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Invasion Of Poland
The German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Polish garrison of the Westerplatte Fort, Danzig (modern-day Gdansk), in what was to become the first military engagement of World War Two. Simultaneously, 62 German divisions supported by 1,300 aircraft commenced the invasion of Poland. -
Period: to
WWII
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Phoney War
The Phoney War was a phase early in World War II – in the months following Britain and France's declaration of war on Germany in September 1939 and preceding the Battle of France in May 1940 – that was marked by a lack of major military operations by the Western Allies against the German Reich. War was declared by each side, but no Western power had committed to launching a significant land offensive. -
Warsaw Surrenders
Warsaw surrenders on September 27. The Polish government flees into exile via Romania. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them. -
Soviet-Finland war ends in Finland’s surrender.
On November 30, 1939 the Soviet Union attempted to annex Finland. Of course, Finland fought back, but eventaully ended up having to surrender in January of 1940. It was called
"War between Finland and Russia, David and Golliath, good and evil, democracy and totalitarianism, freedom and slavery, against the Third Aggressor of WWII" -
Germany invades Norway and Denmark and will soon conquer both countries.
During World War II, Nazi Germany invades neutral Norway, surprising the Norwegian and British defenders of the country and capturing several strategic points along the Norwegian coast, which later prove successful for transportation of goods. -
Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
On this day in 1940, Hitler begins his Western offensive with the code word "Danzig," sending his forces into the Netetherlans, Luxembourg, and Belgium. On this same day, having lost the support of the Labour Party, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns; Winston Churchill accedes to the office, becoming defense minister as well. -
France falls to the German army
After months of nervous speculation and deliberation, Germany brought war to western Europe on May 10, 1940, with the primary goal of conquering France to eliminate the problem of having a war on two fronts. German bombers hit air bases in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands, destroying large numbers of Allied planes on the ground and crippling Allied air defenses. -
The Planing of Dunkirk
n planning, it was hoped that 45,000 men could be rescued over two days, as it was expected that German interference would force the end of the operation after forty-eight hours. The fleet arrived at Dunkirk. Due to time and space concerns, all heavy equipment had to be abandoned. While many were able to board ships directly from the harbor's mole, others were forced to wade out to waiting boats. Commencing on May 27, Operation Dynamo rescued 7,669 on the first day and 17,804 on the second. -
The Battle of Britain
Hitler ordered his forces to invade Britain. As a prelude to the cross-Channel invasion, the German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) was to overpower Britain's air defenses. In the ensuing Air War between the German and Allied Air Forces, which lasted through the end of October 1940 and resulted in the defeat of the Luftwaffe, 1 in 8 of allied pilots was Polish, and the highest scoring squadron within the whole of Allied air forces was the Polish Air Force 303 (Kosciuszko) Squadron which -
Fall of France
The French lost the battle. On June 22nd, Marshell Petain signed a armistice for France which made the French send 2 million soldiers to Germany to act as slaves. -
Canada enters the war
The Parliament of Canada declared war on Germany, the country's first independent declaration of war and the beginning of Canada's participation in the largest combined national effort in its history. By war's end, 1 million citizens would have served in military uniform -
The Soviet Union Invades Finlad
The Soviet Union invades Finland, initiating the so-called Winter War. The Finns sue for an armistice and have to cede the northern shores of Lake Lagoda and the small Finnish coastline on the Arctic Sea to the Soviet Union. -
The War in Africa
At the same time that war was going on in the European and Pacific theaters, conflict also escalated in North Africa, primarily as a result of Italy’s aggression in the region in 1940 and 1941. One of the primary flash points in North Africa was the key port of Tobruk, Libya, which changed hands between the Germans and the British several times and was the site of several major battles. -
United States enteres the war
On April 6, 1917, the U.S. joined its allies--Britain, France, and Russia--to fight in World War I. Under the command of Major General John J. Pershing, more than 2 million U.S. soldiers fought on battlefields in France. Many Americans were not in favor of the U.S. entering the war and wanted to remain neutral. -
Operation Barabossa
Germany began an invasion of the Soviet Union named Operation Barbarossa 4.5 million troops launched a surprise attack deployed from German-controlled Poland, Finland, and Romania. Although Germany had signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR in 1939, both sides remained suspicious of one another, and the agreement gave them time to prepare for a war.The Soviets were unprepared for the sudden attacks across a border that spanned nearly 2,900 km. Hitlers plan failed because winter came. -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese airplanes made a suprise attack on the US navy in Pearl Harbour.The attack on Pearl Harbor came as a complete surprise. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes and bombers flew to Pearl Harbor and attacked. The bombers dropped bombs and torpedoes on the war ships, while the fighter planes attacked the US fighter planes on the ground so they could not take off and fight back. This event caused the U.S.A to join the war. -
The US Declares War on Japan
The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War II. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina and British Singapore. By April 1942, the Philippines, Indochina, and Singapore are under Japanese occupation. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway took place on June 4th, 1942. This battle was the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign. The U.S. navy defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy at Midway Atoll. It is know as the "biggest blow in naval history." -
The US Lands in Africa
US and British troops land at several points on the beaches of Algeria and Morocco in French North Africa. The failure of the Vichy French troops to defend against the invasion enables the Allies to move swiftly to the western border of Tunisia, and triggers the German occupation of southern France on November 11. -
The Germans Surrender at Stalingrad
On this day, the last of the German forces fighting at Stalingrad surrender, despite Hitler's earlier declaration that "Surrender is out of the question. -
Italy Surrenders
Italy surrenders. But German troops, continuing to fight the Allies in Italy, seize Rome. Although Italy surrenderedGerman tropps continued to push into Rome in order to try to block out the ally powers that had landed in Sicily -
The Us invades Okinawa
U.S. forces invade Okinawa, in Japan’s Ryukyu Islands. The Allies want Okinawa as the base for the expected invasion of Japan. Fighting will continue until U.S. forces win in July. -
D-Day
On 6 June 1944, just after midnight, the Allied assault upon Hitler’s ‘Fortress Europe’ began. The operation caught the German military high command unaware. Low tides and bad weather – combined with Allied deception plans – had convinced the Germans that an attack was unlikely at that time. As more than 1,000 British bombers began to pummel Normandy’s coastal defences, Rommel, commanding German defences in France, was in Germany celebrating his wife’s birthday. -
Liberation of the death camps
Allies helped all Jewish people after they are gradually pushing through Europe against the Nazis. This was extreamly important, because of all the destructin and deaths the Jesish people experienced in these camps. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was fought between December 16th, 1944 and January 25th, 1945. This was a major offensive battle for Germany that they launched towards the end of the war. It also was the largest battle America faught in World War II. -
The Yalta Conference
The big three discuss the reorganization of post war Europe(Stalin,Roosevelt,Churchill). This was an extreamly important meating between the main super powers -
Iwo Jima
U.S. captured the Island of Iwo Jima storming three japanese airfields. When the Marines landed, they saw intense fire from the landing area and from flanking positions on Mount Suribachi in the south and the rugged terrain of northern Iwo Jima. -
FDR dies and Truman becomes president
FDR dies, ad truman becomes president: April 12, 1945. The end of the war was close, and FDR's health was bad. He died of a celebral hemrage. -
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day, was on May 8th, 1945. This was the day the allies accepted the unoffcial surrender of the Nazi forces. The formal surrender was not until May 9th, 1945. -
The US Drops the Bomb on Hiroshima
At approximately 8.15am on 6 August 1945 a US B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, instantly killing around 80,000 people. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, causing the deaths of 40,000 more. The dropping of the bombs, which occurred by executive order of US President Harry Truman, remains the only nuclear attack in history. In the months following the attack, roughly 100,000 more people died slow, horrendous deaths as a result of radiation