World War 2 Timeline

1919 Jan 18
to 1920 Jan 21
 Paris Peace Conference
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors in World War I to set the peace terms for Germany and other defeated nations, and to deal with the empires of the defeated...
1919 Jun 28 Signing of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly f...
1933
to 1938
Rise of Hitler to Power
At the risk of appearing to talk nonsense I tell you that the Nazi movement will go on for 1,000 years!… Don’t forget how people laughed at me 15 years ago when I declared that one day I ...
1933
to 1945
The Jewish Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as Shoah is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponso...
1933 Jan 30 Hindenburg Appoints Hitler Chancellor of Germany
On the morning of 30 January 1933, in Hindenburg's office, Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor during what some observers later described as a brief and simple ceremony. His first spe...
1933 Feb 3 Adolf Hitler First Reveals his Foreign Policy Goal of Conquering the Lebensraum
In a meeting with his leading generals and admirals on 3 February 1933 Hitler spoke of "conquest of Lebensraum in the East and its ruthless Germanisation" as his ultimate foreign policy o...
1933 Feb 27 Reichstag Fire Decree
The Reichstag Fire Decree is the common name of the Order of the Reich's President for the Protection of People and State issued by German President Paul von Hindenburg in direct response...
1933 Mar 23 Enabling Act passed by Reichstag
The Enabling Act was passed by Germany's Reichstag and signed by President Paul von Hindenburg on March 23, 1933. It was the second major step, after the Reichstag Fire Decree, through wh...
1934 Aug Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany
After President Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934, Hitler replaced the offices of chancellor and president with a single dictatorial position by declaring himself Führer ("Leader") of a n...
1936 Nov 25
to 1937 Nov 6
 Axis Powers formed through Anti-Comintern Pact
The Anti-Comintern Pact was concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan (later to be joined by other countries) on November 25, 1936 and was directed against the Communist Inte...
1937 Jul 7
to 1945 Sep 9
 Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought alone...
1938
to 1939
Road to War
Under the Versailles Settlement, Czechoslovakia was created, including the Sudetenland, which had a large German population.Hitler,on its first course of territorial aggression formed a p...
1938 Sep 30 Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland, which were areas along borders of Czechoslovakia, mainly inhabited by Czech Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a con...
1939
to 1945
German/Russian occupation of Poland
This article deals with the occupation of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union during the Second World War (1939–1945). In the beginning of the war (September, 1939) the territory of Po...
1939 Jan 27 Adolf Hitler orders "Plan Z"
Plan Z was the name given to the planned re-equipment and expansion of the Nazi German Navy (Kriegsmarine) ordered by Adolf Hitler on January 27, 1939. The plan called for a Kriegsmarine ...
1939 Mar 15 Germany establishes the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is tod...
1939 Apr 1 End of the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d'état against the government of the Second Spanish Re...
1939 Apr 7 Italy Invades Albania
On April 7 Mussolini's troops invaded Albania. The operation was led by General Alfredo Guzzoni. The invasion force was divided into three groups, which were to land successively. The mos...
1939 Apr 28 Hitler renounces German-Polish Non-Agression Pact
The German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact was an international treaty between Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic signed on January 26, 1934. In it, both countries pledged to resolve ...
1939 Apr 28 Hitler renounces the Anglo-German Naval Agreement
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement (A.G.N.A) of June 18, 1935 was a bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom and German Reich regulating the size of the Kriegsmarine in relation to th...
1939 May 22 Pact of Steel signed by Italy and Germany
The Pact of Steel, known formally as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was an agreement between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany signed on May 22, 1939, by the ...
1939 Aug 24 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed by Germany and Soviet Union
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, colloquially named after Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the...
1939 Aug 24 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (Treaty of Non-Aggression between the Third German Reich and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, colloquially named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially ti...
1939 Aug 31 Gleiwitz Incident
The Gleiwitz incident was a staged attack by Nazi forces posing as Poles on 31 August 1939, against the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany (since 194...
1939 Sep 1
to 1939 Sep 4
 Battle of Grudziądz
Battle of Grudziądz was a military engagement between German and Polish forces during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. It started on September 1 and ended with a German victory on Septembe...
1939 Sep 1
to 1939 Sep 3
 Battle of Mława
At noon on September 1, 1939 the Polish line of defence manned by the 20th Infantry Division was attacked by the 1st Army Corps under General Walter Petzel. Although the attacking forces ...
1939 Sep 1 Battle of Mława Begins
The Battle of Mława, otherwise known as the Defence of the Mława position, took place to the north of the town of Mława in northern Poland between September 1 and September 3, 1939. It wa...
1939 Sep 1 Battle of Mokra
On September 1, at 0500, the German Tenth Army of Army Group South crossed the Polish border and initiated the invasion of Poland. The German 31st Infantry Division, as well as 1st and 4t...
1939 Sep 1
to 1939 Sep 7
 Battle of Westerplatte
The Battle of Westerplatte was the very first battle that took place after Germany invaded Poland and World War II began in Europe. During the first week of September 1939, a completel...
1939 Sep 1 Bombing of Wieluń
The bombing of Wieluń refers to the indiscriminate bombing of the Polish town of Wieluń by the German Luftwaffe on 1 September 1939, five minutes before the shelling of Westerplatte, whic...
1939 Sep 1 Charge at Krojanty
In the early morning hours of September 1, 1939, military forces of Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Later that day, events unfolded that would lead to one of the most fanciful and enduring l...
1939 Sep 1 Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig
At 04:00 Germans cut the phone and electricity lines to the building. At 04:45, just as the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein started shelling the nearby Polish Army military outpost a...
1939 Sep 1 Fall Weiss: Germany Attacks Poland - First Battle of World War 2
Fall Weiss ("Case White", German spelling Fall Weiß) was a German strategic plan for a war with Poland prepared before 1939 and put into action on 1 September 1939. The plan called for...
1939 Sep 1 Slovak Forces Begin Attack on Poland in Concert with Nazi Invasion
The attack started on September 1, 1939 at 05:00. The 1st division occupied the village Javorina, town Zakopane and continued toward Nowy Targ protecting the German 2nd mountain divisi...
1939 Sep 3
to 1945 May 7
 Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign of World War II, (though some say it was a series of naval military campaigns and offensives) running from 1939 thr...
1939 Sep 7
to 1939 Sep 10
 Battle of Wizna
On September 1, 1939, the Polish Defensive War and World War II started. The German 3rd Army was to advance from East Prussia towards Warsaw, directly through the positions of Polish Nare...
1939 Sep 7 France Launches Saar Offensive
French patrols cross the frontier into Germany near Saarbrucken, marking the beginning of the Saar offensive. A total of 11 divisions advance along a 32 km frontage. There is negligible G...
1939 Sep 8
to 1939 Sep 14
 Battle of Gdynia
The German offensive isolated the Polish coast from the Polish mainland between 4 and 8 September, and Armia Pomorze was forced to retreat south-east. Units of Land Coastal Defence has be...
1939 Sep 8 Battle of Wola Cyrusowa
The first Polish units to reach the area, that is the Wołyńska Cavalry Bde and the 30th Infantry Division were ordered to secure the area in order to allow for the remaining units to join...
1939 Sep 8
to 1939 Sep 28
 Siege of Warsaw (1939)
The 1939 Battle of Warsaw was fought between the Polish Warsaw Army (Armia Warszawa) garrisoned and entrenched in the capital of Poland (Warsaw) and the German Army. It started with huge ...
1939 Sep 9 Battle of the Bzura Begins as Germany Invades Poland
The Battle of the Bzura (or Kutno or Battle of Kutno — German name) was a battle in the opening campaign of World War II during the 1939 German Invasion of Poland, fought between 9 and 19...
1939 Sep 9 Germany Begins Assault on Polish Forces in Hel
Hel was the target of air attacks from the first day of the campaign (1 September). The German army forced Polish units of Armia Pomorze to retreat from the Danzig Corridor in the first ...
1939 Sep 10
to 1939 Sep 11
 Polish Forces of General Stanisław Maczek Hold German Forces at Jarosław
Contrary to most other Polish armies during the Polish Defensive War of 1939, the Kraków Army managed to withstand the initial German assault on Silesia and retreat steadily eastwards. Th...
1939 Sep 12 Anglo French Supreme War Council, Where it was Decided to Halt Saar Offensive
On September 12, the Anglo French Supreme War Council gathered for the first time at Abbeville in France. It was decided that all offensive actions were to be halted immediately. Maurice ...
1939 Sep 12 German Forces Begin Siege of Lvov
Initially, the town of Lwów was not to be defended as it was considered too deep behind the Polish lines and too important to Polish culture to be used in warfare. However, the fast pace ...
1939 Sep 13
to 1939 Sep 29
 Battle of Modlin
The Battle of Modlin took place during the German invasion of Poland at the beginning of the Second World War. Modlin Fortress was initially the headquarters of the Modlin Army until its ...
1939 Sep 14 German Forces Begin Attack on Fortress of Brześć
On 14 September 77 German tanks of the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Panzer Regiment, part of 10th Panzer Division, reached the area of Brześć and tried to capture the fortress on the run. The...
1939 Sep 17
to 1939 Sep 20
 First Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski
Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 17 September to 26 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. It was the second largest battle of the Invasion of Poland (Battle of Bzu...
1939 Sep 17 Polish Forces Attempt to Break Through German Positions around Tomaszów
Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 17 September to 26 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. It was the second largest battle of the Invasion of Poland (Battle of Bzu...
1939 Sep 17 Red Army Joins Siege of Lvov
On September 17, 1939, the Soviet Union declared all pacts with Poland null and void as the Polish state had in their opinion ceased to exist, and joined Nazi Germany in the occupation of...