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World War II

By rady236

  • Kristallnacht

    Kristallnacht
    • Series of violent attacks on Jews by paramilitary forces and non-Jewish citizens.
    • 'Kristallnacht' refers to the broken glas that littered the streets after Jewish-owned businesses had their windows smashed.
    • German authorities did not intervene.
    • The riots began after Herschel Grynszpan shot diplomat Ernest vom Rath in protest of Jews being expelled from Germany.
    • Jews in concentration camps were killed by the other prisoners.

  • Hitler attacks Poland

    Hitler attacks Poland
    • Germany signed a nonaggression pact with Poland to avoid a French-Polish union.
    • The German people did not support the pact.
    • The German-Soviet Pact allowed Germany to attack Poland without fear of Soviet interaction.
    • Warsaw surrendered on September 27.
    • Britain and France declared war on Germany.

  • Fall of France

    Fall of France
    • Successful German invasion of France.
    • The battle consisted of Case Red and Case Yellow.
    • German military forces overwhelmed the French.
    • An armistice between France and Germany was signed on June 22.
    • Germany got the north and west parts of France.
  • Period: to

    Battle of Britain

    • First major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces.
    • The Germans wanted to gain air superiority.
    • Coastal shipping convoys were the main targets.
    • The name is derived from a pre-war speech by Winston Churchill.
    • Eventually, Luftwaffe moved to bombing factories and politically significant areas.

  • Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

    Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
    • Surprise military attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy
    • The attack led to the US entry into World War II.
    • Eight US warships were damaged, four sunk.
    • 353 Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes were launched from aircraft carriers.
    • 2,403 Americans were killed.
  • Period: to

    Battle of Stalingrad

    • Nazi Germany vs the Soviet Union for control of Stalingrad.
    • Largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare.
    • Hitler directed the summer attacks to the southern parts of the Soviet Union.
    • Stalin expected the German attacks to be directed to Mosow.
    • Hitler planned to kill all male civilians and deport all women and children after Stalingrad had been captured.

  • Allied invasion of Sicily

    Allied invasion of Sicily
    • The Allies take Sicily from Italy and Nazi Germany.
    • It was an operation that worked in the air and on the ocean.
    • Benito Mussolini was pushed from power in Italy.
    • The land forces were from American, British, and Canadian forces.
    • The battle ended on August 17.

  • D-Day

    D-Day
    • American, British, and Canandian forces land on five beaches along France's Normandy coast.
    • One of the largest military invasions.
    • By spring, the Allies had defeated the Germans.
    • Beginning of the end of war in Europe.
    • More than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives.

  • Liberation of Auschwitz

    Liberation of Auschwitz
    • Auschwitz was built to hold Polish political prisoners.
    • It was run by the Third Reich.
    • When Soviet troops started marching towards Auschwitz, prisoners were evacuated and sent on a death march.
    • Remaining prisoners were freed.
    • Survivors wrote memoirs of their time at the camp.

  • USA drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima

    USA drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima
    • US becomes the first and only nation to use atomic bombs during wartime.
    • Albert Einstein warned the US that Germany was conducting research into atomic bombs.
    • Germany had already be defeated by the time the US had conducted the first successful test.
    • The blast killed more than 80,000 people.
    • Japan surrendered a few days later.