World War II Timeline
Compiled by David 'Grinch' Lenci
1941
April 11 - Office of Price Administration (OPA) established
Dec 7 - Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Dec 8 - US declares war on Japan
Dec 11 - Germany and Italy declare war on US
1942
Jan 24 - OPA authorized to ration goods
Jan 30 - Emergency Price Control Act
Feb 10 - Last new civilian car made
April - Japanese, Italian and German-Americans relocated
April 18 - Doolittle attempts raid on Tokyo
May 7 - Battle of the Coral Sea
June 3 - Battle of Midway
July 22 - Gasoline rationing begins
Aug 7 - US offensive at Guadalcanal
Aug 17 - First USAAF raid in Europe
Sep 15 - Papua, New Guinea Campaign
Nov 8 - Operation Torch (North African Campaign)
Nov 30 - First War Loan
Dec 27 - Food Rationing Program announced
1943
Jan 4 - Tunisian campaign
Feb 2 - Germans surrender at Stalingrad
Feb - First point rationing books distributed
Mar 2 - Battle of the Bismarck Sea
April 8 - Roosevelt's "Hold the Line" order
April 12 - Second War Loan
May 13 - North African War ends
June 30 - South Pacific offensive begins
Aug 15 - Aleutians retaken
Aug 17 - Patton conquers Sicily
Sep 9 - US Army lands at Salerno, Italy
Sep 9 - Third War Loan
Oct 9 - USAAF Schweinfurt raid
Nov 20 - Central Pacific Campaign begins
1944
Jan 18 - Fourth War Loan
Jan 22 - Allies land at Anzio, Italy
Feb 7 - Allied victory in the Marshall Islands
June 4 - Rome liberated
June 6 - D-Day (Operation Overlord begins in Europe)
June 12 - Fifth War Loan
June 19 - Battle of the Phillipines Sea
Aug 15 - Allied invasion of France (Operation Dragoon)
Sep 10 - France liberated
Sep 11 - Invasion of Germany
Oct 23 - Battle of Leyte Gulf
Nov 20 - Sixth War Loan
Nov 24 - Bombing of Japan begins
Dec 16 - Battle of the Bulge
1945
Jan 9 - Philippines Luzon Campaign
Feb 8 - Rhineland Campaign
Feb 23 - Marines plant flag on Iwo Jima
Mar 9 - USAAF Tokyo raid
April 1 - Okinawa Campaign
April 12 - Death of FDR, Truman becomes President
May 2 - Fall of Berlin
May 8 - VE Day (Germany surrenders)
May 14 - Seventh War Loan
Aug 6 - Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
Aug 9 - Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Sep 2 - VJ Day (Japan signs surrender agreement)
Oct 29 - Eighth, or Victory, War Loan
Other Interesting Sites
San Francisco During WWII
Camp Stoneman
Local WWII Veterans