Timeline of World War II (1940) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This is a timeline of events that stretched over the period of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

January 1940

1: 10,000 Japanese troops launched a counter-attack in eastern Shanxi Province in China in an attempt to relieve the nearly-surrounded Japanese 36th Division.

2: The Russian offensive in Finland is halted by several Finnish victories; numerous Russian tanks are destroyed.

7: Rationing of basic foodstuffs is established in the UK.
A major Finnish victory at Suomussalmi

Battle of Suomussalmi

The Battle of Suomussalmi [suo.mus.sal.mi] was fought between Finnish and Soviet forces in the Winter War. The action took place from around December 7, 1939 to January 8, 1940.The outcome was a major Finnish victory against vastly superior forces...

is reported; one whole Russian division is eliminated, and again numbers of military vehicles are captured.

7: General Semyon Timoshenko took command of Soviet Army forces in Finland.

10: A German plane crashes

Mechelen Incident

The Mechelen Incident of 10 January 1940, also known as the Mechelen affair, was an event during the Phoney War. A German aircraft with an officer on-board carrying the plans for Fall Gelb , a German attack on the Low Countries, crash-landed in neutral Belgium near Vucht, in the modern-day...

in neutral Belgium. Onboard are the plans for Fall Gelb, these are discovered by the allies, causing a crisis situation.

16: Captured documents reveal Hitler's plans for the invasion of Scandinavia and a postponement of the invasion of France and the Low Countries until the Spring, when the weather is more compatible for an invasion.

17: The Russians are driven back in Finland and retaliate with heavy air attacks.

20: German submarine U-44 torpedoed and sank Greek steamer Ekatontarchos Dracoulis off Portugal at 0415 hours, killing 6. U-44 had been hunting for Ekatontarchos Dracoulis for the past 6 hours.

21: A U-boat sinks British destroyer HMS Exmouth

HMS Exmouth (H02)

HMS Exmouth was an E-class destroyer flotilla leader built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis...

a crew of 135 are all lost.

24: Reinhard Heydrich

Reinhard Heydrich

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...

is appointed by Goering for the solution to "The Jewish question."

27: Germany makes final plans for the invasion of Denmark and Norway.

February 1940

1: The Japanese Diet

Diet (assembly)

In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...

announces a record high budget with over half its expenditures being military.

5: Britain and France decide to intervene in Norway to cut off the iron ore trade in anticipation of an expected German occupation and ostensibly to open a route to assist Finland. The operation is scheduled to start about March 20.

9: Erich von Manstein

Erich von Manstein

Erich von Manstein was a field marshal in World War II. He became one of the most prominent commanders of Germany's World War II armed forces...

is placed in command of German XXXIII Armour Corps, removing him from planning the French invasion.

10: USSR agrees to supply grain and raw materials to Germany in a new trade treaty.

14: British government calls for volunteers to fight in Finland.

15: The Soviet army captures Summa, an important defence point in Finland, thereby breaking through the Mannerheim Line

Mannerheim Line

The Mannerheim Line was a defensive fortification line on the Karelian Isthmus built by Finland against the Soviet Union. During the Winter War it became known as the Mannerheim Line, after Field Marshal Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. The line was constructed in two phases: 1920–1924 and...

.
Hitler orders unrestricted submarine warfare

Unrestricted submarine warfare

Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchantmen without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules...

16: British destroyer forcibly removes 303 British POWs from the German transport Altmark
German tanker Altmark
Altmark was a German oil tanker and supply vessel, one of five of a class built between 1937 and 1939. She is best known for her support of the German commerce raider, the "pocket battleship" and her subsequent involvement in the "Altmark Incident"....

in neutral Norwegian territorial waters.

17: The Finns continue retreat from the Mannerheim line

Mannerheim Line

.
Manstein presents to Hitler his plans for invading France via the Ardennes

Ardennes

The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...

forest.

21: General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst

Nikolaus von Falkenhorst

Nikolaus von Falkenhorst was a German General who planned Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940...

is placed in command of the upcoming German invasion of Norway.

March 1940

1: Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

directs his generals in planning the invasion of Denmark and Norway.

3: Soviets begin attacks on Viipuri, Finland's second largest city.

5: Finland tells the Soviets they will agree to their terms for ending the war. The next day they send emissaries to Moscow to negotiate a peace treaty.

11: Meat rationing begins in Britain.

12: In Moscow, Finland signs a peace treaty with the Soviet Union after 105 days of conflict. The Finns are forced to give up significant territory in exchange for independence.

16: German air raid on Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow

right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...

causes first British civilian casualties.

18: Hitler and Mussolini meet at the Brenner pass on the Austrian border; Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....

agrees with Hitler that Italy will enter the war "at an opportune moment".

21: Paul Reynaud

Paul Reynaud

Paul Reynaud was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. He was the penultimate Prime Minister of the Third Republic and vice-president of the Democratic Republican Alliance center-right...

becomes Prime Minister of France following Daladier's resignation the previous day.

28: Britain and France make a formal agreement that neither country will seek a separate peace with Germany.

29: The Russians want new territories. Molotov speaks to the Supreme Soviet, about "an unsettled dispute", the question of Romanian Bessarabia.

30: Japan establishes a puppet regime at Nanking, China, under Wang Jingwei

Wang Jingwei

Wang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming, was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang , but later became increasingly anti-Communist after his efforts to collaborate with the CCP ended in political failure...

30: British undertakes secret reconnaissance flights to photograph the targeted areas inside the Soviet Union in preparation for Operation Pike

Operation Pike

Operation Pike refers to a strategic bombing plan, overseen by Air Commodore John Slessor, against the Soviet Union by the Anglo-French alliance...

, utilising high-altitude, high-speed stereoscopic photography pioneered by Sidney Cotton

Sidney Cotton

Frederick Sidney Cotton OBE was an Australian inventor, photographer and aviation and photography pioneer, responsible for developing and promoting an early colour film process, and largely responsible for the development of photographic reconnaissance before and during the Second World War...

April 1940

Operation Hurry, the first British wartime convoy to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

is accomplished.

1: Sometime between April and early May, Polish officers are massacred by the USSR at Katyn.

3: The Ministerial Defence Committee, with the First Lord of the Admiralty (Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

) as its chair, replaces Normandy after Hitler's invasion of Poland;

9: Germans land in several Norwegian ports and take Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

; The Norwegian Campaign

Norwegian Campaign

The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...

lasts 2 months. The British begin their Norwegian Campaign. Denmark surrenders.

10: Germans set up a Norwegian government under Vidkun Quisling

Vidkun Quisling

Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying...

, former minister of defence.

11: First Battle of Narvik, British destroyers and aircraft successfully make a surprise attack against a larger German naval force. A second attack on April 13 will also be a British success.

12: British troops occupy the Danish Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

14: British and French troops begin landing at Namsos

Namsos

is a town and municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Other villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Klinga, Ramsvika, Skomsvoll, and Spillum....

, north of Trondheim

Trondheim

Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...

in Norway.

14: The Enigma code is deciphered by the intelligence group at Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...

in England for the first time.

15: British troops land at Harstad

Harstad

is the second largest city and municipality by population, in Troms county, Norway – the city is also the third largest in North Norway. Thus Harstad is the natural centre for its district. Situated approximately north of the Arctic Circle, the city celebrated its 100th anniversary in...

, near Narvik

Narvik

is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...

, Norway.

16: More British landings in Norway, notably north and south of Trondheim

Trondheim

; the struggle for Trondheim continues until the 22nd.

27: British troops begin pull-out from central Norway, north and south of Trondheim

Trondheim

May 1940

1: Allies begin evacuating Norwegian ports; the efforts will continue until June.

5: Norwegian government in exile established in London.

8: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain

Neville Chamberlain

Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...

barely survives Norway Debate

Norway Debate

The Norway Debate, sometimes called the Narvik Debate, was a famous debate in the British House of Commons that took place in May 1940. It led to the formation of a widely-based National Government led by Winston Churchill which was to govern Britain until the end of World War II in Europe...

vote in the House of Commons.

9: Conscription in Britain extended to age 36.

10: Germany invades Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

upon the resignation of Neville Chamberlain

Neville Chamberlain

. The United Kingdom invades Iceland

Invasion of Iceland

The invasion of Iceland, codenamed Operation Fork, was a British military operation conducted by the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines and a small Canadian task force during World War II....

.
Belgium declares a state of emergency. Churchill is called on to form a wartime coalition government.
The massive German offensive against the Western front

Western Front (World War II)

The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...

: The invasion of Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France begins. In a bold stroke, German paratroops capture

Battle of Fort Eben-Emael

The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael was a battle between Belgian and German forces that took place between 10 May and 11 May 1940, and was part of the Battle of the Netherlands, Battle of Belgium and Fall Gelb, the German invasion of the Low Countries and France...

the Belgian fort Eben Emael.

10: The Battle for The Hague

Battle for The Hague

The Battle for the Hague was the first paratroop assault in history. It took place on 10 May 1940 as part of the Battle of the Netherlands between the Royal Netherlands Army and Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger . German paratroopers dropped in and around The Hague and were given orders to capture Dutch...

become the first failed paratrooper attack in history as the Dutch quickly defeat the invaders.

11: Luxembourg is occupied.
Churchill offers the former Kaiser Wilhelm II

William II, German Emperor

Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...

, who is now living in the Netherlands, asylum in the United Kingdom; he declines.

12: The Belgians blow up all the bridges over the Meuse River

Meuse River

The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...

to halt the German advance.

12: Battle of Hannut

Battle of Hannut

The Battle of Hannut was a Second World War battle fought during the Battle of Belgium which took place between 12 and 14 May 1940 at Hannut, Belgium...

begins in Belgium.

13: Dutch government in exile established in London.
General Heinz Guderian

Heinz Guderian

Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...

's Panzer corps breaks through at Sedan, France.
Queen Wilhelmina

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Wilhelmina was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...

of the Netherlands flees to asylum in the United Kingdom.
Churchill's "blood, toil, tears, and sweat

Blood, toil, tears, and sweat

The famous phrase Blood, toil, tears and sweat was first uttered on 2 July 1849 by Giuseppe Garibaldi when rallying his revolutionary forces in Rome. Theodore Roosevelt also uttered the phrase in an address to the Naval War College on June 2, 1897, following his appointment as Assistant Secretary...

" speech in Commons.

13: The Dutch fall to the Germans at the Battle of the Grebbeberg

Battle of the Grebbeberg

The Battle of the Grebbeberg was a major engagement during the Battle of the Netherlands, which was a part of the World War II Operation Fall Gelb in 1940.-Background:In the 1930s, the Dutch government pursued a policy of strict neutrality...

14: The creation of the Local Defence Volunteers; (the Home Guard) is announced by the new Secretary of State for War

Secretary of State for War

The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...

Anthony Eden

Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...

. It is mostly composed of the elderly and retired.
Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

is carpet-bombed by the Luftwaffe, causing many civilian deaths and tremendous damage. The Netherlands decide to surrender with the exception of Zealand.
Churchill asks President Roosevelt and Canada for aid in these dark days. Outlines of the new British coalition, which includes Labour, Liberal, and Conservative members, is made public.

14: The Dutch defeat the Germans at the Battle of the Afsluitdijk

Battle of the Afsluitdijk

The Battle of the Afsluitdijk was an unsuccessful attempt by the German Heer to seize the Afsluitdijk in May 1940, during World War II. If the Germans had taken the dyke, they could have taken North-Holland from its north...

14: The Rotterdam Blitz

Rotterdam Blitz

The Rotterdam Blitz refers to the aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the German Air Force on 14 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch to surrender...

successfully brings an end to the Battle of Rotterdam

Battle of Rotterdam

The Battle of Rotterdam was a Second World War battle fought during the Battle of the Netherlands. Fought between 10–14 May 1940, it was a German attempt to seize the Dutch city. It ended in a German victory, following the bombing of Rotterdam.-Prelude:...

15: The capitulation of the Dutch army is signed.
German forces cross over the River Meusse.

16: Churchill visits Paris and hears that the French war is as good as over; The United Kingdom stands alone in Europe.

17: Germans enter Brussels and also take Antwerp.
Paul Reynaud

Paul Reynaud

forms new French government, including 84-year old Marshal Pétain, the French hero of World War I.

18: Maxime Weygand

Maxime Weygand

Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...

replaces Maurice Gamelin

Maurice Gamelin

Maurice Gustave Gamelin was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France and his steadfast defense of republican values....

as commander of the French armed forces
Antwerp captured.

18: Germans win the Battle of Zeeland

Battle of Zeeland

The Battle of Zeeland was a little-known struggle on the Western Front during the early stages of the German assault on France and the Low Countries during World War II. Several Dutch and French units attempted to hold off the German onslaught by making a determined defense of the Dutch province of...

19: Amiens, France is besieged by German troops; Rommel

Rommel

Erwin Rommel was a German World War II field marshal.Rommel may also refer to:*Rommel *Rommel Adducul , Filipino basketball player*Rommel Fernández , first Panamanian footballer to play in Europe...

's forces surround Arras; other German forces reach Noyelles on the Channel.

19: The British complete their invasion of Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

20: General Guderian's Panzer groups take Abbeville

Abbeville

Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...

, threatening Allied forces in the area.

23: Oswald Mosley

Oswald Mosley

Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...

, leader of the pre-war British fascists, is jailed; he and his wife will spend the duration in prison.

24: The British make a final decision to cease operations in Norway.

25: The Allied forces, British and French alike, retreat to Dunkirk. Hitler orders a halt to the advance of Germans toward the Allied beachhead and allows Goering to use the Luftwaffe to attack. British R.A.F. defends the beachhead.
Sporadic Luftwaffe bombings in England.
Boulogne-sur-Mer

Boulogne-sur-Mer

-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....

surrenders to the Germans.

25: Soviet Union is preparing a total takeover in the Baltic States organizing and staging conflicts between the Baltic States and the USSR. Soviet government accuses Lithuania of kidnapping Soviet soldiers.

26: Calais

Calais

Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....

surrenders to the Germans.
Operation Dynamo

Operation Dynamo

The Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and the early hours of 3 June 1940, because the British, French and Belgian troops were...

, the Allied evacuation of 340,000 troops from Dunkirk, begins. The move will last until June 3 under ferocious bombardment by the Luftwaffe.

28: Belgium surrenders to the Germans; King Leopold III of Belgium

Leopold III of Belgium

Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...

surrenders and is interned.

30: Crucial British Cabinet meeting: Churchill wins a vote on continuing the war, in spite of vigorous arguments by Lord Halifax and Chamberlain.

31: The Japanese heavily bomb Nationalist capital Chungking, on the upper Yangtse.

June 1940

3: Last day of Operation Dynamo. 224,686 British and 121,445 French and Belgian troops have been evacuated.
Germans bomb Paris.

7: German battleships Gneisenau

German battleship Gneisenau

Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935...

and Scharnhorst

German battleship Scharnhorst

Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...

sink the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and two destroyers off Norway; the British ships have had no air cover.

9: Red Army provokes conflicts in the Latvian border.

10: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
: Norway surrenders. King Haakon and his government had been evacuated to Britain three days previously.

11: French government decamps to Tours

Tours

Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...

13: Paris occupied by German troops; French government moves again, this time to Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

14: Elements of the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

(Marine Nationale
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

) based in Toulon

Toulon

Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

carried out offensive operations against Italian targets along the Ligurian coast

Liguria

Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...

.
A total military blockade on the Baltic States by the Soviet Baltic Fleet

Baltic Fleet

The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...

. Soviet troops along the Baltic borders are ready to organise communist coups in the Baltic States. Soviet bombers shoot down a Finnish passenger airplane Kaleva

Kaleva (airplane)

Kaleva, registered OH-ALL, was a civilian Junkers Ju 52 passenger and transport plane, belonging to the Finnish carrier Aero O/Y. The aircraft was shot down by two Soviet Ilyushin DB-3 bombers during peacetime between the Soviet Union and Finland on June 14, 1940, while en route from Tallinn to...

flying from Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

to Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

and carrying three diplomatic pouches from the U.S. legations in Tallinn, Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

and Helsinki.

15: Eight hour ultimatum to surrender is given to Lithuania by the Soviets. President Smetona escapes from the country so the takeover is not possible to do in a formally legal way. Soviet troops enter Lithuania and attack Latvian border guards.

16: Philippe Pétain

Philippe Pétain

Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...

becomes premier of France upon the resignation of Reynaud's government.
The French sloop La Curieuse forced the Italian submarine Provano to surface and then sank it by ramming.
Soviet Union gives eight hour ultimatum to Latvia and Estonia to surrender.

17: Sinking of liner RMS Lancastria

RMS Lancastria

The RMS Lancastria was a British Cunard liner sunk on 17 June 1940 during World War II with the loss of an estimated 4,000 plus lives. It is the worst single loss of life in British maritime history and the bloodiest single engagement for UK forces , in the whole conflict and claimed more lives...

off St Nazaire while being used as a British troopship—Britain's worst maritime disaster since the Anglo-Dutch wars

Anglo-Dutch Wars

The Anglo–Dutch Wars were a series of wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes. The first war took place during the English Interregnum, and was fought between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic...

.
Soviet troops enter Latvia and Estonia.

18: General De Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

forms the Comité Français de la Libération Nationale, a French government in exile; Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

and Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

are occupied by the Soviet Union.

20: The French seek an armistice with the Italians

21: Franco-German armistice negotiations begin at Compiègne

Compiègne

Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...

.
Elements of two Italian armies cross into France during Italian invasion of France

Italian invasion of France

The Italian invasion of France in June 1940 was a small-scale invasion that started near the end of the Battle of France during World War II. The goal of the Italian offensive was to take control of the Alps mountain range and the region around Nice, and to win the colonies in North Africa...

21: The French battleship Lorraine opened fired on the Italian port of Bardia

Bardia

Bardia is a geographic region in the Democratic Republic of Nepal.Bardia comprises a portion of the Terai, or lowland hills and valleys of southern Nepal. The Terai is over 1,000 feet in elevation, and extends all along the Indian border...

in Italian North Africa

Italian North Africa

Italian North Africa was the aggregate of territories and colonies controlled by Italy in North Africa from 1911 until World War II...

. During some of the last actions of the French against the Italians, French naval aircraft attacked Taranto

Taranto

Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....

and Livorno

Livorno

Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...

in mainland Italy.

21: Soviet-led coups in the Baltic States. In the only military resistance in Tallinn, 2 die on Estonian side and about 10 on the Soviet side.

22: Franco-German armistice

Armistice with France (Second Compiègne)

The Second Armistice at Compiègne was signed at 18:50 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, in the department of Oise, between Nazi Germany and France...

signed.

24: Franco-Italian armistice signed.

25: France officially surrenders to Germany at 01:35.

26: The Soviet Union send an ultimatum demanding Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina from Romania.

27: Romanians propose negotiations. Molotov replies that the demands are land concessions or war. New ultimatum from the Soviets to the Romanians.

28: General De Gaulle recognised by British as leader of Free French.
Marshal Italo Balbo

Italo Balbo

Italo Balbo was an Italian Blackshirt leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force , Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa , and the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.After serving in...

, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa

Italian North Africa

Italian North Africa was the aggregate of territories and colonies controlled by Italy in North Africa from 1911 until World War II...

, is accidentally killed in a "friendly fire incident" by Italian anti-aircraft fire at Tobruk, Libya.

28: The Red Army occupies Romanian Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina.

28: The Luftwaffe bombs the demilitarised British Channel Islands, they had not been informed of the demilitarization. In Guernsey, 33 are killed and 67 injured, in Jersey, 9 are killed and many are injured.

28: Axis and Allied convoys clash south-west of Crete

Battle of the Espero Convoy

The Battle of the Espero Convoy was the first Second World War surface engagement between Italian and Allied warships. It took place southwest of Crete on 28 June 1940, after a force of seven cruisers and 16 destroyers, preparing to escort three Allied convoys to Alexandria, were informed of the...

30: Germany invades the Channel Islands

Occupation of the Channel Islands

The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany for much of World War II, from 30 June 1940 until the liberation on 9 May 1945. The Channel Islands are two British Crown dependencies and include the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey as well as the smaller islands of Alderney and Sark...

July 1940

1: Channel Islands occupation

Occupation of the Channel Islands

is completed by German forces.
: French government

Vichy France

Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...

moves to Vichy

Vichy

Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...

.
: Marshal Rodolfo Graziani

Rodolfo Graziani

Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli , was an officer in the Italian Regio Esercito who led military expeditions in Africa before and during World War II.-Rise to prominence:...

is named as Balbo's replacement in North Africa.
: The Italian Royal Air Force

Regia Aeronautica

The Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...

starts bombing the British Mandate of Palestine.

2: Hitler orders preparation of plans for invasion of Britain, code-named Operation Sea Lion.

2: Alderney

Alderney

Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...

surrenders to the Germans.

2: Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

beach is closed to the public and mines, barbed wire and other defences are put into place.

3: Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

is bombed by the Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

for the first time.

3: The British attack and destroy the French navy, fearing that it would fall into German hands.

4: The destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

; Vichy French government breaks off diplomatic relations with Britain in protest. At Alexandria the French agree to demilitarise the battleship Lorraine and several smaller ships.
The Duke of Windsor

Duke of Windsor

The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...

(tainted by suspicion of pro-Nazism) is named governor of the Bahamas, putting him some distance from controversy.

4: Sark

Sark

Sark is a small island in the Channel Islands in southwestern English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. It is a royal fief, geographically located in the Channel Islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population...

surrenders to the Germans. The Germans now control all of the British Channel Islands.

4: The German News Bureau released excerpts of the documents captured during the fall of France relating to Operation Pike

Operation Pike

Operation Pike refers to a strategic bombing plan, overseen by Air Commodore John Slessor, against the Soviet Union by the Anglo-French alliance...

, an Anglo-French plan to bomb Soviet oil fields. The compromised operation was subsequently aborted.

9: A fairly indecisive naval skirmish

Battle of Calabria

The Battle of Calabria, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in World War II. It was fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, the "toe" of Italy , on 9 July 1940...

happens off the coast of Italy. No lives are lost.

10: The Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

begins with Luftwaffe raids on channel shipping.
President Roosevelt asks Congress for huge increases in military preparations.

11: RAF raids on enemy emplacements in the Netherlands and on German munitions factories.

12: Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

attacks on Wales, Scotland and Northen Ireland.

14: Soviets organize rigged elections in the Baltic States. The parliaments will be in the control of the Soviets.

16: Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

submits to his military the directive for the invasion of the United Kingdom, Operation Sea Lion.

18: In response to Mers-el-Kébir, the Vichy French Air Force

Vichy French Air Force

The Vichy French Air Force was the aerial branch of the armed forces of Vichy France - the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers following the defeat of France by Germany in 1940....

bombs British-held Gibraltar

Military history of Gibraltar during World War II

The military history of Gibraltar during World War II exemplifies Gibraltar's position as a British fortress since the early 18th century and as a vital factor in British military strategy, both as a foothold on the continent of Europe, and as a bastion of British sea power...

19: General Johan Laidoner

Johan Laidoner

Johan Laidoner was a seminal figure of Estonian history between the world wars. His highest position was Commander-in-chief of the Estonian Army in 1918–1920, 1924–1925, and 1934–1940.-Education:Laidoner was born in Viiratsi , Governorate of Livonia, then part of the Russian Empire...

of Estonia is deported to Siberia.

19: Allied ships clash with two Italian light cruisers, sinking one in the Battle of Cape Spada

Battle of Cape Spada

The Battle of Cape Spada was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in Second World War. It took place on 19 July 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Spada, the north-western extremity of Crete.-Prelude:...

21: Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

n government in exile arrives in London.
In the Baltic States Soviet controlled parliaments request membership of USSR.

22: The Havana Conference

Havana Conference of 1940

The Havana Conference was a conference held in the Cuban capital of Havana in July 1940.As Germany began to take over countries throughout Europe during World War II many colonies in the New World found themselves orphaned...

meets; the nations of the Western hemisphere meet to discuss neutrality and economic cooperation.
Fumimaro Konoye is named the Prime Minister of Japan.

23: The British "Home Guard

British Home Guard

The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...

" is officially established, drawing on elderly men and those considered unable to serve in the regular armed forces.

25: All women and children are ordered to evacuate Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

26: The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

of America activates the General Headquarters (GHQ), United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, which is designed to facilitate mobilization by supervising the organization and training of the army field forces within the continental United States, which is code named the Zone of the Interior.

30: The President of Estonia

President of Estonia

The President of the Republic is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia.Estonia is a parliamentary republic, therefore President is mainly a symbolic figure and holds no executive power. The President has to suspend his membership in any political party for his term in office...

, Konstantin Päts

Konstantin Päts

Konstantin Päts VR I/1 and III/1 was the most influential politician of interwar Estonia. He was one of the first Estonians to become active in politics and started an almost 40-year political rivalry with Jaan Tõnisson, first through journalism with his newspaper Teataja, later through politics...

, is arrested and deported to Russia by the Soviets.

August 1940

1: Hitler sets 15 September as the date for Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of Britain.
: Russian Foreign Minister Molotov reaffirms Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in the Soviet Supreme while verbally attacking both Britain and the USA. He also asserts that the boundaries of Soviet Union are moved to the shores of the Baltic Sea.
: The Italian Royal Navy

Regia Marina

The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

establishes its BETASOM

BETASOM

BETASOM BETASOM BETASOM (an Italian language acronym of Bordeaux Sommergibile. was a submarine base established at Bordeaux by the Italian Regia Marina Italiana during World War II....

submarine base in Bordeaux

Bordeaux

and joins the "Battle of the Atlantic."

2: General Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle

sentenced to death in absentia by a French military court.
: The USSR annexes Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina.

3: The USSR formally annexes Lithuania.

4: Italian forces under General Guglielmo Nasi

Guglielmo Nasi

Guglielmo Ciro Nasi was an Italian General who fought in Italian East Africa during World War II.-Biography:Nasi was born in Civitavecchia, Latium...

invade and occupy

Italian conquest of British Somaliland

The Italian conquest of British Somaliland was a military campaign in the Horn of Africa, which took place in August 1940 between forces of Italy and those of Great Britain and its Commonwealth...

British Somaliland

British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...

during the East African Campaign

East African Campaign (World War II)

The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....

5: Failure to achieve air superiority and bad weather in the Channel results in a postponement of the invasion of Great Britain.
: The USSR formally annexes Latvia.

6: The USSR formally annexes Estonia

Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic

The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic , often abbreviated as Estonian SSR or ESSR, was a republic of the Soviet Union, administered by and subordinated to the Government of the Soviet Union...

11-15: Battle of Tug Argan

Italian conquest of British Somaliland

The Italian conquest of British Somaliland was a military campaign in the Horn of Africa, which took place in August 1940 between forces of Italy and those of Great Britain and its Commonwealth...

fought in British Somaliland during the Italian invasion

Italian conquest of British Somaliland

The Italian conquest of British Somaliland was a military campaign in the Horn of Africa, which took place in August 1940 between forces of Italy and those of Great Britain and its Commonwealth...

. To avoid encirclement, the British withdraw.

13: This is "Adler Tag

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

" or "Eagle Day

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

". Goering starts a two-week assault on British airfields in preparation for invasion. (For some German historians, this is the beginning of the "Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

.")

14: British scientist, Sir Henry Tizard

Henry Tizard

Sir Henry Thomas Tizard FRS was an English chemist and inventor and past Rector of Imperial College....

, leaves for the United States on the Tizard Mission

Tizard Mission

The Tizard Mission officially the British Technical and Scientific Mission was a British delegation that visited the United States during the Second World War in order to obtain the industrial resources to exploit the military potential of the research and development work completed by the UK up...

, giving over to the Americans a number of top secret British technologies including the magnetron, the secret device at the heart of radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

. Radar is already proving itself in the defence of Britain.
: The destroyer/base exchange between the US and Britain goes forward.

15: RAF victories over the Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

continue, in a wide-ranging fight along the East coast. British fighter aircraft production begins to accelerate.
: Sinking of the Greek cruiser Elli

Greek cruiser Elli

Elli was a 2,600 ton Greek light cruiser named for a naval battle of the First Balkan War in which Greece was victorious....

by an Italian submarine on 15 August 1940 at the harbour of Tinos

Tinos

Tinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa and Hydroessa . The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos...

16: The Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

continues; Germans are hampered by poor aircraft range and British extensive use of RADAR.
: A first draft of the destroyer/base trade by the US and Britain is made public.

17: Hitler declares a blockade of the British Isles.

18: Heavy fighting in the Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

; Germans suffering severe losses on bomber formations. Goering declares cowardice among his fighter pilots and orders them to closely guard the bombers, further restricting their capabilities.

19: Italian forces take Berbera

Berbera

Berbera is a city and seat of Berbera District in Somaliland, a self-proclaimed Independent Republic with de facto control over its own territory, which is recognized by the international community and the Somali Government as a part of Somalia...

, the capital of British Somaliland

British Somaliland

and the British defenders flee to Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

. The fall of Berbera completes the invasion of the British colony. By the end of the month, the Italians control British Somaliland and several towns and forts along the border with the Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

and Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

including Kassala

Kassala

Kassala is the capital of the state of Kassala in eastern Sudan. Its 2008 population was recorded to be 419,030. It is a market town and is famous for its fruit gardens. It was formerly a railroad hub, however, as of 2006 there was no operational railway station in Kassala and much of the track...

, Gallabat

Gallabat

Gallabat is a village in the Sudanese state of Al Qadarif. It lies at one of the country's border crossing points with Ethiopia; on the other side of the border is Ethiopia's corresponding border village Metemma.-History:...

, and Moyale

Moyale

Moyale is a market town on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya, which is split between the two countries: the larger portion is in Ethiopia , and the smaller is in Kenya . There are four disputed locations within the Moyale district between the Somali and Oromo regions...

20: Italy announces a blockade

Blockade

A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...

of British ports in the Mediterranean area.
: Churchill's speech in Commons: "never was so much owed by so many to so few

Never was so much owed by so many to so few

Never was so much owed by so many to so few was a wartime speech made by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 20 August 1940. The name stems from the specific line in the speech, Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few, referring to the ongoing efforts...

20:Chinese Communists launch the Hundred Regiments Offensive

Hundred Regiments Offensive

The Hundred Regiments Offensive was a major campaign of the Communist Party of China's Red Army commanded by Peng Dehuai against the Imperial Japanese Army in Central China.-Background:...

against the IJA in North China.

22: Germans are now shelling Dover

Dover

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

and the nearby coastal area with long-range artillery.

24: German aircraft mistakenly bomb Coventry, accidentally dictating the future shape of the Battle of Britain.

25: Churchill orders the bombing of Berlin in retaliation for last night's bombing of Coventry.

26: Both London and Berlin are bombed, Berlin for the first time.

30: The bombing of England continues; London is now bombed in retaliation for the bombing of Berlin

Bombing of Berlin

Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany, was subject to 363 air raids during the Second World War. It was bombed by the RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and 1945, and by the USAAF Eighth Air Force between 1943 and 1945, as part of the Allied campaign of strategic bombing of Germany...

; thus, the beginning of "the London Blitz."
: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini dictated the so-called Second Vienna Award

Second Vienna Award

The Second Vienna Award was the second of two Vienna Awards arbitrated by the Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Rendered on August 30, 1940, it re-assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary.-Prelude and historical background :After the World War I, the multi-ethnic...

which forced Romania to hand over the Northern Transylvania

Northern Transylvania

Northern Transylvania is a region of Transylvania, situated within the territory of Romania. The population is largely composed of both ethnic Romanians and Hungarians, and the region has been part of Romania since 1918 . During World War II, as a consequence of the territorial agreement known as...

(including the entire Maramureş

Maramures

Maramureș may refer to the following:*Maramureș, a geographical, historical, and ethno-cultural region in present-day Romania and Ukraine, that occupies the Maramureș Depression and Maramureș Mountains, a mountain range in North East Carpathians...

and part of Crişana

Crisana

Crișana is a geographical and historical region divided today between Romania and Hungary, named after the Criș River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru and Crișul Repede....

) to Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

31: Luftwaffe attacks on British airfields continue, as well as on London. Attacks on Radar installations prove ineffective.

September 1940

1: Germany's Jews are ordered to wear yellow stars for identification.

2: The Destroyers for Bases Agreement

Destroyers for Bases Agreement

The Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, September 2, 1940, transferred fifty mothballed destroyers from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions...

is completed. Britain obtains 50 destroyers in exchange for giving the United States land grants in various British possessions for the establishment of US naval and air bases, on ninety-nine-year rent-free leases.

3: Hitler postpones the invasion of Britain, as the Luftwaffe fails to break the British defenses. Fears of the forthcoming invasion continue, however, to haunt Britain.

6: King Carol

Carol II of Romania

Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...

abdicates the Romanian throne in favour of his son Michael while control of the government is taken by Marshal Antonescu

Ion Antonescu

Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...

7: In one of the major misjudgements of the war, the Luftwaffe shifts its focus to London, away from the RAF airfields. Success may be measured only in the estimated 2,000 civilian dead. Other British cities are hit.

9: During the Western Desert Campaign

Western Desert Campaign

The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was the initial stage of the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign was heavily influenced by the availability of supplies and transport. The ability of the Allied forces, operating from besieged Malta, to...

, Italian colonial forces in Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

under General Mario Berti

Mario Berti

Mario Berti was an Italian officer during World War I and General in the Spanish Civil War and World War II.-Personal life.:Mario Berti was born in La Spezia, which is located in modern day Liguria. He was born into an upper-middle class family...

launch the invasion of Egypt

Italian invasion of Egypt

The Italian Invasion of Egypt was an Italian offensive action against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Initially, the goal of the offensive was to seize the Suez Canal. To accomplish this, Italian forces from Libya would have...

. The first objective is to advance from defensive positions within Libya to the border with Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

.
: Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

in the British Mandate of Palestine is bombed by Italian aircraft causing 137 deaths.

10: Operation Sea Lion is now set for 24 September.
: The Italian Air Corps

Corpo Aereo Italiano

The "Italian Air Corps" was an expeditionary force of the Italian Royal Air Force that participated in the Battle of Britain during the final months of 1940 during World War II. The CAI supported the German Air Force and flew against the British Royal Air Force...

is formed to fight in the Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

13: After re-taking Fort Capuzzo

Fort Capuzzo

Fort Capuzzo was a fort in the Italiancolony of Libya, near the Libyan-Egyptian border. It is famous for its role during the World War II.Within a week of Italy's 10 June 1940 declaration of war upon Britain, the British Army's 11th Hussars captured Fort Capuzzo...

just inside Libya, Italian colonial forces cross the border and advance into Egypt. The Italians take the small port of Sollum, but the only resistance to the invasion is a light British screening force which withdraws as the Italians advance.

14: Operation Sea Lion is postponed until 27 September, the last day of the month with suitable tides for the invasion.

15: Massive German bombing flights on English cities; most are driven off. The RAF begins to claim victory in the Battle of Britain.

16: Selective Training and Service Act of 1940

Selective Training and Service Act of 1940

The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke-Wadsworth Act, was passed by the Congress of the United States on September 17, 1940, becoming the first peacetime conscription in United States history when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law two days later...

introduces the first peacetime conscription

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

(this time for men between 21 and 35) in United States history.
The Italian invasion of Egypt

Italian invasion of Egypt

comes to a halt when approximately five Italian divisions set up defensively in a series of armed camps after advancing about 95 km to Sidi Barrani

Sidi Barrani

Sidi Barrani is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the border with Libya, and around from Tobruk, Libya.Probably named after Sidi Mohammed el Barrani, a Senussi fighter in the early 1900s, the village is mainly a Bedouin community...

. The Italians never approach the main British positions at Mersa Matruh.

17: Decoded messages now reveal that Hitler has postponed Operation Sea Lion until further notice.

22: Heavy convoy losses to U-boats in the Atlantic.
The Japanese occupy Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

and establish several bases in French Indochina

French Indochina

French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....

; local French administrators become only figurehead authorities.

23: Free French and British forces attempt landing at Dakar

Battle of Dakar

The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa , which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.-Background:At...

, West Africa; Vichy French naval forces open fire sporadically for two days, and the expedition is called back.

24: Berlin suffers a large bombing raid by the RAF.
: In response to Dakar, the Vichy French Air Force bombs Gibraltar

Military history of Gibraltar during World War II

for the first time since 18 July.

25: Vichy French aircraft return to Gibraltar for a second day of bombings.
: Japanese 5th Division march into Hanoi

Hanoi

Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...

, North Vietnam

North Vietnam

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...

27: The Tripartite Pact

Tripartite Pact

The Tripartite Pact, also the Three-Power Pact, Axis Pact, Three-way Pact or Tripartite Treaty was a pact signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940, which established the Axis Powers of World War II...

is signed in Berlin by Germany, Italy, and Japan, promising mutual aid. An informal name,"Axis", emerges.

28: Vidkun Quisling

Vidkun Quisling

becomes head of state in Norway.

October 1940

1-31: The United States Of America separates the Corps Areas established in 1921 to perform the administrative tasks of the various regions of the US from the four Field Armies that had been established in 1932.

1: Chinese Nationalist and Chinese Communists fight each other in southern China. Meanwhile Japanese forces have a setback at Changsha.

2: The bombing of London continues throughout the month.

3: Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

's Jews are directed to move into the Warsaw ghetto.

4: Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

and Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....

meet at the Brenner Pass

Brenner Pass

- Roadways :The motorway E45 leading from Innsbruck via Bolzano to Verona and Modena uses this pass, and is one of the most important north-south connections in Europe...

to discuss the prospects in the war.

7: Germany invades Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

to block the Soviet Army and get access to valuable oil fields.

9: Neville Chamberlain

Neville Chamberlain

resigns from the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

for health reasons; Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

is elected head of the Conservative Party.

12: Any German invasion of Britain is postponed until Spring 1941 at the earliest.

12: The Royal Navy clash with and defeat

Battle of Cape Passero (1940)

The Battle of Cape Passero , was a Second World War naval engagement between the British light cruiser and seven torpedo boats and destroyers of the Regia Marina, southeast of Sicily, in the early hours of 12 October 1940...

several Italian ships which attacked them after a convoy mission to Malta.

13: British civilians are still being killed by German bombs though the attacks have dropped off significantly.

15: Clarence Addison Dykstra

Clarence Addison Dykstra

Clarence Addison Dykstra was a U.S. administrator of Dutch descent. He served as the first City Manager in the US in Cincinnati, Ohio after teaching government at the University of Chicago. He then became Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin as well as director of the Selective Service...

becomes Director of Selective Service

Selective Service System

The Selective Service System is a means by which the United States government maintains information on those potentially subject to military conscription. Most male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of...

in the United States.

15: Mussolini and his closest advisers decide to invade Greece

Battle of Greece

The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...

16: Draft registration begins in the United States.

19: The Italians bomb Bahrain

Bombing of Bahrain in World War II

The bombing of Bahrain in World War II was part of an effort by the Italian Royal Air Force to strike at the British interests wherever possible in the Middle East.-Background:...

20: Italian aircraft bomb Cairo, Egypt and American-operated oil refineries in the British Protectorate of Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

21: Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

is bombed for the 200th time.

23: Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

meets with Franco

Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

at Hendaye

Hendaye

Hendaye is the most south-westerly town and commune in France, lying in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and located in the traditional province Lapurdi of the French Basque Country...

, near the Spanish-French border; little is accomplished, and least of all Hitler's hope to convince Franco

Meeting at Hendaye

The Meeting of Hendaye, or interview of Hendaye took place between Francisco Franco and Adolf Hitler ....

to enter the war on the Axis side.

24: After meeting with Franco, Hitler was going to Montoire where he met with Philippe Pétain

Philippe Pétain

took place signifying the start of organised French collaboration with the Nazi regime.

24: The Italian Air Corps

Corpo Aereo Italiano

sees its first action during the Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

25: Berlin and Hamburg are bombed heavily.

28: Italy issues ultimatum to Greece and Greek Prime Minister Metaxas

Ioannis Metaxas

Ioannis Metaxas was a Greek general, politician, and dictator, serving as Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941...

replies: "So it is war". The Italian Royal Army launches attacks into Greece from Italian-held Albania

Albania under Italy

The Albanian Kingdom existed as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. It was practically a union between Italy and Albania, officially led by Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III and its government: Albania was led by Italian governors, after being militarily occupied by Italy, from 1939 until 1943...

and begins the Greco-Italian War

Greco-Italian War

The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...

. Hitler is angered at the initiative of his ally.

29: Very heavy convoy losses during this period as numbers of U-boats increase.

29: The first number drawings for US Selective Service Act

Selective Training and Service Act of 1940

draftees.

30: President Roosevelt, in the middle of an election campaign, promises not to send "our boys" to war.

31: The Warsaw District government moves all Jews living in Warsaw to the ghettos.

November 1940

1: Turkey declared neutrality in the Italo-Greek war.

2: The Italian advance into Greece continues. Vovousa

Vovousa

Vovousa is a village and a former community in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zagori, of which it is a municipal unit. It is one of the original Zagori villages. Population 179...

is captured and Italian aircraft bomb Salonika.

4: President Roosevelt wins a third term. The British see the event as promising of more help from the US.

5: The HMS Jervis Bay, a merchant cruiser, is sunk on convoy duty, but much of the convoy escapes. The loss becomes a media event.

7: It becomes clear that Ireland will refuse to allow the United Kingdom to use its ports as naval bases.

8: The Battle of Elaia-Kalamas ends and the Italians end their futile offensive in Greece.

9: Neville Chamberlain dies.

11: British naval forces launch attack against Italian navy at Taranto

Battle of Taranto

The naval Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11–12 November 1940 during the Second World War. The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack in history, flying a small number of obsolescent biplane torpedo bombers from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea...

. Swordfish bombers from damage three battleships, two cruisers and multiple auxiliary craft. The event secures British supply lines in the Mediterranean. The British success will be studied by Japanese military already preparing for an attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

12: Molotov meets Hitler and Ribbentrop in Berlin. New World order is under discussion. Molotov expresses Soviet interest in Finland, Bulgaria, Romania, Dardanelles and Bosporus, but Hitler talks along broad lines about worldwide spheres of influence between Russia, Germany, Italy and Japan.

12: In the Battle of Gabon

Battle of Gabon

The Battle of Gabon or the Battle of Libreville was part of the West African Campaign of World War II fought in November 1940. The battle resulted in the Free French forces under General Charles de Gaulle taking Libreville, Gabon, and taking all of French Equatorial Africa from Vichy French...

, British forces finish wrestling central Africa from the Vichy French.

13: Molotov meets Hitler again asking acceptance to liquidate Finland. Hitler now resists every attempt to expand Soviet influence in Europe. He sees Britain as defeated and offers India to the Soviet Union.
: The Battle of Pindus

Battle of Pindus

The Battle of Pindus took place in the Pindus Mountains in Epirus and West Macedonia, Greece, in the autumn of 1940, between October 28 – November 13. The battle was fought between the Greek and the Italian armies during the first stages of the Greco-Italian War...

ends in a Greek victory.

14: A heavy night raid on Coventry

Coventry Blitz

The Coventry blitz was a series of bombing raids that took place in the English city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Second World War by the German Air Force...

. Coventry Cathedral

Coventry Cathedral

Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....

is destroyed and the medieval centre of the city is levelled.
: The Greek counter-offensive

Counter-offensive

A counter-offensive is the term used by the military to describe large-scale, usually strategic offensive operations by forces that had successfully halted an enemy's offensive, while occupying defensive positions....

against the Italians begins.

15: The Soviet Union is invited to join Tripartite Pact and to share in the spoils of British Empire. Warsaw's Jewish ghetto is cordoned off from the rest of the city.

16: Churchill orders some British troops in North Africa to be sent to Greece, despite concerns by his military leaders that they are needed in the current campaign against the Italians in North Africa.

19: The Greeks continue to advance, and evict Italian troops from Greek soil.

20: Hungary signs the Tripartite Pact

Tripartite Pact

21: The Belgian government, in exile in Britain, declares war on Italy.

22: Fall of Korytsa to the Greeks.

23: Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

signs the Tripartite Pact

Tripartite Pact

24: The Slovak Republic signs the Tripartite Pact

Tripartite Pact

25: The Soviet Union gives her terms to join the Tripartite Pact including substantial new territorial gains for Russia.

29: A massive overnight bombing raid on Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

30: A large bombing raid on Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

in southern England; the city is hit again the next night, followed by Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

on the 2nd of December, and Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

on the 3rd.

December 1940

1-8: Greek forces continue to drive the Italian armies back, capturing the cities of Pogradec

Pogradec

Pogradec is a city in southeastern Albania, situated on the shores of Ohrid lake. It is the capital of the District of Pogradec, in the County of Korçë, located at 40.87°N and 20.70°E with a population of around 30,000 . The total area of the district is 725 km². Pogradec alone occupies about...

, Sarandë

Sarandë

Sarandë or Saranda is the capital of the District of Sarandë, Albania, and is one of the most important tourist attractions of the Albanian Riviera. It is situated on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean 2 nautical miles from the Greek island of Corfu. The city of Saranda has a...

, and Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...

1: Bombing raids are exchanged throughout the month between Germany and Britain. First German bombs, then Britain's.
: Joseph P. Kennedy, the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom is asked to resign by President Roosevelt after he gives a newspaper interview expressing that "Democracy is finished in England".

5: The RAF bombs Düsseldorf and Turin.

6-9: British and Indian troops of the Western Desert Force

Western Desert Force

The Western Desert Force, during World War II, was a British Commonwealth army formation stationed in Egypt.On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the British 6th Infantry Division was designated as the Western Desert Force. The unit consisted of the 7th Armoured Division and the Indian 4th Infantry...

launch Operation Compass

Operation Compass

Operation Compass was the first major Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during World War II. British and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces in western Egypt and eastern Libya in December 1940 to February 1941. The attack was a complete success...

, an offensive against Italian forces in Egypt. The Italians have seven infantry divisions and the Maletti Group

Maletti Group

The Maletti Group was an ad hoc "mechanized" unit formed by the Italian Royal Army in Italian North Africa during the initial stages of the Western Desert Campaign of World War II...

in fortified defensive positions. Initial attacks are launched against the five Italian camps around and south of Sidi Barrani

Sidi Barrani

. The camps are overrun, Italian General Pietro Maletti

Pietro Maletti

Pietro Maletti was an Italian military officer who participated in World War I, the subjugation of Italian North Africa, the Italo-Abyssinian War, and World War II...

is killed, and the Maletti Group

Maletti Group

The Maletti Group was an ad hoc "mechanized" unit formed by the Italian Royal Army in Italian North Africa during the initial stages of the Western Desert Campaign of World War II...

, the 1st Libyan Division, the 2nd Libyan Division, and the 4th Blackshirt Division are all but destroyed. The remaining Italian units in Egypt are forced to withdraw towards Libya.

8: Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco

rules out Spanish entry into the war; the immediate result is that Hitler is forced to cancel an attack on Gibraltar.

12: In North Africa, over 39,000 Italians lost or captured in Egypt.

16: The first RAF night raid--on Mannheim, Germany.
: In North Africa, the British are in command at Sollum in Egypt and take Fort Capuzzo

Fort Capuzzo

in Libya.

18: Hitler issues directive to begin planning for Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

22-24: Bombing raids on Manchester

Manchester Blitz

The Manchester Blitz was the heavy bombing of the city of Manchester and its surrounding areas in North West England during the Second World War by the Nazi German Luftwaffe...

28: The Greco-Italian War

Greco-Italian War

The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...

continues to go badly for the Italians and the Greeks hold roughly one-quarter of Albania.
: Italy requests military assistance from Germany against the Greeks.

29: Large German air-raids on London; St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...

is damaged.

External links

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