World War II began in Europe in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, and in Asia in 1937 when Japan invaded China. Key events included Germany and Italy forming the Axis alliance with Japan in 1940, Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 which brought the US into the war as an ally of Britain and the Soviet Union against the Axis powers, the successful Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944, and the US dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, leading Japan to surrender and end World War II.

1. WORLD WAR II

2. Japan invades China, initiating
World War II in the Pacific.

3. September 1, 1939
Germany invades Poland, initiating
World War II in Europe.

4. June 10, 1940
Italy enters the war. Italy invades
southern France on June 21.

5. September 27, 1940
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite
Pact. They become the “AXIS” powers

6. AXIS POWER LEADERS

8. December 7, 1941
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.

9. December 8, 1941
The United States declares war on
Japan, entering World War II.

10. ALLIED POWERS FORMED

11. ALLIED POWER LEADERS

12. D-DAY JUNE 6, 1944 British and US troops
successfully land on the Normandy beaches
of France, opening a “Second Front” against
the Germans.

13. April 30, 1945
Hitler commits suicide.
May 7, 1945
Germany surrenders to
the western Allies.
GERMANY SURRENDERS

14. TRUMAN DROPS THE BOMB
August 6, 1945
The United States drops
an atomic bomb on
Hiroshima.
August 9, 1945
The United States drops
an atomic bomb on
Nagasaki.

15. September 2, 1945
Having agreed in
principle to
unconditional
surrender on August
14, 1945, Japan
formally surrenders,
ending World War II.
JAPAN SURRENDERS