Timeline

1939/1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

Our Timeline provides a breakdown of the main events of the Second World War and now includes, via the links on this page, some of the experiences of individuals featured throughout our Website to give an indication of all theatres of war and of those who were involved in this important conflict.

1939

September 1939
Britain and France formally declare war on Germany on 3^rd September, following Germany's invasion of Poland. Children evacuated from major British cities from beginning of September.

November 1939
Warsaw's Jewish population is ordered into an area of the city now known as a 'ghetto'.

1940

April 1940
German troops move into Denmark and Norway. Allied troops land in Norway but defence is shortlived and troops are evacuated.

May 1940
German invasion of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg using 'Blitzkrieg' tactics. Churchill appointed British Prime Minister. British Expeditionary Force begins its retreat.

June 1940
Last evacuation ships carrying Allied troops leave Dunkirk in 'Operation Dynamo'. German troops enter Paris and Italy joins the war.

August 1940
Battle of Britain takes place, as Luftwaffe attempts to destroy Royal Air Force before proposed invasion of Britain. The next month sees British cities 'Blitzed' by heavy bombing raids.

1941

January 1941
Allied troops capture Bardia and Tobruk in North Africa. In the next three months the Afrika Korps arrives to support Italian forces and captures El Agheila on the Tripolitanian border.

April 1941
Yugoslavia surrenders after German attacks. Allies evacuate Greece, however some 9000 troops are captured.

May 1941
As the Battle of Atlantic continues, with Allied losses mounting, elsewhere HMS Hood is sunk by the Bismarck in Denmark Strait. Bismarck is in turn torpedoed and sunk 3 days later. In Crete, German paratroopers land.

June 1941
German invasion of Russia, 'Operation Barbarossa', along 2,900 km front from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

September 1941
German troops surround Leningrad and seize Kiev. The following month Stalin announces a state of siege in Moscow and the first Arctic convoy arrives, bringing supplies - PQ1

December 1941
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. The Allied nations and USA declare war on Japan.

1942

February 1942
Fall of Singapore. Lt General Percival surrenders unconditionally to Lt General Yamashita. 130,000 POWs taken.

March 1942
St Nazaire Raid. HMS Campbeltown rams dock gates while Commandos sabotage dock machinery.

May 1942
Heydrich, Deputy Reich 'protector' of Bohemia assassinated by Czech agents in Prague.

June 1942
Battle of Midway. Japanese Combined Fleet attempts to trap US Pacific Fleet in Midway Atoll. All four Japanese carriers were lost. In North Africa, the Afrika Korps captures Tobruk after battles on Gazala Line.

August 1942
Dieppe Raid. Canadian and other Allied troops carry out landing but suffer heavy casualties. Malta is re-supplied after Operation Pedestal.

November 1942
Allied victory at El Alamein after sustained fighting. Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Algiers and Oran as part of Operation Torch.

1943

February 1943
1^st Chindit operation in Burma behind Japanese lines.

April 1943
Warsaw Ghetto uprising in occupied Poland. Resistance is finally crushed a month later after fierce fighting.

May 1943
The Dambusters Raid undertaken by 617 Squadron against dams on the rivers Mohne and Eder. Led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the 19 Lancasters carried revolving bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Gibson was awarded the VC.

July 1943
Allied landings in Sicily in Operation Husky - occupation is completed a month later.

September 1943
The Allies land in Salerno while German forces occupy Rome. A month later Allied troops enter Naples but the Italian campaign proves to be both lengthy and costly.

October 1943
The Thai-Burma Railway is completed. Constructed by Asian labourers and Allied POWs, conditions were harsh and thousands died.

1944

January 1944
Russian forces enter Poland and the siege of Leningrad ends. The Allies land at Anzio and dig in. In February German forces attempt to break the beachhead but are unsuccessful.

March 1944
The Chindits launch Operation Thursday behind Japanese lines in Burma, to sever supply lines. 'Merrill' s Marauders' take on Japanese troops in north Burma in support of General Stilwell's troops.

June 1944
D-Day - the Normandy Landings take place on five beaches codenamed, Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah in Operation Overlord. US 5^th Army enters Rome. The first V-1 flying bombs are launched against Britain.

August 1944
Warsaw uprising. The Polish 'Home Army' fight to regain control of Warsaw hoping for assistance from Russian troops which does not materialise. Resistance finally ends in October. Paris is liberated.

September 1944
The first V2 rocket attack on London causes casualties. Operation Market Garden is launched to assist Allied troops to push into Germany. Ambitious plan falters and Allied paratroopers withdraw. Heavy casualties and 6,400 captured.

December 1944
Battle of the Bulge. German troops launch a surprise attack in the Ardennes. US troops are surrounded at Bastogne. German advance falters due to supply problems and air attacks. A month later German losses have reached 120,000 killed, injured or captured.

1945

January 1945
Russian and Polish forces take Warsaw and the Red Army advances through Poland. By the end of the month Russian troops cross into Germany.

February 1945
The Yalta Conference begins, attended by Allied leaders. US troops raise their flag on Iwo Jima. Allied bombing raid on Dresden.

March 1945
Allied armies cross the Rhine. US B-29s launch raid on Tokyo resulting in a firestorm.

April 1945
Death of President Roosevelt. US forces land in Okinawa in Operation Iceberg. Russian troops enter Berlin. Hitler commits suicide.

May 1945
The end of the War in Europe. VE Day, Victory in Europe Day is 8^th May.

August 1945
Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan surrenders. VJ Day, Victory in Japan Day is 15^th August.