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Enigma Machine
During the war, codes were important. The Nazi's created the Enigma Machine that had over 200 trillion possible codes! It was considered unbreakable, but Britain cracked the code with the help of mathematicians and computers. -
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Second Sino-Japanese War
In China, the Chinese Civil War was interrupted by the Japanese attempting invasion. Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists allied to defeat them in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese lost. -
Penicillin
Penicillin was extremely important during World War Two. It prevented infections from killing soldiers. Today, it is the reason most ear infections are not fatal. -
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Battle of the Atlantic
When German U-Boats were introduced, they wreaked havoc in the Atlantic. Britain needed supplies from the U.S.A., and U-boats destroyed thousands of them. Britain survived by using ships called corvettes, that were armed and had radar. They also went under the cover of bad weather, which made it impossible for U-boats to shoot. They also created special planes that could detect U-boats, and could hide from them. -
German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, or the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact was a peace pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. -
Feigned Attack
Hitler stages fake attack as an excuse to attack Poland. -
Attack on Poland
Germany attacks Westerplatte, Poland. They used an Air Force and blockaded the port in Westerplatte. This is considered the “start” of the War. -
Euthanasia Decree
Hitler orders all men who have an uncurable sickness (or other things that Hitler didn’t like) to be euthanized, in order to save resources. -
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Evacuation of Children
In Britain, evacuation took place immediately. Many children were separated from their mothers to be taken to a safer place. Trains were filled with hundreds of children. -
Declare War
Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand declare war on Germany. -
Soviets Attack Poland
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Surrender
Warsaw surrenders to Germany and Soviet Union. -
Soviet Union
Soviet Union expelled from League of Nations. -
Rationing
The economy changed greatly during the war. Common goods prices raised dramatically. The people were encouraged to buy government bonds and to preserve food, clothing, and other resources. The squander Bug was a famous symbol of rationing. -
Radar
Radar was introduced during the war. It sent out energy that bounced back and measured how far away the object was. This was a very helpful tool during the war. Pilots got scraps of aluminum and dropped them from the planes, confusing the radar. -
Italians in the War
Italy declared war on June 10. Britain and Italy immediately began fighting. Italy invaded Greece, but the troops and weapons were “useless.” Britain bombed the Italian fleet, wiping out half of it. Hitler decided to help them, and the Grecians were defeated. Unfortunately for Hitler, Mussolini was still defeated, and Germany wasted supplies and soldiers on a a part of the world they didn’t want. -
Prime Minister
Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of England. -
Battle of Dunkirk
In May of 1940, the German army attacked Western Europe, surrounding the English and French army. On the banks of Dunkirk, 330,000 men were trapped by the Germans. In Dover, Britain, Admiral Ramsey came up with Operation Dynamo. Any available small ship was used, and were shipped to Dunkirk. 338,000 men were evacuated from Dunkirk. Strangely, Hitler did not order a full attack. This was called “Hitler’s first fatal mistake.” -
Battle of Britain
The Royal Air Force defended Britain from Germany’s Luftwaffe Air Force. It is a major military campaign of World War Two. -
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The Blitz
Germany bombed London every night. “In September 1940 the German air force dropped 5,300 tonnes of high explosives on London in just 24 nights. One of the worst affected areas was the City of London.” -
The Second Great Fire of London
On Dec. 29, England suffered one of the worst air raids from Germany. In two days, Germany dropped nearly 100,000 bombs on the city of London. -
Blood
In 1941, the Red Cross created the first blood bank. Before the war, it was discovered that plasma could be used instead of all the blood. It was easier to transport and store. -
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The Holocaust
In 1941, Germans began killing Jews, gypsies, and the disabled. Heinrich Himmler was worried that the Germans were being demoralized, so they came up with the Final Solution in the Wannsee Conference of 1942. Now people could be killed in large masses in concentration camps. A famous camp was the Auschwitz-Birkenau. Germans would elect Jews to murder other Jews, and then they would kill them too. They were called the Sonderkommandos. -
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, Germany launched a massive attack against the Soviet Union with over three million soldiers and hundreds of tanks. At first, Moscow seemed as if it would be an easy capture. Then, Russia’s weather postponed the attack, because the vehicles were unable to move. The Germans were unprepared for winter weather, and were slowed down. The German troops struggled to Moscow, but were stopped in early December by Russian troops. Operation Barbarossa had failed, and Germany lost an ally. -
Gas Chambers
The first experimental use of gas chambers in Auschwitz. -
Babi Yar
Nazis Murder 33,771 Jews at Kiev, Babi Yar. This is considered one of the largest mass slaughters of WW2. -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, a Navy base in Hawaii, U.S.A, destroying the U.S.S Arizona. This direct attack led to the U.S.A joining the War. -
WAR!
America declares war on Japan the day after Pearl Harbor. -
Executive Order 9066
Due to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the people and the President became paranoid. President Roosevelt issued the Executive Order 9066. This caused Japanese-Americans to be gathered up and evacuated to internment camps, some call them concentration camps. Half of the Japanese-Americans were children. Many people died of poor health. -
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Battle of Midway
The Japanese planned to attack the United States aircraft carriers, but the U.S.A’s code breakers were able to figure out their plans in detail. On June 4, Admiral Yamamoto sent a number of fighter planes and bombers to the island of Midway. Th U.S.A. sent torpedo and dive bombers, sinking three of the Japanese ships. Finally, the Yorktown (United States) and Hiryu engaged in battle, and both sunk in the end. Japan lost over 3000 sailors and 248 planes. This was a major victory for the Allies. -
D-Day
D-Day marked the beginning of the end of WW2. Over 130,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. Rommel, the German general, was on leave, leaving the German soldiers confused, and Hitler hesitate to send backup, causing important bridges and other places to be destroyed. -
Operation Valkyrie
Claus von Stauffenberg and a group of other personnel that had access to Hitler planned to plant a bomb. Unfortunately, no one else was able to get to Hitler but von Stauffenberg. On July 20, he quickly planted the bomb and hurried back to his operation in Berlin. The bomb failed to kill Hitler. General Friedrich Olbricht, his chief of staff Colonel Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, and his adjutant Lieutenant Werner von Haeften were all executed immediately. -
A Famous Photo
5 Marines and a Navy hospital corpsman raise the flag on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Three of the flag raisers died later in the bloody fighting. This photo is a symbol of what it means to be a Marine. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
On Feb. 19, U.S. Marine troops invaded the shores of Iwo Jima, an island 750 miles off the coast of Japan. Iwo Jima had three airfields that could be used as a potential raid against the United States. The battle lasted for 5 weeks with some of the bloodiest fighting in WW2. On March 26, the Marines claimed that Iwo Jima had been captured, but many Japanese soldiers kept fighting. They finally surrendered in 1949. -
President of the United States
Harry S. Truman takes over as President of the United States after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was the 33rd president. -
VE-Day (Victory in Europe)
On May 8, the Allies completely liberated Europe from Nazi-Germany. The following day, Germany surrendered. This was the end of the war in Europe. -
VJ Day
Victory Over Japan Day= Japan formally surrenders after the United States drops two atomic bombs over Nagasaki and Hiroshima. -
End of the Chinese Civil War
On May 1, 1950, the Communists defeated the Nationalists after a long, ugly war. Mao became leader of the People’s Republic of China.
Picture: Chiang Kai-shek (Nationalist) and Mao Zedong (Communist)
