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 7. 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 "Plan Barbarossa".

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'état 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 at a decisive German push 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 brutal 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.

September October.
On the basis of mutual assistance pacts concluded with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Soviet troops are stationed on the territory of these countries.

1940

June 14 - 16.
Ultimatum from the Soviet leadership to the Baltic countries. Introduction of additional Soviet troops and equipment into Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.

1941

June 22 - 27.
Romania, Italy, Slovakia, Finland, and Hungary enter the war against the USSR.

August.
The German offensive continues in three main directions - Leningrad, Moscow, Kyiv.

8 September.
The Germans occupy Shlisselburg and thereby close the ring around Leningrad. The beginning of the siege of Leningrad.

1942

January.
The territory of the Moscow region has been completely liberated from German troops.

December.
The failure of Field Marshal Manstein's attempt to liberate the Paulus group encircled at Stalingrad.

1943

January.
The beginning of the retreat of German troops in the Caucasus.

January 12 - 18.
Capture of Shlisselburg by Soviet troops. Partial lifting of the blockade of the city on the Neva.

April 13.
The German leadership declares that numerous remains of Polish prisoners of war were found near Katyn and sends an international commission to Smolensk to investigate the circumstances of this crime.

1944

February March.
Liberation of Right Bank Ukraine, crossing of the Dniester and Prut.

December.
The offensive of Soviet troops in Hungary. The surroundings of Budapest.

1945

January 12.
Beginning of a major winter offensive by Soviet troops in East Prussia, Western Poland and Silesia.

Today they like to repeat the phrase that the war is not over until the last soldier is buried. Is there an end to this war, when search engines every season find hundreds and hundreds of dead soldiers who remained on the battlefield? There is no end to this work, and many politicians and military men, and simply not very healthy people, have been swinging batons for many years now, dreaming of once again putting in their place the countries that are “presumptuous”, in their opinion, reshaping the world, taking away what they cannot get in peaceful way. These hotheads are constantly trying to ignite the fire of a new world war in different countries of the world. Fuses are already smoldering in Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. It will light up in one place and explode everywhere! They say they learn from mistakes. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true, and two world wars in the 20th century alone are evidence of this.

Historians are still arguing how many died? If 15 years ago they claimed that there were more than 50 million people, now another 20 million have been added. How accurate will their calculations be in another 15 years? After all, what happened in Asia (especially in China) is most likely simply impossible to evaluate. The war and the famine and epidemics associated with it simply did not leave evidence in those parts. Can't this really stop anyone?!

The war lasted for six years. The armies of 61 countries with a total population of 1,700 million people, that is, 80% of the entire earth's population, were under arms. The fighting spanned 40 countries. And the worst thing is that the number of civilian deaths exceeded the number of deaths in military operations several times.

Previous events

Returning to the Second World War, it should be noted that it began not in 1939, but most likely in 1918. The First World War did not end in peace, but rather in a truce; the first round of global confrontation was completed, and in 1939 the second began.

After the First World War, many European states disappeared from the political map, and new ones were formed. Those who won did not want to part with their acquisitions, and those who were defeated wanted to return what they had lost. The far-fetched solution to some territorial issues also caused irritation. But in Europe, territorial issues were always resolved by force; all that remained was to prepare.

Very close to territorial ones, colonial disputes were also added. In the colonies, the local population no longer wanted to live in the old way and constantly raised liberation uprisings.

The rivalry between European states intensified even more. As they say, they bring water to the offended. Germany was offended, but did not intend to transport water for the victors, despite the fact that its capabilities were severely limited.

Dictatorships became an important factor in preparing for a future war. They began to multiply in Europe in the pre-war years with amazing speed. Dictators first asserted themselves in their countries, developing armies to pacify their peoples, with a further aim to capture new territories.

There was another important factor. This is the emergence of the USSR, which was not inferior in strength to the Russian Empire. And the USSR also created the danger of the spread of communist ideas, which European countries could not allow.

The outbreak of World War II was preceded by many different diplomatic and political factors. The Versailles agreements of 1918 did not suit Germany at all, and the Nazis who came to power created a bloc of fascist states.

By the beginning of the war, the final alignment of the warring forces had taken place. On one side were Germany, Italy and Japan, and on the other were Great Britain, France and the USA. The main desire of Great Britain and France was, right or wrong, to ward off the threat of German aggression from their countries, and also to direct it to the East. I really wanted to pit Nazism against Bolshevism. This policy resulted in the fact that, despite all the efforts of the USSR, it was not possible to prevent war.

The culmination of the policy of appeasement, which undermined the political situation in Europe and, in fact, pushed for the outbreak of war, was the Munich Agreement of 1938 between Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy. Under this agreement, Czechoslovakia “voluntarily” transferred part of its country to Germany, and a year later, in March 1939, it was completely occupied and ceased to exist as a state. Poland and Hungary also took part in this division of Czechoslovakia. This was the beginning, Poland was next in line.

Lengthy and fruitless negotiations between the Soviet Union and England and France on mutual assistance in the event of aggression led to the fact that the USSR signed a non-aggression pact with Germany. Our country was able to delay the start of the war for almost two years, and these two years allowed it to strengthen its defense capability. This agreement also contributed to the conclusion of a neutrality pact with Japan.

And Great Britain and Poland literally on the eve of the war, on August 25, 1939, signed an agreement on mutual assistance, to which France joined a few days later.

Beginning of World War II

On August 1, 1939, after a provocation staged by German intelligence services, military operations began against Poland. Two days later, England and France declared war on Germany. They were supported by Canada, New Zealand and Australia, India and the countries of South Africa. So the capture of Poland turned into a world war. But Poland never received real help.

Two German armies, consisting of 62 divisions, completely occupied Poland within two weeks. The government of the country left for Romania. The heroism of Polish soldiers was not enough to defend the country.

Thus began the first stage of the Second World War. England and France did not change their policy until May 1940; they hoped until the last that Germany would continue its offensive in the East. But everything turned out to be not quite so.

Major events of World War II

In April 1940, Denmark stood in the way of the German army, followed immediately by Norway. Continuing to carry out its Gelb plan, the German army decided to attack France through its neighboring countries - the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The French Maginot line of defense could not stand it, and already on May 20 the Germans reached the English Channel. The armies of Holland and Belgium capitulated. The French fleet was defeated, part of the army was able to be evacuated to England. The French government left Paris and the act of surrender was signed. Next up is the UK. There was no direct invasion yet, but the Germans blockaded the island and bombed English cities from airplanes. The island's staunch defense in 1940 (Battle of Britain) only briefly deterred aggression. The war at this time began to develop in the Balkans. On April 1, 1940, the Nazis captured Bulgaria, and on April 6, Greece and Yugoslavia. As a result, all of Western and Central Europe came under Hitler's rule. From Europe the war spread to other parts of the world. Italo-German troops launched offensives in North Africa, and already in the fall of 1941 it was planned to begin the conquest of the Middle East and India with the further connection of German and Japanese troops. And in Directive No. 32, which was being developed, German militarism assumed that by solving the English problem and defeating the USSR, it would eliminate the influence of the Anglo-Saxons on the American continent. Germany began preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union.

With the attack on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the second stage of the war began. Germany and its allies sent an invasion army unprecedented in history to destroy the Soviet Union. It consisted of 182 divisions and 20 brigades (about 5 million people, about 4.4 thousand tanks, 4.4 thousand aircraft, more than 47 thousand guns and mortars, 246 ships). Germany was supported by Romania, Finland, and Hungary. Assistance was provided by Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain, Portugal and Türkiye.

The Soviet Union was not fully prepared to repel this invasion. And therefore, the summer and autumn of 1941 were the most critical for our country. Fascist troops were able to advance from 850 to 1200 kilometers deep into our territory. Leningrad was blockaded, the Germans were dangerously close to Moscow, large parts of Donbass and Crimea were captured, and the Baltic states were occupied.

But the war with the Soviet Union did not go according to the German command’s plan. The lightning capture of Moscow and Leningrad failed. The defeat of the Germans near Moscow destroyed the myth of the invincibility of their army. The German generals were faced with the question of a protracted war.

It was at this time that the process of uniting all military forces in the world against fascism began. Churchill and Roosevelt officially announced that they would support the Soviet Union, and already on July 12, the USSR and England concluded a corresponding agreement, and on August 2, the United States pledged to provide economic and military assistance to the Russian army. On August 14, England and the United States promulgated the Atlantic Charter, to which the USSR joined.

In September, Soviet and British troops occupied Iran to prevent the creation of fascist bases in the East. An anti-Hitler coalition is being created.

December 1941 was marked by an aggravation of the military situation in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The two largest countries went to war. The Americans declared war on Italy, Japan and Germany.

But in the Pacific, Southeast Asia and North Africa, not everything worked out in favor of the Allies. Japan captured part of China, French Indochina, Malaya, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. The army and navy forces of Great Britain, Holland and the USA suffered heavy losses in the Javanese operation.

The third stage of the war is considered to be a turning point. Military operations at this time were characterized by scale and intensity. The opening of the Second Front was postponed indefinitely, and the Germans threw all their efforts into seizing the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front. The fate of the entire war was decided at Stalingrad and Kursk. The crushing victories of the Soviet troops in 1943 served as a strong mobilizing incentive for further action.

Nevertheless, active Allied action on the Western Front was still a long way off. They expected further depletion of the forces of Germany and the USSR.

On July 25, 1943, Italy withdrew from the war and the Italian fascist government was liquidated. The new government declared war on Hitler. The fascist union began to fall apart.

On June 6, 1944, the Second Front was finally opened, and more active actions by the Western Allies began. At this time, the fascist army was driven out of the territory of the Soviet Union and the liberation of European states began. The joint actions of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition led to the final defeat of the German troops and the surrender of Germany.

At the same time, the war in the East was in full swing. Japanese forces continued to threaten the Soviet border. The end of the war with Germany allowed the United States to strengthen its armies fighting against Japan. The Soviet Union, faithful to its allied obligations, transferred its armies to the Far East, which also took part in the hostilities. The war in the Far East and Southeast Asian territories ended on September 2, 1945. In this war, the United States used nuclear weapons against Japan.

Results and consequences of World War II

The main result of World War II should be considered, first of all, the victory over fascism. The threat of enslavement and partial destruction of humanity has disappeared.

The greatest losses were suffered by the Soviet Union, which took the brunt of the German army: 26.6 million people. The victims of the USSR and the resistance of the Red Army as a result led to the collapse of the Reich. No nation was spared human losses. More than 6 million people died in Poland, 5.5 million in Germany. A huge part of the Jewish population of Europe was destroyed.

The war could lead to the collapse of civilization. The peoples of the world at global trials condemned war criminals and fascist ideology.

A new political map of the planet has appeared, which nevertheless again divided the world into two camps, which in the future still became a reason for tension.

The use of nuclear weapons by the Americans in Nagasaki and Hiroshima forced the Soviet Union to accelerate the development of its own atomic project.

The war also changed the economic situation of countries around the world. European states were knocked out of the economic elite. Economic dominance passed to the United States of America.

The United Nations Organization (UN) was created, which gave hope that countries would be able to come to an agreement in the future and thereby eliminate the very possibility of conflicts such as the Second World War.

World War II, brief chronology
September 18, 1931
Japan attacks Manchuria.

October 2, 1935 - May 1936
Fascist Italy invades, conquers and annexes Ethiopia.

October 25 - November 1, 1936
Nazi Germany and fascist Italy conclude a cooperation agreement on October 25; On November 1, the creation of the Rome-Berlin Axis is announced.

November 25, 1936
Nazi Germany and imperialist Japan conclude the Anti-Comintern Pact, directed against the USSR and the international communist movement.

July 7, 1937
Japan invades China and World War II begins in the Pacific.

September 29, 1938
Germany, Italy, Great Britain and France sign the Munich Agreement, obliging the Czechoslovak Republic to cede the Sudetenland (where key Czechoslovak defenses were located) to Nazi Germany.

March 14-15, 1939
Under pressure from Germany, the Slovaks declare their independence and create the Slovak Republic. The Germans violate the Munich Agreement by occupying the remnants of Czech lands and create the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

March 31, 1939
France and Great Britain guarantee the inviolability of the borders of the Polish state.

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 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.

Briefly, point by point, the entire course of the Second World War 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 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 Nazi 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. On October 13, Italy entered the war with its former ally.
• 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.