WORLD WAR II - MAIN EVENTS

  • Germany invades Poland, World War 2 begins.

    Germany invades Poland, World War 2 begins.
  • Britain and France declare war on Germany.

    Britain and France declare war on Germany.
  • The US remains neutral but president Roosevelt declares "limited national emergency".

    The US remains neutral but president Roosevelt declares "limited national emergency".
  • Russia invades Poland

    Russia invades Poland
  • Russia invades Finland

    Russia invades Finland
  • Germany invades Denmark and Norway.

    Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
  • Germany invades France, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg.

    Germany invades France, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg.
  • Miracle of Dunkirk : British and French forces at Dunkirk resist German Attack.

    Miracle of Dunkirk : British and French forces at Dunkirk resist German Attack.
    MAY 27 - JUNE 4
  • Italy declares war on the collapsing France and on Britain.

  • German soldiers march into Paris

  • Russia invades Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

  • Russia annexes the eastern regions of Romania.

  • Germany invades the British Channel islands.

  • Operation Sea Lion : German invasion of Britain air campaign begins.

  • Italy invades Libya, the North African campaign begins.

  • Japan joins The Axis

  • Spain remains neutral: It rejects Hitler's offer to join the war.

  • Italy invades Greece from Albania

  • Hungary and Romania, which were ruled by military dictators, join The Axis.

  • British forces in Egypt counter attack the Italians

  • Hitler sends General Rommel and the Afrika Korps to help the Italians in North Africa

  • Bulgaria joins The Axis.

  • Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece

  • Japan and Russia sign non-aggression pact.

  • German troops occupy Athens

  • Germany invades Crete by air.

  • British forces aided by Israeli volunteers invade French controlled Syria and Lebanon

  • Operation Barbarossa

    Operation Barbarossa: Germany invasion of Russia. Hitler orders "maximum cruelty" against civilians, Russian resist.
  • Japan invades French Indo-China (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)

  • Hitler's greatest mistake

    Hitler's greatest mistake: Troops advance to take Moscow from north and south. The German Generals argue in vain against it.
  • The NAZIs prepare "the final solution"

    The NAZIs prepare "the final solution": the plan to murder the millions of European jews.
  • Japan attacks Pearl Harbor and the Phillipines. U.S. joins the war.

  • Germany and Italy declare war on the US.

  • Japanese forces occupy

    Japanese forces occupy Manila, Indonesia, Malasya and Burma (from Jan 2 to Jan 12)
  • German U-boats begin to sink American ships.

  • Rommel begins another offensive in North Africa

  • Japanese forces invade the Solomon islands

  • US troops arrive in Britain

  • poison gas begins to be used in Nazi death camps.

  • U.S. bombers bomb Tokyo.

  • The battle of Midway. Most of Japan's naval superiority is lost.

  • The Germans head to Stalingrad (RUSSIA). the battle of Stalingrad begins.

  • The 2nd battle of El Alamein (Egypt) in North Africa begins.

  • Allied forces land in western North Africa.

  • The Germans fail to break the encirclement of their army in Stalingrad