TIMELINE of WW2 ***

1939

1939 Timeline of WW2 - September - WW2 starts September 1, 1939

1 September 1939 - Germany invaded Poland
3 September - Britain, Australia, New Zealand and France declare war on Germany
September 4, 1939 - Royal Air Force attacks the German Navy
September 5, 1939 - United States proclaims its neutrality
September 10, 1939 - Canada declares war on Germany
The Battle of the Atlantic begins

The Phoney War: The Phoney War of WW2 was period of limited military activity in Europe following the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and before the Battle of France in May 1940

1940

1940 Timeline of WW2

January - January 8, 1940 - Rationing begins in UK

March - March 16, 1940 - Scapa Flow - Germans bomb Scapa Flow naval base near Scotland

WW2 Timeline April - April 9, 1940 - Germany invades Denmark and Norway

WW2 Timeline May 1940

May 10, 1940 - Nazis invade France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
May 15, 1940 - Holland surrenders
May 28, 1940 - Belgium surrenders

WW2 Timeline June 1940

June 3, 1940 - British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk
June 10, 1940 - Italy declares war on Britain and France
June 10, 1940 - Norway surrenders
June 22, 1940 - France signs an armistice with Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler tours Paris
June 3, 1940 - Dunkirk: Following the fall of France the survivors of the British Expeditionary Force and other allied forces were evacuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo

WW2 Timeline July 1940

July 1, 1940 - German U-boats attack merchant ships in the Atlantic
July 10, 1940 - The Battle of Britain begins

WW2 Timeline August 1940

August 23, 1940 - First German air raids on London
August 25, 1940 - First British air raid on Berlin

WW2 Timeline September 1940 - Operation Sea Lion (the invasion of Britain) is planned by the Germans

September 7, 1940 - German Blitz (Blitzkrieg) against Britain begins - London is a key target. Onslaught of German air raids on other major cities in England including Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester
September 13, 1940 - Italy invades Egypt
September 15, 1940 - Victory for the RAF in the Battle of Britain
September 27, 1940 - Pact signed by Germany, Italy and Japan

WW2 Timeline October 1940 - Operation Sea Lion postponed until Spring of 1941

October 7, 1940 - Germany invades Romania
October 28, 1940 - Italy invades Greece and Albania

WW2 Timeline November 1940

November 20, 1940 - Hungary joins the Axis
November 23, 1940 - Romania joins the Axis
December 9,1940 - Britain begin a desert offensive in North Africa against the Italians
Air raids continue on London

1941

1941 Timeline of WW2

January - Victory in Tobruk, in North Afrca for Britain and Australia

February - February 14, 1941 - First units of German 'Afrika Korps' arrive in Tripoli, North Africa led by General Rommel

March - March 7, 1941 - British forces arrive in Greece

WW2 Timeline April 1941

April 6, 1941 - Germany invades Greece and Yugoslavia
April 17, 1941 - Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany
April 27, 1941 - Greece surrenders to Germany

WW2 Timeline May 1941

May 15, 1941 - Operation Brevity begins (the British counter-attack in Egypt)
May 24, 1941 - Sinking of the British ship Hood by the Bismarck
May 27, 1941 - Sinking of the Bismarck by the British Navy

WW2 Timeline June 1941

June 8, 1941 - Allies invade Syria and Lebanon
June 22, 1941 - Operation Barbarossa - Germany attacks Soviet Union as Operation Barbarossa begins

WW2 Timeline July 1941

July 10, 1941 - Germans invade the Ukraine. Mutual Assistance agreement between British and Soviets
July 31, 1941 - Instructions given by Hitler and Goring to prepare for the Final Solution

WW2 Timeline August 1941

August 20, 1941 - German siege of Leningrad begins

WW2 Timeline September 1941

September 3, 1941 - First experimental use of gas chambers at Auschwitz

WW2 Timeline October 1941

October 2, 1941 - Operation Typhoon begins and the Germans advance on Moscow

WW2 Timeline November 1941

November 13, 1941 - British aircraft carrier Ark Royal is sunk off Gibraltar by a U-boat

WW2 Timeline December 1941

7 December, 1941 - Japan makes a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii declaring war on Britain and the United States
December 8, 1941 - The United States, led by US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, declares war on the Axis powers
December 11, 1941 - Italy and Germany declare war against the US
December 25, 1941 - Britain surrenders Hong Kong to Japan

1943

1943 Timeline of WW2

WW2 Timeline January - 1943

January 10, 1943 - Soviets begin an offensive against the Germans in Stalingrad
January 14th - Casablanca Conference begins President Roosevelt demands "Unconditional Surrender"

WW2 Timeline February - 1943

February 2, 1943 - Surrender at Stalingrad marks Germany's first major defeat
Soviets recapture Kursk, Rostov and Kharkov

WW2 Timeline March - 1943

March 2, 1943 - Germans begin a withdrawal from Tunisia, Africa and the Allied victory in North Africa enables invasion of Italy to be launched

WW2 Timeline May - 1943

May 13, 1943 - German and Italian troops surrender in North Africa

WW2 Timeline July - 1943

Bombing offensives in Germany
July10, 1943 - Operation Husky - Allied landings in Sicily

WW2 Timeline September - 1943

September 8, 1943 - Italy surrenders to the Allies
September 12, 1943 - Germans rescue Mussolini who re-establishes a Fascist government

WW2 Timeline October - 1943

October 1, 1943 - Allies enter Naples, Italy
October 13, 1943 - Italy declares war on Germany

WW2 Timeline November - 1943

Allied leaders meet at Teheran
November 6, 1943 - Soviets re-capture Kiev

1944

1944 Timeline of WW2

WW2 Timeline January - 1944

January 22, 1944- Allied landings in Anzio
January 27, 1944 - End of siege of Leningrad

February - February 15-18 - Allies bomb the monastery at Monte Cassino

WW2 Timeline March - 1944

March 19th - Hungary occupied by German Army

WW2 Timeline April - 1944

April 10th - Soviets capture Odessa

WW2 Timeline May - 1944

May 12, 1944 - Germans surrender in the Crimea
May 25, 1944 - Germans retreat from Anzio

WW2 Timeline June - 1944

June 5, 1944 - Allies enter Rome
June 6, 1944 - D-Day landings on the northern coast of France - Operation Neptune/Overlord
June 27, 1944 - US Army captures Cherbourg

WW2 Timeline July - 1944

July 3, 1944 - Soviets re-capture Minsk
July 9, 1944 - Allies capture Caen
July 20, 1944 - German assassination attempt on Hitler fails
July 21, 1944 - US landings on Guam
July 25, 1944 - Operation Cobra - Allied breakout from Normandy begins

WW2 Timeline August - 1944

August 15, 1944 - Operation Dragoon begins (the Allied invasion of Southern France)
August 25, 1944 - Allies liberate Paris
August 30, 1944 - Germans abandon Bulgaria
August 31, 1944 - Soviets capture Bucharest

WW2 Timeline September - 1944

September 22, 1944 - Boulogne liberated
September 26, 1944 - Estonia occupied by Soviets
September 28, 1944 - Calais liberated

WW2 Timeline October - 1944

October 14, 1944 - Athens liberated - Rommel commits suicide
October 20, 1944 - Belgrade liberated
October 23, 1944 - Soviets enter East Prussia

WW2 Timeline November - 1944

November 4, 1944 - Surrender of Axis forces in Greece

WW2 Timeline December - 1944

December 16, 1944 - German attack through Ardennes - Battle of the Bulge begins
December 26, 1944 - Patton relieves Bastogne

1945

1945 Timeline of WW2

WW2 Timeline January - 1945

January 1, 1945 - Germans withdraw from Ardennes
January 17, 1945 - Soviets capture Warsaw
January 26, 1945 - Japanese retreat to Chinese coast and Soviets liberate Auschwitz

WW2 Timeline February - 1945

February 4-11, 1945: Yalta Conference meeting of FDR, Churchill, Stalin - the 'Big Three'
Soviet Union has control of Eastern Europe
February 19, 1945 - US landings on Iwo Jima

WW2 Timeline April - 1945

April 1, 1945 - U.S. troops encircle Germans in the Ruhr
April 12, 1945 - Allies liberate Buchenwald and Belsen concentration camps
April 12, 1945 - President Roosevelt dies and Harry Truman becomes President

WW2 Timeline May - 1945

May 8: VE Day - Victory in Europe. Germany surrenders to the Red Army in Berlin

WW2 Timeline July - 1945

July: Potsdam Conference - Germany was officially partitioned into four zones of occupation.

WW2 Timeline August - 1945 (see Atomic Timeline)

August 6: The United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima (20 kiloton bomb 'Little Boy' kills 80,000)
August 8: Russia declares war on Japan
August 9: The United States drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki in Japan (the 22 kiloton 'Fat Man' bomb killed 70,000 people)
August 14 : The Japanese surrender at the end of WW2
August 15: Emperor surrender broadcast - VJ Day

WW2 Timeline September - 1945

WW2 ends September 2, 1945

For additional information click Facts about World War 2

Timeline of WW2

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