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Germany started World War II by invading Poland on September 1, 1939. In following years, Germany invaded 11 other countries. -
By early 1941, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria had joined the Axis, and German troops overran Yugoslavia and Greece that April. Hitler’s conquest of the Balkans was a precursor for his real objective -
On December 7, 1941, 360 Japanese aircraft attacked the major U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, taking the Americans completely by surprise and claiming the lives of more than 2,300 troops. -
On June 6, 1944 celebrated as “D-Day” the Allies began a massive invasion of Europe, landing 156,000 British, Canadian, and American soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, France. In response, Hitler poured all the remaining strength of his army into Western Europe, ensuring Germany’s defeat in the east. -
As Soviet forces go near his command bunker in central Berlin on April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler commits suicide. Berlin falls to the Soviets within days.