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This timeline provides a chronological overview of key events during World War II, including major battles, invasions, surrenders, and the dropping of atomic bombs. Learn about the road to war, the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, Pearl Harbor, and more.
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2/4-2/11—Yalta Conference 4/16—Soviets attack Berlin 4/30—Hitler commits suicide 5/7—VE Day—Germany Surrenders 9/1—Germany Invades Poland 9/3—Britain and France declare war on Germany 12/8—U.S declares war on Japan after attack on Pearl Harbor 9/3—Italians secretly surrender \ 7/10—Battle of Britain 6/7—Battle of Midway—turned the tide of war in the Pacific 8/23/42-2/2/43 Battle of Stalingrad 6/6—Allies invade Normandy—D-DAY 8/25—Paris Liberated 12/16/44-2/7/45—Battle of the Bulge—Last Significant German Offensive 8/6—Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima—70,000-80,000 people died 8/9—Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki—70,000 killed 9/2—Japanese surrender—VJ Day 1945
WWII—Road to War • Treaty of Versailles—Solved nothing and angered the Germans • League of Nations—Ineffective –failed to achieve disarmament and countries withdrew (Japan after they invade Manchuria) 1919-1946
Road to War: German Aggression • Hitler: War would restore German pride • 1936—sent troops into the Rhineland (near Germany’s border with France) • 1938—Hitler made Austria part of the German Empire and forced Czechoslovakia to give Germany a border area--Sudetenland
Appeasement • Western Nations gave into aggressive demands in an attempt to prevent war • Munich Conference—1938—gave Germany permission to seize control of the Sudetenland • Japan, Italy and Germany formed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis (Fight Soviet communist and allow members to continue foreign conquests.) Mussolini, Hitler and Goeringat the Munich Conference
APPEASEMENT FAILS!!! • August 23, 1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact—Germany and Russia Agreed not to fight each other • September 1, 1939 (OFFICIAL START OF WAR) Germany invades Poland • Great Britain and France declare war on Germany
France Falls • June 14, 1940—Germans took Paris • June 22, 1940—France surrendered • Charles de Gaulle (French General) sets up a government-in-exile in London • “It is obligatory duty of all Frenchmen who still bear arms to continue the struggle. For them to lay down their arms, to evacuate any position of military importance, or agree to hand over any part of French territory, however small, to enemy control would be a crime against our country.”
Battle of Britain • Luwftwaffe—German air force—bombs Great Britain • Sept. 7—focus on cities (London) to break British morale Winston Churchill— “…wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us…against a monstrous tyranny.” • Royal Air Force (RAF) Hits back hard—Hitler's attacks could be blocked!
Honeymoon’s over! • June 22, 1941 Hitler invades the Soviet Union—Operation Barbarossa • Soviet troops retreat and burn and destroyed everything in the enemy’s path (scorched-earth policy—sound familiar?) • Leningrad under siege yet fails to fall despite desperate conditions! • Hitler turns to Moscow and orders “No retreat” to his troops—yet the winter claimed 500,000 German lives
Pearl Harbor – Dec. 7, 1941 A date which will live in infamy!
Pearl Harbor Memorial 2,887 Americans Dead!
Betty Grable: Allied Pinup GirlShe Reminded Men What They Were Fighting For
Japan: • After attacking Pearl Harbor, the Japanese seized Guam, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Malaya, Burma and the Dutch East Indies. • The Japanese also defeated American and Filipino forces, led by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, in the Philippines.
World War II: Major Battles (1942 – 1944) When? – June 1942 Where? – Midway Island (Pacific Islands) Results? - The U.S. sank four Japanese aircraft carriers. Importance? – It limited Japan's ability to attack Hawaii again or other Allied positions. Battle of Midway Island:
U.S. troops surrender to the Japanese in the Philippine Islands, May 6, 1942. A total of 11,500 Americans and Filipinos became POWs.
Campaign for Guadalcanal: • When? – August 1942 • Where? Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands (Pacific Islands) • Results? – The U.S. defeated the Japanese, gaining control of the island. • Importance? – Guadalcanal became a military base from which to counterattack the Japanese. Video – Dogfight over Guadalcanal
Battle of El Alamein: • When? – October 1942 • Where? - El Alamein, Egypt • Results? – British and U.S. forces drove the German army, led by General Rommel, from Egypt west into Tunisia. • Importance? – U.S. Gen. Eisenhower led the Allies in an invasion of Tunisia, from Algeria, forcing Rommel to surrender in May of 1943.
In 1943, the Allies invaded Italy from North Africa, eventually liberating Rome from Nazi control in June of 1944. Allied advance in El Guettar, Tunisia, North Africa, 3/21/43.
The Tide Turns • The Allies enjoyed victories in the Pacific, North Africa, Italy and Russia. • In Italy, Mussolini had been overthrown and the new government joined the Allies. April 29, 1945 Mussolini and 15 other fascist leaders are executed and hanged at an Esso gas station in the Piazzale Loreto in Milan.
Help!! Attack the Nazis on the Western Front, quick! Opening a Second Front • In order to ease pressure on the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin asked the Allies to open a second front by crossing the English Channel and attacking the Germans in France.
Alright, but you’d better appreciate this! • The planned invasion of Europe was called Operation Overlord, and General Eisenhower was named commander of the Allied forces in Europe.
D-Day: • When? – June 6, 1944 • Where? – Normandy, France • Results? – A fleet of 4,000 ships carried Allied troops to Normandy in order to invade France in an attempt to defeat the Germans. • Importance? – On August 25, 1944, Allied forces liberated Paris from Nazi rule. D-Day Animation
American soldiers wading through water into Nazi machine-gun fire on the coast of France.
Crossed rifles in the sand placed as a tribute to this fallen soldier.
American assault troops of the 16th Infantry Regiment, injured while storming Omaha Beach, wait by the Chalk Cliffs for evacuation to a field hospital for further medical treatment. Collville-sur-Mer, Normandy.
Battle of the Bulge: • When? – December 16, 1944 • Where? – border areas near Luxembourg, France and Germany • Results? – The Germans began a counterattack against the Allies as the Allies attempted to drive the Germans completely out of France. • Importance? – This battle showed the desperation of the German forces. While the Germans were able to slow down the Allied advance, they could not stop it completely. Shootout! The Game Trailer: Battle of the Bulge
February 1945 (Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) Decision to divide Germany Stalin promised to allow Eastern Europe to hold free elections BUT DOES HE? Yalta Conference
Election of 1944 · FDR won an unprecedented fourth term in office in 1944. · However, in April 12th in Warm Spring, Georgia, 1945, FDR died, forcing Vice-President Harry Truman to assume the Presidency.
Harry S Truman taking the oath of office after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, April 12, 1945. The following day, Truman spoke to reporters and said, "...I don't know whether you fellows ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me yesterday what had happened, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me."
Victory in Europe · By April of 1945, American and Soviet troops were closing in on Berlin. · Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30, and Germany officially surrendered on May 7. The endless procession of German prisoners marching through the ruined city streets to captivity.
Red army soldiers raising the Soviet flag on the roof of the Reichstag (German Parliament) in Berlin, Germany.
· On May 8, the Allies celebrated V-E Day (Victory in Europe). Churchill waves to crowds in Britain after broadcasting to the nation that the war with Germany had been won, 8 May 1945.
V-E Day celebrations, Bay Street, Toronto, Canada May 7, 1945
Horrors of the Holocaust Exposed Entrance to Auschwitz:Work Makes You Free Crematoria at Majdanek
Horrors of the Holocaust Exposed Eli Wiesel Slave Labor at Buchenwald
Horrors of the Holocaust Exposed Mass Graves at Bergen-Belsen
