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Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
Franz von Papen persuaded the German president, Field Marshal von Hindenburg, to appoint Hitler as chancellor in a coalition government. In June of the following year, in what he called ‘the night of the long knives, Hitler eliminated about a hundred rivals. Hindenburg died, and Hitler became head of state and commander of the armed forces.
Info and Picture:
http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/hitler-becomes-german-chancellor -
Axis Powers break Non-Aggression Pact
Two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. The pact had a agreement in which the Soviets and Germans agreed how they would later divide up Eastern Europe. The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact fell apart in June 1941, when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union.
Info and Picture:
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/german-soviet-nonaggression-pact -
Germany Invades Poland - WWII begins
The Polish army was defeated within weeks of invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack. Poland remained under German occupation until January 1945.
Info and Picture:
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10005070&MediaId=942 -
Winston Churchill becomes leader of British government
Churchill was known for his military leadership ability. He formed an all-party coalition. In the first year of his administration, Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany, but Churchill promised his country and the world that the British people would “never surrender.”
Info
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/churchill-becomes-prime-minister
Pic
http://www.express.co.uk/news/history/623226/How-Winston-Churchill-won-the-war-Secrets-of-great-prime-ministers-speeches-revealed -
Battle of Britain
In the summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces clashed in the skies over the United Kingdom, locked in the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date. Britain now stood alone against the power of Germany’s military forces, which had conquered most of Western Europe in less than two months.
Info
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-britain
Picture
https://bofb1940.podbean.com/ -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Many Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleship. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack. The day after the assault, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
Info
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor
Picture
https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack -
Bataan Death March
The men were divided into groups of approximately 100. It took each group around five days to complete. Thousands of troops died because of the brutality of their captors, who starved and beat the marchers. Survivors were taken by rail from San Fernando to prisoner-of-war camps, where thousands more died from disease, mistreatment and starvation.
Info
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march
Picture
http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/bataan-death-march -
Battle of Coral Sea
The Japanese were seeking to control the Coral Sea with an invasion of Port Moresby in southeast New Guinea. When the Japanese landed in the area, they came under attack from the aircraft carrier planes of the American task force commanded by Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher. The battle left the Japanese without enough planes to cover the ground attack of Port Moresby, resulting in a strategic Allied victory.
Info and Picture
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-coral-sea -
Battle of Midway
The U.S. had a huge part of its fleet at Midway which was considered to be strategically important because of its proximity to the Hawaiian Islands. To weaken the naval power of America, Japan decided to attack Midway hence the battle. Both parties sustained losses.
Info and Picture
http://totallyhistory.com/battle-of-midway/ -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad was fought between the Soviet Union and the Axis powers led by Nazi Germany. Hitler quickly became upset at what he saw as the slow progress of his armies, dividing them into two Army Group units named A and B. Group B was told to proceed to Stalingrad and capture the city to prevent an attack on the German flank.
Info and Picture
http://totallyhistory.com/battle-of-stalingrad/ -
Italy Enters War
In the final push to defeat the Axis powers of Italy and Germany during World War II, the U.S. and Great Britain, the leading Allied powers, planned to invade Italy. The Italian Campaign was a series of Allied beach landings and land battles. The Allied advance through Italy produced some of the most bitter, costly fighting of the war.
Info and Picture
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/italian-campaign -
Italy surrenders to allies
Dwight Eisenhower publicly announces the surrender of Italy to the Allies. The Germans snapped into action. Hitler had been making plans to invade Italy to prevent the Allies from situating them within easy reach of the German-occupied Balkans. Italian troops began surrendering to their former German allies.
Info
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italian-surrender-is-announced
Picture
http://historicalguru.com/italian-surrender-announced-9-8-1943 -
D-Day
The Allied Forces of Britain, America, Canada, and France attacked German forces on the coast of Normandy, France. With a huge force of over 150,000 soldiers, the Allies attacked and gained a victory that became the turning point for World War II in Europe. This famous battle is called D-Day or the Invasion of Normandy.
Info
http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/d-day_invasion_of_normandy.php
Picture
http://www.ddaybattletours.com/ -
First Liberation of Concentration Camps
The Germans attempted to hide the evidence of mass murder by demolishing the camp. The Germans had dismantled these camps in 1943. In the following months, the Soviets liberated additional camps in the Baltic states and in Poland. Shortly before Germany's surrender, Soviet forces liberated more concentration camps.
Info
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131
Picture
http://survincity.com/2013/07/liberation-of-the-concentration-camps/ -
Liberation of Paris
German intransigence remained, but Paris was free from German control. The Germans were so great that even those who had surrendered were attacked, some even machine-gunned, as they were being led off to captivity. More than 500 Resistance fighters died in the struggle for Paris, as well as 127 civilians.
Info
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/liberation-of-paris
Picture
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/paris-liberated -
Battle of Bulge
Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by a blitzkrieg thrust. Three German armies launched the deadliest battle of the war in the west in the poorly rugged, heavily forested Ardennes. The Battle of the Bulge was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army, which suffered over 100,000 casualties.
Info
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge
Picture
http://olive-drab.com/od_history_ww2_ops_battles_1944bulge.php -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American invasion of Iwo Jima stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops. They fought from caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations.The battle earned a place in American lore with a photograph showing the U.S. flag being raised in victory.
Info
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima
Pic
https://pitchengine.com/pitches/a6ef90f1-0e3e-42a8-b0bb-595d3b93ff16 -
Death of FDR
The president suddenly complained of a terrific pain and collapsed unconscious. One of the women summoned a doctor. They immediately recognised the symptoms and gave the president a shot of adrenaline into the heart in a vain attempt to revive him. The doctors in Warm Springs had pronounced the president dead.
Info
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-dies
Pic
https://blog.genealogybank.com/69th-anniversary-president-franklin-d-roosevelt-died-in-office.html -
Death of Hitler
Hitler had repaired to his bunker after deciding to remain in Berlin for the war. Warned by officers that the Russians were only a day or so from overtaking the chancellery and urged to escape to a small town in the Bavarian Alps where Hitler owned a home. The dictator chose suicide instead.
Info
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adolf-hitler-commits-suicide-in-his-underground-bunker
Pic
http://www.historybuff.co.uk/death-of-adolf-hitler-a-burning-desire/ -
Germany surrenders
Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, bringing an end to the European conflict in World War II. General Alfred Jodl, representing the German High Command, signed the unconditional surrender of both east and west forces in Reims, France. As a result, May 8 was declared Victory in Europe. This holiday is still celebrated by many European countries.
Info and Pic
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/07/germany-surrenders-allies-date-nazis-wwii_n_3230901.html -
Atomic Bomb #1
The United States drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. President Harry S. Truman, warned by some of his advisers that any attempt to invade Japan would result in horrific American casualties. The American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over Hiroshima.
Info
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima
Pic
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/27/politics/hiroshima-obama-explainer/ -
Atomic Bomb #2
The United States had already planned to drop their second atomic bomb, nicknamed “Fat Man.” On August 11 in the event of such recalcitrance, but bad weather expected for that day so they pushed the date up to August 9th. The number killed is estimated at anywhere between 60,000 and 80,000.
Info
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-nagasaki
Pic
http://apjjf.org/-Tsuyoshi-Hasegawa/2501/article.html -
Japan Surrenders
The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The bombing of Japanese cities left the country and its economy devastated. The Americans captured Okinawa, a Japanese island. Both atomic bombs were then dropped which killed more than 200,000 innocent souls. Emperor Hirohito then went on national radio for the first time to announce the Japanese surrender.
Info
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japan-surrenders
Pic
https://www.emaze.com/@AWZLOQLR/WWII-timeline