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German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
August 23, 1939 just before WW2 started Nazi Germany and the SU surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. This pact stated that the two countries wouldn't have any military action what so ever with each other for 10 years! Stalin viewed the pact as a way to keep peace with Germany. However Hitler saw it as a way to easily invade Poland. However the Germans and the Soviets also secretly had an agreement in the pact of how they would divide Eastern Europe...sneaky!!! -
Germany Invades Poland
September 1, 1930 was when German forces invades Poland. They attacked through the borders by both land and air. During this attack the Germans used something called "Blitzkrieg" which was a strategy that involved bombing the Polish air force, communication lines, and railways. The purpose of this attack was for Hitler to regain his lost land and he wanted living space for the Germans as well! -
WW2 Begins!
Friday September 1, 1939 German forces stormed the Polish frontier. It was a total of 1,250,000 German troops that swept into Poland. However it wasn't until September 3, 1939 that the Prime Minister of Britain declared war on Germany. This marked the beginning of WW2 which involved many countries! -
Battle of Britain Begins
The Battle of Britain or "Operation Sea lion" was a battle fought between the German air force and the British Royalty air force. Most of the battle was done in the sky and many bombings wee also carried out. This battle ended when the German air force couldn't gain air superiority over the Royal air force. Because Britain defeated Germany it prevented any ground invasions and any occupations by German forces. This battle was the largest sustained bombing campaign. -
German Invasion of the USSR
The German invasion of the USSR was shocking, especially due to the non aggression pact. During the battle, German forces had their hopes of gaining land, oil. and even to end communism. They separated into three groups, Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad. The goal was that by winter everything would be complete. However after underestimating the Russian army and Stalin moving his factories east things didn't look good for the Germans. The Germans were done by winter and were forced to retreat. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor and Declaration of War by FDR
A little before 8 am on December 7, 1941 multiple Japanese fighter planes attacked the Naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. This attack lasted for about 2 hours destroying 20 American naval vessels, eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. Not only were things destroyed but over 2,000 soldiers and sailors were killed and about 1,000 were wounded. The next day on December 10, 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt (President) declared war on Japan. -
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was a march in the Philippines in which was 66 miles that 76,000 prisoners of war were forced to walk by the Japanese military. They were forced to march north to San Fernando and then taken in nasty boxcars to Capas which was farther north and then another 7 miles to a camp. The main march lasted 5 to 10 days. Most of the prisoners were beaten, shot, bayoneted, and beheaded. Many people died due to starvation and disease, and only about 54,000 prisoners reached the camp. -
Stalingrad begins
The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point in WW2, which resulted in the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the USSR during WW2. Russians consider the battle to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and also marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history with roughly 2 million casualties. -
El Alamein Begins
El Alamein was a battle fought in North Africa over oil fields of the Middle East. This battle was fought between Montgomery and Rommel. The allies however couldn't afford to loose in this battle after loosing the Suez canal. However the allies did in fact win! Due to the Allied victory at El Alamein it lead to the retreat of the Afrika Korps and the German surrender in North Africa in May 1943. -
D-Day
Also named Operation Overlord D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion in history. On this day about 156,000 British, American, and Canadian forces landed on five beaches (50-mile stretch of heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region) to fight Germany. With more than 5,000 ships, and 13,000 aircraft support in the invasion the allies had a good start. Over 9,000 allied troops were killed or wounded and over 100,000 began to slow. This all payed off with the defeat of Hitler's troops! -
Battle of the Bulge begins
The Battle of the Bulge was a battle fought during the winter on the dates of December 16, 1944 through January 25, 1945. This was the last major Nazi attack against the allies in WW2. This was Hitlers last chance to divide the Allies into two in their drive towards Germany and to destroy their ability to supply themselves. -
Iwo Jima Begins
The American invasion of Iwo Jima during WW2. After the preparatory air and naval bombardment three U.S. Marine divisions landed on the Iwo Jima on February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by about 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought in caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Although the conditions were horrible, the Marines took down the opposing forces after a month. As a result of this battle, the U.S. flag was raised in victory! -
The End of the Holocaust
The Holocaust,(1933-1945) which was also called "Shoa" was a genocide of over 6 million Jewish people by Hitler and the Nazis. The Germans suspected that the Jews were unworthy of life therefore the targeted them. Not only were Jews a victim, but so were Russians, Poles, Gypsies, Handicaps, and others were too. As a part of the "Final Solution" by 1945 two out of every three Jews were killed. Also during the Holocaust you would find MANY concentration camps in which had very harsh conditions. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
August 6, 1945 marked the day Hiroshima was bombed. Not only was this the day Hiroshima was bombed, but was also the day the world's first deployed atomic bomb (made of uranium) was dropped. This bomb was known as "Little boy" and dropped by a B-29 Bomber (Enola Gay) and hit the Japanese city of Hiroshima. About 90% of the city was gone immediately and an estimated 90,000-149,000 people were killed. Most people died due to direct contact with the bomb and the others due to radiation exposure. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
Just three days later after the bombing of Hiroshima another bomb was dropped in the city of Nagasaki. This bomb was also dropped by a B-29 bomber. However unlike the bomb at Hiroshima this bomb was know as the "Fat-Man" and was made of plutonium. About 40,000 people were killed due to this bomb. Shortly after the bombing (a couple days later) Japan's Emperor announced his unconditional surrender in WW2. -
WW2 Ends!
After six years of fighting and many battles which resulted in many casualties WW2 was finally over. It was estimated that roughly 60 million people were killed during WW2. WW2 also resulted in the collapse of the USSR and the defeat against Hitler and also changed politics! WW2 is known to be the #1 largest war in history and the deadliest conflict in history!!
