World War 2 Facts
1939-1945

part 1
1939-1942

(Part 2 1943-1945)

Presented below is a comparative history of world war 2 facts, set by region and time, that captured the attention  of policy makers and military planners on every continent. The aggregate of these facts ultimately engaged the world in a global war.

Empires that were built over centuries would crumble in a seven year span. The United States, a relative newcomer to the international scene, would emerge as the sole world power, and added a new chapter in its history.

      Adolph Hitler and Hideki Tojo create a world war.

     They formed the core of the Axis countries.

1939

September 1:  Germany attacks Poland and British send Expeditionary force to France.

September 17: Soviet Russia invades Poland and it surrenders 11 days later.

November 30: Soviet Russia invades Finland against stiff resistance.

                     1940

 World War 2 Facts

January: German U-Boat sinks British destroyer and lose 135 sailors.

Adolph Hitler appoints Reinhard Heidrich to plan solution of the "Jewish Question".

February: Soviet Russia agrees to supply Germany with grain.

Hitler orders unrestricted submarine warfare. Allied shipping suffers heavy losses through the year from both submarine and surface war ships.

Germans  plan to invade Norway and France.

March: Finland surrenders to USSR (United Soviet Socialist Republics) after 100 day war.

April 9 : Germans execute Polish officers at Katyn.

Germany invades Norway and Denmark---Denmark surrenders. British and French troops then land in Norway--and remain less than one month.

British capture U-Boat and uncover German code books and Enigma coding machine.

May: Germany attacks Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Each present a spirited defense (ex Luxembourg) but all will surrender, b France holds out until June 22. French Vichy government makes pact with Germans.

British and  French forces cornered on Dunkirk beach in north eastern France.

June: Germans seize Channel Islands.   

British and french forces (340,000) evacuated from French beach by English "Little Armada".

July: Germans plan invasion of England. ("Operation Sea Lion") that never is executed.

Royal Navy destroys French Fleet off Algerian coast and French retaliate and bomb Gibraltar.

U.s, activates General Headquarters to mobilize and army and train recruits.

Luftwaffe begins air war over Great Britain.

August: USSR invade Baltic countries.

Heavy German bomber losses over England, but their big guns on French coast bombard English coast.

Italians seize British Somaliland.(Horn of Africa)

September: U.S. institutes Lend Lease program and transfers 50 destroyers to Great Britain in exchange for U.S. bases in British possessions.

Italians bomb Tel Aviv in British Palestine Mandate.

U.S. begins first peace time conscription.

German air "blitz" over Britain begins.

October: German herd Polish Jews into Warsaw ghetto.

Germany occupies Romania and forces alliance.

Italians bomb Cairo and American oil fields in Bahrain (Arabian coast).

Italy attacks Greece.

President Roosevelt's  pre-election promise not to send Americans to war.

November: British fleet destroys Italian Mediterranean fleet.

December: Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco rules out war for Spain.

British navy corners German pocket battleship, Graf Spee, with many British kills in its record, off Uruguay, and forces German ship's captain to scuttle ship.

Greeks defeat Italian 9th Army.

October: Chinese Nationalists on Chinese mainland counter attack cause heavy Japanese losses, but also suffer heavy casualties.

November: Chinese mount large attack led by Chiang Kai-shek.

                       1940

                                                    World War 2 Facts

January: Chinese and Japanese in a stalemate.

September 27: Japanese enter into alliance with Germany and Italy (Tripartite agreement).

September: Japanese force French government to give them access to northern Indochina. In one year, they will occupy the entire peninsula.

                                                                   World War 2 Facts  

           Area of Japanese occupation in China.

                              British escape Dunkirk.

                                    World War 2 Facts 

                      Pacific and Chinese Rim

                                      
                                                                                                                     World War 2 Facts                              

Graf Spee scuttled in River Plate, Montevideo, Uruguay.                         Before and After

                        World War 2 Facts

                 Greek fighter airplane

1941

September: Chinese counter attacks score victories over Japanese at Changsha. However, Chinese Communist forces cease cooperation with their nationalist counterparts.

November: Japanese fleet leaves homeland waters to embark on 4,000 mile route to attack Americans at Pearl Harbor, Honolulu.

December 7: Japanese bomb Pearl harbor American naval ships and facilities.

December 8: United States and Britain declare war on Japan.

1942

January: Manila falls to the Japanese.

Japanese attack Bataan peninsula and encircle American forces.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaya falls to Japanese forces. Entire country will fall within 2 months.

British troops in Indochina start withdrawal to Singapore which surrenders within a month.

Americans occupy Samoa.

Japan declares war on the Netherlands and invades her East indies territory.

Japan takes Rabaul on island in  New Guinea  chain and now a threat to Australia.

February: Internment plan of West coast Japanese residents will begin shortly, and exclusionary zones setup on U.S. east coast for Americans of German or Italian descent.

Japanese invade Burma and Rangoon falls.

Japanese sink 6 U.S. destroyers and 5 cruisers in Java Sea and then invade Java.

March: Pres. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur to leave his post in Philippines which will shortly fall to the Japanese.

April 18: Lt. Col. James (Jimmy) Doolittle leads B-25 air aid bombing 4 Japanese cities including Tokyo.

Japanese navy enters the Indian Ocean and bombs Ceylon.

Burma Road cut by Japanese effectively closing American operations in that zone.

May: Corregidor Island surrenders to Japanese. Americans starving and sick unattended. Philippines about to fall.

Battle of Coral Sea. Casualties on both sides high in action in which the combatants ships were 100 miles apart.

June: Americans successfully defend Midway.

Japanese occupy Kiska and Attu in American Aleutian islands. Not since War of 1812 has American soil been occupied by a foreign power.

July: Japanese occupy Guadalcanal and U.S. aerial observation notes that Japanese work on airfield construction begun.

August: 1st Marine Division, 10,000 men, attack Japanese on Guadalcanal and Tulagi as part of large air, sea land battle.

In 24 hours, Marines take airfield but this merely signals a battle that does not end until following February, 1943.

September: Japanese plane drops incendiary bomb on Oregon with no appreciable affect.

Combined forces of Australians and Americans defeat Japanese on Papua in first land war victory in the Pacific.

Allies begin new campaign in New Guinea,

October: U.S. Navy inflicts heavy damages to Japanese fleet at Cape Esperance.

Admiral William Nimitz appointed commander of South Pacific fleet.

November: USS Juneau sunk off Guadalcanal with heavy loss of life including 5 Sullivan brothers.

December: U.S. Marines relieved by army infantry on Guadalcanal.