World War 2 Timeline By aydavis Sep 19, 1931 Hitler takes over Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany Mar 16, 1935 Hitler violates the Treaty of Versailles by introducing military conscription. Nov 9, 1938 Kristallnacht riots across Germany Sep 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland; WWII begins Sep 16, 1940 US Congress passes first peacetime draft Dec 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Feb 19, 1942 FDR signs Executive Order 9066 which will lead to JapaneseAmericans being sent to internment camps May 5, 1943 The Germans launch a massive tank offensive near Kursk in the Soviet Union. Jul 10, 1943 US and British troops land on Sicily. By mid-August, the Allies control Sicily. Jul 25, 1943 The Fascist Grand Council deposes Benito Mussolini, enabling Italian marshall Pietro Badoglio to form a new government. Dec 24, 1943 Soviets launch offensives on the Ukrainian front. Jun 4, 1944 Rome falls to Allied forces. Aug 25, 1944 U.S. forces, aided by a Free French division, liberate Paris from Nazi control. Apr 28, 1945 Italian insurgents capture Mussolini, murder him, and mutilate his body. May 1, 1945 Adolf Hitler commits suicide in Berlin. May 2, 1945 The German army signs an unconditional surrender. May 5, 1945 The American air force in Europe heads for the war in the Pacific. Jul 26, 1945 Allied leaders meet in Potsdam, Germany to send an ultimatum to Japan. Japanese military leaders ruling the government issue no surrender. Aug 6, 1945 The United States drops an atomic bomb—the first to be used in warfare—on Hiroshima, killing 75,000 people instantly, and injuring more than 100,000. Sep 2, 1945 A formal surrender ceremony is conducted in Tokyo Bay on the U.S. battleship Missouri. World War II officially ends.
