-
Treaty of Munich
Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier of France and Mussolini of Italy met in Munich and agreed that Hitler should have the Sudetanland of Czechoslovakia. -
Germans invade Poland
German forces bombard poland on land and from the air. Hitler seeks to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. -
Italy enters the War on side of Axis powers
Italy enters the war on the side of the Axis powers. -
Battle of Britain
This battle consisted of 4 phases. The first phase was during July when Hitler sent his bombers to the British ports. The second phase was in August when the attacks on shipping continued but bombing raids on RAF airfields. The third phase was called the Blitz. It was on september 7th, the city on London was heavily bombed. The fourth phase was called night bombing. With the failure of daytime bombing raids, Hitler began a series on night time bombing raids on London and other important cities. -
Tripartite Pact
This pact of mutual alliance was signed by Germany, Italy and Japan. -
Battle of Crete
This battle lasted 12 days and was an airborne attack. It ended with the evacuation of Egypt and bulk of the Allied force. -
Operation Barbarossa-invasion of Russia
Hitler sent 3 million soldiers and 3,500 tanks into Russia. The Russians were taken by surprise because they had signed a treaty with Germany in 1939. Stalin immediately signed a mutual assistance treaty with Britain and launched an Eastern front battle, that had about 20 million casualties. -
Hitlers "Final Solution"
Mobile killing units would kill 500,000 Jews over the course of German occupation. They also used gas chambers to kill many of the Jews as well. -
Pearl Harbor bombed
A surprise attack against the U.S. The bombs descended on the U>S naval base at Pearl Harbor. A swarm of Japanese warplanes flew over dropping bombs. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Russians won their first battle against Germany. It was the largest confrontation of WWII in which Germany fought the Soviet Union for control of Stalingrad. -
Japanese take Singapore
The Japanese captured Singapore from the British, taking 60,000 prisoners. -
Normandy landings
The allies launched an attack on Germany’s forces in Normandy, Western France. Thousands of transports carried an invasion army under the supreme command of general Eisenhower to the Normandy beaches. The Germans who had been fed false information about a landing near Calais, rushed troops to the area but were unable to prevent the allies from forming a solid bridgehead. For the allies it was essential to first capture a port. -
Paris is liberated
The French capital of Paris was liberated from the Germans. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germany launched its final defensive through the Ardennes region of Belgium. However, they were beaten back by the allies. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Following elaborate preparatory air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island of Japan in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting the U.S won. -
Mussolini captured and executed
Italian partisans captured Mussolini and executed him. -
Hitler commits suicide
The German leader, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bombproof shelter together with his mistress, Eva Braun. -
Victory in Europe
Victory in Europe was celebrated. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The US dropped an atomic bomb on the island of Nagasaki as the Japanese had not surrendered following Hiroshima. -
Japan surrenders
The Japanese unconditionally surrendered to the allies ending the second world war.
