Timeline of World War II

Last updated January 06, 2022

This is a list of timelines of events over the period of World War II, as well as the prelude to the war.

Main timelines World War II

Wars, campaigns, and battles

Timeline of the invasion of Poland (1939)
Timeline of the Battle of France (1939–1940)
Timeline of the Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)
Timeline of the Winter War (1939–1940)
Timeline of the Norwegian Campaign (1940)
Timeline of the North African Campaign (1940–1943)
Timeline of the Eastern Front of World War II (1941–1945)

Others

External links

This article includes a list of related items that share the same name (or similar names).
If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Related Research Articles

The European Theatre of World War II opened with the German invasion of Poland on Friday September 1, 1939, followed by the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939. On 6 October, following the Polish defeat at the Battle of Kock, German and Soviet forces gained full control over Poland. The success of the invasion marked the end of the Second Polish Republic, though Poland never formally surrendered. A Polish Underground State with a government-in-exile that would eventually set up headquarters in London resumed the struggle against the occupying powers. The Polish forces in the West, as well as in the East and an intelligence service were established outside of Poland, and contributed to the Allied effort throughout the war.

World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. An estimated total of 70–85 million people perished, or about 3% of the 1940 world population. Deaths directly caused by the war are estimated at 50–56 million, with an additional estimated 19–28 million deaths from war-related disease and famine. Civilian deaths totaled 50–55 million. Military deaths from all causes totaled 21–25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 5 million prisoners of war. More than half of the total number of casualties are accounted for by the dead of the Republic of China and of the Soviet Union. The tables below give a detailed country-by-country count of human losses. Statistics on the number of military wounded are included whenever available.

The European theatre of World War II was the main theatre of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the Western Allies conquering most of Western Europe, the Soviet Union conquering most of Eastern Europe and Germany's unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. The Allied powers fought the Axis powers on two major fronts as well as in a strategic bombing offensive and in the adjoining Mediterranean and Middle East theatre.

The Western Front was a military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. World War II military engagements in Southern Europe and elsewhere are generally considered as separate theatres. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale combat operations. The first phase saw the capitulation of Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, and France during May and June 1940 after their defeat in the Low Countries and the northern half of France, and continued into an air war between Germany and Britain that climaxed with the Battle of Britain. The second phase consisted of large-scale ground combat, which began in June 1944 with the Allied landings in Normandy and continued until the defeat of Germany in May 1945.

Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb. On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family saved themselves by fleeing the country and going to London. Princess Juliana and her children moved on to Canada for additional safety.

Kurt Arthur Benno Student was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. An early pioneer of airborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the Fallschirmjäger, and as the most senior member of the Fallschirmjäger, commanded it throughout the war. Student led the first major airborne attack in history, the Battle for The Hague, in May 1940. He also commanded the Fallschirmjägers in its last major airborne operation, the invasion of Crete in May 1941. The operation was a success despite German losses, and led the Allies to hasten the training and development of their own airborne units.

Almost every country in the world participated in World War II. Most were neutral at the beginning, but only a relatively few nations remained neutral to the end. The Second World War pitted two alliances against each other, the Axis powers and the Allied powers; the Soviet Union served 35 million men, with the U.S serving 16 million, Germany 13 million, the British Empire 8.5 million and Japan 6 million. With millions serving in other countries, an estimated 300 million soldiers saw combat. It is generally estimated that a total of 72 million people died, with the lowest estimate being 40 million dead and the highest estimate being 90 million dead. The leading Axis powers were Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan and the Kingdom of Italy; while the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union were the "Big Three" Allied powers.

The Allies, later known formally as the United Nations, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, and Fascist Italy. Its principal members by 1941 were the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China.

The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th Regiment of Foot and the 84th Regiment of Foot. The regiment saw service in many small conflicts and both World War I and World War II until 1968, when the regiment chose to be disbanded rather than amalgamated with another regiment, one of only two infantry regiments in the British Army to do so, with the other being the Cameronians.

The historiography of World War II is the study of how historians portray the causes, conduct, and outcomes of World War II.

The Allied leaders of World War II listed below comprise the important political and military figures who fought for or supported the Allies during World War II. Engaged in total war, they had to adapt to new types of modern warfare, on the military, psychological and economic fronts.

The Axis leaders of World War II were important political and military figures during World War II. The Axis was established with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in 1940 and pursued a strongly militarist and nationalist ideology; with a policy of anti-communism. During the early phase of the war, puppet governments were established in their occupied nations. When the war ended, many of them faced trial for war crimes. The chief leaders were Adolf Hitler of Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy, and Hirohito of Japan. Unlike what happened with the Allies, there was never a joint meeting of the main Axis heads of government, although Mussolini and Hitler did meet on a regular basis.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to World War II:

This is an Index of World War II articles, that can be found on Wikipedia.

La Courneuve – 8 Mai 1945
La Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Déportation
La Liberation de Paris
Lack of outside support in the Warsaw Uprising
Lamason, Phil
Landing Operation on Hainan Island
Landing Ship, Tank
Landing Vehicle Tracked
Language of Nazi concentration camps
Lapland War
Last will and testament of Adolf Hitler
Latvian Legion
Latvian resistance movement
Law on the status of Jews
Law regarding foreign nationals of the Jewish race
Laws against Holocaust denial
Lead up to the Warsaw Uprising
Leadership ranks of the Sturmabteilung
League of German Girls
Lebensborn
Lebensraum
Legal purge in Norway after World War II
Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom
Leni Riefenstahl
Leningrad Front
Leningrad People's Opolcheniye Army
Leopold III of Belgium
Letters from Iwo Jima
Lexington-class aircraft carrier
Liberation Front of the Slovenian People
Liberation of Arnhem
Liberation of Paris
Liberty ship
Lichtenburg
Lieutenant Hubert Gruber
Lili Marleen
List of Adolf Hitler books
List of Adolf Hitler speeches
List of air operations of the Battle of Europe
List of aircraft engines in use by Japan during World War II
List of Aircraft engines in use of Japanese Army Air Force
List of aircraft engines of Germany during World War Two
List of Aircraft engines used by Japanese Navy Air Service
List of aircraft of Italy, World War II
List of aircraft of Japan, World War II
List of aircraft of Russia, World War II
List of aircraft of the French Air Force during World War II
List of aircraft of the British, World War II
List of aircraft of the Japanese Navy
List of aircraft of the Luftwaffe, World War II
List of aircraft of the U.S. military, World War II
List of aircraft of World War II
List of Allied forces in the Normandy Campaign
List of Allied propaganda films of World War II
List of Allied ships at the Japanese surrender
List of Allied traitors during World War Two
List of Allied warships in the Normandy Landings
List of armour used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War
List of armoured fighting vehicles of World War II
List of artillery weapons of the Imperial Japanese Navy
List of Australian divisions in World War II
List of Australian divisions in WWII
List of Axis war criminals
List of B-29 Superfortress operators
List of basic World War II topics
List of battleships of Japan
List of Bombs in use by Imperial Japanese Army
List of British armies in World War I
List of British armies in WWII
List of British divisions in WWII
List of British Empire divisions in World War II
List of broadsides of major World War II ships
List of Brothers in Arms characters
List of Canadian divisions in World War II
List of Canadian divisions in WWII
List of Coastal Batteries in Australia and Territories during World War II
List of common World War II infantry weapons
List of component units of British 1st (African) Division
List of component units of British 1st Armoured Division
List of component units of British 1st Infantry Division
List of component units of Fighter Command
List of composers influenced by the Holocaust
List of cruiser classes of the Imperial Japanese Navy
List of demolished entertainment venues in Paris
List of diplomatic missions during World War II
List of Eastern Fleet ships
List of engines and weapons used on Japanese tanks during World War II
List of escort aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy
List of Female SOE Agents
List of films about Anne Frank
List of films based on war books — 1927–1945
List of Finnish armies in WWII
List of Finnish corps in the Continuation War
List of Finnish corps in the Winter War
List of Finnish divisions in the Continuation War
List of Finnish divisions in the Winter War
List of Flower-class corvettes
List of foreign aircraft tested by Japanese forces from 1930s to WW2
List of foreign recipients of the Knight's Cross
List of foreign vehicles used by Nazi Germany in World War II
List of Gaue of Nazi Germany
List of Gauleiters
List of German Army Groups in WWII
List of German concentration camps
List of German corps in WWII
List of German divisions in World War II
List of German divisions in World War II
List of German military units of World War II
List of German World War II jet aces
List of German World War II night fighter aces
List of Hawker Hurricane operators
List of helicopters used in World War II
List of Holocaust films
List of Holocaust survivors
List of IJA Independent Mixed Brigades
List of IJA Mixed Brigades
List of Imperial Japanese Navy admirals
List of Indian corps in WWII
List of Indian divisions in WWII
List of individuals in the Warsaw Uprising
List of infantry weapons of the Imperial Japanese Navy
List of Italian divisions in WWII
List of Japanese-run internment camps during World War II
List of Japanese aircraft in use during the Second Sino-Japanese War
List of Japanese armored divisions
List of Japanese Army military engineer vehicles of World War II
List of Japanese Auxiliary Cruiser Commerce Raiders
List of Japanese campaigns of the Second Sino-Japanese War
List of Japanese dreadnought battleships
List of Japanese government and military commanders of World War II
List of Japanese HEAT Shells in WW2
List of Japanese hell ships
List of Japanese Infantry Divisions
List of Japanese infantry weapons used in the Second-Sino Japanese War
List of Japanese military detachments in World War II
List of Japanese military equipment of World War II
List of Japanese Mixed Brigades
List of Japanese nationalist movements and parties
List of Japanese naval commanders
List of Japanese Navy Air Force aces
List of Japanese Navy ships and war vessels in World War II
List of Japanese steam battleships
List of Japanese tanks and armoured vehicles of the WWII period
List of Japanese trainer aircraft during World War II
List of Japanese World War II explosives
List of Japanese World War II military specialists on the USSR
List of Japanese World War II navy bombs
List of Japanese World War II radar
List of Japanese WW2 Weapons
List of jet aircraft of World War II
List of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves recipients: 1940
List of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves recipients: 1941
List of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves recipients: 1942
List of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves recipients: 1943
List of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves recipients: 1944
List of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves recipients: 1945
List of Kriegsmarine ships
List of leaders of Independent State of Croatia
List of Liberty ships: A-F
List of Liberty ships: G-L
List of Liberty ships: M-R
List of Liberty ships: S-Z
List of Liberty ships
List of Luftwaffe aircraft prototype projects during World War II
List of Maginot Line ouvrages
List of major U.S. Commands of World War II
List of major World War II warships built by minor powers
List of Mauthausen-Gusen inmates
List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Iwo Jima
List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
List of Medal of Honor recipients: World War II
List of members of the July 20 Plot
List of military aircraft of Germany
List of military engagements of World War II
List of military equipment of the Canadian Army during the Second World War
List of Military Operations in the West European Theater during WW2 by Year
List of Military operations on the Eastern Front European Theater during WW2
List of military operations on the Eastern Front of World War II
List of military operations
List of military units in the Warsaw Uprising
List of military vehicles of World War II
List of National Socialist publishers
List of Naval and land based operations in Mediterranean Sea Area during WW2
List of Naval and land based operations in Pacific Theater during WW2
List of Nazi-German concentration camps
List of Nazi Party leaders and officials
List of networks and movements of the French Resistance
List of New Zealand divisions in World War II
List of North African Campaign Battles
List of officers of the People's Liberation Army
List of people involved with the French Resistance
List of people who assisted Jews during the Holocaust
List of Polish armies in World War II
List of Polish armies in WWII
List of Polish divisions in World War II
List of Polish divisions in WWII
List of posthumous publications of Holocaust victims
List of POW camps in Australia
List of POW camps in Britain
List of POW camps in Canada
List of POW camps in Italy
List of POW camps in Japan
List of POW camps in occupied Germany
List of POW camps in the Soviet Union
List of POW camps in the United States
List of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany
List of Pro-Axis Leaders and Governments or Direct Control in Occupied Territories
List of prototype World War II combat vehicles
List of prototype WWII combat vehicles
List of Radars in use by Imperial Japanese Army
List of Righteous Among the Nations by country
List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
List of Second World War Victoria Cross recipients
List of secondary and special-issue World War II infantry weapons
List of ships of the Free French Naval Forces
List of ships of the Japanese Navy
List of ships sunk by Axis warships in Australian waters
List of ships sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy
List of SOE Agents
List of SOE establishments
List of South African Divisions in World War II
List of Soviet Union divisions 1917–1945
List of Special Operations Executive Operations in WW2
List of SS personnel
List of subcamps of Auschwitz
List of subcamps of Buchenwald
List of subcamps of Dachau
List of subcamps of Flossenbürg
List of subcamps of Gross-Rosen
List of subcamps of Herzogenbusch
List of subcamps of Kraków-Płaszów
List of subcamps of Mauthausen
List of subcamps of Mittelbau
List of subcamps of Natzweiler-Struthof
List of subcamps of Neuengamme
List of subcamps of Ravensbrück
List of subcamps of Sachsenhausen
List of subcamps of Stutthof
List of tanks and armoured vehicles of the Imperial Japanese Navy
List of territories occupied by Imperial Japan
List of the 108 Martyrs of World War Two
List of theaters and campaigns of World War II
List of U-boats never deployed
List of undersea-carried planes during World War II
List of uniforms and clothing of WWII
List of United States Army Air Forces Air Force Component Commands
List of United States Army divisions during World War II
List of United States Navy escort aircraft carriers
List of United States Navy losses in World War II
List of United States Navy ships present at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
List of units using the B-26 Marauder during World War II
List of V-1 storage depots
List of V-2 test launches
List of Vichy France Air Aces
List of victims of Nazism
List of victims of the Babi Yar massacre
List of Victory ships
List of Waffen SS units
List of war apology statements issued by Japan
List of weapons of military aircraft of Germany during World War Two
List of weapons of the Japanese Navy
List of weapons of World War II Japanese aircraft
List of weapons on Japanese combat aircraft
List of World War II aces by country
List of World War II aces from Australia
List of World War II aces from Austria
List of World War II aces from Belgium
List of World War II aces from Bulgaria
List of World War II aces from Canada
List of World War II aces from China
List of World War II aces from Croatia
List of World War II aces from Czechoslovakia
List of World War II aces from Denmark
List of World War II aces from Finland
List of World War II aces from France
List of World War II aces from Germany
List of World War II aces from Greece
List of World War II aces from Hungary
List of World War II aces from Italy
List of World War II aces from Japan
List of World War II aces from New Zealand
List of World War II aces from Norway
List of World War II aces from Poland
List of World War II aces from Rhodesia
List of World War II aces from Romania
List of World War II aces from Slovakia
List of World War II aces from South Africa
List of World War II aces from Spain
List of World War II aces from the Soviet Union
List of World War II aces from the United Kingdom
List of World War II aces from the United States
List of World War II aces from United States
List of World War II air aces
List of World War II artillery
List of World War II Battles
List of World War II battles
List of World War II British naval radar
List of World War II conferences
List of World War II convoys
List of World War II electronic warfare equipment
List of World War II evacuations
List of World War II films
List of World War II firearms of Germany
List of World War II firearms
List of World War II flying aces from Romania
List of World War II guided missiles of Germany
List of World War II Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons of Germany
List of World War II military aircraft of Germany
List of World War II military equipment
List of World War II military gliders
List of World War II military operations
List of World War II military units of Germany
List of World War II military vehicles by country
List of World War II military vehicles of Germany
List of World War II POW camps
List of World War II ship classes
List of World War II ships of less than 1000 tons
List of World War II ships
List of World War II torpedoes of Germany
List of World War II video games
List of World War II weapons of France
List of World War II weapons of Germany
List of World War II weapons of Italy
List of World War II weapons of the Soviet Union
List of World War II weapons of the United Kingdom
List of World War II weapons of the United States
List of World War II weapons
List of WW2 Luftwaffe aircraft by manufacturer
List of WWII POW camps in Kenya
Lists of World War II topics
Lithuanian 1941 independence
Lithuanian Activist Front
Lithuanian Security Police
Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force
Little Boy
Liverpool Blitz
Living with the enemy in the German-occupied Channel Islands
Local Self-Defence in Lithuania during the Nazi German occupation (1941–1944)
Lockheed Model 10 Electra
Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar
Lockheed P-38 Survivors
Lom prisoner of war camp
London and Paris Conferences
London Can Take It!
London Charter of the International Military Tribunal
London Victory Parade of 1946
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Security
Los Alamos Primer
Los Alamos Ranch School
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
Losses during the Second Battle of the Atlantic
Lost Battalion
Lower Silesian Offensive Operation
LSM-1-class landing ship medium
Lublin-Brest Offensive Operation
Lublin Army
Lublin R-VIII
Lublin R-XIII
Luftflotte 1
Luftflotte 2
Luftflotte 3
Luftflotte 4
Luftflotte 5
Luftflotte 6
Luftflotte Reich
Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment
Luftstreitkräfte
Luftvärnskanonvagn L-62 Anti II
Luftwaffe Central (Weissrutenische) detachment
Luftwaffe Commander
Luftwaffe Field Division
Luftwaffe Fliegerführer
Luftwaffe Institute of Aviation Medicine
Luftwaffe North (Ostland) detachment
Luftwaffe Northern (Arctic) detachment(Luftflotte 5)(Finland-Norway)
Luftwaffe Order of Battle August 1940
Luftwaffe serviceable aircraft strengths (1940-1945)
Luftwaffe Southern (Balkan-Ukraine) detachment
Luftwaffe units before the 1939 invasion of Poland
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffen-Legion Lettland
Luftwaffenhelfer
Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr
Luger P08 pistol
Luxembourg in World War II
Luxembourgish government-in-exile
Luxembourgish Patriot League
Luxembourgish Red Lion
Luxembourg Resistance
LVI Panzer Corps
Lviv Civilian Massacre (1941)
Lviv pogroms
Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive
Lwów Ghetto
Lwów Uprising
LXIV Corps (Germany)
Léon Degrelle

The Wehrmacht was the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe. The designation "Wehrmacht" replaced the previously-used term Reichswehr, and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted.

A timeline of the Holocaust is detailed in the events listed below. Also referred to as the Shoah, the Holocaust was a genocide in which some six million European Jews were killed by Nazi Germany and its World War II collaborators. About 1.5 million of the victims were children. Two-thirds of the nine million Jews who had resided in Europe were murdered. The following timeline has been compiled from a variety of sources including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.