World War II Timeline

  • National War Labor Board

    National War Labor Board
    Created by President Woodward Wilson
  • Munich Conference

    Munich Conference
    Involved Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain, and Daladier. They underestimated Hitler. France and Britain didn’t want to go to war. They looked to satisfy Hitler hoping that is all he wanted.
  • Kristallnacht

    Kristallnacht
    Anti-Jewish riots broke out across Germany. The attack came to be called Kristallancht which means “night of broken glass”
  • Nonaggression Pact

    Nonaggression Pact
    Between Hitler and Soviet Union. Saying that they will not declare war on each other. As soon as they do this Hitler invades Poland.
  • Germany Attacks Poland

    Germany Attacks Poland
    Hitler has been prepared for this day for many years.
  • Allied Powers

    Allied Powers
    Great Britian and France declared war on Germany. They became known as the Allies. There was little they could do to slow Hitler in Poland.
  • Invasion of Manchuria

    Invasion of Manchuria
    Japan launched an attack on Manchuria. Within a few days Japanese armed forces had occupied several strategic points in South Manchuria.
  • General Hideki Tojo takes control of Japan

    General Hideki Tojo takes control of Japan
  • Pearl Harbor

    Pearl Harbor
    Many wounded. This made the United States enter the war
  • Bataan Death March

    Bataan Death March
    Forced march of American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese in the Philippnes.
  • Doolittle Raid

    Doolittle Raid
    The airplanes had been launched from an aircraft carrier several hundred miles off the coast of Japan. Did not do major damage to the Japanese targets. It gave the American people something to celebrate.
  • Battle of Coral Sea

    Battle of Coral Sea
    This battle featured the one part of the Pacific fleet that had not been badly damage at Pearl Harbor, aircraft carriers. The Battle of Coral Sea took place as Japanese forces were preparing to invade the British controlled Port Moresby on the island of New Guinea.
  • Battle of Midway

    Battle of Midway
    Japanese attack Midway, Americans had broken a Japanese code and found plans and date for the attack on Midway.
  • Guadalcanal Battle

    Guadalcanal Battle
    It was a miserable place to fight. Spite this, American forces came ashore on Guadalcanal in August 1942. For the next six months, they fought in bloody combat with Japanese forces. The battle took place on land, at sea, and in the air.
  • Battle of Stalingrad

    Battle of Stalingrad
    In some of the bloodiest fighting in the history of welfare, the Soviets refused to let Stalingrad fall. Stalingrad marked the beginning of Germany’s collapse in the Soviet Union. Therefore, Soviet forces began to push German forces back toward Germany.
  • Operation Torch

    Operation Torch
    The code name for the Allied invasion of North Africa.
  • Invasion of Sicily

    Invasion of Sicily
    Soon after the attack began, Roosevelt and Churchill issued a message to the Italian people asking them whether they want to die for Mussolini and Hitler or live for Italy and civilization. The Italians chose life. By the end of the month they had turned against dictator Benito Mussolini and forced him from power.
  • D-Day

    D-Day
    The first day of the Allied invasion of Normandy.
  • Battle of Iwo Jima

    Battle of Iwo Jima
    Battle between Japanese forces and invading U.S. troops. Early in the battle marines managed to capture the island’s tallest point, Mount Suribachi.
  • Battle of Okinawa

    Battle of Okinawa
    Battle between Japanese forces and invading U.S. troops. Over 12,000 Americans died and thousands more injured.
  • V-E Day

    V-E Day
    Europe surrender that took effect. In the United States this was proclaimed as V-E Day - Victory in Europe Day.
  • Hiroshima

    Hiroshima
    American B-29 named the Enola Gay flew over the city on Hiroshima and dropped its atomic bomb. Seconds later, the bomb exploded. 80,000 died immediately and 35,000 were injured. Two-thirds of the city’s 90,000 buildings were destroyed and fires spread everywhere.
  • Nagasaki

    Nagasaki
    United States dropped a second bomb on Nagasaski. The death toll there was 40,000. This did not bring an end to the war either.
  • Surrender of Japan

    Surrender of Japan
    Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II.