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Japan starts WWII
Japan invades China, initiating World War II in the Pacific. -
Germany initiating WWII in Europe
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. -
Invasion of Polands
Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east. -
Warsaw surrenders
Warsaw surrenders on September 27. The Polish government flees into exile via Romania. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them. -
Tripartite Pact
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact. -
Attack of Kursk
The Germans launch a massive tank offensive near Kursk in the Soviet Union. The Soviets blunt the attack within a week and begin an offensive initiative of their own. -
Second Fronteir
British and US troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches of France, opening a “Second Front” against the Germans. -
The Soviets
The Soviets launch a new offensive, liberating Warsaw and Krakow in January, capturing Budapest after a two-month siege on February 13, driving the Germans and their Hungarian collaborators out of Hungary in early April, forcing the surrender of Slovakia with the capture of Bratislava on April 4, and capturing Vienna on April 13. -
US troops
US troops cross the Rhine River at Remagen. -
Atomic Bomb
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. -
International Communist Movement.
Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, directed against the Soviet Union and the international Communist movement.
