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German invasion of Poland
Hitlers desire for Lebensraum led him to invade Poland. Germany invaded its neighbor to the east in September. Germany’s ally (USSR) followed and also invaded it. Britain and France got in to defend Poland and declared war on Germany. -
Fall of France
France built a 1,500 km of defensive walls along the border. Germany used blitzkrieg to invade Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and France. They bypassed the border called Maginot Line. They took control of the capital. French government surrendered after realizing their situation. -
Start of battle of Britain
German Luftwaffe attacked Britain by launching air bombs. Despite lots of bombing the British Royal Air Force won over Nazi Germany. They won with the help of radars. -
End of Battle of Britain
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Operation Barbarossa
Hitlers want for power led him to attack his own ally, the Soviet Union. It was the largest invasion in history. They were succeeding at the start but then were defeated because USSR reversed attacks and caused Nazi Germany to retreat. -
Pearl Harbor attack
Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese due to their expansionist ambitions. Pearl Harbor was an American naval base in the Hawaiian islands. This event caused the entry of the US into WWII. -
US declares war
After the Pearl Harbor attack US joined the war. They became the leader of the Allies. They had a big part of the allied victory in both Europe and in Asia-Pacific. -
México declares war
Mexico joined World War II after Germany sank two of its tankers. They were part of the Allies and even though they didn’t directly participate in war they helped the US with troops. They sent approximately 15,00 soldiers. -
Battle of midway
A naval confrontation in which US Navy defeated Japan. They started by weakening Japans naval power and shifted the balance in favor to the Allies. It set in motion an island-hopping campaign in where the US captured Japanese held islands and started to approach it. -
Start of Manhattan Project
Manhattan project was a US secret research and development program. They developed the first ever nuclear bomb. The project was led by the American J. Robert Oppenheimer -
Start of Battle of Stalingrad
German forces wanted to capture the city Stalingrad located in the Soviet Union. They failed due to harsh winter conditions and soviet resistance. Germans eventually retreated, this marked the soviets advance toward Berlin. -
End of Battle of Stalingrad
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Start of Operation Overlord
Allies invaded Normandy to free them from Nazi Germany. They used soldiers from Great Britain, US and Canada. Germans had fortified the area but that didn’t stop them. Allied forces won and paved the way for the liberation of France and the rest of Europe. -
End of Operation Overlord
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Hitler commits suicide
Soviet troops entered Berlin and surrounded it. Adolf Hitler had lost . He decided to commit suicide along his wife Eva Braun and part of his political team. Hitler swallowed a cyanide pill and also shot himself in the head. -
VE Day
Allies advanced to Germany. USSR arrived to Berlin. Hitler committed suicide. All this events led Nazi Germany’s surrender and on May 8th the war ended. -
Atomic bombs in Hiroshima
After the weapons were created they used them twice. The first one was codenamed as “little boy” and was dropped in the city of Hiroshima. The impact was immediate. -
Atomic bombs in Nagasaki
The second was codenamed “fat man” and was dropped in Nagasaki three days later. The intense heat, blast effects, and radiation caused the destruction of most buildings and infrastructures. Radiation also left long-term effects like cancer and birth defects among the population. -
End of Manhattan Project
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VP Day
Japanese authorities were still in shock when USSR launched a massive invasion in a Japanese occupied city called Manchuria. When the second bomb was dropped, the pressure intensified. Scared of a second Soviet invasion and another bomb authorities decided to surrender.