World War 2 Timeline

September 18, 1931

• Japan invades Manchuria.

World War 2 Timeline

• Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe.

September 17, 1939

• The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east.

April 9, 1940–June 9, 1940

• Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders on the day of the attack; Norway holds out until June 9.

June 10, 1940

• Italy enters the war. Italy invades southern France on June 21.

June 28, 1940

• The Soviet Union forces Romania to cede the eastern province of Bessarabia and the northern half of Bukovina to the Soviet Ukraine.

September 27, 1940

• Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact.