WW2 Dates Flashcards
1st September 1939
Germany invades Poland and sparks World War 2. The British Empire and Dominions raised a total of 8,586,000 men for military service.
September 1939 to June 1940
German troops conquer much of Western Europe.
May 1940
300,000 Allied soldiers are rescued off the beach at Dunkirk, where they have retreated from the advancing German army.
Summer 1940
The Battle of Britian. Hitler abandons his plan to invade Britain.
September 1940 to May 1941
The Blitz.
June 1941 to September 1942
German troops invade vast areas of the Soviet Union but they cannot defeat the Red Army. Soviet resistance and severe weather stops their advance.
December 1941
The Japanese attack the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour
By August 1942
Japanese troops conquer many countries and islands around the Pacific, including Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaya, Burma, and the East Indies.
October 1942
The German Army in North Africa is defeated at El Alamein.
Febuary 1943
German forces surrender to the Red Army at Stalingrad. From 1943, the Red Army drives German forces westwards.
6th June 1944
D-Day: Allied troops land in northern France and Western Europe.
May 1945
The Russians reach Berlin. Germany surrenders. Hitler commits suicide.
8th May 1945
The Allies accepted the formal surrender of Germany - victory in Europe.
August 1945
The US drops atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
2nd September 1945
Japan surrenders to the Allies. This was known as Victory over Japan or Victory in the Pacific Day.
