1 September: Germany invades Poland. 3 September: Britain and
France declare war on Germany. 17 September: Soviet Union
invades eastern Poland. 27 September: Surrender of Warsaw. 30
November: Soviet Union invades Finland. 13 December: Battle of
River Plate in the South Atlantic. 12 March: Finland signs peace
treaty with Soviet Union. 9 April: Germany invades Denmark and
Norway. 10 May: Germany invades Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg.
13 May: Bombing of Rotterdam. 15 May: Holland surrenders to
Germany. 26 May: Start of the Dunkirk evacuation. 28 May:
Belgium surrenders to Germany. 10 June: Capitulation of Norway.
10 June: Italy declares war on Britain and France. 14 June:
Germans occupy Paris. 18 June: Soviets annex Baltic states. 22
June: France signs armistice with Germany. 30 June: Germany
begins occupation of the Channel Islands. 3 July: British sink
French fleet docked in Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria. 11 July: Marshal
Pétain becomes head of French Vichy government. 13 August:
Battle of Britain begins, 13 Septem