-
BEGINNING OF THE WAR
On September 1, 1939, Hitler infect Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II. On September 17, Soviet troops infect Poland from the east. -
War with Germany Begins
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This began World War II. The Germans used a new kind of attack. They called it blitzkrieg, or “lightning war.” Blitzkrieg relied on fast-moving tanks and warplanes to shock the enemy into surrendering. -
War with Japan Begins
Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands ruled many islands in the Pacific Ocean. They ruled much of Southeast Asia as well. With these countries now at war, Japan saw an opportunity to take away their colonies. The Japanese began by taking French Indochina (now Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) in 1940 and 1941. -
End of the War with Germany
In November 1942 Allied forces landed in Morocco and Algeria in North Africa. They defeated German and Italian forces in May 1943.The Allies followed up their North African successes by invading Italy. Soon afterward, Italians overthrew Mussolini. Italy surrendered in September 1943. However, German troops still held most of the country. The Allies took Rome, the capital. -
End of the War with Japan
In the Pacific, the U.S. military seized an island after an island of Japanese. In February 1943, six months after the war in the jungle, US forces expelled Japanese from Guadalcanal, a Solomon Islands. The United States captured Sampan in the Mariana Islands in July 1944. From Sampan, US aircraft began bombing Japan. -
Results of the War
After the war, the Allies divided Germany among themselves. The Allies also punished Nazi leaders after their trial in Nuremberg, Germany. They punished Japan's prime minister during the war, Togo Hideki, and after the war the United States and the Soviet Union were the strongest countries in the world. Despite being allies, the two countries soon began a long struggle called the Cold War.
