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Hitler invades Poland
Adolf Hitler invades Poland -
Britain and France declare war on
Britain and France declared war on Germany. Neville Chamberlain broadcast the announcement that the country was at war -
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Hitler invaded and occupied Denmark and Norway
Hitler invaded and occupied Denmark and Norway to safeguard supply routes of Swedish ore and also to establish a Norwegian base from which to break the British naval blockade on Germany. -
Blitzkrieg
Hitler launched his blitzkrieg against Holland and Belgium.Rotterdam was bombed almost to extinction. Both countries were occupied. -
Chamberlain resigns
Neville Chamberlain resigned after pressure from Labour members for a more active prosecution of the war and Winston Churchill became the new head of the wartime coalition government. -
Italy enters the war
Italy invades southern France on June 21 -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers
Italy entered the war on the side of the Axis powers. Italy’s motive for entering the war was the hope of rich pickings from the spoils of war -
France signs armistice with Germany
The French, Marshall Petain, signed an armistice with Germany taking France, which had been devastated, out of the war and into German occupation. -
The Soviet Union
The soviet union forces Romania to cede the eastern province of Bessarabia and the northern half of Bukovina to the Soviet Ukraine. -
Second Vienna Award
Germany and Italy arbitrate a decision on the division of the disputed province of Transylvania between Romania and Hungary. The loss of northern Transylvania forces Romanian King Carol to abdicate in favor of his son, Michael, and brings to power a dictatorship under General Ion Antonescu. -
The Italians
The Italians invade British - controlled Egypt from Italian - controlled Libya. -
Tripartite Pact
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact -
Greece invaded
Italy invades Greece from Albania -
The Axis
Slovakia (November 23), Hungary (November 20), and Romania (November 22) join the axis -
The Germans
The Germans send the Afrika Korps to North America to reinforce the faltering Italians -
Bulgaria
Bulgaria Joins the Axis -
The Terrorist Ustasa Movement
The leaders of the terrorist Ustasa movement proclaim the so-called Independent State of Croatia. Recognized immediately by Germany and Italy, the new state includes the province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Croatia joins the Axis powers formally on June 15, 1941. -
Moscow
A Soviet counteroffensive drives the Germans from the Moscow suburbs in Chaotic retreat -
The bombing
Japan Bombs Pearl Harbor -
The U.S. declares war
The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War ll. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), and British Singapore. By April 1942, the Philippines, Indochina, and Singapore are under Japanese occupation. -
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Germany and her Axis partners
Germany and her Axis partners launch a new offensive in the Soviet Union. German troops fight their way into Stalingrad on the Volga River by mid-September and penetrate deep into the Caucasus after securing the Crimean Peninsula. -
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U.S. Troops
US troops halt the Japanese island-hopping advance towards Australia at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. -
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British Troops
British troops defeat the Germans and Italians at El Alamein in Egypt, sending the Axis forces in chaotic retreat across Libya to the eastern border of Tunisia. -
US and British Troops
US and British troops land at several points on the beaches of Algeria and Morocco in French North Africa. The failure of the Vichy French troops to defend against the invasion enables the Allies to move swiftly to the western border of Tunisia, and triggers the German occupation of southern France on November 11. -
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Soviet Troops
Soviet troops counterattack, breaking through the Hungarian and Romanian lines northwest and southwest of Stalingrad and trapping the German Sixth Army in the city. Forbidden by Hitler to retreat or try to break out of the Soviet ring, the survivors of the Sixth Army surrender on January 30 and February 2, 1943. -
Axis Forces
Axis forces in Tunisia surrender to the Allies, ending the North African campaign. -
The Germans
The Germans launch a massive tank offensive near Kursk in the Soviet Union. The Soviets blunt the attack within a week and begin an offensive initiative of their own. -
Sicily
US and British troops land on Sicily. By mid-August, the Allies control Sicily. -
Fascist Grand Council
The Fascist Grand Council deposes Benito Mussolini, enabling Italian Marshall Pietro Badoglio to form a new government. -
The Badoglio
The Badoglio government surrenders unconditionally to the Allies. The Germans immediately seize control of Rome and northern Italy, establishing a puppet Fascist regime under Mussolini, who is freed from imprisonment by German commandos on September 12. -
Naples
Allied troops land on the beaches of Salerno near Naples. -
Kiev
Soviet troops liberate Kiev. -
Anzio
Allied troops land successfully near Anzio, just south of Rome. -
Hungary
Fearing Hungary’s intention to desert the Axis partnership, the Germans occupy Hungary and compel the regent, Admiral Miklos Horthy, to appoint a pro-German minister president. -
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Fighting in Warsaw
The non-communist underground Home Army rises up against the Germans in an effort to liberate Warsaw before the arrival of Soviet troops. The Soviet advance halts on the east bank of the Vistula. On October 5, the Germans accept the surrender of the remnants of the Home Army forces fighting in Warsaw. -
Eastern Germany
Allied troops liberate Rome. Within six weeks, Anglo-American bombers could hit targets in eastern Germany for the first time. -
Normandy Beaches
British and US troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches of France, opening a “Second Front” against the Germans. -
German Army Group Center
The Soviets launch a massive offensive in eastern Belorussia, destroying the German Army Group Center and driving westward to the Vistula River across from Warsaw in central Poland by August 1. -
Anglo - American
Anglo-American forces break out of the Normandy beachhead and race eastward towards Paris. -
Rhine River
Allied forces land in southern France near Nice and advance rapidly towards the Rhine River to the northeast. -
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Allied troops reach Paris
On August 25, Free French forces, supported by Allied troops, enter the French capital. By September, the Allies reach the German border; by December, virtually all of France, most of Belgium, and part of the southern Netherlands are liberated. -
Prut River
The appearance of Soviet troops on the Prut River induces the Romanian opposition to overthrow the Antonescu regime. The new government concludes an armistice and immediately switches sides in the war. The Romanian turnaround compels Bulgaria to surrender on September 8, and the Germans to evacuate Greece, Albania, and southern Yugoslavia in October. -
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Slovak National Council
Under the leadership of the Slovak National Council, consisting of both Communists and non-Communists, underground Slovak resistance units rise against the Germans and the indigenous fascist Slovak regime. In late October, the Germans capture Banska Bystrica, the headquarters of the uprising, and put an end to organized resistance. -
Pursuing Negotiations
The Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross movement carries out a coup d’état with German support to prevent the Hungarian government from pursuing negotiations for surrender to the Soviets. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans launch a final offensive in the west, known as the Battle of the Bulge, in an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allied forces along the German border. By January 1, 1945, the Germans are in retreat. -
The Soviets launch a new offensive
The Soviets launch a new offensive, liberating Warsaw and Krakow in January, capturing Budapest after a two-month siege on February 13, driving the Germans and their Hungarian collaborators out of Hungary in early April, forcing the surrender of Slovakia with the capture of Bratislava on April 4, and capturing Vienna on April 13. -
Final offensive
The Soviets launch their final offensive, encircling Berlin. -
The Death
Hitler commits suicide. -
Manchuria
The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria. -
Ending World War ll
Having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan formally surrenders, ending World War ll.
