World War 2 Timeline By lmsteele Period: 1939 to 1945 Battle of the Alantic https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-the-atlantic Jun 10, 1939 Italy joins the war and, on June 27 invades Southern France https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italy-declares-war-on-france-and-great-britain Aug 23, 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union (USSR) sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact https://www.britannica.com/event/German-Soviet-Nonaggression-Pact Sep 1, 1939 Germany attacks Poland https://www.britannica.com/event/Invasion-of-Poland Sep 3, 1939 Great Britain and France declare war on Germany https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/1939-1941/britain-and-france-declare-war#:~:text=Honoring%20their%20guarantee%20of%20Poland's,the%20German%20and%20British%20militaries. Sep 17, 1939 USSR attacks Poland from the east. Poland soon falls and is divided between the Germans and Russians https://www.britannica.com/event/Invasion-of-Poland Period: Nov 30, 1939 to Mar 13, 1940 Winter war between USSR and Finland. War ends when Finland cedes border lands to the USSR https://www.britannica.com/event/Russo-Finnish-War 1940 Slovakia, Hungary, Romania join the Axis Powers https://www.britannica.com/summary/Axis-Powers Period: Apr 9, 1940 to Jun 9, 1940 Germany invades and Captures Denmark and Europe https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-invades-norway-and-denmark Period: May 10, 1940 to Jun 22, 1940 Germany attacks Western Europe ncyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-invasion-of-western-europe-may-1940#:~:text=Germany%20attacked%20in%20the%20west,to%20meet%20the%20German%20attack. Period: Jun 14, 1940 to Aug 6, 1940 USSR gains control over the Baltic States https://brill.com/display/book/9789004464896/BP000014.xml?language=en Period: Jul 10, 1940 to Oct 31, 1940 Battle of Britain https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-britain Sep 13, 1940 Italy invades British controlled Egypt https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italy-invades-egypt Sep 27, 1940 Germany, Italy and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tripartite-Pact Oct 28, 1940 Italy invades Greece https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italy-invades-greece 1941 German Afrika Korps are sent to North Africa to reinforce the Italians https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rommel-in-africa Jun 22, 1941 Germany joined by the Axis allies and Finland attack the USSR https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/operation-barbarossa-and-germanys-failure-in-the-soviet-union Dec 7, 1941 The Japannese launch a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor Dec 8, 1941 The U.S. declares war on Japan. Germany and Italy soon declare war on the U.S. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/path-pearl-harbor#:~:text=On%20December%207%2C%201941%2C%20Japan,the%20attack%20on%20Pearl%20Harbor. Dec 8, 1941 The Battle of the Coral Sea https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Coral-Sea Period: Dec 8, 1941 to 1942 The Japanese gain control of the Philippines, French Indochina and Singapore https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/path-pearl-harbor Period: Apr 1, 1942 to Jun 22, 1945 Battle of Okinawa https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Okinawa Apr 9, 1942 The Bataan Death March begins https://www.britannica.com/summary/Axis-Powers Period: Jun 3, 1942 to Jun 7, 1942 The Battle of Midway https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway Period: Jul 1, 1942 to Jul 27, 1942 1st Battle of El Alamein https://www.britannica.com/event/battles-of-El-Alamein Period: Aug 7, 1942 to Feb 9, 1943 The Battle of Guadalcanal https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Guadalcanal Period: Aug 23, 1942 to Feb 2, 1944 Battle of Stalingrad https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad Period: Oct 23, 1942 to Nov 5, 1942 2nd Battle of El Alamein https://www.britannica.com/event/battles-of-El-Alamein Sep 3, 1943 Italy surrenders unconditionally https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italian-surrender-is-announced Mar 1, 1944 Bulgaria joins the Axis Power https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/World-War-II May 6, 1944 Operation Overlord, D-Day https://www.britannica.com/event/Normandy-Invasion Aug 25, 1944 Paris is liberated https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/paris-liberated Period: Dec 6, 1944 to Jan 25, 1945 Battle of the Bulge https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Bulge Period: Feb 4, 1945 to Feb 11, 1945 Yalta Conference https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf Period: Feb 19, 1945 to Mar 25, 1944 Battle of Iwo Jima https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Iwo-Jima Apr 12, 1945 FDR dies, Harry Truman becomes President https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-dies Apr 20, 1945 Hitler commits Suicide https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adolf-hitler-commits-suicide Apr 28, 1945 Mussolini is executed https://www.history.com/news/mussolinis-final-hours May 8, 1945 V-E day https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ve-day-victory-in-europe Period: Jul 17, 1945 to Aug 2, 1945 Potsdam Conference https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/potsdam-conf Aug 6, 1945 The U.S. drops a atomic bomb on Hiroshima https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki Aug 9, 1945 The U.S. drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki Aug 15, 1945 V-J day https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vj-day-victory-over-japan