1939 Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a NonAggression Pact 1939 Germany Invades Poland World War II begins when Germany invades Poland on September On September 3, Great Britain and France declare war against Germany 1940 Germany Invades Norway German forces invade Norway and Denmark 1940 German Armies Invade the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg In a flanking move that makes the French Maginot Line irrelevant, the Germans attack the Low Countries The Netherlands surrenders in four days, after massive German attacks on Rotterdam 1940 Dunkirk Is Evacuated The British successfully extricate 200,000 British and 100,000 French troops from the beaches of Dunkirk as German forces advance on France 1940 Paris Falls, France Surrenders On June 13, Paris is evacuated by French forces in the face of advancing German troops France surrenders 10 days later 1940 Battle of Britain Germany attempts to subdue Great Britain, attacking major British cities and military installations by air, but fails Chronology xxvii 1941 Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor On December the Japanese launch a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii 1942 Singapore Surrenders The British fortress at Singapore surrenders to the Japanese 1942 Philippines Surrender On December 22, 100,000 Japanese troops land on the island of Luzon Japanese forces converge on the capital of Manila, forcing the U.S and Filipino defenders to retreat to the island of Corregidor On May 6, American forces surrender 1942 Battle of Midway The entire U.S naval carrier force intercepts and sinks four Japanese carriers This victory is the turning point for the United States in the Pacific war 1942 German Troops Reach Stalingrad German troops reach the Russian city of Stalingrad, on the Volga, and besiege it 1942 British Victory at El Alamein German forces, under the command of Erwin Rommel, meet the British forces under General Bernard Montgomery at El Alamein Montgomery has a two-to-one advantage in tanks and is victorious 1940 Italy Invades Greece The Italians invade Greece, expecting a quick victory 1942 Operation Torch The invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch is designed to encircle German troops there American troops land in French North Africa with limited opposition 1940 British Attack Italian Forces in Egypt British troops launch a surprise attack on Italian troops that occupy parts of western Egypt, routing the Italians 1942 Japanese Americans Are Interned On February 20, President Roosevelt issues a presidential order to intern Japanese-American residents of the West Coast 1941 German Forces Invade Greece and Yugoslavia Germany invades Yugoslavia after a coup in Belgrade that overthrows the pro-German government and replaces it with one committed to neutrality 1943 Casablanca Conference A conference is held in Casablanca, in French Morocco, January 14–24, between U.S president Franklin Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill and their respective staffs 1941 German Forces Invade the Soviet Union Breaking the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, German forces invade the Soviet Union Germany advances on a 2,000-mile-long front 1943 German Troops Surrender at Stalingrad The starving and surrounded German troops at Stalingrad surrender to Soviet forces