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The Eastern Front was a theatre of World War II which primarily involved combat between the nations and allies of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Combat in the Eastern Front began with the two powers remaining peaceful towards each other, with the annexation of countries such as Albania and portions of Poland by Germany and its allies, and the annexation of Finland and the rest of Poland by the Soviet Union. However, in 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, putting an end to the peacetime. The majority of major battles in the Eastern Theatre from 1941 until the end of the war in 1945 were fought between the two powers. The following timeline indicates major events taking place on the Eastern Front.

1939

1940

  • November 30, 1939 – March 12, 1940: The Soviet Union invades Finland, initiating the so-called Winter War. The Finns sue for an armistice and cede the northern shores of Lake Ladoga to the Soviet Union. They also cede the small Finnish coastline on the Arctic Ocean.
  • April 9 – June 9: Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders on the day of the attack. Norway holds out until June 9.
  • May 10 – June 22: Germany attacks western Europe, specifically France and the neutral Low Countries ( Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg). Luxembourg is occupied on May 10; the Netherlands surrenders on May 14; and Belgium surrenders on May 28. On June 22, France signs an armistice agreement by which the Germans occupy the northern half of the country and the entire Atlantic coastline. In southern France, a collaborationist regime with its capital in Vichy is established.
  • June 10: Italy enters the war. Italy invades southern France on June 21.
  • June 28: The Soviet Union forces Romania to cede the eastern province of Bessarabia and the northern half of Bukovina to Soviet Ukraine.
  • June 14 – August 6: The Soviet Union occupies the Baltic states ( Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) on June 14–18. On July 14–15, it engineers Communist coup d’états in each of these countries and then annexes them as Soviet Republics on August 3–6.
  • July 10 – October 31: The air war known as the Battle of Britain ends in defeat for Nazi Germany.
  • August 30: Second Vienna Award: Germany and Italy arbitrate a decision on the division of the disputed province of Transylvania between Romania and Hungary. The loss of northern Transylvania forces Romanian King Carol to abdicate in favor of his son, Michael, and brings to power a dictatorship under General Ion Antonescu.
  • September 13: The Italians invade British-controlled Egypt from Italian-controlled Libya.
  • September 27: Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact.
  • October: Italy invades Greece from Albania on October 28.
  • November: Hungary (November 20), Romania (November 23), and Slovakia (November 24) join the Axis. [2]

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "World War II: Timeline".
  2. ^ "World War II: Timeline".