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Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
On this day in 1933 Hitler was named chancellor. President Paul von Hindenburg chose him. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adolf-hitler-is-named-chancellor-of-germany -
Axis Powers break Non-Aggression Pact
On August 23, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, in which the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact fell apart in June 1941, when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union.http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/german-soviet-nonaggression-pact -
Germany invades Poland - WWII begins
Once Hitler becomes president, his first initiative is to take over Poland. He wanted to go in with nonaggression but Poland didn't want to. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 -
Italy joins WWII
Italy entered World War II on the Axis side on June 10, 1940, as the defeat of France became apparent.https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005177 -
Winston Churchill becomes leader of British Government
Winston Churchill is called to replace Neville Chamberlain as British prime minister after losing a vote in the House of Commons. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/churchill-becomes-prime-minister -
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. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-britain -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japan launches a surprise attack on American soil at Pearl Harbor. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Bataan Death March
After the April 9, 1942, U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. -
Battle of Coral Sea
The Japanese were seeking to control the Coral Sea with an invasion of Port Moresby in southeast New Guinea, but their plans were intercepted by Allied forces. When the Japanese landed in the area, they came under attack from the aircraft carrier planes of the American task force. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-coral-sea -
Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Italy surrenders to allies
On this day in 1943, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower publicly announces the surrender of Italy to the Allies. Ever since Mussolini had begun to falter, Hitler had been making plans to invade Italy to keep the Allies from gaining a foothold. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italian-surrender-is-announced -
D-Day
Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. -
1st Liberation of Concentration Camps
Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. On July 23, 1944, they entered the Majdanek camp in Poland, and later overran several other killing centers. https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007724 -
Liberation of Paris
After more than four years of Nazi occupation, Paris is liberated by the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. German resistance was light, and General Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison, defied an order by Adolf Hitler to blow up Paris’ landmarks and burn the city to the ground before its liberation. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/paris-liberated -
Battle of Bulge
In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. -
Death of FDR
On this day in 1945, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passes away after four momentous terms in office, leaving Vice President Harry S. Truman in charge of a country still fighting the Second World War. -
Death of Hitler
The bodies of Hitler and Eva were cremated in the chancellery garden by the bunker survivors (as per Der Fuhrer’s orders) and reportedly later recovered in part by Russian troops. A German court finally officially declared Hitler dead, but not until 1956. -
Germany Surrenders
On May 7, 1945, Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, bringing an end to the European conflict in World War II. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/07/germany-surrenders-allies-date-nazis-wwii_n_3230901.html -
Atomic Bomb #1
On July 16, 1945 the first atomic bomb was exploded in the New Mexico desert. Scientists figured that the temperature at the center of the explosion was three times hotter than at the center of the sun. http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/ww2_atomic_bomb.php -
Atomic Bomb #2
Despite witnessing the terrible destruction of the bomb on Hiroshima, Emperor Hirohito and Japan still refused to surrender. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, another atomic bomb, nicknamed Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/ww2_atomic_bomb.php -
Japan Surrenders
By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japan-surrenders
