Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

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world war ii

576

world war II

D-Day

In June 1944, allied troops invaded occupied Europe in the

greatest seaborne landing ever mounted. Invasion day was

code-named D-day. The D stood for deliverance. after a bitter

struggle, and aided by resistance fighters, the allied forces

broke through, and the German soldiers retreated or

were taken as prisoners.

ConCEnTraTIon Camp

after Germany surrendered,

allied troops discovered horrifying

concentration (prison) camps

throughout Europe, where the

nazis had imprisoned up to

26 million people they considered

“undesirable,” including millions

of Jews. The prisoners were starved

and tortured, and many were

eventually gassed to death.

Liberated by

Allied forces

Neutral

The defeat of Hitler’s

Germany, 1944-45

Britain

Spain

France

The Soviet

advance

pEaCE In EuropE

By the spring of 1945, the allies had recaptured

most of occupied Europe and began to cross the

rhine river into Germany. In the east, the Soviet

army swept toward Berlin, Germany’s capital.

Crushed between these two powerful forces, the

German armies surrendered. Hitler committed

suicide, and the biggest and most expensive war

in human history ended.

VE Day

on may 8, 1945, the allies celebrated VE (Victory in

Europe) Day. However, there were still another three

months of bitter fighting in the pacific. In august 1945,

uS planes dropped two atom bombs on Japan, destroying

the cities of Hiroshima and nagasaki. This was done

to force Japan to surrender quickly and so save allied lives

that would be lost if the allies invaded Japan. Within a few

weeks the Japanese surrendered and the war ended.

Advance of Allies

Held by

Germany at

end of war

September 1, 1939 Germany

invades poland. Britain and

France declare war on Germany

two days later.

april 1940 Germany invades

Denmark and norway.

May 1940 Germany invades

Belgium, the netherlands,

and France.

June 1940 Germans enter

paris, and France signs an

armistice (peace agreement)

with Germany.

april 1941 Germany invades

Greece and yugoslavia.

June 1941 Germany invades the

Soviet union.

September 1941 Siege of

Leningrad (Soviet union) begins;

lasts over two and a half years.

december 7, 1941 Japanese

planes attack pearl Harbor.

The united States, Britain, and

Canada declare war on Japan.

February 1942 Japanese capture

many pacific islands.

august 1942 German attack on

Stalingrad (Soviet union) begins.

November 1942 under General

montgomery the British defeat

Germany, led by rommel, at El

alamein, Egypt. allied troops

land in French north africa to

fight Germany and Italy.

January 1943 German armies

besieged in Stalingrad surrender.

May 1943 German armies

in north africa surrender to

the allies.

July 1943 allies invade Sicily.

September 1943 allied forces

land in Italy. Italy surrenders.

June 1944 allied forces land in

normandy, northwest France,

in the D-day invasion.

May 1945 German forces

surrender; war in Europe ends.

august 1945 allies drop atomic

bombs on Japan.

September 2, 1945 Japan signs

an unconditional surrender,

ending World War II.

mIDWay

Japan conquered

many pacific islands

and invaded mainland

asia. But the united

States’ fleet defeated

the Japanese on

June 4 to 7,

1942, at the Battle

of midway. The battle

turned the pacific war

in favor of the allies.

rESISTanCE

many people in Europe hated the nazi occupation of their

countries. So they formed secret resistance movements to spy

on and fight the enemy. They used hidden radios (above)

to work behind the battle lines. resistance workers risked

torture and death if they were discovered.

Find out more

Churchill, sir winston

Europe, history of

Holocaust

roosevelt, franklin delano

World war i

US_576_World_War_II_2.indd 576 27/01/16 2:40 pm