The Course of World War II By harperf Sep 28, 1939 Germany and Soviet Union divided Poland Apr 9, 1940 Blitzkrieg against Denmark and Norway May 10, 1940 Germany attacks the Netherlands, Belgium, and France Jun 22, 1940 French signed an armistice Jun 22, 1940 Hitler invades the Soviet Union Aug 19, 1940 The Luftwaffe launched a major attack on Britain Sep 19, 1940 Hitler starts bombing British cities Sep 26, 1940 Htiler postpones the invasion of Britian indefinitely Dec 7, 1940 Japanese aircraft attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor May 4, 1942 US forces won the Battle of Midway against Japan May 7, 1942 In the Battle of the Coral Sea American naval forces saved Australia from the Japanese Nov 19, 1942 British and American forces invade French North Africa Feb 19, 1943 German forces in Russia were back to their positions of June 1942 May 13, 1943 Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered May 19, 1943 America and Britain forced the German and Italian troops to surrender May 19, 1943 Hitler knew Germans would not defeat the Soviet Union Jul 5, 1943 Battle of Kursk Jun 4, 1944 Rome fell to the Allies Jun 6, 1944 D-Day Jan 19, 1945 Soviet troops occupied Warsaw Jan 19, 1945 Hitler enters bunker under Berlin Mar 19, 1945 Allies crossed the Rhine River and advanced into Germany Apr 19, 1945 Allied armies in northern Germany met up with the Soviets Apr 30, 1945 Hitler commits suicide May 7, 1945 German commanders surrendered Aug 6, 1945 First bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima