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Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden, which the Allies were attempting to cut off by unilaterally mining neutral Norwegian waters.
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On September 1, 1939, just before Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland that marked the beginning of World War II
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Britain and France declare war on Germany honoring their commitment to Poland.President Franklin D. Roosevelt invokes the Neutrality Act but notes, "Even a neutral cannot be asked to close his mind or his conscience."
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Adolf Hitler takes neutral Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg.
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Responding to the embargoes imposed by the United States, Japan joins the German-Italian coalition.
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The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War II. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), and British Singapore. By April 1942, the Philippines, Indochina, and Singapore are under Japanese occupation.
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Partisan units, led by Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Tito, capture Zagreb and topple the Ustasa regime. The top Ustasa leaders flee to Italy and Austria.
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Hitler commits suicide.
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Germany surrenders to the western Allies.
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Germany surrenders to the Soviets.
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The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
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World War 2 ended with the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers.
