September 1st 1939

Nazis invade Poland using the Blitzkrieg

Effect:

France and Britain declare war on Germany, WWII begins.

May, 1940

Nazis conquer Netherlands.

Effect:

Removal of Dutch military presence in the continental European Theater

March 1940

Soviets capture Lithuania, Latvia, Poland—slowed in Finland and Finland surrenders.

Effect:

Finland and Soviet was signed Moscow Peace Treaty, Finland ceded 9% of its territory to the USSR.

April 1940

Hitler captures Denmark.

Effect:

Denmark surrendered and was occupied.

June 1940

France surrenders to Germany and signed the Armistice agreement imposed by Germany.

Effect:

More than half of France was occupied by the Germans.

July 1940

Germany plans to invade Britain—begins air attacks in July 1940.

Effect:

Eventual cancellation and diversion of German, Italian.

Hitler plans to invade Soviet Union—takes Yugoslavia.

Effect:

The Axis powers partitioned Yugoslavia. They exploited ethnic tensions to reinforce new territorial boundaries.

Nazis surround the city, attempt to starve the inhabitants

Effect:

1 million die during the 41-42 winter.

Nazis almost succeeded, but were overwhelmed by horrible winter.

Effect:

End of Operation Barbarossa and beginning of Soviet counterattacks.

Nazis fought with Soviet Union for control the city of Stalingrad.

Effect:

The Nazis powers on defensive and boosted Russia powers.

Following the bridge incident, a dispute between Chinese and Japanese troops in Bejing , the conflict escalated into a full-scale Japanese invasion of the rest of China.

Effect:

Japan captured Bejing.

Japan took French Indochina (Vietnam, Lao,Cambodia)

Effect:

In response, the US cut off oil shipment to Japan.

Japan attack Pearl Harbor.

Effect:

Congress declared war on Japan.

Japan invaded the Philippines.

Effect:

Great loss of life and tremendous physical destruction.

February 1942

Japan took Singapore.

Effect:

Surrender of all Commonwealth forces in Singapore

Japan tookk Dutch East Indies.

Effect:

Thousands of Dutch and allied prisoners of war, and tens of thousands of Indonesians were put to work as forced labourers in countries occupied by Japan.

Japan took Burma.

Effect:

Disruption of British rule.

Americans stop Japanese advance.

Effect:

It had an outsized effect on the much more-important upcoming operation aimed at Midway.

U.S. destroyed Japan's naval fleet, Japan retreats

Effect:

US victory stopped the growth of Japan in the Pacific and put the United States in a position to begin shrinking the Japanese empire.

Axis forces captured Tobruk (Libya) under the leadership of Erwin Rommel (The Desert Fox).

Effect:

The loss of Tobruk came as a severe blow to the British leadership and precipitated a political crisis in Britain.

British General Bernard Montgomery stopped the Axis advance at the Battle of El Alamein.

Effect:

The Allied victory at El Alamein was the beginning of the end of the Western Desert Campaign.

Soviet surround Berlin.

Effect:

Collapse of the Third Reich.

Berlin falls.

Effect:

Unconditional surrender of the Berlin city garrison on 2 May.

Germany officially surrenders - V-E Day

Effect:

End ww2 in Europe.

 Fought the Battle of Leyte Gulf—Japanese navy was badly damaged,Japan used kamikazes—pilots who flew suicide missions.

Effect:

Destroyed the Imperial Japanese Navy.

American forces captured Iwo Jima.

Effect:

The island was finally declared secured on March 26, 1945.

U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Effect:

75,000 people died.

U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

Effect:

70,000 people died.

Japan officially surrendered.

Effect:

WW2 is over

Britain, France declare war on Germany but Poland falls quickly.

Effect:

German victory.

Hitler captures Norway.

Effect:

Hours after the invasion, the German minister in Oslo demanded Norway’s surrender.

Nazis conquer Belgium.

Effect:

Belgian surrender and working on German project.

Nazis conquer Luxembourg.

Effect:

The Luxembourgish government, and Grand Duchess Charlotte, managed to escape the country and a government-in-exile was created in London.

Hitler invades France.

Effect:

Parts of France placed under German and Italian military occupation