This information was used for my 6th grade history paper, and the timeline was a part of our presentation. If you find any incorrect information on this page, please email me at khfan19@yahoo.com explaining the problem. Thanks!
| WWII Timeline |
| Due to the immense scope of World War Two, it would be nearly impossible to list all of the significant events of the period on this web page. The following dates have been selected because of their importance with respect to the causes and outcome of the war. |
| 1938 | Mar. 12 | Germany invades Austria; Anschluss (union) proclaimed |
| Sept. 30 | Munich conference held to solve Sudeten question | |
| Oct. 15 | German troops occupy the Czech Sudetenland | |
| Nov 9-10 | Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) | |
| 1939 | Mar. 15-16 | German troops occupy the rest of Czechoslovakia in violation of Munich Agreement |
| Mar. 28 | Spanish Civil War ends | |
| May 22 | Rome-Berlin "Axis" alliance formed | |
| Aug. 23 | Nazi-Soviet nonagression pact signed | |
| Sept. 1 | German Army invades Poland | |
| Sept. 3 | Britain and France declare war on Germany | |
| Sept. 17 | Red Army invades Poland in accordance with Nazi-Soviet Pact | |
| Sept. 27 | Warsaw falls to the Nazis | |
| Nov. 30 | Red Army attacks Finland | |
| 1940 | Mar. 12 | Finland signs peace treaty with Soviet Union |
| April 9 | German Army invades Denmark and Norway | |
| May 10 | German Army invades France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; Churchill appointed British Prime Minister | |
| May 15 | Holland capitulates to Nazis | |
| May 28 | Belgium capitulates to Nazis | |
| June 10 | Norway capitulates to Nazis; Italy declares war on Britain and France | |
| June 14 | Nazis take Paris | |
| June 22 | France capitulates to Nazis | |
| June 23 | Hitler tours Paris | |
| July 10 | Battle of Britain begins | |
| July 23 | Red Army takes Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia | |
| Aug. 3 | Italian Army invades British Somaliland | |
| Aug. 13 | Luftwaffe begins raids on British airfields and aircraft factories | |
| Aug. 23-24 | Off-course German bombers accidentally bomb London | |
| Aug. 25-26 | Royal Air Force mounts reprisal raid against Berlin | |
| Sept. 7 | German "blitz" on British cities begins in earnest | |
| Sept. 13 | Italian Army attacks Egypt | |
| Sept. 16 | Military conscription introduced in United States | |
| Sept. 27 | Tripartite alliance formed between Germany, Italy and Japan | |
| Oct. 7 | German troops occupy Romania | |
| Oct. 28 | Italian Army attacks Greece | |
| Nov. 5 | Roosevelt re-elected | |
| Nov. 20 | Romania joins Axis | |
| Dec. 9-10 | British counterattack begins against Italian Army in North Africa | |
| 1941 | Jan. 22 | British take Tobruk in North Africa from Nazis |
| Feb. 11 | British Army attacks Italian Somaliland | |
| Feb. 12 | Erwin Rommel assumes command of German Afrika Korps | |
| Mar. 11 | Lend-Lease Act signed by Roosevelt | |
| April 6 | German Army invades Yugoslavia and Greece, forcing Hitler to postpone planned invasion of Soviet Union | |
| April 17 | Yugoslavia capitulates to Nazis | |
| April 27 | Greece capitulates to Nazis | |
| May 10 | Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland on "peace mission" | |
| May 15 | British counter-attack in Egypt | |
| May 24 | German battleship Bismarck sinks Hood, pride of the Royal Navy | |
| May 27 | Royal Navy sinks Bismarck | |
| June 8 | British Army invades Lebanon and Syria | |
| June 22 | Hitler launches operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union | |
| June 28 | Germans capture Soviet city of Minsk | |
| July 3 | Stalin launches "scorched earth" policy | |
| July 31 | Plans made to implement "Final Solution," the systematic destruction of the Jews | |
| Aug. 12 | Atlantic Charter signed by Roosevelt and Churchill | |
| Aug. 20 | German siege of Soviet city of Leningrad begins | |
| Sept. 1 | Jews order to wear yellow Star of David | |
| Sept. 19 | Germans capture Soviet city of Kiev | |
| Oct. 16 | Germans capture Soviet city of Odessa | |
| Oct. 24 | Germans capture Soviet city of Kharkov | |
| Oct. 30 | German Army occupies the Crimea | |
| Nov. 20 | Germans capture the Soviet city of Rostov | |
| Nov. 27 | Red Army retakes Rostov | |
| Dec. 6 | Red Army launches major counter-offensive | |
| Dec. 7 | Japanese attack naval base at Pearl Harbor | |
| Dec. 8 | Roosevelt gives "Day of Infamy" speech; United States and Britain declare war on Japan | |
| Dec. 11 | Germany declares war on the United States | |
| Dec. 16 | Rommel's Afrika Korps forced to retreat in North Africa | |
| Dec. 19 | Hitler assumes post of Commander in Chief of German Army | |
| 1942 | Jan. 1 | Allies forge Declaration of the United Nations |
| Jan. 13 | German U-boats begin sinking ships off American coast in "Operation Drumbeat" | |
| Jan. 20 | Nazis formulate "Final Solution", the systematic destruction of the Jewish people | |
| Jan. 21 | Rommel counter-attacks in North Africa | |
| April | American citizens of Japanese descent forced into "relocation centers" | |
| May 8 | Germans launch summer offensive in the Crimea | |
| May 30 | Royal Air Force launches first 1,000 bomber raid on Cologne, Germany | |
| June | Final Solution implemented; Auschwitz begins gassing Jews | |
| June 4 | S.S. Leader Rheinhardt Heydrich dies of wounds sustained in partisan attack at Prague | |
| June 5 | German siege of Sevastopol begins | |
| June 10 | Nazis annihilate Czech town of Lidice in retaliation for Heydrich's assassination | |
| June 21 | Tobruk falls to German Afrika Korps | |
| July 3 | Sevastopol falls to German Army | |
| July 5 | Nazi conquest of Crimea achieved | |
| July 9 | German Army launches push towards Stalingrad | |
| Sept. 13 | German attack on Stalingrad begins | |
| Oct. 23-Nov. 3 | Afrika Korps decisively defeated by British at El Alamein | |
| Nov. 8 | Allied invasion of North Africa begins in "Operation Torch" | |
| Nov. 11 | Axis forces occupy Vichy France | |
| Nov. 19 | Soviet forces encircle German Sixth Army at Stalingrad | |
| Dec. 31 | German and British ships engage in the Battle of the Barents Sea | |
| 1943 | Jan. 2-3 | German Army retreats from Caucasus |
| Jan. 10 | Red Army begins siege of German-occupied Stalingrad | |
| Jan. 14-23 | Roosevelt and Churchill meet at Casablanca, issue unconditional surrender demand | |
| Jan. 23 | British forces take Tripoli | |
| Jan. 27 | U.S. Air Force opens daylight bombing campaign with attack on Wilhelmshaven,Germany | |
| Feb. 2 | German Sixth Army at Stalingrad surrenders to the Russians; war reaches its turning point | |
| Feb. 8 | Red Army takes Kursk | |
| Feb. 14-25 | Battle of Kasserine Pass fought in North Africa between German and U.S. forces | |
| Feb. 16 | Red Army retakes Kharkov | |
| Mar. 2 | Afrika Korps withdraws from Tunisia | |
| Mar. 15 | Germany Army recaptures Kharkov | |
| Mar. 16-20 | German submarines achieve their largest tonnage total of the war | |
| Apr. 19 | S.S. begins "liquidation" of the Warsaw ghetto | |
| May 13 | Axis troops in North Africa surrender | |
| May 16-17 | RAF targets German industry in the Ruhr | |
| May 22 | U-boat operations suspended in the North Atlantic | |
| June 11 | Nazis order destruction of Polish ghettos | |
| July 5 | Largest tank battle in history begins at Kursk | |
| July 9-10 | Allied forces land on Sicily | |
| July 19 | Allied air forces bomb Rome | |
| July 22 | American forces take Palermo, Sicily | |
| July 24 | RAF bombs Hamburg | |
| July 25-26 | Mussolini and the Fascists overthrown | |
| Aug. 12-17 | Axis forces withdraw from Sicily | |
| Aug. 17 | USAF bombs ball-bearing plants at Regensburg and Schweinfurt, Germany | |
| Aug. 23 | Red Army retakes Karkhov | |
| Sept. 8 | New government announces Italian surrender | |
| Sept. 9 | Allied forces land in Salerno and Taranto, Italy | |
| Sept. 11 | German Army occupies Rome | |
| Sept. 12 | Nazi commandos rescue Mussolini | |
| Sept. 23 | Fascist government re-established in Italy | |
| Oct. 1 | Allies take Naples | |
| Nov. 6 | Red Army recaptures Kiev | |
| Nov. 28 | "Big Three" of Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill meet at Tehran | |
| Dec. 24-26 | Soviets begin large offensive in Ukraine | |
| 1944 | Jan. 6 | Red Army advances into Poland |
| Jan. 27 | Red Army breaks 900-day siege of Leningrad | |
| Jan. 31 | American forces invade Kwajalein | |
| Feb. 16 | German 14th Army counter-attacks at Anzio | |
| Feb. 18-22 | American forces take Eniwetok | |
| Apr. 8 | Red Army begins offensive in the Crimea | |
| May 9 | Soviet troops recapture Sevastopol | |
| May 12 | German forces in the Crimea surrender | |
| June 5 | Allied forces enter Rome | |
| June 6 | D-Day: Allies land at Normandy | |
| June 9 | Red Army advances into Finland | |
| June 13 | Germans begin using V-1 rockets against London | |
| June 19-20 | "Marianas Turkey Shoot" results in destruction of over 200 Japanese aircraft | |
| June 22 | Red Army begins massive summer offensive | |
| June 27 | American forces liberate Cherbourg | |
| July 3 | Soviet forces recapture Minsk | |
| July 9 | Allied troops liberate Caen | |
| July 18 | American troops liberate St Lô | |
| July 20 | Hitler survives assassination attempt | |
| July 25-30 | Allied forces break-out of Normandy encirclement in "Operation Cobra" | |
| July 28 | Red Army recaptures Brest-Litovsk | |
| Aug. 1 | Polish Home Army begins revolt against Nazis in Warsaw | |
| Aug. 15 | Allies invade Southern France | |
| Aug. 19-20 | Soviet forces invade Romania | |
| Aug. 23 | Rumania capitulates to Soviets | |
| Aug. 25 | Paris liberated | |
| Aug. 31 | Red Army takes Bucharest | |
| Sept. 3 | Brussels liberated | |
| Sept. 8 | Soviets and Finns sign peace treaty | |
| Sept. 13 | American troops reach the Siegfried Line in western Germany | |
| Sept. 26 | Red Army occupies Estonia | |
| Oct. 2 | Nazis brutally crush revolt in Warsaw; Allies advance into Germany | |
| Oct. 5 | British invade Greece | |
| Oct. 14 | British liberate Athens; Rommel forced to commit suicide for alleged involvement in July assassination plot | |
| Oct. 20 | Belgrade falls to Soviet forces | |
| Oct. 23-26 | U.S. naval forces destroy remnants of Japanese Navy at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval engagement in history | |
| Nov. 7 | Roosevelt elected to fourth term | |
| Dec. 3 | Civil war erupts in Greece; Japanese retreat in Burma | |
| Dec. 15 | American forces invade Phillipine island of Mindoro | |
| Dec. 16 | German Army launches "Battle of the Bulge" offensive on the Western Front | |
| Dec. 17 | Waffen SS executes 81 American prisoners of war in "Malmedy Massacre" | |
| 1945 | Jan. 9 | American forces invade Phillipine island of Luzon |
| Jan. 16 | Battle of the Bulge ends in German defeat | |
| Jan. 19 | German lines collapse on Eastern Front; full retreat begins | |
| Jan. 20 | Hungary signs armistice with Allies | |
| Jan. 26 | Soviets liberate Auschwitz | |
| Jan. 27 | Red Army occupies Lithuania | |
| Feb. 4-11 | Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet at Yalta Conference | |
| Feb. 19 | American forces land on Iwo Jima | |
| Mar. 3 | American forces liberate Manila in the Phillipines; Finland declares war on Germany | |
| Mar. 7 | Allies capture Cologne; Ludendorff Rail Bridge on Rhine River captured intact at Ramagen | |
| Mar. 9 | Tokyo firebombed | |
| Mar. 16 | Japanese resistance on Iwo Jima ends | |
| Mar. 21 | Allies take Mandalay, Burma | |
| Mar. 30 | Red Army liberates Danzig | |
| Apr. 1 | American troops encircle German forces in the Ruhr | |
| Apr. 12 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt dies of stroke; Truman becomes President; Allies liberate Belsen and Buchenwald concentration camps | |
| Apr. 16 | Red Army launches Berlin offensive; Allies take Nuremberg | |
| Apr. 18 | German forces in the Ruhr capitulate | |
| Apr. 28 | Mussolini hanged by Italian partisans; Venice falls to Allied forces | |
| Apr. 29 | Dachau concentration camp liberated | |
| Apr. 30 | Adolf Hitler and wife Eva Braun commit suicide in Chancellery bunker | |
| May 2 | All German forces in Italy surrender | |
| May 7 | Unconditional surrender of all German forces | |
| May 8 | Victory in Europe (VE) Day | |
| May 23 | SS Reichführer Heinrich Himmler commits suicide | |
| June 5 | Allies divide Germany into occupation zones | |
| June 26 | United Nations World Charter signed in San Francisco | |
| July 16 | First U.S. atomic bomb tested at Los Alamos, New Mexico; Potsdam Conference opens | |
| July 26 | Clement Attlee becomes British Prime Minister | |
| Aug. 6 | First atomic bomb dropped Hiroshima | |
| Aug. 8 | Soviet Union declares war on Japan; Soviet forces invade Manchuria | |
| Aug. 9 | Second atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki | |
| Aug. 14 | Unconditional surrender of Japanese forces | |
| Aug. 15 | Victory over Japan (VJ) Day |
