WWII Timeline

Germany and the Soviet Union made a deal agreeing not to go to war with each other. They also secretly split up Eastern Europe between themselves. This basically gave Hitler the green light to invade Poland without having to worry about the Soviets getting involved.

Germany invaded Poland using a strategy called blitzkrieg, which was a fast and aggressive combination of air attacks, tanks, and ground troops all hitting at once. Britain and France had promised to protect Poland, so they declared war on Germany two days later. This is considered the official start of World War II in Europe.

German forces pushed the Allied army all the way to the beaches of northern France, leaving them completely trapped. Britain put together a huge evacuation using military ships and even regular civilian boats to cross the English Channel and rescue over 330,000 soldiers. It was a close call, but saving those troops kept the Allies in the fight.

Germany spent months bombing British cities, airfields, and factories trying to break Britain's will to fight and destroy their air force. British pilots fought back hard and Germany was never able to take control of the skies. Because of this, Hitler eventually gave up on the idea of invading Britain altogether.

Hitler went back on the deal he made with the Soviets and launched a massive surprise invasion of the Soviet Union with millions of troops. It was the largest military invasion in history. Taking on the USSR opened up a whole new front in the east, which ended up spreading Germany way too thin and was one of Hitler's biggest blunders of the war.

Hitler ordered German forces to take the city of Stalingrad, which was a major industrial hub on the Volga River. Instead of a quick victory, the battle turned into months of brutal house-to-house combat as Soviet troops refused to retreat. It dragged on for nearly six months and caused enormous casualties on both sides.

U.S. and British troops joined up and invaded North Africa, landing in Morocco and Algeria to kick Axis forces out of the region. This was actually the first time American soldiers fought in the European Theatre. Controlling North Africa also gave the Allies a better position to attack southern Europe next.

After being completely surrounded by Soviet troops for months with no food or supplies, the German 6th Army finally gave up and surrendered at Stalingrad. Around 300,000 German soldiers were killed or captured in the battle. This was a huge turning point because it showed that Germany could be beaten, and from here on Germany was mostly on the defensive.

The Allies launched the biggest seaborne invasion ever, sending thousands of troops onto five beaches in Normandy, France all at the same time. Soldiers landed by boat and parachute while German forces fired down on them from above, making it an incredibly dangerous operation. The invasion worked and opened up a whole new front in the west, pushing Germany into a two-sided war.

Germany made one last big push on the Western Front by sending a surprise attack through the forests of Belgium, which pushed deep into Allied territory and created a huge bulge in the front lines. Allied forces were caught off guard but eventually held their ground and pushed Germany back after weeks of brutal winter combat. It turned out to be Germany's final major offensive of the war.

As Soviet troops closed in on Berlin and it became clear Germany had lost the war, Hitler chose to kill himself in his underground bunker rather than be captured. With him gone, what was left of the Nazi leadership fell apart quickly. Germany officially surrendered just eight days after his death.

Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, ending the war in Europe for good. The day was called V-E Day, which stands for Victory in Europe, and people celebrated in the streets all across Britain, America, and the Soviet Union. It was the end of almost six years of war on the European continent.