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- Chelsea, London
- 10.00am - 5.30pm
- FREE
- Chelsea, London
Background
After the First World War (1914-18) and the economic crises of the 1920s, aggressive nationalism began to emerge in Europe. Keen to reverse the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919) and reassert its dominance of Europe, Germany annexed Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia in 1938.
Economic turmoil had also brought about militaristic movements in the Japanese Empire. Seeking influence and resources, Japan launched an invasion of China in 1937.
3 September 1939
War breaks out in Europe
The British Empire and France declare war on Germany following its invasion of Poland.
4 September 1939
Battle of the Atlantic
The British embark on a long and bitter naval campaign against German U-boats threatening shipping in the Atlantic. It will be the longest campaign of the war.
May 1940
Battle of France
Germany invades France, Belgium and the Low Countries. The British forces deployed to Europe are forced to evacuate from Dunkirk. France surrenders soon after.
Summer 1940
Battle of Britain
Germany attempts to gain air control over the British Isles before invasion. The Luftwaffe are defeated by the Royal Air Force and the invasion is suspended indefinitely.
September 1940
The Blitz begins
Germany commences the strategic aerial bombing of British cities.
February 1941
German forces arrive in North Africa
German commander Erwin Rommel is dispatched to North Africa to support Italian forces facing defeat by the Allies.
April 1941
The Axis invade Yugoslavia and Greece
The German Army launches an assault to overthrow the recently established pro-Allied government in Yugoslavia and support the stalled Italian invasion of Greece.
June 1941
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler launches a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union, breaking a pact of non-aggression between the two nations.
The war expands
In July 1941, the Japanese sent troops to South-East Asia. This threatened British interests in the area and prompted the United States and Britain to establish an oil embargo against Japan. In retaliation, the Japanese launched a devastating attack on the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, drawing the United States into the war.
In the days that followed, the Japanese invaded European colonies across eastern Asia, including the British territories of Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and Burma. Their aim was to create a fortified perimeter around a self-sufficient Japan, which could then be defended until the Allies tired of the war.
February 1942
Fall of Singapore
At Singapore, 80,000 Commonwealth troops are taken prisoner in Britain's worst defeat of the war.
June 1942
Battle of Midway
The US Navy severely weakens Japanese naval power in the Pacific with a decisive victory at Midway.
March 1942
Combined Bomber Offensive
The Allies launch a strategic aerial bombing campaign against German cities.
Autumn 1942
Battle of Guadalcanal
The Unites States earns another significant victory over the Japanese and goes on the offensive in the Pacific.
November 1942
Operation Torch
British and American forces invade Vichy French-held Morocco and Algeria in order to help clear Axis forces from North Africa.
November 1942
Battle of El Alamein
After a series of battles in the desert, the British secure a decisive victory at El Alamein, forcing the Axis into retreat.
February 1943
Battle of Stalingrad
The Germans surrender at Stalingrad and the Soviet Red Army begins to push the Germans back towards Berlin.
The Allies move against Italy
In May 1943, the Allies secured victory in North Africa. Their armies advanced from east and west, linking up near Tunis and prompting 250,000 German and Italian troops to surrender.
The Allies next set their sights on clearing the Axis powers from Europe. The invasion of Sicily took place in July 1943, leading to the arrest and expulsion of the Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini later that month. This victory prompted Italy to surrender. An armistice was signed on 3 September, but fighting in the country continued.
September 1943
The Allies invade Italy
The Allies land in Italy. But the Germans move in to hold up any sustained advance.
July 1943
Battle of Kursk
Germany loses the initiative on the Eastern Front and is forced into full retreat by the Red Army.
January 1944
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Allied advance in Italy is held up in a five-month campaign to break the Italian Winter Line and enter Rome.
Spring 1944
Battles at Imphal and Kohima
Bitter jungle fighting finally earns the Allies a decisive victory over the Japanese in Burma.
The Allied invasion of Europe
The Allies launched the amphibious invasion of Europe on 6 June 1944 in Normandy. They also landed in southern France in August. These operations coincided with a huge Red Army offensive in Eastern Europe that dealt a crushing blow to the Germans.
September 1944
Operation Market Garden
The Allies' airborne attack aimed at securing a crossing of the Rhine is defeated.
December 1944
Battle of the Bulge
Germany's last offensive in the west, a counter-attack in the Ardennes aimed at dividing the advancing Allies, fails.
April 1945
Liberation of Bergen-Belsen
British forces liberate the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen.
April 1945
The Soviets take Berlin
The Red Army captures the German capital. The Allies meet the Russians at the River Elbe shortly after.
Victory in Europe
The Allies pushed into western Germany in February 1945. On 25 April, the Red Army entered Berlin. Five days later, Adolf Hitler committed suicide and the Soviets captured the German parliament building, the Reichstag. After another Allied breakthrough in Italy, German forces there surrendered on 2 May.
Victory in Europe was declared for the Allies on 8 May 1945, following Germany’s unconditional surrender. This led to the occupation and division of Germany.
Spring 1945
Japan on the run
Commonwealth troops continue to force the Japanese back in Burma. At the same time, US forces seize key Japanese-held islands, including Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and attempt to destroy enemy cities and industry through firebombing.
July 1945
Attempts for peace
Allied leaders demand unconditional surrender from the Japanese, citing ‘prompt and utter destruction’ if this is not received.
August 1945
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States drops atomic weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing mass destruction and loss of life. The Red Army also invades Japanese territories between the bombings.
September 1945
Victory in Japan
The Japanese agree to unconditional surrender on 15 August. Their official surrender document is signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war.
The deadliest conflict in human history
Over 65 million people died during the Second World War. The majority were civilians killed by strategic aerial bombing, man-made famine and genocide.
In 1945, the United Nations was formed 'to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war'. Axis political and military leaders were put on trial and convicted of war crimes.
Legacy
Although Britain emerged victorious, the economic and political cost of the conflict accelerated the break-up of its Empire in the years that followed.
On the other hand, the economic and military might of the United States and the Soviet Union made them the dominant global powers. However, their opposing visions of a post-war world, combined with the threat of nuclear conflict, created a Cold War of political and military tension that lasted until the 1990s.
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