WWII Timeline

By lgopen
  • Hitler attacks

    Hitler attacks
    On this date, Hitler broke the nonaggression pact. This pact was supposed to stop war, but Hitler broke it and attacked Poland.
  • Period: to

    WWII

    World War Two lasted from 1939 to 1945.
  • The Phony War

    The Phony War
    The French and British declared war on Germany and set up troops on France's border. The calm of the Phony war ended as Hitler suddenly attacked and conquered Denmark and Norway.
  • Dunkirk

    Dunkirk
    The British sent rescue ships to save soldiers from Dunkirk, which was a French beach. They took heavy fire from German bombers during this process and saved about 338,000 soldiers.
  • Germany attacks France

    Germany attacks France
    Besides Dunkirk, resistance is France started to fail. The Germans took Paris on June 14, but it took France until the 22 to surrender.
  • Germans Attack

    Germans Attack
    Until now, Germans attacked British airfields. Now, they turned to attacking British cities to lower their moral.
  • Battle of Britain

    Battle of Britain
    This battle was a fight between the German and British, which was a series of air raid and plane fighting.
  • War declared on Soviet Union

    War declared on Soviet Union
    The Germans start their attack on the Soviet Union. Although the Soviet Union had a bigger army, they were unprepared for the attack.
  • Engaged in war

    Engaged in war
    A German U-boat fired on a U.S ship in the Atlantic. Roosevelt then ordered U.S ships to fire at Germans on sight, which engaged them in war.
  • Leningrad

    Leningrad
    The German forces put Leningrad under siege. By November, Leningrad was completely cut off from the rest of the Soviet Union, however, they failed to take it.
  • Moscow

    Moscow
    After the struggles with Leningrad, Hitler went for Moscow. The winter kicked in and Hitler ordered no retreat until March 1943, but they gained no progress and lost 500,000 soldiers.
  • Pearl Harbor

    Pearl Harbor
    American soldiers were surprised when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. This destroyed many ships and soldiers. After this America declared war on Japan.
  • The Battle of Midway

    The Battle of Midway
    Starting on the fourth and ending on the seventh, the Battle of Midway was a battle in the Pacific where Americans defeated the Japanese. They destroyed many ships and planes in this battle.
  • Battle of Guadalcanal

    Battle of Guadalcanal
    American troops stormed the island of Guadalcanal and Tulagi. With help from Australians, they took the island as well as the Airfield. This gave them a powerful position close to Japan.
  • Battle of Stalingrad

    Battle of Stalingrad
    Germans wanted to gain Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. The Germans had 99% of the city under control, but after a harsh winter, they were on the defensive and pushed westward.
  • Battle of El Alamein

    Battle of El Alamein
    The British wanted to retake their African Territory, so they stormed the village of Alamein, where the Axis troops retreated to. By November fourth, the Axis troops retreated.
  • D-Day

    D-Day
    The Allies pushed in on the beach of Normandy where Germans were set up. They eventually took France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and had their eyes set on Germany.
  • V-E Day

    V-E Day
    Victory in Europe Day was when the Nazi's finally surrendered. This finally ended the war in Europe. The surrender was signed in Berlin.
  • Threats

    Threats
    The first Atomic Bomb was dropped on this day. America then threatened the Japanese that if they didn't surrender, they could expect "rain of ruin from the air".
  • Hiroshima

    Hiroshima
    The Japanese didn't respond to Americas threats. They dropped a bomb on Hiroshima and later on Nagasaki in a last attempt to make them surrender.
  • Victory

    Victory
    Finally, after years of fighting, the Japanese finally surrendered. The war has officially ended and now people focus on rebuilding the world.