September 1939: Germany invades Poland, starting World War II. Britain and France declare war on Germany.

April 1940: Germany invades Norway and Denmark.

May 1940: Germany invades Belgium and the Netherlands.

July 1940: Germany begins bombing Britain.

June 1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union.

December 1941: Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. The U.S. declares war on Japan.

February 1942: Japan captures Singapore.

May 1942: Japan captures the Philippines and Burma.

June 1942: The tide turns — the Allies defeat Japan in the Battle of Midway.

February 1943: German troops surrender in Stalingrad, USSR.

May 1943: Axis troops in northern Africa surrender.

September 1943: Italy surrenders.

November 1943: U.S. forces invade Tarawa.

June 1944: D-day: Allied troops land in France and begin invasion.

October 1944: Japan's navy is defeated near the Philippines.

December 1944: Germans fight back in Battle of the Bulge.

March 1945: Allied troops capture Iwo Jima.

May 1945: Germany surrenders, ending World War II in Europe.

August 1945: Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

September 1945: Japan signs surrender agreement, ending war.