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Blitzkrieg
the start of Blitzkrieg is recognized when Germany attacked Poland on September 1st, 1939. Blitzkrieg translates to 'lightning war', and that is exactly what it was. Bombs lead by planes were dropped everywhere and took out most of the Polish airforce on just the first day. Followed by the planes were tanks being led all over the country. This method of fighting was so successful that it was used throughout the rest of WWII. -
Britain Declares War on Germany
From seeing the first attack of WWII on Poland, the Blitzgrieg, Britain sent Hitler 'threat mail' telling them to discharge the fighting, or Britain and France will attack Germany. Hitler denied the withdraw from Poland so on September 3, 1939, Britain and France declaired war on Germany and attacked the German Navy with their airforces. Thus, the beggining of the biggest war history knows. -
Dunkirk
The evacuation of Dunkirk, or 'Operation Dynamo', occured because of the strenghth of the German army. The British and French armies were trapped in Dunkirk, making it easy for the Germans to attack. Small ships transfered soldiers from the beach to bigger ships which brought them back to Britain on May 26, 1940. This evacuation tricked the German Army into thinking that they had defeated all of the Britain army, which made the British more confident in defending their own against the Nazi. -
Battle of Britain
After the Germans gained control over France, they planned on taking control over Britain. On August 12, 1940 the Germans attacked Britain and had a lead of four to one, which should have made it easy for the Germans to win. Because the British were closer to the airfields, they were at the advantage. "Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few." - Winston Churchill. -
The Blitz
On september 7, 1940, Hitler had continued to bomb Britain to get them to surrender but because that wasnt working he turned the day time raids into night raids. This caused people in Britain to make their own shelters where ever they could find underground, but in May the attacks became less frequent because Hitler turned his focus onto Russia. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa is code word for Nazi Germany's invasion on Russia. This invasion occured on June 22, 1941 and was the biggest attack of World War II. The attack began in the Leningrad and moved in towards Moscow. While moving deeper into Russia, the suply lines became longer. On November 1941, Stalin ordered a counter-attack where the German Army was taken by surprise and pushed back 200 miles from Moscow. -
Tojo Takes Control of Japan
On october 18, 1941, Tojo, the prime minister of Japan took over the Japanese army. He was given limetless and direct control. Tojo was in control over the government, the army, and the industry. He was pro attack on Pearl Harbour even though it meant deaths from his top generals. After Japan had not been successful from the attack, Tojo was removed from power and forced to surrender to the Americans. He was later convinced of war crimes and hung. -
Attack on Pearl Harbour
In Hawaii on december 7, 1941, the Japanese navy and airforce had their first contact with the United States. They traveled to Hawaii and torpedoes and bombs were dropped endlessly. More than 90 ships had arrived at Pearl Harbour and the American's suffered greatly. President Roosevelt declared the attack as a sneak attack. -
Fall of Hong Kong
After the attack on Pearl Harbour, British, Canadian, and Indian forces resisted a Japanese invasion due to being out numbered three to one. With Japan supported by the Mainland, Canadian armies began to seperate. The island was soon going to fall with all the armies seperated. Due to all the Canadian ships sinking, the island was in no position to be giving aid. On Christmas day, Hong Kong surredered. -
Jewish Uprising in Warsaw Ghetto
Between July 22, 1942 and September 12, 1942 around 300,000 Jews were killed. On July 28, 1942, in respond to all the murders, the Jews created underground, self-defense units known as the Jewish Combat Organization. The Jewish fighters stunned the German army and forced them to retreat outside of the Ghetto walls on the first day of fighting. Towards the third day the German army got temperamental and forced the Jews to come out of hidding. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad occured on August 23, 1942 when dive bombers started bombing the outskirts of Russia. After the first attack, the Russians were already devestated and and had to turn it around. The Germans took a lot of Russia's land during the day, but the Russians would just regain their land during the night. This happened multiple times, until winter came and the German army were short on supply. The Germans surrendered and Russia took control over the land Germany first stole. -
Allied Invasion of Italy
Also known as opperation 'Avalanche'. Around 450 ships assembled off the coast of Salerno, and sailed from Sicily and from Tripoli, Oran, and Bizerte in North Africa. To achieve surprise there were no bombings. British forces has been making progress and they united with more British soldiers soon after and captured the airfields near Foggia. This gave the Allied forces the ability to strike new forces in France and Germany. This event led to the surrender of Axis forces. -
D-Day
D-day, the Battle of Normandy, occured on June 6th 1944. This battle was one of the largest invasions by sea and lasted two months. This battle happened because the United States wanted to free France from the Nazis. The event was named because the military preplanned the event and the actual date had not been set. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
On February 19, 1945, American Marines landed on Iwo Jima and battled for the island. They called this landing Operation Detachment. The US airforce had dropped around 5,800 tons of bombs, which created gave the Japanese more hiding spots. Although over 2,400 people were killed on just the first day, the Americans pushed through to the middle of the island. The battle ended on March 16, 1945 and was declared secure. This battle gave the US an advantage on the war against Japan. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6, 1945, a single bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb affected all the city, as not one building was left unharmed. This one bomb killed around 78,000 people and injured just as many. Right after Hiroshima had been bombed, Nagasaki was bombed on August 9, 1945. This was the last major act of World War II and had killed nearly 40,000 people. These attacks are known as the worst single terror attack in history.
