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Germany and the Soviet Union invade Poland
Germany and the Soviet Union invade Poland. Germany invades from north, south, and west. Soviet Union invades from east. -
Germany invades Denmark and Norway
Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders the day of the attack and Norway fights until June 9th. -
Germany attacks Western Europe
Germany attacks France and the neutral low countries. Luxembourg is occupied. -
Italy enters war
Italy declares war on France and Great Britain. -
France signs armistice agreement
France signs an armistice agreement allowing Germany to occupy the northern half of France and the atlantic coastline. -
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign pact
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact. This established the Axis Powers of World War II. -
Germany and Axis powers invade Soviet Union
Germany and it's Axis Powers invade the Soviet Union. They defeat Leningrad by September. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
Imperial Japanese Navy attacks United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes. All U.S. Navy battleships were damged and four were sunk. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded. -
United States declares war on Japan
The United States declare war on Japan which enters them into World War II. -
War declared on United States
Nazi Germany and it's Axis partners declare war on the United States. -
El Alamein
British troops defeat the Germans and Italians at El Alamein in Egypt. This sends them on a retreat across Libya to the eastern border of Tunisia. -
U.S. and British troops land in French North Africa
U.S. troops and British troops land on the beaches of Algeria and Morocco in French North Africa. French troops cannot defend against invasion and enables Allies to move toward border of Tunisia. -
Soviet Union counterattacks
Soviet Union counterattacks. They break through the Hungarian and Romanian lines northwest and southwest of Stalingrad, where German troops are. They trap the Sixth German Army in the city. Hitler forbids them to retreat or try to break out of the Soviet ring but they eventually surrender. -
Axis surrender to Allies
Axis forces in Tunisia surrender to the Allies, ending the North African Campaign. -
Allied troops liberate Rome
Within six weeks, Anglo-American bombers could hit targets in eastern Germany for the first time. -
Normandy Landings (D-Day)
An airborne assault landing of 24,000 British, American, Canadian, and Free French airborne troops shortly after midnight and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France starting at 6:30 AM. They took place along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast. -
Anglo-American forces head toward France
Anglo-American forces break out of the Normandy beachhead and race eastward towards Paris. -
Allies reach Paris
Allied troops reach Paris -
U.S. lands in Philipines
U.S. troops land in the Philipines. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans launch a final offensive in the west in an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allied forces along the German border. January 1, 1945 Germans are in retreat. -
Crossing the Rhine River
U.S. troops cross the Rhine River at the Remagen. -
Germany surrenders
Germany surrenders to the Western Allies. -
Victory in Europe Day (VE Day)
The World War II Allies accept the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. -
Hiroshima
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. -
Surrender of Japan/End of World War II
Representatives from the Empire of Japan signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. This was the end of World War II.
