- July 12
- Great Britain and the USSR sign a mutual assistance pact. [392.36]
- July 15
- In the Soviet Union, Smolensk falls to German Army Group Centre. [10]
- Florey and Heatley present freeze dried mold cultures (Pencillin). [1]
- July 16
- A large pocket of about 300,000 Soviet forces surrenders in Smolensk. [10]
- July 19
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill launches his "V for Victory" campaign. The BBC World Service begins frequent playing of the first notes of Beethoven's 5th Symphony as part of the campaign. [1] [457]
- July 27
- Japanese forces land in Indo-China. [1]
- July 31
- Germany begins "Final Solution", genocide of Jews. [392.36]
- August 1
- The first Jeep car is produced. [5]
- August 2
- Jews are expelled from Hungarian Ruthenia. [1]
- August 4
- A large pocket of about 100,000 Soviet forces surrender in Uman. [10]
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- August 7
- 551 Jews are shot in Kishnev ghetto in Romania. [1]
- August 12
- French Marshal Henri Petain gives full support to Germany. [1]
- August 14
- US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill create the Atlantic Charter, the basis for their wartime alliance. They pledge that they seek to gain no territory, they desire no territory changes outside of the choices of people, they respect the right of people to choose their own form of government, and that sovereign rights are to be restored and self-government given to those forcibly deprived of it. [10]
- August
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives authority to proceed with top-secret effort to build an atomic bomb. Code name is Project Tube Alloys. [1433.22]
- August 21
- Adolf Hitler decides against concentrating attacks on Moscow, and orders central forces south to help capture Kiev. [10]
- September 1
- Yellow star becomes obligatory for Jews in the Reich to wear. [1]
- September 5
- German Army Group North completes occupation of Estonia. [10]
- September 6
- All Jews over age 6 in German territories ordered to wear a star. [1]
- Jews of Vilna, Poland are confined to a ghetto. [1]
- September 8
- Entire Jewish community of Meretsch, Lithuania is exterminated. [1]
- In Russia, German forces cut off and set siege to Leningrad. [10]
- September 11
- Charles Lindbergh charges "the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration" are trying to get the US into the war. [1]
- US President Franklin Roosevelt orders any Axis ship found in American waters be shot on sight. [1]
- September 12
- First German ship in World War II captured by US ship (Busko). [1]
- September 15
- German armored columns meet up at Lokhutsa, 125 miles east of Kiev, surrounding about 500,000 Soviet forces inside. [10]
- Germans kill 800 Jewish women at Shkudvil Lithuania. [1]
- September 19
- In the Grand Harbor of Gibraltar, the British naval tanker Denbydale, cargo ship Durham, and tanker Fiona Shell explode from charges attached by midget submarines of the Italian navy. [10]
- In the Soviet Union, Kiev falls to German Army Group South forces. 665,000 men are captured, the largest number of prisoners ever captured in one battle, and the largest single military success in history. Kiev was defended for 72 days. [10]
- September 24
- Nine Allied governments pledge adherence to Atlantic Charter. [1]
- September 25
- USSR recognizes General Charles de Gaulle as the leader of all Free French Forces. [1139.1004]
- September 27
- First World War II liberty ship, freighter Patrick Henry, launched by US. [1]
- September 29
- Adolf Hitler issues an order regarding the future of Leningrad. The entire city and all inhabitants are to be "wiped from the face of the earth". [10]
- September 30
- 3,721 Jews are buried alive at Babi Yar ravine (near Kiev) Ukraine. [1]
- Operation Typhoon begins, an attack by German forces on Moscow. Field Marshal Fedor von Bock commands 70 divisions of Army Group Center with Günther Von Kluge's 4th Army and Strauss' 9th Army. [10]
- October 2
- Six Parisian synagogues are bombed. [1]
- October 5
- Soviet Premier Josef Stalin receives a radio message from spy Richard Sorge in Tokyo, Japan, that Japan would go to war with the United States soon. Stalin orders twelve divisions (1700 tanks, 1500 planes, 2,500,000 men) from eastern Siberia and Outer Mongolia to come to the defense of Moscow. [10]
- October 6
- A large pocket of about 100,000 Soviet forces surrender near Kharkov and the Donets river. [10]
- October 12
- Russian government moves from Moscow to Volga as Germans close in on Moscow. [1]
- October 16
- Gordo comic strip (by Gus Arriola) first appears in newspapers. [1]
- Germany advances within 60 miles (96 km) of Moscow, Russia. [1]
- In Japan, Prince Fumimaro Konoye resigns his cabinet. War minister General Hideki Tojo becomes new prime minister. [10]
- October 17
- First US destroyer (Kearney) torpedoed in World War II, off Iceland. [1]
- In the Soviet Union, German forces capture Odessa. [10]
- October 20
- Soviet resistance surrounded in Bryansk ceases. Hundreds of thousands of prisoners are taken. [10]
- October 23
- RKO Radio Pictures releases Disney's animated feature film Dumbo to theaters in the USA. [6]
- October 27
- Chicago Daily Tribune editorializes there will not be war with Japan. [1]
- October 31
- German submarine U-562 torpedoes American destroyer USS Reuben James while escorting a British convoy west of Ireland. 115 Americans die. [10]
- The Mount Rushmore monument is completed in the USA. [5]
- November 1
- The US extends a lend-lease loan of US$1 billion to the Soviet Union. [10]
- November 12
- Germany's drive to take Moscow halts. [1]
- November 13
- (1538 hours) In the Mediterranean, German submarine U-81 fires three torpedoes at British aircraft carrier Ark Royal. One hits the ship below the superstructure, cutting off all communication from the bridge. One crewman dies in the blast. [10]
- November 14
- (0613 hours) British carrier Ark Royal rolls over, and sinks. [10]
- November 15
- German forces in Russia make a final push for Moscow before winter sets in. The German 4th Army makes a frontal assault, while Panzer groups attack toward the north and south-east. [10]
- November 18
- British forces in North Africa launch Operation Crusader, a major effort to take Libya. [10]
- November 21
- German Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt's army group seizes Rostov on the Don river. [10]
- November 26
- A Japanese task force of six aircraft carriers, two battleships, and several destroyers and cruisers begins sailing from northern Japan to Hawaii. [10]
- Lebanon gains independence from France. [1]
- November 27
- British troops liberate Ethiopia. [1168.213]
- The German Panzer group attacking to the north of Moscow advances within 18 miles of the city. The southern group advances to within 32 miles of Kolomna, sixty miles south-east of Moscow. The offensive is halted by winter weather and Russian counterattacks. [10]
- US Secretary of War Stimson, acting for President Franklin Roosevelt, sends a general war warning to all US commands. US Chief of Naval Operations signals to Atlantic and Pacific fleet commanders "an aggressive move by Japan is expected within the next few days". [10]
- November 29
- Soviet forces begin major counterattacks in the Moscow area. [10]
- The Soviet Red Army recaptures Rostov. [10]
- December 1
- British cruiser Devonshire sinks German submarine Python. [1]
- Japanese emperor Hirohito signs declaration of war. [1]
- December 2
- US Naval Intelligence ceases bugging Japanese consul. [1]
- Japanese Yamamoto sends his fleet to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. [1]
- December 4
- German ordinances places Jews of Poland outside protection of courts. [1]
- December 5
- Russian anti-offensive in Moscow drives out German army. [1]
- Sister Elizabeth Kenny's new treatment for infantile paralysis is approved. [1]
- US aircraft carrier Lexington and five heavy cruisers leave Pearl Harbor. [1]
- December 6
- The British government declares war on Finland, Hungary, and Romania. [10]
- Dutch and British pilots see Japanese invasion fleet at Singapore. [1]
- King Leopold of Belgium marries Lilian Baels. [1]
- December 7
- First Japanese submarine sunk by a US ship (USS Ward). [1]
- Australian bombers land on Timor/Ambon. [1]
- German siege of Tobruk ends after 8 months. [1]
- (before 0800 hours) Japan attacks the United States Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. [10]
- (0810 hours) In Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona is stuck by a 1760-pound aerial armor-piercing bomb, which detonates over one million pounds of gunpowder in the ship's forward deck, killing 1177 crewmen. [10]
- (0945 hours) Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor end. 2403 Americans are dead, with 1178 wounded. Eighteen major fighting ships are sunk, and 188 aircraft are destroyed. [10]
- Japan attacks Philippines, Wake, Guam, Malaya, Thailand, Shanghai, and declares war on US and Great Britain. [392.36]
- Within hours of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the British War Cabinet meets, and declares war on Japan. [10]
- Canada declares war on Japan. [10]
- Nacht and Nebel Erlass, resistance fighters, sent to concentration camps. [1]
- December 8
- (0800 hours) Japanese forces begin an assault on Hong Kong. Japanese aircraft attack the Kai Tak airport on Hong Kong, destroying or damaging all six Royal Air Force aircraft in the first few minutes. [10]
- Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, and China declare war on Japan. [392.36]
- Russian 16th army recaptures Krijukovo. [1]
- American President Franklin Roosevelt makes a speech in Congress, declaring December 7 "a date which will live in infamy". Congress declares war on Japan. [10]
- Japanese bombers and fighters attack Luzon in the Philippine Islands. They destroy many Curtiss P-40 fighters, B-17 bombers, and one of two operational radar stations. [10]
- December 9
- First US World War II bombing mission in the Far East, Luzon, Philippines. [1]
- China declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy. [1]
- Adolf Hitler orders US ships torpedoed. [1]
- December 10
- Japanese bombers sink British battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse in the Gulf of Siam. [10]
- Japanese troops land on northern Luzon in the Philippines. [1]
- Japanese forces capture Guam. [10]
- December 11
- Dutch government in London declares war on Italy. [1]
- In the Reichstag in Germany, Adolf Hitler announces his declaration of war on the United States. [10]
- Italy declares war on the United States. [10]
- The U.S. Congress declares war on Germany and Italy. [10]
- Japanese attack Wake Island (only failed World War II-landing). [1]
- A peace treaty is signed between Japan and Siam. Japan grants to Siam former Siamese territories in Laos, part of northern Malaya, and part of Burma. The Japanese 15th Army crosses Siam into Burma. [10]
- Germany, Italy, and Japan sign an agreement on joint prosecution of the war. Each promises to pursue the war against Great Britain and the United States, and to make peace only by mutual agreement. [10]
- December 12
- European reservists on Java mobilizes. [1]
- German occupying army do a house search in Paris, France looking for Jews. [1]
- Russian 20th Army recaptures Soljetsjnogorsk. [1]
- December 13
- German occupiers forbid National Front and Netherlands Union. [1]
- Lawine battlers destroy Haaraz, Peru; about 3,000 die. [1]
- German submarine U-81 torpedoes British aircraft carrier Ark Royal. [1]
- Bulgaria declares war on Great Britain and the United States. [10]
- Hungary declares war on Great Britain and the United States. [10]
- December 14
- UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill travels to US on board HMS Duke of York. [1]
- German submarine U-557 torpedoes British cruiser Galatea. [1]
- December 15
- Gas/electrical use restricted in Holland. [1]
- German submarine U-127 sinks. [1]
- Germans transfer 100 Czechoslovakian citizens / Heinrich Himmler falls faint. [1]
- USS Swordfish becomes first US submarine to sink a Japanese ship. [1]
- December 16
- Sarawak is occupied by the Japanese. [1]
- December 17
- Two Australian companies and Dutch troops land in Timor under protest of Portuguese governor and government of Portugal. [1] [985.320]
- German submarine U-31 is sunk. [1]
- Japanese forces invade Borneo, landing at Sarawak on the north-west coast. [10]
- German troops led by Edwin Rommel begin retreating in North Africa. [1]
- December 18
- German submarine U-434 sinks. [1]
- Japanese forces begin the invasion of Hong Kong Island, crossing the strait of Lye Mun Passage. [10]
- In the Alexandria harbor, torpedoes explode under British battleships Valiant and Queen Elizabeth, planted by Italian navy divers. [10]
- December 19
- German submarine U-574 sinks. [1]
- Adolf Hitler takes complete command of German Army. [1]
- L M Dovator, Russian general, dies in battle. [1]
- US Office of Censorship is created to control information pertaining to war. [1]
- Italian Navy Lieutenant Luigi Durand de la Penne sets a torpedo mine under the British battleship HMS Valiant off Alexandria, Egypt. Captured, he informs the captain of the ship ten minutes before the explosion, allowing lower decks to be evacuated. A hole is blown, and the battleship sinks, with no casualties. [1839.16]
- December 20
- Free France under Admiral Muselier occupies St-Pierre et Miquélon. [1]
- Japanese troops lands on Mindanao. [1]
- December 21
- Siam enters into an alliance with Japan. [10]
- German submarine U-567 sinks. [1]
- December 22
- Japan's invasion leader lands on Luzon, Philippines. [1]
- UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Washington DC for a wartime conference. [1]
- Tito establishes first Proletarian Brigade in Yugoslavia. [1]
- December 23
- British troops overrun Benghazi Libya. [1]
- Japan begins assault on Rangoon, Burma. [1]
- December 24
- First ships of Japanese Admiral Nagumo's Pearl Harbor fleet return to Japan. [1]
- (about 0930 hours) US forces on Wake Island surrender to the Japanese. [10]
- December 25
- (1515 hours Hong Kong) Hong Kong, with Canadian and British troops, surrenders to Japan. Nearly 2000 died in the fight. [10]
- December 26
- Winston Churchill becomes first British Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of US Congress, warning that the Axis would "stop at nothing". [1]
- December 27
- Japan bombs Manila even though it was declared an "open city". [1]
- December 28
- State of siege goes into effect in Bohemia/Moravia. [1]
- December 29
- Japanese forces begin an attack on Corregidor, Philippines. [10]
- December 30
- Germans require Dutch physicians to join Nazi organization. [1]
- UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses Canadian parliament. [1]
- December 31
- American Admiral Chester Nimitz takes command of the US Pacific Fleet. [10]
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