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Russia invades Poland
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Germany invades Poland, World War 2 begins.
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Britain and France declare war on Germany.
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The US remains neutral but president Roosevelt declares "limited national emergency".
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Russia invades Finland
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Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
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Germany invades France, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg.
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May 27 - Jun 4 - Miracle of Dunkirk : British and French forces at Dunkirk resist German Attack.
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Italy declares war on the collapsing France and on Britain.
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German soldiers march into Paris
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Russia invades Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
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Russia annexes the eastern regions of Romania.
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Germany invades the British Channel islands.
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Operation Sea Lion : German invasion of Britain air campaign begins.
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Italy invades Libya, the North African campaign begins.
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Japan joins The Axis
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Spain remains neutral: It rejects Hitler's offer to join the war.
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Italy invades Greece from Albania
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Hungary and Romania, which were ruled by military dictators, join The Axis.
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British forces in Egypt counter attack the Italians
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Hitler sends General Rommel and the Afrika Korps to help the Italians in North Africa
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Bulgaria joins The Axis.
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Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece
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Japan and Russia sign non-aggression pact.
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German troops occupy Athens
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Germany invades Crete by air.
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British forces aided by Israeli volunteers invade French controlled Syria and Lebanon
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Operation Barbarossa: Germany invasion of Russia. Hitler orders "maximum cruelty" against civilians, Russian resist.
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Japan invades French Indo-China (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)
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Hitler's greatest mistake: Troops advance to take Moscow from north and south. The German Generals argue in vain against it.
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The NAZIs prepare "the final solution": the plan to murder the millions of European jews.
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At -34C (-29F) and below, Russians counter attack near Moscow . The Germans are defeated.
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Japan attacks Pearl Harbor and the Phillipines. U.S. joins the war.
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Germany and Italy declare war on the US.
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Japanese forces occupy Manila, Indonesia, Malasya and Burma (from Jan 2 to Jan 12)
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German U-boats begin to sink American ships.
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Rommel begins another offensive in North Africa
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Allied forces land in western North Africa.
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US troops arrive in Britain
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poison gas begins to be used in Nazi death camps.m
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The battle of Midway. Most of Japan's naval superiority is lost.
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Aug 23 - The Germans head to Stalingrad (RUSSIA). the battle of Stalingrad begins.
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The 2nd battle of El Alamein (Egypt) in North Africa begins.
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Japanese forces invade the Solomon islands
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The German fail to break the encirclement of their army in Stalingrad
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Australian and U.S. Army forces under MacArthur fight back the Japanese at Buna in New Guinea.
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The Casablanca Conference : U.S. and Britain President Roosevelt and Prime minister Winston Churchill agree that Germany must surrender unconditionally. They also plan the Allied invasion of Sicily (Italy)
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German troops at Stalingrad surrender to the Soviets. A significant turning point in the war against Germany.
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Axis forces in North Africa surrender.
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Allied troops land in Sicily, Italy (Operation Husky)
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The Allies begin bombing Hamburg (Germany)
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Benito Mussolini's fascist government is overthrown. The new Italian government tries to make peace.
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U.S. troops retake Kiska island in the Aleutians.
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Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, ends successfully.
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British troops land on Italy, beginning the Allied campaign in Italy. American troops do the same. The new Italian government officially surrenders.
