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Conflicts in 1941

  • Battle of ShanggaoOn the 14th of March 1941, the Japanese 11th Army launched an attack against the headquarters of the Chinese 19th Army Group.
  • Operation CrusaderIn August 1941, a German signals unit known as FAK 621 began reading British tactical codes with startling accuracy. This intelligence stream continued…
  • New Fourth Army incidentIn 1940, the Chinese Civil War paused to form a United Front against Japan. The Communist Party and Nationalists joined forces under this alliance.
  • Battle of UmanThe Wehrmacht advanced eastward in the initial weeks of Operation Barbarossa, defeating several Soviet mechanized corps at the Battle of Brody between 23 and…
  • Operation SonnenblumeIn September 1940, the Italian 10th Army advanced about 65 miles into Egypt to seize Sidi Barrani. Marshal Rodolfo Graziani halted his forces there to build…
  • Battle of Changsha (1941)On the 2nd of December 1940, the US Congress passed a bill to provide a 100-million-dollar loan to China. This financial support arrived as Japan signed the…
  • Continuation WarOn the 13th of March 1940, the Moscow Peace Treaty ended a ten-week conflict that left Finland with significant territorial losses.
  • Battle of Guam (1941)Guam is the southernmost part of the Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It covers an area of 225 square miles with rugged interior terrain.
  • Battle of Smolensk (1941)On the 22nd of June 1941, Axis nations invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. The campaign met with spectacular success as surprised Soviet troops…
  • Attack on Pearl HarborOn the 7th of December 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise military strike on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor.
  • Anglo-Soviet invasion of IranIn 1940, Britain faced a war with Germany in North Africa and grew deeply concerned about German access to the Persian Gulf.
  • North African campaignOn the 11th of June 1940, British forces launched raids against Italian positions in Libya. This action followed Italy's declaration of war on France and the…
  • Malayan campaignIn 1941, the Japanese military found itself trapped by its own expansion. Four years of fighting in China had drained resources, and oil imports from the…
  • German invasion of GreeceIn the early hours of the 28th of October 1940, Italian Ambassador Emanuele Grazzi presented Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas with a three-hour ultimatum.
  • Battle of Białystok–MinskField Marshal Fedor von Bock commanded Army Group Center as it prepared to strike from Poland on the 22nd of June 1941. The Wehrmacht's armored forces…
  • First Battle of KharkovIn the fall of 1941, Kharkov stood as a vital rail and air link connecting Ukraine to Crimea, the Caucasus, the Dnieper region, and the Donbass.
  • Japanese invasion of ThailandTanaka Chigaku, a Japanese Buddhist leader in the mid-1800s, introduced the principle of Hakkō Ichiu. He interpreted this concept to mean that imperial rule…
  • Anglo-Iraqi WarThe Kingdom of Iraq, also known as Mesopotamia, remained under British control through a League of Nations mandate until 1932.
  • Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)On the 22nd of June 1941, the Axis powers invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. Their land forces reached the Crimean peninsula in the autumn…
  • Syria–Lebanon campaignOn the 1st of April 1941, Iraq fell under the control of nationalists led by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani. This regime appealed for support from Italy and Germany.
  • Battle of Kiev (1941)On the 22nd of June 1941, Operation Barbarossa began with Army Group South advancing into Ukraine under Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt.
  • Battle of Wake IslandIn January 1941, the United States Navy began construction of a military base on the atoll. On the 19th of August, the first permanent military garrison…
  • Dutch East Indies campaignJapan lacked native oil sources and could not produce enough to meet even 10% of its needs. The Dutch East Indies stood as the fourth-largest exporter of oil…
  • German bombing of BelgradeYugoslav Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković and Foreign Minister Aleksandar Cincar-Marković traveled to Berchtesgaden on the 14th of February 1941.
  • Invasion of YugoslaviaOn the morning of the 27th of March 1941, a group of Yugoslav military officers executed a coup d'état in Belgrade. They forced Regent Prince Paul to resign…
  • Siege of TobrukThe Western Desert Campaign stretched from Mersa Matruh in Egypt to Gazala on the Libyan coast, covering a distance of about 480 kilometers along the Via…
  • Balkans campaign (World War II)The Italian invasion of Greece began on the 28th of October 1940. Italian forces crossed the border and made limited gains in the initial days.
  • Siege of LeningradAdolf Hitler declared that Leningrad must die of starvation in a speech at Munich on the 8th of November 1941. The German High Command viewed the capture of…
  • World War II in YugoslaviaWorld War II in Yugoslavia was not one war but several, all happening at the same time. On the 6th of April 1941, the German Luftwaffe bombed Belgrade, and…
  • Battle of Cape MatapanMavis Batey sat at a desk in the Government Code and Cypher School building at Bletchley Park during late March 1941. She read an Italian naval Enigma…
  • Battle of CreteHitler signed Directive 28 on the 25th of April 1941, ordering an invasion of Crete. The German Army High Command remained preoccupied with finalizing…
  • Crimean campaignThe German 11th Army and the Romanian Third Army began their assault on the 26th of September 1941. This offensive marked the start of a brutal campaign…
  • East African campaign (World War II)On the 9th of May 1936, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini proclaimed the formation of Italian East Africa from Ethiopia after the Second Italo-Abyssinian…
  • Greco-Italian WarOn the 4th of February 1939, Benito Mussolini addressed the Fascist Grand Council and declared Greece to be a vital enemy of Italy.
  • Siege of Malta (World War II)In June 1940, the British Crown Colony of Malta held a population of around 250,000 people. Most lived within two miles of Grand Harbour, where density…
  • Bombing of ChongqingThe first Japanese air raid on Chongqing struck the city on the 18th of February 1938, marking the start of a campaign that would last until December 1944.
  • Winter campaign of 1941–1942Soviet military command declared the period from the 5th of December 1941 to the 7th of May 1942 as a specific winter campaign.