World War II - Major Events

Japan Invades Manchuria

Sep 18, 1931

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Assumes the Office of President of the United States

Mar 4, 1933

Appeasement

Period: 1935 to 1939

Italian Invasion of Ethiopia

Oct 2, 1935

Formation of the Rome-Berlin Axis

Nov 1, 1936

Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign Anti-Comitern Pact

Nov 25, 1936

Japan Invades China

Jul 7, 1937

Marco Polo Bridge Incident

Jul 7, 1937

Rape of Nanking

Period: Oct 13, 1937 to 1938

Italy Joins the Anti-Comitern Pact

Nov 26, 1937

First Vienna Award

Feb 11, 1938

Anschluss

Mar 13, 1938

Munich Agreement

Sep 29, 1938

Manhattan Project

Period: 1939 to Dec 31, 1946

Formation of the Slovak Republic

Mar 15, 1939

France and Britain Guarantee Polish Sovereignty

Mar 31, 1939

Italy Invades and Annexes Albania

Apr 15, 1939

Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union Sign the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Aug 23, 1939

Germany Invades Poland; World War II Begins

Sep 1, 1939

World War II

Period: Sep 1, 1939 to Sep 2, 1945

France and Britain Declare War on Germany

Sep 3, 1939

Battle of the Atlantic

Period: Sep 3, 1939 to May 8, 1945

Soviet Union Invades Poland From the East

Sep 17, 1939

Poland Surrenders; Germany and Soviet Union Split Poland

Sep 29, 1939

The Soviet Union Invades Finland

Nov 30, 1939

German Invasion of Scandinavia

Period: Mar 9, 1940 to Jun 9, 1940

Finland Signs Armistice With the Soviet Union

Mar 12, 1940

Germany Invades Denmark and Norway

Apr 9, 1940

Denmark Surrenders to Germany

Apr 9, 1940

Winston Churchill Becomes Prime Minister of Britain

May 10, 1940

Winston Churchill Becomes Prime Minister of Britain

May 10, 1940

German Blitz of Western Europe

Period: May 10, 1940 to Jun 22, 1940

Battle of Sedan

May 12, 1940

Dunkirk Evacuation

May 27, 1940

Norway Surrenders to Germany

Jun 9, 1940

Italy Joins the War

Jun 10, 1940

The Soviet Union Occupies the Baltic States

Jun 14, 1940

France Surrenders to Germany; Vichy France is Established

Jun 22, 1940

The Soviet Union Forces Romania to Cede Various Territories

Jun 28, 1940

Battle of Britain

Period: Jul 10, 1940 to Oct 31, 1940

Second Vienna Award

Aug 30, 1940

Italy Invades British Egypt

Sep 13, 1940

Italy, Germany, and Japan Sign the Tripartite Pact

Sep 27, 1940

Italy Invades Greece

Oct 28, 1940

Britain Wins the Battle of Britain

Oct 31, 1940

Hungary Joins the Axis

Nov 20, 1940

Romania Joins the Axis

Nov 23, 1940

Slovakia Joins the Axis

Nov 24, 1940

Germany Sends the Afrika Korps to North Africa

1941

Greece Surrenders

1941

Bulgaria Joins the Axis

Mar 1, 1941

Axis Invades Yugoslavia

Apr 6, 1941

Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia

Period: Apr 6, 1941 to 1941

Formation of Croatia; Croatia Joins the AXIS

Apr 10, 1941

Yugoslavia Surrenders

Apr 17, 1941

Battle of Crete

May 20, 1941

The Axis Invades the Soviet Union

Jun 22, 1941

Operation Barbarossa

Period: Jun 22, 1941 to Dec 5, 1941

Battle of Brody

Jun 23, 1941

Battle of Smolensk

Jul 10, 1941

Atlantic Confrence

Aug 9, 1941

Siege of Leningrad

Period: Sep 8, 1941 to Jan 27, 1944

Battle of Moscow

Sep 30, 1941

Japan Attacks Pearl Harbour

Dec 7, 1941

United States Declares War on Japan

Dec 8, 1941

Japan Begins Invasion of Allied-Held Territories in South-East Asia

Dec 8, 1941

Rest of Axis Declares War on the United States

Dec 12, 1941

Height of German Military Success

1942

Battle of the Coral Sea

May 4, 1942

Second Battle of Kharkov

May 12, 1942

Allies Begin the Bombing of Germany

May 30, 1942

Battle of Midway

Jun 4, 1942

Japanese Naval Advance in the Pacific Halted by the Battle of Midway

Jun 7, 1942

Battle of Stalingrad Begins

Aug 23, 1942

Battle of Stalingrad

Period: Aug 23, 1942 to Feb 2, 1943

Operation Torch

Nov 8, 1942

German Occupation of Southern France

Nov 11, 1942

Casablanca Conference

Jan 14, 1943

Battle of El Alamein

Feb 9, 1943

Wojtek Enlisted in the Polish Army

Apr 9, 1943

Axis Troops in Tunisia Surrender; North African Campaign Ends

May 13, 1943

Allies Land in Sicily

Jun 9, 1943

Battle of Kursk

Jul 5, 1943

Mussolini Deposed

Jul 25, 1943

Allied Offensive on Japan in the Solomon Islands

Aug 7, 1943

Italy Surrenders Under Badoglio Government

Sep 8, 1943

Germany Seizes Control of Rome and Northern Italy, Establishing A Puppet Regime

Sep 8, 1943

Allied Troops Land in Salerno

Sep 9, 1943

Soviet Troops Liberate Kiev

Nov 6, 1943

Tehran Conference

Nov 28, 1943

Germany Evacuates Greece, Albania, and Southern Yugoslavia

1944

Battle of Monte Cassino

Jan 17, 1944

Battle of Anzio

Jan 22, 1944

Allied Troops Land Near Anzio

Jan 22, 1944

Battle of Narva

Feb 4, 1944

Germany Occupies Hungary

Mar 19, 1944

Allied Troops Liberate Rome

Jun 4, 1944

D-Day

Jun 6, 1944

Battle of the Philippine Sea

Jun 19, 1944

Operation Bagration

Period: Jun 22, 1944 to Aug 29, 1944

Allied Forces Break Normandy Beach Head

Jul 25, 1944

Warsaw Uprising

Aug 1, 1944

Operation Dragoon

Aug 15, 1944

Liberation of Paris

Aug 19, 1944

1944 Romania Coup D'etat

Aug 23, 1944

Failed Slovakia Uprising

Aug 29, 1944

Finland Signs Armistice with the Soviet Union; Expels German Troops

Sep 4, 1944

Bulgaria Surrenders

Sep 8, 1944

Pro-Nazi Hungarian Coup D'etat

Oct 15, 1944

U.S. Troops Land in the Philippines

Oct 20, 1944

Battle of Leyte Gulf

Oct 23, 1944

Battle of the Bulge

Dec 16, 1944

Capture of Zagreb

1945

Battle of Luzon

Jan 9, 1945

Soviet Capture of Warsaw and Krakow

Jan 12, 1945

Yalta Conference

Feb 4, 1945

Battle of Iwo Jima

Feb 19, 1945

U.S. Troops Cross the Rhine River at Remagen

Mar 7, 1945

Battle of Okinawa

Apr 1, 1945

The Capture of Bratislava Forces Slovakia to Surrender

Apr 4, 1945

Soviet Forces Capture Vienna

Apr 13, 1945

Battle of Berlin

Apr 16, 1945

The Soviets Encircle Berlin

Apr 16, 1945

San Francisco Conference

Apr 25, 1945

Hitler Commits Suicide

Apr 30, 1945

Germany Surrenders to the West

May 7, 1945

Germany Surrenders to the East

May 8, 1945

Okinawa Captured

Jun 22, 1945

Trinity

Jul 16, 1945

Potsdam Conference

Jul 17, 1945

Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

Aug 6, 1945

Soviet Union Officially Declares War on Japan and Invades Manchuria

Aug 8, 1945

Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

Aug 9, 1945

Japan Accepts Unconditional Surrender

Sep 2, 1945