Paris---World War II in Europe ended 70 years ago on May 8, 1945, more than five years after fighting erupted with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939.
Here are 10 key dates in the conflict, which killed 40-60 million people, half of whom were civilians.
1939
September 1: German troops invade Poland, prompting Britain and France to declare war two days later. Unable to counter Berlin's "Blitzkrieg" (Lightning War) tactics, Poland surrenders within a month, and in less than a year, German troops have occupied Paris.
1940
July: The Battle of Britain begins, and lasts until May 1941 with German bombers failing to subdue Britain despite massive attacks on cities such as Coventry and London.
1941
June 22: After German troops landed in North Africa, Berlin looks east and launches an attack against the Soviet Union codenamed Operation Barbarossa. It faces stiff resistance at Leningrad but progresses to within 30 kilometres (20 miles) of Moscow by December.
December 7: Japan attacks the United States military base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the Americans enter the war the next day. A few months later, US and British troops landed in North Africa. The turning point in the Pacific comes in June 1942 at the Battle of Midway.
1942
January 20: At the Wannsee Conference, Adolf Hitler ramps up the "Final Solution", his plan to exterminate Jews in areas under German control, in particular by mass killings in concentration camps. Some six million Jews and five million political prisoners are killed.
1943
February 2: The Battle of Stalingrad ends with Soviet forces winning the bitter five-month fight, destroying the German 6th Army and taking 100,000 prisoners.
July 9/10: The Italian campaign codenamed Operation Husky begins with Allied landings on the island of Sicily. By August 17, crucial Mediterranean sea lanes had been re-opened.
1944
June 6 (D-Day): More than 156,000 Allied troops invaded occupied western France as part of Operation Overlord, and liberated Paris on August 25.
1945
May 8 (V-E Day): Germany surrenders a few days after Hitler commits suicide in Berlin, which is overrun by Soviet forces.
September 2: Japan signs an unconditional surrender, formally ending World War II less than a month after US aircraft drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9).
AFP
