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Germany Invades Poland
Hitler plans to take back land in Poland, breaking his promise from the Munich Conference and showing England and France that Germany could not be trusted. Germany's invasion caused the "Lightning War". England and France declare war on Germany 2 days later. -
Battle of Britain
France quickly lost to Germany. Neither England or France were prepared for war. England creates "RADAR" to detect German bombing planes. Churchill refused to surrender so Germany had no choice but to surrender. -
Germany Invades Soviet Union
Hitler and Stalin formed an alliance in 1930 called the Nazi-soviet pact. Hitler broke the pact in 1941 by attacking the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was unprepared and Germany hoped for a quick victory but could not do so due to the Cold Russian Winter. -
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941, Japan launched a sneak attack on the US Navy stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan wanted to destroy the US Navy so they couldn't be stopped from taking over areas in Southern Asia. The US declared war on Japan and ended its neutrality and Roosevelt declared it as “ the date which will live in infamy”. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle improved for soviets in Stalingrad after fighting for 10 months. If Germany would’ve won, the Soviets would have fallen. The Soviets started pushing Germany back in 1944 and by 1945, Germans were pushed back across Poland and into Germany. -
Island Hopping
The US could not attack Japan directly in the Pacific Ocean because the distance between the US and Japan was too far for bombing planes to travel. The US developed an idea to fly from island to island until they reached Japan (Island Hopping). The US was able to gain control over Iwo Jima and Okinawa. -
D-Day Invasion
In June of 1944, the US, Canada, and British were prepared to attack Germany in Europe. They were to cross the English channel and attack the Germany army on the north coast of France, Normandy. Germany was pushed out. Back in Germany, the US, Britain, and Canada attack from the west and the Soviet Union from the East. Germany was close to losing WWII. -
Yalta and Potsdam Conference
The war in Europe was coming to an end and Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt met in Yalta in the Soviet Union to discuss how Europe will be shaped after the war. Stalin agreed to democratic elections in the countries he had conquered. Stalin broke his promise from the Yalta conference because he would no longer allow democratic elections but instead would have communist governments in the countries he conquered.This distrust led to the Cold War. -
V-E Day
British and Soviet armies marched in Berlin and Germany surrendered to England, US, Soviet Union, and France. Hitler commited suicide in April, 1945 to avoid being captured by allied forces, especially the Soviet Union. The war in Europe was over. -
Division of Germany
After Germany surrendered, the US, England, France, and the Soviet Union divided Germany into four zones, including the capital, Berlin. Each zone would be governed by one of the four countries. The goal was to remove Nazism from Germany’s government. Germany was divided for four years. -
US Drops Atomic Bomb on Japan
On July 16th, 1945, the US successfully tested an atomic bomb. Japan refused to surrender to the US and in August of 1945, the US planned to invade Japan in order to end the war.Truman decided to drop the bomb on Japan. August 9th, the US dropped a bomb on Hiroshima. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki with and estimated 200,000 total deaths. -
Rebuilding Japan
Japan was forced into an “unconditional surrender” by the US. This meant that the US had total control over Japan leaving even the Emperor with no power. General Douglas MacArthur was left in control of Japan. He was military governor of Japan and his job was to end militarism and rebuild Japan’s economy. -
United Nations Created
It was Roosevelt's idea to create an organization to maintain peace between countries. The League of Nations failed before WWII. And so, the winning nations created the United Nations whose headquarters are located in NY City. Their goal is to maintain peace. -
Nuremberg Trials
After the war, the allied powers put Nazi soldiers and leaders in for war crimes called “crimes against humanity”. The Nuremberg Trials took place in Nuremberg, Germany. 20 Nazis were put on Trial.
