prepares to fire into German-held territory near Cassino, Italy. January 1944."

Germans counter-attack against the Anzio beachhead

Feb 16, 1944

Article
"German prisoners at the Anzio beachhead below Rome, soon to be sent to prison camps. February 1944."

British drop 3000 tons of bombs during an air raid on Hamburg, Germany.

Mar 18, 1944

Article
"Adolf Hitler, accompanied by other German officials, grimly inspects bomb damage in a German city in 1944."

D-Day

Jun 6, 1944

Article "...the day the Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II. "

First German V-1 rocket attack on Britain

Jun 13, 1944

Article
"The 'V' came from the German word Vergeltungswaffen, meaning weapons of reprisal. The V-1 was developed by German scientists at the Peenemünde research facility on the Baltic Sea, under the direction of Wernher von Braun and Walter Dornberger
They were nicknamed "buzz bombs" by the British due to the distinct buzzing sound made by the pulse-jet engines powering the bombs, which overall resembled a small aircraft. Other British nicknames included "doodlebugs" and "flying bombs." "

U.S. troops liberate Cherbourg, France

Jun 27, 1944

Article
"A dead German soldier who was one of the "last stand" defenders of German-held Cherbourg. Captain Earl Topley, who led one of the first outfits into the fallen city, said he likely killed three of his men. Below: French refugees return to liberated Cherbourg."

Massive German surrender at Aachen, Germany

Oct 21, 1944

Article "The long, endless procession of German POWs after the fall of Aachen. October 1944."

Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes

Dec 16, 1944

Article
"A heavily armed German soldier on the offensive. Below Left: American soldiers taken prisoner by the Nazis. Below Right: Two Americans lie dead in the slush, stripped of all equipment."

Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin meet at Yalta

Feb 4, 1945

Article " British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, along with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet Leader Josef Stalin, attend the conference at Yalta. February 1945."

Victory in Europe

May 8, 1945

Article "On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day."

Japan Surrenders

Sep 2, 1945

Article "By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated. At the end of June, the Americans captured Okinawa, a Japanese island from which the Allies could launch an invasion of the main Japanese home islands."

Japanese sign the surrender agreement

Sep 2, 1945

Article "The Japanese envoy signs the Document of Surrender on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo bay. September 2, 1945. "