August 23, 1939.
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression pact and a secret annex to it, according to which Europe is divided into spheres of influence.

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

September 3, 1939.
Fulfilling their obligations to Poland, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.

September 27-29, 1939.
On September 27, Warsaw surrenders. The Polish government goes into exile through Romania. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between themselves.

November 30, 1939 - March 12, 1940.
The Soviet Union attacks Finland, starting the so-called Winter War. The Finns ask for a truce and are forced to cede the Karelian Isthmus and the northern shore of Lake Ladoga to the Soviet Union.

April 9 - June 9, 1940.
Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders on the day of the attack; Norway resists until June 9.

May 10 - June 22, 1940.
Germany invades Western Europe - France and the neutral Benelux countries. Luxembourg occupied on May 10; The Netherlands surrenders on May 14; Belgium - May 28. On June 22, France signs an armistice agreement, according to which German troops occupy the northern part of the country and the entire Atlantic coast. A collaborationist regime is established in the southern part of France with its capital in the city of Vichy.

June 28, 1940.
The USSR forces Romania to cede the eastern region of Bessarabia and the northern half of Bukovina to Soviet Ukraine.

June 14 - August 6, 1940.
On June 14-18, the Soviet Union occupies the Baltic states, stages a communist coup in each of them on July 14-15, and then, on August 3-6, annexes them as Soviet republics.

July 10 - October 31, 1940.
The air war against England, known as the Battle of Britain, ends in the defeat of Nazi Germany.

August 30, 1940.
Second Vienna Arbitration: Germany and Italy decide to divide disputed Transylvania between Romania and Hungary. The loss of northern Transylvania leads to the fact that the Romanian king Carol II abdicates the throne in favor of his son Mihai, and the dictatorial regime of General Ion Antonescu comes to power.

September 13, 1940.
The Italians attack British-controlled Egypt from their own-controlled Libya.

November 1940.
Slovakia (November 23), Hungary (November 20) and Romania (November 22) join the German coalition.

February 1941.
Germany sends its Afrika Korps to northern Africa to support the hesitant Italians.

April 6 - June 1941.
Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria invade and divide Yugoslavia. April 17 Yugoslavia capitulates. Germany and Bulgaria attack Greece, helping the Italians. Greece ends resistance in early June 1941.

April 10, 1941.
The leaders of the Ustasha terrorist movement proclaim the so-called Independent State of Croatia. Immediately recognized by Germany and Italy, the new state also includes Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia officially joins the Axis powers on June 15, 1941.

June 22 - November 1941.
Nazi Germany and its allies (with the exception of Bulgaria) attack the Soviet Union. Finland, seeking to regain territory lost during the Winter War, joins the Axis just before the invasion. The Germans quickly captured the Baltic states and by September, with the support of the joining Finns, besieged Leningrad (St. Petersburg). On the central front, German troops occupied Smolensk in early August and approached Moscow by October. In the south, German and Romanian troops captured Kyiv in September, and Rostov-on-Don in November.

December 6, 1941.
The counteroffensive launched by the Soviet Union forces the Nazis to retreat from Moscow in disarray.

December 8, 1941.
The United States declares war on Japan and enters World War II. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) and British Singapore. By April 1942, the Philippines, Indochina and Singapore were occupied by the Japanese.

December 11-13, 1941.
Nazi Germany and its allies declare war on the United States.

May 30, 1942 - May 1945.
The British bomb Cologne, thus bringing hostilities into Germany itself for the first time. Over the next three years, Anglo-American aircraft almost completely destroy large German cities.

June 1942
British and American naval forces stop the advance of the Japanese fleet in the central Pacific Ocean near the Midway Islands.

June 28 - September 1942
Germany and its allies are launching a new offensive in the Soviet Union. By mid-September, German troops make their way to Stalingrad (Volgograd) on the Volga and invade the Caucasus, having previously captured the Crimean peninsula.

August - November 1942
American troops stop the Japanese advance towards Australia at the Battle of Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands).

October 23-24, 1942.
The British army defeats Germany and Italy at the Battle of El Alamein (Egypt), forcing the forces of the fascist bloc into a disorderly retreat through Libya to the eastern border of Tunisia.

November 8, 1942.
American and British troops land at several locations on the coasts of Algeria and Morocco in French North Africa. A failed attempt by the Vichy French army to thwart the invasion allows the Allies to quickly reach the western border of Tunisia and results in Germany occupying southern France on November 11th.

November 23, 1942 - February 2, 1943.
The Soviet army counterattacks, breaks through the lines of Hungarian and Romanian troops north and south of Stalingrad and blocks the German Sixth Army in the city. The remnants of the Sixth Army, which Hitler had forbidden to retreat or try to break out of encirclement, capitulate on January 30 and February 2, 1943.

May 13, 1943.
The troops of the fascist bloc in Tunisia surrender to the Allies, ending the North African campaign.

July 10, 1943.
American and British troops land in Sicily. By mid-August, the Allies take control of Sicily.

July 5, 1943.
German troops launch a massive tank attack near Kursk. The Soviet army repels the attack for a week and then goes on the offensive.

July 25, 1943.
The Grand Council of the Italian Fascist Party removes Benito Mussolini and assigns Marshal Pietro Badoglio to form a new government.

September 8, 1943.
Badoglio's government unconditionally capitulates to the Allies. Germany immediately seizes control of Rome and northern Italy, establishing a puppet regime led by Mussolini, who was released from prison by a German sabotage unit on September 12.

March 19, 1944.
Anticipating Hungary's intention to leave the Axis coalition, Germany occupies Hungary and forces its ruler, Admiral Miklós Horthy, to appoint a pro-German prime minister.

June 4, 1944.
Allied troops liberate Rome. Anglo-American bombers hit targets in eastern Germany for the first time; this continues for six weeks.

June 6, 1944.
British and American troops successfully land on the coast of Normandy (France), opening a Second Front against Germany.

June 22, 1944.
Soviet troops launch a massive offensive in Belarus (Belarus), destroying the German Army of Group Center, and by August 1 head west to the Vistula and Warsaw (central Poland).

July 25, 1944.
The Anglo-American army breaks out of the Normandy bridgehead and moves east towards Paris.

August 1 - October 5, 1944.
The Polish anti-communist Home Army rebels against the German regime, trying to liberate Warsaw before the Soviet troops arrive. The advance of the Soviet army is suspended on the eastern bank of the Vistula. On October 5, the remnants of the Home Army that fought in Warsaw surrender to the Germans.

August 15, 1944.
Allied forces land in southern France near Nice and quickly move northeast towards the Rhine.

August 20-25, 1944.
Allied troops reach Paris. On August 25, the French Free Army, with the support of the Allied forces, enters Paris. By September the Allies reach the German border; by December, virtually all of France, most of Belgium and parts of the southern Netherlands were liberated.

August 23, 1944.
The appearance of the Soviet army on the Prut River prompts the Romanian opposition to overthrow the Antonescu regime. The new government concludes a truce and immediately goes over to the Allied side. This turn of Romanian policy forces Bulgaria to surrender on September 8, and Germany to leave the territory of Greece, Albania and southern Yugoslavia in October.

August 29 - October 27, 1944.
Underground units of the Slovak Resistance, under the leadership of the Slovak National Council, which includes both communists and anti-communists, rebel against the German authorities and the local fascist regime. On October 27, the Germans captured the town of Banska Bystrica, where the rebels' headquarters were located, and suppressed organized resistance.

September 12, 1944.
Finland concludes a truce with the Soviet Union and leaves the Axis coalition.

October 15, 1944.
The Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross party stages a pro-German coup d'état to prevent the Hungarian government from negotiating surrender with the Soviet Union.

December 16, 1944.
Germany launches a final offensive on the western front, known as the Battle of the Bulge, in an attempt to recapture Belgium and divide the Allied forces stationed along the German border. By January 1, 1945, the Germans were forced to retreat.

January 12, 1945.
The Soviet army launches a new offensive: in January it liberates Warsaw and Krakow; February 13, after a two-month siege, captures Budapest; in early April expels the Germans and Hungarian collaborators from Hungary; taking Bratislava on April 4, forces Slovakia to capitulate; April 13 enters Vienna.

April 1945.
Partisan troops led by Yugoslav communist leader Josip Broz Tito capture Zagreb and overthrow the Ustasha regime. The leaders of the Ustasha party flee to Italy and Austria.

May 1945.
Allied forces capture Okinawa, the last island on the way to the Japanese archipelago.

September 2, 1945.
Japan, having agreed to the terms of unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, officially capitulates, thereby putting an end to World War II.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1939-1945)

Read also: Great Patriotic War - chronological table, Patriotic War of 1812 - chronology, Northern War - chronology, First World War - chronology, Russian-Japanese War - chronology, October Revolution of 1917 - chronology, Civil War in Russia 1918-20 - chronology.

1939

August 23. Signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany).

September 17. The Polish government moves to Romania. Soviet troops invade Poland.

September 28. The signing of the “Treaty of Friendship and Border” between the USSR and Germany formally completes their division of Poland. Conclusion of a “mutual assistance pact” between the USSR and Estonia.

October 5. Conclusion of a “mutual assistance pact” between the USSR and Latvia. The Soviet proposal to Finland to conclude a “mutual assistance pact”, the beginning of negotiations between Finland and the USSR.

the 13th of November. Termination of Soviet-Finnish negotiations - Finland abandons the “mutual assistance pact” with the USSR.

November 26. The “Maynila Incident” is the reason for the start of the Soviet-Finnish War on November 30.

December 1. Creation of the “People's Government of Finland” headed by O. Kuusinen. On December 2, it signed an agreement on mutual assistance and friendship with the USSR.

December 7th. The beginning of the Battle of Suomussalmi. It lasted until January 8, 1940 and ended in a heavy defeat for the Soviet troops.

The Second World War. Gathering Storm

1940

April May. Execution by the NKVD of more than 20 thousand Polish officers and intellectuals in the Katyn Forest, Ostashkovsky, Starobelsky and other camps.

September – December. The beginning of Germany's secret preparations for war with the USSR. Development of the "Barbarossa Plan".

1941

January 15. Negus Haile Selasie entered Abyssinian territory, which he abandoned in 1936.

March 1. Bulgaria joins the Tripartite Pact. German troops enter Bulgaria.

March 25. The Yugoslav government of Prince Regent Paul adheres to the Tripartite Pact.

March 27. Government coup in Yugoslavia. King Peter II entrusts the formation of a new government to General Simovic. Mobilization of the Yugoslav army.

April, 4. Coup d'etat by Rashid Ali al-Gailani in Iraq in favor of Germany.

April 13. Signing of the Soviet-Japanese neutrality treaty for a period of five years.

14th of April. Battles for Tobruk. German defensive battles on the Egyptian border (April 14 – November 17).

April 18th. Surrender of the Yugoslav army. Division of Yugoslavia. Creation of independent Croatia.

26 April. Roosevelt announced his intention to establish American air bases in Greenland.

the 6th of May. Stalin replaces Molotov as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars.

12 May. Admiral Darlan in Berchtesgaden. The Pétain government provides the Germans with bases in Syria.

May. Roosevelt declared a "state of extreme national danger."

12 June. British aircraft begin systematic bombing of the industrial centers of Germany.

June 25. Finland enters the war on the side of Germany in response to the Soviet bombing of 19 airfields on its territory.

30 June. Capture of Riga by the Germans (see Baltic operation). Capture of Lvov by the Germans (see Lvov-Chernivtsi operation.) Creation of the highest authority in the USSR for the war period - the State Defense Committee (GKO): chairman Stalin, members - Molotov (deputy chairman), Beria, Malenkov, Voroshilov.

3 July. Stalin's order to organize the partisan movement behind German lines and to destroy everything that the enemy could get. Stalin’s first radio speech since the beginning of the war: “Brothers and sisters!.. My friends!.. Despite the heroic resistance of the Red Army, despite the fact that the enemy’s best divisions and the best units of his aviation have already been defeated and have found their grave on the battlefield , the enemy continues to advance"

July 10. The end of the 14-day battles near Bialystok and Minsk, more than 300 thousand Soviet soldiers were surrounded here in two bags. The Nazis complete the encirclement of the 100,000-strong Red Army group near Uman. The beginning of the battle of Smolensk (July 10 - August 5).

October 15. Evacuation of the leadership of the Communist Party, the General Staff and administrative institutions from Moscow.

29th of October. The Germans drop a large bomb on the Kremlin: 41 people are killed and more than 100 are wounded.

November 1-15. Temporary cessation of the German offensive on Moscow due to exhaustion of troops and severe mud.

November 6. In his annual speech on the occasion of the October anniversary at the Mayakovskaya metro station, Stalin announced the failure of the German “Blitzkrieg” (lightning war) in Russia.

November 15 – December 4. An attempt by the Germans to make a decisive breakthrough towards Moscow.

November 18th. British offensive in Africa. Battle of Marmarica (the area between Cyrenaica and the Nile Delta). German retreat in Cyrenaica

November 22. Rostov-on-Don is occupied by the Germans - and a week later it is recaptured by units of the Red Army. The beginning of German defensive battles in the Donetsk basin.

End of December. Surrender of Hong Kong.

1942

Before January 1, 1942 The Red Army and Navy lose a total of 4.5 million people, of which 2.3 million are missing and captured (most likely, these figures are incomplete). Despite this, Stalin longs to end the war victoriously already in 1942, which becomes the cause of many strategic mistakes.

1st of January . The United Nations Union (26 nations fighting against the fascist bloc) was created in Washington - the beginning of the UN. It also includes the USSR.

Jan. 7 . The beginning of the Soviet Lyuban offensive operation: attempts to encircle the German troops located here with a strike from two sides on Lyuban, located north of Novgorod. This operation lasts 16 weeks, ending in failure and defeat of the 2nd Shock Army of A. Vlasov.

January 8 . Rzhev-Vyazemskaya operation of 1942 (8.01 – 20.04): an unsuccessful attempt to quickly “cut off” the Rzhev ledge held by the Germans costs the Red Army (according to official Soviet data) 770 thousand losses against 330 thousand German ones.

January February . Encirclement of the Germans on the Demyansk bridgehead (southern Novgorod region, January – February). They defend here until April - May, when they break through the encirclement, holding Demyansk. German losses were 45 thousand, Soviet losses were 245 thousand.

January 26 . Landing of the first American Expeditionary Force in Northern Ireland.

February 19. Riom trial against “the culprits of the defeat of France” - Daladier, Leon Blum, General Gamelin and others (February 19 - April 2).

February 23. Roosevelt's Lend-Lease Act applied to all Allied nations (USSR).

28th of February. German-Italian troops recapture Marmarika (February 28 – June 29).

11th of March. Another attempt to solve the Indian question: Cripps mission to India.

March 12. General Toyo invites America, England, China and Australia to abandon a war that is hopeless for them.

April 1st. A special resolution of the Politburo subjected Voroshilov to devastating criticism, who refused to accept command of the Volkhov Front.

April. Hitler gains full power. From now on, Hitler's will becomes law for Germany. British aircraft drop an average of 250 tons of explosives per night over Germany.

May 8-21 . Battle for the Kerch Peninsula. Kerch was taken by the Germans (May 15). The failed attempt to liberate Crimea in 1942 cost the Red Army up to 150 thousand losses.

August 23. The exit of the 6th German Army to the outskirts of Stalingrad. Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad. The most severe bombing of the city.

August. Offensive battles of the Red Army near Rzhev.

September 30th. Hitler announces Germany's transition from an offensive strategy to a defensive one (development of conquered territories).

From January to October The Red Army loses 5.5 million soldiers killed, wounded and captured.

October 23. Battle of El Alamein. Defeat of Rommel's expeditionary force (October 20 – November 3).

October 9. Elimination of the institution of commissars in the Red Army, introduction of unity of command among military commanders.

November 8. Allied landings in North Africa, under the command of General Eisenhower.

11th of November. The German army breaks through to the Volga in Stalingrad, the Soviet troops defending the city are divided into two narrow pockets. The Germans begin to occupy all of France. Demobilization of the French army retained after the 1940 armistice.

November 19. The beginning of the Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad - Operation Uranus.

November 25. The beginning of the Second Rzhev-Sychev Operation (“Operation Mars”, 11/25 – 12/20): an unsuccessful attempt to defeat the 9th German Army at Rzhev. It costs the Red Army 100 thousand killed and 235 thousand wounded against 40 thousand total German losses. If “Mars” had ended successfully, it would have been followed by “Jupiter”: the defeat of the main part of the German Army Group Center in the Vyazma area.

November 27. Self-sinking of large units of the French navy in Toulon.

December 16. The beginning of the Red Army operation “Little Saturn” (December 16-30) - a strike from the south of the Voronezh region (from Kalach and Rossosh), to Morozovsk (north of the Rostov region). Initially, it was planned to rush south all the way to Rostov-on-Don and thus cut off the entire German group “South”, but “Big Saturn” did not have enough strength for this, and had to limit itself to “Small”.

December 23. Termination of Operation Winter Storm - Manstein's attempt to rescue the Germans in Stalingrad with a blow from the south. The Red Army captured the airfield in Tatsinskaya, the main external source of supply for the encircled Stalingrad German group.

End of December. Rommel lingers in Tunisia. Stopping the Allied offensive in Africa.

1943

1 January. The beginning of the North Caucasus operation of the Red Army.

6 January. Decree “On the introduction of shoulder straps for Red Army personnel.”

11 January. Liberation of Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk and Mineralnye Vody from the Germans.

January 12-30. The Soviet Operation Iskra breaches the siege of Leningrad, opening (after the liberation of Shlisselburg on January 18) a narrow land corridor to the city. Soviet losses in this operation - approx. 105 thousand killed, wounded and prisoners, German - approx. 35 thousand

January 14-26. Conference in Casablanca (demanding “unconditional surrender of the Axis powers”).

21 January. Liberation of Voroshilovsk (Stavropol) from the Germans.

January 29. The beginning of Vatutin’s Voroshilovgrad operation (“Operation Leap”, January 29 – February 18): the initial goal was to reach the Sea of ​​Azov through Voroshilovgrad and Donetsk and cut off the Germans in the Donbass, but they only succeeded in taking Izyum and Voroshilovgrad (Lugansk).

The 14th of February. Liberation of Rostov-on-Don and Lugansk by the Red Army. Creation of the Malaya Zemlya bridgehead by the Red Army at Myskhako, with the aim of attacks on Novorossiysk. The Germans, however, were held in Novorossiysk until September 16, 1943.

February 19. The beginning of Manstein's counteroffensive in the south (the "Third Battle of Kharkov"), which disrupts the Soviet Operation Leap.

March 1. The beginning of Operation Buffel (Buffalo, March 1-30): German troops, through a systematic retreat, leave the Rzhev salient in order to transfer part of their forces from there to the Kursk Bulge. Soviet historians then present "Buffel" not as a deliberate retreat of the Germans, but as a successful offensive "Rzhevo-Vyazemsk operation of the Red Army of 1943".

20th of March. Battle for Tunisia. Defeat of German troops in Africa (March 20 – May 12).

April 13. The Germans announce the discovery of a mass grave of Polish officers shot by the Soviet NKVD near Smolensk, near Katyn.

April 16. The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs offers his mediation between the warring parties with a view to concluding peace.

June 3. Creation of the French Committee of National Liberation (formerly: French National Committee).

June. The German underwater danger has been reduced to a minimum.

5'th of July. The German offensive on the northern and southern fronts of the Kursk ledge - the beginning of the Battle of Kursk (July 5-23, 1943).

July 10. Anglo-American landing in Sicily (July 10 – August 17). Their start of military operations in Italy distracts a lot of enemy forces from the Soviet front and is actually tantamount to the opening of a Second Front in Europe.

July, 12. The Battle of Prokhorovka was a stop to the most dangerous German breakthrough on the southern front of the Kursk Bulge. Losses in Operation Citadel (July 5-12): Soviet - approx. 180 thousand soldiers, German - approx. 55 thousand. Beginning of Operation Kutuzov - the Soviet counter-offensive on the Oryol Bulge (the northern face of the Kursk salient).

July 17th. Creation of AMGOT (Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories) in Sicily.

23 September. Mussolini's announcement of the continuation of fascist rule in northern Italy (Italian Social Republic or Republic of Salò).

September 25. Units of the Red Army capture Smolensk and reach the Dnieper line. Losses in the Smolensk operation: Soviet - 450 thousand; German - 70 thousand (according to German data) or 200-250 thousand (according to Soviet data).

October 7th. New big Soviet offensive from Vitebsk to the Taman Peninsula.

October 19-30. Third Moscow Conference of the Three Great Powers. The foreign ministers participating in it are Molotov, Eden and Cordell Hull. At this conference, the USA and England promise to open a second (besides the Italian) front in Europe in the spring of 1944; four great powers (including China) sign the “Declaration on Global Security”, where for the first time together proclaim the formula for the unconditional surrender of fascist states as an indispensable condition for ending the war; A European Advisory Commission is created (consisting of representatives of the USSR, USA and England) to discuss issues related to the surrender of the Axis states.

End of october. Dnepropetrovsk and Melitopol were taken by the Red Army. Crimea is cut off.

November 6. Liberation of Kyiv from the Germans. Losses in the Kyiv operation: Soviet: 118 thousand, German - 17 thousand.

November 9. Congress of representatives of the 44 United Nations in Washington (November 9 – December 1).

the 13th of November. Liberation of Zhitomir from the Germans. On November 20, Zhitomir was recaptured by the Germans and liberated again on December 31.

November December. Manstein's unsuccessful counterattack on Kyiv.

November 28 – December 1. The Tehran Conference (Roosevelt – Churchill – Stalin) decides to open a second front in the West - and not in the Balkans, but in France; the Western allies agree to confirm after the war the Soviet-Polish border of 1939 (along the “Curzon line”); they veiledly agree to recognize the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR; Roosevelt's proposal to create a new world organization to replace the previous League of Nations is generally approved; Stalin promises to enter the war against Japan after the defeat of Germany.

December 24. General Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Commander of the armies of the second front in the West.

1944

January 24 - February 17. The Korsun-Shevchenko operation leads to the encirclement of 10 German divisions in the Dnieper bend.

March 29. The Red Army occupies Chernivtsi, and the day before, near this city, it enters the territory of Romania.

April 10th. Odessa is taken by the Red Army. The first awards of the Order of Victory: Zhukov and Vasilevsky received it, and on April 29 - Stalin.

The Second World War. The ring is shrinking

May 17. After 4 months of fierce fighting, Allied forces break through the Gustav Line in Italy. Fall of Cassino.

June 6 . Allied landing in Normandy (Operation Overlord). Opening of the Second Front in Western Europe.

IN June 1944 the number of active Soviet army reaches 6.6 million; it has 13 thousand aircraft, 8 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 100 thousand guns and mortars. The ratio of forces on the Soviet-German front in terms of personnel is 1.5:1 in favor of the Red Army, in terms of guns and mortars 1.7:1, in terms of aircraft 4.2:1. The forces in tanks are approximately equal.

June 23 . The beginning of Operation Bagration (June 23 - August 29, 1944) - the liberation of Belarus by the Red Army.

The most brutal and destructive conflict in human history was the Second World War. Only during this war were nuclear weapons used. 61 states took part in the Second World War. It began on September 1, 1939 and ended on September 2, 1945.

The causes of World War II are quite varied. But, first of all, these are territorial disputes caused by the results of the First World War and a serious imbalance of power in the world. The Versailles Treaty of England, France and the USA, concluded on extremely unfavorable terms for the losing side (Turkey and Germany), led to a constant increase in tension in the world. But the so-called policy of appeasing the aggressor, adopted by England and France in the 1030s, led to the strengthening of Germany's military power and led to the start of active military operations.

The anti-Hitler coalition included: the USSR, England, France, the USA, China (the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek), Yugoslavia, Greece, Mexico and so on. On the side of Nazi Germany, the following countries took part in the Second World War: Japan, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Albania, Finland, China (leadership of Wang Jingwei), Iran, Finland and other states. Many powers, without taking part in active hostilities, helped with the supply of necessary medicines, food and other resources.

Here are the main stages of the Second World War, which researchers highlight today.

• This bloody conflict began on September 1, 1939. Germany and its allies carried out a European blitzkrieg.
• The second stage of the war began on June 22, 1941 and lasted until mid-November of the following 1942. Germany attacks the USSR, but Barbarossa's plan fails.
• The next period in the chronology of the Second World War was the period from the second half of November 1942 to the end of 1943. At this time, Germany is gradually losing strategic initiative. At the Tehran Conference, which was attended by Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill (late 1943), a decision was made to open a second front.
• The fourth stage, which began at the end of 1943, ended with the capture of Berlin and the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany on May 9, 1945.
• The final stage of the war lasted from May 10, 1945 to September 2 of the same year. It was during this period that the United States used nuclear weapons. Military operations took place in the Far East and Southeast Asia.

The beginning of the Second World War of 1939 - 1945 occurred on September 1. The Wehrmacht launched an unexpected large-scale aggression directed against Poland. France, England and some other states declared war on Germany. But, nevertheless, no real help was provided. By September 28, Poland was completely under German rule. On the same day, a peace treaty was concluded between Germany and the USSR. Nazi Germany thus provided itself with a fairly reliable rear. This made it possible to begin preparations for war with France. By June 22, 1940, France was captured. Now nothing prevented Germany from beginning serious preparations for military action directed against the USSR. Even then, the plan for a lightning war against the USSR, “Barbarossa,” was approved.

It should be noted that on the eve of World War II, the USSR received intelligence information about preparations for the invasion. But Stalin, believing that Hitler would not dare to attack so early, never gave the order to put the border units on combat readiness.

The actions that took place between June 22, 1941 and May 9, 1945 are of particular importance. This period is known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Many of the most important battles and events of World War II took place on the territory of modern Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

By 1941, the USSR was a state with a rapidly developing industry, primarily heavy and defense. Much attention was also paid to science. Discipline on collective farms and in production was as strict as possible. A whole network of military schools and academies was created in order to fill the ranks of officers, more than 80% of whom had been repressed by that time. But these personnel could not receive full training in a short time.

The main battles of the Second World War are of great importance for world and Russian history.

• September 30, 1941 - April 20, 1942 - the first victory of the Red Army - the Battle of Moscow.
• July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943 - a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War, the Battle of Stalingrad.
• July 5 – August 23, 1943 – Battle of Kursk. During this period, the largest tank battle of World War II took place - near Prokhorovka.
• April 25 – May 2, 1945 – the Battle of Berlin and the subsequent surrender of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Events that had a serious impact on the course of the war occurred not only on the fronts of the USSR. Thus, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 led to the US entry into the war. It is worth noting the landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944, after the opening of the second front, and the US use of nuclear weapons to strike Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

September 2, 1945 marked the end of World War II. After the Kwantung Army of Japan was defeated by the USSR, an act of surrender was signed. The battles and battles of World War II claimed at least 65 million lives. The USSR suffered the greatest losses in World War II, taking the brunt of Hitler's army. At least 27 million citizens died. But only the resistance of the Red Army made it possible to stop the powerful military machine of the Reich.

These terrible results of the Second World War could not help but horrify the world. For the first time, war threatened the existence of human civilization. Many war criminals were punished during the Tokyo and Nuremberg trials. The ideology of fascism was condemned. In 1945, at a conference in Yalta, a decision was made to create the UN (United Nations). The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the consequences of which are still felt today, ultimately led to the signing of several pacts on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The economic consequences of the Second World War are also obvious. In many countries of Western Europe, this war provoked a decline in the economic sphere. Their influence has declined while the authority and influence of the United States has grown. The significance of the Second World War for the USSR is enormous. As a result, the Soviet Union significantly expanded its borders and strengthened the totalitarian system. Friendly communist regimes were established in many European countries.

Briefly about the main stages of the Second World War

Briefly point by point, the entire course of World War II is divided into five main stages. We will try to describe them clearly for you.

• The shortest stages in the table for grades 9, 10, 11
• The beginning of the European conflict - initial stage 1
• Opening of the Eastern Front - Stage 2
• Fracture - stage 3
• Liberation of Europe - stage 4
• The end of the war - final stage 5

Table for ninth, tenth, eleventh grades

The stages of the Second World War briefly point by point - the main points
The beginning of the European conflict - The first initial stage of 1939 - 1941

• The first stage of the largest armed conflict in terms of its scale began on the day when Hitler’s troops entered Polish soil and ended on the eve of the Nazi attack on the USSR.
• The beginning of the second conflict, which acquired global proportions, was officially recognized as September 1, 1939. At dawn of this day, the German occupation of Poland began and European countries realized the threat posed by Hitler's Germany.
• 2 days later, France and the British Empire entered the war on the side of Poland. Following them, the French and British dominions and colonies declared war on the Third Reich. Representatives of Australia, New Zealand and India were the first to announce their decision (September 3), then the leadership of the Union of South Africa (September 6) and Canada (September 10).
• However, despite entering the war, the French and British states did not help Poland in any way, and generally did not begin any active actions for a long time, trying to redirect German aggression to the east - against the USSR.
• All this ultimately led to the fact that in the first war period, Nazi Germany managed to occupy not only Polish, Danish, Norwegian, Belgian, Luxembourg and Dutch territories, but also most of the French Republic.
• After which the Battle of Britain began, which lasted more than three months. True, the Germans did not have to celebrate victory in this battle - they never managed to land troops on the British Isles.
• As a result of the first period of the war, most European states found themselves under fascist German-Italian occupation or became dependent on these states.

Opening of the Eastern Front - Second stage 1941 - 1942

• The second stage of the war began on June 22, 1941, when the Nazis violated the state border of the USSR. This period was marked by the expansion of the conflict and the collapse of Hitler's blitzkrieg.
• One of the significant events of this stage was also the support of the USSR from the largest states - the USA and Great Britain. Despite their rejection of the socialist system, the governments of these states declared unconditional assistance to the Union. Thus, the foundation was laid for a new military alliance - the anti-Hitler coalition.
• The second most important point of this stage of the Second World War is considered to be joining the US military action, provoked by an unexpected and rapid attack by the fleet and air force of the Japanese Empire on an American military base in the Pacific Ocean. The attack occurred on December 7, and the very next day war was declared on Japan by the United States, Great Britain and several other countries. And after another 4 days, Germany and Italy presented the United States with a note declaring war.

Turning point during World War II - Third stage 1942-1943

• The turning point of the war is considered to be the first major defeat of the German army on the approaches to the Soviet capital and the Battle of Stalingrad, during which the Nazis not only suffered significant losses, but were also forced to abandon offensive tactics and switch to defensive ones. These events occurred during the third stage of hostilities, which lasted from November 19, 1942 until the end of 1943.
• Also at this stage, the Allies entered Italy, where a power crisis was already brewing, almost without a fight. As a result, Mussolini was overthrown, the fascist regime collapsed, and the new government chose to sign a truce with America and Britain.
• At the same time, a turning point occurred in the theater of operations in the Pacific Ocean, where Japanese troops began to suffer defeats one after another.

Liberation of Europe - Fourth stage 1944 -1945

• During the fourth war period, which began on the first day of 1944 and ended on May 9, 1945, a second front was created in the west, the fascist bloc was defeated and all European states were liberated from the German invaders. Germany was forced to admit defeat and sign an act of surrender.

End of the war - Fifth final stage 1945

• Despite the fact that German troops laid down their arms, the world war was not over yet - Japan was not going to follow the example of its former allies. As a result, the USSR declared war on the Japanese state, after which Red Army units began a military operation in Manchuria. The resulting defeat of the Kwantung Army hastened the end of the war.
• However, the most significant moment of this period was the atomic bombing of Japanese cities by the American air force. This happened on August 6 (Hiroshima) and 9 (Nagasaki), 1945.
• This stage ended, and with it the entire war, on September 2 of the same year. On this significant day, on board the American battle cruiser Missouri, representatives of the Japanese government officially signed the act of surrender.

Main stages of World War II

Conventionally, historians divide the Second World War into five periods:

The beginning of the war and the invasion of German troops into Western Europe.

The Second World War began on September 1, 1939 with the attack of Nazi Germany on Poland. On September 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany; The Anglo-French coalition included the British dominions and colonies (September 3 - Australia, New Zealand, India; September 6 - Union of South Africa; September 10 - Canada, etc.)

The incomplete deployment of the armed forces, the lack of assistance from Great Britain and France, and the weakness of the top military leadership put the Polish army before a disaster: its territory was occupied by German troops. The Polish bourgeois-landowner government secretly fled from Warsaw to Lublin on September 6, and to Romania on September 16.

The governments of Great Britain and France, after the outbreak of the war until May 1940, continued the pre-war foreign policy course in only a slightly modified form, hoping to direct German aggression against the USSR. During this period, called the “Phantom War” of 1939-1940, the Anglo-French troops were virtually inactive, and the armed forces of Nazi Germany, using the strategic pause, were actively preparing for an offensive against the countries of Western Europe.

On April 9, 1940, formations of the Nazi army invaded Denmark without declaring war and occupied its territory. On the same day, the invasion of Norway began.

Even before the completion of the Norwegian operation, the military-political leadership of Nazi Germany began to implement the Gelb plan, which provided for a lightning strike on France through Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. The fascist German troops delivered the main blow through the Ardennes Mountains, bypassing the Maginot Line from the North through Northern France. The French command, adhering to a defensive strategy, placed large forces on the Maginot Line and did not create a strategic reserve in the depths. Having broken through the defenses in the Sedan area, tank formations of fascist German troops reached the English Channel on May 20. On May 14, the Dutch armed forces capitulated. The Belgian army, the British expeditionary force and part of the French army were cut off in Flanders. On May 28, the Belgian army capitulated. The British and parts of the French troops, blocked in the Dunkirk region, managed to evacuate to Great Britain, having lost all their heavy military equipment. At the beginning of June, fascist German troops broke through the front hastily created by the French on the Somme and Aisne rivers.

On June 10, the French government left Paris. Having not exhausted the possibilities of resistance, the French army laid down its arms. On June 14, German troops occupied the French capital without a fight. On June 22, 1940, hostilities ended with the signing of the act of surrender of France - the so-called. Compiègne Armistice of 1940. According to its terms, the territory of the country was divided into two parts: a Nazi occupation regime was established in the northern and central regions, the southern part of the country remained under the control of the anti-national government of Pétain, which expressed the interests of the most reactionary part of the French bourgeoisie, oriented towards fascist Germany (t .n. produced by Vichy).

After the defeat of France, the threat looming over Great Britain contributed to the isolation of the Munich capitulators and the rallying of the forces of the English people. The government of W. Churchill, which replaced the government of N. Chamberlain on May 10, 1940, began organizing a more effective defense. The US government gradually began to reconsider its foreign policy course. It increasingly supported Great Britain, becoming its “non-belligerent ally.”

Preparing a war against the USSR, Nazi Germany carried out aggression in the Balkans in the spring of 1941. On March 1, Nazi troops entered Bulgaria. On April 6, 1941, Italo-German and then Hungarian troops launched an invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece, occupied Yugoslavia by April 18, and the Greek mainland by April 29.

By the end of the First Period of the War, almost all countries of Western and Central Europe found themselves occupied by Nazi Germany and Italy or became dependent on them. Their economy and resources were used to prepare for war against the USSR.

The attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, the expansion of the scale of the war, the collapse of Hitler's Blitzkrieg doctrine.

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany treacherously attacked the Soviet Union. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941 - 1945 began, which became the most important part of the 2nd World War.

The entry of the USSR into the war determined its qualitatively new stage, led to the consolidation of all the progressive forces of the world in the fight against fascism, and influenced the policies of the leading world powers.

The governments of the leading powers of the Western world, without changing their previous attitude towards the social system of the socialist state, saw in an alliance with the USSR the most important condition for their security and the weakening of the military power of the fascist bloc. On June 22, 1941, Churchill and Roosevelt, on behalf of the British and US governments, issued a statement of support for the Soviet Union in the fight against fascist aggression. On July 12, 1941, an agreement was concluded between the USSR and Great Britain on joint actions in the war against Germany. On August 2, an agreement was reached with the United States on military-economic cooperation and providing material support to the USSR.

On August 14, Roosevelt and Churchill promulgated the Atlantic Charter, to which the USSR joined on September 24, expressing a special opinion on a number of issues directly related to the military actions of the Anglo-American troops. At the Moscow meeting (September 29 - October 1, 1941), the USSR, Great Britain and the USA considered the issue of mutual military supplies and signed the first protocol. To prevent the danger of creating fascist bases in the Middle East, British and Soviet troops entered Iran in August–September 1941. These joint military-political actions marked the beginning of the creation of the Anti-Hitler coalition, which played an important role in the war.

During the strategic defense in the summer and autumn of 1941, Soviet troops offered staunch resistance to the enemy, exhausted and bled the forces of the Nazi Wehrmacht. The fascist German troops were unable to capture Leningrad, as envisaged by the invasion plan, and were shackled for a long time by the heroic defense of Odessa and Sevastopol, and stopped near Moscow. As a result of the counter-offensive of Soviet troops near Moscow and the general offensive in the winter of 1941/42, the fascist plan for a “lightning war” finally collapsed. This victory had world-historical significance: it dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the fascist Wehrmacht, confronted fascist Germany with the need to wage a protracted war, inspired the European peoples to fight for liberation against fascist tyranny, and gave a powerful impetus to the Resistance movement in the occupied countries.

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a war against the United States with a surprise attack on the American military base at Pearl Harbor in the Pacific Ocean. Two major powers entered the war, which significantly affected the balance of military-political forces and expanded the scale and scope of the armed struggle. On December 8, the USA, Great Britain and a number of other states declared war on Japan; On December 11, Nazi Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

The entry of the United States into the war strengthened the anti-Hitler coalition. On January 1, 1942, the Declaration of 26 States was signed in Washington; Later, new states joined the Declaration.

On May 26, 1942, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Great Britain on an alliance in the war against Germany and its partners; On June 11, the USSR and the USA entered into an agreement on the principles of mutual assistance in waging war.

Having carried out extensive preparations, the fascist German command in the summer of 1942 launched a new offensive on the Soviet-German front. In mid-July 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad began (1942 - 1943), one of the greatest battles of the 2nd World War. During the heroic defense in July - November 1942, Soviet troops pinned down the enemy strike group, inflicted heavy losses on it and prepared the conditions for launching a counteroffensive.

In northern Africa, British troops managed to stop the further advance of German-Italian troops and stabilize the situation at the front.

In the Pacific Ocean in the first half of 1942, Japan managed to achieve supremacy at sea and occupied Hong Kong, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, the Philippines, the most important islands of Indonesia and other territories. At the cost of great efforts, the Americans managed to defeat the Japanese fleet in the Coral Sea and at Midway Atoll in the summer of 1942, which made it possible to change the balance of forces in favor of the allies, limit Japan's offensive actions and force the Japanese leadership to abandon their intention to enter the war against the USSR.

A radical turning point in the course of the war. The collapse of the offensive strategy of the fascist bloc. The 3rd period of the war was characterized by an increase in the scope and intensity of military operations. The decisive events in this period of the war continued to take place on the Soviet-German front. On November 19, 1942, a counteroffensive of Soviet troops began near Stalingrad, which ended with the encirclement and defeat of a 330-thousand group of troops of the pr-ka. The victory of Soviet troops at Stalingrad shocked Nazi Germany and undermined its military and political prestige in the eyes of its allies. This victory became a powerful stimulus for the further development of the liberation struggle of the peoples in the occupied countries, giving it greater organization and purpose. In the summer of 1943, the military-political leadership of Nazi Germany made a last attempt to regain the strategic initiative and defeat the Soviet troops

in the Kursk region. However, this plan was a complete failure. The defeat of fascist German troops in the Battle of Kursk in 1943 forced fascist Germany to finally switch to strategic defense.

The USSR's allies in the anti-Hitler coalition had every opportunity to fulfill their obligations and open a 2nd front in Western Europe. By the summer of 1943, the strength of the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain exceeded 13 million people. However, the strategy of the USA and Great Britain was still determined by their policies, which ultimately counted on the mutual exhaustion of the USSR and Germany.

On July 10, 1943, American and British troops (13 divisions) landed on the island of Sicily, captured the island, and in early September they landed amphibious assault forces on the Apennine Peninsula, without encountering serious resistance from Italian troops. The offensive of the Anglo-American troops in Italy took place in the context of an acute crisis in which the Mussolini regime found itself as a result of the anti-fascist struggle of the broad masses led by the Italian Communist Party. On July 25, Mussolini's government was overthrown. The new government was headed by Marshal Badoglio, who signed an armistice with the United States and Great Britain on September 3. On October 13, the government of P. Badoglio declared war on Germany. The collapse of the fascist bloc began. Anglo-American forces landed in Italy launched an offensive against the Nazi troops, but, despite their numerical superiority, they were unable to break their defenses and suspended active operations in December 1943.

During the 3rd period of the war, significant changes occurred in the balance of forces of the warring parties in the Pacific Ocean and in Asia. Japan, having exhausted the possibilities of further offensive in the Pacific theater of operations, sought to gain a foothold on the strategic lines conquered in 1941-42. However, even under these conditions, the military-political leadership of Japan did not consider it possible to weaken the grouping of its troops on the border with the USSR. By the end of 1942, the United States made up for the losses of its Pacific Fleet, which began to surpass the Japanese fleet, and intensified its operations on the approaches to Australia, in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean and on Japan's sea lanes. The Allied offensive in the Pacific Ocean began in the fall of 1942 and brought the first successes in the battles for the island of Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands), which was abandoned by Japanese troops in February 1943. During 1943, American troops landed on New Guinea, drove the Japanese out of the Aleutian Islands, and a number of significant losses to the Japanese navy and merchant fleet. The peoples of Asia rose more and more decisively in the anti-imperialist liberation struggle.

The defeat of the fascist bloc, the expulsion of enemy troops from the USSR, the creation of a second front, liberation from the occupation of European countries, the complete collapse of fascist Germany, and its unconditional surrender. The most important military-political events of this period were determined by the further growth of the military-economic power of the anti-fascist coalition, the increasing force of the blows of the Soviet Armed Forces and the intensification of the actions of the allies in Europe. On a larger scale, the offensive of the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain unfolded in the Pacific Ocean and Asia. However, despite the well-known intensification of allied actions in Europe and Asia, the decisive role in the final destruction of the fascist bloc belonged to the Soviet people and their Armed Forces.

The course of the Great Patriotic War irrefutably proved that the Soviet Union was capable of, on its own, achieving a complete victory over Nazi Germany and liberating the peoples of Europe from the fascist yoke. Under the influence of these factors, significant changes took place in the military-political activities and strategic planning of the United States, Great Britain and other participants in the anti-Hitler coalition.

By the summer of 1944, the international and military situation was such that a further delay in the opening of the 2nd Front would have led to the liberation of all of Europe by the USSR. This prospect worried the ruling circles of the United States and Great Britain and forced them to rush to invade Western Europe across the English Channel. After two years of preparation, the Normandy landing operation of 1944 began on June 6, 1944. By the end of June, the landing troops occupied a bridgehead about 100 km wide and up to 50 km deep, and on July 25 went on the offensive. It took place in a situation when the anti-fascist struggle of the Resistance forces, which numbered up to 500 thousand fighters by June 1944, was especially intensified in France. On August 19, 1944, an uprising began in Paris; By the time the allied troops arrived, the capital was already in the hands of French patriots.

At the beginning of 1945, a favorable environment was created for the final campaign in Europe. On the Soviet-German front it began with a powerful offensive of Soviet troops from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathians.

The last center of resistance to Nazi Germany was Berlin. At the beginning of April, Hitler’s command pulled the main forces to the Berlin direction: up to 1 million people, St. 10 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, 3.3 thousand combat aircraft, on April 16, the Berlin operation of 1945, grandiose in scope and intensity, began with troops of 3 Soviet fronts, as a result of which the Berlin enemy group. On April 25, Soviet troops reached the city of Torgau on the Elbe, where they united with units of the 1st American Army. On May 6-11, troops from 3 Soviet fronts carried out the Paris Operation of 1945, defeating the last group of Nazi troops and completing the liberation of Czechoslovakia. Advancing on a broad front, the Soviet Armed Forces completed the liberation of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. Carrying out the liberation mission, Soviet troops met with the gratitude and active support of the European peoples, all democratic and anti-fascist forces of the countries occupied by the fascists.

After the fall of Berlin, capitulation in the West became widespread. On the eastern front, Nazi troops continued their fierce resistance where they could. The goal of the Dönitz government, created after Hitler’s suicide (April 30), was to, without stopping the fight against the Soviet Army, conclude an agreement with the United States and Great Britain on partial surrender. Back on May 3, on behalf of Dönitz, Admiral Friedeburg established contact with the British commander Field Marshal Montgomery and obtained consent to surrender the Nazi troops to the British “individually.” On May 4, the act of surrender of German troops in the Netherlands, North-West Germany, Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark was signed. On May 5, fascist troops capitulated in Southern and Western Austria, Bavaria, Tyrol and other areas. On May 7, General A. Jodl, on behalf of the German command, signed the terms of surrender at Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims, which was to take effect on May 9 at 00:01. The Soviet government expressed categorical protest against this unilateral act, so the Allies agreed to consider it a preliminary protocol of surrender. At midnight on May 8, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, occupied by Soviet troops, representatives of the German High Command, led by Field Marshal W. Keitel, signed an act of unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany. Unconditional surrender was accepted on behalf of the Soviet government by Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov together with representatives of the USA, Great Britain and France.

Defeat of imperialist Japan. Liberation of the peoples of Asia from Japanese occupation. End of World War 2. Of the entire coalition of aggressive states that started the war, only Japan continued to fight in May 1945.

From July 17 to August 2, the Potsdam Conference of 1945 heads of government of the USSR (J. V. Stalin), the USA (H. Truman) and Great Britain (W. Churchill, from July 28 - K. Attlee) took place, at which, along with a discussion of European problems, a large attention was paid to the situation in the Far East. In a declaration dated July 26, 1945, the governments of Great Britain, the United States and China offered Japan specific terms of surrender, which the Japanese government rejected. The Soviet Union, which denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact in April 1945, confirmed at the Potsdam Conference its readiness to enter the war against Japan in the interests of quickly ending World War II and eliminating the source of aggression in Asia. On August 8, 1945, the USSR, true to its allied duty, declared war on Japan, and on August 9. The Soviet Armed Forces began military operations against the Japanese Kwantung Army concentrated in Manchuria. The entry of the Soviet Union into the war and the defeat of the Kwantung Army accelerated the unconditional surrender of Japan. On the eve of the USSR's entry into the war with Japan, on August 6 and 9, the United States used new weapons for the first time, dropping two atomic bombs. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are beyond any military necessity. About 468 thousand residents were killed, wounded, irradiated, or went missing. This barbaric act was intended, first of all, to demonstrate the power of the United States in order to put pressure on the USSR in solving post-war problems. The signing of the act of surrender of Japan took place on September 2. 1945. World War 2 ended.

Ours won

Figase briefly... To begin with, Stalin and Hitler entered into an alliance and both tore Poland apart. France and England were allies of Poland and declared war on Germany. But Hitler beat them both up, drove the British across the strait, captured Holland, Belgium, Denmark and half of France. I wanted to cross to England, but I realized that I didn’t have enough strength. He went to the Balkans, captured Yugoslavia and Greece. Then he realized that he and Stalin were cramped on the same planet, and Stalin himself was about to attack him, he decided to take an adventure, attack and defeat the Red Army, in order to protect himself for a long time from an attack from the East, and only then deal with England. But he miscalculated, a complete defeat did not happen, and he initially did not have the resources for a long war. At this time, Japan captured everything around itself and also decided to remove its competitor in the Pacific Ocean in the person of the United States - and struck a blow at the American fleet. But in the end they also miscalculated, the Americans recovered quite quickly and began to push the Japanese around all the islands. Hitler suffered a terrible defeat at Stalingrad, then his plan to attack Moscow in the summer of 1943 failed, and after that his resources became very bad; all he could manage was fierce resistance on all fronts. In 1944, after the defeat of Army Group Center in Belarus and the Allied landings in Normandy, things became very bad, and in the spring of 1945 it all ended. Japan was finished off in August after the nuclear bombing of their cities... Well, this is quite simple and brief.

1939, September 1 The attack of Germany and Slovakia on Poland - the beginning of the Second World War. 1939, September 3 Declaration of war on Germany by France and Great Britain (along with the latter, its dominions - Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa). 1939, September 17 Soviet troops cross the border of Poland and occupy Western Ukraine and Western Belarus. 1939, September 28 Capitulation of Warsaw - the end of organized resistance to the Polish army. 1939, September - October The USSR concludes agreements with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the deployment of Soviet military bases on their territory. 1939, November 30 Beginning of the Soviet-Finnish war, which ended on March 12, 1940 with the defeat of Finland, which ceded a number of border territories to the USSR. 1940, April 9 Invasion of German troops into Denmark and Norway - the beginning of the Norwegian campaign. Main events: the Germans captured the main strategic points of Denmark and Norway (by April 10, 1940); landing of allied Anglo-French troops in Central Norway (13-14.4.1940); defeat of the allies and evacuation of their troops from Central Norway (by May 2, 1940); Allied offensive on Narvik (12.5.1940); evacuation of the allies from Nar-vik (by 8/6/1940). 1940, May 10 Beginning of the offensive of German troops on the Western Front. Main events: defeat of the Dutch army and its surrender (by June 14, 1940); encirclement of the British-Franco-Belgian group on the territory of Belgium (by 20.5.1940); surrender of the Belgian army (27.5.1940); evacuation of British and part of French troops from Dunkirk to Great Britain (by 3/6/1940); the offensive of the German army and the breakthrough of the defense of the French army (06/09/1940); signing of an armistice between France and Germany, under the terms of which most of France was subject to occupation (June 22, 1940).

1940, May 10 Formation of a government in Great Britain led by Winston Churchill, a strong supporter of war until victory. 1940, June 16 Entry of Soviet troops into Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 1940, June 10, Italy declares war on Great Britain and France. 1940, June 26, the USSR demands that Romania hand over Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, which it captured in 1918 (the Soviet demand was satisfied on June 28, 1940). 1940, July 10 The French parliament transfers power to Marshal Philippe Petain - the end of the Third Republic and the establishment of the “Vichy regime” 1940, July 20 Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania become part of the USSR. 1940, August 1 Beginning of the air battle for Great Britain, which ended in May 1941 with the recognition by the German command of the impossibility of achieving air superiority. 1940, August 30, Romania cedes part of its territory to Hungary. 1940, September 15, Romania cedes part of its territory to Bulgaria. 1940, October 28 Italian attack on Greece, spreading the war to the Balkans. 1940, December 9 The beginning of the offensive of British troops in North Africa, which led to a heavy defeat for the Italian army. 1941, January 19 The beginning of the offensive of the British army in East Africa, which ended on May 18, 1941 with the surrender of Italian troops and the liberation of the Italian colonies (including Ethiopia). 1941, February Arrival of German troops in North Africa, which went on the offensive on March 31, 1941 and defeated the British. 1941, April 6 The offensive of the German army with the assistance of Italy and Hungary against Yugoslavia (its army capitulated on April 18, 1940) and Gresha (its army capitulated on April 21, 1940). 1941, April 10 Proclamation of the “Independent State of Croatia,” which included the Bosnian lands. 1941, May 20 German parachute landing on Crete, which ended in the defeat of British and Greek troops. 1941, June 22 Attack of Germany and its allies (Finland, Romania, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Croatia) on the Soviet Union. ..Further from the source..