Germans launch airborne assault against British-held Crete. The German 7th Parachute Division suffers heavy casualties in the first major airborne assault in history but gains a strong foothold on the Greek island.
German battleship Bismarck sinks Britain’s HMS Hood. The Bismarck exchanges salvos with the Hood in the Denmark Strait, hitting the battle cruiser’s magazine and killing all but three of its 1,500-man crew.
British corner and sink the Bismarck. Its rudder jammed by torpedoes, the giant battleship becomes a sitting duck for British warships that close in and sink her west of Brest, France, with a loss of close to 1,900 lives.
Crete falls. After forcing most of Crete’s defenders to evacuate, German troops, reinforced by air, cut off the remaining British elements and take more than 11,000 prisoners.
Germany invades the Soviet Union. The German Army launches Operation Barbarossa, a four-pronged surprise attack stretching more than 500 miles along the German-Russian frontier. Ignoring warnings of the assault, the Soviets quickly find their forces encircled as some 150 German divisions sweep across the border, capturing hundreds of thousands of prisoners. Despite being hampered by obsolete tanks and planes, the Russians nevertheless fight on, bolstered by a steady stream of reinforcements.
Japan occupies French Indochina. Buoyed by a non-aggression pact with the USSR in April, Japan pursues a more aggressive policy in Southeast Asia. The area’s inviting resources prompt the Imperial Navy to occupy southern Indochina and set up a joint protectorate with Vichy authorities there. The actions trigger a total American trade embargo on Japan two days later as the United States freezes Japanese assets in the U.S. Britain follows suit soon thereafter.
German forces lay siege to Leningrad.
Kiev falls to Germans.