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German Invasion of Poland
Germany launched the blitzkrieg which was tested three years earlier during the Spanish Civil War upon Poland. Poland's two million man army was quickly defeated. The Soviet Union attacked from the west. The British declared war on Germany on September 3. -
German Invasion of Poland
Germany launched the blitzkrieg tested three years earlier during the Spanish Civil War upon Poland. Poland's two million man army was easily defeated, many of whom were on horseback against German tanks. Picture Citation- www.ushmm.org -
Battle of the Atlantic
German U-Boats patrolled the Atlantic against the British blockade of Europe and in an effort to stop supplies from America from ever reaching Britain. The German navy under the command of Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, carried out total unrestricted submarine warfare to cut off Britain's imports and military supplies. -
Germany Invades Denmark & Norway
Hitler said that he had to protect Denmark and Norway. He rolled his tanks across its borders on April 9, 1940 in spite of a treaty he had with Denmark. Vidkun Quisling was the head or Norway's government. He would later become a traitor. picture citation- planetcoh.gamespy.com -
Germany invades Holland and Belgium
The Dutch were helpless against the blitzkrieg. On May 14, the Dutch city, Rotterdam was bombed into submission with no provocation. A government-in-exile was established in England. The Dutch surrendered after having 10,000 casualties. Hitler placed the Dutch under the rule of Artur von Seyss-Inquart. King Leopold refused to escape, and many saw this as a form of collaboration with the Germans so he was forced to step down from his throne after the war in 1951. -
Evacuation from Dunkirk Begins
After Belgium fell, the British forces were trapped. The only way to escape back to England was the port of Dunkirk on the French coast.
The British called upon its civil population to donate any small ships that were available to move men and equipment from the European mainland. -
Paris falls. France surrenders.
After the first air raids on Paris, 2,000 tanks were quickly moved to the capital. Marshal Henri Petain surrendered to the Germans. The French signed an armistice at Compeigne on June 22 in the same railway car that Germany signed its humiliating armistice to end World War I. -
Battle of Britain begins
From September, 1940 to June 1941 the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on the major cities of Great Britain. Over 30,000 Londoners died, but Germany lost over 1,700 aircraft. The plan, Operation Sea Lion, was directed by Luftwaffe chief Herman Goering. The plan to bomb Britain into submission was abandoned when Hitler launched his attack on the Soviet Union in 1941.Picture Citation- www.dipity.com -
Battle For Tobruk begins
The British were successful in removing the Italians from Egypt. Their next win was at Tobruk in Lybia. 30,000 Italians gave in to a mainly Australian force in late January, 1942. Hitler appointed Field Marshal Erwin Rommel as commander of Axis forces in North Africa. -
Battle For Tobruk begins.
The British went on the offensive in North Africa. They were successful in removing the Italians from Egypt, and their next victory was at Tobruk in Lybia. 30,000 Italians gave in to a mainly Australian force in late January, 1942. -
Operation Barbarossa
The Germans positioned three army groups along the eastern frontier: north pointed towards Leningrad, the central group towards Moscow, and the South toward Stalingrad. The Germans would be troubled by the cold Russian weather and supply lines that stretched too long. -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese navy and air force attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. 2,350 Americans were killed. The United States Pacific Fleet in Battleship Row was severely crippled. 29 Japanese aircraft were downed. he United States had entered the war against Japan. Picture Citation-www.ibtimes.com -
Philippines fall to Japan
Japanese control of the Philippines would lead to control over all of east Asia. The attack came the day after Pearl Harbor. General Douglas MacArthur only had 90,000 troops, which he pulled back to the Bataan Peninsula, where the US forces experienced starvation conditions in the Bataan Death March. Picture Citation- poisonpage.blogspot.com -
Battle of Midway
Admiral Chester Nimitz commanded a considerable force due to effective code breaking after Pearl Harbor. Japanese fighters were met by a strong air response from the Hornet, Yorktown, and Enterprise. The Yorktown would be lost but the Japanese threat to the Eastern Pacific was over. Picture citation-www.history.navy.mil -
Battle of Stalingrad Begins
Severe fighting in the Russian city of Stalingrad led to a German defeat. Russian citizens and soldiers died each day in an effort to keep the Germans from taking the city. The German 6th Army was forced to retreat under pressure from Soviet forces. They finally surrendered after 146,000 soldiers had died. The Germans were on the defensive in the East from then on. picture citation- www.militaryphotos.net -
Warsaw rebellion crushed
1943 act of Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining Ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp. The most significant portion of the rebellion took place from 19 April, and ended when the poorly armed and supplied resistance was crushed by the Germans, who officially finished their operation to liquidate the Ghetto on 16 May. It was the largest single revolt -
Battle of the Bulge
Major German offensive launched through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, and France and Luxembourg on the Western Front towards the end of World War II.picture citation- en.wikipedia.org -
US lands on Iwo Jima
The American invasion had the goal of capturing the entire island, including its three airfields, to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. This month-long battle included some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the War in the Pacific of World War II. -
Battle for Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. picture citation- en.wikipedia.org -
A-Bomb on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
The atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II in 1945. These two events represent the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare to date.Picture Citation- awesometalks.wordpress.com
