Ad
related to: world war 2 timeline united statesGet Deals and Low Prices On world war 2 timeline At Amazon. We Offer History Books In Paperbacks, Hardcovers & More Formats At Great Prices.
Search results
People also ask
What was the military history of the United States during WW2?
When did WW2 start?
When did WW2 end?
How long did World War II last?
August 6, 1945 The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. August 8, 1945 The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria. August 9, 1945 The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. September 2, 1945 Having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan formally surrenders, ending World ...
- Jennifer Rosenberg
- 1939. Sept. 1 may be the official start of World War II, but it didn't start in a vacuum. Europe and Asia had been tense for years prior to 1939 because of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich in Germany, the Spanish Civil War, the Japanese invasion of China, the German annexation of Austria, and the imprisonment of thousands of Jews in concentration camps.
- 1940. The first full year of the war saw Germany invading its European neighbors: Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, and Romania, and the bombing of Britain lasted for months.
- 1941. The year 1941 was one of escalation around the world. Italy may have been defeated in Greece, but that didn't mean that Germany wouldn't take the country.
- 1942. U.S. troops first arrived in Britain in January 1942. Also that year, Japan captured Singapore, which was Britain's last location in the Pacific, as well as islands such as Borneo and Sumatra.
From Naval History and Heraldry Command. An interactive World War II timeline of events with descriptions, videos, and photos.
- Overview
- The outbreak of war
World War II began in Europe on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany on September 3. The war between the U.S.S.R. and Germany began on June 22, 1941, with Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The war in the Pacific began on December 7/8, 1941, when Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor and other American, Dutch, and British military installations throughout Asia.
Read more below: Axis initiative and Allied reaction: The outbreak of war
Pacific War
Read more about the war in the Pacific.
What countries fought in World War II?
The main combatants were the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China).
By the early part of 1939 the German dictator Adolf Hitler had become determined to invade and occupy Poland. Poland, for its part, had guarantees of French and British military support should it be attacked by Germany. Hitler intended to invade Poland anyway, but first he had to neutralize the possibility that the Soviet Union would resist the invasion of its western neighbour. Secret negotiations led on August 23–24 to the signing of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact in Moscow. In a secret protocol of this pact, the Germans and the Soviets agreed that Poland should be divided between them, with the western third of the country going to Germany and the eastern two-thirds being taken over by the U.S.S.R.
Britannica Quiz
Pop Quiz: 17 Things to Know About World War II
Having achieved this cynical agreement, the other provisions of which stupefied Europe even without divulgence of the secret protocol, Hitler thought that Germany could attack Poland with no danger of Soviet or British intervention and gave orders for the invasion to start on August 26. News of the signing, on August 25, of a formal treaty of mutual assistance between Great Britain and Poland (to supersede a previous though temporary agreement) caused him to postpone the start of hostilities for a few days. He was still determined, however, to ignore the diplomatic efforts of the western powers to restrain him. Finally, at 12:40 pm on August 31, 1939, Hitler ordered hostilities against Poland to start at 4:45 the next morning. The invasion began as ordered. In response, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, at 11:00 am and at 5:00 pm, respectively. World War II had begun.
- Battle of the Atlantic: September 3, 1939 to May 8, 1945. World War II's longest continuous campaign takes place, with the Allies striking a naval blockade against Germany and igniting a struggle for control of Atlantic Ocean sea routes.
- Battle of Dunkirk from May 26 to June 4, 1940. A German invasion around the French coastal town of Dunkirk separates the French and British armies, marooning Allied forces.
- Battle of Britain, July 10 to October 31, 1940. After a nearly four-month air campaign waged over England, Britain's Royal Air Force and Navy respond to heavy bombing attacks from Germany's Luftwaffe air force, including “the Blitz,” in an attempt to destroy the RAF before invading.
- Battle of Crete: May 20 to June 1, 1941. Nazi paratroopers invade the Greek island of Crete, marking history's first mostly airborne attack. Day one of the campaign results in heavy losses for the Germans, but fearing a sea assault, Allied forces soon withdraw and evacuate in defeat.
World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the...
The military history of the United States during World War II covers the nation's role as one of the major Allies in their victory over the Axis Powers. The United States is generally considered to have entered the conflict with the 7 December 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan and exited it with the 2 September 1945 ...
