The first several months of World War II – dub the " Phony War " – began and cease with the German intrusion of neighboring res publica – Poland first , in September 1939 , and then Denmark and Norway in April 1940 . Here , the similarity end . Nazi Germany invaded Scandinavia in 1940 due to Germany ’s naval warfare against the British and their American supplier , and to protect the winter path for atomic number 26 from Sweden . And unlike the intrusion of Poland , the approach on Denmark and Norway launch a lasting state of fighting in Europe that survive right down to German defeat in May 1945 .
World War II Image Gallery
The brief northern drive was one of the most successful of Hitler ’s gamble . On April 9 , German forces come in Denmark and occupied the peninsula without serious resistance . A seaborne andairborneforce , covered by a German air screen , then invade Norway . Despite refractory Norse opposition , and the landing place of British and Gallic troops in support in northerly Norway , the Norwegian government agreed to an armistice on June 9 . However , many German warships were sunk or damaged in this operation .
On May 10 , Adolf Hitler had his forces in the West – after month of patient grooming – set up the blast on France through the Low Countries and the Ardennes Forest further to the south , which the Allies had thought unpassable by a mod army . A few hours after German troops crossed the Dutch border , an act of long - term signification take place in London when Winston Churchill succeed Neville Chamberlain as British prime minister . At that moment , Churchill by and by wrote , " I feel as if I was walk with fortune . "
The first hebdomad of Churchill ’s premiership raise disastrous for the Allies . German plan to push heavily armoured divisions along forested terrain , supported by Wave of aircraft , come through well beyond the expectations of many German generals . The French justificative product line was pierced , and within days a spread bust open in the Allied front that could not be closed . The British Expeditionary Force was pushed back toward the ocean around the port of Dunkirk , France , and face annihilation – until General Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt and Adolf Hitler ordered German force-out to halt on May 24 to refit and prepare to disclose the fresh Gallic defense line further south . By the clock time the attacks began again on May 26 , the British had planned a hasty nautical hideaway . By June 4 , 338,000 troop , one - third of them French , had been evacuate .
Though the " miracle of Dunkirk " has long been celebrate in Britain , it represented an disgraceful licking . The surviving French resistance slowly crumbled . On June 14 , German forces come in Paris ; on June 22 , the French sued for an armistice , and German triumph was complete . While a like crusade during World War I had lasted four years and cost the life story of 1.5 million Germans , this campaign was over in six workweek . This metre , Nazi Germany lose 30,000men . The intellect for the speedy German triumph have been debated often . The ally , including Dutch and Belgian effect , had a vindicated advantage in number of army air division , tanks , and armored vehicles . Airpower favored the Germans , but only because German air military group were condense in an aerial spearhead that pushed forward in coordination with the armored division on the priming coat . Militarycompetence and strategic daring weigh for something on the German side . The central trouble for the Allies was the dissemination of their troops . Because Gallic commander Maurice Gamelin had air his reserve army northward , it could not plug away the Ardennes col . Aircraft were stationed all over France and Britain , but were not concentrated at the front ; and the system of rules of communications on the western side do work badly . The argument that Gallic soldier lacked stomach for the fight because French high society was in some sense " decadent " is difficult to bear witness . Their team spirit was poor because they sensed that they were poorly led . German triumph in June 1940 had profound outcome . For the British and French , it was the defective potential outcome . France was get the better of , its northern half as well as its Atlantic sea-coast engage by German forces . Britain was isolated from Continental Europe and had no prospect of reentering it to shift Adolf Hitler without the service of powerful ally ( i.e. , the United States and Soviet Union ) . France was now harness by the authoritarian Marshal Philippe Pétain , who limit up a new government activity center at Vichy , where his regime pursued policies that mimicked those of other Fascist states .
On June 10 , 1940 , Benito Mussolini ’s Italy declared war on Britain and France . Thus , a brawny foe lie across Britain ’s main route in the Mediterranean to its eastern empire . Hitler was faced with the pleasing but unexpected prospect of German domination of Europe . On July 19 , he announce before the Reichstag proposals for a European peace of mind if Britain would accept the reality of German dominance and end ill will . Churchill ’s government rejected it . British high society poise itself for a potential invasion .
Hitler faced a critical dilemma in the summer of 1940 . Successful beyond his expectations , he require to subordinate Britain in club to educate for conflicts with the Soviet Union and the United States . When Britain pass up to accept a German peace , Hitler ordered his forces to prepare to invade . TheLuftwaffe(air strength ) was give the labor of softening British resistance .
On July 31 , a few days before the air attacks on Britain began in earnest , Adolf Hitler call his commanders together and tell them that he had abandoned his and their hope of invading the Soviet Union in the crepuscle of 1940 , and rather would begin that operation in the saltation of 1941 . German troops were sent into Romania and military arrangements were made with Finland since these two countries were to connect Nazi Germany in invading the Soviet Union .
While the invasion of Britain ( Operation Sealion ) was being prepared , theLuftwaffebegan its ravishment . This was the scratch of what would become know as the Battle of Britain . Waves ofbombers , powerfully digest by fighter aircraft , first attacked British air sphere and source of zephyr provision . In September , they attacked the whole military and urban infrastructure within range of German champion . The Germans ' goal was to create conditions for landing an invasion power on the coast of southern England . The air battle was consider as critical only because the unsuccessful person to eliminate Britain ’s Royal Air Force ( RAF ) would force the postponement of what the Germans considered a bad operation .
The defending British fighter force had trouble forbid German bombardment , but it was able to inflict high levels of attrition on the attacking effect thanks to the first successful use of radar detecting . From July to the end of October 1940 , the RAF lost 915 aircraft while the Germans turn a loss 1,733 . The figure of fighter pilot light and fighter aircraft aircraft on the British side remained at more or less the same degree as at the start of the battle , but German numbers declined . By mid - September , it was manifest that theLuftwaffewas stool little headway , and the first phase of the Battle of Britain was over .
The 2nd stage was more deadly and more extended . On September 17 , Adolph Hitler put off Sealion , and theLuftwaffewas given the task of strike hard Britain out of the war bybombingalone . sonorous foray were direct at military and economic prey as well as urban areas , and civilian casualties were heavy . More than 40,000 British citizens were killed during the course of the " Blitz , " which came to be point at all major embrasure and industrial and commercial centers .
By December 1940 , the German leadership await Britain to surrender . " When will Churchill capitulate ? " Joseph Goebbels write in his diary . Bombing did produce widespread disruption and local scare , but at no item did the British government reckon surrender . Gold and foreign rally reserves were moved to Canada , and readying were made for irregular activities in any component part of the rural area occupy by the Germans . The public was heartened by news of British triumph in East Africa and Libya against Italian - led forcefulness , and the knowledge that British bombers were regularly attacking German cities in return .
See the next discussion section for a detailed timeline on the important World War II events that occurred during former April 1940 .
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World War II Timeline: 29 November 2024-9 December 2024
The Germans began their western offensive in early April 1940 , attacking both Denmark and Norway . The World War II timeline below sum up authoritative result that occur during the month of April 1940 .
World War II Timeline: April 2-April 18
April 2 : Taiwanese Nationalists mark a victory when they reoccupy the city of Wuyuan after successfully bushwhack some 3,000 Japanese troops .
April 5 : In what will become known as the Katyn Forest Massacre , Soviet clandestine law slaying more than 4,000 Polish prisoners of war . The Soviet government will deny culpableness until 1989 . Around the same time as Katyn , more than 15,000 other Polish POWs are killed at other locations .
April 8 : Despite Norway ’s disinterest , the Allies mine coastal water supply in the region in an effort to impede German activity .
April 9 : Nazi Germany assault Norway and Denmark on the stalking-horse that occupancy is necessary to maintain their disinterest . Norwegian Fascist leader Vidkun Quisling chop-chop move to create a pro - Nazi government . As a result , his surname will become synonymous with treasonist .
April 10 : Kingdom of Denmark surrenders to Nazi Germany .
untrusting of abandoning its disinterest , Belgium declines the Allies ' offer of " preventative aid . "
The German cruiserKönigsbergis sunk by Britishwarplanes , marking the first meter in story that a big warship is sunk by an aery assault .
April 14 : confederative troops make it in Norway to counter the German invasion force .
April 15 : MI6 , Britain ’s secret intelligence operation service , unravels the Enigma code used by theWehrmachtduring the Norse hunting expedition .
April 18 : The Allies use up Norway ’s Faeroe Islands to prevent the strategically important area from falling into Nazi hand .
World War II Headlines
Below are more highlight and mental image that outline the events of World War II and show the details and consequences of the German invasion in 1940 .
TheMaginot Linegives Gallic military a false sensation of security : Soon after World War I , under the centering of Minister of War André Maginot , France constructed unnerving concrete obstacles , machine gunposts , and garrison along its borders with Germany , Italy , and late Belgium . In 1939 - 1940 , France hasten to ameliorate the secret fortifications . Underground trap that could domiciliate 1000 of men let in such amenities as a wine wine cellar , morgue , chapel service , infirmary , and dental clinic . Illustrators often depicted the constructions as succinct , but they were actually open out and connected with tunnels through which tramcar carried troop and artillery . These preparations gave the French military a false sense of security . invade German forces just maneuvered around the Maginot Line .
Norway forced into warfare through Nazi German encroachment : Norwegian theatre bite in Narvik during the bound 1940 German invasion . After the British rescue of Altmark prisoner and other actions in Norwegian waters , Hitler feared misplace the neutral land ’s ports of Narvik , which were all important for shipping Norse iron ore to Germany . Adolf Hitler attacked Norway by land , breeze , and ocean , infest resistance . In mid - April , British , Polish , and French effect landed to help the Norwegians and took Narvik . The British sank 10 German guided missile destroyer – half of the full fleet . However , with France near collapse , the Allies retreat on June 8 , go out Narvik to German occupation . The Norwegian struggle included the first paratrooper onslaught ( by Germany ) in history , and Britain ’s first major amphibian landing of the state of war ( at Narvik ) .
Norwegians decline to give up to Nazi Germany : When the Germans occupy Norway in April 1940 , they showed off these three experimental tank ( never put into yield ) in the street of Oslo . Germany had trouble take Norway due to bad weather , stiff munition , and persistent Norse resistance . The purple family and member of Parliament had prison term to run away to the north . Although the Germans set up a puppet government under Nazi supporter Vidkun Quisling , Norway ’s King Haakon never surrendered . When the Allies evacuated Norway , the Norse government moved to Britain and operated in exile . It control its own merchant navy and built a new military to support the Allies .
British planing machine spotters recognize and report enemy aircrafts : A Royal Observer Corps ( ROC ) planer lookout watches for foeman aircraft . Back in 1925 , the ROC was take form to provide a system for detecting , trailing , and reporting aircraft over Britain . airplane discoverer read to greet aircraft by their silhouette , and often by the sound of their engines . In the U.S. , Civil Defense actor and WAACS ( Women ’s Army Auxiliary Corps ) maintained spotting station , and in Germany theReichsluftschutzbund(National Air Defense League ) had a like mission .
World War II Timeline: 9 February 2025-15 February 2025
Late April and other May of 1940 observe Adolf Hitler declaring state of war against Norway and infest the Low Countries . These World War II events and others are detail in the timeline below .
World War II Timeline: April 27-May 10
April 27 : SSReichsführerHeinrich Himmler ordinate the construction of a engrossment camp in Oswiecim , Poland . Known as Auschwitz in German , the facility will play a central role in the Nazi design to exterminate Europe ’s Jews .
The Reich issue an official declaration of warfare against neutral Norway .
April 29 : President Franklin Roosevelt institutionalise a personal content to Benito Mussolini in which he beseeches him to work for peace treaty .
April 30 : Carnegie Institute President of the United States Samuel Harden Church publishes a letter inThe New York Timesoffering a $ 1 million reinforcement to whomever can capture Adolf Hitler animated .
The Allies make a headlong retreat from Norway under the atmospheric pressure of an intense German aeriform assault .
The Nazis establish a Jewish ghetto in Lódz , Poland .
Hitler admonish his general to be set up to invade Western Europe within 24 hours of receive his orders on any escort after May 5 .
May 2 : Benitio Mussolini adjoin President Franklin Roosevelt . He suggests that Italy ’s continued realization of the Monroe Doctrine is contingent upon on America ’s continued disinterest in the European warfare .
May 7 : President Franklin Roosevelt directs theNavy ’s Pacific Fleet to remain at the ready off the coast of Hawaii .
May 10 : Asserting that the Allies are plan to use neutral country Belgium , Luxembourg , and the Netherlands as a theatrical production surface area for an tone-beginning on Germany , Adolf Hitler invade the Low Countries .
Winston Churchill becomes Britain ’s prime curate when Neville Chamberlain , who was losing sustenance in Parliament , leave office .
Communication mall are targeted in the first British Royal Air Force ( RAF)bombingraid over Germany .
Below are more high spot and images that outline the events of World War II and show the details and consequences of national socialist German aggression in 1940 .
Bletchley Park code - breaker decipher German Enigma code : Alan Turing , a innovator in the field of computing , was a guide member of the extremely successful analysis and code - breaking team based at the top - hidden signals intelligence activity center at Bletchley Park in England . With the assistance of textile provided by Polish intelligence , his team eventually broke the German useable and strategic Enigma encryption system . These code - breakers work exceptionally long hours in cheerless office accommodation and excessively red-hot and noisy computer rooms . They include scientist , mathematicians , linguist , crossword puzzle experts , and others with diverse analytic acquirement .
German Ju-88 hoagie authoritative toLuftwaffe : The Ju-88 twin - engine mediumbomberboasted a maximum focal ratio of 269 miles per hour , a ceiling of almost 30,000 feet , and a range of 1,112 miles . Carrying capacity was about 6,000 pounds of bombs . This profligate , maneuverable , and versatileaircraftprovided sterling inspection and repair to theLuftwaffethroughout the war in bombing , episodic honkytonk - bombing , close support , marine gunslinger , interceptor , and night - fighter roles . Some 14,676 Ju-88s were construct , with about 9,000 used in the main as torpedo .
Learn more about Nazi Germany ’s campaign in the Low Countries on the World War II timeline next .
World War II Timeline: 2 February 2025-6 December 2024
Nazi Germany carry on its Master of Architecture through Europe in May 1940 , invading and crushing the Netherlands . The World War II timeline details this and other case from May 1940 .
World War II Timeline: May 11-May 16
May 11 : The Allies land in the Dutch West Indies to ward the rock oil resources of Aruba and Curaçao against German wrecker .
Luxembourg fall to German troops .
May 11 - 12 : In what is regarded as the Allies ' first substantial air maraud against a civilian universe , the British Royal Air Force ( RAF ) assail Mönchengladbach , Germany , losing threeplanesin the process .
May 12 : England and Scotland begin the practice of detain German and Austrianmenages 16 to 60 in internment bivouac .
May 13 : In his first speech before the House of Commons as prime minister , Winston Churchill render the famous line : " I have nothing to offer butblood , labor , tears , and sweat . "
Northeast France is under toilsome violation as several panzer sectionalisation cross the Meuse River near the townsfolk of Sedan .
May 14 : Rotterdam , Netherlands , capitulates after a enceinte Germanbombingcampaign devastate the city , lay claim 980 lives and more than 20,000 buildings .
The Netherlands governance flees The Hague . It will establish itself in expatriation in London .
The RAF suffers its greatest defeat to day of the month in this conflict , losing 45 of 109 airplanes while attacking German troop positions in France .
May 15 : The Nazi campaign in the Netherlands end when the Dutch army surrenders to theWehrmacht .
Concerned about Japan ’s activeness in the Pacific Theater , Winston Churchill asks President Franklin Roosevelt for ships , planes , ammunition , and an American naval front in Singapore and Ireland .
May 16 : President Franklin Roosevelt asks Congress for a $ 1.2 billion increment in defence spending to mobilize the Army and Navy and procure an additional 50,000 planer a yr .
Below are more highlights and double that outline the event of World War II and show the details and upshot of the Nazi attack in the spring of 1940 .
British nose dive - bombers effective in attack on Nazi warship : fire rage ungoverned on the German light cruiserKönigsbergafter the first successful British air attack on a warship . On April 10 , 1940 , Blackburn Skua diving - bombers locate theKönigsberg– already damage by Norwegian shore heavy weapon – in Bergen Harbor , Norway . The Skuas plunge out of the rising Lord’s Day and leave out their 500 - pound bombs from heights ranging from 3,000 feet to as low-pitched as 200 feet , proving the effectualness of dive - bombardment to a skeptical RAF establishment . TheKönigsberglost electric power and , ineffective to control the fires , sink within three hours .
Germans storm France , Low Countries : On May 10 , 1940 , German army tank , troop , and bombers smash into France and the Low Countries in aBlitzkrieg– a fleet attempt with compound air and peregrine acres force – that was totally unexpected by the Allies . Belgium , Luxembourg , and the Netherlands fell quickly . Hitler ’s tanks charged through the Ardennes woodland , get around the static French refutation , and motor westward across northern France to the English Channel . By May 21 , the Germans had split the ally forces in two . Here , a Gallic tank crewman surrenders to German forces .
In June 1940 Nazi Germany march into France . Learn about this and other World War II events on the timeline found on the following page .
World War II Timeline: 19 May 2025-30 December 2024
May and June of 1940 found the French defense crumbling under the powerful Nazi warfare machine . This and other event from belated May to early June 1940 are detail in World War II timeline below .
World War II Timeline: May 17-June 5
May 17 : A Nazi engage personnel borderland into Brussels , Belgium . Antwerp , Belgium , will capitulate the next twenty-four hours .
May 21 : consort to report out of Berlin , the French Ninth Army has been totally destroyed .
May 22 : The Emergency Powers Act passes in Britain . It grants Winston Churchill full control of the resources needed to take to the woods the land ’s war machine .
May 24 : London decide to root for its troop out of a defeated Norway .
May 26 : The Allies establish Operation Dynamo , a massive rescue mathematical process to hold open troops surrounded by the Axis in Dunkirk , France . In just one week , almost 350,000 British , French , and Belgian soldier will be evacuate whileLuftwaffeplanestry to stymie the surgery .
May 27 : Nazi Germany ask the larboard urban center of Calais , France – a simple 26 geographical mile across the Channel from Dover , England .
May 28 : King Leopold III ordering the surrender of the 500,000 - man Belgian Army , an order that will take to his deposition at the hand of the Belgian government , which is in exile in France .
June 3 : More than 250 Parisians lose their lives when the city endures an air rape by some 200Luftwaffeplanes .
June 4 : Winston Churchill delivers the memorable " scrap on the beaches " speech before the House of Commons , claiming , " We shall never surrender . "
June 5 : The Gallic captureLuftwaffepilot Werner Mölders . He will be release at the armistice near the final stage of the month , resumeflying , and in the end be credit with more than 100 victory before being killed in an accident .
Below are more World War II headlines and range from the Nazi encroachment in May and June of 1940 .
Bad strategy dooms Netherlands in fight against Nazi : The Netherlands was lamentably unprepared for Germany ’s primer and airBlitzkriegin May 1940 . Dutch strategic provision had been shaped by an underreckoning of Germany , strong pacificist influence , appeasement policy , refusal to coordinate with Britain and France , and a dependency upon defensive strong - level ( such as this sword - gate bridge over the Maas River ) and obstacles – including flooding large sphere of Holland . accordingly , the Germans cursorily overwhelmed the sizable but outdated , ill - equipped , and mostly firm Dutch regular army . While some Dutch citizens formed an efficacious electrical resistance motion beginning in 1942 , anti - Semitism and pro - German collaborationism were also in grounds .
The " Schmeisser " main weapon ofWehrmacht : The MP40Maschinenpistolewas know universally but inaccurately as the " Schmeisser " after weapons graphic designer Hugo Schmeisser , who did not contrive thissubmachine gun . However , this was one of the iconic weapons of the warfare , with both Allied and German troop recognizing it as the best weapon of its class . Conceived originally as a weapon system for paratroops , it apace became theWehrmacht ’s principal submachinegun . It had a caliber of 9 mm , a magazine that prevail 32 round , and a rate of flack of 500 rounds per minute . It was exact up to 200 meters . Moreover , its all - metal stamped construction made it both cheap and easygoing to good deal - produce .
The MG 34 , a highly efficacious German machine gun : A German infantryman takes object at the enemy with an MG 34 7.92 mm faint machine gunman . While this version utilize a 50 - rotund metal - link whack , the MG 34 could also be equipped with 50- and 75 - round drum ammo provender . Although the MG 34 was expensive to create , it was a extremely effective weapon . It cede a maximal rate of fire of 900 revolutions per minute to 600 - 800 M ( light role ) , and 300 rev to 2,000 - 2,500 yards when mounted on a tripod in the heavy use . MG 34s also were fitted extensively to panoplied vehicles and trucks , and for anti - aircraft defense mechanism .
The play along varlet check a elaborated timeline of World War II events from June of 1940 .
World War II Timeline: 7 April 2025-1 April 2025
In June 1940 Benito Mussolini and Italy joined Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany as an Axis power in World War II . The timeline below summarizes this and other major World War II event from June 1940 .
World War II Timeline: June 5-June 14
June 5 : Marshal Philippe Pétain becomes choice pastor of France , replace Paul Reynaud .
June 7 : Norwegian leading fly the state and shew a political science - in - expat in London .
Berlin suffers its firstbombingraid of the war when it is attacked by a individual Frenchaircraft , a four - engine Farman 223 .
June 8 : More than 1,500 British sailor perish when German ship lapse the aircraft carrierGloriousand its escort of two destroyers .
June 9 : A German panzer sectionalization traverse the Somme River and wall the French 10th Army .
June 10 : After a lengthy wait , Italy enters the war with an invasion of a weakened France , already hurt by the German army .
With German troops only 50 miles from Paris , the Gallic regime relocates to Tours , France .
Benito Mussolini declares war against both Britain and France , while Canada reciprocates by declaring war on Italy . South Africa , Australia , and New Zealand will bring together Canada the next mean solar day .
June 11 - 12 : The British Royal Air Force ( RAF ) bombs Italy , losing oneplanewhile scoring 10 hit on Turin and two on Genoa .
June 12 : Italy launches its zephyr state of war , drop bomb on civilian targets on the British associated state island of Malta .
With Italy ’s entree into the war , President Franklin Roosevelt declare that the United States will pop the question material support to the Allies .
June 14 : France involve the United States to step in as the Nazis occupy Paris .
Below are more images and headlines detail events of World War II and the Nazi German and Italian hostility of late May and former June 1940 .
Dunkirk evacuees get away by ship : In late May 1940 , Adolf Hitler concord with national socialist German General Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt to order a temporary hitch to their attempt . The respite last 48 hours and gave the British sentence to countersink up vindication and begin evacuation of 338,000 Allied troop . ReichsmarschallHermann Göring promised that theLuftwaffecould destroy the confederative troops , but Dunkirk , France , was too unaired to British air bases . The British evacuee included many extremely experienced soldiers who were eager to refund to the fight , but they had suffer all of their equipment .
" piddling Ships " save scout troop , symbolize emotional state of Dunkirk : British soldiers await for saving on Dunkirk Beach . When the planned evacuation was announced to the British public on May 27 , 1940 , a fleet of fishing sauceboat , delight craft , merchandiser shipboard soldier vessels , and other small boat rushed across the English Channel to help . They retrieved the British , French , and Belgian troop from the bombed - out harbour , which the larger ships could not enter , and ferried those scout group to the openhanded ships . These " Little Ships " rapidly gained legendary position , and the " Spirit of Dunkirk " became a British rallying shout .
Luftwafferains terror on France : Firemen turn their hose on a Parisian building that has been keep down to a smoldering wrecking by Nazi barrage . Even as the Allies evacuated at Dunkirk , ReichsmarschallHermann Göring direct hisLuftwaffebombers inland . On June 3 , 1940 , 200 planes walk out airfields , industrial web site , and buildings in Paris . This successful German effort to damage France ’s economy , come down its military , and create terror in its population had a devastating psychological effect . To keep authorities officials at their post , the Gallic minister of interior had to imperil frightening penalties against anyone who fled .
The French capitulated in mid - June of 1940 . The timeline on the succeed page name this and other World War II outcome from June 1940 .
World War II Timeline: 11 December 2024-3 December 2024
In mid - June 1940 Paris fell to Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany . The World War II timeline below summarizes this and other important World War II events from mid - June , 1940 .
World War II Timeline: June 15-June 19
June 15 : Despite plea from both France and Britain , the U.S. Congress continues to deny to intervene in Europe , with some legislators proceed so far as to suggest that England and France fall to Hitler .
June 16 : In an 11th hour rescue try , Britain propose to unite its empire with that of France . The following daytime , France will ask Germany for an armistice , requesting " peace with honor . "
Italy sinks the BritishsubmarinesGrampusandOrpheusin the first Mediterranean naval conflict of the war .
Irish Prime Minister Eamon de Valera mobilizes the Irish military in preparation for an Axis intrusion of nearby England .
June 17 : About 2,500 British troops perish when fiveLuftwaffebombersattack theLancastria , a Cunard luxury liner being used to channelize troops .
With most naval forces focus on the Pacific Fleet , theU.S. Navyasks Congress for $ 4 billion to work up an evenly unassailable Atlantic fleet .
June 18 : The British Royal Air Force ( RAF ) pulls out of France , and the Gallic military hastily retreats from theWehrmacht . Gallic universal Charles de Gaulle , speak from London , plead with his countrymen to continue to stand firm Germany , claim " France has lost a battle , but France has not lost the war . "
In a meeting with Adolf Hitler in Munich , Benito Mussolini is bitterly disappointed to determine that he will not be cede great tracts of French territory . Hitler hopes that by offering France easy surrender term , the French will be less likely to retain fighting from North Africa .
June 19 : With the German conquering of France complete , the exiled governing of Poland and Belgium move to London .
Below are more highlights and range of a function that outline the events of World War II and the German intrusion of France in 1940 .
Hundreds killed , wounded in Paris by German onset : A Parisian dupe of German bombing raids lies in a hospital bed . The German bombardment of Paris inflicted some 900 casualties , including 254 dead . Most of the victims were civilians and many were schoolchildren . design to bring forth terror , the air attack had the desired force . Fleeing civilians overload all road around Paris , where some were strafe by German planing machine .
Luftwaffeattacks leave behind Dunkirk in fire : Gallic civilian flee danger and destruction during the aerial barrage of Dunkirk , France . HeavyLuftwaffeattacks leave the deadened and wounded scattered among the burning wreckage of homes , vehicle , and military equipment . British Expeditionary Forces Captain Richard Austin wrote : " The whole front was one long continuous line of blaze away buildings , a high wall of fire , howl and dart in tongue of flame , with the hummer pouring upward and go away in the lightlessness of the sky above the rooftops . " Dunkirk was reduced to rubble .
Allies evacuate 220,000 from Cherbourg , France : British and French soldier leave Cherbourg , France , on British ship bound for Southampton , England . After the successful evacuation at Dunkirk , the British rescued an additional 220,000 confederate troop that had been stranded in France . On June 10 , Operation Cycle pick up evacuee at Le Havre . Beginning on June 15 at Cherbourg , in Operation Ariel , Allies spirited soldier away from Saint - Malo , Brest , Saint - Nazaire , and other port all the way down the French coast to the border with Spain . When the evacuations were utter on June 25 , a total of 558,000 Allied troop had escaped the German intrusion .
Vichy ’s minister of defense proportion fight interests : French General Maxime Weygand do as Vichy defense minister from June to September 1940 . In that burdensome role , he juggle Nipponese demands for freedom of movement in northern Indochina against unattackable U.S. opposition to the idea . Then as Vichy delegate to the French North African colonies , Weygand alternately protested and get together with Nazi policies . mind U.S. warnings , Weygand opposed German bases in Africa , though he had equipment delivered to Rommel’sAfrika Korps . Weygand ’s semi - collaboration was insufficient for Hitler . Under Nazi pressure , Weygand was return in November 1941 , arrested in 1942 , and hold by Germany for the continuance of the war .
The Nazi invasion of France : On May 10 , 1940 , German General Fedor von Bock ’s Army Group B struck into Belgium and the Low Countries . This was only a diversionary attack , as the main assault by General Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt ’s Army Group A was set up from the Ardennes forests , while General Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb ’s Army Group C assure the southerly flank and pinned down some 30 French sectionalization . By June 25 , France had fallen .
Keep read for a World War II timeline detail effect of former June and other July 1940 .
World War II Timeline: 27 February 2025-28 January 2025
In late June 1940 France officially surrendered to Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany , and in other July Hitler made plans to obtrude upon Britain . These World War II event and other major day of the month are detail in the timeline below .
World War II Timeline: June 20-July 3
June 20 : Japan coerces defeated France to set aside landing of Japanese naval vessel in French Indochina . Japan also warn potency in French Indochina to stop wait on the Nationalist Chinese .
June 21 : Winston Churchill call for the outfitting and grooming of 5,000 paratroopers .
June 22 : France surrenders to Nazi Germany , and will give up to Italy on the 24th . A stately cease - fire will take hold on the 25th .
Britain expose the GermanKnickebeinsystem when it locates a radio beam aim the Rolls - Royceairplaneengine factory and leading back to a transmitter in Germany . The arrangement has been help to guideLuftwaffebombersto their object .
June 23 : Charles de Gaulle imprint the French National Committee while exiled in London . Britain ’s government will recognize him as the French leader in exile on the 28th .
Adolf Hitler make a brief , jubilant tour of Paris .
July 1 : Winston Churchill broadcast a letter of the alphabet to Moscow in which he requests a group meeting to discuss German imperialism . Pleased with his agreement with Germany , Joseph Stalin maintains that Russia will avoid conflict with Hitler .
The French government activity moves to Vichy , France .
July 2 : Adolf Hitler orders his generals to muster in plan for Operation Sealion – the invasion of Britain .
July 3 : With the Vichy regime melt down France , Britain takes measures to keep the occupying Nazis from controlling the French US Navy . The British sink parts of France ’s fleet in Algeria and commandeer Gallic ships in British port wine .
Below are more images and headline detailing important event of World War II and the German march through Europe .
German dip theLancastria : The Cunard linerLancastria , refitted for military transport , helped evacuate British troop and civilian from France . On June 17 , 1940 , the loaded ship was struck by German Junker 88 plane near the port of St. Nazaire . Thebombs– one of which is say to have go down the ship ’s funnel – were fatal . The Lancastria roll over and settle in minute of arc . Many who give out into the water choked on spilled fuel oil colour or break when the oil slick magazine caughtfire . Of the approximate 4,000 to 9,000 on board , fewer than 2,500 survived .
British remove signs as part of anti - invasion measures : In mid-1940 , many in Britain believe that a German intrusion was all but inevitable . Throughout the rural area , and especially in southerly England , legion anti - invasion measures were go through . Road sign were remove so that parachuter would be disorient ; one C of concrete toque were construct in a series of east - west justificative lines ; tall wooden place were put up in open areas to disrupt parachute or glider - borne landing place ; 100 of miles of barbed telegram and thousands of mines were laid along the coastline ; and detailed plans were made to defend every town and settlement . Meanwhile , the universe everywhere was on the alert for spy , insurgent federal agent , and enemy para .
Lord Beaverbrook head of British aircraft output : Lord Beaverbrook ( William Maxwell Aitken ) was Britain ’s minister of aircraft production and a penis of the War Cabinet from May 1940 . His sometimes ruthless but constantly focused approach , coupled with his invigorate leading , produced remarkable results during 1940 . More than 7,300 aircraft were build between January and August – just in time for the strategically vital Battle of Britain . He became minister of supply in 1941 and pastor of production in 1942 , while also deal with the provision of Anglo - U.S. military aid to Russia . Soon thereafter , ominous wellness pull the resignation of the valet de chambre who Winston Churchill said was " at his honest when thing were at their worst . "
The next page contains a elaborated timeline summarizing crucial World War II event from July 1940 .
World War II Timeline: 21 February 2025-25 January 2025
In July 1940 Romania announced its confederation with Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler ordered the wipeout of the British Royal Air Force ( RAF ) . These and other major World War II events are discussed in the World War II timeline below .
World War II Timeline: July 4-July 18
July 4 : Great Britain and France wear out off diplomatical relations .
July 5 : Sweden allows the Nazis transit rightfield as Germany sample to get supply and troops to and from Norway .
Romania announces its bond with Germany and Italy , one day after Romania ’s King Carol oversees the initiation of a pro - Axis government .
Vichy , France , assail British Gibraltar withplanesfrom its nucleotide in French Morocco .
President Franklin Roosevelt launches a circumscribed trade stoppage against Japan , ostracise the cargo of materials that could be used to give the Japanese warfare machine .
July 10 : Berlin ’s Jewish Affairs Office proposes anemigrationplan that would move as many as four million European Jews to Madagascar .
President Franklin Roosevelt details his design for an army of up to two millionmen , and asks Congress for the monetary fund to make this plan a reality .
July 11 : Germany set up Philippe Pétain as leader of unoccupied France .
July 13 : Hitler order the annihilation of the RAF , which he sees as a necessary first gradation to any encroachment of the British mainland .
July 16 : More than 20,000 French citizens are driven from Alsace - Lorraine when the Nazis annex the neighborhood .
established Jews are stripped of their French citizenship by France ’s Vichy government .
July 18 : Britain acquiesces to Japan ’s demand that the Burma Road be closed to load of war material for three months , cutting off China ’s radio link to external assist .
Germany begins propaganda programme in the United Kingdom , charge up for Scottish segregation .
Below are more images and highlights detailing the result of WWII in 1940 and Nazi Germany ’s relations with France .
Gallic political leader Paul Reynaud support up to Nazis : Prior to the state of war , French lawyer and politician Paul Reynaud resist French and British calming , call on France to remain joined against the Nazis . Made prime minister in March 1940 , Reynaud nominate Charles de Gaulle undersecretary of warfare . That June , Timemagazine ran a cover history on Reynaud , quoting him : " Nothing has lowered our will to clamber for our soil and impropriety … France can not go . " That same calendar month , Reynaud refused to surrender to the Nazis , and resigned . He was arrested by the Vichy government and remand for the continuance of the war .
Vichy ’s Philippe Pétain imperfect in human face of Nazis : Marshal Philippe Pétain became a French national submarine in World War I , chiefly because of his defense of Verdun . Between the war , his posts include examiner general of the USA , warfare parson , and ambassador to Spain . In May 1940 , French Premier Paul Reynaud call for Pétain to become vice PM . After Paris fall down , Pétain became head of state on June 16 . Gallic Hope for a repeat of Verdun essay mislaid . Now 84 , Pétain cut a pathetic figure , apparently unable to lift exuberance for anything but minimise Gallic bloodletting . On June 22 , 1940 , he conclude an armistice with Germany .
In August 1940 Adolf Hitler began set up for Operation Sealion , the intrusion of Britain Keep reading for a World War II timeline talk over this and other of import World War II events of August 1940 .
World War II Timeline: 14 January 2025-13 March 2025
Late July and early August of 1940 found Adolf Hitler preparing to invade Britain and Benito Mussolini sending Italian forces into north Africa . These and other World War II outcome are detailed in the World War II timeline below .
World War II Timeline: July 21-August 17
July 21 : Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania conjoin the Soviet Union under duress .
July 22 : Adolf Hitler ’s strings - attach " peace crack " is reject by London .
The Special Operations Executive is created by Britain ’s War Cabinet to conduct out acts of sabotage against Nazi Germany in occupied land .
July 24 : Nearly 50 civilians are killed in an Italian air raid of Jerusalem .
August 1 : Adolf Hitler order increasedbombingof strategical British targets in planning for Operation Sealion , which he specify to set up on September 15 , 1940
August 3 : East Africa ’s British Somaliland is infest by a expectant contingent of Italian troops .
August 5 : Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini confabulate in Rome , with Mussolini assuring Hitler he will soon spread the North African front with an ravishment into Egypt toward the Suez Canal .
August 8 : In an effort to persuade India to take a more active role in advertize British interest in Southeast Asia , Britain promises its dependency a new postwar constitution .
August 9 : Due to greater needs on other fronts , British troops abandon Shanghai .
August 11 : TheU.S. Armyannounces plans to send 4,000 armored combat vehicle to Britain .
August 15 : Germany is dole out a major blow during the Battle of Britain . mean to criticize out Britain ’s Royal Air Force , theLuftwaffeactually loses more than twice as manyaircraft– 75 equate to Britain ’s 32 .
August 17 : Germany block off Britain , heavily mining its waters and vowing to attack all approaching ships , whether belligerent or neutral .
Below are more images and headlines detailing important events of World War II and the German and Italian invasion of 1940 .
Germans cultivate for Operation Sealion : In this faked photo , a German armored vehicle is purportedly on the beach of Dover , England . In 1940 Operation Sealion was a eminent - endangerment task ; no intrusion of Britain had succeeded since 1066 . Nevertheless , German design progress throughout that summer . K of troops of the Ninth and sixteenth Armies assembled and direct in the coastal region , horse were conditioned to travel on barges , and hundreds of troop - carrying vessels were collect in French and Belgian port . However , all at long last depended upon theLuftwaffeachieving overall melody supremacy beforehand , and so the victory won by the RAF during September ’s Battle of Britain effectively made Sealion no longer workable .
British submarines successful in Mediterranean : The HMSTakuwas one of the seafaring T - class boats that formed the mainstay of the British submarine fleet . Royal Navy submarines operated in shallow waters that were intemperately mined and well guard by antisubmarine forces . Of more than 50 deploy , nearly one out of three was destroyed , unremarkably going down with all hands . Nevertheless , Royal Navy subs took a heavy bell on German ship in Norse waters . In the dangerously shallow and readable Mediterranean , British grinder successfully interrupted German and Italian supplying routes to Africa . British submarines also set ashore and picked up clandestine factor in various areas , and plump for Allied effort in the Malacca Straits and sea near Indonesia .
The Blitz continued throughout September 1940 . On the following Sir Frederick Handley Page is a World War II timeline detailing this and other event .
World War II Timeline: 6 April 2025-2 December 2024
World War II Timeline: August 20-September 11
August 20 : British Prime Minister Winston Churchill offers President Franklin Roosevelt the use ofmilitarybases in the West Indies and Newfoundland .
August 23 - 24 : TheLuftwaffebombs London . Though vegetable oil facility east of the city are point , London right sustains most of the damage . The British Royal Air Force ( RAF ) will avenge two nighttime later on , attacking Berlin for the first time .
August 28 : Liverpool , England , suffers its first bomb foray .
August 31 : In the greatest one - day loss for the RAF to day of the month , theLuftwaffetakes out 38planesand critical landing field in southern Britain .
September 5 : France ’s Vichy government severs diplomatic tie with Holland , Luxembourg , Belgium , and Norway .
As many as 4,000 German troop perish when the transport shipMarionfounders after taking a direct hit from a Britishtorpedo .
German agency take over Judaic - have line following Luxembourg ’s annexation by Germany and adoption of the Nuremberg Laws .
September 6 : Fascist General Ion Antonescu and his Iron Guards take control of the Romanian authorities . Romania ’s King Carol is forced to abdicate after ceding much of Transylvania .
TheU.S. Navytransfers the first eight of 50 guided missile destroyer promised to the Royal Navy in interchange for U.S. bases at Bermuda and other British possession .
September 7 : TheLuftwaffeturns its attention from British military to civilian targets . This is part of what will be call the Blitz .
September 10 : Italian military personnel stage themselves in Albania prior to their planned rape on Greece .
September 11 : TheLuftwaffebombs London , inflicting heavy damage on St. Paul ’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace .
Below are more highlight and images that delineate the outcome of World War II and the GermanBlitzkriegin 1940 .
Nazi Germany ’s Blitz of London kills 43,000 : From September to mid - November 1940 , an norm of 200 Axis aircraft fail London on every nighttime but one . Meanwhile , Luftwaffefighter hoagie and individual bombers on precision bombardment mission also attacked the majuscule by day . even air raid then continued until May . wipeout was widespread and grave . This monumental volcanic crater was mayhap due to one of theLuftwaffe ’s huge 2,500 - kilogram " Max"Sprengbombe Cylindrischbombs . Countrywide , from September 1940 to May 1941 , the Blitz caused 43,000 civilian demise and 139,000 serious injuries , as well as put waste to many residential expanse and industrial , dockland , and substructure facility .
Hurricanes , Spitfires defend Britain : In 1937 the RAF ’s first monoplane combatant – the Hurricane Hurricane Mark I – entered squadron armed service . It brag a top amphetamine of more than 300 mph , eight machine guns ( exchange with cannons in late 1940 ) , and an operating radius of up to 600 mil . This formidable aircraft , together with the Spitfire ( introduce in 1938 ) , proved to be the pillar of RAF Fighter Command during the of the essence Battle of Britain . Using radiolocation to track the approaching German bomber , RAF headquarters sent these Hurricanes and Spitfires to intercept . They inflicted crippling losses upon theLuftwaffe , which helped prevent a German encroachment .
Keep reading for a World War II timeline summarizing more of import events from September 1940 .
World War II Timeline: 18 March 2025-27 December 2024
In September 1940 Italy continue its violation on north Africa and both the United States and Canada instituted conscription policies . record about these and other important World War II events in the timeline below .
World War II Timeline: September 13-September 25
September 13 : An anaemic British force is press back when Italy embark on its first significant violation on the North African front , marching five US Army divisions into Egypt from Libya .
The African war continue with a 20 - mil incursion by Italian troops from worry Ethiopia into British Kenya .
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth continue in London , despite narrowly missing being struck bybombsthat buck through the cap of Buckingham Palace .
September 15 : Canada conscripts its singlemen , ages 21 to 24 .
Adolf Hitler postpones Operation Sealion after another botched air battle allow for theLuftwaffewith 60planeslost while Britain ’s Royal Air Force ( RAF ) lose 26 .
September 16 : The U.S. Congress hap the Selective Training and Service Act , which will activate the registration and draft of American males age 21 to 35 .
September 17 : Seventy - seven British small fry , en itinerary to Canada to hightail it the destruction of war , die when aU - boatsinks their ship , City of Benares .
September 21 : Officials in London permission Londoners who do not have access to bomb shelters to expend the Underground for that determination . At one head , more than 170,000 people will be log Z’s in the " Tube . "
September 23 : In a mansion of horrors to come , Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler decree that gold tooth should be removed from the mouths of dead concentration camp inmates .
September 25 : American intelligence agency agent crack Japan ’s diplomatic code , recognise as " Purple . " Along with Britain ’s deciphering of the German Enigma machine , this is a substantial triumph for Allied tidings .
More images and highlight from major events of World War II and its impact on Britain are below .
London firefighters battle blaze because of Blitz : In 1940 and ' 41 , Britain ’s fire services include full - fourth dimension and part - time unconstipated fire-eater as well as part - time auxiliary . The full - meter firefighters bring fault of 48 hours on obligation conform to by 24 minute off , and they were joined during the particularly busy night hours by the part - fourth dimension auxiliaries . Here , firefighters conflict a blaze in London . ab initio , the firefighting answer to major fires that involved operations across local authorization boundary was strangle by the fervor religious service ’s localized and overly insular scheme of control and ascendance . However , after the Blitz end in May 1941 , all of these semiautonomous forces were impart together to form the National Fire Service .
Britain ’s Auxiliary Fire Service unsung paladin : extremity of the Auxiliary Fire Service ( AFS ) add pins , probably representing the fix of pumps or fire , to a map of London on the bulwark of Fire Brigade Headquarters during the Blitz . The Auxiliary Fire Service had subsist since 1937 , and by September 1939 it had tens of thousands of manful and distaff penis . They were unpaid fire fighter recruited to work out alongside veritable fire brigades fighting fires started by foe bombing . repugnance of the brigade ' equipment hampered effectivity , and in 1941 the AFS and even brigades were merged into the National Fire Service . Winston Churchill called the London firefighters " heroes with grimy fount . " More than 900 fire fighter and women lost their animation during the state of war .
British Army ’s Corps of Royal Engineers defuse " dud " bomb : The skillful but immensely hazardous task of disposing of unexploded bomb calorimeter ( UXB ) or " duds " fell primarily to the British Army ’s Corps of Royal Engineers . Some 10 percent of the gamy - volatile bomb calorimeter that were dropped failed to explode or had delayed - action fuse , and by the end of 1940 there were some 3,000 UXBs waiting to be defuse . Whether still lying buried or clearly seeable , these marked and cordoned ( but still potentially deadly ) devices would cut off all movement and activity in the surrounding area . Here , Royal Engineers remove a deep buried one - ton UXB near St. Paul ’s Cathedral in London . The Brobdingnagian turkey was safely exploded 30 minutes later .
October 1940 realize Britain imploring the United States for military assistance in both the Atlantic and Pacific . Read about this and other events on the World War II timeline next .
World War II Timeline: 28 December 2024-2 May 2025
In tardy September 1940 Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany signed the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Japan . This and other major event of World War II are summarized in the World War II timeline below .
World War II Timeline: September 27-October 12
September 27 : France ’s Vichy government rate all Jews to hold cards identifying them as such .
The Axis is sealed with the sign language of the Tripartite Pact , an economic and military coalition among Nazi Germany , Italy , and Japan .
September 29 : Luxembourg is officially integrate into the Reich .
October 3 : Warsaw ’s Jews are herded into the metropolis ’s Jewish ghetto .
October 4 : With Operation Sealion temporarily delayed , Adolf Hitler encounter with Benito Mussolini in an effort to muster in Italy to take on Britain on alternate forepart .
fear Japanese aggression in the Pacific , Winston Churchill request naval reinforcements from Franklin Roosevelt to defend Britain ’s dependency of Singapore .
October 7 : With Ion Antonescu ’s acquiescence in Romania , Nazi Germany occupy that country on the pretext of protecting its oil fields from British saboteur .
Japan formally vocalize its objection to the American ban on sale offuel , rubbish alloy , and machine tools to Asia .
October 9 : London ’s Cathedral of St. Paul support serious terms to the ceiling and altar when it is struck by a Germanbomb .
October 12 : Adolf Hitler reschedules his encroachment of Britain for April 4 , 1941 , lead Winston Churchill to jest that Britain is " waiting for the long - promise invasion . So are the fishes . "
In a lecture that implies that the U.S. may be ready for a greater part in the state of war , President Franklin Roosevelt claim that Americans " reject the doctrine of calming , " call it " a major weapon of the assaulter nations . "
Below are more images and headlines detailing World War II effect from October 1940 .
home pigeons crucial to military communication theory : British , American , Canadian , and German forces all used homing pigeon , such as this one , to channel essential warfare - front message . flatten by chute , pigeons also enabled communications from resistor champion in France , Belgium , and Holland . One of the most celebrated birds was " GI Joe , " a pigeon that race to the U.S. Air Support Command with word that the Italian settlement of Colvi Vecchia had been study by the British . The message arrive just in sentence to cancel a scheduled bombing , saving the lifetime of the villagers and 1,000 British military personnel .
Britain ’s Royal Air Force ( RAF ) begin targeted bombing of Berlin : In 1940 RAFbombersbegan attempt to hit German oil refineries , factories , communication sites , and expatriation lines , then increased attack in 1941 . In August 1940 , the RAF made its first bombardment raid on Berlin . Soviet Premier Vyacheslav Molotov , in the German cap in November 1940 , was told that Britain had lose the state of war . If so , Molotov reportedly asked , " why are we in this shelter , and whose are the bombs which descend ? " This exposure of an RAF night raid on Berlin on October 7 - 8 , 1940 , depict German searchlight ( broad , crinkled phone line ) and tracks of antiaircraft fire . Exploding bomb show up as bright circles on the ground . According to later British assessment , few bombs hit their intended targets , and the bombardment did little to diminish German morale .
In October 1940 Benito Mussolini disastrously decide to invade Greece . Learn about this and other World War II event from October 1940 on the next page .
World War II Timeline: 8 January 2025-25 January 2025
World War II Timeline: October 13-November 3
October 13 : More than 150 citizenry die when a London bomb tax shelter sustains a lineal strike during an airwave foray . Another 64 will be killed on the 15th whenbombsstrike the Balham Underground Station .
Joseph Stalin sends Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov to Berlin to negotiate Soviet adherence to the Tripartite Pact .
October 15 : London ’s primary water source , a pipeline that extend some 46 million gal every day , is severely damage in a bombardment foray .
October 17 : More than 1,500 British civilians have been killed in German bombardment raids in the preceding workweek alone .
October 18 : In defiance of Japan , Britain restores China ’s deal route to the West by reopen the Burma Road .
October 18 - 19 : GermanU - boatsattack two British convoys , sinking more than 30 ships .
October 22 : The Nazis begin to expatriate Jews from parts of Germany to southern France .
October 23 : Francisco Franco , Spain ’s Fascist leader , is unmoved by a nine - time of day meeting with Adolf Hitler , and refuse to ally Spain with the Axis .
October 26 : With more than 150,000 Italian troops at the ready , Benito Mussolini attempts to free his inevitable invasion of Greece by claiming that Greece has attacked Albania .
October 28 : Benito Mussolini place Italian troops into Greece in an encroachment attempt that will terminate in total disaster for the Italians .
November 3 : British troops and RAF units land in Greece to help snub the invading Italian army .
Below are more highlights and images that outline the events of World War II and the Axis and Allied campaign of 1940 .
German Nazi ghettoize Warsaw ’s Jews : Polish and Jewish laborers contribute to the construction of a 10 - foot - eminent paries that will enclose the Judaic ghetto of Warsaw . After the 1939 Nazi German coup d’etat of Poland , Gestapo boss Reinhard Heydrich ordered Jews into unintegrated living areas . In the fall of 1940 , Heydrich used the pretext of a typhus outbreak in Judaic neighborhood to force the city ’s Jews into a 3.5 - straight - mile discussion section of town . Non - Judaic Poles were moved out of the sphere . That November , the ghetto wall ’s 22 gates were unsympathetic , sealing off 360,000 Jews ( one - third of Warsaw ’s entire universe ) from the ease of the Polish cap .
The World War II timeline on the follow Sir Frederick Handley Page list important events from November 1940 .
World War II Timeline: 24 March 2025-25 December 2024
November of 1940 get a line a aggregative execution of Polish intellect at Dachau , the first of many such execution by Nazi Germany . The World War II timeline below summarizes this and other of import World War II result .
World War II Timeline: November 5-November 16
November 5 : The tremendously popular President Franklin Roosevelt is elected to a third condition , a break from the presidency ’s traditional , though not mandated , two - terminal figure limit .
November 7 : The British Royal Air Force ( RAF)bombsthe Krupp munitions manufactory in Essen , Germany .
Irish Prime Minister Eamon de Valera denies Britain the manipulation of Irish naval bases .
November 8 : Adolf Hitler ’s one-year observance of his 1923coupattempt is interrupted by an RAF air foray on Munich .
November 9 : Nazi Germany begins the cognitive operation of rout some 180,000 Gallic citizens from Alsace - Lorraine , the partly ethnically German region in southern France .
November 11 : In the first successful flak by mail carrier - basedwarplanes , a trajectory of 20 RAF biplanes bombs Taranto , Italy , destroying or damaging half the Italian fleet .
Fifty - five Polish intellectuals are off in the first of many mass executions at Dachau , the engrossment camp outside of Munich .
November 12 - 14 : The Soviet Union ’s foreign minister , Vyacheslav Molotov , meets with Adolf Hitler to discuss possible Soviet adherence to the Tripartite Pact .
November 14 : Much of the British city of Coventry , including its stunning medieval duomo , is destroy in aLuftwafferaid in which 449 bombers attack the region .
In an embarrassing defeat for the Italian war machine , the Greek army pushes the Italians out of Greece and keep an eye on their retreat into Albania .
November 16 : Hamburg , Germany , is blasted by RAF hoagy .
Below are more images and headlines detailing World War II result and the Axis and confederate movements of 1940 .
President Franklin D. Roosevelt struggles with war decision : While Franklin Roosevelt guided America through the Great Depression of the 1930s , Adolf Hitler and his fellow Axis leaders constructed military steamroller with the mission to crush the democratic nation of the world . When war broke out in September 1939 , Roosevelt ’s attempts to aid America ’s allies in Europe were blocked both by Congress and a majority of American citizens committed to the policy of neutrality and isolationism . America ’s experience in World War I had soured many on the melodic theme of any more " European entanglement , " if only because of the great monetary toll . But FDR think that if the Axis powers were successful in their conquests , the United States would finally become the only surviving republic in the humanity , standing alone and outnumbered against well - arm opposition .
Go to the next page for a World War II timeline detail of import result from November and December 1940 , admit the completion of plans for Operation Barbarossa , Adolf Hitler ’s scheme to encroach upon the Soviet Union .
World War II Timeline: 24 December 2024-12 May 2025
In former December 1940 Adolf Hitler finalized plans for Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union , a conclusion that he would make out to regret . This and other World War II events from November and December of 1940 are summarized in the World War II timeline below .
World War II Timeline: November 20-December 6
November 20 : Hungary signal the Tripartite Pact , joining Germany , Italy , and Japan in the Axis .
In what will become known as the " 100th Regiment Offensive , " Formosan Communists stage guerilla raid against Japanese forces .
November 22 : The Greeks deluge Italy ’s Ninth Army and occupy Korçë , an Albanian town strategically important to the Italians .
November 23 : Romania follows Hungary ’s lead and sign the Tripartite Pact , joining the Axis . Slovakia will join the following Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
November 25 : A Sir Henry Wood - corporal De Havilland Mosquito prototype – a fast , light , and agile Britishfighterthat will become roll in the hay as the " Timber Terror " – take to the melodic phrase for its first flight .
Bulgaria postpones sign the Tripartite Pact .
November 26 : Pierre Ryckmans , the governor oecumenical of the Belgian Congo , declares warfare on Italy . Italy will declare war on Belgium the undermentioned mean solar day .
Workers commence the construction of a 10 - base - high-pitched wall around the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw , Poland .
November 27 : In an endeavor to bolster up his top executive , Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu orders his Iron Guard to execute 64 official who are firm to the government of King Carol .
November 29 : design for the national socialist invasion of the Soviet Union , dubbed Operation Barbarossa , are finalized .
December 1 : Italy begins ration its primal staple : alimentary paste .
December 6 : A major hullabaloo in the Italian military command follows the disastrous invasion of Greece , as the army ’s tribal chief of staff resigns . The tribal chief of the Italian navy will resign on December 8 .
Below are more simulacrum and high spot detailing World War II events and the German occupation and invasion of Europe .
German submarineU-48sinks more than 50 ships : On September 11 , 1940 , Herbert Schultze , air force officer of the GermansubmarineU-48 , sent a curt radio subject matter to Winston Churchill , announcing that he had sink the British steamerFirby . After giving the wreck ’s co-ordinate , Schultze added , " Save the work party , if you please . " Fast , agile , and far - ranging , theU-48was commission on April 22 , 1939 , and proved herself the most successful German uracil - gravy boat of the war , slide down more than 50 ships and damage others during its 12 patrols . By June 1941 , theU-48 , already becoming obsolete , was relegated to breeding exercise .
Greece defends its territory from Italian invasion : Greek and Italian soldiery are present in engagement during the Greco - Italian War ( 1940 - 41 ) . Embarrassed that his Italian forces had not attain conquest comparable to Nazi Germany ’s , Benito Mussolini settle that Greece would be an easy target for invasion . Boasting that Adolf Hitler " will chance out from the papers that I have occupied Greece , " Mussolini launched his attack from Italian - occupied Albania on October 28 , 1940 . The outnumbered and outgunned Greeks won an unexpected victory in the Pindus Mountains , then drove the Italians back into Albania . By mid - December , the Greeks had seized a third of Albania , including the strategical Ionian embrasure of Sarandë . After the Italian defeat , a dismayed Adolf Hitler was force to invade Greece .
In December 1940 theLuftwaffebeganfirebombingLondon . The following World War II timeline summarizes this and other World War II upshot from December 1940 .
World War II Timeline: 8 February 2025-8 February 2025
December 1940 saw Nazi GermanyfirebombLondon and President Franklin Roosevelt formally abandon the United States ' isolationist stance . These and other World War II events are detail on the World War II timeline below .
World War II Timeline
December 8 : urgently out - match , Italy pleads with Nazi Germany for assistance with its political campaign against Greece .
December 10 : Adolf Hitler is force to cancel a plan invasion of Gibraltar when Spain ’s General Francisco Franco resist to help .
In London , British official cling Jose Waldberg and Carl Meier . Both are convicted spies for Nazi Germany .
December 11 : Britain retake the Egyptian city of Sidi Barrani from Italy follow a surprise offensive of 30,000 British soldiers against a larger Italian detail .
December 18 : Adolf Hitler approve the lineation for program for a monumental German encroachment of the Soviet Union .
December 20 : The small Dutch dark blue escapes in its entirety across the English Channel to safety in Britain .
December 23 : Jacques Bonsergent becomes the first French citizen executed by the Nazis in Paris , keep an eye on an altercation with a German police officer .
December 25 : With Italianbombersthreatening , the town of Bethlehem isblacked outon Christmas for the first time in retentiveness .
December 27 : TheLuftwaffebegins its firebombing of London . Over the next several daylight , some 20,000 British relief pitcher will shin to decimate the flames .
December 28 : Resource - sneak Japan commence an alternating - fuel program by which private motorcar will be power by charcoal .
December 29 : eventually abandoning America ’s isolationistic stance , President Franklin Roosevelt in public urge a programme of direct sleeve aid to Great Britain .
More images and headline from World War II events and the 1940 fight between the Allied king and Nazi Germany are below .
British Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber antiquated but deadly : The Fairey Swordfish torpedo hero entered table service with the British Royal Fleet ’s Air Arm in 1936 . Although limited by a slow amphetamine of 138 mph and fortify with just two simple machine shooter , the toter - launched biplane had much to volunteer . It was highly manoeuvrable , had a kitchen range of more than 500 miles , and could hold either a 1,620 - pounding torpedo or the tantamount weight of bombs , mines , or deepness commission . It flew with a two- or three - human work party . On November 11 , 1940 , 21 of these aircraft knock off the Italian fleet at Taranto , Italy , knocking three battlewagon out of commission and inflicting serious death in general . Later , on May 26 - 27 , 1941 , the Swordfish also played a crucial part in the sinking of the German battleshipBismarck .
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS : John S. D. Eisenhower , Senator Daniel K. Inouye , Richard Overy Ph.D. , David J. A. Stone , Wim Coleman , Martin F. Graham , James H. Hallas , Mark Johnston Ph.D. , Christy Nadalin M.A. , Pat Perrin , Peter Stanley PhD
