World War II: Key Events and Timeline (1938-1945)

Posted on Mar 18, 2025 in History

World War II: Key Events (1938-1945)

Key events leading up to and during World War II:

  • Annexation of Austria (1938) and Sudetenland (late 1938)
  • 1939: Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the USSR (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)
  • September 1, 1939: Invasion of the Danzig Corridor and declaration of war by Great Britain and France on September 3, 1939

German Dominance (1939-1941)

  • Invasion of Poland: Completed in less than a month, with territory shared with the USSR (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)
  • Spring 1940: Invasion of Denmark and Norway to secure Swedish steel supply and isolate Great Britain
  • Spring 1940: Blitzkrieg – a rapid German offensive through the Netherlands and Belgium into France
  • June 1940: German occupation of Paris. The Vichy government was established under Marshal Pétain.
  • June 1940: Battle of Britain – Luftwaffe (German Air Force) vs. RAF (Royal Air Force)
  • Early 1941: German forces landed in Africa to drive the British out of Egypt and control the Suez Canal
  • April 1941: Italy and Germany occupied Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece, gaining control of Southeast Europe
  • June 1941: Operation Barbarossa – Germany attacks the USSR
  • December 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) and invades European colonies in East Asia, leading to the U.S. entry into the war

Turning Points

  • June 1942: Battle of Stalingrad (approximately 2 million deaths). The slogan “not a step back” became a symbol of Soviet antifascist propaganda.
  • July 1942: Battle of El Alamein – a significant German defeat in Africa
  • Summer 1942: U.S. victories over Japan in the Coral Sea (naval battle), Midway (air battle), and Guadalcanal (naval battle), preventing Japan from reaching Australia

1943: Italy

  • Allied forces liberated southern Italy. Mussolini was imprisoned but later freed by Nazi intervention and established the Italian Social Republic. In 1945, Mussolini attempted to escape to Switzerland but was captured by partisans and executed.

1944: Liberation of Europe

  • June 6, 1944: D-Day, Normandy landings. Liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands
  • August 24, 1944: A division of the French army known as 9th Company or La Nueve (comprising 146 Spanish republicans out of 160 men) participated in the liberation of Paris.
  • Autumn 1944: Allied forces reached the Rhine River.
  • Summer 1944: Soviet forces occupied Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. Yugoslavia was liberated by Josip Broz Tito.
  • 1944: American forces forced Japan to retreat from the Marshall Islands, Burma, New Guinea, and the Philippines (General Douglas MacArthur).

1945: End of the War

  • April 1945: Hitler committed suicide in Berlin as Soviet forces entered the city.
  • May 1945: Germany surrendered.
  • Spring 1945: Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
  • August 1945: U.S. President Harry Truman ordered atomic bombs to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrendered unconditionally.

Post-War

  • The world was divided into two major blocs: the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

Key Conferences

  • 1941: Atlantic Charter – signed by the U.S. and Great Britain:
    • No territorial aggrandizement
    • No territorial changes made against the wishes of the people (self-determination)
    • Restoration of self-government to those deprived of it
    • Reduction of trade restrictions
    • Global cooperation
  • 1943: Tehran Conference – meeting of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin
  • February 1945: Yalta Conference – meeting of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin:
    • Peace process and world new order (Nuremberg trials, UN, democratic elections in Europe)
  • July-August 1945: Potsdam Conference – Churchill, Truman, and Stalin:
    • Germany divided into 4 occupation zones
    • Berlin divided
    • Rivalry between the United States and USSR became clear, leading to the Cold War as both sought to extend their influence internationally.