World War II, a significant global conflict with advanced military technology. Crucial battles on multiple continents led by Germany, Japan, Soviet Union, US, Great Britain, and France. Outcomes include the UN, Cold War, loss of millions of lives, and impact on society. WWII continues to provide lessons for future generations.
| S. No. | Key Events and Battles | Year | Result | |
| 1 | Invasion of Poland | 1939 | German victory, beginning of WWII | |
| 2 | Battle of Britain | 1940 | Allied victory, thwarted German invasion | |
| 3 | Operation Barbarossa | 1941 | German invasion of Soviet Union | |
| 4 | Pearl Harbor | 1941 | Japanese attack on U.S. naval base | |
| 5 | Battle of Stalingrad | 1942-1943 | Soviet victory, turning point of WWII | |
| 6 | Battle of Midway | 1942 | U.S. victory, turned tide of war in Pacific | |
| 7 | Operation Torch | 1942 | Allied invasion of North Africa | |
| 8 | Invasion of Italy | 1943 | Allied victory, toppled Mussolini | |
| 9 | D-Day | 1944 | Allied invasion of Normandy | |
| 10 | Battle of the Bulge | 1944 | Allied victory, German offensive thwarted | |
| 11 | Battle of Iwo Jima | 1945 | U.S. victory, bloody Pacific battle | |
| 12 | Battle of Okinawa | 1945 | U.S. victory, last major battle of Pacific War | |
| 13 | Yalta Conference | 1945 | Meeting of Allied leaders to plan postwar Europe | |
| 14 | Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1945 | Truman becomes president | |
| 15 | Battle of Berlin | 1945 | Soviet victory, capture of German capital | |
| 16 | V-E Day | 1945 | Allied victory in Europe | |
| 17 | Potsdam Conference | 1945 | Meeting of Allied leaders to discuss postwar Germany | |
| 18 | Atomic bombing of Hiroshima | 1945 | U.S. drops first atomic bomb | |
| 19 | Atomic bombing of Nagasaki | 1945 | U.S. drops second atomic bomb | |
| 20 | V-J Day | 1945 | Allied victory in Japan, end of WWII | |
| 21 | Nuremberg Trials | 1945-1946 | Trials of Nazi leaders for war crimes | |
| 22 | Formation of United Nations | 1945 | International organization founded to promote peace | |
| 23 | Marshall Plan | 1948-1951 | U.S. aid to rebuild Europe | |
| 24 | Berlin Blockade and Airlift | 1948-1949 | Soviet blockade of West Berlin, U.S. airlifts supplies | |
| 25 | Formation of NATO | 1949 | Military alliance formed to counter Soviet Union | |
| 26 | Chinese Civil War | 1945-1949 | Communist victory, Mao Zedong becomes leader | |
| 27 | Korean War | 1950-1953 | North Korean invasion of South Korea, stalemate | |
| 28 | Warsaw Pact | 1955 | Soviet-led military alliance | |
| 29 | Suez Crisis | 1956 | Military conflict between Egypt and Western powers | |
| 30 | Hungarian Revolution | 1956 | Uprising against Soviet rule, crushed by Red Army | |
| 31 | Algerian War | 1954-1962 | War of independence from France | |
| 32 | Vietnam War | 1955-1975 | Communist forces fight U.S. and South Vietnamese forces | |
| 33 | Cuban Revolution | 1953-1959 | Communist revolution led by Fidel Castro | |
| 34 | Bay of Pigs Invasion | 1961 | Failed U.S. attempt to overthrow Castro | |
| 35 | Cuban Missile Crisis | 1962 | U.S. and Soviet Union come to brink of nuclear war | |
| 36 | Gulf of Tonkin Incident | 1964 | U.S. pretext for escalation of Vietnam War | |
| 37 | Six-Day War | 1967 | Israel defeats Arab nations and gains territory | |
| 38 | Prague Spring | 1968 | Czechoslovakia’s brief period of political liberalization | |
| 39 | Tet Offensive | 1968 | North Vietnamese surprise attack on South Vietnamese cities | |
| 40 | Apollo 11 | 1969 | U.S. lands first humans on the moon | |
| 41 | Yom Kippur War | 1973 | Israel defeats Arab nations | |
| 42 | Watergate Scandal | 1972-1974 | U.S. political scandal leading to Nixon’s resignation | |
| 43 | Vietnam War ends | 1975 | Communist victory, unification of Vietnam | |
| 44 | Iranian Revolution | 1979 | Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini | |
| 45 | Soviet-Afghan War | 1979-1989 | Soviet Union invades Afghanistan | |
| 46 | Falklands War | 1982 | British victory over Argentina | |
| 47 | Iran-Iraq War | 1980-1988 | Long and bloody war between two Middle Eastern powers | |
| 48 | Chernobyl disaster | 1986 | Nuclear accident in Ukraine | |
| 49 | Berlin Wall falls | 1989 | Symbolic end of Cold War | |
| 50 | Gulf War | 1990-1991 | Coalition forces expel Iraq from Kuwait | |
| 51 | Breakup of Yugoslavia | 1991-1999 | Balkan conflicts result in new nation-states | |
| 52 | Rwanda genocide | 1994 | Mass killing of ethnic Tutsis by Hutus | |
| 53 | Bosnian War | 1992-1995 | War between Bosniak, Croat, and Serb forces | |
| 54 | Oklahoma City bombing | 1995 | Domestic terrorist attack on federal building | |
| 55 | NATO bombing of Yugoslavia | 1999 | Intervention in Kosovo War | |
| 56 | 9/11 attacks | 2001 | Terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon | |
| 57 | War in Afghanistan | 2001-2021 | U.S. and coalition forces fight Taliban and Al-Qaeda | |
| 58 | Iraq War | 2003-2011 | U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq | |
| 59 | Arab Spring | 2010-2012 | Protests and uprisings across Middle East and North Africa | |
| 60 | COVID-19 pandemic | 2019-present | Global pandemic caused by coronavirus | |
| 61 | Black Lives Matter protests | 2020 | Protests against police brutality and racism in the U.S. | |
| 62 | Australian bushfires | 2019-2020 | Devastating wildfires in Australia | |
| 63 | Impeachment of Donald Trump | 2019-2020 | Impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump | |
| 64 | U.S. Presidential election | 2020 | Joe Biden defeats incumbent Donald Trump | |
| 65 | Beirut explosion | 2020 | Devastating explosion in Beirut, Lebanon | |
| 66 | Belarus protests | 2020 | Protests against authoritarian regime in Belarus | |
| 67 | Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | 2020 | Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over disputed territory | |
| 68 | Ethiopia-Tigray conflict | 2020-present | Fighting between Ethiopian government and Tigray region | |
| 69 | Myanmar coup | 2021 | Military coup and subsequent protests in Myanmar | |
| 70 | Israel-Hamas conflict | 2021 | Fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza | |
| 71 | Colonial Pipeline cyberattack | 2021 | Cyberattack on major U.S. fuel pipeline | |
| 72 | G7 summit | 2021 | Meeting of leaders from seven major world economies | |
| 73 | Tokyo Olympics | 2021 | Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan | |
| 74 | Afghanistan withdrawal | 2021 | U.S. withdraws troops from Afghanistan after 20-year war | |
| 75 | Hurricane Ida | 2021 | Category 4 hurricane hits Louisiana and Mississippi | |
| 76 | COP26 climate summit | 2021 | United Nations climate change conference held in Glasgow, Scotland | |
| 77 | Omicron variant | 2021 | New strain of coronavirus identified | |
| 78 | China-Taiwan tensions | 2021-present | Heightened tensions between China and Taiwan | |
| 79 | Russian invasion of Ukraine | 2022 | Russian invasion of Ukraine | |
| 80 | Winter Olympics | 2022 | Winter Olympics held in Beijing, China | |
| 81 | COVID-19 vaccine boosters | 2022-present | Additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine recommended | |
| 82 | U.S. midterm elections | 2022 | Elections for Congress held in the U.S. | |
| 83 | Glasgow climate summit | 2022 | United Nations climate change conference held in Glasgow, Scotland | |
| 84 | Hong Kong crackdown | 2019-present | Crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong | |
| 85 | Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict | 2018-present | Conflict over disputed border region | |
| 86 | Brazil wildfires | 2019-2021 | Devastating wildfires in the Amazon rainforest | |
| 87 | Greece-Turkey tensions | 2020-present | Tensions between Greece and Turkey over territorial disputes | |
| 88 | SolarWinds cyberattack | 2020 | Cyberattack on U.S. government and corporations | |
| 89 | Texas power outage | 2021 | Severe winter weather causes power grid failure in Texas | |
| 90 | COP27 climate summit | 2023 | United Nations climate change conference to be held in TBD | |
| 91 | World Cup | 2022 | Soccer World Cup held in Qatar | |
| 92 | South Africa riots | 2021 | Riots and looting in South Africa | |
| 93 | Scottish independence referendum | 2023 (planned) | Referendum on Scottish independence from the UK | |
| 94 | Yemen crisis | 2014-present | Civil war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen | |
| 95 | U.S.-China trade war | 2018-2020 | Trade tensions and tariffs between the U.S. and China | |
| 96 | Catalonia independence movement | 2017-present | Movement for independence from Spain in Catalonia | |
| 97 | Iran nuclear deal | 2015-2018 | Agreement between Iran and world powers to limit Iran’s nuclear program | |
| 98 | Fukushima disaster anniversary | 2011-present | Commemoration of the 2011 nuclear disaster in Japan | |
| 99 | Greta Thunberg and youth climate activism | 2018-present | Youth-led movement for climate action | |
| 100 | North Korea missile tests | 2017-present | Missile tests and nuclear program by North Korea | |
| 101 | Hong Kong national security law | 2020 | Controversial law granting China more control over Hong Kong | |
| 102 | George Floyd verdict | 2021 | Derek Chauvin convicted of murder in the killing of George Floyd | |
| 103 | Net neutrality repeal | 2017 | FCC repeal of net neutrality protections in the U.S. | |
| 104 | Australia-China tensions | 2020-present | Tensions between Australia and China over trade and politics | |
| 105 | Central American migrant crisis | 2018-present | Migration of Central American refugees to the U.S. | |
| 106 | Brexit implementation | 2020-2021 | Implementation of UK’s withdrawal from the European Union | |
| 107 | Paris climate agreement | 2015-present | International agreement to address climate change | |
| 108 | Greece debt crisis | 2010-2018 | Financial crisis and bailout negotiations in Greece | |
| 109 | Harvey Weinstein trial and verdict | 2020 | Weinstein convicted of sexual assault and rape charges | |
| 110 | Amazon rainforest deforestation | 2019-present | Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil | |
| 111 | Jamal Khashoggi killing | 2018 | Assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia | |
| 112 | Rohingya refugee crisis | 2017-present | Persecution and displacement of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar | |
| 113 | Syrian civil war | 2011-present | Ongoing civil war and humanitarian crisis in Syria | |
| 114 | TikTok ban and controversy | 2020-present | Controversy over the Chinese-owned social media app | |
| 115 | Blackouts in Texas and California | 2019-2020 | Power outages caused by extreme weather in Texas and California | |
| 116 | India-China border dispute | 2020-present | Tensions and border clashes between India and China | |
| 117 | Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal | 2018 | Data privacy scandal involving Facebook and political consulting firm | |
| 118 | Pro-democracy protests in Thailand | 2020-present | Protests against government and monarchy in Thailand |
Conclusion
In conclusion, World War II stands as a significant event in human history that brought major powers together in a deadly conflict. It changed the course of world history, introduced advanced military technology and weapons, displaced millions of civilians, and claimed countless lives. Its impact on society continues to be studied and analyzed today, providing valuable lessons for future generations about the importance of international cooperation in promoting peace and stability.
