Key People People
Key Events
- CHARLES DE GAULLE - He was a French general that fled to London, where he set up a government-in-exile that committed to reconquering France.
- WINSTON CHURCHILL - He was Britain's new prime minister that used his gift of public speaking to tell the people that were behind the effort to crush Germany, to not give up.
- DOUGLAS MACARTHUR - He was a commander of the Allied land forces and he planned to "island-hop" past Japan's strong points and attacking/taking over the islands that weren't well protected; which later he would use air support to cut supply lines and starve enemy troops.
- HIROHITO- A Japanese emperor that
- ERWIN ROMMEL- He was an general that took the key port city of Tobruk and involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler.
- DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER - He was a US general that led Operation Torch and shown an uncommon ability to work with all kinds of people-even competitive Allies.8
- FDR- A.k.a. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president of the United States from 1933-1945 that has signed the lend-lease act.
- JOSEPH STALIN- He served as the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953.
- BENITO MUSSOLINI- He was the Italian dictator that rose to power in the wake of World War I as a leading figure of Fascist, which later in WW2 joined Hitler in order to prop up his leadership.
- ADOLF HITLER- He was first the chancellor and then the leader of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, and was one of the most powerful dictators of the 20th century.
- CHIANG KAI-SHEK- He was the Chinese military and political leader that joined the Chinese Nationalist Party in 1918.
- HARRY TRUMAN- He was the 33rd President of the United States after F.D.R died, and he was the President that sent the two A-bombs to Hiroshima.
Key Events
- ANSCHLUSS- Anschluss was the political union of Austria and Germany in 1938
- AXIS POWERS- The opposition to allied powers made up of Germany, Japan, and Italy who joined in 1937
- BATTLE OF BRITAIN- this was an aerial battle between Germany's Luftwaffe and Great Britain's RAF, Britain's victory virtually kept Hitler from taking over the world and winning WWII.
- BATTLE OF IWO JIMA- was an American attack on Iwo Jima. This was to prevent attacks on American bombers on their way to Japan February 1945
- BATTLE OF MIDWAY- was a Japanese attack on an American military base on the island midway, however despite being unprepared for the pearl harbor attack, the U.S troops were prepared this time around and won a decisive victory.
- BATTLE OF STALINGRAD- this was a German advance on Russia in Stalingrad during the winter of 1942-1943
- D-DAY- otherwise known as the Normandy invasion was an Allied attack on occupied France to drive the Germans from France and destroy the National Socialist regime.
- GESTAPO- the German secret police
- LEBENSRAUM- living space for Germany and the Nazi Party's economic growth
- MANHATTAN PROJECT- The code name for the American effort to make an atomic bomb
- S.S.-a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party
- V-E DAY-Victory in Europe Day celebrates the unconditional surrender of Germany on May 8 1945
- V-J DAY- Victory over Japan Day celebrates Japan's unconditional surrendered On August 14, 1945
- WANNSEE CONFERENCE- A conference to discuss "the final solution" and what that would entail for the Jews
Timeline
September 1, 1939
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe.
September 3, 1939
Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.
September 17, 1939
The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east.
September 27–29, 1939
Warsaw surrenders on September 27. The Polish government flees into exile via Romania. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them.
June 22, 1941–November 1941
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners (except Bulgaria) invade the Soviet Union.
December 7, 1941
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.
December 8, 1941
The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War II. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), and British Singapore. By April 1942, the Philippines, Indochina, and Singapore are under Japanese occupation.
December 11–13, 1941
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners declare war on the United States.
June 1942
British and US navies halt the Japanese naval advance in the central Pacific at Midway.
June 28, 1942–September 1942
Germany and her Axis partners launch a new offensive in the Soviet Union. German troops fight their way into Stalingrad (Volgograd) on the Volga River by mid-September and penetrate deep into the Caucasus after securing the Crimean Peninsula.
August–November 1942
US troops halt the Japanese island-hopping advance towards Australia at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
June 6, 1944
British and US troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches of France, opening a “Second Front” against the Germans.
December 16, 1944
The Germans launch a final offensive in the west, known as the Battle of Bulge, in an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allied forces along the German border. By January 1, 1945, the Germans are in retreat.
May 7, 1945
Germany surrenders to the western Allies.
May 9, 1945
Germany surrenders to the Soviets.
August 6, 1945
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
August 8, 1945
The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria.
August 9, 1945
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
September 2, 1945
Having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II.
September 1, 1939
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe.
September 3, 1939
Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.
September 17, 1939
The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east.
September 27–29, 1939
Warsaw surrenders on September 27. The Polish government flees into exile via Romania. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them.
June 22, 1941–November 1941
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners (except Bulgaria) invade the Soviet Union.
December 7, 1941
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.
December 8, 1941
The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War II. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), and British Singapore. By April 1942, the Philippines, Indochina, and Singapore are under Japanese occupation.
December 11–13, 1941
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners declare war on the United States.
June 1942
British and US navies halt the Japanese naval advance in the central Pacific at Midway.
June 28, 1942–September 1942
Germany and her Axis partners launch a new offensive in the Soviet Union. German troops fight their way into Stalingrad (Volgograd) on the Volga River by mid-September and penetrate deep into the Caucasus after securing the Crimean Peninsula.
August–November 1942
US troops halt the Japanese island-hopping advance towards Australia at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
June 6, 1944
British and US troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches of France, opening a “Second Front” against the Germans.
December 16, 1944
The Germans launch a final offensive in the west, known as the Battle of Bulge, in an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allied forces along the German border. By January 1, 1945, the Germans are in retreat.
May 7, 1945
Germany surrenders to the western Allies.
May 9, 1945
Germany surrenders to the Soviets.
August 6, 1945
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
August 8, 1945
The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria.
August 9, 1945
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
September 2, 1945
Having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II.