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Start of the War
Hitler invades Poland on September first. Britain and France declare war on Germany two days later. -
Rationing
Rationing starts in the UK. -
Hitler Seizes Low Countries
Adolf Hitler takes neutral Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. -
Hitler Defeats France
Britain forces retreat from France and Adolf Hitler's armies defeat French forces. -
France Surrenders
France, crushed, surrenders to Germany and signs an armistice. Great Britain now stands alone against the Axis powers. -
British Victory
British victory in Battle of Britain forces Hitler to postpone invasion plans. -
U.S.A. Cracks Japanese Code
United States Naval Intelligence cryptographers crack Japan's secret communications code and learn that Japan intends to conquer China. -
U.S.A. Seizes Axis Ships
President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Coast Guard to seize German ships that sail into American ports. 65 Axis ships are held in "protective custody." -
Attack of Pearl Harbor
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the US enters the war. -
Germany Invades Soviet Union
Germany invades the Soviet Union violating the Nonaggression Pact. U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson estimates that it will take Hitler less than three months to conquer the Soviet Union. -
D-Day
Allied forces invaded northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy. -
World War II Ends
A formal surrender ceremony is conducted in Tokyo Bay on the U.S. battleship Missouri. World War II officially ends.
