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Germany invades Poland
On this day, Hitler bombs and attacks Poland from land and air using a battle technique called "blitzkrieg". As Adolf Hitler regains lost territory he starts WWII. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-invades-poland -
Germans enter Paris
Parisians awaken to the sound of a German voice announcing via loud speakers that a curfew was being imposed by 8 p.m. that evening as Paris was being occupied by German soldiers. By the time German tanks rolled in, 2 million Parisians had fled the city, with good reason. The German Gestapo soon after had gone to work: arrests, interrogations and spying. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris -
Battle of Britain
300 bombers raided London in what would be the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing. German and British Air Forces fought over the skies of the United Kingdom. Hitler later surrendered and the Britain Air Force took back their land. -
Battle of Britain
300 German bombers raided London in what would be the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing. The German and British air forces fought in the skies over the United Kingdom. Hitler later surrendered and the British took back their land. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-britain -
Lend Lease
The Lend Lease Act was a solution that allowed the United States to provide help to England while avoiding full involvement in World War II. The act gave the president authorization to transfer arms or any other defense materials for which Congress appropriated money to Britain, the Soviet Union, China and many other countries under this law. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/lend-lease-act -
Operation Barbarossa
Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea, a distance of two thousand miles. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
The attack of Pearl Harbor was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces. The Japanese wanted to cripple the United States by taking out one of their biggest naval bases. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Germany declares war on the United States
On December 11, 1941 the German charge d’affaires in Washington handed American Secretary of State Cordell Hull a copy of the declaration of war. On the same day, Hitler addressed the Reichstag to defend the declaration. The failure of the New Deal, argued Hitler, was the real cause of the war. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-declares-war-on-the-united-states -
Bataan Death March
Approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. Thousands of troops died because of the brutality of their captors, who starved and beat the marchers, and bayoneted those too weak to walk. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Battle of Midway
6 months after Pearl Harbor the U.S. had one of the biggest naval battles of WWII.the United States was able to crack the code and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, causing permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian deaths of nearly 2 million. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the point of war in favor of the Allies. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt against deportations to extermination camps. 55,000 to 60,000 Jews remained in the Warsaw ghetto, and small groups of these survivors formed underground self-defense units such as the Jewish Combat Organization, or ZOB. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/warsaw-ghetto-uprising -
D-Day
the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, ended in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
Three German armies launched the deadliest and most desperate battle of the war in the west in the heavily forested Ardennes. The Battle of the Bulge was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army, which suffered over 100,000 loses. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Liberation of concentration camps
As Allied troops moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they began to encounter tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners. People survived forced marches and were suffering from starvation and illnesses. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131 -
Japan surrenders
The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated. The 2 nukes the U.S. drops on japan forces them to surrender in fear of it continuing.
