Timeline of World War II

This is a ***short* timeline of events that stretched over the period of World War II**. For details …

This is a ***short* timeline of events that stretched over the period of World War II**. For details look at Wikipedia

Template:TOClimit limit=2

## 1939

### September 1939

1: The of Poland (1939) Invasion of Poland begins at 4:40 a.m. with the Germany German [1] attacking several targets in [2]. The [3] launches air attacks against [4], [5], and [6].
1: [7], [8] and [9] declare their neutrality.
1: The British government declares general [10] of the Armed Forces and begins evacuation plans in preparation of German air attacks.
2: The Kingdom and [11] issue a joint ultimatum to Germany, requiring German troops to evacuate Polish territory; [12] declares Italian neutrality; Ireland also declares neutrality; the Swiss government orders a general mobilization of its forces.
2: The Service (Armed Forces) Act (1939), under which all men between 18 and 41 are made liable for conscription is speedily passed through of the United Kingdom British Parliament.
2: The City of Danzig is annexed by Germany.
3: At 11:15am Summer Time, the British Prime Minister, Chamberlain, announces on Radio that the deadline of the final British ultimatum for the withdrawal of German troops from Poland expired at 11:00am and that "consequently this nation is at war with Germany". At 12:30pm BST the French Government delivers a similar final ultimatum; which expires at 3:00pm BST. [13], [14], and Zealand also declare war on Germany.
3: Within hours of the British declaration of War, Athenia, a British cruise ship en-route from [15] to [16] is torpedoed by 30 (1936) U-30 250 miles Northwest of Ireland. 112 passengers and crew are killed.
4: In the first British offensive action of the war the Air Force launch a raid on the German fleet in the Bight. They target the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer *Admiral Scheer* anchored off [17] at the western end of the Canal. Several aircraft are lost in the attack and although the German vessel is hit three times all of the bombs fail to explode.
4: Japan announces its neutrality in the European situation. The United States makes a similar declaration the next day.
5: South African Prime Minister Herzog fails to gain support for a declaration of South African neutrality and is deposed by Smuts.
6: Africa declares war on Germany.
6: of Barking Creek (a fire incident resulting in the first RAF pilot fatalities of the War).[18]
6: One element of the German army captures Krakow in the south of Poland; Polish army is in general retreat.
7: France begins a token offensive, moving into German territory near [19].
7: The Registration Act (1939) passed in Britain, introducing identity cards and allowing the government to control labour.
8: The British Government announce the re-introduction of the of the Atlantic (1939–1945)#Early skirmishes (September 1939 – May 1940) convoy system for merchant ships and a full-scale blockade on German shipping.
9: The French Offensive stalls at the heavily mined Warndt Forest having advanced approximately 8 miles into lightly defended German territory.
10: [20] declares war on Germany.
11: of India Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow Lord Linlithgow announces to the two houses of the Indian Legislature (the of State and the Assembly) that due to India's participation in the war, the plans for the Federation of India under the of India Act 1935 will be indefinitely postponed.
12: Gamelin General Gamelin orders a halt to the French advance into Germany.
16: The German Army complete the encirclement of Warsaw.
17: The Union invades Poland from the east, occupying the territory east of the line as well as [21] and Eastern (Central Europe) Galicia.
18: Polish President Moscicki and [22] Rydz-Smigly leave Poland for [23], where they are both interned; Russian forces reach [24] and [25]. Polish submarine escapes from [26] - [27]'s neutrality is questioned by the Soviet Union and Germany.
19: The German and Soviet armies link up near Belarus Brest Litovsk.
19: Soviet Union blockades the harbour of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
20: 27 (1936) U-27 is sunk with depth charges from the British destroyers Fortune *HMS* Fortune and Forester *HMS* Forester.
21: Romanian Prime Minister Călinescu is assassinated by the Guard, an ultranationalistic group.
24: Soviet air force in World War II violating Estonian airspace. The Estonians negotiate with Molotov in Moscow. Molotov warns the Estonians that if the Soviet Union doesn’t get military bases in Estonia, it is forced to use “more radical actions”.
25: German home front measures begin with food rationing.
25: Soviet air activity in Estonia. Soviet troops along the Estonian border include 600 tanks and 600 airplanes and 160 000 men.
26: Following a massive artillery bombardment, the Germans launch a major infantry assault on the centre of Warsaw.
26: Russian bombers seen in the Tallinn sky.
27: In the first offensive operations by the German Army in Western Europe, guns on the Line open up on villages behind French line.
28: Boundary and Friendship Treaty is signed by Molotov and Ribbentrop. The secret protocol specifies the details of partition of Poland originally defined in Pact (August 23 1939) and adds Lithuania to the Soviet Union sphere of interest.
28: The remaining army and militia in the centre of [28] capitulate to the Germans.
28: Soviet troops by the Latvian border. Latvian air space violated.
29: [29] signs a 10-year Mutual Assistance Pact with the Soviet Union, which allows the Soviets to have 30 000 men military bases in Estonia. As a gift in return Stalin promises to save Estonia independent.
30: The German pocket-battleship *pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee Admiral Graf Spee* sinks its first merchant ship, the British freighter Clement while off the coast of [30], [31].
### October 1939

1: Polish code breakers bring an early machine to Paris.
1: Soviet air force demonstrates in Latvian air space.
2: RAF drops propaganda leaflets on Berlin.
2: Latvian representatives negotiate with Stalin and Molotov. Soviets threat an occupation by force if they do not get military bases in Latvia.
2: Declaration of Panama is approved by American Republics. Belligerent activities should not take place within waters adjacent to the American continent. A neutrality zone of some 300 miles in breadth is to be patrolled by the U.S. navy.
3: British forces move to Belgian border, anticipating German invasion of the West.
3: Lithuanians meet Stalin and Molotov in Moscow. Stalin offers the city of Vilnius from Poland to Lithuania for getting military bases in Lithuania. The Lithuanians are reluctant.
5: Latvia signs a 10 year Mutual Assistance Pact with the Soviet Union, which allows the Soviets to have 25 000 men in military bases in Latvia. Stalin promises to respect Latvian independency.
6: Chinese army reportedly defeats the Japanese at the battle of [32].
6: Polish resistance in the Polish September Campaign comes to an end. [33] speaks before the (institution) Reichstag, declaring a desire for a conference with Britain and France to restore peace.
7: Lithuanians again in Moscow. The Soviets demand military bases.
9: Hitler issues orders (Plan Yellow) to prepare for the invasion of [34], France, [35], and the [36].
10: The last of Poland's military surrenders to the Germans.
10: The leaders of the German navy suggest to Hitler the need to occupy Norway.
10: British Prime Minister Chamberlain declines Hitler's offer of peace.
10: Lithuania signs a 15 year Mutual Assistance Pact with the Soviet Union, which allows Soviets to have 20 000 men in military bases in Lithuania. In a secret protocol Vilnius is made Lithuanian territory.
11: An estimated 158,000 British troops are now in France.
12: Adolf Eichmann begins deporting Jews from Austria and Czechoslovakia into Poland.
12: French Premier Daladier declines Hitler's offer of peace.
12: Finland's representatives meet Stalin and Molotov in Moscow. Soviet Union demands Finland to give up a military base near [37] and to exchange some Soviet and Finnish territories to protect [38] against Great-Britain or the eventual future threat of Germany.
14: The British battleship Royal Oak (08) HMS *Royal Oak* is sunk in Flow harbour by 47 U-47, under the command of Gunther Prien.
14: Finns meet Stalin again. Stalin tells that “an accident” might happen between Finnish and Soviet troops, if the negotiations last too long.
16: First air attack on Great Britain, aimed at ships in the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
19: Portions of Poland are formally inducted into Germany; the first Jewish [39] is established at [40]
20: The "Phony War": French troops settle in the Maginot line's dormitories and tunnels; the British build new fortifications along the "gap" between the Maginot line and the Channel.
27: Pope Pius XII's encyclical condemns racism and dictatorships.
27: Belgium announces that it is a neutral in the present conflict.
30: The British government releases a report on concentration camps being built in Europe for Jews and anti-Nazis.
### November 1939

1: Parts of Poland, including the Corridor, are annexed by Germany. Soviet Union annexes the eastern parts of occupied Poland to Ukraine and Belorussia.
3: Finland and Soviet Union negotiate again new borders. Finns mistrust Stalin's aims and refuse to give up territory breaking their defensive line.
4: The U.S. Neutrality Act is passed: the French and British may buy arms, but on a strictly cash basis. American isolationists find the act an "outrage."
4: The Warsaw Jews (numbering approximately 400,000) are ordered into a Jewish ghetto.
8: Hitler escapes a bomb blast in a Munich beerhall, where he was speaking on the anniversary of the beerhall putsch of 1923. British bombers coincidentally bomb Munich.
13: Negotiations between Finland and Soviet Union break down. Finns doubt that Germans and Russians have agreed to include Finland to Soviet sphere of influence.
13: The first bombs are dropped on Britain – in the Shetland Islands – with little damage.
14: The Polish government-in-exile moves to London.
17: The IRA is blamed for bombs set off in London.
20: The Luftwaffe and German U-boats begin mining the Thames estuary.
23: Polish Jews are ordered to wear of David armbands.
24: Japan announces the capture of [41] in southern China.
26: The Soviets stages the of Mainila, Soviet artillery shells a field near the Finnish border, accusing Finns of killing Soviet troops.
29: The USSR breaks off diplomatic relations with Finland.
30: Soviet Union attacks [42] in what would become known as the War.
### December 1939

1: Russia continues its war against Finland; Helsinki is bombed. In the first two weeks of the month, the Finns retreat to the Mannerheim line, an outmoded defensive line just inside the southern border with Russia.
2: British conscription is increased to cover men from 19 to 41.
5: The Russian invaders start heavy attacks on the Mannerheim line.
7: Italy again declares its neutrality. Norway, Sweden, and Denmark also proclaim their neutrality in the Russo-Finnish quarrel.
11: Russians meet with several tactical defeats by the Finnish army.
13: of the River Plate, off [43], Uruguay. A British naval squadron attacks the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee *Admiral Graf Spee*
14: The Graf Spee retreats into Montevideo harbour, badly damaged.
14: The Union USSR is expelled from the of Nations.
17: pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee *Admiral Graf Spee* is forced by International Law to leave Montevideo harbour; it is scuttled just outside the harbour. Captain Langsdorff is interned but on the 20th commits suicide.
18: The first Canadian troops arrive in Europe.
27: The first Indian troops arrive in France.
28: Meat rationing begins in Britain.
29: As the year ends, the Finns continue to have successes in fighting the invaders, along the way capturing many men and vehicles.
## 1940

### January 1940

2: The Russian offensive in Finland is halted by several Finnish victories; numerous Russian tanks are destroyed, and the Russian offensive stalls.
7: Rationing of basic foodstuffs is established in the UK.
7: A major Finnish victory at of Suomussalmi Suomussalmi is reported; one whole Russian division is eliminated, and again numbers of military vehicles are captured.
16: Captured documents reveal Hitler's plans for the invasion of Scandinavia and a postponement of the invasion of France and the Low Countries until the Spring, when the weather is more compatible to invasion.
17: The Russians are driven back in Finland and retaliate with heavy air attacks.
21: A U-boat sinks British destroyer Exmouth a crew of 135 are all lost.
24: Heydrich is appointed by Goering for the solution to "The Jewish question."
27: Germany makes final plans for the invasion of Denmark and Norway.
### February 1940

ski troops.jpg thumb right 250px Finnish ski troops in Northern Finland [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January 12, 1940.]

1: Japanese (assembly) Diet announces record high budget with over half its expenditures being military.
5: Britain and France decide to intervene in Norway to cut off the iron ore trade in anticipation of an expected German occupation and ostensibly to open a route to assist Finland. The operation is scheduled to start about 20.
9: von Manstein is placed in command of German XXXIII Armour Corps, removing him from planning the French invasion.
10: USSR agrees to supply grain and raw materials to Germany in a new trade treaty.
14: British government calls for volunteers to fight in Finland.
15: Soviet army captures Summa, an important defence point in Finland, thereby breaking through the Line.
15: Hitler orders submarine warfare.
16: British destroyer Cossack (F03) HMS *Cossack* forcibly removes 303 British POWs from the German transport *tanker Altmark Altmark* in neutral Norwegian territorial waters.
17: The Finns continue retreat from the Mannerheim line.
17: Manstein presents to Hitler his plans for invading France via the [44] forest.
21: General von Falkenhorst is placed in command of the upcoming German invasion of Norway.
23: Russians lay down strict requirements for a peace treaty with Finland, including the surrender of significant geographical territories.
24: The Plan for the German invasion of France and the Low Countries is approved.
27: The Finns retreat even farther west.
### March 1940

1: Hitler directs his generals in planning the invasion of Denmark and Norway.
3: Soviets begin attacks on [45], Finland's second largest city.
5: Finland tells the Soviets they will agree to their terms for ending the war. The next day they send emissaries to Moscow to negotiate a peace treaty.
12: In Moscow, Finland signs a peace treaty with the Soviet Union after 105 days of conflict.. The Finns are forced to give up significant territory in exchange for independence
16: German air raid on Flow causes first British civilian casualties.
18: Hitler and Mussolini meet at the Brenner pass on the Austrian border; [46] agrees with Hitler that Italy will enter the war "at an opportune moment".
21: Reynaud becomes Prime Minister of France following Daladier's resignation the previous day.
28: Britain and France make a formal agreement that neither country will seek a separate peace with Germany.
29: The Russians want new territories. Molotov speaks to the Supreme Soviet, about “an unsettled dispute”, the question of Romanian Bessarabia.
30: Japan establishes a puppet regime at [47], China, under Jingwei.
### April 1940

1: Sometime between now and early May Polish officers are massacred by the USSR at Katyn.
3: The Ministerial Defence Committee, with the Lord of the Admiralty (Churchill) as its chair, replaces Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield Lord Chatfield's ministerial position of for Coordination of Defence.
4: Hitler gives the go-ahead for the invasion of Norway and Denmark.
5: Chamberlain makes an ill-timed remark that Hitler has "missed the bus".
8: Allied Wilfred mining of Norwegian waters is put into action.
9: Germany Weserübung invades Denmark and Norway; Denmark surrenders. Germans land in several Norwegian ports and take Oslo; Norwegian army quickly capitulates. The British begin their Campaign.
10: Germans set up a Norwegian government under Quisling, former war minister.
11: Battle of Narvik, British destroyers and aircraft successfully make a surprise attack against a larger German naval force. A second attack on 13 will also be a British success.
12: British troops occupy the Danish Islands.
13: British and French troops begin landing at Namsos and Harstad in Norway.
14: The code is broken by the intelligence group at Park in England.
15: British troops land at Narvik, Norway.
16: More British landings in Norway, notably at Trondheim; the struggle for Trondheim continues until the 22nd.
27: British troops begin pull-out from Norway.
### May 1940

thumb right 350px The German [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzkrieg offensive of mid-May, 1940.]

1: Allies begin evacuating Norwegian ports; the efforts will continue until June.
5: Norwegian government in exile established in London.
8: Prime Minister Chamberlain barely survives Debate vote in the House of Commons.
9: Conscription in Britain extended to age 36.
10: Germany invades Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; Churchill becomes Minister of the United Kingdom upon the resignation of Chamberlain. The United Kingdom of Iceland invades Iceland.
10: Belgium declares a state of emergency. Churchill is called on to form a wartime coalition government.
10: The massive German offensive against the front: The invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France begins. In a bold stroke, German paratroops capture the Belgian fort Emael.
11: Luxembourg is occupied.
11: Churchill offers the former Kaiser II, German Emperor Wilhelm II, who is now living in the Netherlands asylum in the United Kingdom; he declines.
12: The Belgians blow up all the bridges over the River to halt the German advance.
13: Dutch government in exile established in London.
13: General Guderian's Panzer corps breaks through at Sedan, France.
13: Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees to asylum in the United Kingdom.
13: Churchill's "toil, tears, and sweat" speech in Commons.
14: The creation of the Home Guard Local Defence Volunteers; (the *Home Guard*) is announced by the new of State for War Eden. It is mostly composed of the elderly and retired.
14: [48] is carpet-bombed by the Luftwaffe, causing many civilian deaths and tremendous damage. The Netherlands decide to surrender with the exception of Zealand.
14: Churchill asks President Roosevelt and Canada for aid in these dark days. Outlines of the new British coalition, which includes Labour, Liberal, and Conservative members, is made public.
15: The capitulation of the Dutch army is signed.
16: Churchill visits Paris and hears that the French war is as good as over; The United Kingdom stands alone in Europe.
17: Germans enter Brussels and also take Antwerp.
17: Reynaud forms new French government, including 84-year old Marshal Pétain, the French hero of World War I.
18: Weygand replaces Gamelin as commander of the French armed forces
19: Amiens, France is besieged by German troops; [49]'s forces surround Arras; other German forces reach Noyelles on the Channel.
20: General Guderian's Panzer groups take [50], threatening Allied forces in the area.
23: Mosley, leader of the pre-war British fascists, is jailed; he and his wife will spend the duration in prison.
24: The British make a final decision to cease operations in Norway.
25: The Allied forces, British and French alike, retreat to Dunkirk. Hitler mysteriously orders a halt to the advance of Germans toward the Allied beachhead.
25: Sporadic Luftwaffe bombings in England.
25: [51] surrenders to the Germans
25: Soviet Union is preparing a total takeover in the Baltic States organizing and staging conflicts between the Balts and USSR. Soviet government accuses Lithuania of kidnaping Soviet soldiers.
26: [52] surrenders to the Germans
26: Dynamo, the Allied evacuation of 340,000 troops from France Dunkirk, begins. The move will last until 3.
28: Belgium surrenders to the Germans; Leopold III surrenders and is interned.
30: Crucial British Cabinet meeting: Churchill wins a vote on continuing the war, in spite of vigorous arguments by Halifax and Chamberlain.
31: The Japanese heavily bomb Nationalist capital [53], on the upper [54].
### June 1940

thumb right 200px Troops line up to be evacuated from Dunkirk

2: Last of British troops in Norway leave; losses have been heavy on both sides.
3: Last day of Operation Dynamo. 224,686 British and 121,445 French and Belgian troops have been evacuated.
3: Germans bomb [55].
7: German cruisers battlecruiser Gneisenau *Gneisenau* and battlecruiser Scharnhorst *Scharnhorst* sink the aircraft carrier Glorious HMS *Glorious* and two destroyers off Norway; the British ships have had no air cover.
9: Red Army provokes conflicts in the Latvian border.
10: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom; Norway surrenders. King Haakon flees to the mountains and is eventually evacuated to Britain.
11: French government decamps to [56].
13: Paris occupied by German troops; French government moves again, this time to [57].
14: Soviet troops along the Lithuanian border are ready to organise communist coup in the Baltic States.
15: Eight hour ultimatum to surrender is given to Lithuania by the Soviets. President Smetona escapes from the country so the takeover is not possible to do in a formally legal way. Soviet troops enter Lithuania.
16: Pétain becomes premier of France upon the resignation of Reynaud's government.
16: Soviet Union gives eight hour ultimatum to Latvia and Estonia for surrender.
17: Sinking of liner Lancastria RMS *Lancastria* off St Nazaire while being used as a British troopship—Britain's worst maritime disaster since the wars.
17: Soviet troops enter Latvia and Estonia.
18: General de Gaulle De Gaulle forms the Français de la Libération Nationale *Comité Français de la Libération Nationale*, a French government in exile; [58], [59] and [60] are occupied by the Soviet Union.
21: Franco-German armistice negotiations begin at [61].
22: Franco-German armistice signed.
24: Franco-Italian armistice signed.
25: France officially surrenders to Germany at 0:35.
26: The Soviet Union send an ultimatum demanding Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina from Romania.
27: Romanians propose negotiations. Molotov puts it straight: Land concessions or war. New ultimatum from the Soviets to the Romanians.
28: General De Gaulle recognised by British as leader of French.
28: Italo Balbo, world-renowned Italian aviator, is accidentally killed by Italian anti-aircraft fire at Tobruk, Libya.
28: The Red Army occupies Romanian Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina.
30: Germany invades the of the Channel Islands Channel Islands.
### July 1940

1: of the Channel Islands Channel Islands occupation is completed by German forces; France French government moves to [62].
1: Marshal Graziani is now the head of Italian forces in North Africa.
2: Hitler orders preparation of plans for invasion of Britain, code-named Sealion.
3: [63] is bombed by the [64] for the first time.
4: The on Mers-el-Kébir destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, [65] by the Navy; French government breaks off diplomatic relations with Britain in protest. At Alexandria the French agree to demilitarise the battleship Lorraine and several smaller ships.
4: The Italians continue their advance into Somaliland, East Africa.
4: The of Windsor (tainted by suspicion of pro-Nazism) is named governor of the [66], putting him some distance from controversy.
10: The of Britain begins with Luftwaffe raids on channel shipping.
10: President Roosevelt asks Congress for huge increases in military preparations.
11: [67] raids on enemy emplacements in the Netherlands and on German munitions factories.
12: [68] attacks on Wales and Scotland.
14: Soviets organize rigged elections in the Baltic States. The parliaments will be in the control of the Soviets.
16: [69] submits to his military the directive for the invasion of the Kingdom, Sealion.
21: [70]n government in exile arrives in London.
21: In the Baltic States Soviet controlled parliaments request membership of USSR.
22: The Conference of 1940 Havana Conference meets; the nations of the Western hemisphere meet to discuss neutrality and economic cooperation.
22: Konoye is named the Prime Minister of Japan.
23: The British "Home Guard Home Guard: is officially established, drawing on elderly men and those considered unable to serve in the regular armed forces.
25: All women and children are ordered to evacuate [71].
### August 1940

1: Hitler sets September as the date for Sealion, the invasion of Britain.
1: Russian Foreign Minister Molotov reaffirms Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in the Soviet Supreme while verbally attacking both Britain and the USA. He also asserts that the boundaries of Soviet Union are moved to the shores of the Baltic Sea.
2: General Gaulle sentenced to death in absentia by a French military court.
2: The USSR annexes Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina.
3: The USSR formally annexes Lithuania.
4: Italian forces under General Nasi African Campaign (World War II)#The Italian Invasion of British Somaliland invades Somaliland during the African Campaign.
5: Bad weather in the Channel results in a postponement of the invasion of Great Britain.
5: The USSR formally annexes Latvia.
6: The USSR formally annexes Estonia.
13: This is "Day Adler Tag" or "Day". [72] starts a two-week assault on British airfields in preparation for invasion.(For some German historians, this is the beginning of the "Battle of Britain."
14: British scientist, Sir Tizard, leaves for the United States on the Mission, giving over to the Americans a number of top secret British technologies including the [73], the secret device at the heart of [74]. Radar is already proving itself in the defence of Britain.
14: The destroyer/base exchange between the US and Britain goes forward.
15: [75] victories over the [76] continue, in a wide-ranging fight along the East coast.
15: Sinking of the Greek cruiser cruiser Elli Elli by an Italian submarine on 15 August 1940 at [77]'s harbour (see the relevant article).
16: The of Britain continues; the Germans lose 76 planes, the British 35.
16: A first draft of the destroyer/base trade by the US and Britain is made public.
17: Hitler declares a blockade of the British Isles.
18: Heavy fighting in the of Britain; 67 German planes are shot down.
19: Italian forces take [78], the capital of Somaliland, which completes the invasion of the British colony. After taking British Somaliland, the Italians begin a series of minor cross-border raids into British-held [79] and [80].
20: Italy announces a [81] of British ports in the Mediterranean area.
20: Churchill's speech in Commons: "was so much owed by so many to so few".
22: Germans are now shelling [82] and the nearby coastal area with long-range artillery.
24: German aircraft mistakenly bomb London, accidentally dictating the future shape of the Battle of Britain.
25: Churchill orders the bombing of Berlin in retaliation for last night's bombing of London.
26: Both London and Berlin are bombed, Berlin for the first time.
30: The bombing of England continues; London is now bombed in retaliation for the of Berlin; thus, the beginning of "the London Blitz."
31: Luftwaffe attacks on British airfields continue, as well as on London.
### September 1940

1: Germany's Jews are ordered to wear yellow stars for identification.
2: The for Bases Agreement is completed. Britain obtains 50 destroyers in exchange for giving the United States land grants in various British possessions for the establishment of US naval and air bases, on ninety-nine-year rent-free leases.
3: Hitler postpones the invasion of Britain, as the Luftwaffe fails to break the British defences. Fears of the forthcoming invasion continue, however, to haunt Britain.
6: II of Romania King Carol abdicates the Romanian throne in favour of his son of Romania Michael while control of the government is taken by Antonescu Marshal Antonescu.
7: In one of the major misjudgements of the war, the Luftwaffe shifts its focus to London, away from the RAF airfields. Success may be measured only in the estimated 2,000 civilian dead. Other British cities are hit
10: Sealion is now set for September.
13: Italian colonial forces in Libya under General Graziani cross the border into [83] (from Capuzzo, just inside the Libyan border) and initiate the Desert Campaign. Their aim is to gain control of the canal. Five Italian divisions advance about 95 km to Barrani and set up defensively in a series of armed camps..
14: Sealion is postponed until September, the last day of the month with suitable tides for the invasion.
15: Massive German bombing flights on English cities; most are driven off. The RAF begins to claim victory in the Battle of Britain.
16: Training and Service Act of 1940 introduces the first peacetime [84] (this time for men between 21 and 35) in United States history.
16: Italians have victories on the Libya/Egypt border, first at [85], then Barrani. They are sixty miles inside Egypt. The British, according to plan, have retreated 80 miles inside to a small village, Matruh. Both sides dig in for a few months.
17: Decoded messages now reveal that Hitler has postponed Operation Sealion until further notice.
20: Chinese Communists launch major offensive against the Japanese.
22: Heavy convoy losses to U-boats in the Atlantic.
22: The Japanese occupy [86] and establish several bases in Indochina; local French administrators become only figurehead authorities.
23: French and British forces attempt landing at Dakar, West Africa; Vichy French naval forces open fire sporadically for two days, and the expedition is called back.
24: Berlin suffers a large bombing raid by the RAF.
24: Vichy French aircraft bomb [87]
27: The Pact is signed in Berlin by Germany, Italy, and Japan, promising mutual aid. An informal name,"Axis", emerges.
28: Quisling becomes head of state in [88].
### October 1940

1:Chinese Nationalist and Chinese Communists fight each other in southern China. Meanwhile Japanese forces have a setback at Changsha.
2: The of London continues throughout the month.
3: [89]'s Jews are directed to move into the Warsaw ghetto.
4: Hitler and Mussolini meet at the Pass to discuss the prospects in the war.
7: Germany invades [90] to block the Soviet Army and get access to valuable oil fields.
9: Chamberlain resigns from the House of Commons House of Commons for health reasons; Churchill is elected head of the Conservative Party.
12: Any German invasion of Britain is postponed until Spring 1941 at the earliest.
13: British civilians are still being killed by German bombs though the attacks have dropped off significantly.
15: Addison Dykstra becomes Director of Service System Selective Service in the United States.
15: Mussolini and his closest advisers decided to of Greece invade Greece
16: Draft registration begins in the United States.
20: Italian planes bomb Egypt.
21: [91] is bombed for the 200th time.
23: Hitler meets with [92] at a Spanish border town; little is accomplished, and least of all Hitler's hope to convince Franco to enter the war on the Axis side.
25: Berlin and Hamburg are bombed heavily.
28: Italy issues ultimatum to [93] and Greek Prime Minister Metaxas Metaxas replies: "So it is war". The Italian Army launches attacks into Greece from Italian-held [94] and begins the War. Hitler is angered at the initiative of his ally.
29: Very heavy convoy losses during this period as numbers of U-boats increase.
29: The first number drawings for US Training and Service Act of 1940 Selective Service Act draftees.
30: President Roosevelt, in the middle of an election campaign, promises not to send "our boys" to war.
31: The Warsaw District government moves all Jews living in Warsaw to the ghettos.
### November 1940

2: Italian planes bomb Salonika, Greece as their advance continues.
4: President Roosevelt wins a third term. The British see the event as promising of more help from the US.
4: The Greeks start a major counterattack against the Italians on the Albanian border.
5: The Jervis Bay HMS *Jervis Bay*, a merchant cruiser, is sunk on convoy duty, but much of the convoy escapes. The loss becomes a media event.
7: It becomes clear that [95] will refuse to allow the Kingdom to use its ports as naval bases.
9: The Italian invading armies in Greece are now in retreat
11: British naval forces launch attack against Italian navy at of Taranto Taranto. Swordfish bombers from Illustrious (87) HMS *Illustrious* damage three battleships, two cruisers and multiple auxiliary craft. The event secures British supply lines in the Mediterranean. The British success will be studied by Japanese military already preparing for an on Pearl Harbor.
12: Molotov meets Hitler and Ribbentrop in Berlin. New World order is under discussion. Molotov express Soviet interest in Finland, Bulgaria, Romania, Dardanelles and Bosbor, but Hitler talks along broad lines worldwide spheres of influence between Russia, Germany, Italy and Japan.
13: Molotov meets Hitler again asking acceptance to liquidate Finland, but Hitler resists now every attempt to grow soviet influence in Europe. He sees Britain defeated and offers India to Soviet Union.
14: A heavy Blitz night raid on Coventry. Cathedral is destroyed and the medieval centre of the city is levelled.
15: Soviet Union is invited to join Tripartite Pact and share in the spoils of British Empire. Warsaw's Jewish ghetto is cordoned off from the rest of the city.
16: Churchill orders some British troops in North Africa to be sent to Greece, despite concerns by his military leaders that they are needed in the current campaign against the Italians in North Africa.
19: Italian armies in Greece continue their retreat and will be off Greek soil within days.
20: [96] signs the Pact.
21: The Belgian government, in exile in Britain, declares war on Italy.
23: [97] signs the Pact.
24: The Republic (1939–1945) Slovak Republic signs the Pact.
26: Soviet Union gives her terms to join Tripartite pact including a lot of new territorial gains to Russians.
29: A massive overnight bombing raid on [98].
30: A large bombing raid on [99] in southern England; the city is hit again the next night, then [100] on the 2nd, and [101] on the 3rd.
### December 1940

1: Bombing raids are exchanged throughout the month between Germany and Britain. First Germany bombs, then Britain.
1: P. Kennedy, the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom is asked to resign by President Roosevelt after he gives a newspaper interview expressing that "Democracy is finished in England".
5: The RAF bombs Düsseldorf and Turin.
8: Franco Franco rules out Spanish entry into the war; the immediate result is that Hitler is forced to cancel an attack on Gibraltar.
8: Greek forces continue to drive the Italian armies back to Albania.
6-9: Compass: The British Desert Force begins offensive against Italian forces in North Africa. Initial attacks are launched against the five Italian camps in a gap south of Barrani. Italian forces are driven back to Bardia, on the Libya/Egypt border.
11: Having cleared Greek soil of Italian invading forces, Greek forces invade Italian-held [102] during the War.
12: By this date over 39,000 Italians have been captured. The British move into Libya.
16: The first RAF night raid--on Mannheim, Germany.
16: British are in command at Sollum, now take Fort Capuzzo in Libya.
18: Hitler submits plans for Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union
28: The War continues to go badly for the Italians and, with the Greeks holding roughly one-quarter of Albania, Italy requests military assistance from Germany against the Greeks.
29:Large German air-raids on London; Paul's Cathedral is damaged.
29: British are moving on Bardia, Libya.
## 1941

### January 1941

1: Accounting of the previous night's bombing of London reveals that the Bailey, the London Guildhall, and eight churches by Wren were destroyed or badly damaged.
1: RAF bombs aircraft factories in Bremen, Germany.
2-4 Bardia, is bombed by British bombers and bombarded by naval vessels off shore.

2: German bombers, perhaps off course, bomb Ireland the second night in a row.
4: Compass: Australian troops of the Desert Force capture Italian-held [103], just across the Egyptian border. The Allies take 45,000 Italian prisoners. Tobruk, the next target, is 70 miles away.
7: Allied offensive nears Tobruk; the airport is taken.
10: [104] is introduced into the of the United States U.S. Congress
10: German aircraft damage aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, which is heading for Malta. German Luftwaffe, it is now clear, has command of air over the Mediterranean. The attack is also the opening of Malta's agony over the next months.
12: Compass: British, Australian, and New Zealand troops of the Desert Force prepare for the assault on Italian-held [105].
13: Heavy Luftwaffe night raid on Plymouth.
13: Greek army continues to harass the Italians, who are fleeing to seaports in Albania in hopes of being evacuated.
15: The rivalry between Chinese Nationalists and Chinese Communists becomes more evident; large numbers of the latter are forced to give up their arms, reluctantly of course.
16: Kingdom British forces start the first attacks of their African Campaign (World War II)#Allied counter-offensive East African counter-offensive, on Italian-held [106], from [107]
16: German bombers pound Valetta, Malta, and the HMS Illustrious is hit again.
17: The of Koh Chang ended in a decisive victory for the French naval forces during the War.
17: Molotov meets German Ambassador Schulenburg in Moscow. The Soviets are surprised that they have not received any answer from Germany to their offer to join the Axis (November 26th, 1940) and they hope the attention of the Reich Government to that matter. Schulenburg replies that it has to be first discussed with Italy and Japan.
18: Air raids on Malta are increasing in focus and intensity.
19: The 4th and 5th Indian Divisions continue the British African Campaign (World War II)#Allied counter-offensive counter-offensive in East Africa, attacking Italian-held [108] from the [109].
19: Hitler and Mussolini meet at Berchtesgaden; Hitler agrees to provide aid in North Africa.
21: Compass: British, Australian, and New Zealand troops of the Desert Force complete capture of Italian-held [110].
21: Reports seep out that Rumanian fascist "Iron Guards: are executing Jews in Bucharest.
23: HMS Illustrious, heavily damaged, leaves Malta for repairs in Alexandria.
23: Lindbergh testifies before the of the United States U.S. Congress and recommends that the States negotiate a pact with Hitler
24: Kingdom British forces in [111] continue the East African counter-offensive, attacking Somaliland
31: British take Derna, Libya 100 miles west of Tobruk.
### February 1941

1: Admiral Husband Kimmel is appointed the Commander of the US Navy in the Pacific.
3: General Erwin Rommel is appointed as head of something called "German Army troops in Africa", later to be designated officially as the "Afrika Korps."
3: Germany forcibly restores Laval to office in occupied [112], [113].
7: Compass: After several days of desperate fighting, the Desert Force cuts off and destroys the retreating Army (Italy) Italian 10th Army during the Battle of Beda Fomm. The British capture roughly 130,000 Italians. The official surrender follows, and Benghazi, just to the north of Beda Fomm, falls into Allied hands.
8: US House of Representatives passes the Lend-Lease bill.
9: Mussolini is informed that German reinforcements are on the way to North Africa.
9: British forces reach El Agheila, Libya, south of Beda Fomm, and halfway to Tripoli. Libya's capital where the remaining Italian forces are now waiting .
9: British battleships shell Genoa; British planes attack Leghorn.
9: Churchill again pleads with the US: "give us the tools."
10: Malta's critical period: now through March, it is under heavy daily attack.
11: Lieutenant-General Rommel arrives in [114], Tunisia; his work with the Afrika Korps will last about two years.
ll: British forces enter Somaliland, an Italian colony in eastern Africa.
14: German forces begin to land in North Africa and move eastward toward advanced positions such as El Agheila, where the British have stopped; the British have been weakened by the transfer of some troops to Greece.
15: Deportation of Austrian Jews to ghettos in Poland begins.
19: The start of the "three nights Blitz" of [115], Wales. Over these three nights of intensive bombing, Swansea town centre is almost completely obliterated.
20: German and British troops confront each other for the first time in Africa -- at El Agheila in western Libya.
21: German forces move through Bulgaria toward the Greek front.
24: German U-boat offensive in the Atlantic is now increasingly successful.
24: Admiral Darlan is appointed the head of the Vichy government in France.
25: The British submarine "Upright" sinks the Italian cruiser "Armando Diaz" in one of the numerous sea battles in the North African campaign.
25: [116], the capital of Somaliland, is captured by British forces during the African Campaign.
28: RAF planes bomb Asmara, Eritrea.
### March 1941

1: Himmler gives orders for the expansion of [117] prison camp, to be run by Commandant Höss.
4: British commandos carry out attack on oil facilities at [118] in Norway.
4: British military force in Libya is thinned down as some men are sent to assist the Greeks in their emerging battle with approaching German troops.
4: Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia agrees to join the Axis pact.
7: First British troops land in Greece, at Piraeus.
8: Another bombing of London, notable because Palace is hit.
10: British and Italian troops meet in a brief conflict in Eritrea.
10: Portsmouth suffers heavy casualties after another night of heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe.
11: United States President Delano Roosevelt signs the Lease Lend Lease Act (now passed by the full Congress) allowing Britain, China, and other allied nations to purchase military equipment and to defer payment until after the war.
12: German Panzer tanks arrive in North Africa providing heavy armour for the first major German offensive.
13: The Luftwaffe strikes with a large force at Glasgow and the shipping industry along the Clyde.
17: Huge convoy losses in mid-Atlantic this week.
19: Worst bombing of London so far this year, with heavy damage from incendiary bombs; Plymouth and Bristol are bombed again.
21: The Yugoslav cabinet resigns in protest against Prince Paul's pact with the Nazis. Street demonstration occur, expressive of a deep dislike for Germany.
24: Rommel attacks and reoccupies El Agheila, Libya in his first offensive. The British retreat and within three weeks are driven back to Egypt.
27: Crown Prince Peter becomes II of Yugoslavia and takes control of Yugoslavia after an army coup overthrows the pro-German government of the Prince Regent.
27: [119]ese spy Yoshikawa arrives in Hawaii and begins to study the States fleet at Harbor.
27: Kingdom British forces advancing from the [120] win the decisive of Keren in [121]
27: Hitler orders his military leaders to plan for the invasion of Yugoslavia. One result of this decision will be a critical time delay in the invasion of Russia.
27: Battle of Cape Matapan: the British navy meets an Italian fleet off southern Greece. The battle continues until the 29th.
31: The Korps continues the German offensive in North Africa; Mersa Brega, north of El Agheila, is taken.
### April 1941

1: British continue the retreat into Libya after the losses at El Agheila. Rommel is surprised, then decides to continue his offensive
1: During this month the heavy bombing of British cities continues, and convoy losses continue heavy.
2: After taking Agedabia, Rommel decides to take all of Libya and moves his troops toward Benghazi. All of Cyrenaic (Libya) seems ready for the taking.
3: A pro-Axis government is installed in Iraq.
3: Bristol, England suffers another heavy air attack.
3: British troops take Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, from the Italian armies.
3: Rommel takes Benghazi, Libya; Tobruk will remain a threat for the next seven months.
4: Rommel is now about 200 miles east of El Agheila, heading for Tobruk and Egypt.
4: An Atlantic convoy suffers almost 50% losses to U-boat campaign.
6: Forces of Germany, Hungary, and Italy, moving through Rumania and Hungary, initiate the invasions of of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia and [122].
6: The Italian Army is driven out from Ababa, [123].
6: The northern wing of Rommel's forces take Derna, on the Libyan coast. The southern wing moves toward Mechili, and takes it on the 8th.
7: The Luftwaffe begins a two-day assault on Belgrade, Yugoslavia; Hitler is infuriated by the Yugoslav resistance.
8: The Germans take Salonika, Greece.
10: [124] is occupied by the United States. With the approval of a "free Denmark", the US will build naval and air bases as counters to the U-boat war.
10: While still being invaded, the of Yugoslavia is split up by Germany and Italy. The State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) is established under Pavelić and his [125].
10: Germans encircle the port of Tobruk, Libya, opening the siege; some of Rommel's forces move east to take Fort Capuzzo and Sollum, on the border with Egypt.
11: The US begins sea patrols in Atlantic, though it is still a "neutral" nation.
11: Heavy Luftwaffe raids on Coventry and Birmingham.
12: [126], Yugoslavia surrenders.
13: Malta is bombed again; it continues to be a thorn in the side of German supply movements in the Mediterranean.
13: [127] and the Soviet Union sign a neutrality pact.
14: Rommel attacks Tobruk, but is forced to turn back. Other attacks, also failures, occur on the 16th and 30th.
15: British destroyers intercept an Afrika Korps convoy and sink all five transports and the three covering Italian destroyers.
16: A heavy Luftwaffe raid on Belfast, Northern Ireland.
16: Germans continue the invasion southward into Yugoslavia; they cut off the Greek army in Albania, which had had notable success against the Italians in January.
17: Yugoslavia surrenders. A government in exile is formed in London. King Peter escapes to Greece.
18: 3rd Duke of Aosta Amedeo, Duke of Aosta Viceroy of East Africa surrenders his embattled forces at Amba Alagi. A guerilla war continues until Italy surrenders in September 1943.
18: Greek Prime Minister Korizis commits suicide; the British plan the major evacuation of Greece.
19: London suffers one of the heaviest air raids in the war; St. Paul's is mildly damaged but remains closed; other Wren churches are heavily damaged or destroyed.
21: 223,000 Greek soldiers surrender.
22: The British, both military and civilian, begin to evacuate Greece.
23: Greek government is evacuated to [128], which Churchill is determined to defend.
24: British and Australian forces evacuate from Greece to Crete and Egypt.
24: Plymouth suffers the third night of heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe.
25: Rommel wins an important victory at Halfaya Pass, close to the Egyptian border.
26: Rommel attacks the Gazala defence line and crosses into Egypt; Tobruk continues to hold however.
27: [129] is occupied by German troops. Greece surrenders.
27: Hurricane Hurricane fighter planes are delivered as important reinforcements for besieged Malta.
30: Rommel is ordered to cease attacks on Tobruk after another failure.
### May 1941

Crete '41.JPG thumb right 300px German paratroopers land in Crete

1: British forces in [130] come under attack by Iraqis.
1: Seven nights of bombing of Liverpool begins, resulting in wide devastation.
3: Belfast, northern Ireland, experiences another heavy bombing.
3: Italian and British armies clash in Ethiopia.
8: Heavy convoy losses in the Atlantic continue; however, one U-boat (U-110) is captured by the British navy and another copy of the "Enigma" machine is discovered and saved. It will help to turn the fortunes in the Atlantic battle.
9: The United Kingdom takes control of Iraq and is represented by the arrival of the 21st Indian Division at Basra
9: A Japanese brokered peace treaty signed in [131] ends the War.
10: Hess is captured in [132] after bailing out of his plane; his self-appointed mission was to make peace with the United Kingdom.
10: The Kingdom's House of Commons House of Commons is damaged by the [133] in an raid. Other targets are Hull, Liverpool, Belfast, and the shipbuilding area of the Clyde in Scotland. This is close to the end of Blitz, as Germany shifts its focus toward Russia and the East.
12: The RAF bombs several German cities, including Hamburg, Emden, and Berlin.
15: First Public Service camp opens for objectors in the United States
16: Rommel defeats a counter-attack, "Brevity", at Halfaya Pass. The two sides trade alternating control of Fort Capuzzo and Halfaya Pass.
20: German paratroopers of Crete land on Crete; the battle for Crete will continue for seven days.
21: The US merchantman "Robin Moor" is sunk by a U-boat. The incident startles the nation, and President Roosevelt shortly announces an "unlimited national emergency."
21: The last remnants of the Italian army in Ethiopia surrender.
24: British battle cruiser Hood HMS *Hood* is sunk by a powerful salvo from battleship Bismarck German battleship *Bismarck* in the North Atlantic.
24: The Greek government leaves Crete for [134].
26: In the Atlantic, Swordfish aircraft from the carrier Ark Royal (91) HMS *Ark Royal* fatally cripple the battleship Bismarck *Bismarck* in torpedo attack.
27: The German battleship battleship Bismarck *Bismarck* is sunk in Atlantic, after evasive tactics, and a damaged steering system which forced it into an endless series of circular movements.
28: British and Commonwealth forces begin to evacuate Crete.
28: By this date, it is clear that operation "Brevity" has failed.
31: Heavy Luftwaffe bombing on "neutral" Ireland; numerous civilian casualties.
### June 1941

1: Commonwealth forces complete the of Crete withdrawal from Crete.
1: Rationing of clothes begins in the United Kingdom.
4: Kaiser Wilhelm, once head of Germany and instigator of World War I, dies in Holland.
4: Britain invades [135], the anti-British government there is overthrown.
6: More British fighter planes are delivered to Malta; Luftwaffe attacks go on.
8: Vichy French-controlled [136] and [137] are invaded by Australian, British, Free French, and Indian forces.
9: [138] initiates mobilisation, preparations against possible attack of soviet aggressor.
14: All German and Italian assets in the States are frozen.
15: British Battleaxe attempts and fails to relieve the of Tobruk. The British are heavily defeated at Pass nicknamed "Hell-fire pass".
16: All German and Italian consulates in the States are ordered closed and their staffs to leave the country by 10.
22: Germany invades the Soviet Union with Barbarossa, a three-pronged operation aimed at Leningrad, Moscow, and the southern oil fields of the Crimea.
22: British general in Libya/Egypt Wavell is replaced by General Auchinleck.
22: 1941 independence June Uprising against the Union in [139].
26: Hungary and [140] declare war on the Soviet Union.
26: The Russians bomb Helsinki. Finland pronounces a state of war between Finland and Soviet Union. war is started.
28: [141] declares war on the Soviet Union.
28: Huge German encirclement of 300,000 Russian troops near Minsk and Bialystok.
### July 1941

l: General Auchinleck takes over from General Wavell in North Africa.
1: All American men over 21 are required to register for the draft.
1: German troops occupy Latvia's capital, Riga, on the way to Leningrad.
3: Stalin announces a "scorched earth policy".
4: of Lwów professors Mass murder of Polish scientists and writers, committed by Germany German troops in captured Polish city of Lwów.
4: The Ethiopian war comes to an end as the Italian forces surrender.
5: British government rules out possibility of negotiated peace.
5: British torpedo planes sink an Italian destroyer at Tobruk; on the 20th, two more are sunk.
5: German troops reach the [142] River.
7: [143] is occupied by the United States, its future enhanced purpose is to protect shipping lanes.
8: Yugoslavia, a country formed by the Versailles treaty, is dissolved by the Axis into its component parts; especially important will be Croatia, with a pro-Axis government.
8: The German armies isolate Leningrad from the rest of Russia.
8: Britain and the USSR sign a mutual defence agreement, promising not to sign any form of separate peace agreement with Germany.
9: Vitebsk is captured; this opens the battle of Smolensk, an important communications centre, considered by the German high command to be "the gateway to Moscow."
10: Guderian's Panzers take Minsk; the Germans advance farther into the Ukraine.
12: The Vichy French surrender in Syria.
12: Assistant pact signed between the United Kingdom and the USSR.
13: [144] starts the first popular uprising in Europe against the Axis Powers.
15: The Russians start a counter-attack near Leningrad.
15: Argentinian naval air base is set up in Newfoundland; it will prove an important transfer station for the Allies for some years.
16: German Panzers under Guderian reach Smolensk, increasing the risk to Moscow.
17: The air attacks on Malta continue.
19: The "[145]", displayed most notably by Churchill, is unofficially adopted as the Allied signal, along with the motif of No. 5 (Beethoven) Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
21: The Luftwaffe strikes heavily at Moscow.
25: Neutral [146] occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union.
26: In response to the [147]ese occupation of Indochina, US President Delano Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the States.
28: Japanese troops occupy French Indochina. The Vichy French colonial government is allowed by the Japanese to continue to administer [148]. French repression continues. The Vichy French also agree to the occupation by the Japanese of bases in Indochina.
28: The Germans push against Smolensk, Russia and in the meantime solidify their presence in the Baltic states; native Jews are being assassinated.
31: B. Hershey succeeds Clarence Dykstra as Director of the Selective Service System in the United States.
31: Under instructions from Hitler, Nazi official Göring, orders [149] general Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired solution of the Jewish question."
### August 1941

1: The US announces an oil embargo against "aggressors."
5: German armies trap Russians in Smolensk pocket and take 300,000 soldiers; Orel is taken.
6: Germans take Smolensk.
6: American and British governments warn Japan not to invade [150].
9: D. Roosevelt and Churchill meet at Station Argentia NS Argentia, of Newfoundland Newfoundland. The Charter is created, signed, and released to the world press.
11: Malta is relieved by a convoy.
11: Chungking, the nominal capital of Nationalist China located far up the Yangtze River, suffers several days of heavy bombing.
12: Hitler, against the advice of his generals, shifts some forces from the Moscow front to Leningrad and the Crimean offensives.
18: Hitler orders a temporary halt to Germany Nazi Germany's systematic [151] of illness mentally ill and handicapped due to protests. However, graduates of the T4 operation were then transferred to camps, where they continued in their trade.
22: German forces close in on Leningrad; the citizens continue improvising fortifications.
25: British and Soviet troops invade Empire Persia ([152]) to save the [153] oilfields and the important railways and routes to Russia for the supply of war material.
27: Another U-boat is forced to surface off Ireland and its Enigma machine is captured.
31: The first signs appear that a Leningrad "siege" is beginning.
### September 1941

1: With the assistance of Finnish armies in the North, Leningrad is now completely cut off.
1: A pro-German Government of National Salvation formed in Serbia under Nedić. It is informally known as Serbia.
4: The Greer (DD-145) USS *Greer* becomes the first States warship fired upon by a German U-boat in the war, even though the United States is a neutral power. Tension heightens between the two nations as a result. The US is now committed to convoy duties between the Western Hemisphere and Europe.
5: Germany occupies Estonia.
7: Berlin is heavily hit by RAF bombers.
8: of Leningrad begins-a reasonable date to start measuring "the 900 days." German forces begin a siege against the Union's second-largest city, Petersburg Leningrad; Stalin orders the Volga Deutsche deported to Siberia.
10: German armies now have Kiev completely surrounded.
10: Controversial speech by Lindbergh with heavy anti-Semitic overtones.
11: D. Roosevelt orders the States Navy to shoot on sight if any ship or convoy is threatened.
15: "Self-government" of [154], headed by Mäe, is appointed by German military administration.
16: Pahlavi of Iran Reza Pahlavi, of Iran is forced to resign in favour of his son Reza Pahlavi of Iran under pressure from the Kingdom and the Union.
19: German capture of Kiev is now formal. The Russians have suffered many casualties in defending this important city in the Russian south.
25: The German armies now seem to have isolated the Crimean and are ready to absorb this oil-rich area.
28: German SS troops kill over 30,000 Jews at Babi Yar, on the outskirts of Kiev, Ukraine.
26: The US Naval Command orders an all-out war on Axis shipping in American waters.
### October 1941

2: Typhoon - German "Central" forces begin an all-out offensive against [155]. Leading the defence of the capital is General Georgi Zhukov, already a Russian Hero for his work against the Japanese in the East and also at Leningrad.
3: Gandhi urges his followers to begin a passive resistance against British rule in India.
7: Heavy RAF night bombings of Berlin, the Ruhr, and Cologne, but with heavy losses too.
8: In their invasion of the southern Union, [156] reaches the of Azov with the capture of [157]. However, there are signs that the invasion is beginning to bog down as rainy weather creates muddy roads for both tanks and men.
10: German armies encircle about 660,000 Russian troops near Vyasma (east of Smolensk); some make a glowing prediction of the end of the war.
12: HMS Ark Royal delivers a squadron of Hurricane fighter planes to Malta.
13: Germans attempt another drive toward Moscow as the once muddy ground hardens.
14: Temperatures fall further on the Moscow front; heavy snows follow and immobilise German tanks.
15: The Germans drive on Moscow.
16: Union government begins move eastward to [158], a city on the Volga, but [159] remains in [160]. The citizens of Moscow frantically build tank traps and other fortifications for the coming siege.
17: The destroyer USS *Kearney* is torpedoed and damaged near [161], killing eleven sailors; they are the first American military casualties of the war.
18: Russian troop reinforcements arrive in Moscow from Siberia; Stalin is assured that the Japanese will not attack the USSR from the East.
18: General Tojo becomes the 40th Minister of Japan.
19: An official "state of siege" is announced in Moscow; The city is under martial law.
20: Lt. Col. Hotz, the German commander in [162], is killed by Resistance; 50 hostages are shot in reprisal. The incident will become a model for future occupation policies.
21: New Zealand troops land in Egypt and take over Fort Capuzzo.
21: Negotiations in Washington between the US and Japan seem headed toward failure.
22: Rostov-on-Don, an important hub on the Southern front, is taken by the Germans.
23: Heavy desert fighting in Libya, as Rommel thwarts "Operation Crusader" near Tobruk.
24: Kharkhov, Russia, an important mining and industrial centre, falls to the German "Southern" forces.
26: Last Italian troops are surrendering in Ethiopia.
27: German "Southern" forces reach [163] in the Crimea, but the tanks of the "Northern" forces are slow or stopped entirely by mud. The leading tanks are on the outskirts of Moscow.
30: Delano Roosevelt approves US$1 billion in [164] aid to the Union.
31: The destroyer Reuben James (DD-245) USS *Reuben James* is torpedoed by a German [165] near [166], killing more than 100 States Navy sailors. It makes headlines because it is the first loss of an American "neutral warship."
### November 1941

2: Political conflict in Yugoslavia as leftists under Tito (Josip Broz) are in competition with the more conservative Serbs under Mihailović.
3: Germans take Kursk.
6: Soviet leader Stalin addresses the Union for only the second time during his three-decade rule (the first time was earlier that year on 2). He states that even though 350,000 troops were killed in German attacks so far, that the Germans have lost 4.5 million soldiers (a gross exaggeration) and that Soviet victory was near.
7: Heavy RAF night bombings of Berlin, the Ruhr, and Cologne, but with heavy losses.
12: of Moscow - Temperatures around [167] drop to minus 12 °C and the Union launches warfare ski troops for the first time against the freezing German forces near the city.
12: The HMS Ark Royal delivers a squadron of Hurricane fighter planes to Malta.
13: Germans start a new offensive against Moscow as the muddy ground freezes again.
13: The carrier Ark Royal (91) HMS *Ark Royal* is hit by German [168] 81 U-81
14: Ark Royal (91) HMS *Ark Royal* capsizes and sinks, having been torpedoed by 81 U 81.
15: The Germans drive on Moscow.
17: Grew, the States ambassador to [169], cables the States Department of State State Department that Japan had plans to launch an attack against Harbor, [170] (his cable was ignored).
18: Crusader: British troops cross into [171] and at least temporarily relieve the of Tobruk.
19: Australian cruiser Sydney (1934) HMAS *Sydney* and the German cruiser auxiliary cruiser Kormoran *Kormoran* sink each other off the coast of Australia.
21: Italian troops continue to surrender in Ethiopia; the surrender is over by 11:26.
22: Rostov-on-Don, an important hub on the southern front is taken by the Germans.
22: Britain issues an ultimatum to Finland to end war with Russia or face war with the Allies.
22: Rommel starts counteroffensive, retakes Sidi Rezegh (south of Tobruk) which the British had taken a few days earlier. British tank losses are heavy.
23: Rommel's attack continues around Sidi Rezegh; British losses continue to rise.
24: The States grants [172] to the French.
24: Rommel begins a surprising 15-mile foray into Egypt; he meets no opposition.
26: Japanese attack fleet of 33 warships and auxiliary craft, including six aircraft carriers, sailed from northern Japan for the Hawaiian Islands; The note ultimatum is delivered to Japan by the United States.
26: After his brief dash into Egypt, Rommel retreats to Bardia for refuelling; it is during this brief withdrawal that Tobruk is temporarily relieved when the British 8th Army meets with the besieged.
27: of Moscow - German Panzers are on the outskirts of Moscow.
### December 1941

PearlHarbor.jpg thumb right 250px USS *Arizona* burned for two days after being hit by a Japanese bomb. Parts of the ship were salvaged, but the wreck remains at the bottom of Pearl Harbor to this day and is a major memorial.

1: Malta "celebrates" its 1,000th bombing raid.
1: H. LaGuardia publishes Order 9 creating the Air Patrol for U.S Coastal Patrol and naming its national commander Major General John F. Curry.
2: Prime Minister Tojo rejects "peace feelers" from the US.
3: Conscription in the United Kingdom now includes all men between 18 and 50. Women will not be neglected since they will serve in fire brigades and in women's auxiliary groups.
4: Japanese naval and army forces continue to move toward Pearl Harbor and South-east Asia.
5: Germans call off the attack on Moscow, now 11 miles away; Russians counter-attack during a heavy blizzard.
5: The Kingdom declares war on [173], [174] and [175].
7: Japan launches aerial attacks on Pearl Harbor, Guam and Wake Island; they invade Thailand and Malaya; Japan declares war on the States and the Kingdom. Air attacks also on Kong, [176], the [177], and [178]. Canada declares war on Japan (Prime Minister King announces war on evening of 7th, the Canadian parliament confirms the declaration the following morning.) The U.S. Office of Strategic Services ([179], the forerunner of the [180]) allies with Chi Minh and his Minh guerrillas to harass Japanese troops and to help rescue downed American pilots. Ho Chi Minh becomes "Agent 19" under the supervision of [181] Patti.
7: German "Night and Fog decree" dictating the elimination of anti-Nazis in Western Europe.
8: Japan invades [182]; the States and the Kingdom declare war on [183]; The [184] declares war on [185].
8: Japanese forces take the Gilbert Islands (which include Tarawa). Clark Field in the Philippines is bombed, and many American aircraft are destroyed on the ground.
9: Republic of China China officially declares war on Japan.
10: British battleships Repulse (1916) HMS *Repulse* and Prince of Wales HMS *Prince of Wales* sunk by Japanese air attack.
11: [186] and [187] declare war on the States. US forces repel a Japanese landing attempt at Island.
11: Japanese invade Burma.
12: Japanese landings on the southern Philippine Islands -- Samar, Jolo, Mindanao.
12: The States and the Kingdom declare war on [188] and [189] after they had declared war on both the States and the Kingdom; [190] declares war on [191]; States seizes French ship Normandie Normandie.
13: [192] declares war on the States and the Kingdom, the States and the Kingdom reciprocate and declare war on [193].
13: Japanese under General Yamashita continue their push into Malaya. Under General Homma the Japanese forces are firmly established in the northern Philippines. Hong Kong is threatened.
14: The British cruiser Galatea (71) HMS *Galatea* is sunk by 557 *U-557* off Alexandria, beginning a series of naval defeats for the Allies.
15: Italian "torpedoes" sink two British battleships, the Queen Elizabeth (1913) HMS *Queen Elizabeth* and Valiant (1914) HMS *Valiant* in Alexandria harbour.
15: Allied troops push Rommel back at the Gazala line.
16: Rommel orders a withdrawal all the way to El Agheila, where he had begun in March. He awaits reinforcements of men and tanks.
16: [194] invades [195].
16: The German offensive around Moscow is now at a complete halt.
17: of Sevastopol begins.
18: Japanese troops land on Kong Island.
19: [196] becomes Supreme [197] of the Army
20: The battle for Wake Island continues with several Japanese ships sunk or damaged.
20: The "Arcadia Conference": Churchill is a guest in the White House. Overall strategies for fighting the War are agreed upon.
21: The suffering of besieged Leningrad continues; thousands die of starvation and various diseases. It is estimated that about 3,000 are dying each day.
22: The Japanese land at Lingayan Gulf, on the northern part of Luzon in the Philippines.
23: A second Japanese landing attempt on Island is successful, and the American garrison surrenders after hours of fighting.
23: General MacArthur declares Manila an "Open City."
23: Japanese forces land on Sarawak (Borneo).
24: American forces retreat into the peninsula of Bataan.
24: Japanese bomb Rangoon.
25: Hong Kong surrenders to Japan.
25: Allied forces retake [198].
25: Russian amphibious forces land at Kerch, in the Crimea; their occupation will last only through April.
27: Commandos raid the Norwegian port of Vaagso, causing Hitler to reinforce the garrison and defences.
28: Japanese paratroopers land on Sumatra.
30: The first "Ship", the Patrick Henry is launched. Liberty Ships will prove to be major parts of the Allied supply system.
## 1942

### January 1942

1: The "United Nations" is established: 26 Allied nations sign a Joint Declaration against the Axis. The term "Nations" is first officially used to describe the Allied pact.
2: [199] is captured by [200]ese forces. They also take Cavite naval base, and the American and Filipino troops continue the retreat into Bataan.
5: The beginning of a major Russian offensive under Zhukov.
6: The British advance continues to El Agheila, on the western edge of Libya.
6: in his State of the Union speech, President Roosevelt promises more aid to Britain, including planes and troops.
7: Siege of the Peninsula begins.
7: Heavy air attacks on Malta; it is estimated that the bomb tonnage dropped on the island is twice that dropped on London.
9: Japanese advances in Borneo meet with little opposition.
11: Japanese troops capture Lumpur, [201]; [202] declares war on the [203] and invades the East Indies.
12: Japanese invade Indonesia, landing on the island of Celebes.
13: Russian armies take Kirov and Medya, as their counter-offensive continues.
13: The German U-boat offensive comes closer to the US shores.
19: Japanese forces take prisoner large numbers of British troops north of Singapore.
20: Nazis at the conference in [204] decide that the "solution to the Question Jewish problem" is relocation, and later extermination.
20: Japanese bomb Singapore as their troops approach the city.
21: Rommel begins a surprising counter-offensive at El Agheila; his troops, with new reinforcements and tanks, capture Agedabia, then push north to Fomm.
23: The of Rabaul (1942) Battle of Rabaul, New Guinea begins.
24: American troops land in Samoa, as part of a strategy to stop the Japanese advance in the Pacific.
25: [205] declares war on the States and Kingdom; Japanese troops invade the Islands.
26: The first American forces arrive in Europe landing in Ireland.
27: The British withdraw all troops back into Singapore.
28: Brazil breaks off relations with the Axis powers.
29: Rommel enters Benghazi, Libya in his drive east. For the next few months, the two sides will rest and rearm.
30: Hitler speaks at the Berlin Sports Palace and threatens the Jews of the world with annihilation; he also blames the failure of the offensive in Russia on the weather.
31: The Japanese take the port of Moulmein, Burma; they now threaten Rangoon as well as Singapore.
31: On the Russian front, the Germans are in retreat at several points.
31: The last organised Allied forces leave [206], ending the 54-day of Malaya battle.
### February 1942

1: Vidkun Quisling becomes Minister-President of Norway despite strong opposition
1: Rommel's forces reach El Gazala, Libya, near the border with Libya; during a "Winter lull" he will remain there.
2: General Stilwell Joseph ("Vinegar Joe") Stilwell is named Chief of Staff to Kai-Shek and Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces in China.
3: Japanese air power is thrown against Java, especially the naval base at Surabaya. Port Moresby, New Guinea is bombed, increasing the threat to Australia.
7: Americans continue their defence of Bataan against General Homma's troops.
8: The German armies in Russia are driven from Kursk, an important point in the German stragegy.
9: British troops are now in full retreat into Singapore for a final defence.
9: Top States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
10: The cruise liner "Normandie" catches fire and capsizes in New York harbour. Although the cause is probably a welder's torch, various conspiracies are imagined in the media.
11: The "Dash." The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen rush out of France Brest through the Channel to northern ports, including Wilhelmshaven, Germany; the British naval units fail to sink any of them.
13: The of Bataan battle for Bataan continues.
15: [207] surrenders to Japanese forces; this is arguably the most devastating loss in British military history.
16: Being discussed in high American government circles are plans for the internment of Japanese-Americans living generally in the western US.
17: Orders are given for Rangoon to be evacuated as Japanese forces approach.
19: Japanese aircraft attack Northern Territory Darwin, in Australia's Territory.
19: of the United States President Delano Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Order 9066 allowing the States military to define areas as exclusionary zones. These zones affect the American Internment Japanese on the West Coast, and Germans and Italians primarily on the East Coast.
19: A military conscription law is passed in Canada.
20: Japanese troops cross the important Salween River in Burma.
20: Japanese invade Bali and Timor by a combined use of paratroops and amphibious troops.
21: The American Air Corps is now firmly established at bases in the UK.
22: of the United States President Delano Roosevelt orders General MacArthur out of the [208] as American defence of the nation collapses.
23: A Japanese submarine (I-17) makes the first attack on the American mainland by shelling an oil refinery at Ellwood, California.
25: The American internment internment of Japanese-American citizens in the Western United States begins as fears of invasion increase.
25: II of the United Kingdom Princess Elizabeth registers for war service
27: of the Java Sea. Under a Dutch Admiral, the combined forces loose one aircraft tender (the Langley), six destroyers, and five cruisers off Java.
28: Japanese land forces invade (island) Java.
### March 1942

1: A Russian offensive in the Crimea begins; in the north, the siege of Leningrad continues with all its horrors.
3: Japanese aircraft make a surprising raid on the airfield and harbour at Broome, Western Australia.
4: By Executive decree, all Japanese-Americans, especially on the West coast, find themselves subject to relocation in special camps.
5: New conscription laws in the United Kingdom include women and men up to the age of 45.
6: Rangoon falls to the Japanese.
6: Malta receives more fighters for its on-going defence.
8; The Japanese land at Lae and Salamaua, on Huon Bay, New Guinea, beginning their move toward Port Moresby, New Guinea, and then Australia.
9: It appears that the Japanese are in control of Java, Burma, and New Guinea.
9: The States Secretary of War Secretary of War reorganises the States Army into three major commands - Ground Forces, States Army Air Forces Army Air Forces, and of Supply, later redesignated Service Forces
11: General MacArthur is ordered by President Roosevelt to leave the Philippines; he will travel to Australia by PT boat and aircraft. He tells General Wainwright and the Filipino people "I shall return."
11: The Japanese land on Mindanao, the southernmost island in the Philippines.
12: American troops begin to land in Noumea, New Caledonia; it will become an important staging base for the eventual invasion of Guadalcanal.
13: RAF launches a massive air raid against Essen, Germany.
14: Japanese land troops in the Solomons, underscoring Australia's dangerous situation, especially if, as it is soon made clear, an airfield is built on Guadalcanal.
14: A Russian offensive is started to retake Kharkov, lost to the Germans about a month ago.
14: The Japanese are now threatening American forces around Manila Bay; the retreat to Corregidor begins.
17: U.S. General MacArthur arrives in Australia, after leaving his headquarters in the Philippines.
17: The United Kingdom institutes rationing of electricity, coal, and gas; the clothing ration is decreased as well.
20: The bombing of Malta begun in December continues; an invasion is a possibility.
22: A fractured convoy reaches Malta, after heavy losses to the Luftwaffe and an Italian sea force. Continued heavy bombing attacks on the island with slight opposition from overtaxed RAF air forces.
25: RAF sends bomber raids against targets in France and Germany.
26: Jews in Berlin must now clearly identify their houses.
28: The RAF sends a monster raid against Lübeck, destroying over 30% of the city, and 80% of the medieval centre. Hitler is outraged.
28: British commandos launch the a Nazaire Raid raid on Saint-Nazaire. Campbeltown (I42) *HMS* Campbeltown, filled with explosives on a time-delay fuse, rams the dock gates and commandos destroy other parts of the naval service area. The port is completely destroyed and does not resume service till 1947; however, around two-thirds of the raiding forces are lost.
### April 1942

2: Over 24,000 sick and starving troops (American and Filipino) are now trapped on Bataan.
2: Japanese make landings on New Guinea, most importantly at Hollandia.
3: [209]ese forces begin an all-out assault on the States and Filipino troops on the Peninsula.
4: Germans plan Blitz "Baedeker raids" on touristy or historic British raids, in revenge for the Lubeck bombing.
5: On Bataan, the Japanese overwhelm Mt. Samat, a strong point on Allied defensive line.
5: The Japanese Navy Japanese Navy attacks [210] in [211] (Lanka). Navy [212] Cornwall (56) HMS *Cornwall* and Dorsetshire (40) HMS *Dorsetshire* are sunk southwest of the island.
6: Japanese naval forces are observed on the Indian Ocean; they put troops ashore in the Solomon Islands.
8: Heavy RAF bombing of Hamburg.
8: German summer offensive in the [213] opens up.
8: American forces are strained for one last offensive on Bataan.
9: The Japanese Navy launches air raid on [214] in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); Royal Navy carrier Hermes (95) HMS *Hermes* and Australian Navy [215] Vampire (D68) HMAS *Vampire* are sunk off the country's East Coast.
9: Bataan falls to the Japanese. The "Death March" begins, as the captives are taken off to detention camps in the north. Corregidor, in the middle of Manila Bay, remains a final point of resistance.
10: Japanese land on Island, a large middle island of the Philippines.
15: [216] is awarded the Cross by VI of the United Kingdom King George VI for "heroism and devotion".
18: Raid on [217], [218] and [219]; his B25's take off from the Hornet (CV-8) USS Hornet. The raids are a great boost of morale for Americans whose diet has been mostly bad news.
19: At a press conference, President Roosevelt explains with some amusement that the Doolittle bombers took off from "Shangri-La", an allusion to James Hilton's popular novel.
23: Beginning of so-called Blitz Baedeker Raids by the Luftwaffe on English provincial towns like Bath, Norwich, and York; attacks continue sporadically until 6.
24: Heavy bombing of [220], Germany by RAF.
26: Hitler assumes a kind of supreme authority over Germany.
27: [221] is bombed for fourth night in a row.
27: A Crisis of 1942 national plebiscite is held in Canada on the issue of [222]. French Canadians are main, though not the only, objectors to the draft.
29: The "raids" continue, focused on Norwich and York.
29: Japanese cut Road with the capture of Lashio.
### May 1942

1: Rommel readies for a new offensive during the early part of this month.
1: Japanese take Mandalay and other ports in Burma.
3: The Japanese forces land on Tulagi Island in the Solomons, not far from Guadalcanal.
4: The of the Coral Sea begins: it will last four days and is a first in that the ships on both sides never are in sight of the other; the Lexington (CV-2) USS Lexington is sunk, but the Americans can claim an overall victory.
5: Heavy Japanese artillery attack on Corregidor.
5: British forces begin "Ironclad": the invasion of [223] to keep the French territory from falling to a possible Japanese invasion.
5: The city of [224] is bombed by the Luftwaffe, another "Blitz Baedeker Raid".
6: On [225], the last States U.S. forces in the [226] surrender to the [227]ese. About 12,000 are made prisoners.
8: The of the Coral Sea comes to an end. This is the first time in naval history where two enemy fleets fought without seeing each other. In addition to the loss of the Lexington the Yorktown is badly damaged; it returns to Harbor for repairs.
8: The Germans take the Kerch peninsula in the eastern Crimea, Russia.
9: On the night of 8/May [228], gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebelled. Their mutiny was crushed and three of them were executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
11: Another first: An allied ship on the St. Lawrence River, Canada is sunk by a U-boat.
12: Battle of Kharkov - In the eastern [229], the Union Soviet Army initiates a major offensive. During the battle the Soviets will capture the city of [230] from the German Army, only to be encircled and destroyed.
15: In the States, a bill creating the Army Corps Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
18: The Russians are in a major retreat at Kerch, after large numbers surrender.
20: The Japanese conquest of Burma is complete; it is called a "military catastrophe."
21: Invasion of Malta postponed indefinitely.
22: The battle of Kharkov continues; for the Germans it is an important step on the way to Stalingrad.
22: Mexico declares war on the Axis.
25: In preparation for the next battle, the Japanese naval strategists send diversionary forces to the Aleutians.
26: The Anglo-Soviet Treaty: their foreign secretaries agree that no peace will be signed by one without the approval of the other. (An important treaty since Himmler and others will attempt to separate the two nations at the end of the war.)
26: Rommel begins a Spring offensive at the Gazala line (west of Tobruk). The battle lasts well into June and ends with a total victory for Rommel.
27: Reinhard Heydrich, head of Reich Security, is fatally hurt in Prague by bomb and gunfire in an ambush by Czech patriots; he will die on 4 from his wounds.
27: British use American Sherman tanks in attempts to stop Rommel's attacks on the Gazala line.
27: The USS Yorktown, damaged at the Coral Sea, limps into Pearl Harbor; it is ordered to get repaired and ready as fast as possible for the impending battle.
29: The Jews in France are ordered to wear the yellow Star of David.
29: Japanese forces have large successes south of Shanghai.
29: Rommel turns his troops to Bir Hachim on the south edge of the Gazala line; once it is taken, he can move north and destroy the Allied emplacements in the line.
30: of Cologne in World War II "The Thousand Bomber Raid" on Cologne, revealing new area bombing techniques.
30: The USS Yorktown leaves Pearl after hasty repairs and moves to join the USS Enterprise for the next expected battle.
31: Huge German successes around Kharkov, with envelopment of several Russian armies.
### June 1942

War II 1942 06.png thumb 220px WWII Alliances, June 1942

1: First reports in the West that gas is being used to kill the Jews sent to "the East."
1: Japanese midget subs enter Sydney harbour and sink one support ship; fears of invasion grow.
1: [231] declares war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.
2: Further heavy bombing of industrial sites in Germany, centred mainly on Essen.
3: The British coal industry is nationalised.
4: The of Midway begins; The Japanese attack installations on the island, but fail to detect nearby American carriers.
4: Heydrich dies in Prague having been assassinated by Czechoslovak patriots (Anthropoid)
5: United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.
7: of the Aleutian Islands Japanese forces invade Attu and Kiska. This is the first invasion of American soil in 128 years, but it is only a diversion from the main naval efforts off Midway Island.
7: The Battle of Midway comes to a close; the USS Yorktown sinks; four Japanese carriers and one cruiser are sunk. The battle is viewed as a turning point in the Pacific war.
8: Malta receives a squadron of Spitfire Spitfires.
8: A Japanese submarine fires several shells into a residential area in Sydney but with little effect.
9: Nazis burn the Czech village of [232] as reprisal for the killing of Heydrich. The men and boys are killed and the women and children are taken off to concentration camps.
10: Rommel pushes the Free French forces out of Bir Hakeim, a fortress south-west of Tobruk.
12: Frank, a young Jewish girl in Amsterdam, receives a diary for her thirteenth birthday.
12: Heavy fighting in Sevastopol with serious losses of life on both sides.
12: Rommel finally pushes Allies out of Gazala line.
13: The States opens its of War Information, a centre for production of [233].
16: Two convoys moving toward Malta suffer heavy losses; German air forces continue to bomb the island itself.
17: The British pull out of the areas called "Knightsbridge" and "the Cauldron" in the Western desert area between Tobruk and El Gazala. Tobruk is now surrounded.
18: Project is started, the beginning of a scientific approach to nuclear weapons.
18: Winston Churchill arrives in Washington for meetings with Roosevelt.
18: The siege of Tobruk intensifies; some defending forces are pulled back to Egypt.
21: Afrika Korps recaptures Tobruk, with 35,000 men captured; the road to Egypt is now open as the British retreat deep into Egypt. Tobruk's loss is a grievous blow to British morale. German land forces have been assisted by Luftwaffe attacks.
23: Marsa Matruh, Egypt falls to Rommel, about 140 miles from Alexandria.
24: British fall back to El Alamein, 60 miles from Alexandria, for a "final stand."
25: General Eisenhower arrives in London ready to assume the post of Commander of American forces in Europe.
25: Another massive "Thousand Bomber" raid, this time on Bremen; the raiders suffer grievous losses.
26: The Germans drive toward Rostov, Russia.
27: Doomed convoy PQ17 sets sail from Iceland; only 11 of 37 ships will survive.
28: Operation Blue, the German plan to capture [234] and the Russian oil fields in the Caucasus, begins. Generally, forces are shifted to the South.
30: Rommel reaches El Alamein.
### July 1942

1: Battle of El Alamein begins as Rommel begins first assault on British defences.
1: [235] falls to the Germans; the end of Russian resistance in the Crimea.
2: Churchill survives a censure motion in the House of Commons.
2: Allies experience heavy June losses of shipping to U-boats, including those of PQ17.
3: [236] is now firmly in the hands of the Japanese.
4: First air missions by American Air Force in Europe.
6: Frank's family goes into hiding in an attic above her father's office in an [237] warehouse.
11: Rommel's forces are now stalemated before El Alamein, largely because of a lack of ammunition.
12: It now becomes clear that Stalingrad is the largest challenge to the invaders.
15: The only action around El Alamein is light skirmishing.
16: On order from the France government headed by Laval, French [238] officers round up 13,000-20,000 [239]s and imprison them in the Velodrome. (See du Vel'd'Hiv.)
18: The Germans test fly the Me-262 using only its engines for the first time.
19: of the Atlantic (1940) Battle of the Atlantic - German Grand Admiral Dönitz orders the last [240]s to withdraw from their States Atlantic coast positions in response to an increasingly effective American convoy system.
20: After landing in the Buna-Gona area, the Japanese in New Guinea move across the Owen Stanley mountain range aiming at Port Moresby in the south-eastern part of the island, close to Australia; a small Australian force begins rearguard action on the Track.
22: The systematic deportation of [241]s from the Ghetto begins. [242], "a model" concentration camp is opened in Poland.
24: Germans take Rostov-on-the-Don; the Russians are in general retreat along the Don River.
26: A second attack by the British under Auchinleck fails against Rommel. First Battle of El Alamein may be said to be over.
27: Heavy RAF of Hamburg in World War II incendiary attack on Hamburg.
29: The Japanese take Kokoda, halfway along the Owen Stanley pass to Port Moresby.
30: Continuing stalemate at El Alamein between Rommel and Auchinleck.
### August 1942

1: Germans continue successful advance toward Stalingrad.
3: A convoy to Malta is decimated by the Luftwaffe and U-boats
5: The U.S. planning team for Torch, which includes S. Patton; Doolittle James Doolittle; Lambert; and S. Vandenberg, meets in District of Columbia to join the combined planning team from [243], [244].
7: Operation Watchtower begins the of Guadalcanal Guadalcanal Campaign as American forces invade [245], Guadalcanal, [246] and [247] in the Solomon Islands.
8: In DC, six German would-be saboteurs are executed (two others were cooperative and received life imprisonment instead).
8: The naval of Savo Island, near Guadalcanal; the Americans lose three cruisers, the Australians one.
9: In their retreat out of the Crimean peninsula, the Russians destroy oil refineries.
9: Numerous riots in favour of independence in India; Mahatma Gandhi is arrested.
10: Rommel begins an attack around El Alamein, but by September he is back to his original lines.
11: The HMS Eagle, a carrier on convoy duty to Malta, is torpedoed and sinks with heavy loss of life.
12: At a conference in Moscow, Churchill informs Stalin that there will not be a "second front" in 1942.
12: American forces establish bases in the New Hebrides islands.
12: Fighting increases as the Germans approach Stalingrad.
13: General Montgomery appointed commander of British Eighth Army in North Africa; Churchill is anxious to see more offensive action on the part of the British.
13: Disastrous end to the Malta convoy, but one tanker and four merchant ships get through.
15: Pedestal arrives at the island fortress of Malta.
17: Major US Air Force bombing on Rouen, France and its rail network.
18: Japanese reinforce New Gunea; Australians also land troops at Port Moresby. Meanwhile, American planes have destroyed Japanese air power at Wewak, New Guinea.
19: Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee, a raid by British but mainly Canadian forces on France, ends in disaster; they come under heavy gunfire and eventually most are killed or captured by the German defenders.
20: Henderson Field on Guadalcanal receives its first American fighter planes.
21: Japanese counter-attack at Henderson Field; in another foray at the Tenaru (or Ilu) River, many Japanese are killed in a banzai charge.
22: [248] declares war on the Axis countries, partly in response to numerous riots by a populace angry at the sinking of Brazilian ships.
23: Germans get closer to Stalingrad.
24: The naval battle of the Eastern Solomons; the USS Enterprise is badly damaged and the Japanese lose one light carrier.
26: of Milne Bay begins: Japanese forces land and launch a full-scale assault on Australian base near the eastern tip of Guinea.
27: Marshal Georgii Zhukov is appointed to the command of the Stalingrad defence; the Luftwaffe is now delivering heavy strikes on the city.
28: Incendiary bombs dropped by a Japanese seaplane causes a forest fire in [249].
30: The of Alam el Halfa Battle of Alam Halfa, Egypt, a few miles south of El Alamein begins. This will be Rommel's last attempt to break through the English lines; British air superiority plays a large role.
30: [250] is formally annexed to the German Reich.
### September 1942

3: The Battle of Stalingrad proper may be said to have begun on this date, with German troops in the suburbs; even civilian men and boys are conscripted by the Russian military to assist in the defence.
4: There is IRA rioting in Belfast during the night.
Project Manhattan Engineering District is formally created, full-effort production of the bomb is begun.
5: Australian and U.S. forces defeat Japanese forces at Milne Bay, Papua, the first outright defeat for Japanese land forces in the War. Their evacuation and the failure to establish an airbase eases the threat to Australia.
6: The Black Sea port of Novorossisk is taken by the Germans.
9: A Japanese plane drops more incendiaries on Oregon, but with little effect.
10: RAF blasts Düsseldorf with large incendiary bombing.
10: (To the 14th). The Battle of "Bloody Ridge", Guadalcanal: Americans drive off Japanese forces attempting to recapture Henderson Field.
12: Laconia RMS *Laconia*, carrying civilians, Allied soldiers and Italian POWs, is torpedoed off the coast of West Africa and sinks.
12: Second Quebec Conference (to the 16th): FDR and Churchill agree to postwar occupation zones in Germany and further Lend-Lease arrangements.
13: The Battle for Stalingrad continues; it is now totally surrounded by the Germans. On the Russian side General Chuikov is put in charge of the defence.
14: The Japanese retreat again from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal.
14: The Japanese are now within 30 miles of Port Moresby, New Guinea, on the Kokoda trail.
14: Continued convoy losses in the Atlantic.
15: Americans send troops to Port Moresby as reinforcements for the Australian defenders.
15: Light carrier USS Wasp is sunk by a Japanese submarine off Guadalcanal.
18: Battle of the "grain silo" in Stalingrad; the Germans are beaten back. The Russians begin ferrying Red Army troops at night across the Volga.
20: RAF bombs Munich and Saarbrucken.
23: General Rommel leaves North Africa for medical treatment in Germany.
27: The Battle of Matanikau River, Guadalcanal; Japanese naval bombardment and landing forces nearly destroy Henderson field in an attempt to take it, but the land forces are soon driven back.
28: The Japanese continue their retreat back down the Kokoda trail in New Guinea.
30: The Squadron (American volunteers in the RAF) are officially transferred to the US Army Air Force.
30: Hitler speaks to the nation and boasts that Stalingrad will be taken.
### October 1942

3: First successful launch of rocket A4-rocket at [251], [252]. The rocket flies 147 kilometres wide and reaches a height of 84.5 kilometres and is therefore the first man-made object reaching space.
4: Commandos raid [253], a Channel Island, capturing one German soldier.
6: By mutual arrangement, the Allies agree on a strategy whereby Americans will bomb in the daytime and the RAF at night.
11: of Cape Esperance - On the Northwest coast of (Pacific Ocean island) Guadalcanal, States Navy ships intercept and defeat a [254]ese fleet on their way to reinforce troops on the island. With the help of radar they sink one cruiser and several Japanese destroyers.
12: The Russian system of ferrying troops across the Volga and into Stalingrad directly seems to be a success, as the German advance comes to a halt.
13: Heavy bombardment of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal by the Japanese navy.
14: A German [255] sinks the ferry Caribou SS *Caribou*, killing 137.
18: Hitler issues Order, ordering all captured commandos to be executed immediately.
18: Admiral William "Bull" Halsey is given command of the South Pacific naval forces.
21: Heavy RAF activity over El Alamein.
22: [256] age in Britain reduced to 18.
22: American General Mark Clark secretly lands in Algeria to confer with Vichy officials and Resistance groups in preparation for impending Allied invasion.
23: Battle of El Alamein begins with massive Allied bombardment of German positions. Then Australian forces, mainly, begin advance while offshore British naval forces support the right flank (n.b. the ongoing concurrent victories being prepared at Guadalcanal and Stalingrad.)
24: US Navy Task Force 34, consisting of aircraft carriers, a variety of support ships, including Troop Ships and other vessels, set sail from Roads, Virginia with Patton's forces for Torch, the landing in North Africa. The other two task forces of Torch, the first American-led force to fight in the European and African theatres of war, depart Britain for [257].
24: Crisis at El Alamein: British tanks survive German 88mm fire; Montgomery orders the advance to continue despite losses.
25: Rommel hurriedly returns from his sickbed in Germany to take charge of the African battle. (His replacement, General Stumme had died of a heart attack).
25: The Japanese continue their attacks on the Marines west of Henderson field.
26: The naval battle of Santa Cruz. The Japanese lose many aircraft and have two aircraft carriers severely damaged. The USS Hornet is sunk and the USS Enterprise is damaged.
29: The Japanese continue to send troops as reinforcements into Guadalcanal.
31: The British make a critical breakthrough with tanks west of El Alamein; Rommel's mine fields fail to stop the Allied armour.
29: In the Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over Germany's persecution of [258]s.
### November 1942

1: Supercharge, the Allied breakout at El Alamein, begins.
3: Battle of El Alamein ends - German forces under Rommel are forced to retreat during the night.
8: Torch, the Allied invasion of Vichy-controlled [259] and [260], begins; French resistance coup in Algiers, consisting of about 400 fighters neutralise the Vichyist XIXth Army Corps and the Vichyist generals (Juin, Darlan, etc.), contributing significantly to the immediate success of the operation.
10: In violation of a [261] armistice, [262] invades France ; they are responding to the fact that French Admiral Darlan has signed an armistice with the [263] in Africa.
10: Oran, Algeria falls to US troops; 17 French ships are sunk at Oran, causing a rift between the French and the Allies. There are more Allied landings near the Tunisian border.
10: Montgomery begins a major British offensive beginning at Sollum on the Libya/Egypt border. The British reach Bardia on the 11th, Tobruk on the 12th, and Benghazi on the 18th.
10: Lieutenant General Montgomery is knighted and made a full General.
10: Churchill speaks: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
11: Convoys reach Malta from Alexandria; an official announcement proclaims that the island is "relieved of its siege."
12: of Guadalcanal - A climactic naval battle near (Pacific Ocean island) Guadalcanal starts between [264]ese and States American naval forces. Notably, the USS Juneau is sunk with much of its crew, including the five Sullivan brothers.
12: The Russians make an attempt to relieve Stalingrad at Kotelnikov.
13: British Eighth Army Eighth Army recaptures [265].
13: In the Battle of Guadalcanal - aviators from the Enterprise (CV-6) USS *Enterprise* sink the [266]ese battleship battleship Hiei Hiei.
14: The USS Washington sinks the Japanese battleship Kirishima in the only battleship battle of World War II.
15: The naval battle of Guadalcanal ends. Although the States Navy suffers heavy losses, it still retains control of the sea around (Pacific Ocean island) Guadalcanal.
15: The British move westward in Tunisia.
17: Japanese send reinforcements into New Guinea; Americans are stymied at Buna.
18: Heavy British RAF raid on Berlin with few losses.
19: At [267] the Union forces under General Zhukov launch Uranus aimed at encircling the Germans in the city and thus turning the tide of battle in the USSR's favor.
20: The Allies take Benghazi, Libya; the Afrika Corps continues the retreat westward.
21: The Russian attempt at encirclement of Stalingrad continues with obvious success.
21: American army moves to shove Japanese off the extreme western end of Guadalcanal.
22: of Stalingrad - The situation for the German attackers of [268] seems desperate during the Union Soviet counter-attack Uranus and General Paulus sends Hitler a [269] saying that the German 6th Army is surrounded.
22: Russian troops complete the encirclement of the Germans at Kalach, west of Stalingrad.
23: "Der Kessel"-- the Cauldron, a description of the heavy fighting at Stalingrad; Hitler orders General Paulus not to retreat, at any cost.
25: The encirclement of Stalingrad continues to stabilise. Hitler reiterates his demand of Paulus not to surrender.
27: At [270], the French navy scuttles its ships (most notably the Dunkerque and Strasbourg) and submarines to keep them out of German hands; the French have declined another option --to join the Allied fleets in North African waters.
29: The Allied offensive in Tunisia meets with only minimum success.
30: The naval battle of Tassafaronga Point (off Guadalcanal); this is a night action in which Japanese naval forces sink one American cruiser and damage three others.
### December 1942

1: Gasoline rationing begins in the United States.
1: The US cruiser Northampton is sunk as Japanese destroyers attempt to come down "the Slot" to Guadalcanal.
2: Heavy fighting in Tunisia, as German forces are pushed into the final North African corner.
2: Below the bleachers of Stagg Field at the of Chicago, a team led by Fermi initiate the first chain reaction. A coded message, "The Italian navigator has landed in the new world" is sent to President Roosevelt.
4: The first US bombing of mainland Italy --Naples.
6: RAF bombs Eindhoven in Holland.
7: On the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the New Jersey (BB-62) USS New Jersey, America's largest battleship is launched (commissioned five months later).
7: British commandos conduct Frankton a raid on shipping in [271] harbour.
9: The Marines turn over Guadalcanal to the American army.
12: Rommel abandons El Agheila and retreats to Tripoli; the final stand will be at the Mareth line in southern Tunisia.
12: In a large operation named "Winter Storm", the Germans attempt to break through to forces trapped in Stalingrad.
13: The Luftwaffe flies in meagre supplies to the beleaguered Stalingrad troops.
14: Naval action off Cape Bon, northern Tunisia; British destroyers sink two Italian cruisers.
15: American troops finally push Japanese out of Buna, New Guinea.
22: The Germans begin a retreat from the Caucusus.
22: The battle for "Longstop Hill" begins; a key position outside Tunis, the Germans eventually take it and hold it until April.
24: French Darlan Admiral Darlan, the former France Vichy leader who had switched over to the Allies following the Torch landings, is assassinated in [272].
25: The British take Sirto, Libya.
25: American bombers hit Rabaul.
26: Heavy fighting continues on Guadalcanal, now focused on Mount Austen in the West.
31: As the year comes to an end, things look bright for the Allies: Rommel is trapped in Tunisia, the Germans are encircled at Stalingrad, and the Japanese appear ready to abandon Guadalcanal.
## 1943

### January 1943

POW.jpg thumb right 200px [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich Paulus Field Marshall Paulus and his staff surrender in Stalingrad]

2: The Japanese are now cleared out of Buna, New Guinea after a fierce two-month struggle; it becomes clear that the American campaign was badly mismanaged.
7: Japanese land more troops at Lae, New Guinea.
10: Soviet troops launch an all-out offensive attack on Stalingrad; they also renew attacks in the north (Leningrad) and in the Caucasus.
13: The Russians announce, perhaps prematurely, that the Leningrad siege has been broken.
14: Conference of Allied leaders begins. Churchill and Roosevelt discuss the eventual invasion of mainland Europe, the impending invasion of Sicily and Italy, and the wisdom of the principle of "Unconditional Surrender."
15: The British start an offensive aimed at taking far-off Tripoli.
16: Iraq declares war on the Axis powers.
16: RAF begins a two-night bombing of Berlin.
18: The [273]s in the Ghetto rise up for the first time, starting the Ghetto Uprising.
18: Besieged defenders of Leningrad link up with relieving forces.
19: General Zhukov is promoted to Marshal as the Stalingrad struggle grinds to a close.
21: Last airfield at Stalingrad is taken by Red forces, insuring that Goering's aircraft will be unable to supply German troops any further; Hitler still demands that Paulus continue the fight.
21: Russian armies have more victories in the Caucasus and also take Vitebsk.
23: Allies capture [274], Libya.
23: Japanese continue their fight in western Guadalcanal; they now seem to have given up completely on the Papua campaign.
24: German forces in Stalingrad are in the last phases of collapse.
26: French forces enter Tripoli.
27: 50 bombers mount the first all American raid against [275]. ([276], the large naval base, is the primary target).
28: A new conscription law in Germany: men between 16 and 35 and women between 17 and 45 are open to mobilization.
29: The naval battle of Rennel Island, near Guadalcanal; the USS Chicago is lost.
29: Another two-day bombing of Berlin by the RAF.
30: The last Japanese have cleared out of Guadalcanal by a brilliant evacuation plan undetected by the Americans.
31: Large parts of the German 6th Army at [277], including the now von Paulus Field Marshal Paulus, surrender.
### February 1943

2: In [278], the of Stalingrad comes to an end with the official surrender of the German 6th Army.
2: Rommel retreats farther into Tunisia, establishing his troops at the Mareth line. Within two days, Allied troops move into Tunisia for the first time.
5: The Allies now have all of Libya under control.
5: Essen is bombed, marking the beginning of a four-month attack on the Ruhr industrial area.
7: In the States, it is announced that [279] rationing will go into effect in two days.
8: The [280] (a "long range penetration group) under British General Wingate begin an incursion into Burma.
8: Nuremberg is heavily bombed.
9: Guadalcanal is finally secured; it is the first major achievement of the American offensive in the Pacific war.
9: The of Kurskis begins. The Russians take Belgograd.
9: Munich and Vienna are heavily bombed, along with Berlin.
11: U.S. General D. Eisenhower is selected to command the Allied armies in Europe.
13: Rommel launches a counter-attack against the Americans in western Tunisia; he takes Sidi bou Zid and Gafsa. The of the Kasserine Pass begins: inexperienced American troops are soon forced to retreat.
14: [281], [282] is liberated by the Red Army;
16: Union reconquers [283], but is later driven out in the Battle of Kharkov.
18: In a speech speech at the Berlin Sportpalast German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels declares a "War" against the Allies; The Nazis arrest the members of the Rose movement, an anti-Nazi youth group.
18: Chindits under Wingate cut the railway line between Mandalay and Myitkyina.
21: Americans take the Russel Islands, part of the Solomons chain.
26: Rommel retreats northward from the Mareth line in Tunisia.
28: The SS United Victory, the first Victory ship is launched; this class of transport will prove to be crucial in hauling men and supplies across the oceans.
28: Gunnerside, 6 Norwegians led by Joachim Ronneberg successfully attack the heavy water plant [284].
### March 1943

1: Guderian becomes the Inspector-General of the Armoured Troops for the German Army.
1: of the Bismarck Sea. States and [285] naval forces, over the course of three days, sink eight Japanese troop transports near New Guinea. Heavy losses of Japanese lives.
2: Wingate's Chindits continue their localised strikes in Burma.
5: In early March, Rommel stirs up small attacks near the Mareth line, southern Tunisia.
5: German advances around Kharkov threaten Russian achievements.
5: Continued RAF bombing of the Ruhr valley, particularly Essen.
6: Battle of Medenine, Tunisia. It is Rommel's last in Africa as he is forced to retreat.
7: Allies are now in full control of Tunisia.
8: Continuing German counter-attacks around Kharkov.
10: The USAAF 14th Air Force is formed in China, under General Claire Chennault, former head of the "Flying Tigers."
10: The US House of Representatives votes to extend the Lend Lease plan.
11: The Germans enter Kharkov and the fierce struggle with the Russians continues.
13: Germany German forces liquidate the Jewish ghetto in [286].
14: The Germans succeed in taking Kharkov, lost to the Red Armies about a month ago.
16: The first reports of the Katyn massacre in Poland seep to the West; reports say that more than 180,000 prisoners of war were killed by the Russians, who eventually blame the massacre on the Germans.
16: Stalin for the nth time demands a "Second Front," accusing his allies of treachery.
17: Devastating convoy losses in the Atlantic due to increased U-boat activity; the middle of the Atlantic apparently is not sufficiently covered by planes or ships.
18: General Patton leads his tanks of II Corps into Gafsa, Tunisia.
19: First Warsaw Rising, carried out by the Jews in the ghetto; the outcome is probably inevitable.
19: The Bermuda Conference opens, the subject being the plight of the European Jews; the Allies come to no solid conclusion.
20: Montgomery's forces begin a breakthrough in Tunisia, striking at the Mareth line. (This defensive line was originally built by the French to hold off Italian tanks and infantry.)
23: American tanks defeat the Germans at El Guettar, Tunisia.
26: The British break through the Mareth line in southern Tunisia, threatening the whole German army. The Germans move north.
26: of the Komandorski Islands. In the Islands States Navy forces intercept of Japan Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at [287]. Poor leadership on both sides leads to a stalemate of sorts, and the Japanese withdraw without achieving their goal.
### April 1943

1: Allies continue to squeeze the Germans into the corner of Tunisia; the seaport of Sfax is bombed. It will be taken on the 10th.
6: Hitler and Mussolini come together at Salzburg, mostly for the purpose of propping up Mussolini's fading morale.
7: Allied forces--the Americans from the West, the British from the East--link up near Gafsa in Libya.
7: [288] declares war on Germany, Japan, and Italy.
8: The Russians attack in an attempt to free all of the Crimea of German forces; they take Kerch in the East on the 11th, and the Germans retreat westward to Sevastopol.
11: The Germans offer an official surrender of [289], but heavy fighting continues as other units move north.
12: The last units of the Afrika Korps surrender in the northern corner of Tunisia.
13: Radio Berlin announces the discovery by [290] of mass graves of Poles purportedly killed by Soviets in the massacre.
15: Heavy RAF raid on Stuttgart.
18: Admiral Yamamoto, chief architect of Japanese naval strategy, is killed when his plane is shot down by American Lightning P38's over Bougainville. He was on an inspection tour.
18: The Flax "Palm Sunday massacre": large numbers of German troop-transport aircraft are shot down before reaching Tunisia, where they were to pick up the isolated German troops.
19: The Uprising Warsaw Rising continues, with new German army units sent in to fight the Jewish Resistance.
26: The British finally take "Longstop Hill" in Tunisia, a key position on the breakout road to Tunis.
28: Allies attempt to close the mid-Atlantic gap in the war against the U-boats with long-range bombers.
### May 1943

1: Allies close in on the cornered Germans in the Tunis area.
2: Japanese aircraft again bomb Darwin, Australia.
3: British forces take Rangoon, Burma.
7: [291] captured by British First Army. Meanwhile the Americans take Bizerte.
9: German and Italian forces in Tunisia announce surrender to British.
11: States American troops of the Aleutian Islands invade Attu Island in the Islands in an attempt to expel occupying [292]ese forces. The battle is difficult, including banzai charges.
12: Conference (1943) Trident Conference begins in D.C. with D. Roosevelt and Churchill taking part. The discussions are mostly on future strategy.
13: German Korps and Italian troops in Africa surrender to Allied forces. Allies take over 250,000 prisoners.
15: The French form a "Resistance Movement."
16: The Raids by RAF 617 Squadron on two German dams, Mohne and Eder; the Ruhr war industries lose electrical power.
16: The Ghetto Uprising ends. The ghetto is destroyed.
17: Surviving RAF Chastise *Dam Busters* return.
19: Churchill addresses a joint session of the Congress. He praises the partnership of the two Allies.
19: Propaganda Minister Goebbels announces that all the Jews have left Berlin.
22: Allies begin heavy bombing of Sicily and Sardinia, both possible landing sites.
24: Admiral Dönitz orders the majority of U-boats to withdraw from the Atlantic because of heavy losses to new Allied weapon#World War II anti-sub tactics.
24: Mengele becomes Chief Medical Officer in [293].
29: RAF bombs Wuppertal, causing heavy civilian losses.
30: The Japanese abandon Attu Island in the Aleutians.
31: American Flying Fortress B-17's bomb Naples.
### June 1943

4: General Giraud becomes Commander of the French forces in North Africa.
8: Japanese forces abandon Kiska Island in the Aleutians, their last foothold in the Western hemisphere. The event is almost to the year of their landing.
11: British forces take Pantelleria and Lampedusa, small islands between Tunisia and Sicily, after several days of bombardment.
13: Heavy US aircraft losses over Kiel.
17: Allies bomb Sicily and the Italian mainland, as signs increase of a forthcoming invasion.
20: Cartwheel opens with landings by the United States Raiders 4th Marine Raider Battalion at Segi Point on Georgia in the Solomon Islands. It will not be secured until August.
22: The Red armies begin a major offensive.
23: American troops land in the Trobriand Islands, close to New Guinea. The American strategy of driving up the Southwest Pacific by "Island Hopping" continues.
24: Continuing attacks against the Ruhr industrial valley. One result is the evacuation of large numbers of German civilians from the area.
30: American troops land on Rendova Island, New Georgia, another part of Cartwheel.
### July 1943

Template:Userboxtop July 1943

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

4: government-in-exile Exiled Polish leader Sikorski#Death General Władysław Sikorski dies in an aircraft accident.
6: The of Kula Gulf near the Solomons ends inconclusively.
7: Rocket scientist von Braun Dornberger#Rocket Development briefs the V-2 rocket to Hitler, who approves the project for top priority.
9: The invasion of Sicily to liberate Europe began.
12: The tank of Prokhorovka, the largest tank battle in human history and part of the of Kursk, is the pivotal battle of Citadel.
13: The Japanese won a tactical victory at the of Kolombangara.
19: The Allies of Rome in World War II#Raids bomb Rome for the first time.
21: The Bellicose targeting of Friedrichshafen radars is the first bombing of a rocket facility.
22: The fall of Palermo in the invasion of Sicily inspired a subsequent Mussolini#Replaced by Badoglio Coup d'état against Mussolini.
22: Deportations of Jews from the Ghetto to the [294] camp begins.
23/24: The RAF bombs pen Kiel in the first major raid on a German city since April 1943 and the heaviest RAF raid of the war.
24: The of Hamburg in World War II Operation Gomorrah firestorm bombing of Hamburg begins (at the time the heaviest assault in the of aerial warfare.)
### August 1943

Template:Userboxtop August 1943

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

2: F. Kennedy#Military service John F. Kennedy's Torpedo Boat PT-109 PT-109 is rammed in two and sunk off the Islands.
3: The publicized "S. Patton#Slapping incident and removal from command slapping incident" resulted in General Patton being relieved of duty for 10 months.
6: The United States won the of Vella Gulf off [295] in the Solomons.
7: The Allies won the of New Georgia in the Solomons.
15: The Battle of Vella Lavella island in the Solomons began as part of Cartwheel#Cartwheel operations Operation Cartwheel
17: **Operation Husky** completes the invasion of Sicily.
17: 60 Allied bombers are lost in the mission.
18: Crossbow begins as Hydra bombs the [296] rocket facility.
19: Roosevelt and Churchill signed the Agreement during the Conference, 1943 Quebec Conference.
23: Polkovodets Rumyantsev liberated Kharkov in the Ukraine
23: The of Kursk became the first successful major Soviet summer offensive of the war.
29: During the of Denmark by Nazi Germany, martial law replaced the Danish government.
### September 1943

Template:Userboxtop September 1943

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

3: Mainland [297] is invaded as Allied forces under L. Montgomery land at Reggio de Calabria. An Italian Armistice is signed and Italy drops out of the war.
3: Nazi Germany begins the evacuation of civilians from Berlin.
4: Russia declares war on Bulgaria.
4: The Infantry Regiment (United States) 503rd Parachute Regiment under States American General MacArthur lands and occupies [298], just east of the port city of [299] in northeastern New Guinea. Lae falls into American hands and Australian troops take Salamau.
8: States General D. Eisenhower publicly announces the with Italy surrender of Italy to the [300].
8:The USAAF bombs the German General Headquarter for the Mediterranean zone at [301].
9: The Allies land at Salerno, Italy; meanwhile the British troops take Taranto in the heel of the Italian "boot." Allied strategy aims at a "drive" up the "boot."
9: Russians aim an offensive at Kiev, capital of the Ukraine.
9: Iran, seeing the successes of the Allies in Italy, declares war on Germany.
10: Germans occupy Rome, now that Italy has surrendered to the Allies. The Italian fleet meanwhile surrenders at Malta and other Mediterranean ports.
12: Mussolini is rescued from a mountaintop captivity ordered by the Fascist Council (see above entry for July 24) by German paratroopers led by Otto Skorzeny. Mussolini is then set up by Hitler, who remains loyal to his old friend, as the head of "Salo," a quasi government: "the Italian Social Republic."
13: German and Italian troops are fighting each other in Greece.
13: The Salerno beachhead is in jeopardy, as German counterattacks increase.
14: British troops take Bari, an important port in southeastern Italy. American troops meanwhile land on Sardinia and in effect take it.
15: Mussolini proclaims the "Italian Social Republic." (See above September 15 entry.)
15: Chiang Kai-shek, newly elected president of China, asks that General Stilwell, American military advisor/commander, be recalled for suggesting an alliance with the Communists.
16: British forces are taking various Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
16: British and American troops link up near the Salerno beachhead.
20: Allied forces approach Naples.
21: British midget subs attack the battleship Tirpitz, at anchor in a Norwegian fjord, crippling her for six months.
21: The battle of the Solomons can now be considered at an unofficial end.
22: Australian forces land at Finschhafen, a small port in New Guinea. The Japanese continue the battle well into October.
25: The Russians take Smolensk, an important city west of Moscow; they also reach the suburbs of Kiev.
27: Kai-shek has Zedong's brother executed.
28: The people of Naples, sensing the approach of the Allies, rise up against the German occupiers. The uprising is put down with many civilian deaths. Allied forces do not show.
28: The Germans take over the island of Corfu from the Italians, the previous occupiers.
29: News arrives that the Danes are secretly sending their Jewish countrymen to Sweden by means of dangerous boat crossings; thousands have been saved already.
### October 1943

Template:Userboxtop October 1943

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: British and American forces enter Naples; the port has been heavily damaged by a combination of Allied bombing and sabotage by the retreating Germans.
1: The Russians continue their moves on Kiev by crossing the River Dnieper.
4: Corsica is liberated by Free French forces.
4: American naval planes and ships bombard Wake Island.
6: States Americans and [302]ese fight the Battle of Vella Lavella. The Japanese, however, successfully evacuate the island.
7: Lord Mountbatten officially becomes the East Asia Command Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia.
12: The US Fifth Army crosses the Volturno River in Italy.
12: A huge bombing raid on Rabaul, New Britain.
13: The new government of [303], led by Marshal Badoglio, sides with the [304] and declares war on [305].
14: "Black Thursday": the Second Schweinfurt raid in which numerous American bombers are lost.
18: Kai-shek takes the oath of office as president of [306].
19: Meeting of Foreign Ministers in Moscow: Eden (UK), Hull (US) and V Molotov (USSR) begin discussions on how the peace is to be handled.
19: Lord Mountbatten meets with Chiang Kai-shek to coordinate supply efforts in China.
20: MacArthur returns: he lands with his forces on Leyte.
22: Air Force RAF delivers a highly destructive air strike on the German industrial and population centre of [307]
22: Many Japanese aircraft at Rabaul airfields are destroyed by Allied air forces.
25: The Russians cross the Dnieper and take Dneporpetrovsk.
29: British dockworkers strike in London; troops are marshalled to do the work.
31: Heavy rains in Italy slow the Allied advance below Rome.
### November 1943

Template:Userboxtop November 1943

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: In Goodtime, States Marines land on Bougainville in the Islands. The fighting for this island will continue to the end of the war.
2: In the early morning hours, States American and [308]ese ships fight the inconclusive of Empress Augusta Bay off Bougainville, but the Japanese are unable to land reinforcements.
2: British troops, in Italy, reach the River.
6: The Army liberates the city of [309]. This is an anniversary of the Russian Revolution in 1917.
9: Allies take Castiglione, Italy.
9: General De Gaulle becomes President of the French Committee of National Liberation.
11: American air power continues to hit Rabaul.
12: Germans overrun British forces on the Dodecanese islands, off Turkey.
14: Heavy bombers hit Tarawa, in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific.
15: Expeditionary Force for the invasion of Europe is officially formed.
15: German [310] leader Himmler orders that people Gypsies and "part-Gypsies" are to be put "on the same level as [311]s and placed in camps."
16: Anti-German resistance in Italy increases; there are explosions in Milan.
16: 160 States American bombers strike a power facility and water factory in German-controlled [312], [313]
conference-1943.jpg thumb right 300px The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran conference (28 Nov 1943):Left to right: Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union General Secretary of the Communist Party Stalin, of the United States President D. Roosevelt of the States, and Minister of the United Kingdom Prime Minister Churchill of the Kingdom .]

16: Japanese [314] sinks surfaced USA submarine USS Corvina near [315]
18: 440 Air Force planes bomb [316] causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF lose nine aircraft and 53 aviators.
20: of Tarawa begins - States Marines land on Atoll Tarawa and [317] atolls in the Islands and take heavy fire from [318]ese shore guns. The American public is shocked by the heavy losses of life.
20: British troops under Montgomery continue their slow advances on the eastern side of Italy.
22: US President Delano Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Churchill, and ROC leader Kai-Shek meet in [319], [320], to discuss ways to defeat [321].
23: Heavy damage from Allied bombing of Berlin. Notably, the Opernhaus on Bismarckstraße in the [322] district of of [323] is destroyed.
24: Heavy bombing of Berlin continues.
25: States Americans and [324]ese fight the naval of Cape St. George between Island Buka and Ireland (island) New Ireland. Admiral Arleigh Burke's destroyers distinguish themselves.
25: Rangoon is bombed by American heavy bombers.
26: The Russian offensive in the Ukraine continues.
27: The Casablanca Conference ("Sextant") ends; Roosevelt, Churchill, and Chiang Kai-shek complete the Declaration, which deals with the overall strategic plan against Japan.
27: Huge civilian losses in Berlin as heavy bombing raids continue.
28: The Conference . US President Delano Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Churchill and Soviet Leader Stalin meet in [325] to discuss war strategy; (on 30 they establish an agreement concerning a planned June 1944 invasion of Europe codenamed Overlord). Stalin at last has the promise he has been waiting for.
29: Second session of [326], the Anti-fascist council of national liberation of [327], is held in [328], and Herzegovina, determining the post-war order of the country.
30: In Malaya, Japanese introduce the GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION No. 41 to encourage families to grow their own food crops and vegetables. Families who are successful will be awarded prizes while family who fail to comply this notification or leave their vacant lands unplanted will be punished. This notification was written by ITAMI MASAKICHI (Penang Shu Chokan) on 25 November 2603/1943
### December 1943

Template:Userboxtop December 1943

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

3: R. Murrow delivers his classic "Orchestrated Hell" broadcast over [329] Radio describing a Air Force nighttime bombing raid on [330].
4: Bolivia declares war on all Axis powers.
4: In [331], resistance leader Tito proclaims a provisional democratic Yugoslav government in-exile.
12: Rommel is appointed head of "Fortress Europa", chief planner against the expected Allied offensive.
16: Kalinin is retaken in a large Russian offensive.
24: US General D. Eisenhower becomes the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
26: German battle cruiser battlecruiser Scharnhorst *Scharnhorst* is sunk off North Cape (in the Arctic) by an array of British cruisers and destroyer torpedoes.
26: American Marines land on Cape Gloucester, New Britain.
27: General Eisenhower is officially named head of Overlord, the invasion of Normandy.
28: In Burma, Chinese troops have some success against the Japanese.
## 1944

### January 1944

Template:Userboxtop January 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

4: The of Monte Cassino begins.
4: The Russians cross into Poland from the Ukrainian front.
9: British forces take Maungdaw, Burma, a critical port for Allied supplies.
11: The first battle of Monte Cassino. The Americans are driven off.
12: Ciano, the Italian Foreign Minister and Mussolini's son-in-law is executed by Mussolini's revived Fascist government sympathisers.
17: Kingdom British forces, in [332], cross the River
19: Russian troops push westward toward the Baltic countries.
20: The Air Force drops 2,300 tons of bombs on [333]
20: The 36th Infantry Division U.S. Army 36th Infantry Division, in Italy, attempts to cross the Riverbut suffers heavy losses.
22: [334] begin Shingle, the landing at [335], [336]. The Infantry Division (United States) U.S. Army 45th Infantry Division stand their ground at Anzio against violent assaults for 4 months. Time and again aggressive German artillery and troop attacks nearly overwhelm the beachhead.
24: The Allied forces have a major setback on the Rapido River.
29: American troops land in the Admiralty Islands, part of New Guinea.
30: States troops invade Marshall Islands.
31: American forces land on Atoll and other islands in the [337]ese-held Islands.
31: Americans are still struggling to protect the beachhead at Anzio.
### February 1944

Template:Userboxtop February 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: States Marines mop up on Roi and Namur in the Islands.
1: The battles at both Monte Cassino and Anzio intensify.
2: Russian forces move into Estonia.
3: States taking of the Islands is nearing completion.
3: The Russians capture two German Army corps at the Korsun "pocket", south of Kiev.
3: American planes bomb Eniwetok in the Marshalls, later to be a major B-29 base.
4: Kwajalein, the world's largest atoll and a major Japanese naval base is secured.
5: American Navy bombards the Kurile Islands, northernmost in the Japanese homelands.
6: Germans continue to have continuing success in staving off the Allies at Cassino.
7: In [338], the Allies continue to be threatened by German artillery attacks.
8: The plan for the invasion of France, of Normandy Operation Overlord, is confirmed.
14: [339] headquarters are established in Britain by U.S. General D. Eisenhower
14: Anti-[340]ese revolt on (island) Java.
15: The "second" of Monte Cassino begins. The history-rich monastery atop Cassino is destroyed by Allied bombing. The bombing is controversial since the Germans deny the Allied charge that the grounds were used as observation posts.
16: Germans launch a major counter-attack at Anzio, threatening the American beachhead.
16: Germans, with Panzer forces leading, fail to break out of the Korsun pocket.
16: Diplomats from the USSR and Finland meet to sign an armistice.
17: American Marines land on Atoll.
18: Monte Cassino is captured in a final push in which Polish troops distinguish themselves.
18: American naval air raids on the Truk islands, a major Japanese naval base, but it will be one of the bypassed fortresses of the Japanese outer defence ring.
19: Leipzig, Germany is bombed for two straight nights. This marks the beginning of a "Big Week" bombing campaign against German industrial cities by Allied bombers.
23: US Navy planes attack the Mariana Islands of Saipan, Guam, Tinian.
26: The "Big Week" bombing campaign comes to a successful conclusion; the American fighter P-51 Mustang with its long range proves invaluable in protecting American bombers over Germany.
26: Russians continue to bomb Helsinki, Finland as peace talks continue.
28: The Islands are invaded by U.S. forces, marked by the of Los Negros and Brewer. The struggle for this important fleet anchorage will continue until May. Rabaul is now completely isolated.
### March 1944

Template:Userboxtop March 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: The keels of Tarawa (CV-40) USS *Tarawa* and Kearsarge (CV-33) USS *Kearsarge* are laid down.
1: Anti-fascist action strikes occur in northern [341].
6: Wingate's Chindits make several successful forays in Burma.
7: Japanese begin an invasion attempt on India, starting a four-month battle around Imphal.
8: American forces are attacked by [342]ese troops on Hill 700 in the campaign (1944-45) Bougainville; the battle that will last five days.
8: A widespread Russian attack west of the Dnieper in the Ukraine forces the Germans into a major retreat.
12: The creation of the politic Committee of national liberation in [343].
13: On Island Bougainville, [344]ese troops end their failed assault on States American forces at Hill 700.
15: The National Council of the Resistance approves the movement Resistance programme.
15: The "third" Battle of Cassino begins with the small town of Cassino destroyed.
15: Americans take Manus Island in the Admiralty chain.
17: Heavy bombing of Vienna.
18: German forces occupy [345]. The Russians meanwhile approach the border of Romania.
19: Yugoslav partisans attack Trieste, on the border of Italy and Croatia.
20: Russian advances in the Ukraine continue with great success.
22: Japanese forces cross the Indian border all along the Imphal front.
22: Frankfurt is bombed with heavy civilian losses.
24: The Ardeatine massacre in Rome, Italy. 335 Italians are killed, including 75 Jews and over 200 members variouos groups in the Resistance; this is a German response to a bomb blast that killed German troops
24: Wingate is killed in a plane crash.
24: Heavy bombings of German cities at various strategic locations last for 24 hours.
28: Japanese troops are in retreat in Burma.
30: Soviets occupy Danzig, the controversial territorial issue that was one of the supposed causes of the war.
30: RAF suffers grievous losses in a huge air raid on Nuremberg.
### April 1944

Template:Userboxtop April 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

3: Allied bombers hit Budapest, Hungary (now occupied by the Germans) and Bucharest, Rumania (ahead of advancing Russians).
4: General de Gaulle takes command of all Free French forces.
5: US Air Force bombs Ploesti oil fields in Rumania, with heavy losses.
6: The Japanese drive on the Plain of Imphal, supposedly halted, proves strong enough to surround British forces at Imphal and Kohima, in India.
7: Russians take Kerch in the eastern Crimea and drive toward Sevastopol
12: German troops begin evacuation of the Crimea.
14: [346] and the [347] are liberated by Soviet forces.
15: Heavy air raids on Ploesti oil fields by both the RAF and the US Air Force.
17: Americans land on Mindanao, in the southern Philippines.
17: Japanese launch a major offensive in central China, aiming toward southeast China air bases where American bombers are located. By the next day they have had some successes.
17: Yalta, an important port in the southeast Crimea, is taken by the Russians.
21: The Badoglio government in Italy falls and he is quickly asked to form another.
21: An air raid on Paris kills a large number of civilians.
22: American navy planes carry out widespread attacks in New Guinea. US troops land at Hollandia and Aitape in northern New Guinea. Japanese forces in New Guinea will now be cut off.
24: British troops force open the road from [348] to [349] in [350].
27: The Tiger Slapton Sands tragedy: American soldiers are killed in a training exercise in preparation for D-Day at Devon Slapton in Devon.
30: Vast preparations for D-Day are going on all over southern England.
30: American navy air raids continue in the Carolina Islands, including Truk.
### May 1944

Template:Userboxtop May 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

6: Heavy Allied bombings of the Continent in preparation for D-Day.
8: [351] for Operation Overlord set for 5.
9: The Army evacuates [352] the largest city and an important port in the Crimea; the Russian army moves in.
9: The Battle at the "Gustav line" near Monte Cassino continues without resolution.
11: The British cross the Rapido River. A "fourth" battle of Monte Cassino begins, concurrent with the opening of an offensive campaign toward Rome.
12: Soviet troops finalise the liberation of [353].
12: Large numbers of Chinese troops invade northern Burma.
13: The bridgehead over the Rapido River is reinforced.
18: of Monte Cassino ends with an Allied victory; Polish troops hoist their red and white flag on the ruins of Monte Cassino. The Germans have ceded it and departed.
18: Allied troops take airfields at Myitkyina, Burma, an important air base; the struggle over the city itself will continue for nearly three months.
18: The last Japanese resistance in the Admiralty Islands, off New Guinea comes to an end.
21: Increased Allied bombing of targets in France in preparation for D-Day.
23: Allies advance toward Rome, after a linkup of American II and III corps.
25: Germans are now in retreat in the Anzio area. American forces break out of the beachhead and link up with the Fifth Army; both then begin their advance on Rome.
27: Americans land on Biak, Dutch New Guinea, a key Japanese air base; stubborn Japanese resistance until August.
31: The Japanese retreat from Imphal (India) with heavy losses; their invasion of India is over.
### June 1944

Template:Userboxtop June 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: Romanian prime minister, head of the Fascist Iron Guards, Antonescu is executed.
1: de Valera's government is re-elected in [354].
2: The provisional French government is established.
3: Daily bombings of the Cherbourg peninsula and the Normandy area.
4: Operation Overlord is postponed 24 hours due to high seas.
4: American, English and French troops enter [355].
5: [356] falls to the powers Allies. It is the first capital of an powers Axis nation to fall. More than 1000 Kingdom British bombers drop 5000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the [357] coast in preparation for [358].
5: The first Allied troops land in Normandy--paratroopers scattered from Caen southward.
6: of Normandy begins. D-Day *Operation Overlord*, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of [359] in [360]. The allied soldiers quickly break through the Wall and push inland in the largest amphibious [361] operation in history.
7: [362] is liberated by British troops.
9: No agreement having been reached on their mutual borders, [363] launches an offensive against [364] with the intent of defeating Finland before pushing for [365].
NormandyLST.jpg thumb 250px right 6th June 1944: A Navy LCVP disembarks troops at Omaha Beach.

10: 642 men, women and children are killed at [366] (a town near Limoges) [367] in a German response to local Resistance activities.
11: American navy planes attack the Marianas, including Saipan, preparing for invasion.
13: [368] launches a Flying Bomb attack on [369], in Hitler's view a kind of revenge for the invasion. He believes in Germany's victory with this "secret weapon." The V-1 attacks will continue through June.
15: The States invades [370].
17: Free French troops land on [371].
18: Elba is declared liberated.
18: Allies capture Assisi, Italy.
19: The Battle of the Philippine Sea. Known by America's navy pilots as "the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" in which numerous Japanese planes and pilots are destroyed and two Japanese carriers are sunk.
19: A severe Channel storm destroys one of the Allies' harbours in Normandy.
19: The Red Army prepares for "Operation Bagration," a huge offensive in Byelorussia (White Russia).
20: The British take Perugia, Italy.
20: Siege of of Imphal Imphal is lifted after a three-month siege.
21: Allied offensive in Burma.
22: V-1's continue to hit England, especially London, sometimes with horrifying losses.
22: Bagration: General attack by [372] forces to clear the German forces from [373] This results in the destruction of the German Group Centre, possibly the greatest defeat of the Wehrmacht during World War II.
22: Campaign: The of Kohima ends in a British victory.
25: The of Tali-Ihantala between Finnish and Soviet troops begins. Largest battle ever to be fought in the countries.
26: [374] is liberated by American troops.
### July 1944

Template:Userboxtop July 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

2: V-1's continue to have devastating effects in terms of material destruction and losses of life.
3: [375] in [376] is liberated by Soviet forces.
3: The Allies find themselves in the "battle of the hedgerows", as they are stymied by the agricultural hedges in Western France which intelligence had not properly evaluated.
3: Siena, Italy falls to Algerian troops of the French forces.
6: Largest Banzai charge of the war: 4,300 Japanese troops are slaughtered on Saipan.
7: Russian troops enter Vilna, Lithuania.
9: After heavy resistance [377], France is liberated by the British troops on the left flank of the Allied advance.
9: Saipan is declared secure, the Japanese having lost over 30,000 troops; in the last stages numerous civilians commit suicide with the encouragement of Japanese military.
10: Japanese are still resisting on Guinea.
10: Tokyo is bombed for the first time since the Doolittle raid of April, 1942.
11: President Roosevelt announces that he will run for an unprecedented fourth term.
13: The Russians take Vilna, Lithuania.
16: First troops of the Expeditionary Force (FEB) arrive in Italy
17: Field Marshal Rommel is badly wounded when ihs car is strafed from the air in France.
18: St. Lo, France is taken, and the Allied breakout from hedgerow country in Normandy begins.
18: General Hideki Tojo resigns as chief minister of the Japanese government as the defeats of the Japanese military forces continue to mount. Hirohito asks General Koiso to form a new government.
19: American forces take Leghorn (Livorno), Italy far up the Italian boot.
20: The 20 Plot is carried out by Col. von Stauffenberg in a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler. Hitler was visiting headquarters at Rastenburg, East Prussia. Reprisals follow against the plotters and their families, and even include Rommel.
21: US Marines land on Guam.
24: [378] Concentration Camp is liberated by Soviet forces, the first among many. The Russians are now in control of several large cities in Poland, including Lublin and Pskov.
24: US bombers mistakenly bomb American troops near St. Lo, France.
24: Marines land on Tinian Island, last of the Marianas (after Saipan and Guam); Tinian will eventually be a B-29 base, and the base from which the atomic bombers departed.
24: "Operation Cobra" is now in full swing: the breakout at St. Lo in Normandy with American troops taking Coutances.
28: The Russians take [379], the site of the Russo-German peace treaty in World War I.
### August 1944

Template:Userboxtop August 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: The Second Uprising, this time by the Army Polish Home Army commences; the Polish people rise up, expecting aid from the approaching Russian armies. The tragic event will last 63 days.
1: The Russian army isolates the Baltic States from East Prussia by taking Kovno.
1: The Americans complete the capture the island of [380].
2: The battle for Guam, another island in the Marianas, however, continues.
3: Myitkyina in northern Burma, falls to the Allies (the Chinese and Americans under Stilwell), after a vigorous defence by the Japanese.
4: [381] is liberated by the Allies, particularly British and South African troops; before exiting, however, the Germans under General Kesselring destroy some historic bridges and historically valuable buildings.
4: The trials of the bomb conspirators against Hitler are underway in a court presided over by notorious Judge Freisler.
4: [382] is liberated by American forces.
8: Plotters in the bomb plot against Hitler are hanged, their bodies hung on meat hooks; reprisals against their families continue. Rommel is given a state funeral.
10: [383] is liberated by American troops and all of the Marianas are now in American hands. They will be turned into a major air and naval centre against the Japanese homeland.
11: The Warsaw Rising continues; the Russians remain on the west side of the Vistula, apparently unwilling to help their supposed allies against the occupying Germans.
14: The failure of the Allies to close the gap in France, proves advantageous to the Germans fleeing to the east who escape the pincer movement of the Allies.
15: The Allies reach the "Gothic Line", the last German strategic position in North Italy.
15: Dragoon begins, marked by amphibious [384] landings in southern [385].
16: The Russian armies make moves to close in on Warsaw.
18: The Russians reach the East Prussian border.
19: Resistance begins uprising in Paris, partly inspired by the Allied approach to the Seine River.
Uprising boyscouts.jpg thumb right 250px Polish Boy Scouts played an important role in the Warsaw Uprising

20: The Russian army crosses the border into Rumania.
21: The Dumbarton Oaks Conference begins, setting up the basic structure of the United Nations.
22: The Japanese are now in total retreat from India.
23: [386] breaks with the Axis, surrenders to the Russians, and joins the Allies.
25: Paris is liberated; De Gaulle and Free French parade triumphantly down the [387]. The German military disobeys Hitler's orders to burn the city. Meanwhile the southern Allied forces move up from the Riviera, take Grenoble and Avignon.
28: The Germans surrender at Toulon and Marseilles, in southern France.
28: Patton's tanks cross the Marne.
29: An anti-German rising starts in Czechoslovakia.
30: The Allies enter Rouen, in northwestern France.
31: The Soviet army enters [388].
31: American forces turn over the government of France to Free French troops.
### September 1944

Template:Userboxtop September 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: Canadian troops capture Dieppe, France, scene of their humiliation in August, 1942.
2: Allied troops enter Belgium.
2: Finland agrees to an armistice with Russia and demands a withdrawal of German troops.
3: [389] liberated by British Second Army while [390] is liberated by French and American troops.
5: (city) Antwerp is liberated by British 11th Armoured Division.
5: The uprising in Warsaw continues; Russian forces are available for relief and reinforcement, but are apparently unable to move without Stalin's order.
6: The "blackout" is diminished to a "dim-out) as threat of invasion and further bombing seems an unlikely possibility.
6: [391] and (city) Liège are liberated by British troops.
8: [392] is liberated by Canadian troops.
8: Russians invade Bulgaria.
9: The first V-2 rocket lands on London.
9: De Gaulle forms provisional government in France, and Bulgaria makes peace with the USSR then declares war on Germany.
10: Luxembourg is liberated by U.S. First Army.
10: Two Allied forces meet at Dijon, cutting France in half.
10: First Allied troops enter Germany, entering Aachen, a city on the border.
13: American troops reach the Siegfried line, the West wall of Germany's defence system.
of paratroops land in Holland.jpg thumb 300px right Waves of paratroops land in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden in September 1944.

15: American marines on Peleliu in the Palau Islands; the bloody and for some a useless.
16: The Red Army enters Sofia, Bulgaria and also opens a huge offensive in the Baltic states.
17: Market Garden, the attempted liberation of [393] and turning of the German flank begins.
18: Brest, France, an important Channel port, falls to the Allies.
19: [394] liberated by U.S. First Army; Armistice is signed between the Soviet Union and Finland.
21: British forces take Rimini, Italy.
21: The Second Dumbarton Oaks Conference begins: it will set guidelines for the United Nations.
22: The Russians take Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
22: The Germans surrender at Boulogne.
23: Americans take Ulithi atoll in the Carolina Islands; it is a massive atoll that will later become an important naval base.
24: The Russians are well into Poland at this time.
25: British troops pull out of Arnhem with failure of Operation Market Garden. Over 6,000 paratroopers are captured. Hopes of an early end to the war are abandoned.
26: There are signs of civil war in Greece as Communists and neo-Fascists seem irreconcilable.
30: German garrison in [395] surrenders to Canadian troops. At one time, Hitler thought it would be the focus of the cross-Channel invasion.
### October 1944

Template:Userboxtop October 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: Soviet troops enter Yugoslavia.
2: Germans finally succeed in putting down Warsaw Uprising by Polish Home Army. The Russian armies have never moved to assist their allies.
2: American troops are now in a full-scale attack on the German "West Wall."
2: Allied forces land on Crete.
5: Canadian troops cross the border into the Netherlands.
5: Russian armies enter Hungary; meanwhile they launch an offensive to capture Riga, Latvia.
6: Soviet and Czechoslovak troops enter northeastern [396].
6: The of Debrecen begins as German and Soviet forces advance against each other in eastern Hungary.
9: Allied Conference ("Tolstoy") in Moscow: Churchill and Stalin discuss spheres of influence in the postwar Balkans.
10: The Russians reach the Niemen River in Prussia and continue the battle around Riga.
10: The Allied combined forces take Corinth, in southern Greece.
12: US Navy carriers attack Formosa (Taiwan).
12: The Second Quebec Conference ("Octagon"). President Roosevelt and Churchill discuss military cooperation in the Pacific, and the division of Germany.
14: [397] is liberated by British troops entering the city.
14: Field Marshal Rommel, under suspicion as one of the "bomb plotters" voluntarily commits suicide to save his family.
15: Allied bombardment of Aachen continues, the first major battle on German soil.
16: The Germans depose Admiral Horthy, regent and dictator of Hungary; once a fervent ally of Germany, he had lost the trust of the German government.
16: The Red Army and Yugoslav partisans under the command of Broz Tito liberate [398]. The Russian forces are also in East Prussia.
18: Hitler orders a call-up of all men from 16 to 60 for Home Guard duties.
21: [399] is occupied by U.S. First Army; it is the first major German city to be captured.
23: The Allies recognise General de Gaulle as the head of a provisional government of France.
23: of Leyte Gulf begins. Largest sea battle in history. Americans experience on Pearl Harbor more kamikaze attacks from Japanese aircraft; the USS Princeton is hit with grave damage.
23: The battle of San Bernardino Strait; the Japanese attempt to stop MacArthur's landing on Leyte. Small aircraft carriers save the day as Admira Halsey is lured north out of the action.
23: B-29's are now using Tinian Island, in the Marianas, as a base for the systematic bombing of Japan.
25: Romania is fully liberated by Russian and Romanian troops.
27: The battle of the Hurtgen Forest is developing, and will continue through October and November and have its last spasms in December
### November 1944

Template:Userboxtop November 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: Brtish forces take Salonika in northeast Greece. The situation for civilians in Athens is now desperate.
1: "Operation Infatuate": An Allied attempt to free the approaches to Antwerp; notably there are amphibious landings on Walcheren Island.
2: Canadian troops take [400] in Belgium; Belgium is now entirely liberated.
4: Remaining Axis forces in Greece surrender.
5: US planes bomb Singapore, under Japanese control since 1942.
5: Zionist terrorists assassinate the British government representative in the Middle East.
6: Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins a fourth term.
6: The aircraft carrier Lexington is heavily damaged by kamikazes.
9: General Patton's troops and tanks cross the Moselle River and threaten the city of Metz.
10: V-2 rockets continue to hit Britain, at the rate of about eight a day.
12: After numerous bombings while anchored in a fjord at Tromso, Norway, the German battleship Tirpitz is sunk.
17: The Germans give up Tirana, Albania, and the country is liberated by Allies.
20: Hitler leaves his wartime headquarters at Rastenberg, East Prussia, never to return; he goes to Berlin, where he will soon establish himself at the bunker.
23: Metz, France is taken, and Strasbourg, in eastern France, is liberated by French troops.
24: The first B-29 originating from Tinian, in the Marianas, raid Tokyo.
24: The USS Intrepid is hit by kamikazes for the third time; other American ships are heavily damaged.
25: Japanese take Nanning in south China, as the war in that theatre continues.
26: The war in Italy is at a stalemate, partly because of heavy rains.
28: Antwerp is now a major supply port for the onward moving Allies.
29: Russian troops enter Hungary.
30: Kunming, China, an important air base, is threatened by Japanese attacks.
### December 1944

Template:Userboxtop December 1944

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

3: The beginnings of a civil war are now seen in Greece. There are large clashes in Athens in which a strong Communist organization plays an important role.
3: The Home Guard is stood down.
5: The Allies are now in control of Ravenna, Italy.
8: The softening up bombardment of Iwo Jima begins.
15: Americans land troops at Mindoro, the Philippines.
15: The of the Bulge begins as German forces attempt a breakthrough in the Ardennes region. The main object of Hitler's plan is the taking of Antwerp.
17: A typhoon hits the Third Fleet of Admiral Halsey; three destroyers capsize.
17: The massacre: SS troops execute 86 American prisoners in the Ardennes offensive. The SS troops are led by SS commander Jochen Peiper.
18: [401], an important crossroads, is surrounded.
20: General McAuliff's famous message of "Nuts" is sent to German officers at Bastogne demanding surrender.
22: The battle for Bastogne is at its height, with Americans running low on ammunition.
23: The skies clear over the Ardennes, permitting Allied aircraft to begin their attacks on the German offensive, the one factor that Hitler feared in his planning.
24: The American counter-attack at the "Bulge" begins.
26: The siege of Bastogne is broken, and with it the Ardennes offensive proves a failure.
28: Churchill and his Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden are in Athens in an attempt to reconcile the warring factions.
29: Soviets launch the of Budapest against German and Hungarian forces in and around the Hungarian capital city.
31: Hungary, now led by a Russian-controlled government, declares war on Germany.
## 1945

### January 1945

Template:Userboxtop January 1945

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: The Germans begin a surprise offensive Nordwind along the Saar and aimed at retaking Strasbourg.
2: The Japanese increasingly use kamikaze tactics against the US naval forces nearby.
3: The Allies take the offensive east of the Bulge but they fail to close the pincers (which might have surrounded large numbers of Germans) with Patton's tanks.
4: US navy air attacks on Formosa (Taiwan)
5: The German offensive "North Wind" crosses the border into Alsace.
5: Japanese retreat across the Irrawaddy River in Burma with General Slim's troops in pursuit.
6: American B-29's bomb Tokyo again.
7: Germans, as part of the plan to retake Strasbourg, break out of the "Colmar pocket", a bridgehead on the Rhine, and head east.
8: The battle of Strasbourg is underway, with Americans in defence of their recent acquisition.
9: Americans land on Luzon, the central island of the Philippines; there are more kamikaze attacks on the American navy.
12: The first convoy moves on the Ledo (or "Stilwell") road in northern Burma, linking India and China.
12: A major Russian invasion of East Prussia begins.
14: British forces clear the Roer Triangle during Blackcock; it is an area noted for its industrial dams.
15: Hitler is now firmly embedded in the bunker in Berlin with his companion Eva Braun.
16: United States First Army First and Third Army Third link up following Battle of the Bulge; Soviet troops meanwhile liberate [402].
17: Warsaw liberated by Red Army troops. A government favourable to the Communists is installed.
17: It is announced officially that the The Battle of the Bulge is at an end.
17: concentration camp is liberated by Soviet troops.
18: Americans drive on Manila.
20: The Russians advance into East Prussia. Germans begin long retreat.
20: Franklin D. Roosevelt is sworn in as President (his fourth term); Harry Truman is sworn in as Vice President.
25: American navy bombards Iwo Jima in preparation for invasion..
28: The Russians complete the occupation of Lithuania.
31: Soviets cross the Oder River into Germany and are now less than 50 miles from Berlin.
31: A second invasion on Luzon by Americans, this time on the west coast.
31: The whole Burma Road is now opened as the Ledo Road linkage with India is complete.
### February 1945

Template:Userboxtop February 1945

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

2: [403] declares war on Germany.
2: Naval docks at Singapore are destroyed by B-29 attacks.
3: U.S. forces enter [404], Japanese forces in the city massacre 100,000 Filipinos civilians. A vicious urban battle ensues, to last for some weeks.
3: Heavy bombing of Berlin.
4: Conference ("Argonaut" of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin begins; the main subject of their discussions is postwar spheres of influence.
4: [405] is now cleared of all German forces.
8: [406] declares war on Germany.
9: The "Colmar pocket", the last German foothold west of the Rhine, is eliminated.
12: [407] declares war on Germany.
13: The of Budapest ends with Soviet victory, after a long defence by the Germans.
13/14: The controversial bombing of Dresden; it is firebombed by Allied air forces and large parts of the historic city are destroyed. Allies claim it is important strategically.
14: of Prague; later called a mistake on the order of the bombing of Dresden.
16: American naval vessels bombard Tokyo and Yokohama.
16: American paratroopers land on Island, in Manila Bay. Once the scene of the last American resistance in early 1942, it is now the scene of Japanese resistance.
19: U.S. Marines invade Jima.
21: Vicious fighting in and around Manila.
23: U.S. Marines raise the American flag on Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima.
24: Egypt declares war on Axis.
24: Massive bombing of Germany by approximately 9,000 bombers.
25: US incendiary raids on Japan.
25: [408] declares war on Germany.
25: After ten days of fighting, American troops recapture Corregidor.
26: Syria declares war on Germany and Japan.
28: The United States Army captures [409], capital of the [410] after an unyielding Japanese defence force. A Philippine government is established.
28: Americans increase their presence in the Philippines by invading Palawan, a western island in the group.
### March 1945

Template:Userboxtop March 1945

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

3: Battle of Meiktila, Burma comes to an end with General Slim's troops overwhelming the Japanese; the road to Rangoon is now cleared.
4: Finland declares war on Germany, backdated to Sept. 15, 1944.
6: Germans launch an offensive against Soviet forces in Hungary.
7: When German troops fail to dynamite the Bridge over the Rhine, Americans begin crossing the Rhine into Germany.
7: Germans begin to evacuate Danzig.
9: The US firebombs a number of cities in Japan, including Tokyo, with heavy civilian casualties.
9: Amid rumors of a possible American invasion, Japanese overthrow the Vichy French Decoux Decoux Government which had been operating independently as the colonial government of Vietnam: they proclaim an "independent" of Vietnam Empire of Việt Nam, with Emperor Đại as nominal ruler. Premier Trọng Kim forms the first Vietnamese government.
11: Nagoya, Japan is firebombed by hundreds of B-29's.
15: V-2 rockets continue to hit England and Belgium.
16: The German offensive in Hungary ends with another Soviet victory.
16: Iwo Jima is finally secured after a month's fighting; for the only time, the only battle, in the war the number of American casualties is larger than those of the Japanese. Sporadic fighting will continue as isolated Japanese fighters emerge from caves and tunnels.
18: Russians approach Danzig (postwar Gdansk).
19: Heavy bombing of important naval bases in Japan, Kobe and Kure.
20: German General Heinrici replaces Himmler as commander of Group Vistula, the army group directly opposing the Soviet advance towards Berlin.
20: Mandalay liberated by Infantry Division (India) Indian 19th Infantry Division.
20: Tokyo is firebombed again.
20: Patton's troops capture Mainz, Germany
20: Mandalay, in central Burma, is now firmly under British and Indian control.
22-23: US and British forces Plunder cross the Rhine at Oppenheim.
23: By this time it is clear that Germany is under attack from all sides.
24: Montgomery's troops cross the Rhine at Wesel.
27: The western allies slow their advance and allow the Russians to take Berlin.
28: [411] declares war on Germany, the last Western hemisphere country to do so; its policies for sheltering escaping Nazis are also coming under scrutiny.
29: The Army enters [412]. Other Allies take Frankfurt; the Germans are in a general retreat all over the centre of the country.
30: Russian forces capture [413].
31: General Eisenhower broadcasts a demand for the Germans to surrender.
### April 1945

Template:Userboxtop April 1945

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: U.S. troops of Okinawa invade Okinawa. It will be a leaping off base for a mainland invasion.
1: Americans retake Legaspi in the eastern Philippines, one of the original Japanese landing sites in December,1941,
2: Soviets launch Offensive against German forces in and around the Austrian capital city. They meanwhile cross the border into Rumania
2: German armies are surrounded in the Ruhr region.
5: American forces drive toward the Po Valley in northern Italy.
4: death camp is liberated by the Allies.
7: The battleship Yamato is sunk in the East China Sea.
9: of Königsberg ends in Soviet victory.
9: A heavy bombing at Kiel by the RAF destroys the last two major German warships.
9: Pastor Bonhoeffer is executed at [414] prison.
10: [415] concentration camp liberated by American forces.
11: Japanese [416] attacks on American naval ships continue at Okinawa; the carrier Enterprise and the battleship Missouri are hit heavily.
12: U.S. President D. Roosevelt dies suddenly. S. Truman becomes president of the United States.
13: Offensive ends with Soviet victory.
14: Monster firebombing of Tokyo.
15: concentration camp is liberated by the British Army.
16: The of the Seelow Heights and the of the Oder-Neisse begin as the Soviets continue to advance towards the city of Berlin.
18: Ernie Pyle, famed war correspondent for the GI's, is kiled by a sniper on Ie Shima, a small island near Okinawa.
19: Allies continue their sweep toward the Po valley.
19: The Soviet advance towards the city of Berlin continues and soon reach the suburbs.
(NARA ww2-121).jpg thumb right 200px Happy 2nd Lt. William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Russian Army, shown in front of sign "East Meets West" symbolizing the historic meeting of the Russian and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany on Elbe Day.

20: Hitler celebrates his 56th birthday in the bunker in Berlin; reports are that he is in an unhealthy state, nervous, and depressed.
21: Soviet forces under Konstantinovich Zhukov Georgiy Zhukov (Belorussian Front), Konstantinovich Rokossovsky Konstantin Rokossovskiy (Belorussian Front), and Konev (Ukrainian Front) launch assaults on the German forces in and around the city of Berlin as the opening stages of the of Berlin.
21: Hitler ordered SS-General Steiner to attack the Belorussian Front and destroy it. The ragtag units of "Detachment Steiner" are not fully manned.
22: Hitler is informed late in the day that, with the approval of Heinrici, Steiner's attack was never launched. Instead, Steiner's forces were authorised to retreat.
22: In response to the news concerning Steiner, Hitler launches a furious tirade against the perceived treachery and incompetence of his military commanders in front of Keitel, Krebs, Jodl, Burgdorf, and Bormann. Hitler's tirade culminates in an oath to stay in Berlin to head up the defence of the city,
22: Hitler ordered German General Wenck to attack towards Berlin with his Army (Germany) Twelfth Army, link up with the Army (Germany) Ninth Army of General Busse, and relieve the city. Wenck launched an attack, but it came to nothing.
24: Meanwhile, Himmler, ignoring the orders of Hitler, makes a secret surrender offer to the Allies, (led by Count Bernadotte, head of the Red Cross) provided that the Russians are not involved. The offer is rejected; when Hitler hears of Himmler's betrayal, he orders him shot.
24: Forces of the Belorussian Front and the Ukrainian Front link up in the initial encirclement of Berlin.
24: Allies encircle last German armies near Bologna, and the Italian war in effect comes to an end.
25: Day: First contact between Union Soviet and States of America American troops at the river [417], near [418] in [419].
26: Hitler summons Field Marshall Ritter von Greim from Munich to Berlin to take over command of the Luftwaffe from Goering. While flying into Berlin von Greim is seriously wounded by Soviet anti-aircraft fire.
27: The encirclement of German forces in Berlin is completed by the Belorussian Front and the Ukrainian Front.
28: Head of State for the Social Republic, Mussolini, heavily disguised, is captured in northern Italy while trying to escape. Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci, are shot and hanged in Milan the next day. Other members of his state puppet government are also executed by partisans and their bodies put on display in Milan.
29: concentration camp is liberated by the U.S. 7th Army. All forces in Italy officially surrender and a ceasefire is declared.
29: Hitler marries his companion Eva Braun.
30: Hitler and his wife commit suicide, he by a combination of poison and a gunshot. Before he dies Hitler dictates his will and testament of Adolf Hitler last will and testament. In it Goebbels is appointed Reich Chancellor and Grand Admiral Dönitz is appointed Reich President.
30: While Donitz ascends to his high office, Goebbels and his wife kill their four children and then take poison in the bunker.
### May 1945

Template:Userboxtop May 1945

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: As one of his last acts Reich Chancellor Goebbels has sent German General Krebs to negotiate the surrender of the city of Berlin with Soviet General Chuikov. Chuikov, as commander of the 8th Guards Army, (and one time leader of the defence at Stalingrad) commands the Soviet forces in central Berlin. Krebs is not authorized by Goebbels to agree to an unconditional surrender, so his negotiations with Chuikov end with no agreement.
1: Partisan leader Tito and his troops capture Trieste in northwest Italy. New Zealand troops play a supporting role.
1: The war in Italy is over but some German troops are still not accounted for.
1: Australian troops of Tarakan (1945) land on Tarakan island off the coast of [420]
2: The of Berlin end when German General Weidling, commander of the Berlin Defence Area, unconditionally surrenders the city of Berlin to Soviet General Chuikov.
3: The German cruiser Hipper is scuttled, having been hit heavily by the RAF in April.
3: Eamon de Valera, Prime Minister of Ireland, offers regrets for Hitler's death to German officialdom.
3: Rangoon is liberated.
4: [421] camp is liberated.
4: [422], the capital of the Republic (1939-1945) Slovak Republic, is over-run by advancing Soviet forces. The remaining members of Prime Minister Tiso's pro-German government fled to [423].
4: German troops are surrendering throughout Europe, notably to Montgomery in the North.
5: resistance fighters started uprising.
5: Soviets started Offensive.
5: concentration camp is liberated.
5: German troops in the Netherlands officially surrender; Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands accepts the surrender.
5: [424] liberated by Allied troops.
5: Formal negotiations for Germany's surrender begin at Reims, France.
5: Kamikazes have major successes off Okinawa.
6: This date marks the last fighting for American troops in Europe.
6: German soldiers open fire on crowd celebrating the liberation in [425].
7: Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies in Rheims, France at 1:41 a.m. In accordance with orders from Reich President Dönitz, General Jodl signs for Germany. The plans are for a more all-inclusive surrender soon in Berlin.
7: Hermann Goering, for awhile in the hands of the SS, surrenders to the Americans.
8: Ceasefire takes effect at one minute past midnight; Day in Britain.
flag.jpg thumb right 250px Red army soldiers raising the Soviet flag on the roof of the reichstag in Berlin, Germany

8: The remaining members of the Prime Minister Tiso's pro-German Republic (1939-1945) Slovak Republic capitulates to the American General Walker's Corps (United States) XX Corps in [426], [427].
8: Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies in Berlin, Germany. In accordance with orders from Reich President Dönitz, General Keitel signs for Germany.
8: In accordance with orders from Reich President Dönitz, Colonel-General Hilpert unconditionally surrenders his troops in the Pocket.
8: uprising ends with negotiated surrender with resistance which allowed the Germans in Prague to leave the city.
8: Nam is considered a minor item on the agenda; in order to disarm the Japanese in Việt Nam, the Allies divide the country in half at the 16th parallel. Chinese Nationalists will move in and disarm the Japanese Vietnam north of the parallel while the British will move in and do the same in the Vietnam south. During the conference, representatives from France request the return of all French pre-war colonies in Southeast Asia (Indochina). Their request is granted. Việt Nam will once again become French colony following the removal of the Japanese.
9: Red Army entered Prague as part of the Offensive.
9: German garrison in of the Channel Islands#Liberation Channel Islands agreed to unconditional surrender.
11: Offensive ends with Soviet capture of the capital city, the last major city to be liberated, though the war is over. Eisenhower stops Patton from participating in the liberation.
11: German Group Centre in [428] surrenders.
11: War in New Guinea continues, with Australians attacking Wewak.
14: Nagoya, Japan is heavily bombed.
15: Fighting in the southern Philippines continues.
18: Continued fierce fighting on Okinawa.
16: British troops complete of the Channel Islands#Liberation liberation of Channel Islands.
20: Uprising of Texel ends, concluding hostilities in Europe.
23: British forces capture and arrest the members of what was left of the government. This was the German government formed by Reich President Dönitz after the suicides of both Hitler and Goebbels.
23: Heavy bombing of Yokohama, an important port and naval base.
23: Heinrich Himmler, head of the notorious SS, dies of suicide by cyanide pill.
29: Fighting breaks out in Syria and Lebanon, as nationalists demand freedom from French control.
### June 1945

Template:Userboxtop June 1945

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

5: A huge Pacific typhoon hits the American navy under Admiral Halsey; the fleet suffers widespread damage.
6: Allies agree to divide Germany into four areas of control.
10: Australian troops Oboe Six land at Brunei, Borneo.
15: Osaka, Japan is bombed heavily.
16: The Japanese are in a general retreat in central china.
19: the United Kingdom begins demobilisation.
20: [429], a Dutch island, is the last part of Europe freed by Allied troops.
21: The defeat of the Japanese on Okinawa is now complete.
26: The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco.
.

### July 1945

Template:Userboxtop July 1945

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

1: Australian troops of Balikpapan (1945) land at Balikpapan, Borneo in the Western Allies last major land operation of the war
4: General MacArthur announces that the Philippines have been liberated.
6: Norway declares war on Japan.
10: US Navy aircraft participate in attacks on Tokyo for the first time.
14: Italy declares war on Japan.
16: U.S. conducts the test at New Mexico, the first test of a weapon.
17: The Conference begins. The Allied leaders agree to insist upon the surrender of Japan.
24: Truman hints at the Potsdam Conference that the United States has nuclear weapons.
26: The Labour Party Labour Party win the Kingdom general election, 1945 United Kingdom general election by a landslide. The new Kingdom Prime Minister Atlee replaces Churchill at the negotiating table at Potsdam.
28: The battleship Haruna is sunk by aircraft from US Force 38.
30: The Indianapolis is sunk shortly after midnight by a Japanese submarine after having delivered atomic bomb material to Tinian; because of poor communications, the ship's whereabouts are unknown for awhile and many of its men drown or are attacked by sharks in the next day or two.
31: US air attacks on the cities of [430] and [431] in Japan.
### August 1945

Template:Userboxtop August 1945

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **1st**

```

 }

{ cellspacing="0" style="width: 220px; background: {{{2 #fffacd}}};"

```
 style="width: 80px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "   **80px**
 style="width: 90px; height: 45px; background: {{{1 #fffacd}}}; "
style="font-size: {{{info-s 11}}}pt; padding: 4pt; line-height: 1.25em; color: {{{info-fc black}}};"   **15th**

```

 }
Template:Userboxbottom

2: End of the Potsdam Conference: left unsolved is the status of a divided Germany and the birth of a new atomic age.
6: Gay drops the first atomic bomb "Boy" on [432].
8: Soviet Union declares war on Japan; the of Manchuria invasion of [433] begins about an hour later. Soviets also invade the Kurile Islands.
9: Soviet troops enter of China China and [434].
9: [435] drops the second atomic bomb "Man" on Nagasaki Nagasaki.
14: An attempted coup by Japanese military and right-wingers to overthrow the government and prevent the inevitable surrender.
15: Emperor Hirohito issues a radio broadcast announcing Japan's surrender; though the surrender seems to be "unconditional," the Emperor's status is still open for discussion.
15: World-wide celebration of VJ Day.
16: Emperor Hirohito issues an Imperial Rescript ordering Japanese forces to cease fire.
150px thumb The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat Man cloud resulting from the explosion over Nagasaki Nagasaki rises 18 km (60,000 ft) into the air from the [436].]

19: At a spontaneous non-communist meeting in Hà Nội, Chí Minh and the Minh assumed a leading role in the movement to wrest power from the French.
19: Hostilities between Chinese Nationalists and Chinese Communists break into the open.
22: Japanese armies surrender to the Russians in Manchuria.
27: Japanese armies in Burma surrender at Rangoon ceremonies.
30: Royal Navy force under Rear-Admiral Harcourt liberates Hong Kong.
31: General MacArthur takes over command of the Japanese government in Tokyo.
### September 1945

2: Japan signs the articles of surrender on the deck of the Missouri (BB-63) USS *Missouri* in Tokyo Bay.
2: In Nam, Chinese Nationalists accept surrender of Japanese Occupation Forces north of the 16th parallel. The British are to accept surrender south of the line under British Major General Gracey's 20th Indian Division, some 26,000 men in all. British General Gracey arrives in [437] (Vietnam South Việt Nam) which is in turmoil.
5: Singapore is officially liberated by British and Indian troops.
16: Japanese garrison in Hong Kong officially signs the instrument of surrender.
22: The British release 1,400 French Paratroopers from Japanese camps around [438].
### October 1945

1: In the South of Nam, a purely bilateral British/French agreement recognizes French administration of the southern zone. In the North, 180,000 Chinese troops go on a "rampage". Chí Minh Hồ's Việt Minh are hopelessly ill-equipped to deal with it. Hồ Chí Minh accepts an [439] compromise for temporary return of 15,000 French troops to rid the North of anti-Communists. The Chinese troops of Chiang flee to Taiwan, looting as they depart. As World War II ends, starvation kills over 2 million people Vietnamese.
## See also

* of events preceding World War II
* of the WWII Eastern Front
* of the Manhattan Project

## External links

* Timeline For World War 2
* Timeline of WWII
* Documents of World War II
* World War II Timeline