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Hitler planned to unify all German-speaking people. Hitler annexed Austria and then demanded liberation of German people in Sudentenland region of Czechoslovakia. Neville Chamberlain flew to Germany to attempt a settlement before the war broke out.
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Chamberlain, Daladier of France and Mussolini of Italy met in Munich and agreed that Hitler should have the land he wanted. The Czechs were forced to surrender the Sudentenland to Germany. Chamberlain returned to England with a piece of paper signed by Hitler, proclaiming 'peace in our time?'
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Britain had begun re-arming and a highly secret radar early warning system was installed along the east coast. Conscription was introduced and assurances were given to Poland, who was being threatened by the Fuhrer.
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Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact which included secret clauses for the division of Poland.
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The months following Britain's declaration of war are referred to as the 'phoney war' because Britain saw no military action
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Despite the assurance given by Hitler in the Treaty of Munich (Sept 1938), he marched into Czechoslovakia and occupied the country.
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Britain and France declared war on Germany. Neville Chamberlain broadcast the announcement that the country was at war.
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Adolf Hitler invaded Poland
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Hitler invaded and occupied Denmark and Norway to safeguard routes of Swedish ore and also establish a Norwegian base from which to break the British naval blockade on Germany.
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Italian forces in North Africa were routed by the British led by General Wavell.
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Hitler launched his blitzkrieg (lightning war) against Holland and Belgium. Rotterdam was bombed almost to extinction. Both countries were occupied.
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Neville Chamberlain resigns after pressure from labor members for a more active prosecution of the war and Winston Churchill became the new head of the wartime coalition government.
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The British commander-in-chief, General Gort, had been forced to retreat to the coast at Dunkirk. The troops waited, under merciless fire, to be taken of the beaches. A call went out to all owners of sea-worthy vessels to travel to Dunkirk to take the troops off the beaches of Dunkirk. More than 338,000 men were rescued, among them some 140,000 French who would from the nucleus of the Free French army under the little known general, Charles da Gaulle.
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Italy entered the war on the side of the Axis powers. Italy's motive for entering the war was the hope of rich pickings from the spoils of war.
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The French, Marshall Petain, signed an armistice with Germany taking France, which had been devastated, out of the war and into German occupation.
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four phases:
1. In July, hitler sent his luftwaffe bombers to attack british ports. His aim was also to assess the speed and quality response by the RAF
2. During August the attacks on shipping continued but bombing raids were concentrated on RAF airfeilds
3. The Blitz- From september 7th the city of London was heavily bombed. Hitler hoped to destroy the morale of the British people
4. Night bombing- hitler began a series of nightly bombing raids on london and other inportant cities -
This pact of a mutual alliance was signed by Germany and Japan.
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German and Italian troops attacked Yugoslavia, Greece and the island of Crete. German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel led the Axis powers back to North Africa.
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Hitler sent 3 million soldiers and 3,500 tanks into Russia. Russians were taken by surprise after signing the treaty with Germany. Stalin sent an eastern front battle and claimed 20 million casualties.
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The Japanese, who were already waging war against the Chinese, attacked the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as a preliminary to taking British, French and Dutch colonies in South Easy Asia.
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Britain and the United States declared war on Japan.
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The Japanese captured Singapore from the British, taking some 60,000 prisoners.
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The USA declared the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway. Following this victory, the US navy was able to push the Japanese back.
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General Alexander was given a hand-written directive from Churchhill ordering that his main directive was to be the destruction of the German-Italian army commanded by Rommell together with all its supplies and establishments in Egypt and Libya.
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The Russians won their first victory against Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad.
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British and American forces under the command of Dwight Eisenhower landed in the NW of Africa and assumed control of French Morocco and Algeria. They gradually closed in on the Germans.
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The British and American forces managed to defeat the Axis forces in North Africa.
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Montgomery attacked the German- Italian army in North Africa with a massive bombardment followed by an armored attack. He proceeded to chase routed enemy across the desert.
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Britain and U.S forces invaded Sicily.
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Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill met to coordinate plans for a simultaneous squeeze on Germany. They also discussed post-war settlements.
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Mussolini had been thrown out of office and the new government of Italy surrendered to the British and the U.S.A. They then agreed to join the allies. Germany blocked any further allied advance through Italy.
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The siege of Leningrad was lifted by the Soviet army.
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Although Italy had surrendered in September, it was only now that the allies were able to liberate Rome from the Germans.
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British forces under General Slim, with help from guerilla-fighting Chindits led by Orde Wingate, evicted the Japanese from Burma.
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Germany launched the final defensive through the Ardennes region of Belgium. However, they were beaten back by the allies.
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Allies launched an attack on Germany's forces in Normandy, Western France. Thousands of transports carried and invasion army under the supreme command of general Eisenhower to the Normandy beaches. The Germans who have been fed false information about a landing near Calais, rushed troops to the area but were unable to prevent the allies from forming a solid bridgehead. For the allies it was essential to first capture a port.
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The French capital of Paris was liberated from the Germans.
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The first V2 flying bombs killed three people in London.
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The Allies crossed the Rhine while Soviet forces were approaching Berlin from the East
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President Roosevelt died. He was succeeded by President Truman.
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The Russians reached Berlin shortly before the U.S forces.
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Italian partisans captured Mussolini and executed him.
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The German leader, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bombproof shelter together with his mistress. Eva Braun, who he had, at the last minute, made his wife.
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German forces in Italy surrender to the Allies.
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German forces in northwest Germany, Holland, and Denmark surrendered to Montgomery on Luneburg Health. Admiral Donitz request was refused.
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Hitler's successor, Admiral Donitz, offered an unconditional surrender to the allies.
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Victory in Europe was celebrated.
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Winton Churchill lost the election to Clement Atlee's labour party. they promised sweeping social reforms including nationalization of the coal and railway industries and the creation of a welfare state.
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The Japanese generals refused to surrender. The U.S dropped an atomic bomb on the island of Hiroshima.
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Russia declared war on Japan and invaded Japanese-ruled Manchuria.
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The U.S dropped an atomic bomb on the island of Nagasaki as the Japanese had not surrendered following Hiroshima.
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The Japanese unconditionally surrendered to the allies ending the second world war.
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U.S General, Douglas MacArthur, accepted Japan's surrender thus formally ending the second world war.