Timeline of Key Events World War 2
​
1939
-
Hitler invades Poland on 1 September 1939. Britain and France declare war on Germany two days later.
1940
-
Rationing starts in the UK.
-
German 'Blitzkrieg' overwhelms Belgium, Holland and France.
-
Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain.
-
British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk.
-
British victory in Battle of Britain forces Hitler to postpone invasion plans.
1941
-
Hitler begins Operation Barbarossa - the invasion of Russia.
-
The Blitz continues against Britain's major cities.
-
Allies take Tobruk in North Africa, and resist German attacks.
-
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the US enters the war.
1942
-
Germany suffers setbacks at Stalingrad and El Alamein.
-
Singapore falls to the Japanese in February - around 25,000 prisoners taken.
-
American naval victory at Battle of Midway, in June, marks turning point in Pacific War.
-
Mass murder of Jewish people at Auschwitz begins.
1943
-
Surrender at Stalingrad marks Germany's first major defeat.
-
Allied victory in North Africa enables invasion of Italy to be launched.
-
Italy surrenders, but Germany takes over the battle.
-
British and Indian forces fight Japanese in Burma.
1944
-
Allies land at Anzio and bomb monastery at Monte Cassino.
-
Soviet offensive gathers pace in Eastern Europe.
-
D Day: The Allied invasion of France. Paris is liberated in August.
-
Guam liberated by the US Okinawa, and Iwo Jima bombed.
1945
-
Auschwitz liberated by Soviet troops.
-
Russians reach Berlin: Hitler commits suicide and Germany surrenders on 7 May.
-
Truman becomes President of the US on Roosevelt's death, and Attlee replaces Churchill.
-
After atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrenders on 14 August.
-
War ended 2nd September 1945.