WWII Timeline

MARCH 1936

• Germany invades demilitarized Rhineland
• Breaks Treaty of Versailles
• If France would have responded, Germany would have retreated
• France did nothing, allowing Hitler to begin pushing the boundaries

SEPTEMBER 1938

• Munich agreement
• Gives Hitler a sense of arrogance
• Showed him that Allies simply give in to his wishes
• Encouraged him to attempt to conquer other countries

SEPTEMBER 1939

• Germany invades Poland to "protect German speaking citizens"
• Hitler takes Poland using blitzkrieg strategy
• Britain and France declare war on Germany
• Official start of WWII

JUNE 1940

• Fall of France
• 300,000 Allied troops were evacuated from France
• This left France weak
• Germany could then defeat France fairly easily
• France was a major power in Europe and therefore beneficial for Germany

JULY 1940

• Battle of Britain
• Churchill gave rousing speech
• British held off German Air Force
• Germany left to fight Soviet Union
• Prevented Germany from taking Britain

DECEMBER 1941

• Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
• Left 2,400 Americans dead
• Attack prompted by oil embargo
• Caused the US to join WWII

JUNE 1942

• Battle of Midway
• Japan vs. US for the island of Midway
• Decisive US Victory
• After this battle, Japanese and American fleets were essentially equal

FEBRUARY 1943

• Surrender at Stalingrad
• Ended German invasion of Russia
• Hitler's army gets surrounded in Stalingrad
• Hitler's general surrenders without permission
• Preceding battles led to immense losses on both sides

JUNE 1944

• D-Day
• Invasion of Normandy by the Allies
• Largest sea invasion in military history
• Secured Allied foothold in France

DECEMBER 1944

• Battle of the Bulge
• Last ditch offensive by the Nazis
• Germany ran out of fuel during battle
• Allowed for Allies to push Germans back into Germany

MARCH 1945

• Battle of Iwo Jima
• US victory over Japan
• Inflicted heavy US losses
• Nearly all of the 22000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima were killed
• Showed Americans that they couldn't continue fighting this way

APRIL 1945

• Battle of Okinawa
• Japan vs. US
• Last and biggest Pacific island battle of WWII
• America gained control of Okinawa air fields

APRIL 1945

• Battle for Berlin
• Only old men and Hitler youth left to fight for Germany
• Soviets advance into Berlin; Stalin wants to get there first
• Hitler and his wife kill themselves
• Leads to end of war in Europe

MAY 1945

• Nazis in Italy surrender to the Allies on May 2
• Result of the Italian campaign
• Allies fought Nazis in Italy
• Mussolini was executed after attempting to flee
• Withdrew significant Axis power from the war

MAY 1945

• End of war in Europe
• Nazis surrender on May 7 following Battle for Berlin
• WWII still continues in Pacific theater

AUGUST 1945

• Atomic bombs
• Only use of nuclear weapons in war
• US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan
• Inflicted over a hundred thousand civilian casualties
• May have led to Japanese surrender

SEPTEMBER 1945

• End of war in Pacific
• Japanese surrender on September 2
• An Allied invasion was imminent & Japan was incapable of defending themselves
• Marked official end of World War II

MAIN FACTORS

EASTERN FRONT

• Germany lost many of its soldiers for little gain
• Weakened Nazi army
• Left Nazis incapable of fighting off the rest of Europe

ATOMIC BOMBS

• Caused severe devastation for Japan
• Left Japan no choice but to surrender
• The surrender officially ended WWII

D-DAY

• Opened up beaches of Normandy
• Allowed for many other Allied soldiers to enter France
• Allies taking France marked the beginning of the end of the war