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Show THESE EVENTS LED ALLIES TO VICTORY- The beginning of the gigantic life-and-death struggle known as "World War H" is generally set as September Septem-ber 1, 1939, the day the German armies rolled into Poland, Two days later France and England declared war on Germany. Blitzkrieg tactics flattened Polish resistance in less than a month. Then began the half year of "phoney war" at the Maginot hne. In the spring of 1940 German troops overran over-ran Norway and Denmark, forcing out the British. Early in May the campaign that frightened the entire world opened. Holland, Belgium and then France itself capitulated by the middle of June. Italy came in on Germany's side. The British expeditionary expedi-tionary force barely escaped destruction de-struction at Dunkerque. September, 1940, saw the massed air attacks on Britain by which Hitler hoped for a quick victory. The RAF held off the Nazi bombers until winter, when weather brought a slackening slack-ening of attacks. That autumn of 1940 was probably the period of gravest peril to civilization in many centuries. Britain almost succumbed. During the spring of 1941 Nazi troops smashed into the Balkans to aid the Italians, invading Yugoslavia and Greece. Bulgaria joined the Axis voluntarily. Germany controlled all of continental Europe excepting Russia by the middle of the year. Without warning on June 22, Nazi armies crossed the Russian border in a tremendous drive. As alarmed America prepared for defense, Japan attacked without warning at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Ha-waiian islands and the U. S. was immediately at war with both Japan and Germany, By mid-1942, American marines ma-rines stopped the Japs on Guadalcanal. Guad-alcanal. In Africa the British halted the drive on the Suez canal and counterattacked successfully. suc-cessfully. The Russians epic de- ' fense of Stalingrad stalled the German thrust into the Caucasus. Cauca-sus. The tide had turned. In the fall American and British troops uanded in northern Africa. The great Russian counteroffen-sivc counteroffen-sivc began in February of 1943. It rolled fiercely until mid-July, when the retreating Nazis stiffened and brought it to a standstill in central Poland. Meanwhile the air offensive from the British Isles was battering batter-ing German cities and ports, preparatory pre-paratory to the invasion. June 6, 1944, was the big day the invasion of western Europe from England. After landing on the coast of France, American and British troops battled inland. Almost all France was under Allied control by November, 1944. Advance tank units were attacking on the German border bor-der by December. A substantial German counterof f ensive was checked as the year ended. On March 2 the American Ninth army reached the Rhine river. Within With-in two weeks this great natural defense de-fense line was crossed. Racing tank corps smashed to the Elbe river, riv-er, 30 miles from Berlin, and halted to await junction with the Russians. Rus-sians. This signal event took place on April 27. Far to the south, American Ameri-can and Russian armies were roaring roar-ing through Austria to seal off southern south-ern Germany. Organized resistance crumbled as German soldiers gave up in enormous numbers. |