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Anti-Comintern Pact Signed
Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, directed against the Soviet Union and the international Communist movement. -
Japan Invades China
Japan invades China, initiating World War II in the Pacific. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. -
War Declared On Germany
Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. -
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Dividing Poland
Warsaw surrenders on September 27. The Polish government flees into exile via Romania. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them. -
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Germany Attacks Western Europe
Germany attacks western Europe—France and the neutral Low Countries. Luxembourg is occupied on May 10; the Netherlands surrenders on May 14; and Belgium surrenders on May 28. On June 22, France signs an armistice agreement by which the Germans occupy the northern half of the country and the entire Atlantic coastline. In southern France, a collaborationist regime with its capital in Vichy is established. -
Italy Joins the War
Italy enters the war. Italy invades southern France on June 21. -
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Battle of Britain Ends
The air war known as the Battle of Britain ends in defeat for Nazi Germany. -
Tripartite Pact
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact. -
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Slovakia, Hungary and Romania Join Axis
Slovakia (November 23), Hungary (November 20), and Romania (November 22) join the Axis. -
Bulgaria Joins Axis
Bulgaria joins the Axis -
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Soviet Union Invaded
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners invade the Soviet Union. Finland, seeking redress for the territorial losses in the armistice concluding the Winter War, joins the Axis just before the invasion. The Germans quickly overrun the Baltic States and, joined by the Finns, lay siege to Leningrad by September. In the center, the Germans capture Smolensk in early August and drive on Moscow by October. In the south, German and Romanian troops capture Kiev in September and capture Rostov on the Don River -
Germans Retreat
A Soviet counteroffensive drives the Germans from the Moscow suburbs in chaotic retreat. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor -
United States Join WWII
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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War Declared on United States
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners declare war on the United States. -
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British Bomb Köln
The British bomb Köln (Cologne), bringing the war home to Germany for the first time. Over the next three years Anglo-American bombing reduces urban Germany to rubble. -
D-Day
Allied forces invade northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy. -
V-E Day
Allied victory in Europe. German armies officially surrender. -
Hiroshima Bombed
US drops and atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. -
Nagasaki Bombed
US drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. -
V-J Day
Japan surrenders after atomic bombs are dropped, officially ending WWII.