1937 — 1945
WWII ON FILM
The Second World War Through 150 Movies
Explore the war chronologically — from the first major conflicts in China in 1937 to Japan’s surrender in August 1945.
150 productions · 1937–1945 · 8 years of war
The shape of the war
Twelve phases, from Japanese expansion in China to the aftermath.
01 · 1937–1939
Pre-War / Japanese Expansion
War begins in Asia long before Europe. Shanghai, Nanjing and the Japanese advance into China run alongside the slow collapse of European diplomacy.
02 · September 1939 – March 1940
Outbreak of War
The invasion of Poland, the defence of Westerplatte, and the Soviet–Finnish Winter War in the snow.
03 · 1940
Fall of Western Europe
Denmark and Norway fall in weeks, France in six. Dunkirk, then Britain alone in the summer sky.
04 · 1940–1941
North Africa / Mediterranean / Balkans
The desert war opens, Greece and Crete fall, and the Mediterranean becomes a contested sea.
05 · June – December 1941
Operation Barbarossa
Three million men cross the Soviet frontier. Brest, Leningrad, Moscow — and the war's centre of gravity shifts east.
06 · December 1941 – mid 1942
Pearl Harbor / Pacific War
Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Malaya and Singapore. Japan expands faster than any power in modern history.
07 · 1942
1942 — Turning Points
Midway, Guadalcanal, El Alamein and Stalingrad. Within six months the initiative changes hands on every front.
08 · 1943
1943 — Allied Offensive
Tunisia, Sicily, Italy and Kursk. Strategic bombing intensifies and occupied Europe begins to fight back.
09 · January – September 1944
1944 — Liberation of Europe
Anzio and Cassino, D-Day and Normandy, Bagration, Warsaw and Market Garden.
10 · December 1944 – February 1945
Late 1944 / Early 1945
The Ardennes counter-offensive, Bastogne, the return to the Philippines and the Soviet advance into the Reich.
11 · 1945
1945 — Final Campaigns
Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Rhine, the fall of Berlin, and the atomic bombings that end the war.
12 · 1945 onward
Aftermath
Surrender, occupation, Nuremberg, liberated camps and soldiers coming home to a changed world.
Featured event
D-Day and the Normandy Landings
6 June 1944
The largest amphibious operation in history put Allied armies ashore on five beaches in Normandy, opening the campaign that would liberate Western Europe.
Full event page
Where the timeline begins
The first productions in the archive, sitting at the events they depict.
TVReleased 2002
The Gathering Storm
1934–May 1940
Political prelude to war · United Kingdom / United States
From across the war
Guided viewing
Watch the War
Start in 1937 and advance through the war one production at a time, with the history explained at every stop. Progress is saved on your device.
Begin in 1937The collection
- Productions
- 150
- Years covered
- 1937–1945
- Years of war
- 8
- Theaters
- 10
- Battles & campaigns
- 21
About the project
Rather than organising films by release date, this archive places each production within the historical events it depicts, letting you follow the war from its early conflicts through the final surrender of Japan.
Read more about the Chronological archive