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France WW2 Events Timeline
France terribly underestimated the speed and power of the new German Army - and ultimately paid the price for its failure.
Total Events: 99
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British and French army forces begin defensive preparations in Belgium in an effort to stave off the German advance. A long line of strategic defenses is contructed. |
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Panzer Corps XV and XIX break through the Allied defenses at Sedan, allowing German forces to completely bypass the formidable defenses at the French Maginot Line. |
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German Panzer Corps cross into the north of France. |
1940
Friday
May 17th - May 18th |
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Allied forces are in full retreat of the Germans, making their way towards the French coastline. |
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Sensing a catastrophic loss in the making, Winston Churchill orders preparation of vessels to evacuate the British Expeditionary Forces from northern France. |
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Compounding battlefield losses across France and the Low Countries force a change at the helm - General Maxime Weygand replaces General Maurice-Gustave Gamelin as supreme Allied commander. |
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An Allied counterattack against the German Army near Arras ends in failure as the attack is itself countered by another advancing German land force. |
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In a stunning move, Hitler orders his forces not to cross the Lens-Bethune-St Omer-Gravelines line, allowing the retreating Allied forces more time to reach the French coast. |
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German Luftwaffe bombers hammer Allied defensive positions in and around the French port city of Dunkirk. |
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More and more retreating Allied units arrive at the French port city of Dunkirk. |
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The German Army takes Boulogne. |
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Operation Dynamo - the all-out evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk - officially begins at 6:57 PM. |
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Over 850 British civilian vessels take part in assisting military forces off of French soil to awaiting transports in what would become the largest military evacuation in history. |
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Hitler orders his army forces towards Dunkirk for the final blow to the Allied cause. |
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With the fight gone out of them, the Belgian Army surrenders to the German 6th and 18th armies. Their actions, however, supply the evacuating Allies with much-needed time. |
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By the end of this day, some 25,473 British soldiers have been evacuated from France. |
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King Leopold of Belgium orders his army to surrender to the Germans. By this time, his government has already relocated to Paris, France. |
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With Belgium out of the way, German Army elements begin making their way towards the French coastline in an attempt to completely eliminate Allied forces for good. |
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Another 47,000 British troops are evacuated from Dunkirk. |
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6,000 French soldiers join some 120,000 total Allied soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk on this day. |
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Over 150,000 Allied soldiers (including some 15,000 French) arrive in Britain. |
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Defense of the outlying region near Dunkirk now passes to French XVI Corps. |
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Some 40,000 French soldiers are taken prisoner by Germany at the fall of Dunkirk. |
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Operation Dynamo - the evacuation of Allied forces at Dunkirk - officially ends. 338,326 total soldiers are saved including 113,000 French troops. |
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German Luftwaffe bombers cease bombardment of Dunkirk. |
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German ships begin operating out of captured bases along the French coast. |
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The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division begins training for Operation Rutter on the Isle of Wight. |
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The 1st Free French Brigade at Bir Hacheim holds off the German progress. |
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The 1st Free French Brigade at Bir Hacheim can hold no more and retreat under the mounting German pressure. |
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Bad weather cancels this original date for Operation Rutter. Discussions begin on whether or not to nix the entire endeavor. It returns to the planning stages under a new name - Operation Jubilee. |
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This date is set aside for Operation Rutter - the amphibious landing at the port city of Dieppe in occupied France. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
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At 5:35 AM, Allied armor makes it to the beach. Over half of the tanks are lost in the action. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
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At 3:48 AM, several Allied invasion vessels run into a German convoy, which actively engages the ships, ruining any chance the Allies held in the element of surprise. This event is a fore-telling of the day to follow. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
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By 11:00 AM, disaster has completely befallen the invaders. Many are trapped, forced back or dead to a prepared German defense. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
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By 2:00 PM, all survivors of the Dieppe invasion have been rescued. Left behind are 3,367 casualties, wounded, prisoners of war or missing. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
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At 4:30 AM, Canadian soldiers wade ashore and take on the German coastal batteries at Berneval, Puys, Pourville and Varengville. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
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This date is targeted for Operation Jubilee. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
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4,962 Canadian soldiers, along with 1,000 British troops and a 50-man contingent of American US Army Rangers set sail on no fewer than 237 boats towards Dieppe. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
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Operation Jubilee is officially put into action. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
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At 5:20 AM, the main invasion force - made up of the 14th Army Tank Regiment, the Essex Scottish Regiment, and the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry - come ashore. |
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Nazi-allied French leader Marshal Petain celebrates the German victory over the Allied invasion at Dieppe. |
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French General Mast surrenders to the British Eastern Task Force. |
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The US Western and Central task forces tangle with Vichy French opposition. |
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At Oran, French coastal guns destroya US transport with 200 soldiers aboard. |
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The first French cease-fires begin to ring out across Algeria and Morocco. |
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US forces tangle with a suprisingly stout French defense. It was believed that the two country's histories would have brought France to surrender rather than fight a former ally. |
1942
Wednesday
November 11th |
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French Admiral Jean Francios Darlan joins French General Alphonse Juin in calling an all-out cease fire for French forces throughout Africa. |
1942
Wednesday
November 11th |
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The British Eastern Task force capture the strategic airfield at Djidjelli via Bougie from Algiers. |
1942
Sunday
November 15th |
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American paratroopers land at the airfield near Youks les Bains |
1944
Tuesday
January 11th |
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French Expeditionary Corps assail the outer defences at Cassino, achieving modest gains. |
1944
Tuesday
January 11th |
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The first major Allied offensive to take Cassino is launched. |
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The US IC Corps and the French Expeditionary Corps arrive at Rapido River. |
1944
Friday
February 11th |
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A blanket retreat is enacted by the Allies in an attempt to regroup and plan a new strategy to take Cassino. |
1944
Tuesday
February 15th |
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Following the Allied aerial bombardment, the second major Allied offensive to take Cassino is launched. |
1944
Saturday
February 19th - March 13th |
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The Italian winter makes its arrival and postpones any further Allied offensives for the next month. |
1944
Wednesday
March 15th |
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Artillery guns open up on Cassino while 600-plus Allied bombers attempt to shake the German defenders. |
1944
Wednesday
March 15th |
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A third major Allied offensive is put into action. |
1944
Wednesday
March 15th - March 21st |
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Positions on Monte Cassino are officially in Allied hands. |
1944
Wednesday
March 22nd |
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With mounting losses in both manpower and tanks, further Allied thrusts are called off. |
1944
Thursday
March 23rd - May 10th |
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A lengthy six-week period allows the Allies to rebuild their forces - though this period allows the Germans to increase their defensive foothold. |
1944
Saturday
April 1st - June 5th |
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Allied bombers increase their sorties across Northern and Western France in preparations of the D-Day landings. Targets include the vital railways, railyards, bridges and roads dotting the French landscape. These facilities will prove crucial to the German response to the invasion. |
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The fourth offensive to take Cassino is put into action. |
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June 5th is selected as the next official launch date for D-Day. |
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Weather on May 17th cancels the D-Day operation. Leaving the next best weather window of opportunity to be June 5th. |
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This date became one of the two best weather options for the Allied invasion of France. |
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Monte Cassino falls to the Allies, costing some 50,000 casualties along both sides of the battlefield. |
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Official word comes down that the June 5th landings will be postponed due to inclement weather across the North Sea. |
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Some 6,000 naval vessels depart from the south of England towards France. |
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Allied naval warships open up with their guns on German defensive positions along the French coast. |
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By 8:00AM, most of the German defenders at or near Gold and Sword beaches have been cleared or are on the run. |
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The first town in France - Ste Mere Eglise - is liberated by the Allies, this honor falling to the American forces from Utah beach and paratroopers from the previous day's drops. |
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Omaha statistics are grim and the group holds the least amount of real estate at just 4.3 miles across and 1.2 miles inland. However, they do hold positions in Vierville sur Mer, Colleville and St-Laurent sur Mer. |
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The Allied elements at Sword beach hold onto a 6-by-6 mile piece of land though they are still cut off from the Allies at Juno. |
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The British and Canadian forces out of Gold and Juno beaches enjoy the largest footholds in France, encompassing land holdings some 9 miles wide and 6.2 miles inland. |
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By midnight, D-Day is more or less over. Not all objectives are captured but progress is made nonetheless. |
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By 8:00PM, the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division out of Juno beach connects with the British 50th Division out of Gold beach. This union becomes the largest Allied-held pocket in the north of France to this point. |
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The German 21st Panzer Division is repelled by a combined Allied armor and air assault, saving further actions at Sword. |
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The German counter-attack reaches the beachhead at Sword. |
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At 4:00PM, the mobilized German 21st Panzer Division launches a counter-attack. |
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British and French special forces elements out of Sword beach connect with the British paratroopers holding the key bridges over the Orne River. |
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Near the town of Pouppeville, the US 4th Infantry Division at Utah beach connects with the 101st Airborne Division paratroopers. |
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The Canadians out of Juno beach take Bernieres at about 11:00AM. |
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No less than five key bridges over the Dives River are blown up by British paratroopers. |
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The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division makes its way towards Juno beach. The German defenses, heavy seas and underwater obstacles cause a loss of 30 percent of the landing craft. The onshore result is equally grim as the Canadians are assaulted by the prepared Germans. |
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In preparation for the arrival of the regular armies by way of amphibious landing, British and American airborne paratroopers arrive in France just after midnight. |
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The British 3rd Division arriving at Sword beach face a stouter German defense but are able to overwhelm the enemy and establish a foothold. |
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The British 50th Division pushed some 6 miles inland. |
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The combined British and Canadian forces at Gold face little opposition and claim their objectives with little incident. |
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At approximately 7:25AM, forces of the British and Canadian armies wade ashore at beaches codenamed Gold and Juno. |
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The US Army forces arriving at Omaha beach face a prepared, stout and veteran defense made possible by the German 352nd Division. After 2,400 casualties, the 1st US Infantry Division holds a beachhead. |
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US Army forces arriving at Utah beach find themselves some 2,000 yards away from where they should be. The result is the force finds little German opposition at Utah. Their original landing zone was to be centered around Les-Dunes-de-Varreville. Total casualties from the landing are 300 personnel. |
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At approximately 6:30AM, American Army forces begin landing at two key beaches, codenamed Utah and Omaha. |
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American forces at Utah beach hold pockets of land totaling just over 6 miles. |
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Despite the confusion on the part of the misdropped Allied paratroopers, the defending Germans are thrown into an equal level of confusion, noting Allied airdrops all around them. |
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British paratroopers destroy the coastal fortifications at Merville. |
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The British paratroopers take the bridges over the Caen Canal and the Orne River. |
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British paratroopers of the 6th British Airborne Brigade land near Benouville. |
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Elements of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions land across the Cotentin Peninsula. Despite all the planning, their dropzones are widely scattered. |
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At approximately 10:00AM, British forces out of Gold beach take La Riviere. |
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