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September 1, 1939
World War II began. -
September 3, 1939
France and Great Britain declare war on Germany. -
Period: to
April 9 - June 9, 1940
Germany invades and takes control of Denmark and Norway. -
May 30, 1940
Winston Churchhill becomes leader of the British government. -
June 10, 1940
Italy enters the war as a member of Axis powers. -
July 10, 1940
Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain. These attacks last until October and are known as the Battle of Britain -
September 22, 1940
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact creating the Axis Alliance. -
December 7, 1940
Japanese attack the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. Next day the US enters WWII on the side of the Allies. -
June 4, 1942
US Navy defeats the Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway. -
July 10, 1942
Allies invade and take island of Sicily. -
September 3, 1943
Italy surrenders to the Allies, however Germany helps Mussolini to escape and set up a government in northern Italy. -
June 6, 1944
D-Day and the Normandy invasion. Allied forces invade France and push back the Germans. -
August 25, 1944
Paris is liberated from German control. -
December 16, 1944
Germans launch attack in the Battle of Bulge. They lose to the allies sealing the fate of the German army. -
February 19, 1945
US Marines invade the island of Iwo Jima. After fierce battle they capture the island. -
March 22, 1945
The US Third Army General Patton crosses the Rhine River. -
April 12, 1945
US president Franklin Roosevelt dies. He's succeeded by President Harry Truman. -
April 30, 1945
Adolf Hitler commits suicide as he knows Germany has lost the war. -
May 7, 1945
Germany surrenders to the Allies. -
August 6, 1945
United States drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. -
August 9, 1945
Another atomic bomb is dropped at Nagasaki, Japan. -
September 2, 1945
Japan surrenders to US General Douglass MacArthur and the Allies. World War II ends.
