Timeline
Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 5:42 am
1939
August
August 23: Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression pact
August 25: The Wizard of Oz premieres in movie theaters
September
September 1: Germany invades Poland.
September 3: Britain and France declare war on Germany after their ultimatum to withdraw from Poland is ignored.
September 17: The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east
September 28: Warsaw falls. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them
October
October 5: Poland is defeated in the final battle of the Polish Campaign
November
November 8: Georg Elser fails in his attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in Munich with a bomb
November 30: The Soviet Union invades Finland, starting the Winter War
December
December 13: The German heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee is trapped by British naval vessels near Uruguay and is later scuttled by her own crew
December 15: Gone With the Wind premieres
1940
January
January 8: Food begins to be rationed in Great Britain
February
February 7: Pinocchio premieres
March
March 5: The Soviet Union massacres thousands of Poles in the Katyn Forest
March 12: The Soviet Union and Finland sign a peace treaty, ending the Winter War
April
April 9: Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders in about six hours
May
May 10: Germany invades France and the Low Countries. Britain invades Iceland. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns, and Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister
May 14: Germany heavily bombs Rotterdam.
May 18: The Netherlands surrenders
May 26: The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk begins
May 28: Belgium surrenders
June
June 4: The evacuation from Dunkirk concludes
June 10: Italy declares war on Britain and France. The Norwegian Army surrenders.
June 14: Paris, which had been declared an open city, falls
June 15: The Soviet Union occupies Lithuania
June 17: The Soviet Union occupies Latvia and Estonia
June 22: France surrenders
June 30: Germany invades and occupies Britain's Channel Islands
July
July 3: Britain destroys and seizes the French fleet to prevent Germany from taking it
July 10: Start of the Battle of Britain
August
August 3: Italy invades British Somaliland
August 13: The Battle of Britain heats up as the German Luftwaffe launches a massive attack on the Royal Air Force
August 19: British Somaliland falls
August 20: Leon Trotsky, exiled from the Soviet Union, is mortally wounded in Mexico City with an ice axe
August 21: Leon Trotsky dies
August 24: A lost Luftwaffe bomber drops its bombs, hitting London unintentionally
August 25: In retaliation for the bombing of London, the RAF bombs Berlin
September
September 2: The USA makes the Lend-Lease agreement with Britain, which will supply the Royal Navy with fifty destroyers
September 4: Hitler publicly vows to retaliate for Britain's bombing of Berlin
September 7 (today): The Luftwaffe begins massive bombing of London
August
August 23: Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression pact
August 25: The Wizard of Oz premieres in movie theaters
September
September 1: Germany invades Poland.
September 3: Britain and France declare war on Germany after their ultimatum to withdraw from Poland is ignored.
September 17: The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east
September 28: Warsaw falls. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them
October
October 5: Poland is defeated in the final battle of the Polish Campaign
November
November 8: Georg Elser fails in his attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in Munich with a bomb
November 30: The Soviet Union invades Finland, starting the Winter War
December
December 13: The German heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee is trapped by British naval vessels near Uruguay and is later scuttled by her own crew
December 15: Gone With the Wind premieres
1940
January
January 8: Food begins to be rationed in Great Britain
February
February 7: Pinocchio premieres
March
March 5: The Soviet Union massacres thousands of Poles in the Katyn Forest
March 12: The Soviet Union and Finland sign a peace treaty, ending the Winter War
April
April 9: Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders in about six hours
May
May 10: Germany invades France and the Low Countries. Britain invades Iceland. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns, and Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister
May 14: Germany heavily bombs Rotterdam.
May 18: The Netherlands surrenders
May 26: The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk begins
May 28: Belgium surrenders
June
June 4: The evacuation from Dunkirk concludes
June 10: Italy declares war on Britain and France. The Norwegian Army surrenders.
June 14: Paris, which had been declared an open city, falls
June 15: The Soviet Union occupies Lithuania
June 17: The Soviet Union occupies Latvia and Estonia
June 22: France surrenders
June 30: Germany invades and occupies Britain's Channel Islands
July
July 3: Britain destroys and seizes the French fleet to prevent Germany from taking it
July 10: Start of the Battle of Britain
August
August 3: Italy invades British Somaliland
August 13: The Battle of Britain heats up as the German Luftwaffe launches a massive attack on the Royal Air Force
August 19: British Somaliland falls
August 20: Leon Trotsky, exiled from the Soviet Union, is mortally wounded in Mexico City with an ice axe
August 21: Leon Trotsky dies
August 24: A lost Luftwaffe bomber drops its bombs, hitting London unintentionally
August 25: In retaliation for the bombing of London, the RAF bombs Berlin
September
September 2: The USA makes the Lend-Lease agreement with Britain, which will supply the Royal Navy with fifty destroyers
September 4: Hitler publicly vows to retaliate for Britain's bombing of Berlin
September 7 (today): The Luftwaffe begins massive bombing of London