WWII Timeline Project

German Blitzkrieg

Sep 1, 1939

The German Blitzkrieg was a strategy used by the German Military. It consisted of fast and planned attacks meant to overwhelm the opponent. This led to many successive victories for Germany. Source

Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

Pearl Harbor was the scene of a surprise attack by Japanese forces. Although a surprise, leading up to this there were high tensions between Japan and America. This led to the US declaring war on Japan. Source

Wannsee Conference

Jan 20, 1942

This was a high-level conference by German officials to implement the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question." The Final Solution was the plan to kill all the Jews. The impact of this was the mass killing of Jews. Source

Warsaw Ghetto uprising

Apr 19, 1943

This began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to get rid of the survivors. This caused the largest uprising by Jews during WWII. The Germans eventually stopped the uprising. Source

Operation Gomorrah

Jul 24, 1943

This was the attack on Hamburg Germany. This was a really big Air Attack. This created one of the largest firestorms in WWII. Source

D-Day

Jun 6, 1944

D-Day became to be known as the largest amphibious invasion. This operations purpose was to end WWII. D-Day caused the death of many, but the surrender of Germany. Source

Battle of the Bulge

Dec 16, 1944

This battle began from a German counteroffensive which occurred during the D-Day invasion. This was meant to turn the war into Hitler's favor. This battle ended with American Victory and didn't give Hitler the turn in tides he wished for. Source

Liberation of concentration camps

1945

This is when Jews were being let out of the concentration camps. They were being liberated because the war was over and Germany surrendered. This caused Jews to have more freedom. Source

Operation Thunderclap

Feb 13, 1945

The city of Dresden was destroyed by the Allies. The war was nearly over by this date. This was meant to cause logistical chaos and support the Russian advance on the Eastern Front. Source

Battle of Iwo Jima

Feb 19, 1945

This was a conflict between the US and Japan. This was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the US Marine Corps. This battle showed that the Japanese soldiers fought until the last man. Source

Battle of Okinawa

Apr 1, 1945

More than 60,000 soldiers stormed Okinawa in this battle. This was the final island battle before an anticipated invasion of Japan. It was decided that there would be too many casualties if they invaded japan so they went for the atomic bombs. Source

VE Day

May 8, 1945

This is the day when Germany surrendered its forces to the allies. They did this because they were losing. This day is important because it showed victory of Germany. Source

Potsdam Declaration

Jul 26, 1945

This defined the terms of Japans surrender. This gave the Japanese a way out of the war. The Japanese ignored this document which cause the bombings of Japan. Source

Dropping of the atomic bombs

Aug 6, 1945

This is when America dropped Atomic Bombs on Japan. Once on August Sixth at Hiroshima, and a second time on August Ninth at Nagasaki. This caused Japan to surrender. Source

VJ Day

Aug 15, 1945

This is Victory over Japan Day. Although, the official signing of surrender wasn't until later. This signaled the end of the war. Source