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German Invasion of Poland
On September 1st, 1939 the Germans invaded the country of Poland. This is considered to be the first event of World War II. This was the first use of the German "Blitzkrieg" strategy. In German, Blitzkreig meant lightning war; With this new strategy they were able to take complete control of Poland in about a month. -
Invasion of/Battle of France
On May 10th, 1940 the German invasion of France began. The Germans suprised French forces by moving through the Ardennes, which was quickly dismissed as a possibility by the French. The Ardennes were thick woods, but the Germans moved their troops and tanks through to suprise the French. The Battle of France took one month and twelve days. Another country fell to the German Blitzkreig. -
Tripartite Pact
On September 27th, 1940, the Tripartite Pact is signed by Germany, Italy, and France. This agreeement stated that if anyone were to attack any of the nations, they would go to war with all three of them. The US had yet to enter the war and the Axis Powers were gaining strength and momentum. At this time the outlook was truly grim for Europe. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese launched an unprovoked attack on the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. 353 Aircraft attacked the base. 2,402 Americans died in that attack. The attack was supposed to keep the US Navy out of the Pacific. Japan was planning on taking over the entirety of the Pacific for the Axis powers. -
US Declares War on Japan
On December 8th, 1941, the US declared war on Japan. This was in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor the previous day. Because of the Tripartite Pact, the US was now fully involved in the Second World War. This was not the original intention of the Japanese. It would prove to be a poor decision later. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle in WWII. It started on the 23rd of August, 1942 and ended 5 months and 10 days later. The Germans were attacking Stalingrad, they were not ready for a drawn out fight. The Germans were used to shorter battles and eventually ran low on ammo and food. The Russians had plenty and were right at home for an eventual victory at Stalingrad. -
Invasion of Sicily
In July, 1943 the Allies took Sicily from the Axis Powers. The island was assaulted by two armies. The commander of troops was Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would become the president. Beach heads were breached and the island was full of Allied troops. The island fell quickly, just about a month. -
D-Day
On June 6th, 1944, one of the most important battles of the war started. The Battle of Normandy. This started the invasion and overtaking of Germany. The Allied forces stormed several highly defended beaches and pushed up them. One of the most dangerous was Omaha beach, where many Americans died trying to break the German line. About 12,000 Allied casualties died this day.. -
Allied invasion of France
On June 6th, 1944 the Allied invasion of France had begun. This started with the invasion of Normandy. Once past the beaches more troops were sent in to start the push into Northern France. Germans were not expecting this because they had sent pilots over England and saw a fake army planted by the Allies. The war was about to be ended in Europe. -
Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6th and 9th, 1945, the US dropped a nuclear bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was done to save American lives. As opposed to an invasion nukes were dropped so that Americans did not have to risk their lives. More than 100,000 people died in the two explosions. The Japanese surrendered shortly after, ending WWII.
