Second World War - overview

New Zealand military involvement in the Second World War

A brief outline of the key events of the Second World War, particularly those involving New Zealand.

Jump to: 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945

By 1938 developments internationally over the previous 20 years, especially the rise of Nazi Germany, had made the possibility of another global conflict very real.

1939

• 14 March: German troops occupy Prague and the rest of Czechoslovakia
• 31 March: United Kingdom and France guarantee Polish independence
• 7 April: Italy invades Albania
• 14 June: Japanese blockade British concession at Tientsin, China
• 22 August: Soviet Union and Germany sign non-aggression pact
• 1 September: Germany invades Poland
• 3 September: Britain, France, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany
• 5 September:
  • A flying officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF) is the first New Zealander taken prisoner of war
  • South Africa declares war on Germany
• 10 September: Canada declares war on Germany
• 12 September: Enlistment for 2 New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2 NZEF) begins
• 17 September: Soviet Union invades Poland
• 27 September: Germans take Warsaw
• 29 September: Germany and Russia partition Poland
• 3 October: First Echelon 2 NZEF begins training at Burnham, Trentham, Hopuhopu and Papakura
• 4 October: New Zealand government announces formation of a Māori battalion for 2 NZEF
• 16 October: First German air raid on Britain
• 8 November: Attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler fails
• 23 November: Major-General Bernard Freyberg appointed to command 2 NZEF
• 11 December: First Echelon advance party sails from Wellington
• 13 December: New Zealand cruiser HMS Achilles involved in Battle of the River Plate with German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee
• 17 December: Empire Air Training Scheme agreement commits New Zealand to providing 3000 trainees per annum

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1940

• 5 January: First Echelon embarks for Middle East
• 7 January: First Echelon advance party arrives at Port Said, Egypt
• 8 January: Rationing begins in Britain
• 12 January: Second Echelon 2 NZEF begins training
• 28 January: 28 (Māori) Battalion assembles in Palmerston North
• 12 February: Main body of First Echelon 2 NZEF arrives at Maadi Camp, Egypt
• 19 March: First British air attacks on a land target - the island of Sylt in the Frisian Islands, off the north-west coast of Germany
• 27 March:
  • New Zealand airmen take part in first leaflet raid on Hamburg as members of the RAF
  • Michael Savage, Prime Minister of New Zealand, dies
• 1 April:
  • Formation of No. 75 (NZ) Squadron in Britain by the British Air Ministry
  • Peter Fraser becomes Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 9 April:
  • Germany invades Denmark and Norway
  • RAF and Royal Navy, including New Zealanders, involved in campaign in Norway 
• 15-18 April: British troops land in Norway
• 29 April: Empire Air Training Scheme commences in Canada, Australia and New Zealand
• 30 April: Evacuation of British forces from Andalsnes, central Norway
• 2 May: Second Echelon 2 NZEF sails from Wellington
• 10 May:
  • Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France
  • Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • RAF begins bombing raids on Germany
• 12-14 May: Germans break through on the French front
• 15 May: Netherlands surrenders to Germany
• 17 May: Third Echelon 2 NZEF begins training
• 20 May: Germans reach the Somme battlefield
• 25 May: Germans surround the Belgian Army, French forces and most of British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk
• 26 May: Evacuation from Dunkirk begins
• 28 May: Belgium surrenders to Germany
• 3 June: Germans bomb Paris. Evacuation from Dunkirk ends
• 5 June: New Zealand begins raising an infantry brigade group for Fiji
• 7 June: Fighter ace Flying Officer E.J. (‘Cobber’) Kain (Wellington), serving with the RAF, is killed in a flying accident in France (see his biography at www.dnzb.govt.nz)
• 10 June:
  • Italy declares war on United Kingdom and France
  • Canada declares war on Italy
• 11 June: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa declare war on Italy
• 11-12 June:
  • First air raids on Italy
  • East Africa campaign begins
• 14 June: Germans enter Paris
• 16 June: 2 Echelon 2 NZEF arrives at Greenock, Scotland
• 22 June: France accepts German armistice terms
• 25 June: Hostilities in France end
• 28 June: Britain recognises General Charles de Gaulle as Free French leader
• 2 July: Hitler orders preparations for invasion of Britain
• 5 July: French Vichy government breaks off relations with Britain
• 10 July: Battle of Britain begins with German air attacks on Channel convoys
• 15 July: RAF attacks German shipping in North Sea and Channel ports
• 23-24 July: First British aircraft over Berlin
• 2 August: New Zealand Home Guard established
• 4 August: Italians invade British Somaliland
• 8-18 August: Battle of Britain. Intense air raids on British shipping and airfields
• 20 August: German raider Orion sinks steamer Turakina off Cape Egmont
• 23-24 August: German air raids on London begin
• 25-26 August: First British air raids on Berlin
• 27 August: Third Echelon 2 NZEF embarks for Middle East
• 10 September: Advance party of 8 Infantry Battalion leaves for Fiji
• 13 September:
  • Italians invade Egypt
  • Pte G.R. Osbourne, 4 Reserve (MT) Company killed by explosion of thermos bomb. First member of 2 NZEF killed as a result of enemy action
  • Headquarters New Zealand Division (HQ NZ Division) moves to Baggush in Western Desert
• 15 September: Germans suffer heavy losses to RAF, in which about 100 New Zealanders are serving as fighter pilots
• 27 September: Tripartite (Axis) Pact signed by Germany, Italy and Japan
• 28 September: First United States destroyers reach Britain under destroyers for bases deal
• 29 September:
  • HQ NZ Division returns to Maadi Camp
  • Third Echelon 2 NZEF arrives in Egypt
• 28 October: Italy invades Greece
• 3 November: HQ 8 Infantry Brigade established in Fiji
• British troops land in Crete and Greece
• 14 November: German air raid on Coventry. Coventry Cathedral destroyed
• 25 November: Steamer Holmwood sunk by German raiders off Chatham Islands
• 27 November: Liner Rangitane sunk by German raiders 480 km from East Cape
• 8 December: New Zealand steamer Komata sunk by German raiders off Nauru Island
• 9 December: First Western Desert offensive includes New Zealand support troops
• 16 December: British offensive in Italian East Africa begins
• Egypt cleared of Italian forces

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1941

• 16 January: Establishment of Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)
• 22 January: Tobruk in Libya falls to British and Australian troops
• 3 February: First New Zealand blackout restrictions gazetted
• 7 February: Benghazi in Libya captured by British
• 12 February: German forces under General Erwin Rommel arrive in Tripoli, Libya
• 17 February: Instructions issued to Allied military commanders for a Greek expedition
• 3 March:
  • Bulk of 2 NZEF now in Middle East
  • Kiwi Concert Party formed
• 6-7 March: British troops, including most of 2 NZ Division, begin to arrive in Greece. (Freyberg wrongly assumes the New Zealand government has agreed to this deployment. The government wrongly assumes Freyberg thinks it a militarily feasible operation.)
• 24 March: Rommel captures El Agheila, Libya with little resistance
• 30 March: German armour and Italian infantry advance in the Western Desert
• 31 March: 2 NZ Division in position on Aliakmon Line north of Mt Olympus, Greece
• April: Bombing raids on Britain and Germany continue
• 2 April: Rommel attacks again, meeting little resistance
• 3 April: British evacuate from Benghazi
• 6 April: Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece. 2 NZ Division withdraws along eastern Greek seaboard
• 10 April: Australians forced back to Tobruk
• 11 April: First members of a New Zealand unit taken prisoner at Klidhi Pass (11 men of 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion)
• 12 April: Germans breakthrough at Klidhi Pass. Allied forces begin to abandon Mt Olympus-Aliakmon Line
• 12-13 April: Rommel encircles Tobruk. Siege begins
• 14 April: German attack on Tobruk repulsed
• 22-29 April: Evacuation of troops from Greece – some to Crete, others to Egypt
• 27 April: Germans enter Athens. Greece surrenders
• 17 May: Italian forces in East Africa surrender
• 20 May: German airborne invasion of Crete begins. Capture of Maleme airfield
• 24 May: Bismarck sinks British battlecruiser HMS Hood
• 27 May: Bismarck sunk
• 28-31 May: British, Australian and New Zealand troops evacuated from Crete
• 1 June: 2nd Lt Charles Upham and Sgt V.C. Hulme awarded Victoria Cross for gallantry on Crete. New Zealand troops regroup and train in Egypt
• 14 June: United States freezes German and Italian assets
• 15-18 June: British Operation Battleaxe fails to relieve Tobruk
• 22 June: Germany invades Soviet Union
• 28 June: Germans capture Minsk
• 10 July: Germans cross River Dnieper in Ukraine
• 14 July: British occupy Syria
• 25-27 July: Britain, Australia, New Zealand and United States freeze Japanese assets
• 28 July: Japanese troops move into southern Indo-China
• 31 July: All eligible married men in unreserved occupations have been called up for military service
• 3-4 August: German air raids on Moscow
• 5 August: Sgt Pilot J.A. Ward (75 Squadron) awarded Victoria Cross for gallantry during attack on Munster. First New Zealand airman to receive this award. (Killed in action September 1941)
• 7-8 August: Soviet Air Force raids Berlin
• 14 August: Britain and USA announce Atlantic Charter
• 20 August: Siege of Leningrad begins
• 1 September: Nazis order Jews to wear yellow stars as identification
• 12 September: 2 NZ Division moves to Baggush in Western Desert
• 19 September: Germans take Kyiv
• 2 October: Operation Typhoon begins (German advance on Moscow)
• 4-6 October: Raids on Benghazi and Tripoli by RAF begin
• 16 October: Germans take Black Sea port of Odesa
• 18 October: General Tojo Hideki forms Cabinet in Japan
• 24 October: Germans take Kharkiv
• 11 November: 2 NZ Division moves from Baggush to assembly point near Matruh-Siwa; the first time the entire New Zealand force has been together (20,000 all ranks)
• 18 November: British Crusader offensive begins in Western Desert. 2 NZ Division crosses Libyan frontier into Cyrenaica
• 21 November: Tank battle between Eighth Army and Axis begins south and south-east of Tobruk
• 26 November: 2 NZ Division links up with garrison at Tobruk. 4 Brigade captures Belhamed and 6 Brigade captures Sidi Rezegh
• 27–30 November: Axis army returns to Tobruk front. Overruns several NZ-held points, taking many prisoners of war
• 2 December:
  • 2 NZ Division withdraws from Libya
  • Heavy RAF raids on Axis supply bases in Tripoli and Benghazi
  • Royal Navy Force Z arrives in Singapore
• 5 December: German attack on Moscow is abandoned as Soviets launch counter-offensive
• 7 December: Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
• 7-8 December: Japanese troops land in Thailand and north-eastern Malaya
• 8 December: Britain, USA and New Zealand declare war on Japan
• 10 December: Siege of Tobruk lifted
• 11 December:
  • Germany declares war on United States
  • 5 Brigade 2 NZEF advances westward from Acroma and captures large force of Italians
• 16 December: Rommel begins retreat to El Agheila
• 18 December: Japanese land on Hong Kong island
• 22 December: Japanese land in the Philippines
• 23 December: New Zealanders serving with 67 Squadron RAF have first encounter with enemy during Japanese air raid on Rangoon, Burma (Myanmar)
• 24 December: British take Benghazi
• 25 December: Hong Kong falls to Japanese
• 31 December: Martial law declared in Singapore

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1942

• 1 January: Declaration of the United Nations signed by 26 Allied nations
• New Zealand casualties in Libyan campaign: 671 killed in action, 209 died of wounds, 1699 wounded, 2042 prisoners of war
• 2 January:
  • Bardia taken by Eighth Army; 1000 British prisoners of war set free
  • Japanese occupy Manila
• 3 January: 488 Sqn RNZAF in action at Singapore
• 6 January: Rommel commences offensive at Agedabia
• 8 January: Rommel repulsed and withdraws during sandstorm
• 10 January: More New Zealand reinforcements sent to Fiji
• 21 January: Rommel commences second offensive
• 23 January: Axis troops take Agedabia
• 26 January: First American forces arrive in Britain
• 29 January: Rommel’s forces retake Benghazi
• 30 January: Japanese within 25 km of Singapore
• 8 February: Japanese invade Burma
• 10 February: US naval vanguard arrives in Wellington
• 15 February: Fall of Singapore
• 19 February: Japanese attack Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Darwin, Australia, raided for the first time
• 20 February: Western Desert front line stabilised at Gazala
• February: 2 NZ Division deploys to Lebanon-Syria
• 3 March: No. 486 (New Zealand) fighter squadron formed in RAF in Britain
• March: Japanese air raids on Australia
• 8 March: Japanese submarine I-25 sends reconnaissance plane over Wellington
• 13 March: Reconnaissance flight from I-25 over Auckland
• 7-8 April: Peak of air attacks on Malta
• 18 April: 
• US General Douglas MacArthur assumes command of South West Pacific Area. New Zealand is in South Pacific Area, a US Navy responsibility under Admiral Chester Nimitz
• Doolittle raid on Tokyo by B-25 bombers
• 30 April: New Zealand prepares for possible invasion. Evacuation plans for some cities prepared
• 1 May: Rationing now includes sugar, clothing, boots, hosiery and knitting yarns. (Petrol has been rationed since September 1939)
• 7–8 May: Battle of Coral Sea. Japanese forces heading for Port Moresby turn back
• 8 May: German summer offensive begins in Crimea
• 27 May: Rommel launches new offensive in Libya
• 31 May: Japanese midget submarine raid on Sydney Harbour
• 3-6 June: US victory at Battle of Midway effectively ends danger of invasion of New Zealand
• 11-12 June: First US air force attack in Middle East/Mediterranean
• 14 June: With defeat of Eighth Army in Libya, 2 NZ Division recalled from Lebanon-Syria
• 21 June: Rommel captures Tobruk
• 28 June: 2 NZ Division narrowly escapes destruction with breakout at Minqar Qaim (1,000 casualties)
• 30 June: Rommel reaches El Alamein
• 1 July: First Battle of El Alamein
• 5 July: Soviet resistance in Crimea ends with fall of Sevastopol
• 9 July: Germans begin drive toward Stalingrad
• 12 July: New Zealand motor-ship Hauraki captured by Japanese raiders in Indian Ocean
• 14–15 July: 2 NZ Division advances to Ruweisat Ridge but is overrun by German tanks (1400 casualties, including POWs). Keith Elliott earns Victoria Cross and Charles Upham earns bar to Victoria Cross.
• 22 July: Two New Zealand battalions destroyed at El Mreir (900 casualties, including 500 POWs)
• 23 July: Germans cross River Don in Russia
• 24 July: Due to US assuming control in Fiji, 2 NZEF troops in Fiji return to New Zealand
• July: 9 Sqn RNZAF deployed to New Caledonia; first RNZAF involvement in area
• 1 August: Air raid drills held regularly in New Zealand schools
• 7 August:
  • First American land offensive against Japan at Guadalcanal in Solomon Islands
  • General Bernard Montgomery takes command of Eighth Army in North Africa
• 17 August: Italian transport ship Nino Bixio torpedoed carrying prisoners of war; 118 New Zealanders killed
• First all-American air attack in Europe
• 23 August: Massive German air raid on Stalingrad
• 25 August: Two companies of 28 (Māori) Battalion inflict heavy casualties on Italians on El Alamein Line
• 2 September: Rommel driven back by Montgomery in Battle of Alam Halfa
• 13 September: Battle of Stalingrad begins
• 21 September: Rommel hands over command of Italian-German Panzer Army to General Georg Stumme and proceeds to Germany
• September: HMNZS Leander involved in Solomons campaign
• 5–13 October: US forces continue attacks against Japanese at Guadalcanal
• 18 October: Hitler orders execution of all captured British commandos
• 23 October: Operation Lightfoot – the second battle of El Alamein – begins with massive air support of Eighth Army
• 2 NZ Division captures Miteiriya Ridge
• 25 October: General Stumme dies; Rommel returns to North Africa
• 28 October: RAF breaks up German armour reforming for counter attack in Western Desert
• October: 3 Sqn RNZAF deploys in South Pacific theatre
• 2 November: Operation Supercharge – Allied forces break Axis forces at El Alamein. 2 NZ Division opens way for British armour
• 8 November: Operation Torch begins – US invasion of North Africa; Lt-Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in command
• 11 November:
  • Germans and Italians invade unoccupied Vichy France.
  • Axis forces driven out of Egypt.
• 13 November: Tobruk falls to Eighth Army
• 19 November: Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad begins
• 20 November: Benghazi recaptured by British forces
• 2 December: Enrico Fermi sets up an atomic reactor in Chicago
• 3 December: HQ 3 NZ Division temporarily established in New Zealand. During December troops are sent to New Caledonia
• 13 December: Rommel withdraws from El Agheila
• 16 December: Soviets defeat German attempt to relieve Stalingrad
• 31 December: German forces retreat from Caucasus

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1943

• 5 January: HMNZS Achilles badly damaged by bomb off Guadalcanal
• 22 January: Australian and US forces defeat Japanese in Papua campaign
• 23 January: Eighth Army under General Montgomery takes Tripoli
• 29 January:
  • Eighth Army advance parties enter Tunisia
  • Japan withdraws land forces from Guadalcanal
• 29–30 January: RNZN corvettes Kiwi and Moa sink Japanese submarine I-1 off Guadalcanal
• 2 February: Germans surrender at Stalingrad – their biggest defeat to date
• 16 February: Soviets retake Kursk
• 27 February: Eighth Army takes up position on Mareth Line
• 6 March: Rommel attacks Eighth Army in Tunisia and is repulsed
• 9 March: Rommel leaves North Africa
• 16–20 March: Battle of Atlantic climaxes with 27 merchant ships sunk by German U-boats
• 20–28 March: Eighth Army breaks through Mareth Line
• 27 March: 2 NZ Division executes ‘left hook’ at Tebaga Gap. Axis troops retire from Mareth Line
• 6 April: Axis forces in Tunisia withdraw as British and American forces link up
• 26 April: First Army offensive against Tunis begins
• 7 May: Allies take Tunis
• 13 May: German and Italian troops in North Africa surrender
• 15 May: 2 NZ Division begins return journey from Tunisia to Maadi Camp
• 18 May: Japanese begin offensive along Yangtze River
• 20 May: New Zealand government agrees to keep 2 NZEF in Middle East to be available for operations in Europe. A furlough scheme for those with long service in Middle East is decided upon. The division in the Pacific is to be reduced.
• 3 June:
  • Committee for liberation of France formed by General de Gaulle and General Henri Giraud 
  • Chinese win victory on Yangtze
• 5 July: Germans begin major offensive at Kursk, but progress is limited. Soviets eventually win largest tank battle in history, effectively deciding outcome on Eastern Front
• 9–10 July: Allies land in Sicily
• 12–13 July: HMNZS Leander suffers heavy damage when torpedoed off New Georgia
• 14 July: Axis counter-attack in Sicily
• 19 July: Allies bomb Rome
• 22 July: Americans capture Palermo, Sicily
• 24 July: British bombing raid on Hamburg
• 25 July: Benito Mussolini arrested and Fascist Italian government falls. Marshal Pietro Badoglio takes over and negotiates with Allies
• 1 August: Germans disarm Italian troops in Crete and other Greek islands
• 12–17 August: Germans evacuate from Sicily
• 15 August: US troops land at Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands
• 16 August: American daylight air raids on Regensburg and Schweinfurt in Germany
• Heavy Allied air attacks on Japanese at Wewak, Papua New Guinea
• 23 August: Soviet troops recapture Kharkiv
• 8 September: Italian armistice is announced
• 9 September: Allied landings at Salerno and Taranto, Italy
• 11 September: Germans occupy Rome
• 12 September: German paratroops rescue Mussolini from captivity
• 14 September:
  • Allied landings in Sardinia
  • Heavy fighting at Salerno
• 22 September: New Zealand troops land on Leros in Dodecanese Islands, off eastern Greece. (Germans recapture these islands by mid-November)
• 23 September: Mussolini re-establishes puppet Fascist government in northern Italy
• 1 October: Allies enter Naples
• 3 October: 3 NZ Division secures Vella Lavella. First troops of 2 NZ Division arrive at Taranto
• 5 October: US force attacks Wake Island
• 13 October: Italy declares war on Germany
• 16–17 October: 4 and 5 NZ Brigades leave Port Tewfik for Italy
• 27 October:
  • Soviets break through between Dnieper River and Sea of Azov
  • 3 NZ Division lands on Mono in Treasury Islands
• 28 October: Butter rationing is introduced in New Zealand
• 1 November: US invades Bougainville
• 6 November: Soviets recapture Kyiv
• 9 November: Eighth Army takes Castiglione, Italy
• 22 November: Eighth Army offensive on Sangro River begins
• 1 December: German line on Sangro River broken
• 3–24 December: 2 NZ Division battles for Orsogna, north of Sangro River
• 20 December: Japanese air raid on Calcutta
• 31 December: Soviets take Zhitomir

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1944

• 13 January: Decision made to move NZ troops from Orsogna across Italian peninsula to Cassino
• 17 January:
  • US Fifth Army offensive along the Gustav Line begins. 2 NZ Division assembles in Fifth Army’s rear
  • First attack towards Cassino
• 22 January: Allied landing at Anzio, behind German lines
• 27 January:
  • Siege of Leningrad is raised after nearly 900 days
  • January: US invades Marshall Islands
• 3 February: First counter-attack by Germans at Anzio
• 15–18 February:
  • Allies bomb monastery at Monte Cassino
  • 3 NZ Division lands on Nissan Island in Solomons. Organised Japanese resistance ceases by 20 February
• 16 February: Second German counter-attack at Anzio
• 17 February: 28 (Māori) Battalion crosses Rapido River south of Cassino and captures railway station. Forced to withdraw the following day after Germans counter-attack
• 29 February: US General Douglas MacArthur’s force invades Admiralty Island
• 4 March: Soviets begin offensive on Byelorussian front
• 6 March: Meat rationing introduced in New Zealand
• 7 March: 20 New Zealand warplanes take part in their first attack on Japanese base at Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
• Japanese invade India near Imphal
• 15 March: NZ Corps begins assault on Cassino town after further Allied bombing. Assault continues until 23 March, when it withdraws
• 2 April: Soviet forces enter Romania
• 8 April: Soviets begin offensive to liberate Crimea
• 10 April: Soviets recapture Odesa
• 16 April: Imphal plains (India) now in British hands
• 8 May: Japanese launch offensive against British troops in Burma
• 9 May: Soviets recapture Sevastopol
• 11–12 May: Allied forces open new offensive against Gustav Line in Italy
• 15 May: Germans in Italy withdraw to Adolf Hitler Line
• 18 May: Polish troops capture Cassino
• 5 June: Allies enter Rome
• 6 June: D-Day: Allied landing in Normandy, France
• 9 June: Soviet offensive on Finnish front begins
• 13 June: First German V-1 rocket attack on Britain
• 15 June: Main body of HQ 3 NZ Division sails for New Caledonia
• 16 June: China-based B-29s bomb southern Japan
• 18 June: Eighth Army captures Assisi in central Italy
• 27 June:
  • US troops liberate Cherbourg
  • German forces overwhelmed by Soviets beyond Vitebsk
• 3 July: Soviets recapture Minsk
• 9 July: British and Canadian forces enter Caen
• 17 July: Allies cross Arno River in Italy
• 20 July: Attempted assassination of Hitler fails
• 21 July: US troops land on Guam
• 27 July: Allied breakthrough west of Saint Lo, France
• 31 July: Completion of Normandy breakthroughs with capture of Avranches
• 1 August: Polish Home Army uprising against Nazis in Warsaw
• 4 August:
  • Allied forces advance into Florence
  • Red Army at the gates of Warsaw
• 7 August: Germans begin counter-offensive towards Avranches
• 10 August: Japanese resistance on Guam ends
• 12 August: Germans begin to evacuate from Normandy
• 15 August: Allied forces land in southern France
• 22 August: Germans retreat to Gothic Line in Italy
• 23 August:
  • French troops take Marseille
  • Romania surrenders to Soviets
• 24 August: Liberation of Paris
• 31 August:
  • Eighth Army attacks Gothic Line
  • Soviets enter Bucharest
• 2 September:
  • Eighth Army breaks Gothic Line. US troops capture Pisa
  • Allied First Army enters Belgium
• 3 September: US and French troops capture Lyon
• 4 September:
  • Finland signs armistice with Soviet Union
  • Allies take Antwerp
• 8 September: Soviet troops enter Bulgaria
• 13 September: US troops reach Siegfried Line
• 17 September:
  • Operation Market Garden – Allied airborne attack on Netherlands – begins
  • Germans contain landing at Arnhem
• 26 September: Allied forces at Arnhem surrender
• 30 September: Allies capture Calais
• 2 October: Warsaw uprising ends as Polish Home Army surrenders to Germans
• 5 October: British forces land in Greece
• 10 October: Soviets reach Baltic coast
• 11 October: British troops occupy Corinth, Greece
• 14 October: Athens is liberated. Rommel commits suicide after being implicated in 20 July plot
• 20 October: Philippines campaign begins
• 21 October: German surrender at Aachen, Germany (close to Belgian border)
• 22 October: Soviets reach Norwegian border
• 23 October: Soviets enter East Prussia
• 30 October: Last use of gas chambers at Auschwitz
• 2 November: Greek mainland cleared of German forces
• 5 November: Allied planes bomb Singapore
• 18 November: US troops cross German border
• 24 November: B-29s bomb Tokyo
• 4 December:
  • Civil war begins in Greece
  • Eighth Army enters Ravenna, Italy
• 16–27 December: Battle of the Bulge in Ardennes
• 24 December: Last Japanese air raid on Calcutta
• 27 December: Soviet troops besiege Budapest

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1945

• 17 January: Germans withdraw from Ardennes
• 12 January: Soviets launch offensive in southern Poland
• 16 January: Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz
• 17 January: Soviet troops enter Warsaw
• 20 January: Hungary signs armistice with Allies
• 22 January: Burma Road is reopened
• 13 February: Budapest is occupied
• 13/14 February: Firebombing of Dresden, Germany
• 19 February: US troops land on Iwo Jima, Japan
• 6 March: Last German offensive of war begins to defend oilfields in Hungary
• 7 March: US troops take Cologne and cross Rhine River
• 17 March: Soviet troops take Brandenburg, west of Berlin
• 21 March: British forces take Mandalay, Burma 
• 1 April:
  • US troops encircle German force in Ruhr Valley
  • Allied forces begin offensive in northern Italy
  • US troops invade Okinawa
• 8 April: Soviets capture Vienna
• 12 April: US troops cross Elbe River
• 16 April: US troops enter Nuremberg
• 18 April: Germans in the Ruhr surrender
• 21 April: Soviets enter Berlin
• 25 April: US and Soviet troops meet up at Torgau, central Germany.
• 28 April:
  • Mussolini executed by partisans
  • Allies take Venice
• 29 April: Germans in southern Austria surrender
• 30 April: Hitler commits suicide
• 2 May:
  • 2 NZ Division enters Trieste
  • Germans in Italy surrender
  • Berlin surrenders to Soviets
  • German troops in Yugoslavia surrender 
• 3 May: Rangoon (Yangon) recaptured by British
• 5 May: German forces in Netherlands, north-west Germany and Denmark surrender
• 7 May: German High Command surrenders unconditionally to Allied forces
• 8 May: Victory in Europe (VE) Day
• 13 May: Australian troops occupy Wewak, Papua New Guinea
• 26 May: 700,000 incendiary bombs fall on Tokyo
• 20 June: Australian troops land in Sarawak
• 21 June: US forces capture Okinawa
• 26 June: United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco
• 5 July: Liberation of the Philippines completed
• 14 July: US Navy bombards Honshu and Hokkaido
• 16 July: First atomic bomb test in New Mexico
• 3 August: Japanese home islands blockaded
• 6 August: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan
• 8 August: Soviet Union declares war on Japan
• 9 August:
  • Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan
  • Soviet troops enter Manchuria
• 12 August: Soviet troops enter Korea
• 14 August: Japan accepts Allied surrender terms
• 15 August: VJ (Victory over Japan) Day. (Some prefer 2 September, the date on which Japan signed the surrender agreement.)
• 28 August: US troops enter Japanese main islands
• 30 August: British troops reoccupy Hong Kong
• 2 September: Formal Japanese surrender on deck of USS Missouri
• 24 October: United Nations officially born
• 20 November: Nuremberg war crimes trials begin