Warning – some images are graphic.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/world-war-2-in-color#5
1937: Japan, already in Manchuria since 1931, escalates invasion of China. Kuomintang and Communists temporarily unite to fight Japanese.

(Jul) Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7th Jul gives Japan pretext to escalate invasion of China, declaring war on 26th, and capturing Tianjin on 30th, and Beijing on 8th Aug
(Aug – Nov) Battle of Shanghai; including defense of Sihang Warehouse; China retreats inland after holding Japanese for 3 months; Nationalist government moves to Wuhan

(Dec) Nanjing Massacre / Rape of Nanking; Japanese rape and murder 50-300k residents of then Chinese capital over 6 weeks; one of the worst atrocities in human history


1938: (Mar 12) Germany annexes Austria (Anschluss)

(Mar-Apr) Chinese repel Japanese at Battle of Tai’erzhuang; strategic railway and Grand Canal city on road to Xuzhou; key Chinese victory, but Japan continues Westward push into China
(Jun 9) Yellow River flood; Chiang Kai Shek orders dikes along Yellow River to be breached to slow Japanese advance; but also costing ~1m Chinese civilian casualties

(Sep 29) Chamberlain UK gets complacent with Hitler Germany at Munich Agreement; appeasement policy

(Oct) Japan captures Canton (Guangzhou)
(Nov) Chinese National government moves from Wuhan to Chongqing
1939:
(Mar 16) Germany annexes Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland)
(Mar 28) Spanish Civil war ends, fascist Franco Nationalists defeats Republicans, starts 30 year dictatorship
(May 22) Hitler Germany signs pact with Mussolini Italy
(Jun) US navy intelligence starts to attempt to decipher Japanese naval code
(Aug 23) Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact; Molotov-Ribbentrop
(Sep 1) Germany invades Poland
(Sep 3) Britain and France declare war on Germany; WWII officially starts
(Sep 17) Soviets invade Poland
(Sep 27) Germany captures Warsaw

(Sep) Japan signs ceasefire with Soviet Union after being defeated at Battle of Khalkhin Gol (A=May-Sep) in Mongolia
(Nov 30) Soviet Union invades Finland; Finland signs for peace in Mar40

(Nov) Japanese offensive on Guangxi
(Dec 13) UK wins first sea battle against Germany
(Dec) China Winter Offensive
1940:
(Feb) Pro-Japanese Chinese govt established in Nanjing
(Mar) Soviets win Winter War against Finland but slow, painful, costly
(Apr 9) Nazis invade Denmark and Norway
(May 10) Blitzkrieg: Nazis invade France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands
(May 10) Churchill becomes Britain PM; Chamberlain resigns
(May 15) Nazis capture Netherlands
(May 28) Nazis capture Belgium
(Jun 4) British evacuate from Dunkirk
(Jun 10) Italy declares war on UK and France
(Jun 10) Nazis capture Norway
(Jun 10) Soviets occupy Baltic States
(Jun 14) Nazis capture Paris


(Jun 18) Hitler and Mussolini meet in Munich
(Jun 22) Petain-led France signs armistice with Hitler Germany
(Jun 28) Britain recognizes general Charles de Gaulle as free French leader
(Jul 3) Britain destroys Vichy French fleet in Algeria
(Jul 5) Vichy France breaks off relations with Britain
(Jul 10) Battle of Britain (Jul-Oct) begins
(Jul 23) Soviets capture Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia

(Aug) Communist forces begin Hundred Regiments Campaign against Japan
(Aug 23) First German air raids on London
(Aug 25) First British air raids on Berlin
(Sep 15) Massive German air raids on Britain

(Sep 27) Axis (Tripartite) Pact signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan
(Sep) Britain hands over every scientific innovation (inc. magnetron – advanced radar 1000x more effective than best US one) in exchange for access to US production lines
(Sep) Soviet tank T-34 goes into mass production; How Russia stopped the Blitzkrieg


(Sep) Japan occupies northern French Indochina
(Sep) Chinese victory at Second Battle of Changsha
(Oct 7) Nazis invade Romania
(Oct 28) Italy invades Greece
(Nov 5) FDR re-elected US president
(Nov 20) Hungary joins Axis
(Nov 22) Greeks defeat Italian 9th Army
(Nov 23) Romania joins Axis

(Dec 9) British begin North Africa campaign against Italy
1941:
(Mar 11) US president FDR signs Lend-Least Act
(Mar 27) Coup in Yugoslavia overthrows pro-Axis govt
(Apr 6) Nazis invade Greece and Yugoslavia
(Apr 17) Yugoslavia surrenders to Nazis
(Apr 27) Greece surrenders to Nazis
(May) Chinese victory over Japanese in southern Henan
(May 27) Japanese encircle 130k Chinese troops at Zhongtiao Mountain
(May 27) British sink German battleship Bismarck
(Oct40-May41) Franco-Thai War; indecisive fighting between Vichy France and Thailand over areas of Indochina
(Jun 14) US freezes German and Italian US assets
(Jun 22) Germany invades Soviet Union; Operation Barbarossa begins



(Jul 3) Stalin calls for scorched earth strategy (Jul 10) Germans cross Dnieper river into Ukraine (Jul 12) Mutual Assistance agreement between Britain and Soviets (Jul) British Alan Turing cracks Nazi secret code Enigma; at Bletchley Park (Jul) US freezes assets and imposes oil embargo on Japan for occupying Indochina (Aug 20) Siege of Leningrad begins (Aug) Japan occupies southern Indochina (Sep 1) First use of Auschwitz gas chambers (Sep 19) Nazis capture Kiev (Oct 2) Operation Typhoon Nazi push to Moscow begins (Oct 16) Nazis capture Odessa (Oct 24) Nazis capture Kharkov (Oct 30) Nazis reach Sevastopol (Nov 27) Nazis capture Rostov (Dec 5) Nazi attack on Moscow abandoned (Dec 6) Major Soviet counter-offensive around Moscow (Dec 7) Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, turns neutral US population in favor of war



(Dec 8) US and Britain declare war on Japan (Dec 8) Neutral Thailand enters alliance with Japan after five-hour long invasion (Dec 11) Germany declares war on US

(Dec 19) Hitler takes full control of German Army
1942: (Jan 20) Nazi leaders propose Final Solution at Wannsee Conference (Jan 21) Nazi Rommel counter-offensive from El Agheila begins (Jan 26) First US forces arrive in Britain (Jan) Chinese victory at Third Battle of Changsha (Feb 5) Japan captures British Singapore (Feb 19) Japan bombs Darwin Japanese empire at its height.

(Mar) China supports British against Japanese in Burma; but Japanese gain ground throughout year (Apr) US bombs Tokyo (Apr 9-17) Bataan Death March; 80k US and Filipino POW forcefully march

(May 4-8) US victory over Japan at Battle of Coral Sea; first aircraft carrier battle in history

(May 8) German offensives in Crimea begin (May 26) Rommel begins offensive against Gazala Line

(Jun 4-7) Battle of Midway; US sinks 4 Japanese carriers, crippling Japanese naval capabilities for rest of war

(Jun 5) Germans besiege Sevastopol (Jun 21) Rommel captures Tobruk (Jun 25) General Eisenhower arrives in London (Jun 30) Rommel reaches El Alamein near Cairo (Jun) Mass murder of Jews at Auschwitz begins

(Jun) Manhattan Project begins; top-secret project to develop nuclear bomb; 130k employees $2b ($25b in today’s money)

(Jul 3) Germans capture Sevastopol (Jul 5) Soviet resistance in Crimea ends (Jul 7) British General Montgomery takes command of 8th Army in North Africa (Jul 9) Germans begin push toward Stalingrad (Jul 14) Indian National Congress demands independence from UK (Jul 1-30) First Battle of El Alamein (Jul) Sinkiang (modern Xinjiang), Soviet-backed warlord regime realigns with Nationalists (Jul-Nov) Kokoda Track campaign; Australia repels Japanese invasion of New Guinea

(Aug 12) Stalin and Churchill meet in Moscow (Aug 17) First all-US air attack in Europe (Aug) Japanese naval victory at Battle of Savo Island; America’s worst naval defeat (Aug-Sep) Allies set trap and defeat Rommel at Battle of Alam Halfa (Aug42-Feb43) Guadalcanal; island in British Solomon Islands; first US invasion of Japanese-held territory (Sep 13) Battle of Stalingrad begins (Nov 1) Allies break Axis lines at El Alamein (Nov 8) US invades Vichy Morocco and Algeria (Nov 19) Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad begins (Nov-Feb)

(Dec 2) Fermi sets up atomic reactor in Chicago (Dec 13) Rommel withdraws from El Agheila (Dec 16) Soviets defeat Italian troops on Soviet River Don (Dec 31) Battle of Barents Sea between German and Britain
1943: (Jan 2) Germany begins Caucasus withdrawal (Jan 14-24) Casablanca conference between Churchill and FDR (Jan 23) Montgomery’s 8th Army captures Tripoli (Feb 2) German Sixth Army (under von Manstein) surrenders at Stalingrad, first major Nazi defeat

(Feb 8) Soviets capture Kursk (Feb 14-25) Battle of Kasserine Pass, US tanks vs German tanks in North Africa (Feb 16) Soviets capture Kharkov (Mar 15) German counterattack under Manstein recaptures Kharkov (Third Battle of Kharkov) (Mar 16-20) Climax of Battle of Atlantic with 27 merchant ships sunk by German U-boats

(Mar 20-29) Montgomery 8th Army breaks through Mareth Line in Tunisia (Apr 6-7) Axis withdraw from Tunisia as British and US forces link (Apr) Allies win Battle of Atlantic; closing mid-Atlantic U-boat gap thanks to improved radar tech (Apr 19 – May 16) Warsaw Ghetto uprising; 60k Jews killed


(May 7) Allies capture Tunisia (May 13) Germans and Italians in North Africa surrender. (Jul 5-13) Russians repel major German offensive at Battle of Kursk, largest tank battle in history

(Jul 9) Allies land in Sicily

(Jul 19) Allies bomb Rome (Jul 22) Allies capture Palermo in Sicily (Jul 26) Mussolini arrested and Italian Fascist govt falls, successor Badoglio negotiates with Allies (Jul 27-28) Allies bomb Hamburg killing 43k, most destructive bombing campaign of RAF (Operation Gomorrah)

(Aug 12-17) Germans evacuate Sicily (Aug 23) Soviets re-capture Kharkov (Sep 9) Allies land at Salerno and Taranto (Sep 11) Germans occupy Rome (Sep 12) Germans rescue Mussolini, becomes German puppet ruler until death in Apr45 (Oct 1) Allies enter Naples (Oct 13) Bagdalio Italy declares war on Germany (Nov 6) Soviets recapture Kiev (Nov 18) Major British air raid on Berlin (Nov 28) FDR, Churchill and Stalin meet in Tehran Conference

(Nov-Dec) China repels Japanese attack on Changde
1944: (Jan 6) Soviets advance into Poland (Jan 22) Allies land in Anzio, Italy (Mar 4) Soviets begin offensive on Belarus front (Mar) British and Indian Chindit Offensive against Japanese in Burma (Mar-Jul) Britain and India repels Japanese invasion at Imphal and Kohima, Burma

(Apr-Dec) Japan launches major offensive Ka-Go to finally defeat China (May 9) Soviets re-capture Sevastopol (May 11-18) British-Polish victory against German paratroopers in Italy at Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino (May 12) Germans surrender in Crimea (May 25) Germans retreat from Anzio

(Jun 5) Allies enter Rome (Jun 6) Allied D-Day landing in Normandy




(Jun 9) Soviets attack Finland, peace in Jul after repatriations and territory
(Jun 13) First German V-1 rocket attack on Britain
(Jun 19-20) US victory over Japanese at Battle of the Philippine Sea, “greatest carrier battle of the war”

(Jun 23) Soviet summer offensive Operation Bagration begins
(Jun 27) Cherbourg, France liberated
(Jul 3) Soviets capture Minsk
(Jul 9) Caen, France liberated

(Jul 28) Soviets capture Brest-Litovsk
(Aug 1) US reach Avranches
(Aug 4) Anne Frank family arrested by Gestapo in Amsterdam
(Aug 7) Major German counterattack on Avranches
(Aug 19) Soviets invade Romania
(Aug 20) Allies encircle Germans on Falaise Pocket
(Aug 25) Paris liberated


(Aug 31) Soviets capture Bucharest
(Aug 1 – Oct 2) Germans defeat Polish resistance at Warsaw Uprising
(Sep 1-4) Belgium liberated



(Sep 13) US reach Siegfried line in western Germany
(Sep 26) Soviets capture Estonia
(Oct 14) Allies liberate Athens, Rommel commits suicide
(Oct-Dec) US victory over Japanese at Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippines



(Oct 21) Major German surrender at Aachen

(Oct 29) Soviets capture Riga
(Oct 30) Last gas chamber use at Auschwitz
(Nov) Japanese capture Guilin, southern China province
(Dec 16-27) Allies defeat Hitler’s last major western front force at Battle of Bulge in Ardennes

(Dec 26) Patton relieves Bastogne (Dec 27) Soviets besiege Budapest (Dec) Civil War in Greece, Athens placed under martial law
1945

(Jan 1-17) Germans withdraw from Ardennes


(Jan 16) US 1st and 3rd Armies link up after month-long separation during Battle of the Bulge
(Jan 17) Soviets capture Warsaw, Poland (Jan 27) Soviets liberate Auschwitz; revealing sheer scale of Nazi atrocities

(Jan 30) German ship Wilhelm Gustloff sunk by Soviet submarine; killing 9k, making it greatest maritime disaster in history (Feb 4-11) FDR Churchill Stalin discuss post-war Europe at Yalta Conference (Feb 13-14) Allied bombings destroy Dresden in firestorm (22k killed)

(Feb – Mar) US captures Iwo Jima from Japanese with heavy casualties


(Mar 6) Last German offensive of war to defend oil fields in Hungary (Mar 7) Allies capture Cologne and establish bridge across Rhine

(Mar 10) US bombs Tokyo, remains as the most destructive air raid in human history

(Mar 30) Soviets capture Danzig (Apr 1) Allied offensive in northern Italy (Apr 12) Allies liberate Buchenwald and Belsen concentration camps

(Apr 12) US president FDR dies, succeeded by Truman (Apr 16) Soviets begin attack on Berlin

(Apr 18) Germans in Ruhr surrender to Allies

(Apr 21) Soviets reach Berlin

(Apr 29) Mussolini killed by Italian partisans; Allies capture Venice (Apr 30) Hitler commits suicide as Red Army enters Berlin

(Apr-Jun) Battle of Okinawa (aka Typhoon of Steel); one of the bloodiest battles in Pacific War (12k US and 100k Japanese dead, inc. commanding generals on both sides)

(May 2) Germans in Italy surrender (May 7) German unconditional surrender (under Alfred Jodl)

(May 8) Victory in Europe Day


(Jun 5) Allies divide Germany and Berlin. (Jul 16) US detonates first atomic bomb in New Mexico desert (Jul 21) Chinese Civil War between Nationalists and Communists reopens (Jul 26) Atlee succeeds Churchill as Britain PM. (Jul) Chinese offensive Second Guangxi Campaign pushes Japanese out of Guangxi/Kwangsi (Jul 17 – Aug 2) US Britain USSR settle post-war Europe borders at Potsdam Conference (Aug 6) US drops first atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ on Hiroshima


(Aug 8) Soviet Union declares war on Japan; invades Manchuria and Korea (Aug 9) US drops second atomic bomb ‘Fat Man’ on Nagasaki

(Aug 10-15) Korea divided at 38th parallel (Aug 14) Japanese unconditional surrender; WWII ends



(Sep 2) Victory over Japan day; Japan formally surrenders onboard USS Missouri



(Oct 24) UN established; after signing charter in San Francisco on Jun 26
(Oct 25) Japanese in Taiwan surrender

See also: