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lasted until 1945 began with an obscure clash involving a Japanese unit on night manoeuvres near the Marco Polo Bridge southwest of Beijing on the night of 7–8 July 1937
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the Germans attacked Belgium and the Netherlands, both hitherto neutral, and invaded France. They successfully gained and used the initiative
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The first concerted attack on British airfields was launched on 12 August 1940. The fall of France ensured that German airbases were now close to Britain.
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The failure of German troops to defeat Soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war.
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This led to a surprise attack on the base of the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian archipelago
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a naval-air battle of unprecedented scale. This battle also reflected the superiority of American repair efforts and intelligence
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They sought to break through the flanks of the salient and to achieve an encirclement triumph to match the Soviet success at Stalingrad the previous winter
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American, British and Canadian forces landed in Normandy, as Operation Neptune (the landings) paved the way for Operation Overlord (the invasion)
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The Americans used their naval and air superiority, already strong and rapidly growing, to mount a reconquest of the Philippines from October 1944.
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Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally.
