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The Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September campaign was a joint invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Free City of Danzig, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent, that marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The method of invasion known as 'Blitzkrieg' was used effectively, and the result was a swift and a surprise attack. -
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World War II
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Britain and France declares war
On 2nd September 1939, in response to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. As for Britain’s response, it was initially no more than the dropping of anti-Nazi propaganda leaflets—13 tons of them—over Germany. They would begin bombing German ships on September 4, suffering significant losses. -
The Mediterranean
On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France. On the following day, Italian bombers attacked Malta on what was to be the first of many raids. Their objectives were to cut off the enemy's supply line. The campaign was fought between the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina), supported by other Axis naval and air forces, and the British Royal Navy, supported by other Allied naval forces, such as Australia, the Netherlands, Poland and Greece. -
France surrenders to Germany
Just four days into the invasion German troops crossed the Meuse river, and had broken through the French lines. Attempts by the Allies to launch counterattacks by air and land either failed with heavy losses, or were thwarted by the pace of events. With Paris fallen and the German conquest of France reaching its conclusion, Marshal Henri Petain replaces Paul Reynaud as prime minister and announces his intention to sign an armistice with the Nazis. -
The Battle of Britain
When the current British prime minister, Winston Churchill said that his country will not negotiate for peace, Hitler planned Operation Sea Lion in which Britain would be barraged by air attacks followed by a seaborne invasion. On 10 July 1940 the Luftwaffe (German air force) struck at convoys of ships in the English channel. It targeted important sites and military areas such as airfields, ports and other military installations. About 15000 British civilians were killed in this attack. -
The invasion of Russia
In June 1941, Hitler betrayed Stalin by launching Operation Barbarossa to achieve his original aim, the conquest of the Soviet Union. As Stalin failed to respond quickly, many Soviet planes were destroyed and the Axis forces (Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria) advanced first. However, biltzkrieg tactics were ineffective in Russia's plains,along with the harsh winter and the decreasing amount of food and rations, the German forces started to slow down. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbour
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Japanese Navy against the United States naval base on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II. This attack was a preventive measure to avoid the U.S. Pacific fleet interfering from Japanese plans for Southeast Asia against overseas territories(UK,US,Netherlands). About 4 battleships, and 200 aircrafts were destroyed. 2400 Americans were killed and about 1200 were wounded. -
USA declares war on Axis Powers
On this day, the United States Congress declared war on the empire of Japan in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Shortly after, Italy and Germany declared war on U.S. as they were Japanese's allies. President Roosevelt soon after, also signed the declaration of war on Italy and Germany, fully going to war against all three members of the Axis Powers. The UK also declared war about 9 hours before the U.S did because of Japanese attacks on Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. -
Fall of Singapore
Singapore, an island at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, was considered a vital part of the British Empire and supposedly impregnable as a fortress. The British saw it as the “Gibraltar in the Far East”. The surrender of Singapore demonstrated to the world that the Japanese Army was a force to be reckoned with. The Japanese attacked with speed and precision, taking the route of the swamps instead of the route that the British forces had predicted and marched into the island. -
Bombing of Darwin
The Bombing of Darwin was the single most powerful attack by a foreign power on Australia. About 250 aircrafts attacked the town, destroying everything, mainly airfields and the harbour to avoid contest in the invasions of Timor and Java. Darwin was only lightly defended and the Japanese inflicted heavy losses upon the Allied forces while at little cost to themselves. The urban areas of Darwin suffered some damage and there were civilian casualties. -
The Kokoda Track
The Kokoda Track Campaign was a series of battles fought between July - Nov 1942 between Japanese and mainly Australian forces. The Japanese took the Kokoda Track to capture Port Morseby, their objective as it was vital for Australia's defence. However, in around September, the Australian forces start to recapture the Kokoda Track as Japanese forces withdrew to establish a defensive position. The Kokoda Track was recaptured on 2 November 1942. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle on the Eastern front in which Nazi forces and its allies fought the Soviet Union for the city of Stalingrad in southern Russia. Although the Nazi has the assistance of the Luftwaffe bombing which reduced part of the city to rubble, their flanks were overrun by Operation Uranus launched by The Red Army. The heavy losses inflicted on the German Wehrmacht make it arguably the most strategically decisive battle of the whole war. -
D-Day Landings in Normady. France
The Normandy landings were the landing operations on 6 June 1944 (termed D-Day) of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord.The Normandy landings is the largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, and contributed to the Allied victory on the Western Front.The landings were preceded by aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian troops. -
The End of war in Europe
Germany's forces slowed down to a halt after the Battle of Stalingrad and they were defeated bringing the end of the war in Europe. -
Japan rejects the Allied offer for peace (armstice)
The Japanese rejects The Allied offer for peace as they do not want to accept defeat on their invasion of Southeast Asia as well as Australia. Unbeknownst to them, The Allied forces had an 'atomic bomb', a bomb like no other seen in this world. So they continued their invasion, while slowly stopping as their forces reduce in numbers. The armistice will soon be accepted in the later future as the Potsdam Declaration. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
After the Japanese rejected the Allies offer for peace (armistice) in 30 July 1945, they responded almost immediately (a week later). On 6 August 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb on Hiroshima which wiped out 90% of the city and about 80 000 people were immediately killed, tens of thousands followed by exposure to radiation. A second bomb was dropped 3 days later (9 August 1945) on Nagasaki, killing an estimated of 40 000 people. -
The Surrender of Japan
After the two atomic bombs were deployed, the Japanese emperor Hirohito intervened and ordered the Supreme Court for the Direction of War to accept the terms that the Allies has set down in the Potsdam Declaration for ending the war. He announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies through a radio address, bringing World War II to a close.
