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Hitler invades Poland
Hitler invades Poland, ignoring Britains ultimatum, and World War Two begins. -
Phony War begins
Shortly after declarations of war by France, Britain, and a few other countries, the "Phony War" begins, and no shots would be fired for the duration of this time period. -
Canada declares war on Germany
With the permission of Parliament, Prime Minister Mackenzie King formally delcares war on Nazi Germany. -
Period: to
World War Two
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Phony War ends
The Phonys war comes to an end when Hitler's panzers roll into France. -
Miracle of Dunkirk
The Dunkirk evacuation begins. 900 British ships of all shapes and sizes begin to evacuate 340, 000 soldiers from the shores of France, preventing the Nazis from winning the war before the end of may. By June 4th the evacuation would be complete. Hitler had retreated the Wermacht so the Luftwaffe could strike the final blow, but they managed to escape in time. -
France surrenders
France surrenders to Germany after weeks of hard-fought fighting in the Battle of France. -
Battle of Britain begins
Hitler order harsh air attacks on British ships in the English channel. His intention was to gain air supremacy over the RAF so he could carry out Operation Sea Lion. -
Battle of Britain ends
After the Germans were unable to defeat the RAF, Operation Sea Lion was abandoned and Hitler redeployed the Luftwaffe to the Balkans, effectively ending the Battle of Britain. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was considered Hitler's greatest gamble of WW2. It was the Nazi invasion of the USSR. Hitler planned to capture Moscow before the Russian winter set in, but by late fall of that same year they had only reached the outskirts of Moscow. When winter set in they were completely unprepared for temperatures as low as -50˚C, and thus were stopped only 50km from Moscow. Thi event ended the Nazi-Soviet Pact made years before and left the USSR a part of the Allies. -
Pearl Harbour
On December 7th, 1941, Japanese war planes bombed the American pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. This attack was a huge surprise to the Americans, and a crippling blow to their Pacific fleet. 18 warships and 349 aircraft were either destroyed or damaged, and 3581 American combatants and 103 civilians were either killed or injured. America enters the war. -
Attack at Hong-Kong
Hours after the attack at Pearl Harbour, the Japanese invaded Hong Kong. 50, 000 Japanese soldiers invaded the wildly unprepared Canadian soldiers at Hong Kong, and by Christmas Day 1941 they had surrendered. Every Canadian soldier there was either killed or taken prisoner. -
Dieppe Raid
On August 19th, 1942, 5000 Canadian soldiers were picked for a raid on the French port of Dieppe. American rangers and British commandos were also present. The raid was a complete disaster, and more than 1000 Canadians died, and 500 were wounded, and almost 2000 were taken prisoner. It was meant to be practice for Normandy invasions. It was also meant to take the pressure off the Russian front. -
Battle of Stalingrad begins
The Germans invaded Stalingrad on 23 August, 1942, engaging in possibly the bloodiest and most long-lasting battle of the war. -
Battle of Stalingrad ends
The Battle of Stalingrad is won by the USSR, leaving 750, 000 Germans dead and 478, 741 Soviets dead. -
Operation Husky
From July 10th to August 7th 1943 Canadian, American, and British troops invaded the island of Sicily, which was the first piece of axis homeland lost in the war. The invasion also provided vital practice for the Normandy landings. -
Canadians capture Ortona
As the Allies moved up the boot of Italy, they noticed their route to Rome was blocked at Ortona. Though Canadian losses were high, the Canadians defeated the 90th Light Panzer Division (famed for their tough fighting in North Africa) and captured the city. The town fell to a regiment from Edmonton. -
Allies capture Rome
The Allies capture Rome, knocking Italy out of the war. -
Allies invade Normandy
Operation Overlord was the Allied invasion of Normandy. The amphibious invasion involved the Canadians at Juno Beach, with British and Americans at various other points on the coastline. The Canadians lost many soldiers, but not many compared to the 7500 Ameicans killed. The Allies now held a foothold in Atlantic europe. -
Yalta Conference begins
Franklin Deleno Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Josef Stalin meet in Yalta to discuss peacetime Europe, and decide that Germany would be broken up into four zones of occupation. -
Allies invade Germany
On March 24th, 1945, the Western Allies cross the Rhine River, and enter Germany. Germany's last attempts at pushing back the Allies would delay the attackers, but not for long. -
Iwo Jima is captured by the Americans
America wins an important month long battle on the island of Iwo Jima. -
USSR invades Berlin
The Soviet Union entered Berlin of April 30th, 1945. -
Hitler commits suicide
On April 30th, 1945, with Soviet tanks destroying his city, Adolf Hitler would commit suicide in his underground bunker with wife of several hours Eva Braun. He would swallow cyanide then proceed to shoot himself in the head. Their bodied were carried out of the bunker, doused with gasoline, and set ablaze. -
VE Day
Grand Admiral Karl Dontz surrenders the German army to the Soviet Union, effectively ending the war in Europe. -
Battle of Okinawa ends
100, 000 Japanese soldiers stationed at Okinawa were invaded by American troops. Japanese carried out Kamikaze attacks, but the American retook the island on this day. -
American ultimatum
On July 26th, 1945, President Harry Truman sent an order for Japan to surrender or accept "prompt and utter destruction." The Japanese would refuse. -
America nukes Hiroshima
Upon the refusal of America's ultimatum, President Harry Truman ordered the nuclear bomb "Little Boy" to be dropped on Hiroshima, Japan's 7th largest city. 70, 000 people were killed instantly, with 61, 000 injured instantly. countless others would die of radiation. -
Bomb dropped on Nagasaki
After the first nuclear bomb was dropped on Japan, America issued a second ultimatum. Whe no reply was received, America dropped a second nuclear bomb, "Fat Man' on Nagasaki, and 40, 000 civilians were killed upon impact. -
VJ day
After the second nuclear bomb was dropped on Japan, Japanese emperor Hirohito told the Japanese army that the time had come "to bear the unbearable." Japan would surrender unconditionally to America on this day, ending the Second World War.
