|
Date
|
Event
|
|
1931
|
|
18 September 1931
|
Japan invades Manchuria
|
|
1932
|
|
8 November 1932
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt elected President of the United States
[United States]
|
|
1933
|
|
30 January 1933
|
Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
|
|
27 February 1933
|
Fire destroys the Reichstag in Berlin
[Germany]
|
|
25 March 1933
|
Japan withdraws from the League of Nations
[Japan]
|
|
14 October 1933
|
Hitler withdraws Germany from the League of Nations
[Germany]
|
|
1934
|
|
19 August 1934
|
Adolph Hitler succeeds Hindenburg as leader of Germany
|
|
21 October 1934
|
Mao Tse-tung’s “Long March” begins
|
|
1935
|
|
1 March 1935
|
Germany regains possession of the Saar
|
|
18 June 1935
|
Anglo-German Naval Treaty signed
|
|
3 October 1935
|
Italy invades Ethiopia
|
|
20 October 1935
|
Mao Tse-tung’s “Long March” concludes
[China]
|
|
1936
|
|
7 March 1936
|
Germany occupies the Rhineland
|
|
5 May 1936
|
Italians occupy the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa; Emperor Haile Selaissie flees to England
|
|
1937
|
|
28 May 1937
|
Neville Chamberlain becomes the new British Prime Minister
|
|
12 June 1937
|
Purges begin in the Soviet Union
|
|
7 July 1937
|
Japan invades China; Sino-Japanese War begins
|
|
1 August 1937
|
The concentration camp at Buchenwald opens
|
|
13 December 1937
|
Nanking Massacre
|
|
1938
|
|
12 March 1938
|
Germany invades and annexes Austria (Anschluss)
[Germany]
|
|
30 September 1938
|
Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier, and Mussolini sign the Munich Agreement, which transfers the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia to Germany
[Germany]
|
|
9 November 1938
|
Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass); Thousands of synagogues and Jewish businesses destroyed throughout Germany
[Germany]
|
|
1939
|
|
15 March 1939
|
Germany occupies Moravia and Bohemia
[Germany]
|
|
1 April 1939
|
Civil War ends in Spain
|
|
7 April 1939
|
Italian forces invade Albania
|
|
23 August 1939
|
Signing of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
[U.S.S.R.]
|
|
1 September 1939
|
World War II begins when Germany invades Poland
[Germany]
|
|
1 September 1939
|
Polish Campaign begins
|
|
1 September 1939
|
Norway, Finland, Switzerland declare their neutrality
|
|
3 September 1939
|
Britain and France declare war on Germany
|
|
3 September 1939
|
Winston Churchill joins Neville Chamberlain's war cabinet as first lord of the admiralty
|
|
4 September 1939
|
U-boat U-30 sinks the British liner SS Athenia with 1,418 people on board; most are saved
|
|
5 September 1939
|
First British freighter sunk by U-boat U-47
|
|
5 September 1939
|
US formally becomes a neutral country
|
|
6 September 1939
|
South Africa declares war on Germany
|
|
7 September 1939
|
French forces advance into Germany and capture two villages near Saarbrucken
|
|
8 September 1939
|
German army reaches outskirts of Warsaw
|
|
10 September 1939
|
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) starts landing in France; it is led by Field Marshal Gort
|
|
10 September 1939
|
Canada Declares war on Germany
|
|
12 September 1939
|
First meeting of Anglo-French Supreme War Council at Abbeville, France
|
|
14 September 1939
|
HMS Ark Royal attacked by U-boat U39; the U-boat is later sunk
|
|
15 September 1939
|
Russia and Japan sign a peace treaty;
|
|
17 September 1939
|
Soviet Union invades Poland per the secret German-Soviet Non-Aggression Treaty
|
|
17 September 1939
|
British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous sunk off Irish coast by U-boat U29
|
|
19 September 1939
|
In Poland, the Poznan and Pomorze armies surrender to the Germans
|
|
19 September 1939
|
German and Soviet forces meet at Brest-Litovsk
|
|
20 September 1939
|
HMS Fortune and HMS Forester sink U-Boat U27
|
|
21 September 1939
|
Prime Minister Armand Calinescu of Romania is assassinated by pro-Nazi members of the Iron Guard
|
|
22 September 1939
|
Britain introduces gasoline rationing
|
|
27 September 1939
|
Warsaw surrenders to the Germans
|
|
28 September 1939
|
Modlin surrenders to the Germans
|
|
29 September 1939
|
Germany and the Soviet Union partition Poland
|
|
30 September 1939
|
The Poles setup a government in exile in Paris; General Wladyslaw Sikorski is made commander-in-chief
|
|
30 September 1939
|
German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee sinks British ship SS Clement
|
|
2 October 1939
|
Countries from North and South America meet (Pan-American Conference) to setup a neutrality zone 300 miles off the coast of America
|
|
4 October 1939
|
Polish airforce flies their final mission
|
|
5 October 1939
|
British and French ships begin the search for the Graf Spee
|
|
5 October 1939
|
Polish Campaign ends
|
|
6 October 1939
|
The last Polish armed forces surrender to the Germans
|
|
6 October 1939
|
German ship Deutschland sinks British ship Stonegate within US Neutrality zone
|
|
7 October 1939
|
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) landings end in France
|
|
8 October 1939
|
The first German airplane (Dornier flying-boat) is shot down by British aircraft
|
|
9 October 1939
|
Hitler issues War Directive No. 6 laying out invasion of France, Holland and Belgium (Plan Yellow)
|
|
12 October 1939
|
Hitler appoints Hans Frank to head General Government of Poland
|
|
13 October 1939
|
First attempt of combining U-boats into a Wolfpack fails
|
|
14 October 1939
|
U47, commanded by Gunther Prien, sinks the HMS Royal Oak at the anchorage in Scapa Flow dealing a major blow to British morale
|
|
16 October 1939
|
German forces retake villages in Saarbrucken
|
|
16 October 1939
|
German warships are order to torpedo Allied merchant ships without first giving warning
|
|
18 October 1939
|
Soviet Union invades Estonia
|
|
28 October 1939
|
First German plane (Heinkel HE 111) is shot down over Great Britain
|
|
10 November 1939
|
The Netherlands floods its primary defensive area
|
|
16 November 1939
|
Martial Law is declared in Czechoslovakia
|
|
17 November 1939
|
The Czechoslovakia National Committee is setup in France
|
|
23 November 1939
|
German battlecruiser Scharnhorst sinks British ship Rawalpindi
|
|
29 November 1939
|
Soviet Union attacks Finland without a declaration of war
|
|
30 November 1939
|
Finnish-Soviet War begins
|
|
30 November 1939
|
Helsinki is bombed by Soviet aircraft
|
|
5 December 1939
|
Soviet forces reach the Mannerheim line in Finland
|
|
13 December 1939
|
German cruisers Leipzig and Nurnberg disabled by British submarine Salmon
|
|
14 December 1939
|
League of Nations expels the Soviet Union
|
|
17 December 1939
|
The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by her captain Langsdorff at the entrance of Montevideo harbor in Uruguay
|
|
23 December 1939
|
The first Canadian troops land in Britain
|
|
28 December 1939
|
Britain starts to ration meat
|
|
1940
|
|
4 January 1940
|
Hermann Goring is put in charge of Germany's war industry
|
|
27 January 1940
|
Planning of invasion of Norway by Germany begins
|
|
5 February 1940
|
Britain and France agree to send aid and troops to Finland
|
|
12 February 1940
|
The first parts of the Enigma machine are recovered from the sunken U-33
|
|
16 February 1940
|
British forces from the destroyer HMS Cossack rescues British prisoners aboard the German ship Altmark off Norway
|
|
21 February 1940
|
Construction begins at the Auschwitz concentration camp
|
|
2 March 1940
|
First naval action in the English Channel; passenger ship SS Domala is attacked by German bombers
|
|
3 March 1940
|
Russian General Grendal (13th Army) is dismissed due to poor performance in the action in Finland
|
|
11 March 1940
|
U-31 is sunk by a RAF Blenheim, the first sinking of a U-boat
|
|
12 March 1940
|
Russo-Finnish war ends; Finland cedes land to the Soviet Union
[U.S.S.R.]
|
|
12 March 1940
|
Finish-Soviet War ends
|
|
16 March 1940
|
First British civilian is killed during a German air raid at Scapa Flow
|
|
27 March 1940
|
Peter Fraser becomes Prime Minister in New Zealand
|
|
28 March 1940
|
Britain and France agree not to make a separate peace with Germany
|
|
6 April 1940
|
German fleet sails for Narvik, Norway
|
|
7 April 1940
|
Germany invades Norway and Denmark
|
|
9 April 1940
|
Battle of Invasion of Denmark
[Denmark]
|
|
9 April 1940
|
Invasion of Norway
[Norway]
|
|
9 April 1940
|
German warship Blucher (heavy cruiser) is sunk by Norwegian shore batteries
|
|
9 April 1940
|
German forces invade Denmark and Norway
|
|
10 April 1940
|
The light cruiser Konigsberg is sunk
|
|
13 April 1940
|
Eight German destroyers are sunk by the Royal navy near Narvik
|
|
14 April 1940
|
Allied troops land at Harstad, Norway
|
|
5 May 1940
|
German forces capture the British submarine HMS Shark
|
|
10 May 1940
|
Battle of Flanders
|
|
10 May 1940
|
Neville Chamberlain resigns as British Prime Minister; Winston Churchill replaces him
|
|
10 May 1940
|
Britain occupies Iceland
|
|
10 May 1940
|
Field Marshal Fedor von Bock's Army Group B invades Belgium and Netherlands
|
|
10 May 1940
|
Belgian fort Eben Emel is captured
|
|
10 May 1940
|
German forces invade Belgium and France
|
|
14 May 1940
|
Netherlands surrenders; Queen Wilhelmina flees to England
|
|
14 May 1940
|
German air force bombs Rotterdam
|
|
15 May 1940
|
Britain begins strategic bombing campaign against Germany when RAF bombs targets in the Ruhr
|
|
15 May 1940
|
Britain bans merchant shipping from the Mediterranean
|
|
15 May 1940
|
Great Britain begins Strategic Air Offensive against Germany
|
|
17 May 1940
|
German forces capture Brussels
|
|
22 May 1940
|
RAF loses its last air field in France
|
|
24 May 1940
|
Germans halt their advance on Dunkirk
|
|
26 May 1940
|
Battle of Dunkirk
|
|
26 May 1940
|
Evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk begins
|
|
27 May 1940
|
Allied forces capture Narvik
|
|
28 May 1940
|
Belgium surrenders
|
|
28 May 1940
|
First ship (Mona's Isle) arrives at Dunkirk to rescue troops
|
|
1 June 1940
|
Britain announces the evacuation from Norway
|
|
3 June 1940
|
Evacuation of Dunkirk ends
|
|
4 June 1940
|
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau leave Kiel
|
|
5 June 1940
|
Battle of France
|
|
8 June 1940
|
Aircraft carrier HMS Glorious sunk by Scharnhorst
|
|
9 June 1940
|
The last Allied troops leave Narvik for Great Britain; the German conquest of Norway is complete
|
|
10 June 1940
|
Italy declares war on Britain and France
|
|
11 June 1940
|
The French government leaves Paris for Tours
|
|
11 June 1940
|
First air combat between Britain and Italy at Cyrenaica and Malta
|
|
14 June 1940
|
German forces enter Paris
|
|
14 June 1940
|
German forces take Paris, France
|
|
15 June 1940
|
The Soviet Union occupies Lithuania
|
|
18 June 1940
|
Brigadier-General Charles de Gaulle broadcasts from London; he urges French to fight on
|
|
18 June 1940
|
RAF bombs Hamburg and Bremen
|
|
21 June 1940
|
Italy attacks France
|
|
22 June 1940
|
France under Petain signs armistice with Germany at Rethondes
[Germany]
|
|
24 June 1940
|
France signs armistice with Italy
|
|
28 June 1940
|
Charles de Gaulle is recognized as the leader of the Free French
|
|
30 June 1940
|
German forces occupy the Channel Islands (part of the British Isles)
|
|
1 July 1940
|
Task Force H, operating in the Mediterranean, is created with HMS Ark Royal, HMS Hood plus other ships
|
|
3 July 1940
|
Task Force H attempts to destroy French ships at Oran, Algeria; only one ship is sunk
|
|
4 July 1940
|
Airplanes from carrier HMS Hermes attack the French battleship Richelieu
|
|
4 July 1940
|
Italians enter Sudan
|
|
9 July 1940
|
First naval action between Britain and Italy; HMS Warspite fires on Italian battleship Guilio Cesare
|
|
10 July 1940
|
First heavy air attack on Britain by Germany starts the Battle of Britain
|
|
13 July 1940
|
Italians enter Kenya
|
|
14 July 1940
|
Soviet Union annexes Baltic states
|
|
16 July 1940
|
Hitler issues Directive 16 outlining the Invasion of Britain (Operation Sealion)
|
|
19 July 1940
|
President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Two-Ocean Navy Expansion Act
|
|
19 July 1940
|
Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo is sunk by the Australian navy; first large ship loss by Italy
|
|
22 July 1940
|
Britain creates the SOE - Special Operations Executive - to act against German forces in occupied Europe
|
|
1 August 1940
|
Hitler issues Directive 17 updating the Invasion of Britain plan; target date is September 19 - 26
|
|
13 August 1940
|
Battle of Britain begins in earnest as the first large air offensive begins with almost 500 bombing sorties by Germany
|
|
15 August 1940
|
Italian forces force British troops to evacuate the post of Berbera in East Africa; this is the only Italian victory over the British in the war
|
|
24 August 1940
|
German battleship Bismarck enters service
|
|
24 August 1940
|
By accident a German bomber drops bombs on London
|
|
25 August 1940
|
In reprisal for the attack on 24 August 1940 the RAF bombs Berlin
|
|
2 September 1940
|
United States agrees to supply Britain with 50 early-model destroyers
|
|
7 September 1940
|
Germany begins blitz against London
|
|
12 September 1940
|
Italian Tenth Army commanded by Marshal Rodolpho Graziani invades Egypt
[Egypt]
|
|
12 September 1940
|
Italian forces invade Libya and Egypt
|
|
15 September 1940
|
Battle of Britain Day; RAF scrambles all of its fighters; the Germans lose 56 aircraft, the British 26
|
|
20 September 1940
|
Convoy HX-72 is attacked by a German submarine Wolfpack; 12 of 41 ships are sunk
|
|
21 September 1940
|
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact
[Germany]
|
|
23 September 1940
|
A British naval force led by Admiral John Cunningham and Free French troops led by Charles de Gaulle attack Dakar; the invasion is repulsed by Vichy forces
|
|
26 September 1940
|
In reaction to the Dakar attack, Vichy forces bomb Gibraltar
|
|
27 September 1940
|
Tripartite pact is signed by Germany, Italy and Japan
|
|
30 September 1940
|
Luftwaffe switches from daylight to night bombing over England
|
|
6 October 1940
|
Hitler sends troops in Romania
|
|
12 October 1940
|
Hitler cancels Invasion of Britain
|
|
23 October 1940
|
Hitler meets with Franco
|
|
28 October 1940
|
Italy invades Greece; six divisions led by General Visconti Prasca attack northwest Greece
|
|
29 October 1940
|
Britain occupies Crete
|
|
5 November 1940
|
President Roosevelt elected to a third term
|
|
5 November 1940
|
German ship Admiral Scheer sinks six ships from convoy HX-84
|
|
14 November 1940
|
Greek forces launch large-scale counter-attack against Italian forces
|
|
14 November 1940
|
Coventry is ravaged by German bombers
|
|
16 November 1940
|
In reprisal for the Coventry raid, Britain bombs Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen
|
|
20 November 1940
|
Hungary becomes part of Axis powers
|
|
22 November 1940
|
Romania becomes an Axis power
|
|
23 November 1940
|
Romania joins the Axis powers
|
|
5 December 1940
|
Greek forces enter Albania pushing the Italians back
|
|
8 December 1940
|
Battle of Sidi Barrani
|
|
23 December 1940
|
Anthony Eden appointed British Foreign Secretary; Lord Halifax appointed Ambassador to the US
|
|
1941
|
|
1941
|
Battle of Crimea begins
|
|
1941
|
Battle of Crimea ends
|
|
2 January 1941
|
US announces it will build 200 freighters -- the Liberty ships
|
|
5 January 1941
|
After their defeat at Bardia, Italian forces retreat to Tobruk
|
|
6 January 1941
|
British troops of the XIII Corps, led by General Sir Richard O'Connor, surround Tobruk
|
|
8 January 1941
|
British planes bomb Italian battleships Giulio Cesare and Vittorio Veneto at Naples harbor
|
|
10 January 1941
|
US Congress starts debates on Lend-Lease program
|
|
11 January 1941
|
Hitler orders creation of the Afrika Korps
|
|
14 January 1941
|
German commerce raider Pinguin attacks Arctic whaling fleet
|
|
16 January 1941
|
British carrier Illustrious hit by German aircraft at Malta
|
|
19 January 1941
|
Hitler meets with Mussolini at Berghof
|
|
19 January 1941
|
British forces invade Eritrea
|
|
23 January 1941
|
HMS Illustrious leaves Malta for Alexandria
|
|
26 January 1941
|
Italians withdraw from Mechili
|
|
1 February 1941
|
German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper leaves Brest
|
|
3 February 1941
|
Germany army commanders present Russian invasion plan to Hitler
|
|
5 February 1941
|
British troops capture 5,000 Italian prisoners at Beda Fromm
|
|
7 February 1941
|
The fall of Beda Fromm marks the end of the first British offensive in North Africa; length of campaign was ten weeks; it covered 500 miles; and the British destroy 130,000 men of the Italian Tenth Army
|
|
8 February 1941
|
First German troops leave for North Africa from Naples
|
|
9 February 1941
|
British ships HMS Ark Royal, HMS Renown and HMS Malaya attack Italian harbors Genoa, Livorno, and La Spezia
|
|
10 February 1941
|
First British paratroop operation ends with the capture of the entire force at Taranto
|
|
11 February 1941
|
First German troops (5th Light Division) land in North Africa at Tripoli
|
|
11 February 1941
|
Admiral Hipper attacks Convoy HG-53; one ship is sunk
|
|
12 February 1941
|
General Erwin Rommel arrives in North Africa; he is under the command of Italian General Gariboldi
|
|
12 February 1941
|
Admiral Hipper attacks Convoy SLS-64; nine ships sunk or damaged
|
|
22 February 1941
|
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sink five ships
|
|
24 February 1941
|
British ship HMS Dainty is sunk by German planes at Tobruk
|
|
25 February 1941
|
Mogadishu is captured by Allied forces
|
|
26 February 1941
|
Eleven ships of convoy OB-290 are sunk by German planes; U47 called in the attack
|
|
1 March 1941
|
Bulgaria become Axis power, joins Tripartite Pact
[Bulgaria]
|
|
2 March 1941
|
German troops enter Bulgaria
|
|
4 March 1941
|
British troops land in Greece
|
|
4 March 1941
|
British Commando units launch the Lofoten Raid; the troops land at Lofoten Islands off Norway; 215 German prisoners captured
|
|
7 March 1941
|
U47 commanded by Prien is sunk by depth-charges
|
|
10 March 1941
|
British forces enter Abyssinia
|
|
11 March 1941
|
The US Congress passes the Lend-Lease Bill which will provide billions of dollars of war materials to the Allied powers
[United States]
|
|
16 March 1941
|
The first successful use of radar by surface ships to sink a U-boat (U99)
|
|
27 March 1941
|
Coup in Yugoslavia; General Simovic becomes head of government
|
|
31 March 1941
|
15th Panzer Division lands in Tripoli
|
|
5 April 1941
|
German troops invade Yugoslavia
|
|
6 April 1941
|
Battle of Yugoslavia
[Yugoslavia]
|
|
6 April 1941
|
British Generals O'Connor and Neame are captured by German forces in North Africa
|
|
8 April 1941
|
Allied troops capture Massawa in East Africa
|
|
8 April 1941
|
229 British bombers attack Kiel in the largest single target raid for the RAF so far
|
|
8 April 1941
|
German heavy bombers attack Belgrade; bombing continues for two more days
|
|
9 April 1941
|
German troops capture Thessaloniki in Greece
|
|
9 April 1941
|
237 German bombers raid Birmingham
|
|
10 April 1941
|
German forces capture Zagreb; some Croats defect to German side
|
|
10 April 1941
|
First military encounter between Germany and the US; destroyer Niblack attacks a U-boat
|
|
11 April 1941
|
Tobruk completely surrounded by German troops
|
|
11 April 1941
|
First escape from the POW camp at Colditz castle; escapee is French officer Alain le Ray
|
|
13 April 1941
|
Russian and Japan sign a neutrality agreement
|
|
13 April 1941
|
Japan and Soviet Union sign neutrality agreement
|
|
16 April 1941
|
Ante Pavelic is elected head of Croatia, a new sovereign state with close ties to Germany
[Croatia]
|
|
17 April 1941
|
Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany 12 days after the invasion
|
|
18 April 1941
|
Alexander Korizis, prime minister of Greece commits suicide
|
|
19 April 1941
|
British troops arrive in Iraq
|
|
21 April 1941
|
The Greek army surrenders to the Germans
|
|
24 April 1941
|
Allies and Greek royals evacuate from Greece to Crete
|
|
5 May 1941
|
Emperor Haile Selaissie re-enters Addis Ababa; he is the first lawful sovereign to return in triumph to his country
|
|
10 May 1941
|
Rudolph Hess, deputy leader of the Nazi Party, crash lands near Glasgow, Scotland; his true mission is still a mystery
|
|
10 May 1941
|
Last heavy bombing mission by the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
|
|
13 May 1941
|
Martin Bormann becomes the new deputy leader of the Nazi Party
|
|
14 May 1941
|
Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal
|
|
16 May 1941
|
German aircraft bomb Crete
|
|
17 May 1941
|
The Italian commander in East Africa, the Duke of Aosta -- Prince Amedeo Umberto, surrenders his forces to the British
|
|
19 May 1941
|
Germany releases 100,000 French POWs in return for greater collaboration with Vichy France
|
|
20 May 1941
|
Battle of Crete
|
|
21 May 1941
|
British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Hood leave Scapa Flow; their mission is to find and sink the Bismarck
|
|
22 May 1941
|
British aircraft carrier HMS Victorious and battleship King George V join the hunt for the Bismarck
|
|
23 May 1941
|
Bismarck is found sailing between Greenland and Iceland
|
|
24 May 1941
|
Bismarck and Prince Eugen engage and sink HMS Hood, only 3 people out of 1416 live; HMS Prince of Wales damaged
|
|
24 May 1941
|
Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and battlecruiser HMS Renown leave from Gibraltar to join the hunt for the Bismarck
|
|
26 May 1941
|
As the Bismarck nears Brest she is spotted by a British patrol plane
|
|
26 May 1941
|
Aircraft from the HMS Ark Royal score two hits on the Bismarck slowing the battleship down
|
|
27 May 1941
|
Allied troops begin to evacuate Crete
|
|
28 May 1941
|
Allied troop evacuation of Crete ends; 16,500 soldiers are evacuated, most to Egypt
|
|
31 May 1941
|
The last of the Allied troops on Crete surrender to the Germans
|
|
1 June 1941
|
British cruiser HMS Calcutta is sunk off Crete
|
|
1 June 1941
|
British troops enter Baghdad
|
|
1 June 1941
|
British leave Crete
|
|
8 June 1941
|
British forces invade Syria, attacking Vichy French forces
|
|
9 June 1941
|
The Luftwaffe begins to position aircraft in forward positions for the attack on Russia
|
|
15 June 1941
|
British forces begin counter-attack at Halfaya (Operation Battleaxe) to relieve pressure at Tobruk
|
|
17 June 1941
|
Operation Battleaxe ends in failure for the British
|
|
22 June 1941
|
Germany invades Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa
[Germany]
|
|
23 June 1941
|
German submarine Wolfpack attacks convey HX-133; two U-boats are lost; 5 merchant ships are sunk
|
|
25 June 1941
|
The British submarine HMS Parthian sinks French submarine Souffleur
|
|
27 June 1941
|
Battle of Minsk
|
|
29 June 1941
|
Finland declares war on Russia
|
|
30 June 1941
|
General Archibald Wavell is replace as commander-in-chief, Middle East by Churchill; General Claude Auchinleck is the new commander
|
|
1 July 1941
|
RAF bombs Brest harbor damaging the Prince Eugen
|
|
3 July 1941
|
Vichy forces in Syria surrender to the Allies
|
|
7 July 1941
|
US forces arrive in Iceland allowing the British to free up valuable soldiers for action else where
|
|
10 July 1941
|
Four Italian divisions leave for the Eastern Front
|
|
11 July 1941
|
President Roosevelt asks for appropriations of $3.3 billion for the US Navy and $4.7 billion for the US Army
|
|
12 July 1941
|
Russians and British agree not to make a separate peace with Germany
|
|
16 July 1941
|
Battle of Smolensk
|
|
23 July 1941
|
Italian aircraft attack a supply convoy heading to Malta; numerous ships are damaged including a cruiser
|
|
24 July 1941
|
British aircraft raid the Scharnhorst at harbor in La Pallice; Scharnhorst is put out of action for the rest of the year
|
|
26 July 1941
|
General MacArthur is appointed commander of US troops in the Philippines
|
|
26 July 1941
|
The US and Britain freeze Japanese assets in their respective countries
|
|
27 July 1941
|
Japan occupies French Indo-China
|
|
31 July 1941
|
General Cruwell is now head of the Afrika Korps; General Rommel is head of the Panzer Group Afrika
|
|
31 July 1941
|
Soviet T34 tanks are used on the Eastern Front for the first time
|
|
1 August 1941
|
The US bans the export of oil and aviation fuel outside of the Western Hemisphere (except for Britain) in a move against Japan
|
|
2 August 1941
|
The US extends Lend-Lease to include Russia
|
|
3 August 1941
|
Bishop of Munster, Clemens August Graf, speaks out against Nazi atrocities
|
|
7 August 1941
|
Stalin appoints himself commander-in-chief of the army
|
|
8 August 1941
|
The Russians send a bombing raid against Berlin; one plane gets through and drops its bombs
|
|
9 August 1941
|
Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt meet in Newfoundland to discuss the war
|
|
9 August 1941
|
Atlantic Charter adopted
|
|
12 August 1941
|
The first British bombing raid to use the Gee navigation device attack a railway target at Munchen-Gladbach
|
|
14 August 1941
|
Britain and US sign the Atlantic Charter
|
|
14 August 1941
|
German spie Josef Jakobs is executed at the Tower of London
|
|
18 August 1941
|
Hitler orders the deportaton of the remainder of Jews in Berlin deported to the ghettos in Poland
|
|
21 August 1941
|
German forces cut the railroad between Leningrad and Moscow
|
|
21 August 1941
|
The first Artic convoy for Russia leaves Iceland
|
|
24 August 1941
|
Vichy France passes anti-terrorist laws in order to combat the Resistance; terrorists are to be given the death penalty
|
|
27 August 1941
|
Assination attempt fails against Pierre Laval the vice-premier of Vichy France
|
|
28 August 1941
|
The Iranian government resigns; the new government begins talk with the Allies
|
|
29 August 1941
|
Mussolini meets with Hitler at Rastenberg in East Prussia
|
|
30 August 1941
|
General Milan Nedic is made head of Nazi puppet state of Serbia
|
|
1 September 1941
|
Hitler orders that all Jews over the age of six in occupied Europe must wear a Star of David on their clothes
|
|
3 September 1941
|
Russia calls up all men aged 18 or over for military service
|
|
4 September 1941
|
Soldiers of the Legion of French Volunteers leave Paris to join the German army on the Eastern Front
|
|
4 September 1941
|
US destroyer Greer and U652 engaged in combat off the coast of Iceland
|
|
8 September 1941
|
Siege of Lenigrad begins; Leningrad surrounded by German and Finnish troops
[Russia]
|
|
8 September 1941
|
First use of the American B-17 Flying Fortress by the British in a mission targeted at Norway
|
|
8 September 1941
|
600,000 ethnic Germans in the Volga region are exiled to Siberia in fear of fifth column activities
|
|
11 September 1941
|
The first British Hawker Typhoon fighter enters service
|
|
16 September 1941
|
Allies occupy Tehran; Shah of Persia, Reza Shah Pahlevi, abdicates; his Allied friendly son, Mohammad Reza replaces him
|
|
16 September 1941
|
Convoy HX-150, the first convoy to get formal protection from the US Navy, leaves for Europe from Halifax, Canada
|
|
18 September 1941
|
Roosevelt asks for appropriations of $5.9 billion for Lend-Lease
|
|
19 September 1941
|
Battle of Kiev begins
|
|
23 September 1941
|
Charles de Gaulle announces in London the formation of a national committee as the legitimate French government in exile
|
|
24 September 1941
|
The first German submarine enters the Mediterranean via Gibraltar
|
|
25 September 1941
|
German forces cut off the Crimea from the rest of Russia
|
|
26 September 1941
|
Battle of Kiev ends
|
|
27 September 1941
|
First set of Liberty ships are launched in the US
|
|
28 September 1941
|
Allied representatives meet in Moscow; first time major Allied combatants meet
|
|
29 September 1941
|
Reinhart Heydrich becomes deputy protector of Bohemia and Moravia
|
|
1 October 1941
|
Japanese troops are repulsed at Changsha
|
|
2 October 1941
|
Battle of Moscow begins
[Germany]
|
|
2 October 1941
|
The Messerschmitt ME163A rocket aircraft sets a new speed record of 623 mph
[Germany]
|
|
9 October 1941
|
Turkey signs trade agreement with Germany
|
|
12 October 1941
|
Civilians start to leave Moscow as German troops advance on the city
|
|
16 October 1941
|
Japanese Prime Minister Prince Fumimaro Konoye resigns; General Hideki Tojo becomes Prime Minister
|
|
16 October 1941
|
Petain orders the arrest of former prime ministers Daladier, Blum, and Reynaud
|
|
17 October 1941
|
All US merchant ships in Asian waters are ordered to dock at friendly harbors
|
|
18 October 1941
|
Tojo becomes Japanese Prime Minister
|
|
21 October 1941
|
Fifty hostages are executed in Nantes, France in retaliation of the assasination of the regional military commander Lieutenant-Colonel Karl Holz
|
|
23 October 1941
|
General de Gaulle requests that the French Resistance stop assassinating German soldiers to avoid German retaliation against French civilians
|
|
24 October 1941
|
German troops capture Kharkov
|
|
25 October 1941
|
British battleship HMS Prince of Wales leaves for Singapore; Prince of Wales is desginated the flagship of the Far East fleet
|
|
27 October 1941
|
Lord Louis Mountbatten appointed director of Combined Operations (commando forces)
|
|
30 October 1941
|
US gives Russia a $1 billion interest free loan in order to buy Lend-Lease equipment
|
|
31 October 1941
|
US destroyer Reuben James is sunk while escorting a convoy in the Atlantic
|
|
3 November 1941
|
German forces capture Kursk
|
|
3 November 1941
|
Germans take Kursk
|
|
10 November 1941
|
The Japanese fleet charged with attacking Pearl Harbor under Admiral Nagumo leaves Tokyo
|
|
11 November 1941
|
US extends Lend-Lease to include the Free French
|
|
13 November 1941
|
US Congress revises the Neutrality Act of 1939 to allow US merchant ships to unload munitions in British ports
|
|
14 November 1941
|
Aircraft carrier Ark Royal sinks near Gibraltar after sustaining damage by a U-Boat the day before
|
|
18 November 1941
|
US light tank M3 Stuart first used (with British troops during Operation Crusader)
|
|
18 November 1941
|
A small British commando unit attempts to capture or kill General Rommel; the raid fails
|
|
21 November 1941
|
First attempt to break-out of Tobruk by Allied troops fails
|
|
22 November 1941
|
German raider Atlantis sunk by HMS Devonshire off the coast of West Africa; Atlantis had sunk 22 Allied ships
|
|
24 November 1941
|
German forces withdraw from Rostov
|
|
25 November 1941
|
Battleship HMS Barham is sunk by U-boat; Barham, the second British battleship to be sunk, is the only Allied battleship sunk in open seas by a U-Boat
|
|
26 November 1941
|
Lieutenant-General Ritchie takes command of the British Eigth Army; he replaces Lieutenant-General Cunningham
|
|
27 November 1941
|
The last Italian troops in Ethiopia surrender to the British
|
|
27 November 1941
|
Free French General Georges Catroux proclaims Lebanon's independence
|
|
29 November 1941
|
General von Reichenau replaces Field Marshal von Rundstedt of Army Group South after Rundstedt withdrew from Rostov which was against Hitler's standing order of no retreats
|
|
30 November 1941
|
First successful use of air-to-surface radar when a British bomber finds and sinks U206
|
|
6 December 1941
|
Soviet army begins counter offensive against Germans
|
|
7 December 1941
|
Japanese launch surprise attack on U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor
[United States]
|
|
8 December 1941
|
United States declares war on Japan
[United States]
|
|
10 December 1941
|
Prince of Wales sunk
|
|
11 December 1941
|
Germany and Italy declare war on United States
|
|
14 December 1941
|
Japan invades Burma
|
|
24 December 1941
|
Japan takes Wake Island
|
|
25 December 1941
|
Japan takes Hong Kong
|
|
1942
|
|
1 January 1942
|
Allies sign the UN Declaration
|
|
13 January 1942
|
Internment of Japanese-Americans begins
|
|
18 January 1942
|
Battle of Moscow ends
[Germany]
|
|
31 January 1942
|
Battle of Singapore
|
|
8 March 1942
|
Japanese forces take New Guinea
|
|
18 April 1942
|
Doolittle’s raid on Tokyo
|
|
7 May 1942
|
Battle of Coral Sea begins
|
|
8 May 1942
|
American forces at Corregidor in the Philippines surrender
[United States]
|
|
20 May 1942
|
British leave Burma
|
|
30 May 1942
|
Great Britain launches a 1000 bomber raid against Germany
|
|
3 June 1942
|
Battle of Sevastopol
|
|
4 June 1942
|
Americans destroy 4 Japanese aircraft carriers at the battle of Midway
[United States]
|
|
4 June 1942
|
Battle of Midway begins
|
|
21 June 1942
|
Germans take Tobruk
|
|
1 July 1942
|
Battle of El Alamein I begins
|
|
7 August 1942
|
United States Marines land on Guadalcanal
[United States]
|
|
19 August 1942
|
Battle of Dieppe
|
|
19 August 1942
|
British and Canadian forces blunder raid on Dieppe
|
|
23 August 1942
|
Battle of Stalingrad begins
[Russia]
|
|
23 October 1942
|
The British 8th Army under General Bernard Montgomery defeats Axis army at the Second Battle of El Alamein
[United Kingdom]
|
|
8 November 1942
|
Allied forces land in North Africa
|
|
27 November 1942
|
French scuttle their fleet at Toulon
|
|
1943
|
|
1943
|
Battle of White Russia begins
|
|
1943
|
Battle of White Russia ends
|
|
23 January 1943
|
British take Tripoli
|
|
27 January 1943
|
American 8th Air Force conducts its first raid against Germany
|
|
1 February 1943
|
Chindits launch their first Burmese operation
|
|
2 February 1943
|
Remnants of the German 6th Army surrender at Stalingrad
[U.S.S.R.]
|
|
14 February 1943
|
Battle of Kasserine Pass
|
|
19 February 1943
|
Battle of Kassarine Pass
|
|
20 March 1943
|
Battle of Mareth
|
|
10 April 1943
|
Battle of Ukraine ends
|
|
3 May 1943
|
Battle of Tunisia
[Tunisia]
|
|
3 May 1943
|
Allies take Tunis
|
|
12 May 1943
|
The North African campaign of WWII ends as German forces surrender
[Germany]
|
|
13 May 1943
|
Germans give up North Africa
|
|
10 June 1943
|
The Combined Bomber Offensive launches Operation Pointblank, a strategic bombing campaign against German industry and civilian morale
[United States]
|
|
20 June 1943
|
New Georgia Campaign begins
|
|
5 July 1943
|
Battle of Kursk
|
|
5 July 1943
|
Battle of Kursk, Russia, begins
|
|
9 July 1943
|
Battle of Sicily, Invasion of
[Italy]
|
|
9 July 1943
|
Allied forces launch amphibious invasion of Sicily
[Italy]
|
|
23 July 1943
|
Battle of Ukraine begins
|
|
25 July 1943
|
Mussolini resigns
|
|
17 August 1943
|
Raids against Schweinfurt, Germany, begins
|
|
3 September 1943
|
Allies land in Italy
|
|
8 September 1943
|
Italy surrenders to the Allies
[Italy]
|
|
9 September 1943
|
Battle of Salerno begins
[Italy]
|
|
18 September 1943
|
Battle of Salerno ends
|
|
13 October 1943
|
Italy declares war on Germany
|
|
20 November 1943
|
Marines land on Tarawa
|
|
28 November 1943
|
Teheran Conference
|
|
1944
|
|
22 January 1944
|
Battle of Anzio
|
|
27 January 1944
|
Leningrad Siege lifted
|
|
31 January 1944
|
American troops take Marshall Islands
|
|
12 February 1944
|
Battle of Cassino
|
|
14 February 1944
|
Battle of Monte Casino
|
|
6 June 1944
|
D-Day, the Allied Invasion of Normandy, France
[France]
|
|
13 June 1944
|
Germans launch their first V-1 rockets
|
|
15 June 1944
|
American Troops to Saipan
|
|
19 June 1944
|
Battle of Philippine Sea
|
|
July 1944
|
Battle of Poland-East Prussia
|
|
18 July 1944
|
Tojo out of power in Japan
|
|
20 July 1944
|
Assassination attempt against Hitler—fails
|
|
25 July 1944
|
Battle of St Lo Breakout
|
|
1 August 1944
|
Battle of Warsaw
|
|
20 August 1944
|
Battle of Balkans begins
|
|
25 August 1944
|
Germans surrender Paris
|
|
4 September 1944
|
Allies take Antwerp
|
|
8 September 1944
|
Germans launch their first V-2s against allies
|
|
8 September 1944
|
Bulgaria surrenders to Soviet Union
|
|
15 September 1944
|
U. S. Marines land on the island of Peleliu
|
|
17 September 1944
|
Battle of Arnhem
|
|
17 September 1944
|
Allied armored and airborne forces fail to secure Rhine crossing in Operation Market-Garden
[United States]
|
|
21 September 1944
|
Dumbarton Oaks Conference
|
|
20 October 1944
|
Battle of Balkans ends
|
|
20 October 1944
|
Allied forces launch amphibious invasion of the Philippines
[Japan]
|
|
21 October 1944
|
Allies take Aachen, Germany
|
|
24 October 1944
|
Battle of Leyte Gulf
|
|
6 November 1944
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt wins presidential election for fourth time
[United States]
|
|
12 November 1944
|
German ship Tirpitz sunk
|
|
16 December 1944
|
Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes) begins
[Germany]
|
|
16 December 1944
|
Battle of Saint-Vith
|
|
17 December 1944
|
Battle of Bastogne
|
|
1945
|
|
17 January 1945
|
Soviets take Warsaw
|
|
25 January 1945
|
Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes) ends
|
|
4 February 1945
|
Yalta Conference begins
|
|
19 February 1945
|
U. S. Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima
[United States]
|
|
7 March 1945
|
Patton’s Third Army crosses the Rhine at Remagan
|
|
1 April 1945
|
Battle of Okinawa
[Japan]
|
|
1 April 1945
|
American operations against Okinawa begin
|
|
12 April 1945
|
President Roosevelt dies, succeeded by Harry Truman
|
|
16 April 1945
|
Battle of Berlin
|
|
25 April 1945
|
San Francisco Conference begins
|
|
28 April 1945
|
Mussolini assassinated
|
|
30 April 1945
|
Adolf Hitler commits suicide in Berlin; Karl Dönitz appointed leader of Germany
[Germany]
|
|
30 April 1945
|
Hitler commits suicide
|
|
2 May 1945
|
Soviets take Berlin
|
|
8 May 1945
|
Germany surrenders (V-E Day)
|
|
16 July 1945
|
‘Trinity” test at Alamogordo, New Mexico
|
|
17 July 1945
|
Potsdam Conference begins
|
|
6 August 1945
|
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan
[Japan]
|
|
9 August 1945
|
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan
[Japan]
|
|
14 August 1945
|
Japanese surrender; World War II ends
|
|
2 September 1945
|
Japanese sign surrender terms on board the USS Missouri
[United States]
|
|
21 December 1945
|
George Smith Patton, Jr. dies
[United States]
|
