World War II Major Events Timeline (original) (raw)
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- timeline_list_0_date: November 11, 1918
- timeline_list_0_image: 13431
- timeline_list_0_headline: World War I Ends
- timeline_list_0_description: Britain, France, the US, and other allies defeat Germany, bringing an end to World War I, billed as “the war to end all wars.”
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- timeline_list_1_date: January 30, 1933
- timeline_list_1_image: 13432
- timeline_list_1_headline: Hitler Appointed German Leader
- timeline_list_1_description: Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany and later assumes dictatorial powers. German rearmament takes off.
- timeline_list_2_date: September 1, 1939
- timeline_list_2_image: 13446
- timeline_list_2_headline: World War II Begins
- timeline_list_2_description: Germany invades Poland, inciting Poland’s allies Britain and France to declare war on Germany.
- timeline_list_3_date: September 17, 1939
- timeline_list_3_image: 13445
- timeline_list_3_headline: Soviet Union Invades Poland
- timeline_list_3_description: Working in concert with Hitler, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin orders the invasion of Poland, securing a share of Polish territory.
- timeline_list_4_date: September 27, 1939
- timeline_list_4_image: 13433
- timeline_list_4_headline: Warsaw Captured
- timeline_list_4_description: Warsaw surrenders to German troops. Poland holds out for another 9 days before capitulating.
- timeline_list_5_date: December 13, 1939
- timeline_list_5_image: 13434
- timeline_list_5_headline: UK Wins War’s First Sea Battle
- timeline_list_5_description: British cruisers defeat a German pocket battleship at the Battle of the River Plate, the first major naval engagement of World War II.
- timeline_list_6_date: April 8, 1940
- timeline_list_6_image: 13444
- timeline_list_6_headline: Norway Invaded
- timeline_list_6_description: Germany invades Norway, ending a 6-month period of limited land operations called the “Phony War.”
- timeline_list_7_date: May 10, 1940
- timeline_list_7_image: 13435
- timeline_list_7_headline: Churchill Becomes Prime Minister
- timeline_list_7_description: Winston Churchill replaces Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister. The same day, Germany invades Belgium.
- timeline_list_8_date: May 26-June 4, 1940
- timeline_list_8_image: 13436
- timeline_list_8_headline: Miracle of Dunkirk
- timeline_list_8_description: The trapped British army evacuates to England from Dunkirk, France, surviving to fight another day.
- timeline_list_9_date: June 14, 1940
- timeline_list_9_image: 13437
- timeline_list_9_headline: Paris Falls to Nazis
- timeline_list_9_description: Paris falls to German forces. France capitulates 11 days later.
- timeline_list_10_date: July 10-October 31, 1940
- timeline_list_10_image: 13439
- timeline_list_10_headline: Britain Fights for Its Life
- timeline_list_10_description: The Battle of Britain pits German bombers against British fighters in a thwarted German prelude to invasion.
- timeline_list_11_date: September 7, 1940 – May 11, 1941
- timeline_list_11_image: 21635
- timeline_list_11_headline: The Blitz
- timeline_list_11_description: German bombers target major cities in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, killing over 40,000 civilians and leveling over a million homes.
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- timeline_list_12_date: December 9, 1940 – February 9, 1941
- timeline_list_12_image: 21638
- timeline_list_12_headline: Operation Compass
- timeline_list_12_description: Armies of Great Britain and its empire defeat Italian forces for control of Egypt and eastern Libya.
- timeline_list_13_date: February 12, 1941
- timeline_list_13_image: 21637
- timeline_list_13_headline: The Desert Fox Arrives
- timeline_list_13_description: German General Erwin Rommel takes command of the Afrika Korps, seeking to drive the British out of North Africa.
- timeline_list_14_date: June 22, 1941
- timeline_list_14_image: 21639
- timeline_list_14_headline: Hitler Launches Operation Barbarossa
- timeline_list_14_description: Opening what will become the bloodiest front of World War II, massive German armies invade the Soviet Union.
- timeline_list_15_date: December 7, 1941
- timeline_list_15_image: 13438
- timeline_list_15_headline: U.S. Plunged into War
- timeline_list_15_description: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, starting war with the US. Sensing weakness, Hitler declares war on America 4 days later.
- timeline_list_16_date: January 20, 1942
- timeline_list_16_image: 21636
- timeline_list_16_headline: Wannsee Conference
- timeline_list_16_description: High-ranking Nazi officials approve a systematic plan for the mass extermination of Jews across Europe—the “Final Solution.”
- timeline_list_17_date: June 4–7, 1942
- timeline_list_17_image: 21640
- timeline_list_17_headline: Battle of Midway
- timeline_list_17_description: Japanese expansion in the Pacific is thwarted near Midway Island, as US dive bombers sink four Japanese aircraft carriers.
- timeline_list_18_date: November 8, 1942
- timeline_list_18_image: 21634
- timeline_list_18_headline: America Joins the War in North Africa
- timeline_list_18_description: US troops land in French North Africa as part of Operation Torch, designed to support British forces in the region.
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