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Germany Invades Poland
4:45 am they woke to invade Poland.Germany quickly ran through much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on a new military tactic called the "Blitzkrieg". A German term for “lightning war,” blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. -
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WWII Events
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Britain and France declare War
On this day in 1939, in response to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies declare war on Germany. -
Hitler seizes lower countries
Adolf Hitler takes neutral Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, the British sent in troops to defend France. They marched around the back of the Allies in France and forced them over into Belgium, where they were faced with more Germans to the north. The only option left was to retreat to Dunkirk, where they could be taken back to England. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the US enters the war.
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the US Naval Base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, using bombers, torpedo bombers and midget submarines. ... Standing in opposition to Japanese conquest of what Japan's leaders termed “the Southern Resource Area” was the United States. -
Germany's first major defeat
On Feb. 2, 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered, thereby ending one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles in the history of war. It was a pivotal victory for the Soviets who, after two years of being pushed back by Nazi forces, turned the tide of the war and began advancing toward Germany later in the year. -
Hitler Death/Germany Surrenders
On this day in 1945 Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler’s dreams of a “1,000-year” Reich.