THE WORLD WAR IN EUROPE
● After the German-Soviet Pact, Germany started WW2 by invading Poland on September 1, 1939 which caused Britain and France to declare war on Germany on September 3.
● Within a month Poland was completely defeated by the combination of Germany and the Soviet Union. Though it was partitioned between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
● The relative lull in fighting which followed the defeat of Poland ended on April 9, 1940, when German forces invaded Norway and Denmark.
● On May 10, 1940, Germany began its assault on western Europe by invading the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg), which had taken neutral positions in the war, as well as France.
● On June 22, 1940, France signed an armistice with Germany, which provided for the German occupation of the northern half of the country and permitted the establishment of a collaborationist regime in the south with its seat in the city of Vichy.
● With German encouragement, the Soviet Union occupied the Baltic states in June 1940 and formally annexed them in August 1940.
● Italy, a member of the Axis (countries allied with Germany), joined the war on June 10, 1940.
● From July 10 to October 31, 1940, the Nazis waged, and ultimately lost, an air war over England, known as the Battle of Britain.● After securing the Balkan region by invading Yugoslavia and Greece on April 6, 1941, the Germans and their allies invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, in direct violation of the German-Soviet Pact.
● In June and July 1941, the Germans also occupied the Baltic states.
● Soviet leader Joseph Stalin then became a major wartime Allied leader, in opposition to Nazi Germany and its Axis allies.
● During the summer and autumn of 1941, German troops advanced deep into the Soviet Union, but stiffening Red Army resistance prevented the Germans from capturing the key cities of Leningrad and Moscow.
● On December 6, 1941, Soviet troops launched a significant counter offensive that drove German forces permanently from the outskirts of Moscow.
● One day later, on December 7, 1941, Japan (one of the Axis powers) bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States immediately declared war on Japan.
● On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States as the military conflict widened.
● Within a month Poland was completely defeated by the combination of Germany and the Soviet Union. Though it was partitioned between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
● The relative lull in fighting which followed the defeat of Poland ended on April 9, 1940, when German forces invaded Norway and Denmark.
● On May 10, 1940, Germany began its assault on western Europe by invading the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg), which had taken neutral positions in the war, as well as France.
● On June 22, 1940, France signed an armistice with Germany, which provided for the German occupation of the northern half of the country and permitted the establishment of a collaborationist regime in the south with its seat in the city of Vichy.
● With German encouragement, the Soviet Union occupied the Baltic states in June 1940 and formally annexed them in August 1940.
● Italy, a member of the Axis (countries allied with Germany), joined the war on June 10, 1940.
● From July 10 to October 31, 1940, the Nazis waged, and ultimately lost, an air war over England, known as the Battle of Britain.● After securing the Balkan region by invading Yugoslavia and Greece on April 6, 1941, the Germans and their allies invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, in direct violation of the German-Soviet Pact.
● In June and July 1941, the Germans also occupied the Baltic states.
● Soviet leader Joseph Stalin then became a major wartime Allied leader, in opposition to Nazi Germany and its Axis allies.
● During the summer and autumn of 1941, German troops advanced deep into the Soviet Union, but stiffening Red Army resistance prevented the Germans from capturing the key cities of Leningrad and Moscow.
● On December 6, 1941, Soviet troops launched a significant counter offensive that drove German forces permanently from the outskirts of Moscow.
● One day later, on December 7, 1941, Japan (one of the Axis powers) bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States immediately declared war on Japan.
● On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States as the military conflict widened.