World War II History

World War II was the largest war in history involving most of the population of the world in one way or another. The major conflict went on from the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 through the surrender of the Japanese on 2 September 1945, but the war was actually in progress for years before 1939. The Timeline provides a listing of all the major dates during The War.

Today in WW II: 17 Sep 1939 Soviet troops invade Poland from the east. More ↓

17 Sep 1944 Thousands of Allied planes begin airborne assault on Holland, Operation Market Garden.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Major World War II History Sections of Olive-Drab

There will never be one source with a full history of WW II since there are millions of stories to be told and many ways to tell those stories. In this section of Olive-Drab.com the major dimensions of the conflict are outlined and links provided to many more sources. The narrative is written from the perspective of the Allied forces, the United States in particular, although with recognition that much can be learned from other views as well.

Each of the above sections has many sub-sections, so please explore them in depth. If the link is not active, the section is still in preparation.

Members of the first class of WAVES to graduate from the Aviation Metalsmith School, at the Naval Air Technical Training Center, Norman, OK, 30 July 1943. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, Donation of Shirley Feldstein Bell (seated, 2nd from left).

Find More Information on the Internet

There are many fine websites that have additional information on this topic, too many to list here and too many to keep up with as they come and go. Use this Google web search form to get an up to date report of what's out there.

For good results, try entering this: world war ii or wwii. Then click the Search button.