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Hitler's Violation of the Treaty of Versailles
Hitler announced that he would be building up a new air force. Then, one week later he began a military draft. This built his army from 100,000 troops to 550,000 troops. Both of these things violated the Treaty of Versailles. -
Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact signed
Germany and the Soviet Union agreed not to attack each other. To convince Stalin to do this, Hitler offered him control of eastern Poland and the Baltic states. Hitler did not expect to keep this pact though. -
Official Start of WWII
Hitler invaded Poland taking all of the frontier zones in five days. This would not just start a war with Poland like Hitler thought though. This brought Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, and create what would become a global conflict. -
Hitler invades the Soviet Union
Hitler invaded the Soviet Union believing that the they could be defeated before the brutal winter came. This broke the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. Hitler's plan would backfire though because his attack would not defeat the Soviets before winter came. This led to the German army being stopped for the first time. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan launched an attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in hopes of destroying the U.S. fleet in the Pacific. The Japanese hoped this would make the U.S. accept this as their domination in the Pacific. This would lead to the U.S. joining World War II. -
Battle of Midway
United States planes destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers. The U.S. would defeat the Japanese navy and establish naval superiority over the Japanese in the Pacific. This would be the turning point of the war in Asia and the Pacific. -
Germans surrender at Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler wanted to take Stalingrad, a major industrial center. Hitler launched an attack on Stalingrad in November 1942 only to be stopped. The Soviets then launched a counterattack. The Soviets surrounded the German troops and the Germans were forced to surrender. -
D-Day
Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and would perform what may be history's greatest naval invasion. After about three months the allies had landed two million men and a half-million vehicles on those beaches. They met heavy German resistance, but would not be held. The Allies broke throught the German defenses and pushed inland. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
While in a bunker Hitler poisoned his wife and his dogs. He had just previously married his wife. He then took the poison soon after his dogs and his wife, but he ended up shooting himself to finish ir. -
Germany Surrenders
After losing battles and Hitler committing suicide Germany surrendered. The German generals left in charge had no plan and no way to turn the war in their favor so they gave up. This would mean that the war in was over at last. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Harry Truman hoped that bombing Japan would avoid the need to invade Japan. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6. Then the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later which led to Japan's surrender -
Official End to WWII
Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945, but it was not official. Japan's official and unconditional surrender came on September 2, 1945. World War II is estimated to have seventeen million die in battle and around twenty million civilian casualties.
