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Hitler invades Poland
Poland militarised late and political concerns forced its army into a unfavourable deployment. The Poles were heavily outnumbered. Despite fighting persistently and inflicting serious casualties on the Germans, the Polish army was defeated within weeks. German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defences along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a large attack. After heavy shelling and bombing, Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 27, 1939. -
Evacuation from Dunkirk
The evacuation of allied soldiers from Dunkirk, France, between 27 May and 4 June 1940 became necessary when large numbers of British, French, and Belgian troops were cut off and surrounded by the German army. The evacuation was underway following a overwhelming and decisive German victory. The BEF lost more than 68,000 soldiers at Dunkirk, however more than 100,000 allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk successfully which relieved some of the pain which the allies had experienced. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was an important battle in World War II. After Germany and Hitler had conquered most of Europe, including France, the only major country left to fight them was Great Britain. Germany wanted to invade Great Britain, but first they needed to destroy Great Britain's Royal Air Force. The Battle of Britain occurred when Germany bombed Great Britain in order to try and destroy their air force and prepare for invasion. It started on the 10th of July 1940 and lasted many months. -
German 'Blitzkrieg' overwhelms Belgium, Holland and France. (The fall of France)
The 'Blitzkrieg' came from a German term for 'lightning war', the form of attack was dominant during May and June of 1940 as Germany swept through Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland and France. The German 'Blitzkrieg' consisted of quick aerial attacks which were unpredictable and devastating. Despite desperate attempts by Winston Churchill to bolster French resolve, the defeat of the British and French armies in May effectively spelled the end of French resistance. -
Operation Barbarossa
22 Jun 1941 - 5 Dec 1941. The Axis invasion of the Soviet Union stemmed from Nazi Germany's ideological aim of conquering the Western Soviet Union. Stalin’s reputation as a brutal dictator contributed both to the Nazis' justification of their assault and their faith in succeeding. More than 1,000,000 Axis Power casualties and 5,000,000 Red Army casualties. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbour - US enter the war
On the morning of December the 7th in 1941, 353 aircraft of the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the US naval base in Oahu, Hawaii. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour came as a surprise and within two hours of the attack, 18 vulnerable US warships had been sunk or damaged, 188 aircraft destroyed and 2,403 American servicemen and women killed. Evacuation from the Japanese attacks were extremely difficult, however, countless lives were saved during a desperate attempt from US solders to escape. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in the war. After losing the battle, the German army lost so many soldiers and took such a defeat that they never quite recovered. The battle took place during the last part of 1942 and early 1943 where Germany bombed the city of Stalingrad and Volga river. After months of fighting and finally nearly starving to death, the Germans surrendered on February 2, 1943. -
Fall of Singapore
The Japanese army captured Singapore on the 15th of February in 1942 from the hands of Great Britain. The fall of Singapore is considered to be one of the most devastating losses which Great Britain faced during the Second World War. Japan demonstrated used their speed and perseverance to defeat the British army. The British army lost 8,708 soldiers during the fall of Singapore, whilst 130,000 soldiers were captured. The Japanese army suffered a loss of 9,824 soldiers. -
Attacks on Australia (Darwin, Northern Australia, Sydney)
On the 19th of February in 1942, Japanese forces mounted two air raids on Darwin as Australia experienced their first attack during the Second World War. 188 attack aircraft and 54 land-based bombers were launched by Japan in an attack which saw Darwin bombed, causing 235 casualties with 300-400 wounded. Japan also launched a small attack on Sydney: June, 1942 where 3 'midget submarines' were launched from 5 larger submarines. The 3 submarines were all lost or destroyed with no damage to Sydney. -
Battle of Midway
The battle took place over four days between June 4th and June 7th in 1942. Japan formulated a plan to sneak up on the U.S. forces, attempting to trap a number of the U.S. aircraft carriers and destroy them. However, American code breakers intercepted a number of Japanese transmissions. The Americans knew the Japanese plans and prepared a trap for the Japanese. On June 4, 1942, Japan launched a number of fighter planes and bombers from four aircraft carriers to attack the island of Midway. -
D Day: The allied invasion of France in June
On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, to begin the operation that would liberate Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control, this invasion of France is referred to as D-Day. German casualties were estimated to have been 4,000 to 9,000 men whilst Allied casualties ranged from 5,000 to 12,000. The Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history and the success of the landings resulted in some 200,000 German prisoners of war. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germany's final attempt to drive the Allies off of mainland Europe. Most of the troops involved on the Allied side were American troops. Early morning of December 16, 1944 Germany launched a major attack. When Germany attacked they used over 200,000 troops and nearly 1,000 tanks to break through the US lines. After around one month of fighting, American forces kept Germany's army from overrunning Europe. It is considered one of the greatest battles ever fought by the United States military. -
The battle of Okinawa and Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima, between the 19th of February to the 26th of March 1945 was the first major battle on Japanese soil in the Second World War, it saw the US overcome Japan. Of 18,000 Japanese soldiers, 216 were captured and taken as prisoner and the rest died. The battle of Okinawa, 1st of April-22nd of June saw the US invade Japan and successfully capture Okinawa whilst losing 12,520 soldiers but taking the lives of 110,000 Japanese soldiers and between 40,000-150,000 Okinawa civilians. -
Battle for Berlin
From April the 16th, 1945 until May the 2nd, 1945, the Soviet Army forced an attack on Germany to attempt to claim Berlin. The Soviet's outnumbered the Germans who went to desperate measures to strengthen their army. The Soviet Army began bombing and surrounding Berlin, as fighting became fierce with Berlin turning to ruins. Germany admitted defeat as Hitler committed suicide. 81,000 Soviet Union soldiers died with 280,000 wounded and 92,000 German soldiers killed with 220,000 wounded. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki : Japan surrenders on August 14
On the 6th of August, 1945, the atomic bomb 'Little Boy' was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan by the US. It caused massive destruction, destroying the city of Hiroshima and killing between 96,000-146,000 people. Days later, on the 9th of August, the US dropped another atomic bomb named 'Fat Man', killing a further 39,000-80,000 people, destroying Nagasaki. These actions occurred after Germany surrendered in the Second World War, however Japan did not step down and were hit by two devastating bombs.
