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Hitler invades & attacks Poland
The September campaign, also known as the defensive war of 1939 or the Poland campaign, was a Nazi Germany and Soviet Union assault on the Republic of Poland that kicked off World War II. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was a battle for control of the Atlantic Ocean between Allied and German forces. While the Allies needed to maintain an essential flow of personnel and supplies between North America and Europe, the Germans wanted to disrupt these supply routes. The Battle of the Atlantic was the world's longest war campaign. During WW2, this fight accounted for the majority of naval warfare. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
The Dunkirk evacuation, sometimes known as the Dunkirk Miracle or just Dunkirk, occurred between May 26 and June 4, 1940, and was codenamed Operation Dynamo. This included the last-minute rescue of approximately 300,000 Allied soldiers besieged by the Nazis near the Dunkirk beaches because of the effectiveness of the blitzkrieg. -
Battle of Britain
During World War II, the Battle of Britain was the successful defence of the United Kingdom against the German air force's unrelenting and catastrophic airstrikes (Luftwaffe) it also marked the beginning of Britain's use of its royal air force. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japan launched an attack on the US naval station in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Eighteen US naval vessels, including eight battleships, were sunk or heavily damaged in the surprise attack by 350 Japanese aircraft, which also killed or damaged 300 US aircraft. -
Canadian soldiers defeated at Hong Kong
Canadian soldiers fought in the Second World War while defending the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong from a Japanese attack in December 1941. Despite having limited military training, the Canadians in Hong Kong battled against overwhelming odds and demonstrated the bravery of seasoned warriors. They had a slim chance of winning, but they refused to surrender until the enemy had overrun them. Those who survived the conflict became prisoners of war, and many were subjected to torture -
Battle of Dieppe
On August 19, 1942, the Dieppe Raid, was an Allied amphibious assault on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France. The forces struck at five sites along a 16-kilometre front. The attack on Dieppe was mostly Canadians, who also went in via holes in the cliffs at Pourville. 707 Canadians are among the 944 members of the British and Allied Armed Forces who were buried in Dieppe, the majority of whom were killed in the Dieppe Raid. -
German and Italian troops surrender in Africa
On May 13, 1943, the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered after suffering 40,000 casualties in Tunisia alone; 267,000 German and Italian soldiers became prisoners of war. -
Italian Campaign
The Italian campaign, also known as the Liberation of Italy, lasted from 1943 to 1945 and consisted of Allied and Axis engagements in and around Italy and helped secure the Mediterranean Sea for Allied shipping and contributed to the downfall of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini which then lead to the downfall of the alliances for Hitler. -
Liberation of the Netherlands
The First Canadian Army fought German forces on the Scheldt estuary from September 1944 to April 1945, liberating the port of Antwerp for Allied usage, and subsequently cleared the northern and western Netherlands of Germans, allowing food and other aid to reach millions of desperate people. The Battle of the Scheldt and subsequent Allied operations liberated the first parts of the Netherlands in the fall and winter of 1944. Segments of the country celebrated their independence that Christmas. -
D- day
The Normandy landings took place on June 6, 1944, as part of the Allied invasion of Normandy, Operation Overlord. The world's largest seaborne attack, codenamed Operation Neptune and commonly referred to as D-Day, the Allied Forces of Britain, America, Canada, and France attacked German forces on the coast of Normandy, France. With a huge force of over 150,000 soldiers, the Allies attacked and gained a victory that became the turning point for World War II in Europe. -
End of the War in Europe (Germany surrenders)
Soviet forces approached Adolf Hitler's command bunker in central Berlin after a severe battle. Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Berlin fell to the Soviets in a matter of days. On May 7, 1945, German military forces surrendered unconditionally in the west, and on May 9, 1945, in the east. -
Bombing of Japan
On the 6th and 9th of August 1945, the United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in response to the destruction of Pearl Harbor Also to show the world its power and to make sure no other countries try to attack the United States after the war.