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7 July 1937: Clash near the Marco Polo Bridge, close to Beijing
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 -
Germans launch offensive in the West
the Germans attacked Belgium and the Netherlands, both hitherto neutral, and invaded France. They successfully gained and used the initiative -
Battle of Britain begins
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. -
Launching of Operation Barbarossa
The failure of German troops to defeat Soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
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 -
Battle of Midway
a naval-air battle of unprecedented scale. This battle also reflected the superiority of American repair efforts and intelligence -
Germans launch battle of Kursk
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 -
D-Day
American, British and Canadian forces landed in Normandy, as Operation Neptune (the landings) paved the way for Operation Overlord (the invasion) -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Americans used their naval and air superiority, already strong and rapidly growing, to mount a reconquest of the Philippines from October 1944. -
Dropping of second atom bomb, on Nagasaki
Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally.
