Timeline of World War 2 Events By pearsy411 Sep 1, 1919 Hitler comes to power in Germany Sep 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland Sep 3, 1939 War declared in Europe May 27, 1940 Evacuation of Normandy begins Jun 4, 1940 Evacuation of Normandy Ends Mar 1, 1941 Australian forces arrive in Egypt Apr 11, 1941 Siege of Tobruk begins Oct 7, 1941 John Curtin comes to power Nov 19, 1941 HMAS Sydney sunk Nov 27, 1941 Siege of Tobruk ends Dec 7, 1941 Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour Dec 8, 1941 America joins war Feb 19, 1942 Japanese bomb Darwin Mar 12, 1942 General MacArthur arrives in Australia May 4, 1942 Battle of Coral Sea begins May 8, 1942 Battle of Coral Sea ends May 31, 1942 Midget submarines enter Sydney Harbour Jul 21, 1942 Kokoda begins Aug 23, 1942 Battle of Stalingrad begins Sep 24, 1942 Kokoda is taken back Jun 6, 1944 D-Day begins Apr 30, 1945 Hitler commits suicide May 7, 1945 Germany surrenders Jun 5, 1945 John Curtin dies Aug 6, 1945 Atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima Aug 9, 1945 Atom bomb hits Nagasaki Sep 2, 1945 General Blamey accepts Japanese surrender Nov 8, 1945 Australian forces return to Australia