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1930

October

 First flight of a prototype Junkers JU52

1937

   Death of Erich von Ludendorff, German General of First World War

1939

1 September

 Germany invades Poland, first act of Second World War (to 1945)
 

3 September

 Britain and France declare war on Germany, start of Second World War (to 1945)
 

5 October

 End of resistance in Poland (Second World War)
 

13 December

The battle of the River Plate is one of the most famous naval battles of the Second World War, despite only involving four ships. Part of its fame came because it took place in the “phoney war” period and part because of the unjustifiably high reputation of the Admiral Graf Spee, the German pocket-battleship involved in the battle.

1940

16 February

The Altmark incident saw a British destroyer rescue 299 British prisoners from the German supply ship Altmark in Norwegian water.
 

8 April

Operation Wilfred was a British attempt to stop Swedish iron ore from reaching Germany from Narvik by laying a minefield in Norwegian waters

HMS Glowworm sunk in engagement with German Heavy Cruiser Hipper
 

9 April

The German invasion of Denmark was part of a wider campaign in Scandinavia designed partly to provide bases for the German navy and partly to secure the German supply of iron ore from Sweden.

The attack on Oslo was a key component of the German invasion of Norway, and saw the only real setback suffered by the Germans on that day.

 

10 April

 The first battle of Narvik was a drawn naval battle fought between British and German destroyers during the German invasion of Norway.
 

13 April

 The second battle of Narvik was a British naval victory during the German invasion of Norway of 1940.
 

10 May

German attack on Belgium and Holland (Second World War)

Churchill become P.M. (Britain)

Operation Royal Marine was a British plan developed in 1939-1940 to disrupt the German economy by floating mines down the Rhine.
 

22-25 May

The battle of Boulogne saw a British and French garrison hold off a determined German attack, before the British were evacuated by sea.
 

23-26 May

The siege of Calais saw some of the most desperate fighting during the German campaign in the west in 1940. A combined French and British force was able to hold off heavy German attacks for three critical days, allowing the Allies to consolidate their hold on Dunkirk, but at the cost of the virtual destruction of the garrison.
 

26 May-4 June

Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk takes place. 338,266 British and Allied soldiers are evacuated to Britain.
 

8 June

British and French troops evacuate Narvik.
 

8-10 June

Operation Cycle was the code name for the evacuation of British and Allied troops from Havre
 

10 June

 Italy joins Second World War
 

14 June

 Paris falls to the Germans (Second World War)
First British attacks into Italian Libya (Operation Compass)
 

15-25 June

 Operation Aerial was the code name given to the evacuation of British and Allied troops from the ports of north west France
 

16 June

 Battle of Nezuet Ghirba (Libya)
 

21 June

 Capitulation of France (Second World War)
 

9 September

 Start of tentative Italian offensive into Egypt. (Operation Compass)
 

8 December

 Start of (Operation Compass, first major British offensive of the Desert War
 

11 December

 First phase of Operation Compass ends in British victory.

1941

22 January

 British capture Tobruk, important Italian base in Libya.
 

20 May

 Start of German invasion of Crete (Operation Mercury)
 

1 June

 Final fall of Crete (Operation Mercury) to Germans
 

22 June

 German invasion of Russia (Second World War)
 

7 December

 Pearl Harbor: The Day of Infamy, Japan enteres WWII
 

8-23 December

 Battle of Wake Island Repeated Japanese attacks on U.S. Base in central Pacific. Second assault on 23 December captures the island.

1942

28 March

 Raid on St. Nazaire denies Germans use of major French drydock
 

7 June

 Battle of Midway (Pacific Ocean)
 

28 June

 Germans launch offensive that ends in Battle of Stalingrad
 

August

 Start of Battle for Guadalcanal (to February 1943)
 

19 August

 Allied raid on Dieppe Part One - preparation; Dieppe Raid, 19 August 1942 (part two)
 

19 November

 Russian counter attack around Stalingrad
 

23 November

 Russian counter attack succeeds in trapping Germans in Stalingrad

1943

February

End of Battle for Guadalcanal (from August 1942)

Start of Manstein's counterattack around Kharkov
 

2 February

 Surviving German troops surrender, ending Battle of Stalingrad

1944

   End of production of Thompson Sub Machine Gun (from 1918)
 

15 September

 US Marines land on Peleliu
 

17 September

 Start of Operation Market Garden, aimed at ending the war quickly by crossing the Rhine.
US Marines land on Angaur
 

20 September

 Death of Lance Sergeant John D. Baskeyfield, V.C 1944, during battle of Arnhem
Angaur declared secure
 

22 September

 US Marines land on Ulithi Atoll meeting no resistance
 

23 September

 Japanese troops on Peleliu reinforced
 

27 September

 End of Operation Market Garden, Germany victory
 

22 October

 Last Japanese resistance on Angaur ends.
 

27 November

 Last organised Japanese resistance on Peleliu ends.

1945

19 February

 American attack starts battle of Iwo Jima (to March)
 

26 March

 Final Japanese attack marks American victory in battle of Iwo Jima (from 19 February)
 

1 April

 Start of Battle of Okinawa (to June)
 

16 April

 Russians launch final assault on Berlin
 

25 April

 Berlin surrounded by Russians
 

30 April

 Red Flag flies on Reichstag. Hitler commits suicide in ruins of Berlin
 

2 May

 Berlin surrenders to the Russians
 

8 May

 Second World War in Europe ends (Midnight)
 

22 June

 End of serious fighting during battle of Okinawa (from 8 May)
 

10 August

 Japan offers to surrender (Second World War)
 

15 August

 Ceasefire with Japan comes into effect(Second World War)
 

2 September

 Official Japanese surrender(Second World War)

1947

   Outbreak of the Malayan Emergency (to 1960)

 



 

 

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