-
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sign a treaty of cooperation
-
Czechoslovak Republic cedes Sudetenland to Germany
September 29, 1938
Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich agreement which forces the Czechoslovak Republic to cede the Sudetenland, including the key Czechoslovak military defense positions, to Nazi Germany. -
France and Great Britian guarantee the borders of the Polish state
March 31, 1939
France and Great Britain guarantee the integrity of the borders of the Polish state -
Germany and Soviet Union sign a nonaggression agreement
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression agreement and a secret codicil dividing eastern Europe into spheres of influence. -
Start of WWII
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. -
Great Britian and France declare war on Germany
Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. -
Soviet Union invades Poland from the east
-
Wrsaw surrenders
Warsaw surrenders on September 27. The Polish government flees into exile via Romania. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them. -
Germany invades Denmark and Norway
Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders on the day of the attack; Norway holds out until June 9. -
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 enters the war
Italy enters the war. Italy invades southern France on June 21. -
Germany loses air war in Britain
The air war known as the Battle of Britain ends in defeat for Nazi Germany. -
Germany and axis powers invade Soviet Union
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners (except Bulgaria) 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 (St. Petersburg) by September. In the center, the Germans capture Smolensk in early August and drive on Moscow by October. In the south, German and Romanian troop -
Pearl Harbor
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. -
United States declares war on Japan
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. -
Germany and axis powers declare war on United States
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners declare war on the United States. -
Stalingrad
Germany and her Axis partners launch a new offensive in the Soviet Union. German troops fight their way into Stalingrad (Volgograd) on the Volga River by mid-September and penetrate deep into the Caucasus after securing the Crimean Peninsula. -
D-Day
British and US troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches of France, opening a “Second Front” against the Germans. -
V-E day
-
Japan surrenders
Having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II.