T h e wa r c h ro n i c l e d

Germany invades Poland (9/1/39) - Despite the warnings issued to Germany by Great Britain and France, Germany chose to invade Poland with their blitzkrieg attack. This officially began the war because the democracies of Europe declared war on the Axis Powers of Italy and Germany. Germany falls out of Britain (10/12/40) The Royal Air Force outmatched the Luftwaffes aerial assaults for several days, and forced Hitler to move out of Britain after months of fighting. The island nation was the last standing democracy in Europe and was successful in preventing the Axis from controlling all of Europe. By siddarth puliyanda

Pearl Harbor (12/7/41) The Japanese were angry with the U.S. because we cut off some of their vital supplies and told them to pull out of China. Subsequently, the naval base of Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese bombers that resulted in thousands of deaths. President Roosevelt declared war on Japan immediately after the incident. Japan moves through Pacific (1/2/42) - Japan was moving across the Pacific and inching closer to the west coast with every seized island. They took the Philippines, Guam, and other islands with U.S. naval bases. The tide of war favored the Japanese as they progressed through the ocean. Battle of Midway (6/7/42) The U.S. forces met the Japaneses at Midway, where the two sides fought for three days. Japan was forced to retreat after four aircraft carriers were destroyed, putting Japan on the defensive side for the first time during the war. Japan would never go back on the offensive side.

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Soviets push Germans back at Stalingrad (2/2/43)- The Germans went against their non-aggression pact with the Soviets, and moved into the capital of Stalingrad. However, Hitler was forced to retreat after months of fighting, despite Stalins forces suffering around one million casualties. This was the turning point of the war in Europe. D-Day (6/6/44) The Allies, led by General Dwight Eisenhower, stormed the shores of Normandy in Operation Overload into France. Axis troops were forced to move out as millions of Allies moved on the beach. The invasion of France put the enemy on the defensive side. France liberated (8/25/44) Axis powers were constantly pushed back as the Allies progressed. Eventually, troops marched into Paris and ended the four year occupation of the nation by the fascists.

By siddarth puliyanda

Germany surrenders (5/7/45) Hitler knew that Germany was going to be taken over by the Allies, and committed suicide rather than face justice. Just two weeks after, Berlin was captured and the Axis powers fell, ending the war in Europe. Japan surrenders (8/14/45) Japan had already been close to surrendering but chose to keep fighting, so the two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Emperor Hirohito knew his country could not take much more fighting, so he surrendered, ending the war officially.