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Great Britain & France Declare War on Nazi Germany
Honoring their guarantee of Poland's borders, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. Two days earlier, Germany had invaded Poland. Despite the declaration of war, there was initially only limited engagement between the German and British militaries. -
The Invasion of Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands & France
Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Luxembourg was occupied that same day. The Netherlands surrendered on 15 May, Belgium on the 28th. At first, Great Britain supported the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, but it withdrew later. -
The Invasion of Poland
German troops invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, triggering World War II. In response to German aggression, Great Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany. -
The Battle & Great Escape at Dunkirk
. If the BEF had been captured, it would have meant the loss of Britain's only trained troops and the collapse of the Allied cause. -
The Battle of Britain
It was one of Britain's most important victories of the Second World War because it showed Germany could be defeated, it allowed Britain to carry on fighting the war, and ultimately ensured the Allies had a base from which to launch the liberation of Europe on D-Day in June 1944. -
Selective Service & Training Act
Why is Selective Service Important? | Selective Service ...
The Selective Service System and the registration requirement for America's young men -
Lend- Lease Assistance Act
This system served a dual purpose: it enabled Roosevelt to send material support to the anti-Nazi allies while allowing the U.S. to avoid direct involvement in the widening war. -
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
Navy conducted a surprise aerial assault on Pearl Harbor. This unprovoked attack brought the United States into World War II, as it immediately declared war on Japan. -
America Enters WW2
The U.S. entry into the war helped to get the nation's economy back on its feet following the depression. Although just ten years earlier, jobs were very difficult to come by, there were now jobs for nearly everyone who wanted one. -
Germany & Italy Declare War On The U.S.
On December 11, 1941, Italy declared war on the United States. The declaration followed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor four days earlier, and was made the same day as Germany's declaration of war against the United States. -
The Battle of The Coral Sea
It was the world's first carrier-vs. -carrier battle, and the first naval battle in which neither side's ships sighted the others. This in itself marked the coming of a new mode of naval warfare that had been predicted by airpower advocates as much as a decade prior. -
The Battle Of Midway Island
This critical US victory stopped the growth of Japan in the Pacific and put the United States in a position to begin shrinking the Japanese empire through a years-long series of island-hopping invasions and several even larger naval battles. -
The Invasion Of North Africa
The Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942 was intended to draw Axis forces away from the Eastern Front, thus relieving pressure on the hard-pressed Soviet Union. -
The Invasion Of Sicily & Italy
War II, the invasion of the Italian island of Sicily by Allied forces. The conquest of Sicily took a little more than a month and it led directly to the fall of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and the surrender of the Italian government to the Allies. -
The Battle of The Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge marked the last German offense on the Western Front. The catastrophic losses on the German side prevented Germany from resisting the advance of Allied forces following the Normandy Invasion. Less than four months after the end of the Battle of the Bulge, Germany surrendered to Allied forces. -
The D-Day Invasion on France
It led to the liberation of France, denying Germany any further exploitation of that country's economic and manpower resources. -
Nazi Concentration Camps Discovered
Between 1933 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its allies established more than 44,000 camps and other incarceration sites (including ghettos). The perpetrators used these sites for a range of purposes, including forced labor, detention of people thought to be enemies of the state, and for mass murder. -
The Yalta Conference
At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan and all three agreed that, in exchange for potentially crucial Soviet participation in the Pacific theater, the Soviets would be granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria following ... -
V-E (Victory of Europe) Day
On Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day, Germany unconditionally surrendered its military forces to the Allies, including the United States. On May 8, 1945 - known as Victory in Europe Day or V-E Day - celebrations erupted around the world to mark the end of World War II in Europe. -
The Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima
The United States bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9, 1945, were the first instances of atomic bombs used against humans, killing tens of thousands of people, obliterating the cities, and contributing to the end of World War II. The National Archives maintains the documents that trace the evolution of the project to develop the bombs, their use in 1945, and the aftermath. -
The Atomic Bomb On Nagasaski
The United States bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9, 1945, were the first instances of atomic bombs used against humans, killing tens of thousands of people, obliterating the cities, and contributing to the end of World War II. -
V-J ( Victory over Japan) Day
V-J Day, or Victory over Japan Day, marks the end of World War II, one of the deadliest and most destructive wars in history. When President Harry S. Truman announced on Aug. 14, 1945, that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, war-weary citizens around the world erupted in celebration.