| Event/Battle | Date | Location | Significance |
| Germany invades Poland | September 1, 1939 | Polish-German border | Following non-aggression treaty with Soviet Union, German troops invade Poland. England and France declare war on Germany. Soviets invade Poland from East. |
| Germany's blitzkrieg takes western Europe | March-June 1940 | Western Europe | Denmark, Norway, Nethlerlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France are crushed by German offensive. |
| Battle of Britain | Fall 1940 | Great Britain | German bombers ruin British cities in attempt to obtain British surrender before U.S. entry. Britain's breaking of German code ("Ultra") helps Britain endure air attacks. |
| U.S. enacts draft bill | September 1940 | Washington D.C. | Registration of all men between 21 and 35. Limit of 900,000 men in time of peace. |
| Destroyer for Bases deal | September 1940 | Washington D.C. and London | U.S. transfers 50 old destroyers to Britain in exchange for the use of eight British Atlantic bases. |
| Lend-Lease plan | November 1940 | Washington D.C. | U.S. agrees to "lend" military equipment to cash-strapped Britain. |
| Germany invades Russia | June 1941 | Polish-Russian border | Germany begins two-front war with invasion of Russia. Germans halt 15 miles from Moscow in December 1941. |
| Atlantic Charter | August 1941 | North Atlantic | FDR and Churchill agree to war aims, self-determination, and condemnation of Nazism. |
| Japan attacks Pearl Harbor | December 7, 1941 | Hawaii | 361 Japanese warplanes attack American airfields and shipyards, disabling 19 ships, destroying 200 planes, and killing over 2300 men. Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Malaya, Philippines soon fall to Japan. |
| FDR asks for war on Japan | December 8, 1941 | Washington, D. C. | Congress approves entry into war. Germany and Italy declare war on U.S. |
| Battle of Coral Sea | May 1942 | South Pacific | Carrier-based U.S. planes halt Japanese advance on Australia. |
| Midway | June 1942 | Central Pacific | Threat on Hawaii ended as four Japanese aircraft carriers are
sunk. Perhaps the turning-point naval battle in the Pacific theater. |
| Allies attack Germans in North Africa | November 1942 | North Africa | Huge Allied landing forces Germany to retreat to Tunisia, where they are surrounded by British and American forces. |
| Guadalcanal | February 1943 | Solomon Islands, South Pacific | Americans take first island in start of island-hopping strategy. |
| Event/Battle | Date | Location | Significance |
| Germans surrender at Stalingrad | February 1943 | Central Russia | Germans surrender after fierce hand-to-hand fighting and huge casualties for each side. |
| Germans surrender at Tunisia | May 1743 | Tunisia, North Africa | Over 250,000 German and Italian troops are captured as Allies prepare to invade Sicily and Italy. |
| Allies invade Sicily | July 1943 | Sicily | In largest amphibious invasion in history, over 250,000 American and British troops land. Germans and Italians retreat to mainland of Italy. |
| Italy surrenders | September 1943 | Italy | Although Italian troops quit fighting the Allies, Germans continue in fierce fighting. Rome finally surrenders on June 4, 1944. |
| D-Day Invasion | June 6, 1944 | Normandy coast of France | Allies use 4600 ships to invade German-held France. Suffering heavy casualites, the Allies are able to retake Paris in August. |
| Battle of Leyte Gulf | October 1944 | Pacific east of Philippines | 60 Japanese ships in arguably the largest naval battle in history. |
| Battle of Hurtgen Forest |
September 1944-February 1945 |
Belgian-German border |
In the longest single battle in
American history, the U.S. suffer over 24,000 battle casualties in a
poorly planned and executed plan that underestimated the strength of
German forces. |
| Battle of the Bulge | December 1944 | French-German-Belgian border | German counteroffensive almost succeeds in retaking Belgium but is finally crushed with Allied reinforcements. |
| Tokyo Bombing Raids | March 1945 | Tokyo, Japan | American bombers destroy 250,000 buildings and kill 83,000 in massive fire-bombing. |
| Russians take Berlin | April 1945 | Berlin, Germany | Russians take German capital after house-to-house fighting. Hitler commits suicide. |
| V-E Day | May 7, 1945 | Europe | German government issues unconditional surrender to Allied forces. |
| Okinawa | April to June 1945 | Southern tip of Japan | Fighting from caves and bunkers, Japanese inflict 80,000 losses on Americans. Over 30 American ships are sunk by Japanese suicide missions. |
| Gen. MacArthur retakes Philippines | July 1945 | Philippine Islands | After Manila's fall to Americans in May, Japanese surrender here after inflicting 60,000 American casualties. |
| Hiroshima | August 6, 1945 | Japan | 180,000 killed, wounded, or missing after atomic bomb is
dropped. Two days later Soviet Union enters war against Japan,
fulfilling Yalta Conference pledge. |
| Nagasaki | August 9, 1945 | Japan | Second bomb is dropped after Japanese delay surrender. 80,000 killed or missing. |
| V-J Day | September 2, 1945 | Tokyo Bay | Japan surrenders with one condition: the emperor must retain his throne. |