BBC ON THIS DAY | World War II

World War II

Adolf Hitler salutes his troops as they march towards Poland

1 September
1939: Germany invades Poland

German forces attack Poland across all frontiers and its planes bomb Polish cities, including the capital, Warsaw - Britain and France prepare to declare war.

3 September
1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany
Britain and France are at war with Germany following the invasion of Poland two days ago.

Winston Churchill (c), Air Minister Sir Kingsley Wood, (l), Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden (r)

10 May
1940: Churchill takes helm as Germans advance
German forces invade the Low Countries by air and land, while in London, Chamberlain is replaced by Churchill.

4 June
1940: Dunkirk rescue is over - Churchill defiant
As the last Allied soldier leaves Dunkirk, the British Prime Minister vows his forces "shall never surrender".

German soldiers parade through the Place de la Concorde

14 June
1940: German troops enter Paris
German troops march into Paris forcing French and allied troops to retreat.

World War II


10 Jul	1940: Luftwaffe launches Battle of Britain

07 Sep	1940: London blitzed by German bombers

15 Sep	1940: Victory for RAF in Battle of Britain

15 Nov	1940: Germans bomb Coventry to destruction

22 Jun	1941: Hitler invades the Soviet Union

14 Aug	1941: Secret meetings seal US-Britain alliance

07 Dec	1941: Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor

11 Dec	1941: Germany and Italy declare war on US

15 Feb	1942: Singapore forced to surrender

15 Apr	1942: Malta gets George Cross for bravery

07 Jun	1942: Japanese beaten in Battle of Midway

19 Aug	1942: Allies launch daring raid on Dieppe

04 Nov	1942: Rommel goes on the run at El Alamein

01 Dec	1942: Beveridge lays welfare foundations

17 Dec	1942: Britain condemns massacre of Jews

02 Feb	1943: Germans surrender at Stalingrad

16 May	1943: Germans crush Jewish uprising

17 May	1943: RAF raid smashes German dams

10 Jul	1943: Western Allies invade Sicily

25 Jul	1943: Italian dictator Mussolini quits

03 Sep	1943: Allied troops invade mainland Italy

08 Sep	1943: Italy's surrender announced

01 Dec	1943: Allies united after Tehran conference

27 Jan	1944: Leningrad siege ends after 900 days

18 May	1944: Monte Cassino falls to the Allies

05 Jun	1944: Celebrations as Rome is liberated

06 Jun	1944: D-Day marks start of Europe invasion

20 Jul	1944: Hitler survives assassination attempt

01 Aug	1944: Uprising to free Warsaw begins

25 Aug	1944: Paris is liberated as Germans surrender

17 Sep	1944: Airborne invasion of Holland begins

26 Sep	1944: Airborne troops retreat from Arnhem

03 Oct	1944: Poles surrender after Warsaw uprising

17 Dec	1944: Germany counter-attacks in Ardennes

27 Jan	1945: Auschwitz death camp liberated

07 Feb	1945: Black Sea talks plan defeat of Germany

14 Feb	1945: Thousands of bombs destroy Dresden

23 Feb	1945: US flag raised over Iwo Jima

15 Apr	1945: British troops liberate Bergen-Belsen

21 Apr	1945: Red Army enters outskirts of Berlin

27 Apr	1945: Russians and Americans link at Elbe

28 Apr	1945: Italian partisans kill Mussolini

01 May	1945: Germany announces Hitler is dead

07 May	1945: Germany signs unconditional surrender

08 May	1945: Rejoicing at end of war in Europe

21 Jun	1945: US troops take Okinawa

16 Jul	1945: Allied leaders gather at Potsdam

26 Jul	1945: Churchill loses general election

06 Aug	1945: US drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima

09 Aug	1945: Atom bomb hits Nagasaki

15 Aug	1945: Allied nations celebrate VJ Day

02 Sep	1945: Japan signs unconditional surrender

24 Oct	1945: United Nations Organisation is born

20 Nov	1945: Nuremberg trial of Nazis begins

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