Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Table of contents 1 1939 1.1 September 1.2 October 1.3 November 1.4 December 2 1940 2.5 January 2.6 March 2.7 April 2.8 May 2.9 June 2.10 July 2.11 August 2.12 September 2.13 October 2.14 November 2.15 December 3 1941 3.16 January 3.17 February 3.18 March 3.19 April 3.20 May 3.21 June 3.22 July 3.23 September 3.24 October 3.25 November 3.26 December 4 1942 4.27 January 4.28 February 4.29 March 4.30 April 4.31 May 4.32 June 4.33 July 4.34 August 4.35 September 4.36 October 4.37 November 4.38 December 5 1943 5.39 January 5.40 February 5.41 May 5.42 July 5.43 August 5.44 September 5.45 October 5.46 November 5.47 December 6 1944 6.48 January 6.49 February 6.50 March 6.51 May 6.52 June 6.53 July 6.54 August 6.55 September 6.56 October 6.57 November 6.58 December 7 1945 7.59 January 7.60 February 7.61 March 7.62 April 7.63 May 7.64 July 7.65 August 7.66 September 1939 September 1: Invasion of Poland by Germany; Norway, Switzerland and Finland declare their neutrality; the British government declares general mobilisation. 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 Comité Français de la Libération 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 Kébir 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 Japanese 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. 26: Ferdinand Bonnier de la Chapelle is executed by firing squad for the the assassination of Admiral Darlan. 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 Dönitz 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 officially 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 officially signs the instrument of surrender. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.