Important Events

Important Events

1914 – 1918 First World War fought in Europe

1919 Treaty of Versailles made with Germany

1933 Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany

1936                     Germany retakes Rhineland;
                            Rome-Berlin Axis formed
                            Germany signs pact with Japan

1939                    Czechoslovakia taken by Germany
                            Hitler invades Poland;
                            Britain, France,Australia,India,New Zealand,
                       South Africa and Canada declare war on Germany

1940                     Germany attacks Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
                             Troops evacuated from Dunkirk
                                   Germans enter Paris.
                             Battle of Britain
                             Start of "The Blitz"

1941                      Barbarossa – German invasion of Russia;
                             Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour brings USA into the war
                                    U.S.A declare war on Japan

1942 Battle for Stalingrad halts German advance in Russia

1943                      Battle of Kursk ends German advance in the East;
                             "Dam-Busters raid by R.A.F.
                             German forces and allies defeated in North Africa

1944 D-Day – Allied invasion of Normandy
"Battle of the Bulge" begins (ends 1945)

1945                       Fall of Berlin and death of Hitler;
                                      Germans sign unconditional surrender
                              Nazis have murdered 6 million Jews in the Holocaust;
                                      Victory in Europe Day
                              atomic bombs dropped on Japan;
                              W.W.II ends.

Countdown to War This is how Britain found out that they were at war. . . At 11.15 a.m. on 3 September 1939, Britain's Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain made this radio announcement :

"I am speaking to you now from the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing

Street. This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note, stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you that no such undertaking has been received and that consequently this country is at war with Germany."

    This announcement was not a big surprise to lots of the people who were listening because they were expecting war.
   After losing the First World War (1914-1918), the Germans were made to sign the Treaty of Versailles. This said that Germany would have to pay for damage done during the war and that it could not keep a big army or any tanks, submarines or warplanes. Lots of people in Germany thought that this was too strict especially the Nazi party. The Nazis gained support in Germany by promising to break this treaty and make germany rich and powerful again.
    Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 in Germany and started to build up his army and his military units. In 1938 he took over Austria and Czechoslovakia and broke the treaty. Then on 1 September 1939, he moved his troops into Poland. This was when Britain and France declared war on Germany.

Britain had begun preparing for war well before it was declared. By then millions of gas masks had been given out to the public in case poison gas was dropped on the country. Also many children had been evacuated - sent away from the main cities to live in the countryside.

Dunkirk Allied troops had advanced into Holland and Belgium but they were unable to stop the Germans invading France. On May 18th the Belgians surrendered. The British and French armies retreated to Dunkirk in the North of France. Every available fishing boat, pleasure boat and private yacht from the south of england came to rescue 338,000 troops from the beach at Dunkirk and bring them home.

The Battle of Britain

Hitler knew that unless Britain's RAF (Royal Air Force) was kept out of the skies, his
invasion fleet could not cross the English Channel in safety. So he ordered his own
air force to destroy British air bases and and aircraft factories. This campaign was
not successful because the Raf beat off the german assault during the summer of
1940. This saved Britain from Nazi invasion and is known as The Battle of Britain.

Pearl Harbour
America came into the war officially in December 1941, after Germany's ally, Japan bombed an American naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. They sent 386 aircraft and the attack went on for over one hour.
There were 8 battleships in the harbour all of them were sunk or badly damaged. Other ships were also damaged and sunk. The Japanese lost only 29 aircraft whilst 173 U.S. aircraft were destroyed.

D-Day Landings The R.A.F. bombers dropped 5,000 tons of bombs on Hitler's coastal defences. This was the start of Operation Overlord. While this was happening troops were landing by glider and parachute. 5,300 ships and over 10,000 planes were on the way .107,000 troops and their equipment were landed on the beaches. They were ready to reclaim France and drive on to Germany.

V.E. Day
    On 6/7 June 1944, British, American and Canadian troops invaded France, to
free Europe from Nazi control. By 7 May 1945 Germany's defences were in ruins,
and the Nazi Supreme Command had surrendered.
    Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) was celebrated on 8 May 1945. Public buildings
were fully lit up and people held street parties. There were bonfires and fireworks.
the celebrations went on all night.
    The Second World War didn't finally come to an end until 2nd September 1945,
when Japan formally surrendered

Atomic Bombs

In the U.S.A between 1942 and 1945, a group of British and American scientists and technicians worked in total secrecy to make the worlds first atomic bomb. The "little boy" bomb or "a bomb".This is the type of atom bomb dropped on
Hiroshima. It is 305cm (120 inches) long.

Nagasaki in Japan when the bomb was dropped. The human casualties                         Country                          Total killed/missing
                        Poland                                           6,000,000
                        China                                           20,000,000
                        Germany                                        6,500,000
                        U.S.S.R                                          25,000,000
                        Italy                                                   560,000
                        Holland                                              250,000
                        U.S.A                                                  324,000
                        Japan                                             2,500,000
                        Britain                                                 360,000
                        France                                               418,000
                        Australia                                               34,000
                        Yugoslavia                                       1,507,000

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