10 Key Dates in World War Two

World War Two was the biggest war ever fought – lasting close to six years in Europe, 80 million people were killed in the conflict.

The most important dates are really about context, and these would be different depending which country you’re from. However, a number of dates are clearly pivotal moments over the course of the entire war, and we’ve collected five from each of the European and Eastern theatres to put into a graphic.

The date for the start of the war is 1-3 September 1939 – when Germany invaded Poland and then France and Britain declared war on Germany.

Joshua Levine is a historian and author, his latest book The Secret History of the Blitz is out now.

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Craig Nelson is the author of New York Times bestseller, 'Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon' as well as several other books, including 'The Age of Radiance', 'The First Heroes', 'Thomas Paine' and 'Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness'.

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