From 1939 through 1945, there was World War II. There were a number of significant incidents both before and during the war. Here is a timeline outlining some of the significant occasions:
Leading up to the War
January 30, 1933 –
Germany’s new chancellor is Adolf Hitler. Hitler effectively becomes the dictator of Germany after his Nazi Party, often known as the Third Reich, seizes power.
October 25, 1936 –
The Rome-Berlin Axis treaty was formed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
The Anti-Comintern Pact is signed on November 25, 1936, between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Against communism and Russia, this partnership was made.
1937 July 7 –
China is invaded by Japan.
1938 March 12 –
Hitler incorporates Austria into Germany. The Anschluss is another name for this.
II World War
September 1st, 1939 –
Polen is invaded by Germany. Second World War starts.
September 3, 1939 –
Germany is at war with France and the United Kingdom.
April 9 to June 9 of 1940 –
Denmark and Norway are invaded by Germany, which then governs them.
May 10 to June 22 of 1940 –
Blitzkrieg, German for “lightning war,” is a term for fast attacks used to annex most of western Europe, including the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France.
1940 May 30 –
The appointment of Winston Churchill as prime minister of Great Britain.
1940 June 10 –
Italy joins the Axis forces and fights in the conflict.
1940 July 10 –
Germany attacks Great Britain from the air. The Battle of Britain is the name given to these assaults, which continue until the end of October.
22 September 1940 –
The Tripartite Pact, which establishes the Axis Alliance, is signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan.
1941 June 22 –
With a massive force of more than four million soldiers, Germany and the Axis Powers launch an attack on Russia.
7 December 1941 –
At Pearl Harbour, the Japanese attack the US Navy. The United States joins the Allies in World War II the following day.
1942 June 4 –
At the Battle of Midway, the US Navy triumphs against the Japanese navy.
1943 July 10 –
Sicily is invaded and seized by the Allies.
September 3, 1943 –
Italy submits to the Allies, but Mussolini is helped to flee and establish a government in Northern Italy by Germany.
1944 June 6 –
The Normandy invasion and D-day. German soldiers are repelled by Allied forces as they invade France.
August 25, 1944 –
German rule over Paris is ended.
December 16, 1944 –
In the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans mount a significant assault. The German army’s demise is sealed as they fall to the Allies.
February 19, 1945 –
Iwo Jima is invaded by US Marines. After a bloody battle, they succeed in taking the island.
1945 April 12 –
Death of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Harry Truman takes over as president after him.
1945 March 22 –
General Patton’s US Third Army crosses the Rhine River.
1945 April 30 –
Knowing that Germany has lost the war, Adolf Hitler takes his own life.
1945 May 7 –
German capitulation to the Allies.
August 6, 1945 –
The Atomic Bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, by the United States. The city is in ruins.
9 August 1945 –
Japan’s Nagasaki receives yet another nuclear attack.
September 2, 1945 –
To US General Douglass MacArthur and the Allies, Japan submits.