World War 2 Timeline

  • Hitler's final solution

    Hitler believed that in order to have the perfect Aryan race, he would have to exterminate all who were not purebred Germans.
  • Germany invades Poland

    Germany claimed that the invasion of Poland was a defensive action, but in reality, the plan was to annex the nation for more territory.
  • Auschwitz and other camps begin receiving Jews

    With Hitler's orders given to imprison Jews, concentration camps began opening their doors to keep the Jewish population.
  • Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain

    With the country in need of a strong leader, Winston Churchill takes the helm of Great Britain.
  • Germany defeats France in 40 days

    Moving around France's Maginot Line, the Germans managed to march right through France and capture Paris easily.
  • Hitler bombs Britain in Operation Blitz

    With Britain the only region in Europe which had resistance left, Hitler ordered his air force to pound the island until it surrendered.
  • Germany loses the Battle of Britain

    Because of severe losses suffered by the German Luftwaffe, Hitler ordered German forces to stop the operation and focus elsewhere.
  • Germany violates the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact by invading Soviet Union

    Hitler, desiring world domination and fearing that the Soviets would become too powerful to resist, initiates a surprise attack against Stalin.
  • Germans use Blitzkrieg or Lightning War

    The Germans, having conceived new tactics of mobile armor, decide to use it in real action during the invasion of Poland.
  • Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

    Because the US had an embargo on Japan, the Japanese decided to attack Pearl Harbor to shock the Americans into submission.
  • US ends policy of isolation and declares war on Japan

    America, having been attacked and humiliated viciously, decide on ending their isolation and declare war on Japan.
  • Japanese-Americans sent to internment camps

    With suspicion rising at anyone related to Japan, Japanese-Americans are sent to camps to be kept under close guard.
  • Japan loses the Battle of Midway against US forces

    Japanese commanders give out ambiguous commands and let their carriers become sitting ducks for U.S. bombers.
  • Japan uses POW's to build Thai-Burma Railway

    Deciding that a supply route by sea was too dangerous, the Japanese decide to use prisoners of war to build a railway as a supply route.
  • Kamikaze pilots desperately attempt to attack US subs

    Because of the supply shortage in Japan due to US submarine attacks, kamikaze pilots attempt to sink the former to alleviate the crisis.
  • Battle of Okinawa and Iwo Jima

    America, opting to use a "stepping-stone" plan to invade one island at a time, lands on Okinawa and Iwo Jima to rid them of the Japanese.
  • U.S. firebombing of Japanese cities

    With the war showing no signs of stopping, America attack Japanese cities with incendiaries, hoping to damage Japanese morale.
  • Harry S Truman becomes US President

    Because Roosevelt has suddenly died, and the war still ongoing, Vice President Truman is quickly sworn into office as the next President.
  • US President Franklin Roosevelt dies

    Due to failing health, President Roosevelt suddenly suffers a stroke and dies.
  • Germany officially surrenders

    Nazi Germany, having lost its Fuhrer and most of the army, officially capitulates to the Allies.
  • Allied Invasion of Normandy, D-Day, to liberate France and invade Berlin

    The Western Allies launch an offensive into France to aid their compatriots in the East who are bearing the brunt of German attacks.
  • Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima

    Because the US are unwilling to sacrifice more lives in this already costly war, they decide to unleash their new weapon against Japan.
  • Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki

    The US government, desperate to end the war, deploys a second atomic bomb against Japan.
  • Japan officially surrenders

    Having witnessed incredible destruction in just four days, Japan decides to surrender and quickly end the war.
  • World War 2 is officially over

    With the surrender of the last Axis power, World War 2 is finally at an end.