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Invasion of Poland
Germany invades Poland using Hitler's war tactic Blitzkrieg. The Soviet Union invades eastern Poland 2 weeks later. Forcing Poland to surrender. Britain and France finally see their appeasement tactic is not going to work and declare war on Germany two days after the invasion on September 3, 1939. Making this the official start of World War II. -
Churchill Takes Office
After the forced resignation of Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill is appointed to British Prime Minister. Churchill leads Britain through their darkest hour and all the way to victory with speeches that inspired the British people. -
Dunkirk Evacuation
After Hitler invaded France by surprise, the French and British soldiers were pushed all the way to the seaboard city of Dunkirk. Britain launched an emergency evacuation plan, codenamed Operation Dynamo to get the troops out of Dunkirk and back to Britain by sea. Over the course of 9 days, around 1,000 Naval vessels and civilian boats aided in the evacuation of some 340,000 soldiers. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was Hitler’s air attack on Britain. Consisting of a series of air raids and dogfights between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force. Britain was outnumbered but held their own and fought the Germans off. The British victory was important at the Battle of Britain because Britain was the only thing standing Hitler's way in conquering all of Europe. -
The Blitz
The Blitz is known as the continuous night bombing on the British cities of London, Coventry, and Liverpool. Starting on September 7, London was bombed for 57 nights straight. Luckily the British had radar and could tell when the Germans were coming. In October Hitler ended the raids and withdrew any plans for an invasion on Britain. -
Operation Barbarossa
Codename for the German invasion on the Soviet Union. Ignoring the non aggression pact Hitler created with Stalin, Germany invades the Soviet Union only to be later defeated. This brought the Soviet Union into the war on the side of the Allies. -
Pearl Harbor
After the U.S. halted the sale of supplies to Japan, they launched a surprise attack on the American Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to destroy the Pacific Fleet. The attack brought the United States out of isolationism and into the war on December 8, 1941. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was an attack by the Japanese to destroy U.S. aircraft carriers at Midway island. As the Japanese launched their attack from four aircraft carriers, three American aircraft carriers arrived and launched their attack. Three of the four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk by dive bombers and the fourth, the Hiryu went head to head with the American carrier, Yorktown. Both of the carriers were sunk. This was the first major victory for the United states in the Pacific. -
Battle of Stalingrad
A large battle of total war between Germany and the Soviet Union, in the city of Stalingrad, which was named after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Much of the city was turned to rubble after the German bombings but the Soviets did not surrender. They hid in the rubble and attacked the Germans in close quarters, trapping the Germans in Stalingrad. Leading to the German surrender on February 2, 1943. Leaving Germany to never fully recover. -
D-Day Invasion
Codename operation Overlord, was the invasion on the coast of France that was heavily defended by Germany. The force of 6,000 ships approached the coast of Normandy and over 150,000 American, British, and Canadian soldiers stormed the beaches. While they were successful many lives were lost. This was the start of pushing Germany out of France. -
Battle of the Bulge
As the Allies were pushing Germany out of France, the Germans pushed back in the Ardennes Forest with at least 200,000 infantry and 1,000 tanks. Although the American soldiers were able to push them back within a few days. The Battle of the Bulge is thought of as one of the greatest battles fought by American troops. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta conference is where Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin determined the terms of a German surrender, and sets the provisions for the United Nations. The Soviet Union also agrees to join the Pacific Theater within three months of German surrender. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima proved to the U.S. that Japan would fight down to the last man. The U.S. Marines quickly captured the beaches with no resistance. As the Marines moved off the beaches they found themselves under attack by the Japanese that were hiding in tunnels waiting to attack. The U.S. Marines resorted to using flamethrowers to clear the tunnels. After losing 6,800 Marines and either capturing or killing all the Japanese defenders the U.S. achieved victory on March 26, 1945. -
Battle of Berlin
The Soviet Union took the lead into Berlin surrounding the city. Hand to hand fighting broke out between the Soviet and German troops inside of Berlin until German generals in the city surrendered. The Battle of Berlin was the last battle in Europe that ended with Hitler committing suicide on April 30, 1945 and the German surrender on May 7,1945. -
Germany Surrenders
The unconditional surrender of the German Third Reich was signed on May 7, 1945 in Reims, France. Ending the war in Europe. Although Germany surrendered on May 7th, May 8th is known as VE day or Victory in Europe Day. -
America Drops Atomic Bombs
With Japan unwilling to surrender, President Truman ordered for two atomic bombs to be dropped on Japan. One on Hiroshima and one on Nagasaki. On August 6, 1945, the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. With Japan still unwilling to surrender, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Leaving the cities destroyed and instantly killing about 110,000 people combined and leaving many more with radiation exposure. Finally, Japan agrees to surrender the next day. -
Japan Surrenders
Japan signed the unconditional surrender aboard the USS Missouri battleship in Tokyo Bay. Making September 2 Victory over Japan day or V-J Day. World War II is now officially over.