1939 - 1945

Timeline of WW2

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Pre War

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September 1931 - Japan invades Manchuria.

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January 1933 - Adolf Hitler, leader of the German Nazi party, becomes

Chancellor of Germany.

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October 1935 - Fascist Italy invades and annexes Ethiopia.

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October 1936 - Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sign a treaty of cooperation. The Rome-Berlin Axis is announced.

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November 1936 - Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact aimed against Russia and international Communism.

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July 1937 - Japan invades China. This was the start of WW2 in the Pacific.

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March 1938 - Germany annexes Austria in the 'Anschluss' (Union).

 

September 1938 - Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich agreement which forces the Czechoslovak Republic to give Germany the Sudetenland, which for Germany is of military importance.

 

March 1939 - France and Great Britain guarantee Poland assistance if invaded by Germany.

 

April 1939 - Italy invades Albania.

 

August 1939 - Germany and Russia sign a non-aggression agreement, dividing Eastern Europe into separate areas of influence.

 

September 1939 - Germany invades Poland.

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Honouring their guarantee to Poland, Great Britain

and France declare war on Germany

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The War in Europe begins

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November 1939 - Russia invades Finland starting the 'Winter War'. After an armistice, Finland loses the northern part of Lake Lagoda and a section of the coastline on the Arctic Sea.

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April 1940 - Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders immediately but Norway holds on until June.

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May 1940 - Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister after Neville Chamberlain resigns.

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Germany attacks western Europe

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Luxembourg is occupied on May 10th, the Netherlands surrenders on May 14th and Belgium surrenders on May 28th. On June 22, France signs an armistice agreement with Germany. The Germans occupy the northern half of the country and the entire Atlantic coastline. The south becomes Vichy France, an authoritarian government, loyal to the Nazis headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain.

 

The Miracle of Dunkirk

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June 1940 - Although it followed a military disaster, 338,000 stranded

British, Belgian and French soldiers are rescued from the beaches by

a hastily assembled fleet of over 800 vessels.

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June 1940 - Italy invades Southern France.

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Russia invades parts of Romania, the Ukraine and occupies the Baltic States.

The Battle of Britain starts

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July 1940 - The first major military campaign fought entirely by air

forces and the first major German defeat in World War II and a crucial

turning point in the conflict. By October the RAF had defeated the

German Luftwaffe, changing the course of the war. The Battle of

Britain was won, preventing the planned German invasion of Great Britain!

 

September 1940 - Italy invades British controlled Egypt.

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Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact.

 

October 1940 - Italy invades Greece via Albania.

 

November 1940 - Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania join the Axis Alliance.

 

February 1941 - The German Afrika Korps are sent to North Africa to reinforce the struggling Italian forces.

 

April 1941 - The Axis forces invade Yugoslavia and Greece accepts defeat.

 

May 1941 - The German Battleship 'Bismarck' is sunk in the North

Atlantic.

 

June 1941 - Germany invades Russia. Finland joins the Axis just

before the invasion. The Germans quickly over run the Baltic States and, joined by the Finns, lay siege to Leningrad by September. The Germans capture Smolensk in early August and drive on to Moscow by October. In the south, German and Romanian troops capture Kiev in September and capture Rostov on the Don River in November.

 

December 1941 - Russia fights back! A counter-offensive drives the Germans out of the Moscow suburbs.

 

Japan bombs Pearl Harbor!

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Source: Wikipedia / ushmm.org • Believed to be in the Public Domain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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