Global Conflicts · Chronicle X of XI

The Second World War

The deadliest war in history, from the invasion of Poland to the surrender of Japan.

Span: 1939 – 1945
Entries: 24
Next: The Cold War

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Entry 1 of 24

September 1939
European WarMilitary
Germany invades Poland
On 1 September 1.5 million German troops cross the Polish frontier, supported by Stuka dive-bombers and Panzer divisions. Britain and France declare war on 3 September.
Meanwhile, elsewhere
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
November 1939
European WarMilitary
Winter War — Soviet invasion of Finland
On 30 November the Red Army invades Finland after Helsinki refuses Soviet territorial demands. Finnish ski troops inflict humiliating defeats on Stalin's army through the winter.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
May 1940
Fall of the WestMilitary
Blitzkrieg in the West
On 10 May the Wehrmacht invades the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Within six weeks the most powerful army in Europe is shattered.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
June 1940
Fall of the WestMilitary
Fall of France
Paris falls on 14 June. On 22 June Marshal Pétain signs the armistice in the same Compiègne railway carriage where Germany surrendered in 1918. Italy enters the war on 10 June.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
July 1940
Battle of BritainMilitary
Battle of Britain begins
From July to October the Luftwaffe attempts to break the Royal Air Force as a prelude to invasion. The RAF's victory makes Operation Sea Lion impossible.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
October 1940
War SpreadsMilitary
Italian invasion of Greece — Ohi Day
On 28 October Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas refuses Mussolini's ultimatum with a single word: 'No'. Italian forces cross the Albanian frontier hours later but are routed by the Greek army.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
April 1941
War SpreadsMilitary
German invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece
On 6 April the Wehrmacht crosses the Bulgarian frontier into both countries. Belgrade falls on 12 April; Athens on 27 April.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
May 1941
War SpreadsMilitary
Battle of Crete
From 20 May to 1 June, German Fallschirmjäger paratroopers seize Crete in the first major strategic airborne assault in history. Cretan civilians take up arms beside Allied troops.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
June 1941
Eastern FrontMilitary
Operation Barbarossa
On 22 June 3.8 million Axis soldiers in 153 divisions invade the Soviet Union along a 2,900-kilometre front — the largest military operation in history.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
December 1941
Global WarMilitary
Pearl Harbor & global war
On 7 December Japanese carrier aircraft attack the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Within four days Germany and Italy declare war on the United States.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
January 1942
Holocaust & Total WarPolitical
Wannsee Conference
On 20 January Reinhard Heydrich convenes fifteen senior Nazi officials at a villa near Berlin to coordinate the 'Final Solution to the Jewish question' — the industrial murder of European Jewry.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
June 1942
Tide TurnsMilitary
Battle of Midway
From 4-7 June US Navy dive-bombers cripple three Japanese carriers — Akagi, Kaga, and Sōryū — in a single astonishing six-minute strike, with Hiryū sunk later the same day. Japan loses the strategic initiative in the Pacific forever.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
August 1942
Tide TurnsMilitary
Battle of Stalingrad begins
On 23 August the Luftwaffe levels Stalingrad in a thousand-bomber raid. The German 6th Army under Paulus enters the city, beginning the most savage urban battle of the war.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
February 1943
Tide TurnsMilitary
Surrender at Stalingrad
On 2 February the remnants of the German 6th Army — 91,000 starving, frostbitten survivors — surrender. It is the first capitulation of a German field marshal in history.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
July 1943
Allied OffensivesMilitary
Kursk, Sicily, and the fall of Mussolini
On 5 July begins the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history. On 10 July Allies land in Sicily. On 25 July the Fascist Grand Council deposes Mussolini.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
September 1943
Allied OffensivesPolitical
Italian armistice
On 8 September Italy publicly switches sides. Germany seizes northern Italy, rescues Mussolini, and installs the puppet Italian Social Republic at Salò.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
June 1944
Liberation of EuropeMilitary
D-Day & Operation Bagration
On 6 June 156,000 Allied troops land on five Normandy beaches in the largest seaborne invasion in history. On 22 June the Red Army launches Bagration, destroying Army Group Centre.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
August 1944
Liberation of EuropeMilitary
Liberation of Paris & Warsaw Uprising
On 25 August Free French troops enter Paris and General de Gaulle marches down the Champs-Élysées. In Warsaw, the Polish Home Army rises against the Germans on 1 August.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
October 1944
Liberation of EuropeMilitary
Liberation of Athens
On 12 October the Wehrmacht withdraws from Athens. British forces and the Greek government-in-exile arrive on 14 October to a city ravaged by famine and on the brink of civil war.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
February 1945
End in EuropePolitical
Yalta Conference
From 4-11 February Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meet at the Crimean palace of Livadia to settle the post-war order. Their agreements draw the borders of Cold War Europe.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
April 1945
End in EuropeMilitary
Fall of Berlin
Roosevelt dies on 12 April; Mussolini is shot by partisans on 28 April; Hitler shoots himself in the Berlin bunker on 30 April as Soviet troops fight street by street toward the Reichstag.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
May 1945
End in EuropeMilitary
VE Day — German surrender
On 7 May Generaloberst Jodl signs Germany's unconditional surrender at Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims. The act is repeated for the Soviets in Berlin on 8 May.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
August 1945
End in AsiaMilitary
Hiroshima, Nagasaki & Japanese surrender
On 6 August an American B-29 drops the uranium bomb 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima. On 9 August 'Fat Man' destroys Nagasaki. On 15 August Emperor Hirohito announces surrender by radio.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
September 1945
End in AsiaPolitical
Surrender on the USS Missouri
On 2 September, in Tokyo Bay aboard the battleship Missouri, Foreign Minister Shigemitsu signs Japan's instrument of surrender. The Second World War is over.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
16 more entries, to September 1945

The Second World War

Germany invades Poland

Winter War — Soviet invasion of Finland

Blitzkrieg in the West

Fall of France

Battle of Britain begins

Italian invasion of Greece — Ohi Day

German invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece

Battle of Crete

Operation Barbarossa

Pearl Harbor & global war

Wannsee Conference

Battle of Midway

Battle of Stalingrad begins

Surrender at Stalingrad

Kursk, Sicily, and the fall of Mussolini

Italian armistice

D-Day & Operation Bagration

Liberation of Paris & Warsaw Uprising

Liberation of Athens

Yalta Conference

Fall of Berlin

VE Day — German surrender

Hiroshima, Nagasaki & Japanese surrender

Surrender on the USS Missouri