<< 1938 World War II Timeline 1940 >>
1 January -
Europe: Identity card laws go into effect in
Germany; all Jews are required to wear badges identifying themselves as such. Jews are banned from working side by side with non-Jewish Germans.
10 January -
Europe:
Neville Chamberlain,
prime minister of
Britain, and
Lord Halifax, British
Foreign Secretary, arrive in
Rome to meet with
Benito Mussolini.
17 January -
Europe:
Germany signs non-aggression treaties with
Denmark,
Latvia, and
Estonia.
Norway,
Sweden, and
Finland refuse similar treaty offers, insisting on strict neutrality.
20 January -
China: The
League of Nations issues a call for its members to aid
China against
Japanese aggression.
21 January -
Europe:
Adolf Hitler dismisses
Hjalmar Schacht from the presidency of the
Reichsbank, the German national bank. Schacht was one of the few men allowed to raise his voice to or argue with Hitler.
23 January -
Europe:
National Service is introduced in
Britain.
25 January -
Spain: General
Francisco Franco's troops capture the city of
Barcelona.
30 January -
Europe: In a speech to the
Reichstag, Hitler states that the outcome of a world war will be the destruction of the Jewish race.
4 February -
Europe: A
coup topples
Yugoslavia's pro-
Axis government.
10 February -
Europe:
Pope Pius XI dies.
China: Japanese forces occupy
Hainan Island.
21 February -
Europe: In Germany, all Jews are ordered to surrender gold and silver, with the exception of wedding bands.
27 February -
Spain: The government of
Francisco Franco in Spain is recognized by
Britain and
France.
2 March -
Europe:
Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli elected to the
papacy, becoming
Pius XII.
12 March -
Europe:
Neville Chamberlain makes a pledge to support
Polish sovereignty.
14 March -
Czechoslovakia: Former prime minister
Josef Tiso declares
Slovakia to be an independent state. He immediately allies his new government with the
Axis powers.
15 March -
Czechoslovakia: Responding to the wave of anti-Semitic violence and civil unrest sweeping the nation, the Czech government requests protection from Germany. German troops move to occupy the provinces of
Bohemia and
Moravia.
Hungary annexes the Czech province of
Ruthenia.
16 March -
Czechoslovakia:
Adolf Hitler declares that
Czechoslovakia no longer exists.
17 March -
Czechoslovakia: The British government denounces Hitler for violating the terms of the
Munich Pact.
20 March -
United States: The United States withdraws her ambassador to Germany in protest of Hitler's actions in Czechoslovakia.
21 March -
Europe: Nazi activists seize the
Lithuanian town of
Memel.
23 March -
Europe: Germany strikes an economic agreement with
Romania, providing Hitler with access to Romania's
petroleum supplies. Germany officially incorporates
Memel into the
Reich.
28 March -
Spain: Franco's forces seize
Madrid, ending the
Spanish Civil War.
31 March -
Poland:
France and
Britain sign a treaty with
Poland, promising to defend that country's western borders against aggression. No mention is made of Poland's border with the
Soviet Union.
3 April -
Poland: Hitler sends a directive to his senior military commanders, demanding that
Operation White, the invasion of Poland, must be ready for action by
1 September 1939.
7 April -
Europe:
Italy invades
Albania. Spain signs the
anti-Comintern pact, joining
Germany,
Italy, and
Japan.
11 April -
Europe:
Hungary withdraws from the
League of Nations.
13 April -
Europe: In response to Italy's aggression in the
Balkans, Britain and France pledge to protect
Greece and
Romania.
15 April -
United States:
Franklin D. Roosevelt appeals to Hitler and
Mussolini to cease their campaigns of aggression.
17 April -
Europe: A
Soviet proposal for an anti-Germany alliance is rejected by both Britain and France.
19 April -
Europe: Britain announces that she will protect the independence of the
Netherlands,
Switzerland, and
Denmark, should they be threatened by Hitler.
20 April -
Europe: The largest display of military might in the history of Germany is put together to celebrate Hitler's 50th birthday.
27 April -
Europe: In Britain,
Parliament enacts the
Conscription Law, bringing compulsory service back to the island nation. Germany pulls out of the
1935 Anglo-German naval accord.
28 April -
Europe: In a globally-broadcast speech, Hitler mocks Roosevelt's requests for peace and nullifies the non-aggression pact between Germany and Poland.
8 May -
Spain: Spain withdraws from the
League of Nations.
12 May -
Europe:
Turkey signs a mutual assistance treaty with
Britain.
China: Japanese troops are driven back after doing battle with forces from
Outer Mongolia when 700 Mongol cavalry cross into
Manchurian territory.
15 May -
Europe: The
Ravensbrueck concentration camp is set up.
18 May -
China: Japanese infantry and aircraft retake the territory they lost on the 12th.
20 May -
Europe: The new
Soviet Foreign Minister,
Vyacheslav Molotov, and the German ambassador to Russia begin plans for a non-aggression pact between their two countries.
22 May -
Europe: Germany and Italy sign the
Pact of Steel, committing themselves to a full military alliance.
23 May -
Poland: In accordance with Hitler's plans for the invasion of Poland,
Joseph Goebbels puts his propaganda machine into full force against the Poles.
27 May -
United States:
Secretary of State Cordell Hull recommends the revision of the
Neutrality Act to allow the sale of arms to
belligerent states.
28 May -
China: Forces from Japan and the
Soviet Union engage in heavy fighting in
Mongolia.
18 June -
China: A Soviet counteroffensive against the Japanese fails.
1 July -
Poland: The
French government warns Hitler that France fully intends to honor her promises to
Poland.
9 July -
Europe:
Winston Churchill advocates a military alliance between Britain and the
USSR.
26 July -
United States: The United States nullifies a
1911 trade agreement with Japan.
2 August -
United States:
Albert Einstein writes to
Franklin D. Roosevelt to inform him of the potential use of
atomic weapons.
3 August -
Europe: Hitler is informed that Britain wishes to continue the policy of appeasement; specifically promised are increased trade, talks about Germany's need of over-seas colonies and territory in southern Europe, and British non-intervention in matters of the Reich. The one condition: Germany has to cease her military expansionism.
6 August -
Europe: Fearing that Germany will launch into war with Poland, Mussolini confers with his Foreign Minister, Count
Galeazzo Ciano, about ways to evade the terms of the
Pact of Steel, under which Italy would be required to aid Germany in war. Mussolini believes his nation to be three years from war-readiness.
10 August -
Poland: The Polish government warns Germany that any further
encroachment on the city of
Danzig would be considered an act of war. In Berlin, a member of the SS is ordered by
Reinhard Heydrich, a high government official, to fake a Polish attack on a German radio station at
Gleiwitz, near the Polish border.
11 August -
Europe: The British government learns that the German military will be at full readiness by 15 August. German Foreign Minister
Joachim von Ribbentrop informs Italian Foreign Minister Ciano that Germany now wants full war.
12 August -
Europe: Britain and France send a joint diplomatic mission to seek an alliance with
Stalin.
15 August -
Europe: The German State Secretary,
Baron Ernst von Weizsäcker, declares to the British ambassador in Berlin that no further talks are possible between Germany and Poland. Orders for mobilization are sent to the German railway system, and the German navy reports that 23 ships are ready for immediate action.
Britain and
France renew their pledges to defend Poland from German aggression.
16 August -
Europe: Captain
Karl Dönitz, the commander of the
U-Boat branch of the German navy, arrives at the main submarine base at
Kiel and begins preparations for war.
18 August -
Europe: Dönitz dispatches 35 of his submarines: 18 to the
Atlantic and 17 to the
Baltic Sea.
19 August -
Europe: Germany and the
Soviet Union sign an economic treaty. Work begins on a non-aggression pact between the two nations. The German navy receives mobilizations orders, with an additional 21 submarines moving into position.
20 August -
Europe: German U-boats take up positions along shipping lanes in the Atlantic.
Asia: In
Mongolia, the
Battle of Khalkhin Gol between the Soviets and the
Japanese ends in a cease-fire; with Japan neutralized in the east,
Stalin is free to shift those forces back to the western front.
22 August -
Poland:
Neville Chamberlain cables Hitler, informing him that a German-Soviet pact will not dissuade Britain from fulfilling her obligations to aid
Poland.
23 August -
Europe: Germany and Soviet Russia sign
a 10 year non-aggression treaty. A secret portion of the pact divided Poland between the two parties. Hitler is delighted; he is now free to pursue his conquests in France without fear of a
second front.
All radios are collected from Jews within the Reich.
Belgium mobilizes her army to defend her neutrality. Hitler sets the date for the invasion of Poland at 4:30
AM, 26 August.
24 August -
Europe: The British military begins a general mobilization, beginning with the Navy.
Parliament passes the
Emergency Powers Act.
25 August -
Europe: The Italian ambassador to Germany informs Hitler that Italy will not support Hitler without German arms. On this news, the assault scheduled for the next morning is postponed.
Poland: Britain signs a treaty of mutual assistence with
Poland.
26 August -
Europe:
France's ambassador in
Berlin meets with Hitler; when the ambassador mentions the fate of women and children in the coming war, Hitler shows signs of hesitation, but is persuaded by his
Foreign Minister. Poland increases the speed of her military mobilization. Hitler pledges to respect the neutrality of
Belgium,
Holland,
Sweden, and
Luxembourg.
27 August -
Europe: German aircraft manufacturer
Heinkel tests the
He 178. It is the first
jet-powered aircraft in history.
28 August -
Europe: Rationing begins in Germany.
Holland begins a general mobilization of her military.
29 August -
Europe:
Switzerland mobilizes the whole of her border forces.
30 August -
Poland: The
Polish military begins to prepare for war.
31 August -
Europe: The British government begins evacuating civillians from
London out of fear of
poison gas attacks. The
Supreme Soviet ratifies the non-aggression treaty with
Germany.
Poland: Hitler sets the date for the invasion of Poland at 4:45
AM the next morning. The German radio station at
Gleiwitz broadcasts that it is under attack, as per Hitler's earlier plans (See 10 August), providing a pretense for war.
The War in Europe Begins
1 September -
Poland: At 4:45AM, 53 German
divisions begin the assault on Poland, demonstrating for the first time the effectiveness of the
Blitzkrieg. The
Luftwaffe destroys the Polish airforce on the ground. Germany annexes the city of
Danzig.
Europe: The German government issues the
Euthanasia Decree, stating that all people with incurable diseases are to be killed in order to free up supplies. The evacuation of children from
London begins.
2 September -
Europe: The French ambassador to Germany,
Robert Coulondre, telegraphs president
Daladier, "Stay firm, Hitler will knuckle under." British
RAF bomber groups begin deploying to France.
Poland:
Warsaw is bombed for the first time by the
Luftwaffe. In southern Poland, German Army Group South crosses the
Warta river and begins a drive on
Krakow.
3 September -
Europe: The
SS Athenia, a passenger liner, is torpedoed by a
U-boat off the
Irish coast, killing 118.
France and
Great Britain send ultimatums to Hitler: begin an immediate withdrawl, or face world war. Later that day,
Great Britain,
Australia,
New Zealand,
India, and
France declare war on
Germany.
Winston Churchill is named
First Lord of the Admiralty. British aircraft distribute 6 million leaflets over the German
Ruhr valley; they read, "Your rulers have condemned you to the massacres, miseries and privations of a war they cannot ever hope to win."
4 September -
Europe:
Hermann Goering makes a speech, with Hitler's permission, requesting a settlement with Poland. 29 British bombers attack the German naval yards at
Wilhelmshaven; the only serious damage is done by a bomber that crashes into the
bow of a ship.
Poland: The German invaders have pushed 50 miles into Polish territory.
5 September -
United States: The
United States announces her neutrality in this new European war.
Poland: The German invaders reach the
Vistula River, very near
Warsaw.
6 September -
Poland: The German High Command requests that the Polish government evacuate non-combatants from
Warsaw prior to the assault on that city. The Polish command replies that the city will be defended, no one will be evacuated.
Krakow falls to the Germans.
World:
South Africa declares war on Germany.
Iraq severs diplomatic relations with Hitler's government.
7 September -
Europe: France begins an assault on Germany, crossing the border near
Saarlouis,
Saarbrücken, and
Zweibrücken. Because of the focus on the Polish front, the attacking Frenchmen face little resistence. This is not intended to be a serious threat to Hitler; only 9 of France's 85 frontier divisions are participating.
8 September -
Poland: German units reach the outskirts of
Warsaw.
9 September -
Europe: All Jewish males are shipped from the
Ruhr town of
Gelsenkirchen to the
Sachsenhausen concentration camp near
Berlin; the women and children are left to their own devices.
Poland: The German army reaches
Warsaw proper and is repulsed upon its initial assault. 10 Polish
divisions begin a
counterattack at the
Bzura river.
10 September -
Canada:
Canada declares war on Germany.
Europe: The
British Expeditionary Force begins deployment to France.
12 September -
Europe: The invading French forces are now 5 miles inside Germany. Even though his army is meeting no serious resistence,
General Maurice Gamelin orders the advance halted and preparations begun for a full retreat at the first sign of real opposition.
16 September -
Poland: German forces complete the encirclement of Warsaw. Despite this, the city promises to fight on and refuses offers of surrender.
17 September -
Poland: The
Red Army invades Poland from the east. Despite
Stalin's obviously hostile actions, neither France nor England declare war or even break off diplomatic relations with him. The British
aircraft carrier HMS Courageous is torpedoed by
U-29.
18 September -
Poland: In the face of the advancing German and Soviet forces, the Polish government and military command escape to France.
22 September -
Poland: The Soviet Red Army captures the Polish city of
Lwow.
24 September -
Poland: The
Luftwaffe begins attacking
Warsaw with
incendiary weapons. Special German arson squads (Brennkommados) set fire to
synagogues throughout Poland; Jews are blamed for the attacks.
27 September -
Europe: The Reichsicherkeit Hauptabteilung (RSHA), the Central Office for Reich Security, begins operation; this group is in charge of the implementation of
die Endlösung der Judenfrage, the final solution of the Jewish question.
Poland:
Warsaw surrenders after suffering 36 hours of constant attack from air and artillery; 150,000 Polish soldiers are captured.
28 September -
Poland: The Polish army surrenders. In the 28 days of the war, 750,000 Polish
POWs have been taken by German and Soviet forces.
Lithuania takes the
Vilna region from Poland. The Germans and Soviets sign a treaty of friendship to regulate their now-mutual borders in Poland. A Polish government-in-exile begins formation in
France.
29 September -
Poland: Poland is officially divided between Germany and the Soviet Union, as had been previously agreed. German "medical teams" begin enforcing the Euthanasia Decree in Poland.
Europe: The
Soviet Union forces
Estonia to sign a mutual assistance pact.
30 September -
Europe: The commander of the invading French forces in Germany issues orders to retreat under cover of night.
4 October -
Europe: The French have completed their withdrawl, with exception of a light screening force remaining in German territory.
5 October -
Europe: Soviet forces seize air and naval bases in
Latvia.
6 October -
Poland: The final resistence in Poland is put down by the Germans.
Europe:
Adolf Hitler calls for a peace conference, declaring that Germany has no issue with France and has never acted in hostility to British interests.
9 October -
Europe: Hitler decrees that he will resume the offensive if France and England do not seek to end the war.
Finland begins mobilizing her armed forces to respond to Soviet threats.
United States: American popular sentiment swings toward repealment of the
Neutrality Act after the US merchant vessel
City of Flint is sunk by a German
battleship.
10 October -
Europe: France rejects Hitler's offer of peace talks.
Winson Churchill argues to the British Cabinet in favor of
mining the costal waters of
Norway in order to interfere with German iron ore shipments. In Germany, the first plans for the invasion of Norway are proposed. The Red Army seizes bases in
Lithuania.
12 October -
Europe: England follows France and rejects the peace conference.
14 October -
Europe:
U-47 penetrates the British naval base at
Scapa Flow and sinks the
Royal Oak, killing 833.
17 October -
Europe: A German counterattack drives the few remaining French units back into France.
18 October -
United States:
Franklin D. Roosevelt declares that all
US waters are closed to submarines of parties in the new European conflict.
19 October -
Poland: The German sector of Poland is officially incorporated into the
Reich.
27 October -
United States: The US
Senate passes a new
Neutrality Act.
28 October -
Europe:
Heinrich Himmler issues an order for men of the
SS and police to father as many offspring as possible in order to make up for Germans killed in the war.
4 November -
United States: The
Neutrality Act is altered to allow the sale of weapons to combatants on a strictly "
Cash and Carry" basis. The language has been constructed such that
England and
France are the only nations that can benefit from this policy.
7 November -
Europe: Hitler issues a postponement of the attack on France and the west. He will repeat this postponement 15 seperate times, until
10 May 1940.
Queen Wilhemina of the
Netherlands and the
Belgian King
Leopold issue a plea to
Britain and
France for those two nations to negotiate with Germany.
8 November -
Europe: An assassination attempt on Hitler fails when he abruptly leaves the hall where he was speaking. Not long after, a bomb explodes, killing 8 and injuring 60. The British allege that the assassination attempt was a public relations stunt by Hitler. Two British agents are arrested in
Venlo, near the
Dutch-
German; from them, the Nazis capture a list of British spies on
the Continent.
12 November -
Europe: Britain and France reject the request for peace negotiations issued by the
Netherlands and
Belgium.
16 November -
Czechoslovakia: In
Prague, a student uprising is quickly and violently supressed.
21 November -
Europe: The British
Royal Navy begins a
blockade of German ports.
28 November -
Finland: The
Soviet Union pulls out of the non-aggression treaty she had signed with
Finland.
29 November -
Finland:
Stalin's government severs diplomatic relations with
Finland.
30 November -
Finland: The
Red Army invades
Finland with 45 divisions, 1500 tanks, and 1000 aircraft, sparking the
Finnish Winter War.
2 December -
Finland:
Finland sends an appeal to the
League of Nations to assist in mediating a settlement with the Soviets.
5 December -
Finland: The Red Army reaches the main Finnish defenses, the
Mannerheim Line.
11 December -
Finland: The
League of Nations agrees to a joint intervention in the Finnish conflict.
12 December -
Europe: The German government issues a decree making two years of forced labor mandatory for all male Polish
Jews between 14 and 60.
Finland: Finnish forces launch a counterattack against the Soviet Eighth Army.
14 December -
Finland: The government of the
USSR denounces the League of Nations for its meddling in the Finnish campaign; the Soviets are promptly expelled from the League. Britain and France maintain diplomatic relations with
Stalin.
15 December -
Finland: The Finnish counterattack against the Soviet Eighth Army comes to an end. It has been a resounding success; the Soviet 163rd and 75th divisions have been completely wiped out, and a large amount of military hardware has been captured by the Finns.
17 December -
South America: The
Battle of the River Plate occurs. After an encounter with the British
cruisers HMS Exeter,
Achilles, and
Ajax off the
Argentinian, the German
pocket battleship Graf Spee is
scuttled near
Montevideo,
Uruguay.
23 December -
Europe: The first detachment of
Canadian infantry arrive in Britain.
27 December -
Europe: Troops from the
Indian army arrive to reinforce the
British Expeditionary Force operating in
France.
28 December -
Europe: The British government begins
rationing meat to its citizens.
Finland: The Finns destroy the Soviet 122nd division totally.
31 December -
Finland: The Finns win two battles, one at
Suomusalmi and the other north of
Lake Lagoda, repulsing the Soviet advance.
Thanks to Pseudo_Intellectual for correcting an incredibly Euro-centric remark, and to avalyn for catching typos.