World War II is the Janus case of the twentieth hundred : a dual - natured homunculus that make even as it ruin , gave even as it stole – though what it was have was far less apparent at the time than what it was read . Its horrors were almost literally unimaginable , its telescope breathtaking . It presented clear demarcations between ideologies , and while soldier , civilians , and functionaries argued the finer points , more than 50 million people kick the bucket .
The clause link up below allow for extensive timeline outlining the details and events of World War II . Explore trope that headline specific import in history , including the attack on Pearl Harbor , the 500 - sidereal day invasion , and theatomic explosionin Hiroshima .
Here ’s a look :
Europe After World War I :
November 1918 - August 1931
The redrawn Europe of 1918 provoked resentment , political agitation , and an ambitious pol named Adolf Hitler , who establish his voice in Germany ’s democratic process .
Buildup to World War II :
January 1931 - August 1939
Japan ’s royal ambitions were match by Germany ’s desire for " bread and butter infinite " and Italy ’s dream of glory . Britain ’s appeasement advance Adolf Hitler ’s schemes , while the USA remained sunk in isolationism .
Start of World War II :
September 1939 - March 1940
On September 1 , 1939 , national socialist German personnel move against Poland . Treaty obligation hale England and France to hold state of war on Germany . For the second time in scantily more than 20 yr , Europe was at war .
Nazi Germany Conquers France :
April 1940 - December 1940
In 1940 , the Nazi German war machine conquered much of Western Europe , including France . Britain battled back with great courage . And then came Adolf Hitler ’s most audacious campaign : Barbarossa .
United States Enacts the Lend - Lease Bill :
January 1941 - June 1941
In the beginning of 1941 , President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced his lend - lease plan to provide material support to European allies during World War II . By June 1941 , theU.S. Armywas nearly 1.5 million strong yet still did not get together the fight until later in the year .
Japan Bombs Pearl Harbor :
July 1941 - December 1941
Adolf Hitler ’s force cut across Russia like a scythe and were not halted until they were at the gates of Moscow . In the Pacific , Japan sent airplane to Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , to strike the U.S. fleet that forget Japan ’s admittance to oil . America was in the war .
The Axis Conquers the Philippines :
January 1942 - July 1942
The high point in time of Axis conquest came in 1942 . Ironically , though , the U.S. Navy had already forced Japan into a defensive posture , and Nazi Germany would obtain it progressively unmanageable to mount free burning offense .
Russian Army Repels Hitler ’s force :
August 1942 - January 1943
A renew offensive by the Nazi Germans in Russia was a seesaw thing that ended in complete tragedy for Germany at Stalingrad . In the Pacific , Allied force supercharge on the Japanese mother country , one outlying island at a clock time .
Italy Falls to the ally :
February 1943 - June 1943
Throughout 1943 , the limitations of the Nazi German and Japanese war political machine became apparent – not least Nazi Germany ’s inability to protect its cities from Allied bombers . As World War II production rocket in the United States , the Axis prepared for " total war , " in which everybody – civilian and soldier likewise – was a combatant . Italy surrendered , but the larger state of war ground on .
Allies Bomb Northern Nazi Germany :
June 1943 - December 1943
At the end of July 1943 , a ecological succession of attacks on the northerly German port city of Hamburg resulted in the first " firestorm , " which kill an guess 40,000 people . Thebombattacks right away pretend German scheme .
The D - Day Invasion :
January 1944 - July 1944
On June 6 , 1944 , the largest armada ever assemble began to deliver more than 300,000 confederate troop onto beach at Normandy , France ; Adolf Hitler ’s two - front war had total home to him . In the Pacific , the island - hopping military campaign brought American bombers within striking range of the Nipponese household island .
The Battle of the Bulge :
July 1944 - January 1945
Germany ’s last enactment was fast approaching : enemy pushing from the east and west , the sky under Allied control . Much of Europe had slipped from Adolf Hitler ’s appreciation , but the Führer campaign on with young rocket weapons – and a shocking surprisal for the Allies . Japan lost control of the westerly Pacific , and much of what remain of its naval forces was smashed . Still , it would not surrender .
Nazi Germany Surrenders :
February 1945 - May 1945
Germany ’s great cities were destroy . Its loss leader paced in an cloak-and-dagger bunker , collapse order to army group that no longer existed . U.S. force halted at the Rhine River and waited while Stalin ’s Red Army took its final , apocalyptic retaliation on Berlin . By May , World War II in Europe was over .
Japan Surrenders and World War II Ends :
June 1945 - September 1945
Standing alone against the unstoppable Allies since May 1945 , Japan absorbed terrible aeriform bombardment of its cities but maintain back 610,000 soldiery – plus gazillion of pitifully armed civilians – as it anticipated the contrive Allied invasion of the home island . Then on two inconceivable solar day in August 1945 , the sky exploded , and the Second World War was finish .
Postwar Europe and Japan :
October 1945 - September 1951
Allied justice encompass not just the prosecution of Nazi German and Nipponese war outlaw , but hardheaded , useful rebuilding of the vanquished nations . Japan live with American occupation without serious incident , but the partitioning of Germany put the U.S. and its westerly Allies on a hit course of instruction with the Soviet Union .
The Cold War : October 1951 - 1991
Cold War stress that had been building in the forties became the defining realness of the new earth ordination . TheKorean Warof 1950 - 53 was only the first of a serial of worthless proxy state of war direct by the Soviets and the United States . America ’s " containment " of communism was harsh , but in the terminal the USSR was out , China was on the raise , and an uneasy U.S. was the only major power left standing .
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
John S. D. Eisenhower , Senator Daniel K. Inouye , Richard Overy Ph.D. , David J. A. Stone , Wim Coleman , Martin F. Graham , James H. Hallas , Mark Johnston Ph.D. , Christy Nadalin M.A. , Pat Perrin , Peter Stanley Ph.D.
