-
September 1, 1939
World War II begins. -
September 3, 1939
France and Great Britain declare war on Germany. -
April 9, 1940
Germany invades and takes control of Denmark and Norway. -
May 10, 1940
Germany uses quick strikes called blitzkrieg, meaning lightning war, to take over much of western Europe including the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France. -
May 30, 1940
Winston Churchill becomes leader of the British government. -
June 10, 1940
Italy enters the war as a member of the Axis powers. -
July 10, 1940
Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain. These attacks last until the end of October and are known as the Battle of Britain. -
September 22, 1940
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact creating the Axis Alliance. -
June 22, 1941
Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia with a huge force of over four million troops. -
December 7, 1941
The Japanese attack the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. The next day the US enters World War II on the side of the Allies. -
June 4, 1942
The US Navy defeats the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway. -
July 10, 1942
The Allies invade and take the island of Sicily. -
September 3, 1943
Italy surrenders to the Allies, however Germany helps Mussolini to escape and set up a government in Northern Italy. -
June 6, 1944
D-day and the Normandy invasion. Allied forces invade France and push back the Germans. -
August 25, 1944
Paris is liberated from German control. -
December 6, 1944
The Germans launch a large attack in the Battle of the Bulge. They lose to the Allies sealing the fate of the German army. -
February 19, 1945
US Marines invade the island of Iwo Jima. After a fierce battle they capture the island. -
March 22, 1945
The US Third Army under General Patton crosses the Rhine River. -
April 12, 1945
US President Franklin Roosevelt dies; he is succeeded by President Harry Truman. -
April 30, 1945
Adolf Hitler commits suicide as he knows Germany has lost the war. -
May 7, 1945
Germany surrenders to the Allies. -
August 6, 1945
The United States drops the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The city is devastated. -
August 9, 1945
Another atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. -
September 2, 1945
Japan surrenders to US General Douglass MacArthur and the Allies. -
September 3, 1945
The treaty of peace was signed this was the first day that World War II has officially ended and marked the victory over Japan.
