3.  Failure of appeasement  Sept. 1939-Germany Invades Poland  Blitzkrieg- “Lightening War”  Britain & France declare war on Germany

8.  May 1940-Evacuation of Dunkirk Allies trapped w/ backs to the sea  Forced to escape mainland Europe across the English Channel

10.  June 1940-France falls  Northern France controlled by Germany  Vichy France- Puppet govt. set up in Southern France (Marshall Petain)

12.  German Blitzkrieg quickly overruns much of Europe & Northern Africa  Britain now stands alone against Germany

13.  The Battle of Britain- Summer 1940- May 1941 Germany’s devastating air bombardment of London Massive death & destruction Radar, Enigma machine, RAF pilots & leadership of Winston Churchill help English repel attack

19.  1941- Germany invades USSR  Operation Barbarossa (Costly mistake) Russian cold & shortage of supplies help save USSR  1942-USSR defeats Germany @ decisive Battle of Stalingrad

20.  90,000 German troops surrender  City was 99% destroyed  Germany on defensive for the rest of the war

22.  Lend Lease Act- US ships arms & supplies to allies w/out payment  Atlantic charter Aug. 1941  Churchill & Roosevelt meet secretly to discuss post WWII plans  Upheld free trade & self-determination  Plans for a United Nations after the war

26.  D-Day June 6, 1944  Allied troops land on Beaches of Normandy (France)  Allies liberate France & push towards Germany

33. American transport to the D-Day invasion. {Death day} American transport to the D-Day invasion. {Death day}

35.  Hitler’s last ditch offensive of the WWII  December 1944  The Ardennes Forest, Belgium  Germany now on the Run  Allies cross the Rhine into Germany March 1945

38.  April 1945 Mussolini caught escaping Italy with retreating Germans  Executed & hung in Milan town Square

39.  1945 Allied troops surround Berlin  Soviets from the East  British & US from West  April 30 Hitler commits suicide rather than surrender  May7, 1945 V-E Day – unconditional surrender of Germany