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Hitler invades Poland on 1 September.
Invasion started on 1st of September 1939
Hitler’s invasion of Poland ultimately led to the start of World War two when Britain declared war on Germany.
The Invasion of Poland was very quick and the Germans ended up defeating Poland after about a month.
Poland received little support from other allied countries such as Britain, and it took about eight months after the start of the war before the allies engaged in a full scale war against the Nazis -
German 'Blitzkrieg' overwhelms Belgium, Holland and France. May- June. Focus: Fall of France
Blitzkrieg was a German military tactic that involved them attacking quickly and overwhelming the enemy with firepower before they had time to prepare, creating disorganization and chaos. This translates to ‘lightning war’ in English and quickly caused Belgium, Holland and France to fall
The French surrendered within six weeks, in 1940, which was an incredible feat considering that the French army was not a weak one. -
Evacuation from Dunkirk
The Dunkirk evacuation occurred from the 26th of May to the 4th of June 1940.
Also known as Operation Dynamo and the Miracle of Dunkirk
Involved the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk when they were surrounded by German troops in all directions after the battle of France which lasted for six weeks. -
Evacuation from Dunkirk (Continued)
The troops evacuated were mostly Belgian, British and French.
Winston Churchill described the Battle of France as a disaster.
The British called over all the boats they had including those that were owned by civilians and the navy. On the first day they evacuated 7,669 allied soldiers and in eight days they had evacuated 338,226 soldiers from Dunkirk. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain took place from the 10th of July to the 30th of October 1940.
The Battle of Britain was one of Britain’s most important victories of World War 2 as the held off months of German bombings despite constant attacks to military bases over a number of months. -
Battle of Britain (Continued)
The british had an extremely effective air defence called the Dowding system, the british divided their fighter pilots into individual sectors which all had stations that were equipped with the appropriate weapons, leaving almost none of Britain undefended. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the axis invasion of the soviet union.
The Invasion occurred from the 22nd of June 1941 to the 5th of December 1941.
Preceding the invasion, the Soviet Union and the Nazis had signed many pacts regarding the division of the land between them, and pacts regarding non aggression between the two nations, however the Nazis betrayed the Soviets and began to invade them.
The Nazis failed to invade the Soviets because they could not last throughout the cold Russian winter. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the US enters the war
The attack on Pearl Harbour commenced on December the 7th, it took place on a hawaiin island called oahu through a surprise aerial attack. The two main contributors that were involved in the pearl harbour attack was Japan and the US. This attack from the Japanese pushed the US into declaring the start of WW2 on them. -
Fall of Singapore
The battle of singapore took place in South East Asia, on the 7th of February to the 15th of February, and on the 8th of February, the Japanese landed in the north-west of the island and within six days they were on the outskirts of Singapore city, which was also now under constant air attack. -
Attacks on Australia (Darwin, northern Australia, Sydney)
The explosion of a ship in Darwin that occurred on the 19th of February was filled with TNT and it hit during the first japanese air raid on Australia mainland. This was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. The urban areas of Darwin also suffered some damage from the raids and there were a number of civilian casualties. -
Battle of the Midway
The Battle of the Midway occurred on the 4th - 7th of June 1942 and was a naval battle between the USA and Japan over the pacific ocean. The battle was won by the USA and it was the first major naval victory for the allies in World War 2. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This event occurred on the 23rd of August all the way to the 2nd of February 1943. This event took place in South Russia for control over the city of stalingrad. The Germans and their allies and the soviet Union. -
D Day: The Allied invasion of France in June
The D Day invasion occurred on the 6th of june 1944. The allies, with over 150,000 soldiers fought back the german attack. Due to the allies being victorious, it was a huge turning point in the war. As well as the german army losing a lot of numbers the defeat also took a hit on the germans confidence going into later battles. -
Battle of the Bulge
The battle of the Bulge went from December 16, 1944 to January 16, 1945. Adolph Hitler tried to split the allied armies. Hitler used Blitzkrieg attack by conducting series of bombings followed by tanks pushing through the land knocking down everything in its path. On the 16th of december germany rallied more than 250,000 troops that would be a part of the battle of the bulge. The battle was an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. -
The Battles of Okinawa & Iwo Jima
The Battles of Okinawa & Iwo Jima started on February 19, 1945 the battle went on until March 26, 1945. The battle was fought between the japaneese army and the United States Marine Corps. The Americans eventually captured the island from the Japanese. -
Battle for Berlin
The battle for Berlin was fought over four days from 16 April until 19 April,was one of the last pitched battles of World War II. the battle resulted in the garman army surrendering and the end of Adolf Hitler's rule. The battle was primarily fought between the German Army and the Soviet Army. -
Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August
On the 6th of August an american bomber dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The explosion immediately killed 80,000 people, however, tens of thousands of people died later due to the exposure to radiation. Three days later another american bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. After this Japan’s prime minister surrendered.
