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The Second World War was arguably the most significant period of the 20th century.
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Germany invades Poland. Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, and France soon fall into German control, until only the United Kingdom is left to face Germany.
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Italy joins the war on the side of Germany by declaring war against Britain (UK) and France. Fighting spreads to Greece and Northern Africa.
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German troops march into Paris.
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Germany and Great Britain fight an air war, the Battle of Britain, along the English coastline.
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British and Common wealth troops take over the port city of Tobruk, Libya.
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Germany invades the Soviet Union.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers the "a date which will live in infamy" speech to Congress, and the U.S declares war on Japan.
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Japan invades the Malay Peninsula. Singapore surrenders within a week.
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Japan's plans to invade the Hawaiian Islands, starting at Midway Island, but the United States cracks the code of the mission. Japan attacks Midway and loses four aircraft carriers and over 200 planes and pilots in the first clear victory for the United States.
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The German troops in Stalingrad surrender, defeated in large part by the Soviet winter. The defeat marks the halt of Germany's east bound advance.
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US Marines invade the Solomon Islands at Bougainville to recapture it from the Japanese.
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American and Free French forces liberate Paris.
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President Roosevelt dies in Warm Springs, Georgia. Vice President Harry Truman takes the oath of office as president.
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The first atomic bomb used in warfare, nicknamed Little Boy, is dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing up to 140,000 people.
