Major Events Timeline

The First World War, a global conflict centered in Europe.

• Jul 1914

  War Begins

  Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.

• Sep 1914

  First Battle of the Marne

  Allied counteroffensive halts German advance outside Paris.

• Apr 1915 – Jan 1916

  Gallipoli Campaign

  Allied attempt to open a sea route to Russia fails against Ottoman defenses.

• Feb 1916

  Battle of Verdun

  Longest battle of the war grinds down French and German armies.

• Apr 1917

  United States Enters War

  U.S. Congress declares war on Germany.

• Nov 1917

  Bolshevik Revolution

  Russia withdraws from the war amid domestic upheaval.

• Mar 1918

  Spring Offensive

  Germany launches Operation Michael on the Western Front.

• Aug 1918

  Hundred Days Offensive

  Allied counteroffensive pushes German forces back.

• Nov 1918

  Armistice

  End of World War I.

The Second World War, the most widespread conflict in history.

• Sep 1939

  Invasion of Poland

  Germany invades Poland.

• May 1940

  Battle of France

  Germany launches blitzkrieg in Western Europe.

• Jul 1940 – Oct 1940

  Battle of Britain

  RAF repels Luftwaffe air offensive.

• Jun 1941

  Operation Barbarossa

  Germany invades the Soviet Union.

• Dec 1941

  Pearl Harbor

  Japan attacks U.S. Pacific Fleet; America enters war.

• Jun 1942

  Battle of Midway

  Turning point in the Pacific as U.S. carriers sink four Japanese carriers.

• Aug 1942 – Feb 1943

  Battle of Stalingrad

  Soviet counteroffensive encircles and defeats 6th Army.

• Jul 1943

  Allied Invasion of Sicily

  Operation Husky opens the campaign in Italy.

• Jun 1944

  D-Day

  Allied landings in Normandy.

• Dec 1944

  Battle of the Bulge

  Germany's final major offensive in the West.

• May 1945

  V-E Day

  Germany surrenders in Europe.

• Aug 1945

  Hiroshima

  First atomic bomb used in war.

• Sep 1945

  V-J Day

  Japan surrenders.

Geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States.

• Mar 1947

  Truman Doctrine

  U.S. pledges support to nations resisting communism.

• Jun 1948

  Berlin Blockade

  Soviet blockade of Berlin.

• Apr 1949

  NATO Founded

  North Atlantic Treaty Organization formed.

• Oct 1957

  Sputnik Launched

  First artificial satellite intensifies space race.

• Aug 1961

  Berlin Wall Built

  East Germany seals the border around West Berlin.

• Oct 1962

  Cuban Missile Crisis

  Nuclear standoff.

• Aug 1968

  Prague Spring Crushed

  Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia.

• May 1972

  SALT I Signed

  U.S. and USSR agree to strategic arms limits.

• Dec 1979

  Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

  Red Army intervenes to prop up Kabul.

• Sep 1983

  KAL 007 Shot Down

  Soviets destroy a Korean Air Lines passenger jet.

• Dec 1987

  INF Treaty

  Eliminates intermediate-range missiles in Europe.

• Nov 1989

  Fall of Berlin Wall

  Symbolic end of Cold War.

• Dec 1991

  USSR Dissolves

  Formal end of the Soviet Union.

UN coalition defends South Korea against North Korean and Chinese forces.

• Jun 1950

  War Begins

  North Korea invades across the 38th parallel.

• Sep 1950

  Pusan Perimeter

  UN forces hold final defensive line in southeast Korea.

• Sep 1950

  Inchon Landing

  MacArthur's amphibious assault turns the tide.

• Nov 1950

  Chinese Intervention

  Massed PLA forces push UN troops south.

• Apr 1951

  MacArthur Relieved

  President Truman replaces MacArthur with Ridgway.

• Jul 1951

  Armistice Talks Begin

  Negotiations open at Kaesong then Panmunjom.

• Jun 1952

  MiG Alley Air Battles

  UN air forces contest jet combat over northwest Korea.

• Mar 1953

  Post-Stalin Thaw

  Leadership change in Moscow accelerates negotiations.

• Jul 1953

  Armistice Signed

  Ceasefire establishes the DMZ.

Conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

• Nov 1955

  MAAG Takes Command

  U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group assumes responsibility in South Vietnam.

• Nov 1963

  Diem Overthrown

  South Vietnamese coup removes Ngo Dinh Diem.

• Aug 1964

  Gulf of Tonkin

  Incident leads to escalation.

• Mar 1965

  Rolling Thunder

  U.S. bombing campaign.

• Mar 1965

  Marines Arrive at Da Nang

  First major U.S. ground combat troops deploy.

• Jan 1968

  Tet Offensive

  Major North Vietnamese offensive.

• Mar 1968

  My Lai Massacre

  U.S. troops kill hundreds of civilians.

• Mar 1972 – Oct 1972

  Easter Offensive

  PAVN conventional push across the DMZ.

• May 1972 – Oct 1972

  Linebacker I

  U.S. bombing campaign.

• Dec 1972 – Dec 1972

  Linebacker II

  U.S. bombing campaign.

• Jan 1973

  Paris Peace Accords

  Ceasefire agreement.

• Mar 1973

  U.S. Combat Troops Withdraw

  Last U.S. ground units leave South Vietnam.

• Apr 1975

  Fall of Saigon

  North Vietnamese forces capture the capital.

U.S.-led coalition liberates Kuwait after Iraq's invasion.

• Aug 1990

  Iraq Invades Kuwait

  Saddam Hussein annexes Kuwait.

• Aug 1990

  Operation Desert Shield

  U.S. deploys forces to defend Saudi Arabia.

• Nov 1990

  UN Resolution 678

  Security Council authorizes force if Iraq does not withdraw.

• Jan 1991

  Air Campaign Begins

  Coalition launches precision strikes across Iraq and Kuwait.

• Feb 1991

  Ground Offensive

  Coalition VII Corps punches through Iraqi defenses.

• Feb 1991

  Highway of Death

  Retreating Iraqi columns destroyed north of Kuwait City.

• Feb 1991

  Ceasefire Declared

  Iraq accepts coalition terms; combat stops.

NATO intervenes against Serbian forces targeting Kosovar Albanians.

• Feb 1998

  Serbian Crackdown

  Yugoslav security forces begin large-scale operations in Drenica.

• Oct 1998

  NATO Activation Order

  Alliance threatens air strikes unless Belgrade complies with ceasefire.

• Jan 1999

  Račak Massacre

  Killing of civilians galvanizes international action.

• Mar 1999

  Operation Allied Force

  NATO air campaign begins against Yugoslavia.

• Apr 1999

  Belgrade Infrastructure Strikes

  Expanded target list hits regime nodes and media.

• May 1999

  Chinese Embassy Bombing

  Errant NATO strike inflames diplomacy.

• Jun 1999

  Military-Technical Agreement

  Serbian forces withdraw; KFOR deploys.

Global coalition dismantles the Islamic State's territorial caliphate.

• Jun 2014

  Mosul Falls

  ISIS seizes Iraq's second-largest city.

• Sep 2014

  Coalition Announced

  U.S. outlines strategy for Operation Inherent Resolve.

• Sep 2014

  Airstrikes in Syria

  Coalition aircraft hit ISIS targets beyond Iraq.

• Oct 2015

  Syrian Democratic Forces Form

  Kurdish and Arab militias unite as primary U.S. partner.

• Oct 2016

  Battle for Mosul Begins

  Iraqi forces launch major offensive with coalition air support.

• Jul 2017

  Mosul Liberated

  Iraqi government declares victory in the city.

• Oct 2017

  Raqqa Falls

  SDF captures the group's Syrian capital.

• Mar 2019

  Baghuz Pocket Cleared

  Remaining ISIS territory collapses in eastern Syria.