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Germany invades Poland
Hitler invaded Poland to seize lost territory and to rule ultimately rule them. Germany bombed Poland by air and on land, this was the start of WWII. When German forces had overtaken Poland, Hitler had immediately began to set up security forces to destroy all enemies from the Nazi ideology. Also Hitler promptly started the concentration camps for slaved labour. The Polish army attempted to over throw German soldiers head-on rather than falling back to more natural defensive options. -
Britain & France declare war on Germany
Britain and France are both allied forces and when Germany invaded Poland the allies declared war. Britain responded by bombing German ships the next day, although they were under orders not harm German civilians, and dropping anti-Nazi propaganda pamphlets. Two weeks later France would begin an attack against Germany’s western border. -
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain
Winston Churchill had just replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister. He was known for his military leadership ability and his first speech before the House of Commons declared that “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” He promised his country that they would never surrender against Nazi Germany, and they never did. Although when he was appointed as prime minister there were a lot of politicians who were not happy about his position and was regarded him as impetuous. -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (operation Dynamo)
Operation Dynamo is one of the most celebrated military events in British history. Operation Dynamo was to rescue men who had no escape from being trapped near Dunkirk. Churchill called this a “miracle of deliverance” and Britain used every available ship to undertake this. On a fleet of 860 boats there were about 338,226 soldiers who were evacuated. -
Italy enters war on side of Axis
As France was defeated, Italy decided to enter on the Axis side and declared war on Britain and France. Although it wasn’t until the 20th of June that Italian troops were mobilized in France. In contrast Britain and France (the Allies) promised territorial concessions in Africa in exchange for impartiality. -
France signs armistice with Germany
Petain, the vice premier of France, arranged an armistice with the Nazis instead of being crumbled under the Nazi invasion. The armistice started on June 25th and Germany occupied more than half of France and promised to evacuate northern France once the fighting with Britain had finished. Southern France was left free and was governed by the Vichy government. This government ran for four years and was under the system of Marshal Philippe Petain, a French general. -
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Battle of Britain
This was a battle between German Air Forces and the United Kingdom. At that time the Battle of Britain was the first major military campaign to be fought entirely in the air. Germany had overrun Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France and the USA and Soviet Union were not getting involved. It meant that Britain stood entirely along against Nazi Germany. By September 15th 1,733 German aircraft had been destroyed compared to 915 British fighters. Hitler stop the campaign in its uselessness. -
Tripartite Pact Signed
This was an alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan (the Axis powers) as they signed the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. This was a mutual agreement to assist the allied country if they suffered an attack by any nation not already involved in the war. This was also a decision made to warn America to think twice about joining the Allies. -
Operation Sea Lion
This was a planned invasion and Hitler had created the name. Although this event never happened because Germany lost the Battle of Britain. It was a simple theory that Germany needed complete control of the English Channel so that they could have control of the skies. Which then would mean that the Royal Air Force could not attack German ships. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk started from April 10th 1940, and lasted for about 8 months. It took place in Tobruk which is on the coast of Libya. There was an allied forces called the “rats” and they got this nickname from Lord Haw-Haw. It was an important destination because there were major oil fields in the Middle East. The control of oil was often a deciding factor in winning battles and was vital to fuel tanks, planes and motorized transport. -
Operation Barbarossa
This was an invasion from Nazi Germany to Russia. It was also the largest military battle in WWII. Operation Barbarossa was a year in planning and the Soviet Union were not prepared when Germany invaded Russia. Russia was surprised about this because Hitler had signed an agreement with Stalin that would keep the Soviet Union out of the war. Germany were taking and destroying anything that would be helpful to them such as factories, dams, railroads and food supplies. -
Bombing Pearl Harbor
Japanese fighter planes attacked Pearl Harbor, which is near Honolulu in Hawaii. The Japanese were able to 20 American vessels, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 American soldiers had died and 1,000 injured. After this unfortunate attack President Franklin D. Rossevelt asked congress to declare war on Japan, which led to Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, to declare war on America. The United States had finally joined the battle after 2 years of war. -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
A day after the bombings of Pearl Harbor America and Britain declare War on Japan. The President of America, Franklin Roosevelt, gave a very aspiring speech to the House of Representatives to request the declaration of war. His 10-minute speech was a success with a standing ovation. One hour later the Roosevelt received his approval of war with only one dissenting vote. -
Japan take Singapore
Singapore falls to Japanese forces in a battle against Japan and Britain on the Malay Peninsula. Britain had colonized Singapore in the 19th century and in July 1941 Japan had telegraphed their ideas to transfer Singapore from the British Empire. On the 8th of February Japanese troops landed in Singapore and Britain was both outmanned and outgunned. A reason for this was because the battle in December and January caused hundreds of civilians to be kill and British forces to evacuate. -
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Battle of Midway
The United States defeated Japan six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The US was able figure out Japan’s planned ambush of the few remaining aircrafts carriers, which made immense damage to the Japanese Navy when America intervened. The victory meant that the Allies could take an offensive position in the war. -
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First Battle of El Alamein
In June Erwin Rommel had rebelled against Britain in North Africa, with air and tank attacks. He was finally able to make British forces to retreat and the aftermath left a huge quantity of supplies behind. Rommel was now in El Alamein, Egypt with his Afrika Korps (which was Rommel’s German army during the North African Campaign) and were 0 miles west of the British naval base in Alexandria. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
This was a battle against the Soviet Union with Nazi Germany for the control of a city, Stalingrad, which is located in Southern Russia. Some Russian believed it to be the greatest battle in the entire conflict in the Great Patriotic War because it was the turning point that put the war in favour of the Allies. There were nearly 2 million military and civilian casualties. Germany wanted this land as an essential strategically point where they could launch further attacks in the Caucasus. -
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Second Battle of El Alamein
This battle was fought in the deserts of North Africa and was mainly between the two significant commanders of WWII, Montgomery, who dismissed Auchinleck, and Rommel. By November 2nd Rommel knew that he was beaten but Hitler ordered the Afrika Korps to fight until the end, but Rommel refused to obey such an order. The Allied forces had succeeded in defeating the Afrika Korps which lead to the Germans surrendering in North Africa. -
D-Day Landings
This was when 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches on the coast of France’s Normandy region. Before the invasion happened the Allies designed a plan to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. In late August 1944, the Allies were able to liberate all of northern France and a few months later defeated the Germans. When the battle had commenced there were thousands of paratroopers and glider troops on the ground who were securing bridges and exit road -
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Battle of the Bulge
Hitler tried to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by a surprise blitzkrieg (disorganization among enemy forces.) American forces were unware and fought desperate battles against the Germans who were advancing at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. A maneuver against the Allies of the Third Army was a great success in supporting the Allie’s defences which lead to the neutralisation of German’s offense. -
Mussolini captured and executed
Mussolini and his mistress were captured as they attempted to leave to Switzerland and shot by Italian partisans. The Allies were fighting their way up the Italian peninsula and Mussolini knew he had to flee if he wanted to live. He did not want to fall in the hands of Britain or America and the communist partisans would claim him as a war criminal. Mussolini saw guards at the Swiss border and disguised himself, but he and his mistress were discovered and their bodies were displayed publically. -
Hitler commits suicide
Hitler commits suicide in his headquarters in Berlin. He swallowed a cyanide capsule and shot himself in the head and soon after Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies. It was clear that Germany would give themselves to the Allied forces in 1943. When Berlin was facing a siege by the Soviet Union Hitler retreated to live in his bunker in January 1945. The bunker was quite sufficient containing 18 rooms and its own water and electrically supply. -
German forces surrender
General Alfred Jodl, the German High Command, signs the surrender for all German forces in north-western France, Reims. Originally General Jodl wanted to surrender German forces that were still fighting the western Allies, but General Dwight Eisenhower order all German forces to be surrendered. If the Germans did not follow Eisenhower’s ultimatum then he would seal off the Western front which would prevent the Germans from fleeing and walking into the Soviet forces. -
V. E. day
V. E. day (Victory in Europe Day) was celebrated by both Great Britain and the United States with the victory of the defeat of the Nazi war. Although many German soldiers were concerned that they were going to be taken prisoner. So around 1 million Germans attempted to leave to the West when fighting in Czechoslovakia ended, but they were stopped by the Russians and taken as prisoners. At the same time more than 13,000 British prisoners were released and sent back to Great Britain. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a Japanese city, which marks the end of WWII. Albert Einstein had warned the US that Nazi Germany was in the process of researching nuclear weapons and since 1940 the US started creating an atomic weapon. However when the United States had successfully conducted the atomic bomb (after testing the explosion in New Mexico in July 1945) Germany had been defeated. Although in Japan the war against them and the Pacific was still raging on. -
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and marches in Manchuria to take on the 700,000 strong Japanese army. The Japanese were so caught up with the German on the Eastern front that they had not worried about the Soviet Union. Although the Soviets surprised them when they invaded Manchuria and 650 out of 850 were killed or wounded. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki was the second bomb dropped on Japan by America, which resulted in Japan’s surrender. The bomb was originally planned for the 11th of August but because of bad weather expectation it was pushed forward two days. When the atomic bomb hit Nagasaki it was estimated that it killed 60,000 to 80,000 people. There was also going to be another bomb for Japan scheduled for August 17th or 18th but it was not necessary because Japan surrendered. -
Japanese surrender - End of WWII
When Japan surrendered it brought an end to WWII and concluded in Japan’s navy and air force being destroyed. Japan was left economically devastated from the bombings in its country. Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed to the Allies on behalf of the Japanese government in Tokyo. There was also 10 more signatures made by the United States, China, Britain, the UUSR, Australia, Canada, Franc, the Netherlands and New Zealand. -
United Nations is born
The United Nations was a better way for negotiating peace and conflict than the League of Nations. Because of WWII the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union started planning the U.N and in January 1942 was signed by 26 nations. The United Nations was to always signify equal rights, self-determination and solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems across the world.
