Battles of WWII Timeline by Rocco Alarid

Nazi Invasion of Poland - September 1939

2161968 — 2024-03-28 15:33:13 UTC

The German Blitzkrieg quickly and successfully overran Poland forcing Britain and France to declare war on Germany which caused a lot of conflict at the start of WWII. This was justified by the large amount of Germans who already lived in Poland who Nazi propagandists thought were being persecuted there.

France's Maginot Line - 1930s

2161968 — 2024-03-28 15:52:15 UTC

After WWII in the 1930s France started building large concrete defenses along the German border. the defenses were not as strong on the borders of Belgium and Luxembourg since France saw germany as the more serious threat. These fortifications included conected concrete forts with bunkers, defensive positions, machine guns, and artilery. This was to ensure to repel any direct attacks or invasions from Germany.

The Fall of France - May 1940

2161968 — 2024-03-28 15:55:43 UTC

Hitler and his army moved through Ardennes and around France's Maginot line and made their way through France reaching their Northern coat in 10 days.

The Miracle at Dunkirk - Spring 1940

2161968 — 2024-03-28 15:56:00 UTC

After the rapid German invasion of France allied forces and the British were running away into Dunkirk since they were becoming surrounded by German soldiers, allied forces rushed onto the beaches to rescue them and evacuate them, This act saved around 380,000 soldiers

The Battle of Britain - summer 1940 - may 1941

2161968 — 2024-03-28 15:57:20 UTC

this was a fight between the British and the German air forces mainly taken place in the sky. Even though the British were outnumbered they helped make the turning point from being attacked by Germany. Germany was attacking because they were trying to assert dominance for an invasion.

Operation Barbarosa - June 1941

2161968 — 2024-03-28 15:57:46 UTC

this was the Nazi party's plan to invade the Soviet Union and this was the biggest military operation at the time. Hitler wanted to gain the most amount of territory to become more powerful, this was encouraged by the Axis powers they worked with which made it easier to take territory and capture prisoners. This operation turned out to be a failure for Germany as they fought resistance from the Soviet Union.

Stalingrad - August 1942 - June 1943

2161968 — 2024-03-28 15:58:33 UTC

Germany wanted to control Stallingard for the oilfields and the territory, this fight ended in the defeat of Germany's armies because of starvation and the low temperatures. the victory of the Soviet Union greatly increased their leverage in the war.

Pearl Harbor - December 7 1941

2161968 — 2024-03-28 15:59:11 UTC

Japan retaliated against America because they cut off their supply of oil, this retaliation was a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a Naval base in Hawaii. This attack brought America into WWII and was the main drive to fight against the Axis powers as there was a loss of supplies, ships, planes, and about 2,400 lives.

D-Day - June 6 1944

2161968 — 2024-03-28 15:59:46 UTC

Dwight D. Eisenhower developed the plans for D-Day where Allied forces would storm the Beaches of France with Soldiers on Boats, Naval ships, and strategic bombings. This battles outcome was planned to take back Normandy from Germany which is one of the locations they were most powerful. this was the part of the war where the most deths of Americans occurred, but the Allied forces were successful in the invasion which was very important at the time since it became the turning point of Germany to their downfall.

The Liberation of Europe - April 1945

2161968 — 2024-03-28 16:00:41 UTC

After D-Day and the Soviet's victory in Stalingrad, the allied forces started putting pressure on Germany, the United states, and Britain from the west and the Soviet Union from the east. It was not long before the United States and Britain took back territory into French territories liberating the prisoners of Germany on the way.

The Battle of Midway - June 4 1942

2161968 — 2024-03-28 16:01:04 UTC

America sent out aircraft carriers to Midway as an attack on Japan as a justification for the attack on Pearl Harbor. When American ships arrived at Midway they launched multiple air strikes sinking four Japanese aircraft carriers and causing a lot of damage to their forces. This attack gave America more leverage in the situation and ultimately led to the victory of the allies in the Pacific.

The Battle of Guadalcanal - August 1942 - February 1943

2161968 — 2024-03-28 16:01:54 UTC

Allied forces initiated attacks on Japanese bases in the Solomon Islands because the airfeilds on the islands threatened the supply lines of allied forces. Primarily Armerican and Australian Soldiers fought in these islands, even though the allies were victorious more than 24,000 died in the fight.

Battles of Iwo Jima & Okinawa - February - June 1945

2161968 — 2024-03-28 16:02:55 UTC

the United States started their attack on Iwo Jima to take over the air bases and underground tunnels that the Japanese made on the island. The United states is trying to attack and take over all of Japans air bases and military bases so that they could not initiate any more attacks against the allied powers. U.S. soldiers raised an American flag on mount Suribachi which was photographed and became a symbol of Americas resilience, victory, and the sacrifices made by Americans in WWII

Hiroshima & Nagasaki - August 6th & 9th 1945

2161968 — 2024-03-28 16:04:04 UTC

research was started to create the world's first atomic weapons called the Manhattan Project. this project included thousands of scientists, engineers, and military personnel to help research and produce atomic bombs to assist the United Kingdom and Canada. They produced the first testing atomic bomb named Trinity which would be engineered further to create the bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki bringing the war to an end. the bombings killed approximately 140,000 Japanese citizens.

VJ Day - August 14th 1945

2161968 — 2024-03-28 16:04:46 UTC

the photo of a sailor kissing a woman spread around the nation as it symbolized the happiness and relief that Americans felt when they received the news that Japan had surrendered the war.