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Germany invades Poland
On the 1st of September 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany. The invasion occurred at 4.45am and consisted of 1.5 million troops that invaded from every German controlled country that bordered with Poland. Following this event Britain demanded for Germany to evacuate, telling them that if they didnt evacuate they would begin a war between the nations. The nations involved were Britain, France and Germany. -
Britain & France declare war on Germany
On the 3rd of November 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany after they didn't retreat from Poland. The Prime minister of britain announced at 11.55 that day that Brtain was at war with Germany, with France declaring the same thing not long after at 5.00 that afternoon. World War Two began on this day. The nations involved were Germany, France and Britain. -
Churchill becomes Prime Miister of Britain
On the 10th of May 1940, Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Great Britain. This occured after Neville Chamberlain lost a vote of confidence in the House of Commons and resigned from his job as Prime Minister. On this same day Hitler invaded Holland, Belgium and the Netherlands. The only nation involved in the change of British Prime Minister was Britain. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo)
In order to save British forces for future defence of Britain the Commander of Britain was forced to evacuate the Britsh Operation Dynamon was the codename for the evacuation of Dunkirk. Expiditionary Force (BEF) as well as other allied troops from the French port of Dunkirk back to England. Overall about 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops were saved throughout the operation. Belgium, France and Britain were involved in the Evacuation of Dunkirk. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers
On the 10th of June 1940, Italy joined the war siding with the Axis Powers, an alliance that already consisted of Germany and Japan. Although Italy joined the war on the 10th, it wasn't until 10 days later on the 20th that Italian forces were deployed to France. The nations involved in this event were Italy, Germany, France and Japan. This event was significant because it was when the alliances of the war began to grow more defined and obvious. -
France signs armistice with Germany
In France on the 22nd of June 1940 Marshal Henri Petain replaced Paul Reynaud as the Prime Minister of France, upon becoming Prime Minister Marshal Henri Petain announced that he planned to sign an Armistice with the Nazi Party. The Armistice divided France into two zones: one to be under German military occupation and the other to be left to the French. The nations involved in this event were Germany and France. -
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Battle of Britain
The battle of Britain was an air campaign that lasted 12 weeks, the air forces of Britain (Royal Air Force, RAF) and Germany (Luftwaffe) fought in the skies over Great Britain. The battle ended after Germany struggled to sustain air superiority over Britain's air forces (RAF). During the battle more than 1,500 aircraft was lost by each side. This was a significant event because it was the first major campaign fought by only air forces, it was also the first defeat of Hitler's military forces. -
Tripartite Pact Signed
The Tripartite pact was an alliance signed in Berlin by Japan, Germany and Italy; the pact was designed so that if one country involved became threatened by America the others would be there to protect them. Later the same year, in November, Germany dragged Hungary into the Axis alliance. The pact was significant because it bound these 3 countries together to fight against America, if they decided to join the war. -
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was the name of Hitler's planned invasion of Great Britain. This operation was never carried out because the German air force was unable to achieve air superiority over the English Channel and because they lost the Battle of Britain. The only country involved was Nazi Germany. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk took place Cyrenaica, Libya. The aim of the siege was to compel the enemy to surrender, by surrounding the town of Tobruk and cutting off vital living necessities. Britain, Australia, Italy, Nazi Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia and India were all involved in the Siege. The Siege of Tobruk was significant because it proved that the Blitzkrieg could be beaten, this was the first battle won by the allies, making it a monumental moment for the British and the French. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the codename given to Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. The operation involved more than 3 million Axis troops and 3,500 tanks. Operation Barbarossa was significant because it was the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. Operation Barbarossa was the largest German Military campaign of WWII. It was perceived that the USSR was a communist threat to Germany, Operation Barbarossa planned to permanently eliminate this threat. The only nation involved was Germany. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbour
On December 7, 1941, just before 8:00a.m, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked Pearl Harbor, the American naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii.The bombing lasted 2 hours and destroyed nearly 20 American Naval Vessels and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 American soldiers died in the attacks. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
On December 8th 1941, US president Franklin D. Roosevelt declares war on Japan in response to the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbour. An hour before the US declared war, Britain declared war on Japan for it's attacks on Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong. The nations involved were Great Britain, the USA and Japan. This was a significant event because it was the first time the United States had joined the fighting of WWII -
Japan takes Singapore
On February 15th 1942 Japan takes Singapore (an island located off Malaysia), a country that had been a British colony since the 19th century. On February 8, 5,000 Japanese troops landed on Singapore Island, this out numbered British soldiers making the occupation easy. The nations involved were Singapore, Japan and Britain. The occupation lasted until 1945. -
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a four day battle fought between the United States of America and Japan at Midway Atholl, a small and desolate inlet northeast of Hawaii. The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the Pacific War, as it was one of the only battles fought intirely with aircraft, During this battle the United States destroyed Japans entire fleet of aircraft along with alot of the countries best pilots. -
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First Battle of El Alamein
El Alamein was a small railway town on the Egyptian coast, only miles west of the British naval base in Alexandria. The First Battle of El Alamein was a battle fought between Germany and Italy against Great Britain. The battle stopped the advance by the Axis forces into Egypt, El Alamein. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the USSR. during World War II. There were nearly 2 million military and civilian casualties. The battle halted German expansion and Hitler was left with shattered visions of a global empire. The Russians won the battle, keeping a strong grip on the town of Stalingrad. The nations involved were the USSR and Germany. -
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Second battle of El Alamein
The second battle of El Alamein was fought between the Allies (Great Britain, Australia, South Africa, India and France) and the Axis Powers (Germany and Italy). The Allied Powers won the battle by forcing the Axis troops to retreat into Tunisia. The Second Battle of El Alamein was significant because it ended the long fight for the Western Desert, it was the only important battle won by the British foces without help from the United States of America. -
D-Day Landings
More than 130,000 Allies stormed onto the beaches of Norrmandy, France on the 6th of June 1944 for the D-Day Landings. The landing included over 5,000 ships, 11,000 airplanes, and over 150,000 service men. The landings aimed to liberate France, D-Day was beginning of the Allied invasion of Western Europe. D-Day is the largest military operation by sea to date. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The battle of the bulge was a three week battle that began when the German army surprised the Allied forces by attacking them in the Ardennes Mountains, a mountain range that goes through Belgium, France and Luxembourg. At the end of the battle, on the 25th of January 1945 the Allied Powers achieve victory. The Battle of the Bulge is significant because it was the last major battle of WWII. The nations involved were America, Germany, France and Britain. -
Musolini captured and executed
On the 28th of April 1945, Benito Mussolini and his wife were captured by Italian partisians as they were attempting to flee to Switzerland. When the Partisians found Mussolini they shot both him and his wife and hung them upside down for public display in Milan. This was significant because it lead to the suicide of Adolf Hitler two days later. -
Hitler commits suicide
On the 30th of April 1945 Hitler commits suicide following the recent news of the death of Benito Mussolini. This occured in his bunker that was hidden beneath the Reich Chancellery building in Berlin, Germany. The death of Adolf Hitler was significant because it lead to the fall of Nazism and dictatorship in Germany as Hitler was the pioneer and leader of the Nazi movement. -
German forces surrender
On the 7th of May 1945, General Alfred Jodl surrenders all German forces , East and West, by signing a surrender document at Reims, a town in northwestern France. This was a significant event because it brought an end to a six year war in Europe. The nations involved were Russia, Germany, France and Britain. -
V.E. Day
V.E. day, otherwise known as Victory in Europe day was a day to celebrate Germany's surrender, it was a celebration of the Nazi's defeat. This day was celebrated by formally occupied countries in western Europe and Great Britain and the United States of America. V.E day was significant because it meant that the British and the Americans could focus their attention on defeating Japan since it was the day after Germany's unconditional surrender. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The first deployed atomic bomb to ever have been created was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on the 6th of August 1945 by an American B-29 bomber. The bomb caused extensive damage instantly killing at least 90 percent of the city (80,000 people), with tens of thousands of people dying later from radiation exposure. The Americans hoped that the impact of the atomic bomb would force the Japanese to surrender although this didn't work, forcing them to drop another atomic bomb. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
On the 8th of August 1945 the Soviet Union declares war on Japan and sends 1 million Soviet soldiers into Japanese-occupied Manchuria, a region of northeastern China. The Japanese suffered immensely as they weren't expecting to be attacked by the Soviet Union. The Soviet attack was so strong that the Japanese had to reconsider signing an unconditional surrender. This was a significant event because it pushed Japan to surrender, therefore ending the war soon after. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
On the 9th of August 1945, American military forces dropped a second atomic bomb in Japan, this time on the city of Nagasaki. They dropped the second bomb on Japan because they felt the devastation brought to the Japanese population from the first atomic bomb wasn't enough.The bomb was dropped at 11:02 a.m., 502.92 metres above the city. The blast resulted in the long awaited unconditional surrender of Japan. -
Japanese surrender - End of WWII
Japan formally surrendered to the Allies, aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, formally bringiing an end to the 6 year war. -
United Nations is born
On the 24th of October, the United Nations is Born. The United Nations was born to try and prevent another World War from occuring in the future. It was formed as a way to discuss international conflict and negotiate peace. They aimed to create a better, more effective version of the League of Nations. The United Nations was made up of the United States, Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China. The main goal of the United Nations was to maintain peace and order in the world.
