World War II Timeline

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World War II Timeline

1939

• Sept 1: Germany invades Poland in an agreement with the Soviet Union

• Sept 3: UK and France declare war on Germany

• Sept 10: Canada declares war on Germany

• Sept 27: Poland falls

• Nov 30: U.S.S.R invades Finland

1940

• April: Norway and Denmark invaded by Germany

• April 9: Denmark falls without fight, sinks own navy in Copenhagen harbor

• May: Norway falls

• May 10: Germany invades Low Countries (Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium)

• May 14: Luxembourg and Netherlands fall

• May 28: Belgium surrenders

• May: British/French forces trapped in Belgium

• May: USSR conquers Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia

• June 4:British and French troops evacuated to Great Britain at Dunkirk, France

• June 10: Italy declares war on UK and France

• June 14: Paris falls to Nazis

• June 22: France capitulates, forming Vichy government under Marshal Henri Petain

• Aug: German Luftwaffe bombs British RAF air bases

• Sept: London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other British cities bombed by Nazis

• Sept: Italian forces in Libya attack British in Egypt

• Sept 22: Japanese attack French Indochina

• Sept: Japan joins Axis

• Oct 28: Italy invades Greece

• Nov 20: Hungary joins the Axis

• Nov 23: Romania joins the Axis

• Dec 8: British attack Italian forces in Egypt

• Dec: German U-Boats sink US/Canadian convoys to Britain

1941

• Jan 15: British forces invade Ethiopia

• Jan: Greek troops push Italian forces into Albania

• March 1: Bulgaria joins the Axis

• April 6: German forces invade Greece and Yugoslavia,

• April 13: Japan signs nonaggression pact with the USSR

• end of April: Greece completely occupied by Axis

• May: Britain's Royal Navy destroys German battleship Bismark

• June 22: Germany invades Soviet Union

• July 7: US troops land in Iceland

• Aug 14: Atlantic Charter announced

• Sept: German forces capture Kiev, USSR

• Dec: Soviet troops repulse German advance on Moscow

• Dec 7: Japanese Imperial Fleet bombs US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor

• Dec 8: The United States of America declares war on the Empire of Japan

• Dec 9: China declares war on the Axis

• Dec 10: Japanese capture Guam

• Dec 11: Germany and Italy declare war on US

• Dec 11: United States declares war on Germany and Italy

• Dec 23:Wake Island falls to Japanese

• Dec 25: Hong Kong captured by Japanese

1942

• Jan 2: Manila, Philippines, falls to the Japanese

• Jan 11: Japanese land in The Netherlands Indies

• Feb 1: US ships raid Marshal and Gilbert Islands

• Feb 15: Singapore surrenders to Japanese

• Feb 27: Allies lose Battle of the Java Sea to Japan

• March 7: Netherlands Indies occupied by Japanese

• April 9: Bataan surrendered to the Japanese

• April 18: US carrier aircraft bomb Tokyo

• May 4-8: Allies win the Battle of the Coral Sea

• May 6: Japanese occupy Corregidor

• June 4-6: Battle of Midway ends Japanese eastward expansion

• June 21: German troops seize Tobruk, North Africa

• July 2: British defeat Germans at El Alamein

• Aug 7: United States Marines land on Guadalcanal

• Nov 7: 500,000 Allied troops massed against Axis in Africa

• Nov 11: Vichy French resistance in Africa ended

• Nov 12: British troops recapture Tobruk

• Nov 19: Soviets counterattack at Stalingrad

• Nov 27: French scuttle their fleet at Toulon

1943

• Jan: German Field Marshall Von Paulus surrenders to the Soviets

• Jan: German troops at Stalingrad surrender after 3 months of extremely intense fighting

• Jan 31: Allies win Battle of the Bismark Sea

• Feb 2: Japanese troops retreat across the Yangtze River

• March 2-5: Tunis and Bizerte fall to the Allies

• March 13: Organized Axis resistance in Africa ends

• May 7: Organized Japanese resistance in Attu ends

• May 12: Allies invade Sicily

• May 30: Allies land on Italian mainland

• July 10: Italy signs secret armistice with Allies

• Sept 3: Allies capture Finschhafen

• Sept 3: Italy declares war on Germany

• Oct 2: US troops land on Bougainville Island

• Nov 1: Soviets retake Kiev

• Nov 6: US Marines invade Tarawa and Makin

• Nov 20: Allied Leaders confer in Cairo, Egypt

• Nov 22: Allies march into Rome, Italy

1944

• Jan 27: Soviets break the siege of Leningrad

• Jan 31: US troops attack Kwajalein Atoll

• Feb 17: United States forces raid Truk Island

• Feb 29: Allied soldiers land in the Admiralties

• March 19: Hungary conquered by Germany

• March 22: Japanese troops invade India

• April 22: Allied forces land at Hollandia

• June 6: Allies invade [Normandy, France

• June 13: First German V-I guided missile falls on London

• June 15: United States Marines invade Saipan Island

• June 15: USAF B-29s raid Japan

• June 19-20: USN defeats Japanese Fleet in Battle of the Philippine Sea

• July 21: US forces land on Guam Island

• July 25: Allies break out of Normandy

• Aug 15: Allies retake Philippines from Japan

• Aug 15: Allies invade southern France, encountering little German

resistance

• Aug 25: Romania declares war on Germany

• Sept 9: Bulgaria declares war on Germany

• Sept 10: Finland signs armistice with U.S.S.R

• Sept 15: US Marines invade Peleiu Island

• Oct 20: US Army lands on Leyte

• Oct 26: US Pacific Fleet defeats Japanese Fleet in Battle for Leyte Gulf

• Dec 16: Nazis counterattack at Bulge, Belgium

• Dec 27: Allies defeat Germans at the Battle of the Bulge

1945

• Jan 9: Allied troops invade Luzon, Philippines

• Jan 22: Allies reopen a land route to China

• Jan 11: Red Army enters Warsaw, Poland

• Jan 21: Hungary declares war on Germany

• Feb 13: Soviet forces occupy Budapest, Hungary

• Feb 19: US Marines storm Iwo Jima Island

• April 1: US troops land on Okinawa Island

• April 13:Vienna captured by Red Army

• April 22: Soviets reach suburbs of Berlin

• April 25: US and Soviet forces meet at Torgau

• May 2: German troops in Italy surrender

• May 2: Berlin surrenders to Soviet Army

• May 7: Germany surrenders to the Allies

• July 26: Allies issue the Potsdam Declaration

• Aug 6: United States bomber, Enola Gay, drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan

• Aug 9: US bomber, Bock's Car, drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan

• Aug 10: Japanese government opens up negotiations for peace

• Aug 14: Japan surrenders to Allies

• Sept 2: Japanese officials sign terms of surrender on US battleship Missouri

• Sept 8: Japanese forces in China surrender

• Sept 12: Japanese forces in southeast Asia surrender

World War II Timeline Additional Resources

• bbc.co.uk: World War Two
• The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: World War II Documents
• Grolier.com: World War II Commemoration
• Wikipedia: World War II
• Yahoo! Directory: World War II Categories

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