World War II - Major Events By jamesity Sep 18, 1931 Japan Invades Manchuria Mar 4, 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Assumes the Office of President of the United States Period: 1935 to 1939 Appeasement Oct 2, 1935 Italian Invasion of Ethiopia Nov 1, 1936 Formation of the Rome-Berlin Axis Nov 25, 1936 Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign Anti-Comitern Pact Jul 7, 1937 Japan Invades China Jul 7, 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident Period: Oct 13, 1937 to 1938 Rape of Nanking Nov 26, 1937 Italy Joins the Anti-Comitern Pact Feb 11, 1938 First Vienna Award Mar 13, 1938 Anschluss Sep 29, 1938 Munich Agreement Period: 1939 to Dec 31, 1946 Manhattan Project Mar 15, 1939 Formation of the Slovak Republic Mar 31, 1939 France and Britain Guarantee Polish Sovereignty Apr 15, 1939 Italy Invades and Annexes Albania Aug 23, 1939 Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union Sign the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Sep 1, 1939 Germany Invades Poland; World War II Begins Period: Sep 1, 1939 to Sep 2, 1945 World War II Sep 3, 1939 France and Britain Declare War on Germany Period: Sep 3, 1939 to May 8, 1945 Battle of the Atlantic Sep 17, 1939 Soviet Union Invades Poland From the East Sep 29, 1939 Poland Surrenders; Germany and Soviet Union Split Poland Nov 30, 1939 The Soviet Union Invades Finland Period: Mar 9, 1940 to Jun 9, 1940 German Invasion of Scandinavia Mar 12, 1940 Finland Signs Armistice With the Soviet Union Apr 9, 1940 Germany Invades Denmark and Norway Apr 9, 1940 Denmark Surrenders to Germany May 10, 1940 Winston Churchill Becomes Prime Minister of Britain May 10, 1940 Winston Churchill Becomes Prime Minister of Britain Period: May 10, 1940 to Jun 22, 1940 German Blitz of Western Europe May 12, 1940 Battle of Sedan May 27, 1940 Dunkirk Evacuation Jun 9, 1940 Norway Surrenders to Germany Jun 10, 1940 Italy Joins the War Jun 14, 1940 The Soviet Union Occupies the Baltic States Jun 22, 1940 France Surrenders to Germany; Vichy France is Established Jun 28, 1940 The Soviet Union Forces Romania to Cede Various Territories Period: Jul 10, 1940 to Oct 31, 1940 Battle of Britain Aug 30, 1940 Second Vienna Award Sep 13, 1940 Italy Invades British Egypt Sep 27, 1940 Italy, Germany, and Japan Sign the Tripartite Pact Oct 28, 1940 Italy Invades Greece Oct 31, 1940 Britain Wins the Battle of Britain Nov 20, 1940 Hungary Joins the Axis Nov 23, 1940 Romania Joins the Axis Nov 24, 1940 Slovakia Joins the Axis 1941 Germany Sends the Afrika Korps to North Africa 1941 Greece Surrenders Mar 1, 1941 Bulgaria Joins the Axis Apr 6, 1941 Axis Invades Yugoslavia Period: Apr 6, 1941 to 1941 Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia Apr 10, 1941 Formation of Croatia; Croatia Joins the AXIS Apr 17, 1941 Yugoslavia Surrenders May 20, 1941 Battle of Crete Jun 22, 1941 The Axis Invades the Soviet Union Period: Jun 22, 1941 to Dec 5, 1941 Operation Barbarossa Jun 23, 1941 Battle of Brody Jul 10, 1941 Battle of Smolensk Aug 9, 1941 Atlantic Confrence Period: Sep 8, 1941 to Jan 27, 1944 Siege of Leningrad Sep 30, 1941 Battle of Moscow Dec 7, 1941 Japan Attacks Pearl Harbour Dec 8, 1941 United States Declares War on Japan Dec 8, 1941 Japan Begins Invasion of Allied-Held Territories in South-East Asia Dec 12, 1941 Rest of Axis Declares War on the United States 1942 Height of German Military Success May 4, 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea May 12, 1942 Second Battle of Kharkov May 30, 1942 Allies Begin the Bombing of Germany Jun 4, 1942 Battle of Midway Jun 7, 1942 Japanese Naval Advance in the Pacific Halted by the Battle of Midway Aug 23, 1942 Battle of Stalingrad Begins Period: Aug 23, 1942 to Feb 2, 1943 Battle of Stalingrad Nov 8, 1942 Operation Torch Nov 11, 1942 German Occupation of Southern France Jan 14, 1943 Casablanca Conference Feb 9, 1943 Battle of El Alamein Apr 9, 1943 Wojtek Enlisted in the Polish Army May 13, 1943 Axis Troops in Tunisia Surrender; North African Campaign Ends Jun 9, 1943 Allies Land in Sicily Jul 5, 1943 Battle of Kursk Jul 25, 1943 Mussolini Deposed Aug 7, 1943 Allied Offensive on Japan in the Solomon Islands Sep 8, 1943 Italy Surrenders Under Badoglio Government Sep 8, 1943 Germany Seizes Control of Rome and Northern Italy, Establishing A Puppet Regime Sep 9, 1943 Allied Troops Land in Salerno Nov 6, 1943 Soviet Troops Liberate Kiev Nov 28, 1943 Tehran Conference 1944 Germany Evacuates Greece, Albania, and Southern Yugoslavia Jan 17, 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino Jan 22, 1944 Battle of Anzio Jan 22, 1944 Allied Troops Land Near Anzio Feb 4, 1944 Battle of Narva Mar 19, 1944 Germany Occupies Hungary Jun 4, 1944 Allied Troops Liberate Rome Jun 6, 1944 D-Day Jun 19, 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea Period: Jun 22, 1944 to Aug 29, 1944 Operation Bagration Jul 25, 1944 Allied Forces Break Normandy Beach Head Aug 1, 1944 Warsaw Uprising Aug 15, 1944 Operation Dragoon Aug 19, 1944 Liberation of Paris Aug 23, 1944 1944 Romania Coup D'etat Aug 29, 1944 Failed Slovakia Uprising Sep 4, 1944 Finland Signs Armistice with the Soviet Union; Expels German Troops Sep 8, 1944 Bulgaria Surrenders Oct 15, 1944 Pro-Nazi Hungarian Coup D'etat Oct 20, 1944 U.S. Troops Land in the Philippines Oct 23, 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf Dec 16, 1944 Battle of the Bulge 1945 Capture of Zagreb Jan 9, 1945 Battle of Luzon Jan 12, 1945 Soviet Capture of Warsaw and Krakow Feb 4, 1945 Yalta Conference Feb 19, 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima Mar 7, 1945 U.S. Troops Cross the Rhine River at Remagen Apr 1, 1945 Battle of Okinawa Apr 4, 1945 The Capture of Bratislava Forces Slovakia to Surrender Apr 13, 1945 Soviet Forces Capture Vienna Apr 16, 1945 Battle of Berlin Apr 16, 1945 The Soviets Encircle Berlin Apr 25, 1945 San Francisco Conference Apr 30, 1945 Hitler Commits Suicide May 7, 1945 Germany Surrenders to the West May 8, 1945 Germany Surrenders to the East Jun 22, 1945 Okinawa Captured Jul 16, 1945 Trinity Jul 17, 1945 Potsdam Conference Aug 6, 1945 Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima Aug 8, 1945 Soviet Union Officially Declares War on Japan and Invades Manchuria Aug 9, 1945 Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki Sep 2, 1945 Japan Accepts Unconditional Surrender
