Timeline of the Second World War
1939
September
- 1: Invasion of Poland
by Germany; Norway,
Switzerland
and Finland declare
their neutrality;
the British government declares general mobilisation.advertisement - 2: The United Kingdom and France issue a joint ulimtatum to Germany, requiring German troops to evacuate Polish territory within 12 hours; Mussolini declares Italian neutrality; Ireland also declares neutrality; the Swiss government orders a general mobilization of its forces; the National Service (Armed Forces) Act is passed in Britain.
- 3: Hitler rejects Allied ultimatum; the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and France declare war on Germany; Belgium declares its neutrality as King Leopold III assumes personal command of the Belgian armed forces. British passenger liner SS Athenia en-route from Glasgow to Montreal is sunk by U-30.
- 4:The Royal Air Force attacks the German fleet at Wilhelmshaven and bombs the Kiel Canal.
- 5: The United States declares neutrality; General Jan Smuts replaces James Herzog as Prime Minister of South Africa; French troops begin minor offensive towards Saarbrucken.
- 6: South Africa declares war on Germany; Spain declares its neutrality, but Franco makes a secret pledge to Hitler to aid the Axis cause.
- 7: National Registration Act passed in Britain, introducing identity cards and allowing the government to control labour.
- 10: Canada declares war on Germany.
- 17: Invasion of Eastern Poland by the Soviet Union.
- 28: Warsaw surrenders; Polish government in exile set up in Paris.
October
- 1: Conscription of British men aged between 20 and 22 begins.
- 2: The Hel peninsula Polish defence forces surrender to German forces.
- 5: The Kock battle, the last battle of the Polish defence, between Polesie group under the command of General Kleeberg and German forces.
- 9: Hitler issues orders for preparation of invasion of Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
November
- 30: The Soviet Union invades Finland.
December
- 7: Italy again declares its neutrality.
- 13: Battle of the River Plate.
- 17: Admiral Graf Spee scuttled in Montevideo harbour.
- 14: Russia expelled from the League Of Nations.
- 18: The first Canadian troops arrive in Europe.
1940
January
- 1: Conscription extended in Britain: all men between 20 and 27 now liable.
March
- 12: Finland signs a peace treaty with the Soviet Union.
- 18: Mussolini agrees with Hitler that Italy will enter the war 'at an opportune moment".
- 21: Paul Reynaud becomes Prime Minister of France.
April
- 9: Denmark and Norway invaded by Germany; Denmark surrenders.
May
- 5: Norwegian government in exile established in London.
- 9: Conscription in Britain extended to age 36.
- 10: Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are invaded by Germany; Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister upon the resignation of Neville Chamberlain.
- 11: Luxembourg occupied.
- 13: Dutch government in exile established in London.
- 14: The creation of the Local Defence Volunteers (the Home Guard) is announced by Anthony Eden.
- 15: The Netherlands surrender.
- 26: Operation Dynamo, the Allied evacuation from Dunkirk, begins.
- 28: Belgium surrenders; Germans evacuate Narvik
June
- 3: Last day of Operation Dynamo. 224,686 British and 121,445 French and Belgian troops have been evacuated.
- 10: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom; Norway surrenders.
- 11: French government decamps to Tours.
- 14: Paris occupied by German troops; French government moves again, this time to Bordeaux.
- 16: Petain becomes premier of France upon the resignation of Reynaud's government.
- 17: Sinking of liner Lancastria off St Nazaire while being used as a British troopship - Britain's worst maritime disaster.
- 18: General De Gaulle forms the Comit Franais de la Libration Nationale, a French government in exile; Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are occupied by the Soviet Union.
- 21: Franco-German armistice negotiations begin at Compiegne.
- 22: Franco-German armistice signed.
- 24: France officially surrenders to Germany; Franco-Italian armistice signed.
- 28: General De Gaulle recognised by British as leader of Free French.
- 30: Germany invades the Channel Islands.
July
- 1: Channel Islands completely occupied; French government moves to Vichy.
- 2: Hitler orders preparation of plans for invasion of Britain, code-named Operation Sealion.
- 4: Royal Navy force arrives at Mers El Kbir and orders French fleet there to surrender - upon refusal they open fire, sinking or damaging several French ships; Vichy French government breaks off diplomatic relations with Britain in protest.
- 21: Czech government in exile arrives in London.
- 22: The Special Operations Executive is created.
- 25: All women and children are ordered to evacuate Gibraltar.
August
- 2: General De Gaulle sentenced to death in absentia by a French military court.
- 4: Italian forces invade British Somaliland.
- 19: Italians take Berbera, capital of British Somaliland.
September
- 3: Operation Sealion set for 21st September.
- 10: Operation Sealion postponed until 24th September.
- 13: Italy invades Egypt.
- 14: Operation Sealion postponed until 27th September, the last day of the month with suitable tides for the invasion.
- 17: Operation Sealion postponed by Hitler until further notice.
October
- 7: Germany invades Romania.
- 12: Any German invasion of Britain postponed until Spring 1941 at the earliest.
- 28: Italy issues ultimatum to Greece - Prime Minister Metaxas replies with the single word "Okhi!" ("no!"); Italian forces invade Greece.
November
- 11: British naval forces launch attack against Italian navy at Taranto. Swordfish bombers from HMS Illustrious damage three battleships, two cruisers and multiple auxillary craft.
- 20: Hungary and Romania sign the Tripartite Pact.
December
- 11: Greece invades Italian-held Albania.
1941
January
- 12: British and Australian troops capture Tobruk.
February
- 25: Mogadishu, Italian Somaliland captured by British forces.
March
- 11: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Lend Lease Act allowing Britain, China and other allied nations to purchase military equipment and to defer payment until after the war.
- 25: Yugoslavia signs the Tripartite Pact.
- 27: Crown Prince Peter becomes Peter II of Yugoslavia and takes control of Yugoslavia after an army coup overthrows the pro-German government of the Prince Regent.
- 30: The Afrika Korps begins the German offensive in North Africa.
April
- 6: German, Hungarian and Italian forces invade Yugoslavia and Greece.
- 10: Greenland occupied by the United States.
- 12: Belgrade surrenders.
- 13: Japan and the Soviet Union sign a neutrality pact.
- 17: Yugoslavia surrenders. Goverment in exile formed in London.
- 23: Greek government evacuated to Crete.
- 27: Athens occupied by German troops.
May
- 10: Rudolf Hess captured in Scotland after bailing out of his plane.
- 20: German paratroopers attack Crete.
- 24: British battlecruiser HMS Hood sunk by German battleship Bismarck; Greek government leaves Crete for Cairo.
- 27: The Bismarck is sunk by torpedoes from HMS Dorsetshire.
- 28: British and Commonwealth forces begin to evacuate Crete.
June
- 1: Allies complete the withdrawal from Crete.
- 4: Iraq invaded by Britain - the pro-Axis government there is overthrown.
- 8: Syria invade by Britain - Vichy French government there overthrown.
- 22: Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.
- 23: Hungary and Slovakia declare war on the Soviet Union.
- 26: Finland declares war on the Soviet Union.
- 28: Albania declares war on the Soviet Union.
July
- 5: Possibility of negotiated peace ruled-out by British government.
- 7: Iceland occupied by the United States.
- 8: Yugoslavia dissolved by the Axis.
- 12: Britain and Soviet Union sign mutual defence agreement, promising not to sign any form of seperate peace agreement with Germany.
- 25: Iran occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union.
September
- 5: Germany occupies Estonia.
- 15: Siege of Leningrad begins.
October
- 16: Soviet government evacuated to Kuibyshev.
November
- 22: Britain issues an ultimatum to Finland to end war with Russia or face war with the Allies.
December
- 5: Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.
- 7: Japanese aerial attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaya, Thailand and Shanghai.
- 8: Japan invades Malaya
- 10: British battleships HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales sunk by air attack.
- 11: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States.
- 12: Britain declares war on Bulgaria after it had declared war on both Britain and the United States.
- 16: Japan invades Borneo
- 17: Siege of Sevastpol begins.
- 18: Japanese troops land on Hong Kong Island.
- 25: Hong Kong surrenders.
1942
January
- 2: Japanese troops occupy Manila.
- 25: Japanese troops invade the Solomon Islands.
February
- 15: Singapore surrenders to Japanese forces.
March
- 22: Darwin, Australia bombed by Japanese air force.
April
- 15: Malta is awarded the George Cross by King George VI for "heroism and devotion".
- 18: Doolittle Raid on Nagoya, Tokyo and Yokohama.
- 30: Hitler and Mussolini propose to invade Malta on 10th July.
May
- 4: Battle of the Coral Sea.
- 21: Invasion of Malta postponed indefintely.
June
- 4: American victory at Battle of Midway.
- 18: Manhattan Project started.
- 21: Afrika Korps recaptures Tobruk.
- 28: Operation Blue, the German plan to capture Stalingrad and the Russian oil fields in the Causascus, begins.
July
- 1: First Battle of El Alamein begins.
- 3: Guadalcanal falls to the Japanese.
- 27: First Battle of El Alamein ends.
August
- 7: Operation Watchtower begins the Battle of Guadalcanal as American forces invade Gavutu, Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Tanambogo in the Solomon Islands.
- 13: General Bernard Montgomery appointed commander of British Eighth Army in North Africa.
- 19: Operation Jubilee, a raid by British and Canadian forces on Dieppe in France, ends in disaster.
- 22: Brazil declares war on the Axis countries.
- 30: Luxembourg is formally annexed to the German Reich.
September
- 1: Stalingrad is now completely encircled by German forces.
October
- 4: British commandos raid Sark, capturing one German soldier.
- 18: Hitler issues Commando Order, ordering all captured commandos to be executed immediatly.
- 22: Conscription age in Britain reduced to 18.
- 23: Second Battle of El Alamein begins with massive Allied bombardment of German opositions.
November
- 1: Operation Supercharge, the Allied breakout at El Alamein, begins.
- 8: Operation Torch, the British and American invasion of North Africa, begins.
- 11: German forces occupy Vichy France.
- 13: Tobruk recaptured by British Eighth Army.
- 19: Operation Uranus, Soviet counterattack against German forces in Stalingrad, beings.
December
- 7: Commando raid on Bordeaux harbour by British troops.
- 24: Admiral Darlan assassinated in Algiers.
1943
January
- 14: Casablanca Conference of Allied leaders begins.
- 31: Large parts of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad, including Field Marshal Paulus, surrender.
February
- 2: The remainder of the 6th Army surrenders.
- 8: Liberation of Guadalcanal completed.
May
- 7: Tunis captured by British First Army.
- 24: Admiral Karl Dnitz orders the majority of U-Boats to withdraw from the Atlantic.
July
- 4: General Wladyslaw Sikorski and several other members of the Polish government in exile are killed in what is ostensibly an air accident in Gibraltar - some suspect that the 'accident' was actually caused on Stalin's orders.
- 5: The Battle of Kursk begins.
- 9: Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily begins.
- 25: Mussolini is sacked as Prime Minister of Italy by the King, replaced with Pietro Badoglio.
August
- 17: Americans take Messina, completing the invasion of Sicily.
- 22: The Battle of Kursk ends with a heavy defeat for the German forces.
September
- 3: British troops begin invasion of mainland Italy.
- 9: Iran declares war on Germany, under pressure of Allied forces who have occupied the country; American troops being landings in Italy.
- 23: Italy surrenders to the Allies; Italian Social Republic founded in German-occupied parts of Northern Italy.
October
- 13: Italy declares war on Germany.
November
- 1: US Marines being landings on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands.
- 15: Allied Expeditionary Force for the invasion of Europe is officially formed.
- 22 Cairo Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Chiang Kai-shek begins.
- 28 Tehran Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin begins.
December
- 4: Bolivia declares war on the Axis countries.
- 26: German battle cruiser Scharnhorst sunk.
1944
January
- 4: Battle of Monte Cassino begins.
- 18: Siege of Leningrad ends.
- 22: Allied landings at Anzio, Italy.
February
- 8: The plan for the invasion of France, Operation Overlord, is confirmed.
- 14: SHAEF headquarters established in Britain by General Eisenhower.
- 22: Stockholm bombed by the Soviet Union.
March
- 19: Hungary occupied by German forces.
- 24: Orde Wingate killed in plane crash.
May
- 8: D-Day for Operation Overlord set for 5th June.
June
- 4: Operation Overlord postponed 24 hours due to high seas.
- 5: Allied troops enter Rome.
- 6: D-Day: Operation Overlord is launched by the Allies, to invade Normandy.
- 7: Bayeux liberated by British troops.
- 17: Free French troops land on Elba.
- 18: Elba declared liberated.
- 20: Siege of Imphal lifted.
- 26: Cherbourg liberated by American troops.
July
- 9: Caen is liberated by the Allies.
- 18: Infamous death ride of the armoured divisions as British XIII Corps repulsed by heavy German counter-attack, losing over 1,500 men and 200 tanks while Germans lose 109 Panzers.
- 24: Maidanek Concentration Camp is liberated by Soviet forces.
August
- 1: Warsaw Uprising by the Polish Home Army commences.
- 4: Florence liberated by the Allies.
- 10: Guam liberated by American troops.
- 19: French Resistance begins uprising in Paris.
- 23: Romania surrenders.
- 25: Paris is liberated; De Gaulle and Free French parade triumphantly down the Champs Elysee.
September
- 2: Allied troops enter Belgium.
- 3: Brussels liberated by British Second Army while Lyon is liberated by French and American troops.
- 4: Antwerp liberated by British 11th Armoured Division.
- 6: Ghent and Liege liberated by British troops.
- 8: Ostend liberated by Canadian troops; Russians invade Bulgaria.
- 9: Provisional government formed in France by De Gaulle.
- 10: Luxembourg liberated by US First Army.
- 11: First Allied troops enter Germany.
- 17: Operation Market Garden, the attempted liberation of Arnhem, begins.
- 19: Nancy liberated by US First Army.
- 25: British troops pulled out of Arnhem with failure of Operation Market Garden. Over 6,000 paratroopers are captured.
- 30: German garrison in Calais surrenders to Canadian troops.
October
- 1: Russian troops enter Yugoslavia.
- 2: Germans finally succeed in putting down Warsaw Uprising by Polish Home Army in Warsaw.
- 4: German troops withdrawn from Greece; Allied troops enter Greece.
- 5: Canadian troops cross the border into Holland.
- 14: Athens liberated by Allies.
- 21: Aachen occupied by US First Army - it is the first German city to be captured.
November
- 2: Canadian troops take Zeebrugge in Belgium; Belgium now entirely liberated.
- 4: Remaining Axis forces in Greece surrender.
- 24: Strasbourg liberated by French troops.
- 29: Albania liberated by Allies.
December
- 3: The Home Guard is stood down.
- 16: The Battle of the Bulge begins as German forces attempt a breakthrough in the Ardennes region.
1945
January
- 17: Warsaw captured by Red Army troops.
- 27: The Battle of the Bulge officially ends; Auschwitz concentration camp is liberated by Soviet troops.
February
- 4: Yalta Conference of Allied leaders begins.
- 13/14: Dresden firebombed by Allied air forces. Large parts of city destroyed.
- 19: US Marines invade Iwo Jima
- 23: US forces raise the American flag at Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima.
- 25: Turkey declares war against Germany.
March
- 20: Mandalay liberated by British 19th Indian Division.
April
- 1: US troops invade Okinawa.
- 4: Ohrdruf concentration camp is liberated by the Allies.
- 10: Buchenwald concentration camp is liberated.
- 12: President Roosevelt dies suddenly. Harry Truman becomes president of the United States.
- 13: Vienna liberated by Russian troops.
- 15: Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated; Arnhem is liberated.
- 28: Mussolini captured and executed by Italian partisans.
- 29: Dachau concentration camp is liberated by the US 7th Army.
- 30: Hitler commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin; the Eastern and Western Fronts linkup as American forces meet up with Russians at Ellenburg.
May
- 2: Berlin captured by Russian and Polish troops.
- 3: Rangoon liberated.
- 5: Mauthausen concentration camp is liberated.
- 5: German troops in the Netherlands offically surrender - symbolically, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands takes the surrender.
- 7: Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies.
- 8: Ceasefire takes effect at one minute past midnight; V-E Day in Britain.
- 9: German garrison in Channel Islands agrees to surrender.
- 16: British troops complete liberation of Channel Islands.
July
- 6: Norway declares war on Japan.
August
- 6: The first nuclear weapon ever used in war, Little Boy, is dropped on Hiroshima.
- 8: Soviet Union declares war on Japan.
- 9: Fat Man is dropped on Nagasaki; Russian troops enter China and Korea.
- 15: Emperor Hirohito issues a radio broadcast announcing Japan's unconditional surrender; V-J Day declared in Britain.
- 16: Emperor Hirohito issues an Imperial Rescript ordering Japanese forces to cease fire.
- 30: Royal Navy force under Rear-Admiral Cecil Harcourt liberates Hong Kong.
September
- 2: Japan signs the articles of surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
- 3: Japanese troops in the Phillipines and Singapore agree to surrender to American and British forces respectively.
- 5: Singapore officially liberated by British and Indian troops.
- 16: Japanese garrison in Hong Kong offically signs the instrument of surrender.