Flexible

Key Events and Battles

• Invasion of Poland (1939): The war began when Nazi Germany, under Hitler, invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. This prompted Britain and France to declare war on Germany, marking the official start of the conflict.
• Fall of France (1940): Germany quickly invaded France and other parts of Western Europe, using blitzkrieg tactics, a rapid and overwhelming military strategy.
• Battle of Britain (1940): Germany's Luftwaffe (air force) attempted to gain air superiority over Britain but was repelled by the Royal Air Force.
• Operation Barbarossa (1941): Germany invaded the Soviet Union, opening the Eastern Front. This became one of the largest and bloodiest theaters of the war.
• Pearl Harbor (1941): Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, which led to the United States formally entering the war.
• D-Day (1944): Allied forces launched a massive invasion of Nazi-occupied France on June 6, 1944, known as D-Day, which was a pivotal moment in the European campaign.
• The Pacific War: The United States and Japan fought a brutal series of battles in the Pacific, culminating in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, which led to Japan’s surrender.
• The Holocaust: Nazi Germany, under Hitler's regime, carried out the systematic genocide of six million Jews, along with millions of others deemed undesirable, such as Roma, disabled individuals, and political opponents.