WW2 Flashcards
1938 - 12th March
Germany’s expansion begins as German troops march into Austria
1939 - 23rd August
Germany and the Soviet Union sign a pact promising not to invade each other. They secretly agree to divide Poland between them once it has been invaded.
1939 - 1st September – 6th October
Germany invades Poland.
1939 - 3rd September
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declares war on Germany.
Canada, Australia, France and South Africa also declare war on Germany.
1939 - 17th September
The Soviet Union invades Poland.
1940 - 10th May
Winston Churchill becomes the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Germany attacks Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Germany begins its invasion of France.
1940 - 14th May
The Netherlands surrenders to Germany.
The Home Guard is formed.
1940 - 26th May – 4th June
The Dunkirk evacuation. Nearly 340,000 Allied troops are evacuated after being surrounded by German troops.
1940 - 28th May
Belgium surrenders to Germany.
1940 - 10th June
Norway surrenders to Germany.
Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
1940 - 22nd June
France surrenders to Germany.
1940 - 10th July
The Battle of Britain begins.
1940 - 7th September
The London Blitz begins.
1940 - 13th September
Italy invades British controlled Egypt.
1940 - November
Slovakia, Hungary and Romania also sign the Tripartite Pact, joining forces with Germany, Italy and Japan.
1940 - 27th September
Germany, Italy and Japan join forces and sign the Tripartite Pact.
1941 - 1st March
Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact and joins with Germany.
1941 - 7th December
The Japanese attack Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, USA.
1941 - 8th December
The United States declares war on Japan.
1941 - 11th December
Germany and Italy declare war on the United States.
1942 - 5th May
The Battle of the Coral Sea between the USA and Japan.
23rd August 1942 – 2nd February 1943
The Battle of Stalingrad
German forces attempt to take control of Stalingrad from the Soviet Union.
The Soviet army is victorious and the Axis forces surrender.
1942 - 8th – 16th November
Operation Torch
British and US troops take back North Africa, attacking several places at once. The Vichy French in the region, who were formally allied with Germany, join forces with the Allies after their defeat.
1943 - 19th April – 16th May
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins.
Jews at the Warsaw Ghetto rise up against German forces and are defeated. 13,000 Jews are killed.
1943 - 16th May
The Dam Buster raids are carried out on two German dams as part of Operation Chastise.
1944 - 6th June
D-Day
British and US troops land on the beaches of Normandy and begin the largest seaborne invasion in history.
1944 - 16th December
The Battle of the Bulge begins.
Allied and German forces meet in the last major German offensive campaign of the war. It ends on 25th January 1945 with an Allied victory.
1945 - 12th January
The Soviet Army begins the East Prussian Offensive. Over the next few months, they displace the German Army from Warsaw, Krakow and Budapest.
1945 - 30th April
Hitler kills himself. Command of the German forces is passed to Joseph Goebbels.
1945 - 7th May
Germany surrenders to the Allied Forces at the Western Allied Headquarters in France.
1945 - 8th May
The end of the Second World War in Europe. The day is celebrated across the continent as Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
1945 - 6th August
The first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan by US forces.
1945 - 9th August
A second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The bombs killed over 200,000 people.
1945 - 2nd September
Japan formally surrenders to Allied forces.
The Second World War is over.
Italy Leader
Benito Mussolini
USA Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Soviet Union leader
Iósif Stalin
France leader
CHARLES ANDRÉ JOSEPH MARIE DE GAULLE
UK leader
Winston Churchill
Germany leader
Adolf Hitler
