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World War II
World In Flames
The Long Road to D-Day
August 1939, the Russians and the Germans sign
a non-aggression pact. Adolf Hitler and Joseph
Stalin agree not to invade each other's borders.
The two leaders secretly plan to divide Poland and
other parts of Eastern Europe between them.
• September 1939,
using "lightning war"
tactics, Germany
invades Poland.
Polish military forces
are unprepared for
the ferocity of
Germany's attack.
When efforts to
negotiate a
withdrawal fail, Britain
and France declare
war on Germany.
World War II begins
• May 1940, as
Germany marches
into Belgium,
Luxembourg, and
the Netherlands,
• Winston Churchill
replaces a
disgraced Neville
Chamberlain as
prime minister of
Great Britain.
• June 1940, Germany captures Paris, and France
surrenders to the Nazis. Exacting revenge for
his nation's defeat in the World War I, Hitler
forces French officials to sign surrender papers
in the same railroad car in which Germans
signed the armistice of 1918.
• July 10, 1940, the Battle of Britain begins. A
three-month battle fought in the skies over
Britain will include destructive bombing raids on
London and other cities, but by the end of
October, the British will hand Hitler his first
defeat.
• March 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt
convinces Congress to pass the Lend-Lease
Act, allowing the U.S. to sell or lend war
materials to "any country whose defense the
President deems vital to the defense of the
United States.“
• June 1941, Roosevelt freezes German
and Italian assets in the U.S.
• August 1941, emerging from secret
meetings conducted on warships off of
Newfoundland, Winston Churchill and
Franklin Roosevelt unveil the Atlantic
Charter. The charter outlines goals
concerning "the final destruction of Nazi
tyranny," and a pledge to support "the right
of all peoples to choose the form of
government under which they will live."
USS Arizona burned for two days after being hit by a Japanese bomb. Parts
of the ship were salvaged, but the wreck remains at Pearl Harbor to this day.
• December 7, 1941, the United States is
thrust into war when Japan launches a
devastating surprise attack on the U.S.
Naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
President Franklin Roosevelt will ask the
Congress to declare war on Japan the
following day, December 8th.
• December 11, 1941, Germany and Italy
declare war on the U.S.
Coast Guardsmen on the deck of the US Coast Guard Cutter Spencer watch the
explosion of a depth charge which blasted a Nazi U-boat’s (U-175) hope of
breaking into the center of a large convoy.
• January, 1942, U.S. troops arrive in Europe.
Through March, the number of troops shipped
overseas averages about 50,000 per month -- a
number that will soar upwards of 250,000 per
month in 1944.
Stalingrad
• August, 1942, Germany begins its assault on the
Russian city of Stalingrad. In a battle that will
rage for six months, and take hundreds of
thousands of German and Russian lives, the
Red Army finally defeats invading Nazis. The
long, bloody battle proves to be a turning point in
the war, as Germany begins a retreat from the
Eastern Front.
German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad
January, 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill hold a
conference at Casablanca, Morocco. They affirm
their goal of securing the Axis nations'
unconditional surrender.
• May, 1943, U.S. troops led by Generals
Dwight Eisenhower and George S. Patton
join forces with British troops under the
command of Field Marshal Bernard
Montgomery to defeat German Field
Marshal Erwin Rommel in North Africa.
• June, 1943, Eisenhower is appointed
commander of the U.S. forces in Europe.
• July – September, 1943,
Allied forces capture
Sicily and key spots in
southern Italy. Italian
dictator Benito Mussolini
is overthrown and
imprisoned. Hitler
dispatches German
troops to fend off an
Allied advance in what
will be a series of hard
fought, costly battles.
Fighting in Italy