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Japan invades China
Japan wanted to be an imperial power but didn’t have enough resources to go through with this entire plan. Not only did Japan lack resources but they also didn’t have enough land. The attack on China was known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. China received help from the Nazis during this war, but shortly after Germany teamed up with Japan. Japan captured most of the their cities and killed around 300,000 Chinese citizens. -
Germany invaded Austria and Czechoslovakia
Australian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg met up with Adolf Hitler in early 1938. After the meeting, Schuschnigg called for a national vote if Austria wanted to combine with Germany. Before the voting took place, Schuschnigg caved under Hitler’s pressure and resigned on March 11 before the voting took place. The next day Hitler invaded Austria, welcomed with enthusiastic crowds and became Austria’s new leader. After Austria was conquered, Hitler moved on to his next victim which was Czechoslova -
Germany invades Poland
The invasion of Poland was to open up living space for the Nazis. Hitler and the Soviet Union decided to split Poland between them. They attacked Poland at 4:45 a.m. Hitler intended to wage war by using the “blitzkrieg” strategy. This meant bombing Poland’s roads, military establishments and a massive land invasion. Once Hitler had Poland he immediately started sending people to labour camps and made sure everyone followed the rules of Germany. The invasion of Poland was the first real start to -
Great Britain and France Declare War on Germany
Once Britain and France heard about the attack on Poland they swarmed in to help their Allied friend. The two countries sent an ultimatum to Hitler to have him withdraw from Poland which he did not respond too. On Sept. 3rd Prime Minister of Britain, Chamberlain went to the airwaves and announced they were now going into war with Germany. -
Soviet Union Invades Finland.
This war was also known as the Winter War The Soviets believed this attack would be quick and easy, they even wore summer clothes despite it being the winter time. The battle was much harder than the Soviet’s expected because the Fins were well trained and knew their positions in their homeland. The invasion lasted from Nov. 30, 1938 through March 1, 1940. -
Germany Invades Denmark and Norway
Germany was able to easily get through Norway’s obstacles and invade quickly. When Germany told Norway to surrender the Norwegian government refused, this ended up making Germany respond with a parachute invasion. Hours after the invasion, Norway’s prime minister surrenders. In Denmark, the leader told everyone to not fight back to the Nazis and they surrendered almost immediately after the invasion. -
Air War Battle of Britain
This was a big turning point in WW2. German bombers struck Britain grounds. Britain had fewer planes than Germany but their planes quality were better than Germany's.Germany failed to hold Britain down and that resulted in a Germany lost. The war saved an in ground invasion from Germany, that proved air wars can be just as useful as on ground wars. The battle ended October 31, 1940. -
Germany Invades Yugoslavia and Greece.
The attack was quick and brutal and killed over 17,000 civilians in a single day. Germany also bombed Yugoslavia’s airfields destroying more than 600 aircrafts. Germany also bombed Greece as well causing even more deaths and destroyed land. The invasions ended in June of 1941. -
Germany Invades Yugoslavia and Greece
The attack was quick and brutal and killed over 17,000 civilians in a single day. Germany also bombed Yugoslavia’s airfields destroying more than 600 aircrafts. Germany also bombed Greece as well causing even more deaths and destroyed land. The invasions ended in June of 1941. -
Japan Bombs Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter pilots flew over American naval bases in Hawaii. Japan managed to sink many American ships and kill over 2,000 Americans and injure more than 1,000. 18 United States naval ships were sunk or destroyed and 18 aircrafts sank. The attack was deliberately planned and lasted a total of two hours. -
U.S. Declares War on Japan and Enters WW2.
A day after the bombing Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Congress approved and declared war on Japan and this declaration also entered the United States into the war for good. -
Germany and the Axis Powers Declare War on the United States
The attack on Pearl Harbor surprised Hitler even though he knew little about Japan’s plans. Japan made an agreement with Germany that if Japan was attacked, Germany would step in and help them out. German Foreign Minister was worried because Japan was the antagonist. Hitler thought otherwise and declared war on America. -
Rosie the Riveter
Women took the jobs of men while they were out fighting WW2. 65% of the Industry’s workforce was made up of women. Rosie the Riveter was a propaganda technique. It was to symbolize a woman can still have all the features of a woman and be flirtatious but also be able to hold the same job as a man. This was one of the most iconic images of women in WW2 history. -
Executive Order 9066 Was Passed.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, many Americans feared Japanese immigrants. FDR took notice of this and ordered all Japanese Americans to be removed from their homes and be put into internment camps. Internment camps were in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, , Colorado and Arkansas. Families lost all belongs and the camps were dirty and had no running water. -
Bataan Death March
Japan attacked the Philippines causing Filipinos and Americans to surrender. The men were divided into groups and sent on their way to camps. 75,000 troops were forced to make a 65 mile hike. If the walker slowed down or fell behind a Japanese soldier would kill them. They rested once per day then forced to get up and walk again. They got no food until the end days of the march and 10,000-13,000 men died during this. -
Battle of Midway
Japan was gaining more and more land and they realized how big of a threat the United States was. This operation was thought to be used to eliminate the United States before they got to powerful. This was the turning point in the Pacific. 5,000 Japanese died, 4 aircrafts were sunk and 322 planes were shot down. -
Germany Sends Thousands of Jews to Concentration Camps
Hitler wanted to eliminate Jews altogether. To start this he sent Jews to camps and as the years progressed the worse the camps became. Treblinka soon became a killing camp alongside many other camps such as Auschwitz, Janowska and Buchenwald. -
Roosevelt Created War Refugee Board
The War Refugee Board allowed 200,000 Jews into America. The United States knew about the deaths of all the Jews in Germany and many people wonder how many more lives could have been saved if they let more Jews in. -
D-Day
It was the invasion of Germany occupying the beach of Normandy. This was the largest land, sea and air battle ever. Germany got confused and so did all the other Axis powers this lead the Allied powers to win. By the end of June the Allies had 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy and was ready to move forward in Europe. -
Yalta Conference
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met up in a meeting and agreed to split Germany into four sections. Germany would be split into the United States, Russia, Europe and France. Stalin broke his promise and did not have free elections and made that part of Germany Soviet Union’s again. -
Battle at Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was a huge bloody battle. Many American marines took place on the shore of Iwo Jima and for awhile a lot of them thought this war was going to be a piece of cake. Under strong Japanese resistant this was proven to be a hard battle to obtain. By the time Americans secured the island, 200,000 Japanese soldiers died and 7,000 Americans died. -
Okinawa
This was the largest Pacific battle of WW2. To the Japanese who thought they could still win this war, Okinawa was their last chance. The resistance was strong and Japan lost. Japan lost over 200,000 men and America lost 19,000 men. -
Soviet Troops Liberate Concentration Camps.
As the Soviet troops moved across Germany they encountered tens of thousands of camp prisoners from concentration camps. Many of the survivors were injured, suffering from starvation and disease. Thousands of corpses laid on the ground when the troops liberated the camps. All throughout 1945 concentration camps were liberated. -
Germany Surrenders
After the Soviet’s teamed up with America they started heavily attacking Germany from all around. Soviet started getting closer to where Hitler was at and he committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Days after Hitler died, Germany surrendered and May 9, 1945 became V-Day (victory in Europe) -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held in Berlin by Stalin, new American president, Truman and Churchill. They all agreed that they would only accept unconditional surrender from Japan. Japan would have to give up their military completely and allow a peaceful government to set up and rule. They sent the ultimatum to Japan but Japan rejected it. -
United States Drops an Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima.
An American bomber dropped their first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The intense explosion wiped out 90% of the city and immediately vaporized 80,000 people. After the bomb was dropped, America gave Japan another chance to surrender. -
U.S. Drops Second Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki.
Japan does not surrender on the 1st bomb after receiving three days to think about it. which leaves America no choice but to drop the 2nd. This bomb killed a total of 40,000 people and Japan finally surrendered. -
Japan Surrenders
After the two bombings, Japan finally had enough and surrendered to the world.
