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Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor
Adolf Hitler is promoted and voted to be the Chancellor of Germany, ultimately becoming the main ruler of the country. Once he came to power, he ripped up the treaty and made changed to Germany. The people called him Der Führer. -
German Anschluss of Austria
At this point in time, Germany and Austria formed into one whole country. The world Anschluss means "connection" or "joining" in German. 99% of the population of Austria voted for this event to take place. -
Treaty of Munich
This treaty was an agreement that Czechoslovakia must surrender its bordering regions and defence to the ever growing Nazi Germany. Adolf Hitler threatened to make war with Europe if the treaty was not signed. So, Czechoslovakia surrendered their land to Nazi Germany. -
Invasion of Poland
On the 1st of September 1939, Germany invades Poland to expand their empire. Two days later on the 3rd of September, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. Soon to follow on the same day, France joined the fight against Germany. -
The UK declares war on Germany
Two days after Germany invaded Poland, the UK wanted to take action as well, by officially declaring war on Germany . Later that day, France did the same thing by declaring war on Germany too. -
The Phoney War
At this period in time, France and the United Kingdom were officially at war with Germany but they did not act. It would take until the end of this period for Germany to finally act and invade the country of France. This ended on the 10th of May 1940. -
Germany invades France
At this point, Germany has become inpatient and has put matters into their own hands. So resultingly, Germany takes action and invades France. This invasion lasted until the 25th of June 1940 -
Italy and Japan join Germany
After Germany invaded France, Italy joins the war as Germany's ally on the 10th of June 1940. Later that same year on the 27th of September, Japan joins both Germany and Italy and signs the Tripartite Pact, officially entering the Axis Powers. -
Germany invades the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa was a plan by Nazi Germany. This ultimately failed and Germany lost the battle. This is where there was a turn in the war. More with 10,000,000 combatants were involved in Operation Barbarossa, 3,800,000 of those being Axis personnel. -
Attack on Pearl Harbour
The Attack on Pearl harbour was an Imperial Japanese surprise attack. At this point in time, the USA was not involved in the war and had remained neutral since the start. The attack took out 19 U.S. naval vessels, 8 of these being battleships. This attack lead to the United States joining the war later on -
The US declares war against Japan
1 day after the events of Pearl Harbour, President Roosevelt of the United States declared war on Japan. Since Japan is an ally of Germany, 3 days later on the 11th Germany declared war on America. America is now fully in the war. -
The Allies
The Allied Powers were officially formed in 1942, the countries involved included 26 nations around the world. The main three powers of the Allies, also nicknamed "The Big Three" were the United Kingdom, The USSR, and the United States. -
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle raid was a bombing operation led by James H. Doolittle, the objective of this mission was to lead an American bombing air raid over the city of Tokyo and other various Japanese cities. This air raid boosted the Allies morale, but it prompted Japan to strike back during 1942 and 1943. -
Operation Husky
The Allied invasion of Sicily was a campaign which involved the Allied forces invading the island of Sicily and take it from the Axis powers. It lasted for about 6 weeks and it resulted in an Allied victory. The operation involved General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would later become president of the United States in 1953 -
Italy Surrenders
After the events of Operation Husky, Italy surrenders and Benito Mussolini, the fascist leader of Italy is arrested and taken out of office. In April 1945, Mussolini was executed by an Italian partisan and hung somewhere in Italy. -
D-Day
The Normandy landings, located in France, were the largest sea related/seaborne invasion led by the Allied powers. The intention of Operation Neptune (formally) was to capture the city of Caen. This was important to the Allies because it is major land, being part of Nazi Germany. -
Hitler commits suicide
2 days after Benito Mussolini of Italy was executed, Adolf Hitler committed suicide via bullet shot to the head in his bunker. His wife, Eva Braun also killed herself by poisoning herself with a cyanide capsule. 2/3 major leaders of the Axis Powers have been killed at this point in time. -
Germany Surrenders
After the events of Italy's surrender and Adolf Hitler's suicide, Germany finally surrenders in May of 1945. The next day, Germany officially signed the German instrument of Surrender. V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day was celebrated as the mark of the end of World War 2. -
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On the 6th and 9th of August, the United States dropped two bombs on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs were named Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima and Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki. The death count is estimated to be 214,000 people. -
Japan Surrenders
After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan finally surrenders. The surrender was initially announced by Emperor Hirohito on the 15th of August, but Japanese representatives officially signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender 2nd of September, finally bringing and end to the war. Hirohito was the only major leader of the Axis powers to live after the war.