Timeline of WWII

1918-1929

11^th November 1918 – Armistice declared
28^th April 1919 – League of Nations founded
28^th June 1919 – Signing of the Treaty of Versailles
29^th July 1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist Party (aka the Nazis)
8^th November 1923 – Hitler attempts to take control of German government with the Beer Hall Putsch
18^th July 1925 – Hitler’s book Mein Kampf is published
8^th September 1926 – Germany becomes a member of the League of Nations
29^th October 1929 – The Wall Street Crash

1930-1933

14^th September 1930 – Germany elects the Nazis making them the second largest political party in the country.
8^th November 1932 – Franklin Roosevelt elected President of the United States.

1933

30^th January – Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
27^th February – The German Reichstag burns
12^th March – The first Concentration Camp is opened outside Berlin
23^rd March – Hitler declares dictatorship in Germany
1^st April – Boycott of Jewish owned shops begins in Germany
10^th May – Book burning begins in Germany
June – Dachau concentration camp opens
14^th July – Nazi Party declared Germany’s only political party
14^th October – Germany quits the League of Nations

1934

30^th June – The Night of the Long Knives takes place.
25^th July – Austrian chancellor murdered
2^nd August – Germany's president Hindenburg died
19^th August – Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany

1935

16^th March – Germany violates the Treaty of Versailles by introducing military conscription
15^th September – German Jews stripped of rights by Nuremberg Race Laws

1936

10^th February – The German Gestapo is placed above the law
7^th March – German troops occupy the Rhineland
9^th May – Mussolini’s forces take Ethiopia
18^th July – Civil war begins in Spain
1^st August – The Olympic Games takes place in Berlin
1^st October – Franco declared head of Spanish state

1937

11^th June – Soviet leader Josef Stalin begins purge of the Red Army
5^th November – Hitler reveals war plans

1938

12^th March – Germany announces Anschluss (union) with Austria
12^th August – German military mobilises
30^th September – British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain appeases Hitler at Munch
15^th October – German troops occupy the Sudetenland and the Czech government resigns
9^th November – Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) takes place in Germany

1939

30^th January – Hitler threatens the Jewish population of Germany during Reichstag speech
15^th March – Nazis take Czechoslovakia
28^th March – Spanish civil war ends
22^nd May – Germany signs Pact of Steel with Italy
23^rd August – Nazis and Soviets sign pact
25^th August – Britain and Poland sign a Mutual Assistance Treaty
31^st August – British fleet mobilises and evacuations begin in London
1^st September – Nazis invade Poland
3^rd September – Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany
4th September – British Royal Air Force attacks the German Navy
5^th September – US proclaims its neutrality and Germany troops cross the Vistual River in Poland.
10^th September – Canada declares war on Germany and the Battle of the Atlantic begins
17^th September – Soviet troops invade Poland
27^th September – Warsaw surrenders to Nazis
29^th September – Nazi and Soviet forces divide up Poland
1^st October – Nazis begin euthanasia on sick and disabled civilians in Germany
8^th November – An assassination attempt on Hitler fails
30^th November – Soviet forces attack Finland
14^th December – Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations.

1940

8^th January – Rationing begins in Britain
12^th March – Finland signs a peace treaty with Soviets
16^th March – Germans bomb Scapa Flow naval base near Scotland
9^th April – Nazis invade Denmark and Norway
10^th May – Nazis invade France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
15^th May – Holland surrenders to the Nazis
26^th May – Evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk begins
28^th May – Belgium surrenders to the Nazis
3^rd June – Dunkirk evacuation ends and Nazi forces begin bombing Paris
10^th June – Norway surrenders to the Nazis and Italy declares war on Britain and France
14^th June – Nazis invade Paris
16^th June – Marshal Pétain becomes French Prime Minister
18^th June – Hitler and Mussolini meet in Munich and the Soviets begin their occupation of the Baltic States
22^nd June – France signs an armistice with Nazi Germany
23^rd June – Hitler begins a tour of Paris
28^th June – Britain recognises General Charles de Gaulle as the Free French Leader
1^st July – German U-Boats attack merchant ships in the Atlantic
5^th July – French Vichy government breaks off relations with Britain
10^th July – Battle of Britain begins
23^rd July – Soviets take Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
3^rd August – Italians occupy British Somaliland in East Africa
13^th August – Nazi bombing offensive begins against airfields and factories in England
15^th August – Air battles and daylight raids over Britain
17^th August – Hitler declares a blockade of the British Isles
23^rd August – First German air raids on Central London
25^th August – First British air raid on Berlin
3^rd September – Hitler begins plans for the invasion of Britain (Operation Sea Lion)
7^th September – The Blitz begins
13^th September – Italians invade Egypt
15^th September – Massive air raids on London, Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester
16^th September – US passes military conscription bill
27^th September – Germany, Italy and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact
7^th October – German troops enter Romania
12^th October – Germans postpone invasion of Britain
28^th October – Italy invades Greece
5^th November – Roosevelt re-elected as US President
10^th November – Torpedo raids cripples the Italian fleet at Taranto, Italy
14^th November – Nazis bomb Coventry
20^th November – Hungary joins the Axis Powers
22^nd November – Greeks defeat the Italian 9^th Army
23^rd November – Romania joins the Axis Powers
9^th December – British begin a western desert offensive in North Africa against Italian forces
29^th December – Massive air raid on London

1941

22^nd January – Tobruk in North Africa falls to the British and the Australians
11^th February – British forces advance in Italian Samaliland in East Africa
12^th February – German General Erwin Rommel arrives in Tripoli, North Africa
14^th February – First units of German Afrika Korps arrive in North Africa
7^th March – British forces arrive in Greece
11^th March – President Roosevelt signs the Land-Lease Act
27^th March – A coup Yugoslavia overthrows the pro-Axis government
3^rd April – Pro-Axis regime set up in Iraq
6^th April – Nazis invade Greece and Yugoslavia
14^th April – Rommel attacks Tobruk
17^th April – Yugoslavia surrenders to the Nazis
27^th April – Greece surrenders to the Nazis
1^st May – German attack on Tobruk is repulsed
10^th May – Deputy Führer Rudolph Hess flies to Scotland
11^th May – Heavy bombing of London and the British retaliates in Hamburg
15^th May – Operation Brevity begins with British counter attack in Egypt
24^th May – The Bismarck sink British ship
27^th May – The Bismarck is sunk by the British Navy
4^th June – Pro-Allies government installed in Iraq
8^th June – Allies invade Syria and Lebanon
14^th June – US freezes German and Italian assets in America
22^nd June – Germany attacks Soviet Union and Operation Barbossa begins
25^th June – Nazi-SS–Einsatzgruppen begin mass murder
28^th June – The Nazis capture Minsk
3^rd July – Stalin calls for a scorched earth policy
10^th July – Germans cross the River Dnieper in the Ukraine
12^th July – Mutual Assistance agreement between Britian and the Soviets
14^th July – British occupy Syria
26^th July – Roosevelt freezes Japanese assets in United States and suspends relations
31^st July – Nazi officer Göring begins preparation for the Final Solution
1^st August – US announces oil embargo against aggressors
14^th August – Roosevelt and Churchill announce the Atlantic Charter
20^th August – Nazi siege of Leningrad beings
1^st September – Jews in Nazi occupied territories ordered to wear yellow stars
3^rd September – First use of gas chambers at Auschwitz
19^th September – Nazis take Kyiv
29^th September – Nazis murder 33,771 Jews in Kyiv
2^nd October – German advance on Moscow begins
16^th October – Germans take Odessa
24^th October – Germans take Kharkov
30^th October – Germans reach Sevastopol
13^th November – British aircraft carrier is sunk off Gibraltar by U Boat
20^th November – Germans take Rostov
27^th November – Soviet troops retake Rostov
5^th December – German attack on Moscow is abandoned
6^th December – Soviet Army launches counter offensive around Moscow
7^th December – Japanese bomb Pear Harbour and Hitler issues the Night and Fog decree
8^th December – United States and Britain declare war on Japan
11^th December – Hitler declares war on US
16^th December – Rommel begins a retreat to El Agheila in North Africa
19^th December – Hitler takes complete control of the German Army

1942

1^st January – Declaration of the United Nations signed by 26 Allied nations
13^th January – Germans being a u Boat offensive along US East Coast
20^th January – SS Leader Heydrich holds a conference to coordinate the Final Solution of the Jewish Question
21^st January – Rommel’s counter-offensive from El Agheila begins
26^th January – First American forces arrive in Great Britain
1^st April – Japanese-Americans sent to relocation centres
23^rd April – Nazi air raids begin against cathedral cities in Britain
8^th May – Nazi summer offensive begins in the Crimea
26^th May – Rommel beings an offensive against the Gazala Line
27^th May – SS Leader Heydrich attacked in Prague
30^th May – First thousand bomber British air raid against Cologne
1^st June – Mass murder of Jews begins at Auschwitz
4^th June – Heydrich dies
5^th June – Nazis besiege Sevastopol
10^th June – Nazis liquidate Lidice in reprisal for Heydrich’s assassination
21^st June – Rommel captures Tobruk
25^th June – General Dwight D Eisenhower arrives in London
30^th June – Rommel reaches El Alamein near Cairo
1^st July – First Battle of El Alamein
3^rd July – Nazis take Sevastopol
5^th July – Soviet resistance in the Crimea ends
9^th July – Nazis begin journey towards Stalingrad in the USSR
22^nd July – First deportations from the Warsaw Ghetto to concentration camps and Treblinka camp opens
7^th August – British General Bernard Montgomery takes command of the 8^th Army in North Africa
12^th August – Stalin and Churchill meet in Moscow
17^th August – First all American air attack on Europe
23^rd August – Massive Nazi air raid on Stalingrad
2^nd September – Rommel driven back by Montgomery in the Battle of Alam Halfa
13^th September – Battle of Stalingrad begins
5^th October – German eyewitness reports SS mass murder
18^th October – Hitler orders the execution of all captured British commandos
1^st November – Allies break Axis lines at El Alamein
8^th November – US invasion of North Africa, Operation Torch begins
11^th November – Germans and Italians invade unoccupied Vichy France
19^th November – Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad begins
2^nd December – Professor Enrico Fermi sets up an atomic reactor in Chicago
13^th December – Rommel withdraws from El Alghelia
16^th December – Soviets defeat Italian troops on the River Don in the USSR
17^th December – British Foreign Secretary Eden tells the House of Commons of the mass executions of Jews by the Nazis, the US declares these crimes will be avenged.
31^st December – Battle of the Barents Sea between Nazi and British ships.

1943

2^nd January – Nazi forces begin a withdrawal from the Caucasus.
10^th January – Soviets begin an offensive against the Nazis in Stalingrad
14^th January – Casablanca conference between Churchill and Roosevelt begins where Roosevelt declares the war will only end with an unconditional German surrender.
23^rd January – Montgomery’s 8^th Army takes Tripoli
27^th January – First bombing raid by Americans on Germany
2^nd February – Nazis surrender at Stalingrad, the first big defeat of the Nazi army
8^th February – Soviet troops take Kursk
14^th February – Battle of Kasserine Pass between the US 1^st Armored Division and the German Panzers in North Africa
16^th February – Soviets retake Kharkov
18^th February – Nazis arrest White Rose resistance leaders in Munich
2^nd March – Nazis begin a withdrawal from Tunisia
15^th March – Nazis retake Kharkov
16^th March – Battle of Atlantic climaxes with 27 merchant ships sunk by German U Boats
20^th March – Montgomery’s 8^th Army breaks through the Mareth Line in Tunisia
6^th April – Axis forces in Tunisia begin a withdrawl as American and British forces link
19^th April – Waffen-SS attacks Jewish resistance at the Warsaw Ghetto
7^th May – Allies take Tunisia
13^th May – Italian and Nazi troops surrender in North Africa
16^th May – Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto ends and British launch air raid on the Ruhr
22^nd May – Dönitz suspends U Boat operations in the North Atlantic
10^th June – Pointblank directive to improve Allied bombing strategy issued
11^th June – Himmler orders the liquidation of all Jewish Ghettos in Poland
5^th July – Nazis begin their last offensive against Kursk
9^th July – Allies land in Sicily
19^th July – Allies bomb Rome
22^nd July – Americans capture Palermo
24^th July – British bombing raid on Hamburg
25^th July – Mussolini arrested and the Italian fascist government falls
27^th July – Allied air raid causes a firestorm in Hamsburg
12^th August – Nazis evacuate Sicily
17^th August – American daylight air raids on Germany and Allies reach Messina
23^rd August – Soviet troops recapture Kharkov
23^rd September – Mussolini re-establishes a fascist government.
1^st October – Allies enter Naples
13^th October – Italy declares war on Germany and the Americans launch their second air raid on Germany.
6^th November - Russians recapture Kyiv
18^th November – Large British air raid on Berlin
28^th November – Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet at Teheran
24^th December – Soviets launch offensives on the Ukrainian front.

1944

6^th January – Soviet troops advance into Poland
22^nd January – Allies land in Italy
27^th January – Leningrad relieved after 900 day siege
4^th March – First major daylight bombing raid on Berlin by the Allies
18^th March – British drop 3000 tons of bombs during an air raid on Hamberg
8^th April – Soviets move to liberate Crimea
12^th May – Nazis surrender in the Crimea
15^th May – Nazis withdraw to the Hitler line
5^th June – Allies enter Rome
6^th June – D Day landings in France
10^th June – Nazis liquidate the town of Oradour-Sur-Glane in France
13^th June – First German V-1 rocket attack on Britain
22^nd June – Soviet summer offensive begins
27^th June – US troops liberate Cherbourg France
3^rd July – Battle of the Hedgerows takes place in Normandy
9^th July – British and Canadian troops capture Caen in France
20^th July – Assassination attempt against Hitler fails
24^th July – Soviet troops liberate first concentration camp
1^st August – Polish Home Army uprising against the Nazis in Warsaw begins
4^th August – Anne Frank and family are arrested by the Gestapo in Amsterdam
15^th August – The Allied invasion of the South of France begins
19^th August – Resistance uprising in Paris
25^th August – Liberation of Paris
29^th August – Slovak uprising begins
1^st September – Areas of Belgium liberated by the allies
4^th September – Finland and Soviet Union agree to a cease fir
13^th September – US troops reach Western Germany
2^nd October – Polish Home Army surrenders to the Nazis
14^th October – Allies liberate Athens and Rommel commits suicide
21^st October – Massive German surrender in Germany
30^th October – Last use of the gas chambers in Auschwitz
4^th December – Civil war breaks out in Greece and Athens placed under martial law
16^th December – Battle of the Bulge begins
17^th December – Waffen-SS murder 81 US POWs

1945

1^st January – Nazis withdraw from Ardennes
17^th January – Soviet troops capture Warsaw, Poland
26^th January – Soviets liberate Auschwitz
4^th February – Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet at Yalta
13^th February – Dresden is destroyed by firestorm after Allied bombing
6^th March – Last German offensive of the war beings to defend oil fields in Hungary
7^th March – Allies take Cologne
1^st April – Allies discover stolen Nazi art and wealth hidden in German salt mines
12^th April – Allies liberate Buchenwald and Belson concentration camps. Roosevelt dies and Vice President Truman steps in as President.
16^th April – Soviets begin their attack on Berlin and the Americans enter Nuremberg
21^st April – Soviets reach Berlin
28^th April – Mussolini is captured and assassinated and the Allies capture Venice.
29^th April – US army liberates Dachau
30^th April – Hitler commits suicide
7^th May – Unconditional surrender of all German forces to the Allies
8^th May – Victory in Europe day
9^th May – Göring is captured by the Americans
23^rd May – Himmler commits suicide and the remainder of the Nazi high command are imprisoned.
5^th June – Allies divide up Germany and Berlin and take over the government
26^th June – United Nations Charter is signed
1^st July – British, American and French troops move into Berlin
16^th July – First US atomic bomb test and Potsdam Conference begins
26^th July – Clement Atlee succeeds Churchill as British Prime Minister
6^th August – First atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
8^th August – Soviets declare war on Japan and invade Manchuria
9^th August – Second atomic bomb dropped on Nagisaki
14^th August – Japanese agree to unconditional surrender
2^nd September – Japanese sign surrender agreement
24^th October – United Nations is born
20^th November – Nuremberg Trials begin