World War II Timeline

By Wilsoncr

  • Beginning of WW2

    Germany invades Poland. World War II begins.

  • War on Germany

    France and Great Britain declare war on Germany.

  • Germany Invades

    Germany invades and takes control of Denmark and Norway.

  • Germany Strikes

    Germany uses quick strikes called blitzkrieg, meaning lightning war, to take over much of western Europe including the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France.

  • British Government

    Winston Churchill becomes leader of the British government.

  • Italy Enters

    Italy enters the war as a member of the Axis powers.

  • Germany Strikes Again

    Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain. These attacks last until the end of October and are known as the Battle of Britain

  • Axis Alliance Begins

    Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact creating the Axis Alliance.

  • Axis Powers Attack

    Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia with a huge force of over four million troops.

  • Pearl Harbor Attack

    The Japanese attack the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. The next day the US entered World War II on the side of the Allies.

  • U.S. Navy Claims Victory

    The US Navy defeats the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway.

  • Allies Invade

    The Allies invade and take the island of Sicily.

  • Italy Surrenders

    Italy surrenders to the Allies, however Germany helps Mussolini to escape and set up a government in Northern Italy.

  • Germany Helps Mussolini

    Germany helps Mussolini to escape and set up a government in Northern Italy.

  • D-day and Normandy Invasion

    D-day and the Normandy invasion. Allied forces invade France and push back the Germans.

  • Liberating Paris

    Paris is liberated from German control.

  • Battle of the Bulge

    The Germans launch a large attack in the Battle of the Bulge. They lose to the Allies sealing the fate of the German army.

  • Iwo Jima

    US Marines invade the island of Iwo Jima. After a fierce battle they capture the island.

  • Rhine River

    The US Third Army under General Patton crosses the Rhine River.

  • Roosevelt Dies and Succeeded by Truman

    US President Franklin Roosevelt dies. He is succeeded by President Harry Truman.

  • Hitler Dies

    Adolf Hitler commits suicide as he knows Germany has lost the war.

  • Germany Surrenders

    Germany surrenders to the Allies.

  • Japan Bombed

    The United States drops the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The city is devastated.

  • Japan Bombed Again

    Another atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

  • End of WW2

    Japan surrenders to US General Douglass MacArthur and the Allies.