World War Two significant dates for Australia
Discover the significant World War Two dates for Australia.
Argus. (1946). First Glimpse of the Home Folk as the Ship Pulls in alongside Princes Pier courtesy SLV
These dates are compiled from various sources and are indicative. For more information visit the Australian War Memorial website and the Shrine of Remembrance website.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 September 1939 | Germany invades Poland |
| 3 September 1939 | Britain and France declare war on Germany |
| 3 September 1939 | Declaration of Australia’s involvement in the war |
| April/May 1940 | Germany invades Norway and Denmark and the Blitzkreig against Holland, France and Belgium is launched |
| 26 May 1940 | Evacuation of British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk, France |
| 11 June 1940 | Italy joins Axis powers |
| 22 June 1940 | France signs armistice with Germany |
| June 1940 | Royal Australian Navy enters the war |
| July – October 1940 | British victory in the Battle of Britain |
| September 1940 | Japan joins Axis powers |
| 1941 | Australian army engages in combat |
| 22 June 1941 | Germany invades Russia in Operation Barbarossa |
| April to August 1941 | Siege of Tobruk, North Africa |
| 7 December 1941 | Japan bombs Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, and the USA enters the war |
| 1941 | John Curtin becomes Prime Minister of Australia |
| February 1942 | Fall of Singapore to Japan and the bombing of Darwin |
| May 1942 | Battle of Coral Sea |
| June 1942 | Battle of Midway, Pacific Ocean |
| 1942 to 1943 | Battles in Papua New Guinea |
| November 1942 | Allied victory at El Alamein, North Africa |
| 12 May 1943 | Axis powers surrender North Africa |
| 3 September 1943 | Italy surrenders |
| January 1944 | Relief of Leningrad |
| 6 June 1944 | D-Day – the Allied invasion of France |
| July 1944 | Japan evicted from Burma |
| 7 May 1945 | German High Command signs unconditional surrender |