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Germany invades Poland and World War II begins
-German forces bombarded Poland on land and from the air
- The German invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war–what would become the “blitzkrieg” strategy.
- Once Hitler had a base of operations within the target country, he immediately began setting up “security” forces to annihilate all enemies of his Nazi ideology, whether racial, religious, or political. -
September 3, 1939 France, Great Britain and their empires declare war on Germany
This set into motion after six year bloody global conflict that will change the world forever. -
April 9, 1940 Germany invaded invaded Denmark and Norway
On this day German war ships entered major Norwegian ports, deploying thousands of German troops and occupying Norway. German forces also occupy Copenhagen and other Danish cities -
May 10, 1940 Germany Invaded western Europe
German troops overran Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France in six weeks starting in May 1940
-The Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium surrendered to the more superior German army to save their countries from extensive damage. -
May 30, 1940 Winston Churchill became leader of Great Britain
Churchill was appointed because of his military leadership ability. During his first speech he said “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat’’. He promised his country and the world that the British people would never surrender. He shaped allied strategy in the war -
July 10, 1940- Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain
Known as the battle of Britain and lasted 3 months It consisted of a long series of bombing raids. Britain was outnumbered by the German fighters but had a very effective radar system which made sneak attacks less likely to happen Britain also produced superior air crafts. The German fighters had a limited flight radius and lacked the bomb load capacity to have permanent devastation on their targets -
September 22, 1940 Germany Italy and Japan form the axis powers
Germany Italy and Japan signed the Tripartite to form the axis powers. The pack provided mutual assistance should any of them suffer attacked by any nation not already involved in the war. This was aimed directly at The U.S to make them think twice before going to the side of allies. Hungary also signed the pack in 1940 -
June 22, 1941 The axis powers attacked the Soviet Union with a force of 4 million troops
Over 3 million German troops invaded Russia with the most powerful invasion force in history. They had over 3,00 tanks, 2,500 aircraft and 7,000 altrilary pieces By the end of the first day more than 1,000 Soviet aircraft were Destroyed Even though the Russian troops were tough and had a large number of arms at their disposal, they were disorganised, enabling the Germans to penetrate up to 300 miles into Russian territory. -
December 7, 1941 Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
It was a scene of devastating attack. Hundreds of Japanese attacked the base where they managed to damage nearly 20 navy vessels, including 8 battleships and over 300 air planes. More that 2,000 Americans died in the attack including civilians. Another 1,000 people were wounded. -
December 8, 1941 U.S enters World War 2
As a result of the Pearl Harbor Attacks the U.S enters World War 2. President Franklin Roosevelt stated “ that the American people and their richous might will win through to absolute victory’’. On both coasts, civilian defense groups were mobilized and Japanese Nationals were rounded up and held in custody -
December 11, 1941 The axis powers declared war on the United States
Hitler declares war on the United States. Hitler despised Roosevelt for his Nazi ideology he also believed that Japan was much stronger than what it was and once that Japan defeated the U.S. Japan would help Germany defeat Russia. -
May 30, 1942 - Britain bomb Cologne Germany, first attack fired back at Germany
Largest bombing raid in World War 2 was the bombing of Cologne Germany. Over 1,000 bombers were sent to destroy chemical and machine tool facilities. Almost 1,500 tons of bombs were dropped, damaging 600 acres of the city and crippling industrial output. -
June 4, 1942 United States defeated Japan at the Midway a turning point in the war
Japan had hoped for a surprise attack at Midway and code breakers were able to figure out their plans and were able to prepare for the attack. It was a decisive victory in the air- sea battle and a successful defense of the major base located at Midway island -
The Allies invade and take the Island of Cisilay.
After 38 days the U.S and Great Britain forces drove German and Italian troops from Cissilay. This is the first step into assaulting the Italian mainland -
September 3, 1943 - Italy surrenders to the allies
The surrender came after several weeks of negotiations with the Italian Government and the Allies. In the wake of Mussolini's removal from power -
June 6, 1944 - The battle at Normandy, The allied forces push back the Germans in France
Allied forces pushed back the Germans. This resulted in the Allied liberation of western Europe from Nazi Germany control. Approximately 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on 5 beaches along a 50 mile stretch on the coast of France -
August 25, 1944 - Paris is liberated from German control
Paris is liberated after 4 years of Nazi occupation by the French second armored division and the U.S fourth entry division. Most of the 20,000 German troops surrendered and fled. Those that fought were quickly overcome. -
December 16 1944 - Battle of the bulge, Germany loses a large battle to the allied forces
It was the last major German defensive campaign during World War 2. Winston Churchill called it the greatest American battle of the war. It was Adolf Hitler's last major offensive in the war. -
February 19, 1945 - United States marines invade and capture the Island of Iwo Jima in a fierce battle
It was a five week battle of some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific war in World War 2. The U.S Marine corps landed on the island with the goal of capturing the entire Island to provide a staging area for attacks of the Japanese mainland -
April 12, 1945 - United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away and Harry Truman takes office
After FDR died, Harry Truman took office President Truman made the decision made the decision to use the atomic bombs against Japan and helped to rebuild Europe after post war. -
April 30, 1945 - Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker
He commited suicide when he knew Germany was about to lose the war. He swallowed a cyanide capsule and shot himself in the head -
May 7, 1945 - Germany surrenders to the allied powers
General Eisenhower demanded complete surrender of all German forces. -
August 6, 1945 - The United States drops a bomb called little boy on Hiroshima
An American B-29 bomber on Hiroshima The explosion wiped out 90% of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands of more would later die of radiation exposure -
The United States drops the second bomb called Fat Man on Nagasaki
3 days after the bombing of Hiroshima another B-29 bomber dropped the second atomic bomb called Fat man on Nagasaki. The explosion killed an estimated 40,000 people. Japan's emperor Hirohito announced his country’s unconditional surrender -
September 2, 1945 - The Japanese surrenders to the United States
After the dropping of the second atomic bomb Japan surrenders. It was aboard the USS Missouri. Truman appointed General Mccarthy to head the allied occupation of Japan as supreme commander of the allied