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| 1941, Jan. 10 |
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| German air squadrons, transferred to Italy, attacked British naval forces off Sicily. | 1 |
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| Feb. 10 |
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| The British government severed diplomatic relations with Romania. | 2 |
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| March 1 |
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| Bulgaria joined the Rome-Berlin Axis, and German troops occupied Sofia. The British delegation had left on Feb. 24, and the Soviet government warned the Bulgarians not to expect Soviet aid. | 3 |
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| March 25 |
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| Yugoslav envoys signed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo pact at Vienna, but a Yugoslav coup reversed this, declaring Yugoslav neutrality (See 1941, March 25). | 4 |
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| April 6 |
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| German troops, who had been massing on the Hungarian, Romanian, and Bulgarian borders, poured into Yugoslavia and Greece. In Moscow official journals laid the responsibility for the spread of war upon the Germans. | 5 |
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| April 13 |
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| RUSSIAN AND JAPANESE DIPLOMATS SIGNED A MUTUAL NONAGGRESSION PACT AT MOSCOW. | 6 |
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| April 17 |
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| The Yugoslav government capitulated after a campaign of 12 days. Resistance against the Germans and Italians was maintained by guerrilla forces. | 7 |
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| April 23 |
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| Greek resistance was broken and an armistice signed. King George II fled to Crete. | 8 |
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| April 27 |
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| The Germans entered Athens. Of the British expeditionary force in Greece 48,000 of the 60,000 men were evacuated, but much valuable equipment was abandoned. | 9 |
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| May 2 |
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| In Iraq a pro-Axis regime under Premier Rashid Ali invited German aid, whereupon British forces entered the country. | 10 |
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| May 20 |
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| German parachute troops invaded Crete and superior German air power inflicted serious losses and damage on the British cruisers and destroyers in Cretan waters. | 11 |
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| May 31 |
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| Surviving British forces in Crete were evacuated to Cyprus and Egypt. The Axis position in the eastern Mediterranean was greatly strengthened by the possession of Greece and Crete, which made the Aegean Sea unsafe for British ships. Rebellion in Iraq ended when British troops entered Baghdad after Iraqi airfields had been bombed. Mosul was occupied June 4. An armistice was concluded and a government friendly to Great Britain installed. Iraq later declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan (Jan. 16, 1943). | 12 |
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