Second World War (1939–1945)

A war that started when Germany invaded Poland, ending after victory in Europe and Japan in 1945.

Key facts

Started when Germany invaded Poland in 1939.
Dunkirk evacuation (1940) rescued over 300,000 troops.
Britain won the Battle of Britain (summer 1940); German night-bombing ("the Blitz") then destroyed much of Coventry and badly damaged London.
Japan bombed the US naval base at Pearl Harbour in December 1941, bringing the USA into the war; that same year Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
D-Day: Allied forces landed in Normandy, France, on 6 June 1944, and went on to defeat Germany by May 1945.
The war with Japan ended in August 1945 after the USA dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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