-
Invasion of China
Military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. This fighting went on for a month. -
Nazis Invade Poland
The Nazis invaded Poland and were taken within weeks. The land captured by the Nazis were shared with the Soviets since they were allies in their non aggression pact. -
The Nazi invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia.
The Nazis swift attacks against Yugoslavia had resulted in the death of 17,000 civilians in one day. The Nazis manage to take Greece in 21 days -
Greece surrenders to the Axis powers
After the Nazis invaded Greece they quickly surrendered. Germany took control of Greece and Yugoslavia to secure power of the Balkan flank for Operation Barbarossa. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a failed attempt by Hitler to backstab Stalin and go against the non aggression pact and attempt to take control of the USSR. Stalin defeated Hitler and left his army very weak. -
Pearl Harbor
A Japanese surprise attack on the Americans on Pearl Harbor. 2,400 Americans were killed in this tragic event and this caused the US to declare war on Japan -
US enters WWII
The United States and Great Britain declare war on Japan exactly one day after Pearl Harbor. Germany and Italy declare War on the US because Japan is apart of the Axis Powers. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. -
Allies bomb Rome
United States bombs railway yards in Rome in an attempt to break the will of the Italian people to resist -
Soviet troops advance into Poland
The Soviet Union would end up with 3/5 of Poland as a result of the invasions. -
D-Day
Operation Overlord, 60 mile stretch of the Normandy beaches. This led to 10,000 Allied casualties in the very first day. France, Belgium and Luxembourg were liberated through this. -
Soviet troops liberate first concentration camp at Majdanek
Soviet troops first arrived at Majdanek during the night of July 22 and captured Lublin on July 24. Captured virtually intact, Majdanek was the first major concentration camp to be liberated. -
Resistance uprising in Paris
Paris fell to Nazi Germany on June 14, 1940, and on the morning of August 25th Paris had finally been liberated -
Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz
When the Soviets arrived in Auschwitz they rescued the 7,000 remaining prisoners, over 1.1 million people had been killed in Auschwitz alone -
Soviets reach Berlin
The Soviet Army had control of Berlin, and this had been a huge turning point because it was making the Germans fall back. -
Hitler commits suicide
In fear of being shamed like Mussolini, Hitler killed himself before he had been captured -
Germany surrender signed in Berlin
After the death of Hitler, the Nazis hopes of total domination was dying. A few weeks after the death of their dictator Germany had surrendered in Berlin. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Even after Germany surrendered, Japan was still fighting. In August, The United States had decided to end it and dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This act had killed around 80,000 people. -
Japanese agree to surrender
Not even a week after the bomb had been dropped on Nagasaki, Japan had been forced into a surrender to the United States. This had been the end of World War II -
Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day)
A formal surrender of Japan held a ceremony in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. Truman had named this day Victory over Japan day
