Day-by-Day Timeline of Events
Wednesday, November 10th, 1943
The combined force of US Army and Marine Corps troops numbering 35,000 personnel heads towards Betio on the Tarawa Atoll.
Tuesday, November 30th, 1943
The British and Americans devise Operation Argument to counter the Luftwaffe threat through a round-the-clock bombing offensive; bad weather postpones any action.
Tuesday, September 1st - September 30th, 1942
The month is spent ironing out plans for the Allied invasion of German-occupied North Africa.
Monday, October 21st, 1940
Operation Judgement - the Allied attack on the Italian naval base at Taranto - is postponed due to mechanical issues aboard the carrier HMS Eagle and a fire aboard the carrier HMS Illustrious.
Friday, June 16th, 1944
The 1st Mobile Fleet of the IJN meets up with the Japanese Southern Force west of the Philippines.
Monday, May 1st - May 31st, 1944
Plans begin for a major Soviet offensive against the German Army in the East.
Sunday, March 1st - April 30th, 1942
Hitler and his commanders flesh out Operation Blue - in invasion of the oil-rich, Russian-held Caucasus.
Tuesday, January 11th, 1944
The first major Allied offensive to take Cassino is launched.
Saturday, September 2nd, 1939
The governments of Britain and France deliver their ultimatums to German officials in regards to the German invasion of Poland.
Sunday, September 1st - September 30th, 1940
Italian forces, led by Marshal Graziani invade Egypt. During the month, the Italian army sets up a series of six defensive positions south of occupied Sidi Barrani known simply as Nibeiwa, Tummar East, Tummar West, North Sofafi, East Sofafi and West Sofafi.
Sunday, September 3rd, 1939
France declares war on Germany.
Sunday, September 3rd, 1939
The government of Australia declares war on Germany.
Sunday, September 3rd, 1939
New Zealand declares war on Germany.
Sunday, September 3rd, 1939
The British transatlantic passenger liner SS Athenia is sunk by German U-boat U-30, killing 128 aboard.
Monday, September 4th, 1939
The British Royal Air Force launches its first bombing missions against German targets - these being warships stationed off of the northwest coast of Germany.
Tuesday, September 5th, 1939
The government of South Africa declares war on Germany.
Tuesday, September 5th, 1939
The United States government declares its neutrality in the European conflict.
Wednesday, September 6th, 1939
The Polish government and military command flee Warsaw.
Wednesday, September 6th, 1939
German forces advance beyond Lodz.
Wednesday, September 6th, 1939
German forces take Krakow.
Thursday, September 7th, 1939
French forces begin light fighting against German elements near Saarbrucken.
Thursday, September 7th, 1939
Britain launches the first of many convoys across challenged Atlantic waters.
Friday, September 8th, 1939
The German Tenth Army reaches the Warsaw perimeter.
Friday, September 8th, 1939
The German Fourteenth Army arrives near Przemysl.
Friday, September 8th, 1939
General Guderian's tank force reaches the Bug River just east of the Polish capital.
Monday, October 28th, 1940
An Italian force of 70,000 soldiers invades Greece.
Wednesday, July 1st - July 31st, 1942
The Allies received word on the construction of a strategic Japanese airfield (Henderson Field) on the island of Guadalcanal, part of the Solomon Islands. As such, plans are set in motion to curtail construction of the endeavor. US Navy and Marine forces spring into action.
Monday, September 10th, 1939
Canada declares war on Germany.
Monday, September 10th, 1939
General Lord Gort and his British Expeditionary Force begin to arrive on French soil.
Wednesday, September 13th, 1939
French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier begins setting up his war cabinet.
Wednesday, July 1st - July 22nd, 1942
The First Battle of El Alamein takes place with Erwin Rommel hoping to put a dent in the Allied defense near El Alamain. Rommel's forces consist of his Afrika Corps and three Italian troop corps.
Wednesday, November 26th, 1941
The Japanese naval fleet leaves home port and heads to Hawaii.
Sunday, September 17th, 1939
The British aricraft carrier HMS Courageous is sunk southwest of the Irish coast by German U-boat U-29.
Thursday, September 21st, 1939
Romanian Prime Minister Armand Calinescu is assassinated by elements of the fascist group "Iron Guard".
Saturday, October 14th, 1939
The British Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak is sunk by U-47 with 833 lives lost.
Saturday, November 4th, 1939
The United States government revises its neutral stance and allows for sales of military goods to occur - the buyer responsible for payment and transport.
Sunday, November 26th, 1939
With worsening relations between Finland and the Soviet Union, the Soviets pull out of their non-aggression pact with Finland.
Saturday, December 2nd, 1939
The Finnish government seeks assistance from the League of Nations.
Thursday, December 14th, 1939
The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations.
Saturday, December 23rd, 1939
7,500 Canadian soldiers arrive in Britain.
Wednesday, January 10th, 1940
A German plane carrying two officers and the German invasion plans of Western Europe scheduled for January 17th mistakenly lands in Belgium. This forces Hitler to push the invasion back.
Sunday, January 14th, 1940
A new government is formed in Japan under Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai following the resignation of PM Nobuyuki Abe.
Monday, February 5th, 1940
The Allied Supreme War Council agrees to come to the aid of Finland and Norway - if only to protect valuable Swedish ore from falling to the Germans.
Friday, February 16th, 1940
HMS Cossack, a Royal Navy destroyer, moves into neutral Norwegian waters to claim its merchant men from the German ship Altmark. Germany and Norway both protest the action.
Saturday, February 24th, 1940
Following General von Manstein's recommendation, the German invasion plans of Western Europe are revised to send armored forces through the "impassable" Ardennes Forest.
Wednesday, March 20th, 1940
French PM Daladier resigns his post after the failure to save Finland.
Thursday, March 21st, 1940
Paul Reynaud succeeds Edouard Daladier as France's Prime Minister.
Friday, April 25th, 1941
Fuhrer Directive No.28 is issued by Adolf Hitler, calling for the invasion of the island of Crete through Operation Mercury led by General Kurt Student.
Thursday, March 28th, 1940
The governments of France and Britain agree to not make any secret peace treaties with the Germans and remain a unified front.
Tuesday, July 28th, 1942
The macabre resolution of "not one step backwards" is issued by Stalin to his generals and troops.
Monday, April 8th, 1940
HMS Glowworm intercepts a portion of the German invasion fleet headed to Norway.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
In conjunction with the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Wake Island is assaulted by a Japanese invasion force all its own - this under the command of Rear-Admiral Kajioka Sadamichi.
Friday, July 7th, 1944
After heavy bombing by British Royal Air Force elements, British and Canadian army forces regroup and begin their offensive to take Caen from the Germans.
Friday, May 10th, 1940
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns.
Wednesday, May 8th, 1940
General Semyon Timoshenko succeeds Marshal Kliment Voroshilov as Commissar for Defense.
Wednesday, April 2nd, 1941
Under the direction of German Navy Grand-Admiral Raeder, Operation Rheinubung is fleshed out. The operation calls for direct hit-and-run engagements with British merchant shipping across the Atlantic.
Friday, May 31st, 1940
The U.S. government commits millions to a new defense program aimed at modernizing and strengthening the current force.
Sunday, September 17th, 1944
General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, approves General Montgomery's Operation Market Garden.
Monday, June 10th, 1940
Canada declares war on Italy.
Tuesday, June 11th, 1940
Australia declares war on Italy.
Tuesday, June 11th, 1940
New Zealand declares war on Italy.
Sunday, May 3rd, 1942
Forces of the Imperial Japanese Army land at Tulagi of the Solomons island group. Subsequent develop ensures a base of operations for Japanese logistics in the region.
Tuesday, June 11th, 1940
South Africa declares war on Italy.
Thursday, June 13th, 1940
War goods begin leaving U.S. shores bound for Britain.
Thursday, June 13th, 1940
U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signs a $1.3 billion dollar commitment to modernize the United States Navy fleet in preparation for possible war.
Monday, June 17th, 1940
French Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain, having replaced outsted Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, ask Germany for armistice terms.
Monday, June 24th, 1940
The formal signing of the French surrender takes place at Compiegne - site of the original German surrender of World War 1.
Sunday, June 22nd, 1941
Operation Barbossa is put into effect - the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
Thursday, June 20th, 1940
Republican Henry Stimson is appointed Secretary for War by President Roosevelt.
Thursday, June 20th, 1940
Republican Frank Knox is appointed Secretary for the Navy by President Roosevelt.
Wednesday, June 26th, 1940
The Romanian government agrees to allow Soviets into Bessarabia and part of Bukovina.
Thursday, July 18th, 1940
The British close down the Burma Road supply route to China in an effort to avoid war with Japan.
Thursday, July 25th, 1940
In an effort to disrupt the Japanese war economy, the U.S. government enacts a restrictive licensing program for its export of important steel and oil products.
Thursday, August 1st, 1940
Hitler reveals Directive Number 17 which calls for finalization of the invasion of Great Britain for September 15th.
Sunday, February 14th, 1943
At 4AM, elements of the 10th Panzer Division and 21st Panzer Division under General von Arnim, launch their attack at Allied forces near Sidi Bou Zid and Bir el Hafey.
Saturday, August 3rd, 1940
Italian Army elements attack a small British force stationed in British Somaliland from positions in Ethiopia.
Monday, August 5th, 1940
The initial German plans for the invasion of the Soviet Union are reviewed by German commanders.
Saturday, July 1st, 1944
Plans by the Polish Army are laid out for a resistance and uprising in the Capital City of Warsaw against their German overseers.
Saturday, August 17th, 1940
The German government declares a naval blockade of the British Isles freeing its forces to attack any and all targets in the region.
Monday, September 2nd, 1940
The British and American governments agree to a deal for the British to receive some 50 old USN destroyers.
Sunday, September 15th, 1940
The Canadian government announces conscription of males between the ages of 21 and 24.
Sunday, September 15th, 1940
The Soviet government announces conscription of males between the ages of 19 and 20.
Tuesday, September 17th, 1940
The British government announces conscription of males between the ages of 21 and 35.
Saturday, September 21st, 1940
Incumbent Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies wins reelection.
Sunday, September 22nd, 1940
Japanese forces enter French Indochina now being governed by French Vichy.
Monday, September 23rd, 1940
A combined force of Free French and British personnel attempt to take Dakar of French West Africa but the invasion falters after several days.
Saturday, March 24th, 1945
In preparation for the amphibious assault landings on the island of Okinawa, US Naval elements begin bombardment of shoreline positions.
Monday, September 24th, 1940
Vichy French air elements launch unsuccessful attacks on British positions at Gibraltar.
Friday, September 27th, 1940
The Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan strengthen their ties through the Tripartite Act which makes an enemy of an ally an enemy to all.
Monday, February 2nd, 1942
Adolph Hitler approves of the order for retreat for German forces at Rostov.
Monday, October 7th, 1940
German forces cross onto Romanian soil to train the national military as a means to position themselves closer to the vital Ploesti oil fields.
Friday, May 10th, 1940
Winston Churchill succeeds beleagured Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister.
Saturday, October 12th, 1940
Hitler is forced to postpone the British mainland invasion until the Spring of 1941.
Tuesday, October 15th, 1940
Unknown to the Germans, the Italians decide on an operation to invade Greece.
Wednesday, October 16th, 1940
The Dutch East Indies government and Japan agree to a six-months-long transfer of oil.
Friday, October 18th, 1940
The Vichy French government imposes anti-semitic laws upon the local Jewish population.
Friday, December 5th, 1941
The Soviets launch a full-scale counter-attack along a 500-mile front encompassing 19 Russian armies against Field Marshal von Bock's German Army Group Centre near Moscow.
Monday, October 28th, 1940
The Italian government issues an ultimatum to Greece to accept occupation or war.
Monday, October 28th, 1940
Italian forces begin launching attacks into Greece from positions in Albania.
Wednesday, October 30th - October 31st, 1940
British forces begin to occupy positions on the island of Crete.
Tuesday, November 5th, 1940
Franklin Roosevelt is reelected to a third term as President of the United States.
Sunday, November 10th, 1940
Italian General Ubaldo Soddu succeeds General Sabasiano Viscounti-Prasca as Commander-in-Chief over operations from Albania into Greece.
Thursday, November 14th - November 22nd, 1940
A combined British-Greek force begins an offensive against the Italians in Greece, forcing the invaders into retreat.
Monday, November 18th, 1940
A Sunderland flying boat aircraft - fitted with new radar - locates its first German U-boat submarine.
Wednesday, November 20th, 1940
The Hungarian government formally allys with the Axis powers.
Saturday, November 23rd, 1940
The Romanian government formally allys with the Acis powers.
Tuesday, November 26th, 1940
The construction of a ghetto in the Polish capital of Warsaw is begun in an effort to corral the local Jewish populations.
Saturday, November 30th, 1940
Japan formally recognizes the puppet regime of China led by President Wang Ching-wei.
Monday, September 1st, 1941
German Army elements begin the shelling of Leningrad.
Friday, December 6th, 1940
Italian Commander-in-Chief Marshal Pietro Badoglio tenders his resignation.
Monday, July 5th, 1943
The Germans enact Operation Citadel - the assault on the Kursk salient. The operation begins at 4:30am but major elements are delayed until 5:00am thanks to intense artillery attacks by the prepared Russians.
Wednesday, December 18th, 1940
Hiter's Directive Number 21 is revealed as the invasion of the Soviet Union through Operation Barbarossa.
Saturday, December 16th, 1944
The German Army launch their Ardennes offensive against elements of the American US VIII located between Aachen and Bastogne.
Sunday, December 29th, 1940
Roosevelt's Fireside Chat radio program attempts to strengthen American support for the war against the Axis through supporting the British effort.
Thursday, January 2nd, 1941
The U.S. government commits to construction of some 200 merchant ships to support the Allied cause in the Atlantic.
Wednesday, January 15th, 1941
The Australian Army begins actions against the Italians in Libya.
Wednesday, January 29th, 1941
High level talks between the British and the Americans results in strengthening ties for the nations in the event of an American declaration of war with Germany.
Wednesday, January 29th, 1941
British forces take on Italian positions in Kenya.
Saturday, February 1st, 1941
The United States Navy reorganizes into three independent fleets to cover possible battlefronts in the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Asia-Pacific regions.
Friday, February 14th, 1941
Bulgaria agrees to allow Germany use of its soil bordering Greece for the upcoming invasion.
Friday, February 14th, 1941
Erwin Rommel's Afrika Corps arrives in Tripoli to bolster the wavering Italian forces in North Africa.
Wednesday, February 19th - February 23rd, 1941
Allied authorities meet in Cairo, Egypt to review the situation in Greece. It is agree upon to commit some 100,000 British soldiers to the fighting.
Wednesday, March 5th, 1941
The first elements of British reinforcements departs Egyptian shores en route to the Balkan Front.
Thursday, August 31st, 1939
Adolf Hitler provides the final orders for the invasion of Poland.
Saturday, April 5th, 1941
The number of British troops having arrived in Greece numbers 58,000.
Sunday, March 9th, 1941
The Italians launch a new offensive in Greece to recover lost ground.
Tuesday, March 11th, 1941
President Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law allowing the United States government to militarily support - with delayed payments - any and all allies when U.S. interests are threatened.
Monday, March 24th, 1941
German forces drive the British from El Agheila in Libya.
Tuesday, March 25th, 1941
The Yugoslavian government formally signs support for the Axis powers.
Thursday, March 21st, 1941
A coup by Yugoslav Air Force personnel overthrows Prince Paul.
Sunday, March 31st, 1941
Recent unrest in Yugoslavia forces the Germans to draw up plans of the invasion of Yugoslavia by way of Directive Number 25.
Wednesday, May 15th, 1940
The RAF sends up its first night-time bombing raid against Germany. Of the 99 aircraft sent, only one fails to return home.
Thursday, March 27th, 1941
The Italians are forced by the British to retreat during the Battle of Keren in Eritrea.
Tuesday, April 1st, 1941
Italian-held Asmara falls to the British.
Sunday, March 30th, 1941
United States vessels capture some sixty-five ships aligned with the Axis powers.
Thursday, September 25th, 1941
The Crimea finds itself cutoff from the rest of the Soviet Union by German Army forces made up of German Army Group South.
Monday, April 1st - April 18th, 1941
Internal unrest in Iraq leads to an overthrow of the pro-British government. The new government aligns itself with the Axis.
Friday, April 18th, 1941
In an effort to safeguard its vital oil supply chain, British forces arrive in Iraq.
Tuesday, July 3rd - 11th, 1945
About 6,000 men, left over from the decimated Japanese 33rd Army, assail Allied positions at Waw. The fighting lasts until July 11th when the attackers are finally driven off by combined Allied air and ground assaults.
Monday, July 16th, 1945
The Americans complete the detonation of the world's first atomic bomb under the codename of "Manhattan Project". The operation takes place at Alamogordo in New Mexico. Such bombs are intended to be used on the Japanese mainland to help finish the war.
Tuesday, July 17th - August 2nd, 1945
Allied leaders meet for the Potsdam Conference to discuss the post-war world order. Chuchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin are the primary leaders in attendance.
Saturday, January 6th, 1945
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the west coordinates via telegram with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in the east on launching a combined January offensive. Churchill plans on the 20th as the target date.
Thursday, July 19th, 1945
Elements of the Japanese 28th Army attempt to push out of Pegu Yomas against the Indian 17th. Japanese forces are slaughtered by gunfire and the escape fails.
Thursday, July 26th, 1945
Japanese defenders on Mindanao in the Philippines are defeated.
Monday, August 21st, 1939
The German battleship Graf Spee leaves Wilhelmshaven for the North Atlantic. She is commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff. Her supply ship is the Altmark, which also leaves Wilhelmshaven.
Thursday, July 12th, 1945
The Allies conduct an amphibious landing at Sarangini Bay in a step towards removing the Japanese defenders at Mindanao.
Friday, January 21st, 1944
In the afternoon hours, an Allied convoy of 243 ships sets sail from the Bay of Naples for the beaches at Anzio and nearby Nettuno.
Saturday, July 28th, 1945
Japanese leaders disregard the proclamations by Allied leaders made at the Potsdam Conference.
Saturday, August 4th, 1945
In the Far East theater of Burma, the remaining elements of the Japanese 28th Army are destroyed.
Monday, August 6th, 1945
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress 'Enola Gay' drops the first of two atomic bombs on the Japanese mainland - the target being the densely populated city of Hiroshima. About 70,000 of its citizens are killed and a further 70,000 are injured in the blast. Many more will die in the coming years from its effects.
Thursday, August 9th, 1945
In the Manchurian Theater, the Soviets commit some 1.5 million troops against the Japanese's Kwantung Army.
Thursday, August 9th, 1945
A United States B-29 bomber delivers a second atomic bomb on the Japanese mainland, this time on the city of Nagasaki. This is in direct response to Tokyo's disregard of previous ultimatums by the Allies calling for an immediate and unconditional surrender. Some 35,000 are killed in the blast with another 60,000 citizens injured.
Friday, August 10th, 1945
Following the drop of a second atomic bomb on one of its major cities, the Emperor of Japan formally supports a Japanese surrender to the terms specified in the Potsdam Conference.
Wednesday, August 15th, 1945
For the first time during his tenure, Emperor Hirohito speaks to his people, calling on his commanders to support his order to surrender to the Allies.
Saturday, April 1st - June 5th, 1944
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.
Thursday, August 23rd, 1945
The Soviets claim the complete victory in Manchuria over the defeated Japanese Army. The war has cost the conquered some 80,000 KIA with a further 594,000 taken prisoner to an unknown fate. In comparison, the Soviets lose just 8,000 of their own with 22,000 wounded.
Sunday, September 2nd, 1945
The formal Japanese surrender takes place on the deck of the American battleship USS Missouri. Japanese leaders sign the surrender in front of American General Douglas MacArthur. The end of World War 2 - with VJ day - has arrived.
Tuesday, June 1st - June 30th, 1943
British and American authorities work together to formulate the Pointblank Directive - a combined air bombing campaign against the air production facilities of the German Luftwaffe.
Thursday, November 30th, 1939
Five Soviet armies cross into Finland, beginning the Winter War.
Saturday, August 8th, 1942
A large contingent of Imperial Japanese Navy warships heads out of Rabaul towards Savo Island to strike at US Navy transports there.
Friday, May 10th, 1940
German airborne elements land across Belgium and Holland in advance of ground forces, capturing key bridges and routes.
Monday, May 25th, 1942
A large Imperial Japanese Naval force sails for Japan towards Midway Island. The force Is made up of four task forces. One is charged with the invasion of the Aleutian Islands off of Alaska while the other three are to take Midway Island itself and assail the responding USN fleet. One group contains the required four aircraft carriers.
Monday, March 24th, 1941
Rommel begins his attack near El Agheila.
Thursday, August 21st, 1941
The first Royal Navy convoy on its way to deliver supplies through Arctic waters into the Soviet Union leaves Scapa Flow comprised of 7 ships.
Monday, May 20th, 1940
Sensing a catastrophic loss in the making, Winston Churchill orders preparation of vessels to evacuate the British Expeditionary Forces from northern France.
Friday, July 9th, 1943
The Allied invasion fleets sail out to Sicily.
Sunday, September 3rd, 1939
Athenia, a British passenger liner originating from Glasgow and traveling to Montreal, is targeted and sunk by German U-boat U-30 resulting the loss of 112 people. Athenia becomes the first naval casualty of the U-boat scourge in the Atlantic.
Sunday, March 8th, 1942
Japanese forces, numbering two battalions strong, land at Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea.
Saturday, June 1st - August 12th, 1940
German Luftwaffe forces concentrate efforts on maintaining control over the vital shipping lanes of the North Sea. At least 30,000 merchant ships are destroyed during this period.
Wednesday, May 20th, 1942
The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division begins training for Operation Rutter on the Isle of Wight.
Monday, April 16th, 1945
The Soviet Army begins its Berlin campaign with spectacular display of artillery, exploding targets throughout Berlin and its surrounding areas. The bombardment signals the beginning of the offensive to take the German capital.
Saturday, January 1st, 1944
A message to subordinates by US Army Air Force commanding general General H.H. Hap Arnold calls for the destruction of the German Luftwaffe before Allied landings can begin.
Saturday, November 13th, 1943
US Navy warplanes and warships begin the bombardment of Japanese positions at Makin and Tarawa in preparation for the planned amphibious assaults.
Saturday, November 7th, 1942
Three Allied task forces - the US Western, Central and the British Eastern - approach the coast of North Africa.
Saturday, November 9th, 1940
The HMS Illustrious moves on Taranto.
Saturday, June 17th, 1944
US amphibious assault elements arrive to take Saipan.
Tuesday, January 11th, 1944
French Expeditionary Corps assail the outer defences at Cassino, achieving modest gains.
Saturday, May 20th, 1944
The Soviet offensive is detailed under the codename of "Operation Bagration".
Sunday, April 5th, 1942
Hitler issues the official Fuhrer Directive for Operation Blue.
Friday, December 6th - December 8th, 1940
The Western Desert Force in Egypt, under the command of Major-General Richard O'Connor, set up pre-assault positions. The force includes 36,000 total men from the 7th Armored Division, 4th Indian Division and the New Zealand Division. They set up their initial position southeast of the Italian fort at Nibeiwa.
Sunday, November 10th, 1940
The Italian invasion force is in full retreat, repelled by a combined Greek resistance and RAF effort after just two weeks.
Thursday, August 6th, 1942
US Navy and Marine forces position themselves near Guadalcanal.
Wednesday, July 1st, 1942
German General Erwin Rommel attempts to break through the Allied defensive perimeter at El Alamein.
Saturday, December 6th, 1941
American President Franklin Roosevelt sends a final peace appeal to the Empire of Japan to which there is no answer.
Saturday, April 26th, 1941
Allied codebreakers intercept word of the impending German invasion of Crete.
Wednesday, December 10th, 1941
Along the north of Luzon - at Aparri, Gonzago and Vigan - two large Japanese Army forces land via amphibious assault.
Tuesday, August 4th, 1942
Elements of the German Army cross the Aksay River towards Stalingrad.
Tuesday, April 9th, 1940
The German invasion force strikes Norway and Denmark.
Thursday, July 13th, 1944
A combined British and Canadian force is stopped outside of Caen by a determined German defense.
Tuesday, May 20th, 1941
The German heavy cruiser KMS Prinz Eugen and the battleship KMS Bismarck leave port for the North Sea.
Sunday, September 17th, 1944
Operation Market Garden is activated. Parachute landings take place at Eindhoven, Veghel, Grave and Oosterbeek.
Sunday, May 3rd, 1942
An Imperial Japanese Navy carrier force sets sail on patrol around the Solomons looking for American carrier battle groups.
Sunday, June 29th, 1941
General Guderian's Panzergruppe 2 meets General Hoth's Panzergruppe 3 in Minsk.
Monday, February 15th, 1943
German General Erwin Rommel commences with his assault through Operation Morgenluft. His attack takes him towards Gafsa, Feriana and Thelepte.
Saturday, July 1st, 1944
Lieutenant-General Komorowski heads up the resistance plans as Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Home Army in Warsaw.
Saturday, March 24th, 1945
The US 77th Infantry Division lands at the Kerama Islands to secure a staging post for the eventual invasion of Okinawa.
Thursday, February 5th, 1942
Rostov is officially abandoned by General Manstein's forces.
Saturday, December 6th, 1941
No fewer than 17 German motorized divisions retreat from the Soviet advance.
Monday, September 15th, 1941
The Soviet fortress at Shlusselburg southeast of Leningrad falls to the Germans.
Tuesday, July 6th, 1943
Soviet Marshal-General Rokossovsky and his Central Front army engage in a counter-attack against the German offensive. The counter-attack fails but is enough to slow the German 9th Army some. A measly 6 miles of territory is gained by the Germans.
Saturday, December 16th, 1944
Initial progress on the assault is good for the Germans, however, the US 2nd and 99th Divisions hold fast at Elsenborn and Malmedy.
Saturday, January 22nd, 1944
Operation Shingle, the amphibious landings at Anzio, is enacted by the Allied. In lead is the US VI Corps under Major-General John Lucas.
Friday, September 1st, 1939
German airborne elements begin bombardment of Polish defensive targets. At 6:00 AM, 50 German divisions making up Army Group North and Army Group South flood into Poland. Army Group South's mission is the capture of the Polish capital of Warsaw.
Monday, August 26th, 1940
The first RAF attack on the German capital of Berlin takes place. Some 81 aircraft are part of the airborne raid.
Sunday, November 16th, 1941
By this date, Lieutenant-General von Manstein and his German 11th Army take most of Crimea with the exception of Sevastapol.
Sunday, January 7th, 1945
Stalin moves the offensive launch date forward to January 12th.
Wednesday, September 27th, 1939
The German battleships Deutschland and Graf Spee are let loose on Allied shipping convoys in the North Atlantic.
Wednesday, May 17th, 1944
This date became one of the two best weather options for the Allied invasion of France.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
With only limited-range Allied fighter escorts, the first major air raid on Schweinfurt and Regensburg is launched. The air raid consists of 230 aircraft from the 1st Bombardment Wing and 146 aircraft of the 4th Bombardment Wing.
Friday, December 1st, 1939
The Soviet Union installs a Finnish-Soviet puppet government in Terijoki to be led by Otto Kuusinen.
Sunday, August 9th, 1942
Three US and one Australian cruiser are sunk by the Japanese Navy during the morning hours.
Saturday, July 10th, 1943
Operation Husky begins. Target - German-held Sicily. Some 2,590 naval vessels take part in the invasion which encompasses two army groups of American and British forces invading at two different coasts of the island.
Friday, May 10th, 1940
German paratroopers land in The Hague and Rotterdam.
Thursday, May 28th, 1942
The final Imperial Japanese Task Force leaves mainland Japan.
Wednesday, April 2nd, 1941
Rommel's forces reach Agedabia.
Friday, March 20th, 1942
British Convoy PQ13 sets sail for Russia but comes under fire from German U-Boats. Five of the 19 ships are lost.
Monday, May 20th, 1940
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.
Tuesday, September 5th, 1939
The Bosnia becomes the first merchantman to be sunk by the German U-boats.
Tuesday, July 21st, 1942
Japanese Major General Horii and his 18th Army land near Buna.
Tuesday, July 7th, 1942
This date is set aside for Operation Rutter - the amphibious landing at the port city of Dieppe in occupied France.
Monday, April 20th, 1945
Soviet Army groups advance against German defenses at the Oder River.
Tuesday, July 16th, 1940
Hitler delivers Fuhrer Directive 17 as Operation Sea Lion - the land invasion of the British mainland to occur between September 19th and September 26th.
Tuesday, July 7th, 1942
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.
Wednesday, August 19th, 1942
This date is targeted for Operation Jubilee.
Saturday, November 20th, 1943
US Navy warplanes and warships conclude their bombardment of Japanese positions.
Monday, February 14th, 1944
The offensive is detailed further, taking the latest developments into account.
Sunday, November 8th, 1942
The Allied invasion forces reach North African shores.
Saturday, November 9th, 1940
A Swordfish biplane torpedo bomber is lost to engine failure.
Monday, June 19th, 1944
The first Japanese raid assaults US Task Force 58 through a combined force of IJN and IJA aircraft commitment. The American response nets 35 enemies in the first phase of the attack.
Sunday, January 16th, 1944
The US IC Corps and the French Expeditionary Corps arrive at Rapido River.
Saturday, May 20th, 1944
The launch date for Operation Bagration is set for June 22nd.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
Operation Blue begins.
Sunday, December 8th - December 9th, 1940
Aircraft of the Royal Navy are put into action against Italian forces dug in at Maktila and Barrani. Bombers are sent in to soften targets for the initial ground assault.
Tuesday, March 25th, 1941
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia offers his allegiance to the Axis, signing the Tripartite Pact.
Friday, August 7th, 1942
Amphibious forces spearheaded by the United States Marines begin against the Japanese-held island of Guadalcanal.
Friday, July 3rd, 1942
The Allies put up a stubborn defense, repelling Rommel's offensive.
Saturday, December 6th, 1941
American codebreakers begin tracking down a multi-part message - made up of 14 total components. Only the first 13 are actually deciphered, each being passed on to the President and the Secretary of State.
Wednesday, April 30th, 1941
Allied forces based on Crete receive a new leader in the form of Major-General Bernard Freyberg.
Friday, December 12th, 1941
The airfields at Laoang and Tuguegarao fall to the Japanese invaders.
Thursday, August 6th, 1942
The German Army crosses the Kuban River near Armavir.
Tuesday, April 9th, 1940
Norwegian coastal guns sink the German cruiser Blucher with 1,600 lives being lost.
Tuesday, July 18th, 1944
US Army forces seize complete control of the town of St. Lo on the Contentin peninsula. Control of this strategic zone now allows for larger, prepared and controlled Allied offensives towards inland France.
Wednesday, May 21st, 1941
The British Navy is notified of the increase in German warship activity in the North Sea.
Sunday, September 17th, 1944
The US 101st Airborne Division landing at Eindhoven and Veghel are successful in their capturing of bridges.
Sunday, May 3rd, 1942
American intelligence intercepts various Japanese communications and is able to piece together the intention to invade Port Moresby, New Guinea.
Sunday, June 29th, 1941
Russian army forces are encirlced at key cities across the Soviet Union.
Thursday, February 18th, 1943
General von Arnim and General Rommels forces finally meet at Kasserine.
Wednesday, July 26th, 1944
The Polish government, in exile since the fall of their country to the invading Germans, communicates with the British government for help in staging the uprising.
Thursday, March 29th, 1945
Further landings of US forces on the Kerama Islands, complete its capture for the Allies.
Friday, February 6th, 1942
German General Manstein meets with Hitler and proposes a new German counter-attack against the Russians.
Saturday, December 6th, 1941
The Soviet 31st Army cuts 12 miles into the German lines.
Monday, September 15th, 1941
The Germans now control the southern end of Leningrad, cutting its citizens off from the rest of the Soviet Union.
Wednesday, July 7th, 1943
German General Hoth and his 4th Panzer Army move into the salient, covering some 20 miles of territory. Their advantage brings them near Pokrovka.
Saturday, December 16th, 1944
Bad weather soon sets in over the Ardennes region, limiting Allied air support to counter the German advances.
Saturday, January 22nd, 1944
By 12AM midnight, some 45,000 Allied troops and 3,000 vehicles are on the beaches.
Sunday, September 3rd, 1939
Britain declares war on Germany leading British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to arrange a war cabinet.
Tuesday, October 1st - October 30th, 1940
German BF 110 twin-engine nightfighters take advantage of the new Lichtenstein radar systems to track, target and engage RAF bombers.
Friday, September 26th - November 26th, 1941
Over the course of two months, Soviet Major-General I.Y. Pretov and his band of 32,000 Independent Maritime Army soldiers set up a vast network of defenses at the fortress in Sevastopol. The defense consists of three well-defended rings.
Friday, January 12th, 1945
The Red Army enacts a massive offensive against German foes along the East Front. His targets are German Army Group A and Army Group Center located in East Prussia and Poland. The battle line is a long running front from the Lithuanian coast down to the Balkans region.
Saturday, September 30th, 1939
The Graf Spee claims her first merchant vessel, the British freighter Clement, in the waters of the South Atlantic.
Saturday, January 22nd, 1944
British forces hold the line at River Moletta.
Wednesday, May 17th, 1944
Weather on May 17th cancels the D-Day operation. Leaving the next best weather window of opportunity to be June 5th.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
Bad weather delays the original 5:30AM launch time of the operation.
Tuesday, December 5th, 1939
After some initial advances, the Soviet Army if forced to stop by the Finnish defenses at the Mannerheim Line.
Sunday, August 23rd, 1942
The Imperial Japanese Navy enacts a plan to resupply their forces at Guadalcanal under the cover of three aircraft carriers made up of the IJN Ryujo, the IJN Shokaku and the IJN Zuikaku.
Saturday, July 10th, 1943
15th Army Group begins their initial assault to the south.
Friday, May 10th, 1940
89 German paratroopers land and take the Belgium fortress of Eben Emael with its garrison of 2,000 soldiers.
Wednesday, June 3rd, 1942
The Northern Task Force begins its operation to take the Aleutian Island chain and divert USN forces to the region.
Sunday, April 6th, 1941
Rommel reaches Mechili.
Saturday, June 27th, 1942
British convoy PQ17 sets sail from Reykjavik, Iceland.
Saturday, July 10th, 1943
The British 5th Division takes Cassibile.
Friday, May 24th, 1940
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.
Wednesday, September 6th, 1939
Thirty-six Allied ships set out across the Atlantic in the first coordinated convoy crossing attempt.
Wednesday, July 22nd, 1942
Major General Horii and his 18th Army march towards Port Moresby.
Monday, August 12th, 1940
The first attacks on RAF airfields and radar stations are conducted by German fighters and bombers. Germany intends on destroying RAF air supremacy before attempting its land invasion.
Monday, April 20th, 1945
Adolf Hitler celebrates his final (56th) birthday, seemingly unaware of the fate to befall him and his Germany.
Tuesday, August 13th, 1940
"Eagle Day" is enacted - a four day bombardment of key RAF airfields and radar installations. Poor weather initially delays the assault and any bombing thereafter produces mixed results.
Tuesday, April 21st, 1945
General Zhukov and his 1st Belorussian army break into the Berlin suburbs.
Wednesday, August 19th, 1942
Operation Jubilee is officially put into action.
Saturday, November 20th, 1943
At 9:10AM, the first US Marine soldiers make it ashore at Betio during the initial amphibious landings. Nearly half are cut down in low waters by the waiting Japanese defenders.
Sunday, November 8th, 1942
The US Western and Central task forces tangle with Vichy French opposition.
Sunday, November 10th, 1940
Another Swordfish torpedo bomber is lost to mechnical failure.
Monday, February 14th, 1944
American bombers strike the production facilities at Schweinfurt.
Monday, June 19th, 1944
The second raid of arriving Japanese aerial strike force is identified and attacked by the Americans resulting in some 97 Japanese aircraft downed.
Monday, January 17th, 1944
The US is involved in their first major assault on Cassino.
Monday, June 19th, 1944
Soviet partisan groups spring into action along the German rear guard and wreak havoc for days. Targets include supply and communication lines. Tens of thousands of explosive acts of sabotage are noted.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
German General Manstein leads his 11th Army onto the Kerch Peninsula towards the city of Sevastopol.
Monday, December 9th, 1940
Operation Compass is officially launched.
Thursday, March 27th, 1941
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia is forceably removed from power via a coup led by Bora Mirkovic and Dusan Simovic. Simovic is installed as the new ruler of Yugoslavia and quickly makes an effort to break Yugoslavia's commitment to the Tripartite Pact with the Axis.
Saturday, August 8th, 1942
The amphibious landings largely conclude by this date.
Saturday, August 1st - August 30th, 1942
British Prime Minister relieves General Auchinleck with General Harold Alexander as Commander-in-Chief, Middle East.
Saturday, December 6th, 1941
An attack against America is now deemed imminent though the consensus being that it will occur against interests somewhere in Southeast Asia.
Monday, May 19th, 1941
In advance of the Crete invasion, RAF fighters are relocated to Egypt for safe-keeping.
Monday, December 22nd, 1941
The Japanese 48th Division lands at Lingayen Bay on Luzon.
Friday, August 7th, 1942
Elements of the German Army attack Soviet forces near Kalach.
Tuesday, April 9th, 1940
Norwegian royalty and its government flee northward from the invasion.
Tuesday, July 18th, 1944
The British and Canadian launch Operation Goodwood against Caen. British armored elements are brought to bear against the dug-in and prepared Germans. The goal is to take all of Caen before focusing on Falaise.
Wednesday, May 21st, 1941
In an effort to beef up Royal Navy presence in the North Sea, the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse are called to action in support of existing forces under the command of Admiral Sir John Tovey.
Sunday, September 17th, 1944
The US 82nd Airborne Division landing at Grave is successful in capturing its target bridge.
Monday, May 4th, 1942
USS Yorktown launched strike aircraft south of Guadalcanal. At 6:30AM, the American Navy aircraft spot and subsequently target Japanese land emplacements and sea vessels in the area.
Tuesday, July 1st, 1941
Panzergruppe 2 and Panzergruppe 3 cross the Berezina River west of Minsk, heading towards Smolensk and Vitebsk.
Friday, February 19th, 1943
American armored forces hold up the German advanced at Kasserine Pass.
Thursday, July 27th, 1944
The British government promises what it can and this emerges in the form of scattered air drops of weapons and supplies.
Saturday, March 31st, 1945
The US Navy lobs some 30,000 explosive shells on the Okinawa coastline by this time, ending a week of bombardment.
Sunday, February 8th, 1942
The Soviet Army officially retakes the Russian city of Kursk.
Tuesday, December 9th - December 13th, 1941
General Guderian's Panzergruppe 2 is cut off from General Kluge's 4th Army.
Monday, September 15th, 1941
Finnish forces, siding with the Germans, now control the Karelian isthmus, covering Leningrad from both sides.
Saturday, July 10th, 1943
Soviet resistance to the German offensives is so intense that German General Hoth is forced to bring up his reserves and commit them to the fight. The advancing Germans are slowed evermore by the stinky Soviet defenders, also made up of deadly anti-tank teams.
Sunday, December 17th, 1944
Allied prisoners of war are executed in cold blood by elements of the 6th SS Panzer Army. Some 87 prisoners are killed where they stand on direct orders from German Colonel Joachim Peiper.
Sunday, January 23rd, 1944
The Anzio beachhead is consolidated into a concentrated pocket on the orders of Lucas.
Friday, September 8th, 1939
German ground forces arrive at the outskirts of the Polish capital of Warsaw, covering an astounding 200 miles in a single week.
Monday, December 16th, 1940
RAF bombers strike on Mannheim as revenge for the German air raids over Coventry.
Wednesday, December 17th, 1941
Lieutenant-General von Manstein launches a major offensive against the Soviet soldiers holed up in the Sevastopol fortress.
Friday, January 12th, 1945
The Red Army offensive is spear-headed by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts as well as the 1st Baltic Front joined by the 1st Ukrainian Front.
Sunday, October 1st, 1939
The Graf Spee goes on to sink four more Allied merchant vessels during the month of October.
Saturday, January 22nd, 1944
American forces hold the line at Mussolini Canal.
Wednesday, May 17th, 1944
June 5th is selected as the next official launch date for D-Day.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
Aircraft of the 4th Bombardment Wing take-off at 6:20AM in an effort to reach its target in daylight.
Saturday, December 9th, 1939
As the Finnish winter worsens, Soviet attacks on Helsinki stall.
Sunday, August 23rd, 1942
US naval patrol aircraft spot the incoming Japanese convoy, radioing positions back to the main task force.
Saturday, July 10th, 1943
US 82nd Airborne Division and British 1st Airborne Division paratroopers land at strategic locations across Sicily prior to the invasion force's arrival.
Saturday, May 11th, 1940
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.
Monday, April 7th, 1941
Rommel reaches Derna.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 4:30AM, the bombing of Midway Island begins with aircraft from Vice-Admiral Nagumo's First Carrier Strike Force.
Saturday, June 27th - July 28th, 1942
Convoy PQ17 loses 34 of its 36 ships to Geman U-Boats and surface ships.
Friday, May 24th, 1940
German Luftwaffe bombers hammer Allied defensive positions in and around the French port city of Dunkirk.
Wednesday, July 22nd, 1942
The Japanese Army gain ground on the US, Australian and Papuan Infantry Regiment defenders.
Monday, January 1st, 1940
Only 21 operational boats make up the German U-boat fleet at this time.
Tuesday, August 13th, 1940
Portland is heavily bombed by the German Luftwaffe.
Wednesday, April 22nd, 1945
Soviet leader Stalin sends his final assault orders to generals Zhukov and Koniev.
Wednesday, August 19th, 1942
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.
Saturday, February 19th, 1944
Better weather finally arrives allowing the RAF to send up its first 823-strong heavy bomber force. The target is Leipzig and 78 bombers are lost to the German defense.
Saturday, November 20th, 1943
US tanks and armored vehicles finally make it ashore and strengthen the US Marine presence on the beaches.
Sunday, November 8th, 1942
At Oran, French coastal guns destroya US transport with 200 soldiers aboard.
Sunday, November 10th, 1940
The British naval force moving against Taranto comes under attack from Italian aircraft near Malta.
Monday, June 19th, 1944
At 9:05am, the USS Albacore lands a fish into the side of the IJN Taiho aircraft carrier.
Tuesday, January 18th - February 9th, 1944
US forces begin making headway through the Liri Valley, capturing ground at Monte Calvario.
Thursday, June 22nd, 1944
Operation Bagration is put into action with General Zhukov in command.
Tuesday, May 12th, 1942
Soviet ground forces launch a pre-emptive offensive against German-held Kharkov.
Monday, December 9th, 1940
The British 7th Armored Division launches attacks on the Italian camps positioned near Sofafi and Rabia and makes its way toward the critical ocean-side road near Buqbug.
Wednesday, March 26th, 1941
In Berlin, Hitler reportedly tells his high level officers "I have decided to destroy Yugoslavia".
Saturday, August 8th, 1942
By the end of the day and facing next to no opposition, the US soldiers capture and secure Henderson Field.
Saturday, August 1st - August 30th, 1942
German forces are strengthened by the arrival of another Italian division, a German parachute brigade and more tanks.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
At 9AM, the final Japanese message is broken down. It essentially directs its Washington envoy to break off diplomatic relations with America.
Monday, May 19th, 1941
Allied codebreakers intercept word that Operation Mercury will commence the very next day. The Allies begin preparations.
Sunday, August 9th, 1942
The German German Army captures the strategic port of Yeysk and Krasnador on the Sea of Azov.
Tuesday, December 23rd, 1941
The order is given by American General Douglas MacArthur to retreat from Luzon and take up positions on the Bataan Peninsula.
Tuesday, April 9th, 1940
HMS Rodney, a British battlecruiser, engages the German warships KMS Gneisenau and KMS Scharnhorst.
Thursday, July 20th, 1944
While the British 2nd Army and 2nd Canadian Division can now lay claim to Caen, they fall short of advancement against Falaise. As such, Operation Goodwood is stopped.
Thursday, May 22nd, 1941
A hunter-killer group of 14 Royal Navy ships, including the battleships HMS King George V, HMS Hood and the HMS Prince of Wales, leave Scapa Flow.
Sunday, September 17th, 1944
British paratroopers landing at Arnhem run straight into the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions who are in the area ungoing refitting. The bridge at Arnhem is captured by British forces but the group is quickly cut off from help by the Germans.
Monday, May 4th, 1942
The Japanese invasion force leaves Rabaul, New Britain, heading towards Port Moresby, New Guinea.
Thursday, July 3rd, 1941
Panzergruppe 2 and Panzergruppe 3 now form up as part of General Gunther von Kluge's 4th Panzer Army.
Saturday, February 20th, 1943
Allied units move from Le Kef for the counter-attack.
Monday, July 31st, 1944
Soviet Army forces close in on German defenders in Warsaw.
Sunday, April 1st, 1945
Two US Army and USMC divisions land along the southwest coast of Okinawa near Hagushi, meeting little resistance. The US 10th Army is commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner. Some 550,000 personnel and 180,000 soldiers take part in the fray.
Thursday, February 12th, 1942
German Army Group Don is renamed Army Group South.
Tuesday, December 16th, 1941
Amid the mounting pressures and expectations of his superiors back in Germany, Field Marshal von Bock requests reassignment away from Army Group Centre.
Sunday, November 9th, 1941
The Germans take the supply line route of Tikhvin, located east of Schlusselburg.
Sunday, July 11th, 1943
Soviet generals Zhukov and Vassilevky are given total control of the actions in and around Kursk by Stalin himself.
Sunday, December 17th, 1944
The town of Stavelot is lost to the invading German Army.
Sunday, January 23rd, 1944
German Colonel-General von Mackensen takes control of the new 14th Army headquartered 30 miles west of Rome.
Saturday, September 9th, 1939
Polish Poznan army units launch a counter-offensive against the German army at Kutno on the Bzura.
Tuesday, April 1st, 1941
The German port of Emden is bombed by six Wellington bomber aircraft.
Friday, December 26th, 1941
Manstein's offensive gains substantial ground, piercing the first two Soviet defensive rings.
Sunday, January 14th, 1945
Initial thrusts by the Soviet Army prove positive against the German defense.
Wednesday, November 15th, 1939
The Graf Spee sinks the oil tanker Africa Shell off the coast of Madagascar.
Sunday, June 4th, 1944
Official word comes down that the June 5th landings will be postponed due to inclement weather across the North Sea.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
German Luftwaffe defense fighters attack the 4th Bombardment Wing formations passing over Germany.
Saturday, December 9th, 1939
The Soviet 44th and 163rd Divisions take the Finnish town of Soumussalmi.
Monday, August 24th, 1942
US naval patrol aircraft once again spot the incoming Japanese convoy. Positions are sent to Task Force 61.
Sunday, July 11th, 1943
The Hermann Goring Panzer Division engages the US 1st Infantry Division at Gela. US forces are assited by offshore bombardment from Royal Navy ships and repel the German attack.
Tuesday, May 14th, 1940
Facing light opposition, German Panzer Corps XV, XLI and XIX are free to set up three key bridge-heads covering Dinant, Montherme and Sedan.
Thursday, May 15th, 1941
The British launch Operation Brevity against Rommel's dug-in forces, making little progress against the prepared defenders.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
American fighter aircraft take heavy losses but force the Japanese Navy to launch a second attack.
Saturday, August 1st - August 31st, 1942
Any further convoys passing to the Arctic to Russia are suspended for the time being as resources are pressed for service in the Allied landings occurring in North Africa.
Tuesday, June 4th, 1940
German Luftwaffe bombers cease bombardment of Dunkirk.
Saturday, July 6th, 1940
German ships begin operating out of captured bases along the French coast.
Friday, August 14th, 1942
The Japanese Army gains vital territory leading up and into the Owen Stanley Range.
Tuesday, August 13th, 1940
Andover is heavily bombed by the German Luftwaffe.
Thursday, April 23rd, 1945
The Berlin suburbs gradually fall under Soviet control as fighting rages on everywhere.
Wednesday, August 19th, 1942
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.
Sunday, February 20th, 1944
American bombers and fighters take to the skies in force in support of the new bombing campaign. They number over 1,000 bombers and 660 fighters in escort. Twelve industrial target locations across Germany are hit. 21 American aircraft are lost.
Saturday, November 20th, 1943
By the end of the first day of operations, some three US Marine battalions have made it onto the beaches.
Sunday, November 8th, 1942
French General Mast surrenders to the British Eastern Task Force.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
A third Royal Navy Swordfish aircraft is lost to engine malfunction. A bad batch of gasoline is centered on as the source of the Swordfish issues.
Monday, June 19th, 1944
At 12:20pm, the USS Cavalla attack submarine hits the IJN Shokaku with torpedoes.
Thursday, February 10th, 1944
In a counter offensive, crack German paratroopers repel US forces and previous Allied gains are lost.
Thursday, June 22nd, 1944
Totaling over 1.2 million troops, the 1st Baltic Front - along with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts - are put into action along four fronts. Vitebsk is quickly taken and controlled. The 3rd Panzer Army suffers heavy losses.
Tuesday, May 12th, 1942
German forces enact Operation Fridericus and attempt to take Izyum.
Monday, December 9th, 1940
The British 7th Tank Regiment, along with the 4th Indian Division, attack Italian positions at Tummar West and Nibeiwa.
Sunday, April 6th, 1941
Operation Marita - the dual Germany invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia - is put into action. Twenty-four total divisions are involved, including some 1200 tanks.
Saturday, August 8th, 1942
Naval battles ultimately take place between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States Navy for control of Guadalcanal.
Saturday, August 1st - August 30th, 1942
Churchill replaces 8th Army leader Major-General Neil Ritchie with General Bernard Montgomery.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
At approximately 10AM, a follow-up message is intercepted - meant for the Japanese diplomats in Washington - to delay handling of the previous message to the Americans until 1PM. The Americans now understand that an attack is imminent and the target is the US Naval fleet at Pearl Harbor.
Tuesday, May 20th, 1941
Allied flak teams destroy as many as 50% of the invading German transport planes in the first few hours of the operation.
Friday, August 14th, 1942
German forces cross the Kuban river near Krasnador.
Tuesday, December 23rd, 1941
MacArthur's forces are cut-off from further retreat by a Japanese Army force advancing from the south.
Wednesday, April 10th, 1940
KMS Konigsberg, a German light cruiser, becomes the first warship sunk by dive bombing at Bergen.
Monday, July 24th, 1944
American forces enact Operation Cobra, this stemming from control of the Contentin peninsula. The goal is to smash through the German defenses and create a road through the Avranches, exposing inland France to future Allied assaults.
Friday, May 23rd, 1941
At 7:22 PM, the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Suffolk and the HMS Norfolk spot and shadow the mighty German battleship Bismarck. Its location is radioed in to Vice-Admiral L. E. Holland.
Monday, September 18th, 1944
The British XXX Corps fights its way through a dedicated German resistance up the main artery road leading to Eindhoven. They finally unite with the 101st Airborne forces having landed at Eindhoven and Veghel.
Wednesday, May 5th - May 6th, 1942
Foul weather limits detection of either carrier force across a two day span.
Wednesday, July 9th, 1941
Soviet defenses at Brest-Litovsk, Bialystok, Volkovysk, Gorodishche and Minsk fall to the invading German Army.
Saturday, February 20th, 1943
The British 6th Armored Brigade moves towards Thala and Sbiba.
Tuesday, August 1st, 1944
Three Soviet Army Fronts converge on the outskirts of Warsaw, prompting Polish General Komorowski to greenlight the uprising.
Thursday, February 12th, 1942
German Army Group B is renamed Army Group Center.
Wednesday, December 17th, 1941
Field Marshal von Kluge is tapped to replace Field Marshal von Bock as leader of Army Group Centre.
Thursday, April 5th, 1945
Allied forces find and locate the Japanese defenders along the southern portion of Okinawa. Heavy defenses are noted.
Wednesday, October 1st - December 31st, 1941
As rations begin to run out in the encircled city of Leningrad, its citizens begin to starve.
Sunday, July 11th, 1943
The Soviet Bryansk Front northeast of Kursk moves in on German General Model's 9th Army.
Tuesday, December 19th, 1944
By this date, two components making up the US 106th Division at the Schnee Eiffel region are surrounded by the Germans.
Sunday, January 23rd, 1944
The German Luftwaffe begins heavy strafing attacks and bombardment of Allied forces.
Sunday, September 17th, 1939
Soviet army elements begin their invasion of Poland from the east. Attacks occur near Vilnius and Bialystok.
Tuesday, April 8th, 1941
229 RAF bomber aircraft rain 40,000 incendiary ordnance on the German naval base at Kiel.
Friday, December 26th, 1941
Soviet naval forces land army troops near Kerch.
Tuesday, January 16th, 1945
Adolf Hitler reorders his forces, weakening key areas of defense, to attempt a flanking manuever against the Red Army near Poznan.
Monday, November 20th, 1939
The Graf Spee begins her return to a pre-designated waiting area in the South Atlantic. British cruisers Ajax, Achilles, Exeter and Cumberland begin pursuit.
Monday, June 5th, 1944
Some 6,000 naval vessels depart from the south of England towards France.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
At 11:18AM, the 1st Bombardment Wing finally takes off.
Tuesday, May 26th, 1942
Group Cruewell, made up of the Italian X and XI Corps, launches an assault on the northern portion of the Gazala Line in an attempt to divert Allied forces from the real attack coming from the south.
Friday, December 15th, 1939
The deteriorating conditions of a Finnish winter protect Helsinki from additional Soviet attacks.
Monday, August 24th, 1942
Task Force 61, comprised of the USS Enterprise, USS Saratoga and the USS Wasp head to intercept the Japanese convoy.
Tuesday, July 13th, 1943
Allied airborne elements parachute into Sicily and capture key bridges. However, a German counter-attack drives back any gains of the day.
Tuesday, May 14th, 1940
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.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 7:28AM, a Japanese reconniassance plane spots spots ten undetermined USN surface ships 200 miles northeast of the Japanese Midway invasion force.
Wednesday, September 2nd, 1942
Convoy PQ18 sets sail for Russia, comprised of some 40 ships and beefed up protection through 17 destroyers. The escort carrier HMS Avenger provides air cover.
Tuesday, June 4th, 1940
Operation Dynamo - the evacuation of Allied forces at Dunkirk - officially ends. 338,326 total soldiers are saved including 113,000 French troops.
Saturday, August 17th, 1940
German U-boats are given the green light to attack any and all merchant vessels - whether armed or not - in an attempt to stranglehold the British mainland into submission.
Friday, August 14th, 1942
The Japanese Army takes control of the village of Kokoda.
Tuesday, August 13th, 1940
Southampton is heavily bombed by the German Luftwaffe.
Friday, April 24th, 1945
German General Wenck of the 12th Army launches a futile counter-offensive against the Soviet onslaught.
Wednesday, August 19th, 1942
At 4:30 AM, Canadian soldiers wade ashore and take on the German coastal batteries at Berneval, Puys, Pourville and Varengville.
Sunday, February 20th, 1944
Some 598 RAF bombers are sent airborne towards German targets.
Sunday, November 21st, 1943
Another US amphibious landing, this consisting of both Army and Marine elements, makes it to the shores on Makin.
Monday, November 9th, 1942
The first French cease-fires begin to ring out across Algeria and Morocco.
Sunday, November 10th, 1940
An Italian bomber is downed in the fighting near Malta.
Monday, June 19th, 1944
The third Japanese attack includes 47 aircraft which are met by 40 American fighters resulting in 7 enemies downed.
Friday, February 11th, 1944
US and Indian losses mount in the offensives against German positions in Calvario, the town of Cassino and Monte Cassino itself.
Friday, June 23rd, 1944
By this date, the partisan actions along the German rear dwindle in preparation for the upcoming offensive.
Saturday, June 27th, 1942
The Soviet Army is encircled and defeated at Kharkov, netting the Germans some 250,000 Soviet prisoners.
Tuesday, December 10th, 1940
The Italian camps at Tummar East fall to the Allies.
Tuesday, April 8th, 1941
A massive German bombing raid on the Yugoslavian capital city of Belgrade nets over 300,000 civilian casualties.
Saturday, August 8th, 1942
Japanese bombers attack US forces at Henderson Field.
Sunday, August 30th, 1942
Rommel begins a new offensive starting from Bab el Qattara that becomes the Battle of Alam Halfa near El Alamein. The objective is the high ridge at Alam Halfa some 13 miles through the Allied defensive perimeter in the south.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
It is discovered that communication lines from Washington to Hawaii are down for the moment, forcing the US War Department to use a commercial telegraph service to warn forces on the Hawaiian Islands.
Tuesday, May 20th, 1941
Operation Mercury is officially launched.
Sunday, August 19th, 1942
German General Paulus and his 6th Army is ordered to attack the Soviet city of Stalingrad.
Tuesday, December 23rd, 1941
Despite an out-numbered yet heroic resistance on the part of American forces, Wake Island falls to the Japanese.
Wednesday, April 10th, 1940
Five British destroyers surprise a German force of ten destroyers near Narvik. Nine German cargo ships are lost as well as two destroyers. The British also lose a pair of destroyers in the action.
Sunday, July 30th, 1944
US Army forces reach Avranches and lay control the region.
Saturday, May 24th, 1941
At 5:52 AM, the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen fall under attack from Royal Navy ships.
Tuesday, September 19th, 1944
The British XXX Corps officially unites with the US 82nd Airborne Division forces having landed at Grave.
Thursday, May 7th, 1942
Allied Task Force 44, headed by Royal Navy Rear-Admiral Crace, moves in to intercept the Japanese invasion force. However, the force is prematurely spotted by Japanese reconnaissance aircraft resulting in a counter-assault of the Task Force by Japanese Navy warplanes. Crace and his force never make the intercept.
Wednesday, July 9th, 1941
Panzergruppe 3 continues north to Vitebsk.
Saturday, February 20th, 1943
US forces move in to stop the German advance around Tebessa.
Tuesday, August 1st, 1944
Roughly 30,000 Poles and scattered firearms make up the beginning of the Warsaw Uprising.
Friday, April 6th, 1945
As American forces move further inland, the battle for Okinawa intensifies. Pockets of dug-in Japanese defenders become evermore concentrated the more inland the Allied forces go.
Saturday, February 14th, 1942
Russian General Vatutin and his South-West Front army reach the city of Kharkov.
Wednesday, January 7th, 1942
With progress over the Germans being made on several fronts, Soviet forces launch another offensive to try and encircle Army Group Centre.
Wednesday, December 10th, 1941
The Soviets retake the town of Tikhvin.
Monday, July 12th, 1943
The Soviets commit more tanks against Hoth and his 4th Panzer Army.
Tuesday, December 19th, 1944
Some 6,000 Allied troops surrender to the encircling German Army at Schnee Eiffel.
Tuesday, January 25th, 1944
The Anzio beachhead continues to grow with Allied troops and equipment, making it a prime target for the regrouping Germans.
Sunday, September 17th, 1939
Polish resistance at the Bzura River north of Lodz finally surrender to the Germans. Some 170,000 Polish prisoners are taken captive.
Sunday, August 31st, 1941
A report stuns the RAF by showcasing how only one-in-every-three RAF bombers actually it their targets.
Sunday, December 28th, 1941
More Soviet forces land near Kerch via amphibious transports, bolstering Red Army power in the area.
Wednesday, January 17th, 1945
The Polish capital city of Warsaw officially falls to the advancing Soviet Army.
Wednesday, December 13th, 1939
The Graf Spee adds three more vessels - the Doric Star, Tairoa, Streonshalh - to its list of sunken Allied targets. She begins her voyage towards River Plate near Uruguay for a final combat patrol.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
Some 250 German fighters, already alerted to the bomber group presence, are launched to repel subsequent air attacks.
Tuesday, May 26th, 1942
Rommel begins his offense against the Gazala Line, made up of some 50 miles of British defenses.
Friday, December 15th, 1939
The Mannerheim Line holds as Soviet Army elements are kept at bay.
Monday, August 24th, 1942
Task Force 61 sets up at locations east of Malaita Island in preparation for the battle. Aircraft are launched form the American carriers beginning what is known as the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.
Tuesday, July 13th, 1943
By this date, some 478,000 Allied troops have landed on Sicily.
Wednesday, May 15th, 1940
German Panzer Corps cross into the north of France.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 7:52AM, USS Enterprise and USS Hornet launch their dive bombers and torpedo planes.
Wednesday, Setember 2nd - September 26th, 1942
Convoy PQ18 reaches Russia despite losing 13 of her ships.
Saturday, May 25th, 1940
The German Army takes Boulogne.
Friday, September 20th, 1940
Massive convoys breed equal massive measures - German U-boats begin operating in 20-strong "Wolf Packs" with coordinated attacks.
Friday, August 14th, 1942
The Japanese Army reaches Isurava just outside of Port Moresby.
Tuesday, August 13th, 1940
At least 40 total Luftwaffe aircraft are destroyed by the RAF and ground-based flak teams.
Friday, April 24th, 1945
The British Royal Air Force slow down the 12th Army offensive through intense bombing.
Wednesday, August 19th, 1942
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.
Monday, February 21st, 1944
The Americans respond with another wave of 861 bombers with escorts. The target is the Luftwaffe production center in Brunswick.
Sunday, November 21st, 1943
US forces at Makin kill some 800 defending Japanese soldiers, leaving just a lone survivor.
Monday, November 9th, 1942
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.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
At 10:00 PM, the first wave of Swordfish bombers is launched from HMS Illustrious, now stationed off of Cephalonia.
Friday, February 11th, 1944
The entire US 142nd Regiment is destroyed.
Friday, June 23rd, 1944
The 1st and 3rd Belorussian Fronts advanced to northeast of Minsk, surrounding the German 4th Army.
Saturday, June 27th, 1942
German forces complete their capture of Izyum.
Tuesday, June 19th, 1944
A fourth Japanese flight group of 49 aircraft is assailed by 27 American Hellcats netting 30 more Japanese targets.
Tuesday, December 10th, 1940
Italian forces stationed at Sidi Barrani are all but surrounded by the Allies.
Wednesday, April 9th, 1941
The German 12th Army encircles and defeats the Greek defensive line known as the "Metaxas Line".
Saturday, August 8th, 1942
Just outside of Guadalcanal, the islands of Tulagi and Gavutu fall to the Allies.
Wednesday, September 2nd, 1942
Rommel's assault is thwarted, his tank forces suffering high losses in the attack - and his army is pushed back to Bab el Qattara.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
The Imperial Japanese Navy attack commences with their assault. The force is made up of 423 aircraft and converges on the Hawaiian Islands.
Tuesday, May 20th, 1941
At approximately 7:00 AM, the first German airborne troops land at locations near Maleme and Khania.
Saturday, August 22nd, 1942
German land forces advancing into the Caucasus are stopped.
Friday, April 12th, 1940
British aerial bombing of KMS Admiral Hipper, KMS Gneisenau, and KMS Scharnhorst fail to net the needed results.
Tuesday, December 23rd, 1941
The American military detachment at Wake Island surrenders. During their stand, the Americans accounted for at least 1,000 Japanese casualties and 4 Japanese navy warships.
Sunday, July 30th, 1944
The German 7th Army attempts a counter-attack at Avranches but the Americans manage to hold their ground.
Saturday, May 24th, 1941
At 6:00 AM, the Bismarck fires a salvo at the battleship HMS Hood, striker her ammunition magazine, with the resulting explosion destroying the British ship leaving only three sailors alive.
Wednesday, September 20th, 1944
The US 82nd Airborne, backed by the British XXX Corps, take the bridge over the Waal River at Nijmegen.
Thursday, May 7th, 1942
The USS Neosho and the USS Sims are sunk by Japanese aircraft.
Wednesday, July 9th, 1941
Gurderian's army moves south towards Mogliev.
Saturday, February 20th, 1943
The Americans fold under the immense German assault and Kasserine Pass falls to the invaders.
Tuesday, August 1st, 1944
Uprisings begin across the Polish capital of Warsaw.
Friday, April 6th, 1945
American forces are now amassed as two separate assault fronts. To the north are the 1st and 6th Marine divisions. To the mountainous south are the 7th and 96th Infantry divisions.
Saturday, February 14th - February 18th, 1942
Street fighting begins between the German I SS Panzer Corps and the Russian 3rd Tank Army and 40th Army forces in Kharkov.
Sunday, January 25th, 1942
The Soviet movement begins losing steam after consecutive weeks of fighting. Man and machine are beginning to show their limitations.
Wednesday, December 10th, 1941
The Soviet supply route is restarted across frozen Lake Lagoda.
Monday, July 12th, 1943
A huge battle involving more than 1,000 tanks of the German and Soviet armies duke it out near Pokrovka.
Tuesday, December 19th, 1944
Along the Ardennes line, US forces reform into intense defensive lines and some forces eventually mount counter attacks against the invading Germans.
Monday, September 18th, 1939
The Polish city of Vilnius falls to the Soviet army.
Sunday, December 28th, 1941
In the face of growing Soviet Army opposition, von Manstein calls off his offensive on Sevastopol.
Friday, January 28th, 1944
By this date, some 70,000 men, 27,000 tons of goods, 508 artillery guns and 237 tanks are ashore on the beachhead.
Wednesday, January 17th, 1945
Soviet forces engage German foes in East Prussia with gains being made towards Danzig and Konigsberg.
Wednesday, December 13th, 1939
The Graf Spee is spotted in the early morning hours by Commodore H. H. Harwood's British cruiser squadron.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
Elements of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions land across the Cotentin Peninsula. Despite all of the planning, their dropzones are widely scattered.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
Sometime between 11:46AM and 12:09M, the 4th Bomber Group makes their bombing run on targets at Regensburg.
Tuesday, May 26th, 1942
Beginning at 7:00PM, the German 90th Infantry Division, the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions and the Italian XX Corps under Rommel launch their offensive along the southern portion of the Gazala Line.
Friday, December 15th, 1939
Valliant Finnish forces repel the Soviet Army out of Soumussalmi, retaking the town.
Monday, August 24th, 1942
At 3:15PM, American carrier aircaft from the USS Enterprise manage hits on the IJN Shokaku.
Wednesday, July 14th, 1943
German Paratroopers repel Allied forces from the Primasole bridge.
Wednesday, May 15th, 1940
After periods of heavy bombing all across Rotterdam, the Dutch surrender to the Germans.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 8:20AM, a surprised Nagumo receives his first report of American carriers in the area.
Thursday, December 31st, 1942
The Battle of Barents Sea takes place. Convoy JW51B comes under attack from German surface ships comrpised of the battleships KMS Admiral Hipper and KMS Lutzow along with 6 destroyers. Six British destroyers are up to the task as they repel the much larger force at the cost of two Royal Navy destroyers. No merchant vessels are lost to enemy fire. The loss in battle forces the resignation of German Navy Admiral Raeder and leaves Adolph Hitler hungry for blood.
Saturday, May 25th, 1940
More and more retreating Allied units arrive at the French port city of Dunkirk.
Friday, October 18th - October 19th, 1940
An attack on two Allied convoys yields 36 sunken ships by the attacking German U-boats.
Tuesday, August 25th, 1942
The Japanese Navy completes an amphibious landing at Milne Bay to establish a beachhead and open a second front on New Guinea.
Thursday, August 15th, 1940
74 Luftwaffe aircraft launched from bases in Denmark and Norway are lost on what will be remembered as "Black Thursday".
Saturday, April 25th, 1945
The 1st Belorussian Front meets up with the 1st Ukranian Front, formally encircling Berlin.
Wednesday, August 19th, 1942
At 5:35 AM, Allied armor makes it to the beach. Over half of the tanks are lost in the action.
Sunday, November 21st, 1943
US forces officially take Makin and give the "Makin Taken" signal.
Wednesday, November 11th, 1942
The British Eastern Task force capture the strategic airfield at Djidjelli via Bougie from Algiers.
Tuesday, February 22nd, 1944
Bad weather forces many-an-inflight accident for US bomber groups. Some 41 aircraft are lost. Nijmegen is accidentally bombed, causing over 200 civilian deaths.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
At 10:58 PM, signal aircraft lead the first wave over Taranto, marking torpedo targets as they pass.
Monday, June 19th, 1944
At approximately 4:24pm, the carrier IJN Shokaku, suffering extensive damage from American warplanes, goes under.
Friday, February 11th, 1944
The 34th and 36th US Divisions both report a high number of casualties from the ensuing offensives.
Monday, June 26th, 1944
With the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts closing, Hitler okays the order for the 9th Army to retreat to more favorable ground.
Sunday, June 28th, 1942
The German Army turns its attention towards the Volga.
Tuesday, December 10th, 1940
Selby Force has removed the Italian 1st Libyan Division out of Maktila.
Wednesday, April 9th, 1941
The German Army moves on and captures the strategic port city of Salonika.
Tuesday, August 18th, 1942
A Japanese counteroffensive sees an amphibious landing take place at Taivu. This landing zone is just 32 miles east of Henderson Field.
Thursday, September 3rd - October 23rd, 1942
General Montgomery decides to make El Alamein a war of numbers and stockpiles his supplies to eventually try to overwhelm the Germans.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
At 6:00AM, the first wave of 183 Japanese Navy aircraft takes off from their carriers, just north of Oahu, to make the 230 mile trek. The target is the US Pacific Fleet.
Thursday, December 25th, 1941
The Japanese 48th Division makes substantial progress against American forces, working their way towards the capital city of Manila.
Tuesday, May 20th, 1941
At least 500 Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft are utilized in the first wave of airdrops over Crete.
Tuesday, August 25th, 1942
Stalingard is officially under siege by the Germans Army.
Saturday, April 13th, 1940
The Second Battle of Narvik nets the British eight German destroyers and a submarine.
Tuesday, August 1st, 1944
US General George S. Patton and his 3rd Army manage their way through Avranches towards Liore and Brittany.
Saturday, May 24th, 1941
At 6:13 AM, the battleship Prince of Wales is damaged enough to pull out of the battle.
Wednesday, September 20th, 1944
British XXX Corps is delayed a full day from reaching beleagured paratrooper forces at Arnhem.
Thursday, May 7th, 1942
The Allies spot the Japanese Covering Group escorting the invasion force.
Thursday, July 10th, 1941
Guderian's forces cross the Dniepr River 50 miles outside of Smolensk.
Sunday, February 21st, 1943
The German forces at Kasserine Pass under Rommel await the Allied counter-offensive that never materializes.
Tuesday, August 1st, 1944
Upon hearing of news of the Polish uprising, an infuriated Adolph Hitler swears punishment and commits more of his troops within the Capital limits.
Friday, April 6th, 1945
The deadly kamikaze air attack is unleashed on American Naval vessels in the Pacific. These aircraft appear as coordinated airstrikes and prove equally deadly to both sides. USN vessels off the coast of Okinawa itself are targeted. Some 34 US Navy ships fall victim.
Tuesday, February 17th, 1942
Adolph Hitler meets with General Manstein to plan a German counter-offensive.
Thursday, April 30th, 1942
Spring over Russia brings about seasonal rains turning once solid and dependable ground into a muddy nightmare for both armies. As such, offensives are limited or stalled altogether.
Thursday, January 1st - July 31st, 1942
Some 800,000 of Leningrad's citizens are evacuated through the frozen passage above Lake Lagoda.
Monday, July 12th, 1943
Soviet General Sokolosky moves against German Army Group Center and the 9th Army in a counter-offensive.
Tuesday, December 19th, 1944
The town of Stavelot is recaptured by the Allies.
Friday, January 28th, 1944
Von Mackensen moves six divisions to Anzio, some ten miles of the Allied beachhead.
Monday, September 18th, 1939
The Polish government flees to Romania and is held. A government-in-exile is hastily arranged.
Saturday, February 14th, 1942
RAF Bomber Command issues its "Area Bombing Directive", allowing the legitimate bombing of civilian areas.
Thursday, January 1st - January 31st, 1942
Over the course of the month, three Soviet armies, under the command of Major-General D.T. Kozlov, are called to the newly created "Crimea Front".
Saturday, January 20th, 1945
Hitler orders his 6th SS Panzer Army out of the Ardennes forrest on the West Front towards Budapest, Hungary in the east.
Wednesday, December 13th, 1939
At 6:14 AM, the Graf Spee opens fire on the British heavy cruisers Ajaz and Exeter.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
British paratroopers of the 6th British Airborne Brigade land near Benouville.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
At approximately 3:00PM, the 1st Bomber Group finally reaches its targets after incurring heavy losses from German fighters. Their bombing run ensues over Schweinfurt.
Wednesday, May 27th, 1942
German forces south of Bir Hacheim make progress and begin to move northwards.
Friday, December 15th, 1939
The Soviet 14th Army takes Petsamo.
Monday, August 24th, 1942
Dive bombers and torpedo bombers from the USS Enterprise manage critical hits against the IJN Ryujo and sink here where she stood at 3:50PM.
Wednesday, July 14th, 1943
British and American forces finally meet at Comiso and Ragusa.
Friday, May 17th - May 18th, 1940
Antwerp falls to the German Army.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 8:37AM, aircraft of the second Japanese strike force returns to their respective carriers for rearming and refueling.
Monday, March 1st - March 31st, 1943
The German battleship KMS Scharnhorst makes its way to Norway, building up the already potent German Navy force that includes the KMS Tirpitz and KMS Lutzow.
Sunday, May 26th, 1940
Hitler orders his army forces towards Dunkirk for the final blow to the Allied cause.
Tuesday, March 11th, 1941
The Lend-Lease Bill is signed into law by American President Franklin Roosevelt allowing the United States the unrestricted ability to help supply the Allies in their fight against the Axis.
Wednesday, August 26th, 1942
The 18th Australian Brigade, utilizing valuable intelligence reports, meet the arriving Japanese amphibious forces head-on and hold the Japanese beachhead at Milne Bay.
Saturday, August 17th, 1940
The RAF is forced to poach the ranks of Bomber Command in an effort to fill its dwindling supply of capable fighter pilots.
Saturday, April 25th, 1945
All access points west of the German capital are cutt off by Soviet forces.
Wednesday, August 19th, 1942
By 11:00 AM, disaster has completely befallen the invaders. Many are trapped, forced back or dead to a prepared German defense.
Tuesday, February 22nd, 1944
American bomber groups begin medium bombing operations against German targets from bases within Italy.
Sunday, November 21st, 1943
US forces take Apamama after the suicide of its 22-strong Japanese garrison.
Wednesday, November 11th, 1942
French Admiral Jean Francios Darlan joins French General Alphonse Juin in calling an all-out cease fire for French forces throughout Africa.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
At 11:14 PM, the Italian battleship Cavour is struck by a Royal Navy torpedo delivered via Swordfish L4A. L4A is later downed by anti-aircraft fire, though both crewmembers survive.
Monday, June 19th, 1944
Around 4:28pm, the carrier IJN Taiho joins the IJN Shokaku.
Friday, February 11th, 1944
The 4th Indian Division reports unacceptably high casualties when coming up against the stout German defenders.
Wednesday, June 28th, 1944
Hitler replaces Field Marshal Busch with General Model to help stem his losses.
Sunday, June 28th, 1942
The German 2nd Army and 4th Panzer Army launch their attack towards Voronezh near Kursk.
Tuesday, December 10th, 1940
Selby Force sets its eyes on Sidi Barrani.
Thursday, April 10th - April 16th, 1941
Three divisions of British, Australian and New Zealand troops at the Aliakmon Line in the Vermion Mountains are defeated.
Thursday, August 20th, 1942
The first of thirty-one US fighter aircraft arrive at Henderson Field.
Friday, October 23rd, 1942
The Allied counter-offensive begins through Operation Lightfoot, a massive artillery bombardment of dug-in German forces.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
At 7:02AM, the Japanese attack wave is located on American radar by two US Army personnel who bring it to the attention of a junior officer. The officer, expecting a flight of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses to arrive that day, disregards the alert.
Tuesday, May 20th, 1941
Between 1:30 and 2:00 PM, the second wave of German airborne troops take off from Greece towards drop zones in Crete.
Tuesday, September 1st, 1942
Germany Army elements, backed by Romanians cross the Kerch Straits.
Saturday, December 27th, 1941
The Philippine capital city of Manila eventually falls to the invading Japanese Army.
Sunday, April 14th, 1940
An Allied rescue force made up of British, Polish, and French begin arriving at Namsos, Alesund, and Narvik.
Saturday, May 24th, 1941
The HMS Suffolk loses track of the KMS Bismarck.
Thursday, September 21st, 1944
British paratroopers at Arnhem give up control of their bridge against a stronger German foe and instead concentrate on surviving by utilizing the town of Arnhem itself as a defense.
Thursday, May 7th, 1942
The USS Lexington and the USS Yorktown launch their attack planes and sink the Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho in the process.
Sunday, July 13th, 1941
Defenses across Smolensk are prepared under the direction of the Soviet 16th Army.
Monday, February 22nd, 1943
Allied forces hold the Germans in check at Sbiba, Tebessa and Thala, inflicting 2,000 German casualties and forcing Rommel to call for a retreat.
Friday, August 4th, 1944
Realizing their chances of victory are slim against well-trained and well-armed Germans, Polish Authorities once again ask the Allies - including the Soviets - for assistance in maintaining the uprising.
Wednesday, February 18th, 1942
German forces are officially driven from the Russian city of Kharkov.
Thursday, April 30th, 1942
German Army forces partially regroup and recover from the constant barrage of Soviet offensives.
Friday, April 6th, 1945
The IJN Yamato, Japan's pride and joy and the largest battleship ever built, sails from the Inland Sea on a suicide mission at Okinawa. She is escorted by the light cruiser Yahagi and some eight destroyers on her final voyage.
Wednesday, January 7th, 1942
Along the Volkhov Front to the south of Novgorod, the Soviets launch a major offensive.
Tuesday, July 13th, 1943
Adolph Hitler orders an end to Operation Citadel.
Tuesday, December 19th, 1944
Allied generals agree to commit elements of the Saar Front against the southern flanks of the German advance, this in the area between Bastogne and Echternach.
Friday, January 28th, 1944
The US 1st Armored Division captures the town of Aprilia.
Tuesday, September 19th, 1939
German and Soviet army elements finally meet one another in Poland at Brest-Litovsk.
Sunday, March 1st, 1942
The Avro Lancaster heavy bomber is inducted into RAF service.
Wednesday, April 1st - May 31st, 1942
Over a two month period, German forces are resupplied and strengthened before a major offensive - Operation Bustard - to remove the Soviets from the Kerch peninsula. Among the resupply deliveries are 33 massive artillery pieces meant to destroy the Soviet defensive works at the fort in Sevastopol.
Monday, January 22nd, 1945
Soviet General Konev and his 1st Ukranian Front cross the Oder River at Steinau.
Wednesday, December 13th, 1939
At 6:40 AM, the British cruiser Achilles is damaged by shell splinters from the Graf Spee's guns.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
The British paratroopers take the bridges over the Caen Canal and the Orne River.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
At around 4:50PM, elements of the 4th Bomber Group begin landing at their pre-determined bases in North Africa. Twenty-four aircraft from the group are noted lost.
Wednesday, May 27th, 1942
The 1st Free French Brigade at Bir Hacheim holds off the German progress.
Friday, December 15th, 1939
Finnish defenders keep the town of Nautsi from falling under Soviet control.
Monday, August 24th, 1942
At about 4:41PM, the USS Enterprise is the victim of Japanese dive bombers and takes several direct hits but manages to keep fighting.
Wednesday, July 14th, 1943
The Allies control key airfields across the island, allowing air support more resources from which to work with.
Friday, May 17th - May 18th, 1940
Brussels falls to the German Army.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 9:00AM, USS Yorktown launches her aircraft with Nagumo's carrier force as the prime target.
Monday, March 1st - July 31st, 1943
Any further British convoy runs to Russia are postponed as supplies are funneled to other areas of the Atlantic.
Sunday, May 26th, 1940
Operation Dynamo - the all-out evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk - officially begins at 6:57 PM.
Thursday, April 10th, 1941
The first US combat action against Germany occurs - this being the USS Niblack destroyer firing on a marauding German U-boat violating the US security zone.
Saturday, August 29th, 1942
A further 600 Japanese Army soldiers are landed at Milne Bay to help strengthen the beachhead.
Monday, August 19th - August 24th, 1940
Poor weather and overcast skies limit any major German bombing efforts over Britain.
Saturday, April 25th, 1945
Over 2 million Berlin civilians hunker down for the violent fighting ahead.
Wednesday, August 19th, 1942
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.
Wednesday, February 23rd, 1944
Bad weather postpones any further bombing actions for the time being. The Allies take this time to regroup, repair, and restock.
Sunday, November 21st, 1943
US forces continue their progress against the Gilberts though a dogged Japanese resistance makes for slow progress.
Thursday, November 12th, 1942
German paratroopers move into the area near the airfield at Bone.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
At 11:15 PM, the Italian vessel Doria is struck twice by torpedoes in her forward section.
Tuesday, June 20th, 1944
At 4:30pm, some 216 American aircraft are launched in response to the Japanese attacks.
Friday, February 11th, 1944
A blanket retreat is enacted by the Allies in an attempt to regroup and plan a new strategy to take Cassino.
Thursday, June 29th, 1944
The Soviets take Bobruysk.
Tuesday, June 30th, 1942
German General Paulus attacks at Belgorod.
Tuesday, December 10th, 1940
The Italian XXI Corps is in full retreat.
Saturday, April 12th, 1941
Vermion Line Allied troops are now redeployed to defensive positions around Mount Olympus.
Friday, August 21st, 1942
Japanese ground forces attempt attacks against Henderson Field and American forces at Tenaru. The Japanese troops make little headway and are themselves encircled.
Friday, October 23rd, 1942
At 10:00PM, British XIII Corps hits the German 21st Panzer Division and Italian Brescia and Folgore Divisions in the south of the German defensive wall as a diversion to its north-bound actions.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
At approximately 7:15AM, the second wave of 167 Japanese Navy planes takes off from their carriers towards Pearl.
Tuesday, May 20th, 1941
In-air losses for the second wave of German paratroopers is nearly equal to the first thanks to the stellar Allied flak defenses on Crete.
Tuesday, September 1st, 1942
The Germans establish a bridgehead over the Terek River.
Friday, January 9th, 1942
The Japanese begin their offensive against the dug-in American forces on the Bataan Peninsula.
Saturday, April 20th - April 30th, 1940
The German defense at Trondheim holds and prepares for reinforcements.
Monday, August 7th, 1944
A determined German counter-attack takes Mortain and heads towards Avranches before being stopped. Allied airstrikes and artillery stall the German advance.
Sunday, May 25th, 1941
German Admiral Lutjens orders that the Prinz Eugen break from the Bismarck.
Thursday, September 21st, 1944
British XXX Corps is slowed down once more, this time by German anti-tank forces and artillery emplacements north of Nijmegen and along the route to Arnhem.
Thursday, May 7th, 1942
The Japanese invasion of Port Moresby is called off.
Sunday, July 13th, 1941
The Soviet 19th Army makes its way into Smolensk.
Thursday, February 25th, 1943
Kasserine is now firmly in Allied control, the Germans having retreated and Rommel's attention now elsewhere.
Thursday, August 10th, 1944
German Army forces continue to relocate to Warsaw in an attempt to quell the Polish uprising.
Saturday, April 7th, 1945
The IJN Yamato, having already been spotted by an American submarine, makes its way to the fighting at Okinawa. The crew understand that this is a suicide mission at this point in the war.
Friday, February 20th, 1942
The Germans unleash their counterattack using the 4th Panzer Amry, 1st Panzer Army and the II SS Panzer Corps.
Thursday, April 30th, 1942
By this time, over 1 million German soldiers have been killed in action since the start of Operation Barbarossa.
Sunday, March 1st - March 30th, 1942
The Soviet offensive near Novgorod is stopped by German ground and air elements.
Thursday, July 15th, 1943
Fighting in the Kursk salient officially ends.
Wednesday, December 20th, 1944
By this date, the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne is completely encircled by the German XLVII Panzer Corps.
Friday, January 28th, 1944
The Germans are driven back at Cisterna.
Friday, September 22nd, 1939
The Polish city of Bialystok falls to the Soviet Army.
Saturday, March 28th, 1942
The British utilize the "Gee" electronic navigation system for the first time.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
Lieutenant-General von Manstein launches his assault.
Thursday, January 25th, 1945
Hitler reorganizes his forces under the new names of Army Group North, Army Group Center and Army Group Vistula.
Wednesday, December 13th, 1939
At 6:50 AM, the British cruiser Exeter is heavily damaged by the Graf Spee, leaving only one turret functional and in flames.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
British paratroopers destroy the coastal fortifications at Merville.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
At approximately 6:00PM, elements of the 1st Bomber Group begin landing back at their UK bases. Some 36 aircraft are missing.
Monday, June 1st, 1942
Nearly 30% of German tanks have been lost in Rommel's offensive.
Sunday, December 17th - December 31st, 1939
Finnish Army elements cross into Soviet Karelia, unleashing hell on the Russian 44th and 163rd Divisions. Some 27,000 Russian soldiers are killed.
Monday, August 24th, 1942
The Japanese Navy lose their seaplane carrier - the IJN Chitose - to American dive bombers at 5:40PM.
Saturday, July 17th, 1943
The Primsole bridge is recaptured from the Germans.
Friday, May 17th - May 18th, 1940
Allied forces are in full retreat of the Germans, making their way towards the French coastline.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 9:18AM, Nagumo reacts to the American presence and changes the course of his Carrier Strike Force.
Wednesday, September 22nd, 1943
Royal Navy midget submarines attack the German battleship KMS Tirpitz. Though not sunk to action, she takes on enough damage to sideline her for six months.
Sunday, May 26th, 1940
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.
Friday, May 9th, 1941
HMS Bulldog acquires the first Enigma code machine during the capture of the U-110. British codebreakers set to work on deciphering the device.
Sunday, August 30th, 1942
American General Douglas MacArthur employs his superiors for additional firepower and troop strength to help hold Papua.
Monday, August 19th, 1940
Underestimating overall RAF fighter strength, Luftwaffe commander Hermann Goering changes offensive tactics and orders his fighters to tempt RAF fighters to duke it out in the skies as opposed to bombing them while still on the ground.
Saturday, April 25th, 1945
Some 30,000 German soldiers ready themselves for the bloody business of the day.
Friday, August 21st, 1942
Nazi-allied French leader Marshal Petain celebrates the German victory over the Allied invasion at Dieppe.
Thursday, February 24th, 1944
With weather clearing, operations of Big Week continue. 266 American bombers strike Schweinfurt.
Monday, November 22nd, 1943
By 8PM on this date, US forces lay claim to portions of the Gilberts at its east and central regions.
Thursday, November 12th, 1942
British paratroopers land near Bone and take the nearby airfield.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
The Italian ship Littorio is struck by a torpedo along her starboard side. Swordfish L4M follows with another strike to the same side.
Tuesday, June 20th, 1944
American dive bomber aircraft successfully attack, and subsequently sink, the aircraft carrier IJN Hiyo.
Tuesday, February 15th, 1944
In an effort to destroy the believed German defensive positions atop Monte Cassino, Allied bombers numbering 229 strong, lay waste to the monestary.
Thursday, June 29th, 1944
The 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts close in and around the city of Minsk, attempting to join forces of the 3rd Belorussian Front.
Thursday, July 2nd, 1942
The Soviet city of Sevastopol officially falls to the Germans.
Tuesday, December 10th, 1940
Some 38,000 Italian soldiers are taken prisoner by the Allies.
Saturday, April 12th, 1941
German forces launching from Romania, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria along with an Italian contigent from Albania capture and secure the Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade.
Saturday, August 22nd, 1942
The Japanese attackers at Henderson Field and Tenaru are ultimately destroyed, forcing Colonel Ichiki to commit ritual suicide.
Friday, October 23rd, 1942
XXX and X Corps begin their assault on Axis nothern positions.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
At 7:53AM, complete surprise by the Japanese Navy and the first wave begins their initial strike. This force is made up of 50 medium bombers, 43 A6M Zero fighters and 40 Kate torpedo bombers. Targets are the battleships hunkered down in the harbor and airfields used by the USAAF.
Tuesday, May 20th, 1941
At about 2:00 PM, the second wave of German paratroops land around Heraklion and Rethymnon.
Thursday, September 3rd, 1942
The Germans enact an offensive aimed at the heart of Stalingrad.
Sunday, January 11th, 1942
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaya, falls to the invading Japanese 5th Division.
Wednesday, April 24th, 1940
Allied naval guns open up on German positions at Narvik in preparation for a ground assault.
Monday, August 7th, 1944
The 1st Canadian Army supports Allied elements just south of Caen, making their way towards Falaise.
Monday, May 26th, 1941
A British Coastal Command PBY Catalina flying boat spots the KMS Bismarck 700 miles from Brest.
Friday, September 22nd, 1944
Elements of the Polish Parachute Brigade, delayed multiple times from earlier participation in the operation, finally land south of Arnhem. Their mission is to reinforce the battered British 1st Airborne Division.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
The Japanese invasion force heads back to New Britain.
Sunday, July 13th, 1941
The Soviet 20th Army arrives in Smolensk.
Thursday, February 25th, 1943
Rommel relocates his forces east and plans his defense against Montgomery and his 8th Army at the Mareth line.
Friday, August 11th, 1944
Sensing complete destruction of Warsaw and its people, the Pope himself appeals to the Allies for help.
Saturday, February 28th, 1942
The Germans recapture lost ground and push elements of the Russian Army back. The German army reaches as far in as the River Donets while General Vatutin's forces are surrounded.
Saturday, April 7th, 1945
In the early morning hours, US Navy reconnaissance aircraft spot the IJN Yamato and relay her position.
Sunday, March 1st - March 30th, 1942
The whole Soviet 2nd Shock Army is lost near Novgorod.
Friday, July 23rd, 1943
German Army forces are pushed back to their original starting positions by this date.
Wednesday, December 20th, 1944
The US 10th and 19th Armored Divisions are completely encircled by the German advance.
Friday, January 28th, 1944
Hitler delivers an ultimatum to supreme commander-in-chief over Italy operations, Field Marshall Kesselring, to fight to the death and drive the invading Allied forces into the sea.
Friday, September 22nd, 1939
The Polish City of Lwow falls to the Soviet Army.
Saturday, March 28th, 1942
234 RAF bombers drop incendiaries on Lubeck. 12 aircraft are lost.
Friday, May 15th, 1942
Manstein's offensive results in the taking of the Kerch peninsula from the Soviets.
Thursday, February 1st, 1945
German forces at Kustrin derail any further Soviet advance towards Berlin. General Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front is halted.
Wednesday, December 13th, 1939
At 7:25 AM, the British cruiser Ajax loses two of her turrets to the Graf Spee.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
No less than five key bridges over the Dives River are blown up by British paratroopers.
Thursday, October 14th, 1943
Some 291 USAAF bombers of the 13th Bombardment Wing are once-again launched against Schweinfurt. Though 30% of German ball-bearing production is knocked out, 60 American aircraft do not return to home bases in the UK. The high level of losses in these raids forces the USAAF to temporarily suspend long-range bombing attacks into Germany.
Thursday, May 28th, 1942
While trying to take Sidra Ridge, German Panzer force casaulties begin to mount significantly.
Tuesday, January 2nd, 1940
A new Soviet offensive on the Karelian isthmus fails.
Tuesday, August 25th, 1942
The Japanese Navy loses a pair of transport ships enroute to the Solomon Island chain.
Thursday, July 22nd, 1943
US General George C. Patton and his fabled 7th Army move along the west of the island at speed, claiming the Sicilian capital of Palermo in the process.
Tuesday, May 21st, 1940
An Allied counterattack against the German Army near Arras ends in failure as the attack is itself countered by another advancing German land force.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
Between 9:30AM and 10:00AM, Torpedo planes from the USS Enterprise and USS Hornet begin their attacks on the Japanese carriers.
Thursday, July 1st, 1943
No fewer than eight German U-Boats shadow convoy PQ17.
Tuesday, May 28th, 1940
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.
Tuesday, May 27th, 1941
The first escorted convoy - HX129 - crosses the Atlantic.
Friday, September 4th, 1942
With the Allied resistance holding off further advance, the Japanese Army begins a formal withdrawal of the island.
Saturday, August 24th - August 31st, 1940
Luftwaffe bombing resumes. During this period, RAF airfields are hammered with the loss of 200 fighters. However, losses for the Luftwaffe number some 330 aircraft.
Thursday, February 24th, 1944
Over 900 American bombers are sent airborne to bomb aircraft-producing factories including Schweinfurt.
Monday, November 22nd, 1943
By night time hours, the Japanese enact a counter-attack against US forces, hoping to regain lost ground and take their invaders by surprise.
Thursday, November 12th, 1942
German paratrooper forces attack the British paratroopers near Bone but are repelled.
Saturday, April 25th, 1945
Elements of the 5th Guards Army reach the Elbe River at Torgau and celebrate with the arriving US 1st Army.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
A Swordfish torpedo meant for the Vittorio Veneto fails to reach its mark, exploding harmlessly on the sea floor.
Tuesday, June 20th, 1944
The American aerial force claims another two IJN tanker vessels.
Tuesday, February 15th, 1944
German forces, having never held a defensive position in the monestary proper, move into the resulting debris from the surrounding mountain slopes and set up solid defensive positions within the rubble.
Friday, June 30th, 1944
By this date, the German Army has recorded some 200,000 casualties from the aggressive Soviet offensive.
Monday, July 6th, 1942
The Soviet city of Voronezh falls to the German Army.
Wednesday, December 11th, 1940
Royal Navy bombers begin attacks on Italian-held Sollum.
Monday, April 14th, 1941
The German Army destroys Yugoslavian forces at Monistar Gap, clearing a path into Greece. Greece units fighting in Albania are effectively cut off.
Sunday, August 23rd, 1942
The Battle of the Eastern Solomons begins.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
The second wave of Japanese Navy aircraft swoops in attacking targets of opportunity including auxiliary ships in the harbor and the all-important harbor facilities.
Sunday, October 25th, 1942
Allied mine-clearing operations begin while combat continues
Tuesday, May 20th, 1941
The first day of the German invasion of Crete sees little progress as many strategic positions are not under German control yet.
Wednesday, May 1st - May 2nd, 1940
Allied forces abandon their missions at Namsos and Andalsnes.
Sunday, September 6th, 1942
The strategic Black Sea port city Novorossiysk falls to the Germans.
Sunday, January 11th, 1942
Three Japanese amphibious forces take on the Dutch East Indies.
Tuesday, August 8th, 1944
US General Omar Bradley talks with British General Benard Law Montgomery about a plan to encircle some 21 divsions of Germans in the Falaise-Argentan pocket. Montgomery likes what he hears and give the plan the green light.
Monday, May 26th, 1941
The Royal Navy hunter-killer group receives some help with the arrival of the HMS Renown, HMS Sheffield and the HMS Ark Royal arriving from Gibraltar.
Monday, September 25th, 1944
Remaining elements of the British 1st Airborne Division out of Arnhem make their way across the Neder Rijn River in retreat. They intend on meeting up with XXX Corps still making their way to the area.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
Some 27 Japanese aircraft are launched under the cover of darkness in the hopes of locating the Allied Task Force. They come up empty and only six aircraft return safely home.
Wednesday, July 16th, 1941
Smolensk falls to the German 29th Motorized Division.
Sunday, August 20th, 1944
German Army soldiers now number some 21,300 personnel in Warsaw.
Friday, August 11th, 1944
The Red Army finds themselves some 12 miles outside of Warsaw proper, having advanced into the Polish suburbs.
Saturday, March 7th, 1942
German General Hoth and his 4th Panzer Army form up and launch an offensive against the Voronezh Front near Kharkov.
Saturday, April 7th, 1945
Task Force 38 launches some 380 aircraft against IJN Yamato.
Wednesday, July 1st - July 31st, 1942
Hitler orders two directives in the operation against Leningrad. The first calls for its immediate encirclement and the second for its immediate destruction from land and air.
Tuesday, August 3rd, 1943
Soviet forces of the Steppe, Voronezh and South-West Fronts initiate a new offensive against German Army Group South just outside of the Kursk salient.
Wednesday, December 20th, 1944
British General Montgomery is charged with heading up the progress along the north line of defense while American General Bradley is given command of the south.
Sunday, January 30th, 1944
The Allies suffer some 5,000 casualties in the Anzio action by this date.
Wednesday, September 27th, 1939
The Polish capital of Warsaw officially falls.
Saturday, May 30th, 1942
RAF Bomber Command attack Cologne with 1,046 aircraft in the first of their "1,000 Bomber" raids.
Friday, May 15th, 1942
Sevastopol is cutt off from the rest of the Soviet Union by German Army elements.
Saturday, February 3rd, 1945
General Zhukov and his 1st Belorussian Front combine forces with General Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front along the Oder River near Kustrin.
Wednesday, December 13th, 1939
By 7:40 AM, the British cruisers Ajax and Achilles break battle and trail out of range of the Graf Spee's guns, though still in pursuit.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Thursday, February 24th, 1944
The USAAF 1st Division launches another bombing raid on Schweinfurt through 238 bombers and long-range escort fighters. Eleven aircraft are lost.
Sunday, May 31st, 1942
As the Allied defense along the Gazala line holds, Rommel is forced to change tactics, now concentrating his forces against the British 150th Brigade near Sidi Muftah.
Sunday, January 7th, 1940
Stalin appoints a new commander to oversee the Winter War - General Semyon Timoshenko.
Tuesday, August 25th, 1942
The Battle of the Eastern Solomons ends with the Japanese Navy claiming at least 90 aircraft lost while the American Navy enjoys victory with 20 aircraft lost in the fray.
Sunday, July 25th, 1943
With Mussolini deposed back in Rome, Hitler has few options but to plan a retreat for his overwhelmed forces in Sicily. As such, he orders an official withdrawel.
Tuesday, May 28th, 1940
King Leopold of Belgium orders his army to surrender to the Germans. By this time, his government has already relocated to Paris, France.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
The first wave of USN carrier dive-bombers has difficulty in locating their Japanese targets.
Sunday, August 31st, 1941
The first seven-ship Royal Navy convoy arrives in Russia without incident, bringing with her supplies and Hawker Hurricane fighters.
Tuesday, May 28th, 1940
Belgium falls to Germany in just 18 days.
Thursday, January 1st, 1942
The German U-boat fleet now numbers some 331 operational vessels.
Friday, September 4th, 1942
Japanese casualties at Milne Bay amount to 1,000 killed amidst the fighting.
Sunday, April 26th, 1945
Twin Soviet offensives break the final defensive fronts of the Germans.
Tuesday, September 3rd, 1940
Due to consistent Luftwaffe losses and inconclusive results across the entire campaign, Hitler postpones Operation Sea Lion to September 21st.
Thursday, February 24th, 1944
733 RAF bombers strike at Schweinfurt in a night time raid. 33 aircraft are lost.
Tuesday, November 23rd, 1943
The Japanese assault is repelled with a tremendous loss of life for the IJA. The dead number some 500 personnel in hours of fighting.
Sunday, November 15th, 1942
American paratroopers land at the airfield near Youks les Bains
Monday, November 11th, 1940
The Libeccio is hit by a Royal Navy torpedo but the munition fails to explode.
Tuesday, June 20th, 1944
The aircraft carrier - IJN Zuikaku - takes heavy damage from American warplanes.
Tuesday, February 15th, 1944
Following the Allied aerial bombardment, the second major Allied offensive to take Cassino is launched.
Tuesday, July 4th, 1944
Minsk falls to the Soviet offensive.
Monday, July 6th, 1942
The German 6th Army reaches the Don River.
Wednesday, December 11th, 1940
The Italian Catanzaro Division is captured, delivering another 30,000 Italian prisoners of war.
Wednesday, April 16th, 1941
Allied forces in Greece are in full retreat at the request of Greek General Alexander Papagos who sees value is less fighting to save his country from total destruction. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill accepts the request.
Monday, August 24th, 1942
The US Navy claims a Japanese aircraft carrier. The carrier is attacked and sunk.
Sunday, October 25th, 1942
Four Allied brigades have managed to break through the German defensive lines.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
The attack on Pearl Harbor is over at 9:45AM. Over 2,400 people are killed and a further 1,178 are wounded. More die in the ensuing days while 1,104 sailors eventually perish within the hull of the battleship USS Arizona, its magazine stores ignited by a single Japanese bomb.
Wednesday, May 21st, 1941
A German offensive against Heraklion is pushed away by at least 8,000 dug-in Allied soldiers.
Tuesday, September 15th, 1942
The Soviet Army is unleashed on Voronezh.
Thursday, January 15th, 1942
Japanese forces invade Burma beginning their assault at Victoria Point.
Thursday, May 2nd, 1940
German forces arrive at Andalsnas.
Tuesday, August 8th, 1944
General Patton reaches Le Mans and then heads north to Argentan.
Monday, May 26th, 1941
At 2:50 PM, an attack group from the HMS Ark Royal consisting of Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers begins their attack on the Bismarck.
Monday, September 25th, 1944
At Arnhem, some 6,000 Allied soldiers are taken prison by the Germans. A further 1,000 lay dead from the fighting.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
Just past dawn, the Japanese and American carrier groups spot one another.
Wednesday, July 16th, 1941
Panzergruppe 3 heads towards Yartsevo.
Wednesday, August 16th, 1944
Sensing his own political interests and conquests, Soviet leader Josef Stalin rejects a direct call for aid for the Poles.
Thursday, March 12th, 1942
Street fighting throughout Kharkov erupts once more as German forces enter Kharkov.
Saturday, April 7th, 1945
With no air cover, the IJN Yamato is blasted to pieces by the American Navy warplanes. Her magazine stores explode in a fantastic display as she goes up in smoke. Most of her crew is lost with the ship in the afternoon hours.
Wednesday, August 19th - September 30th, 1942
A Soviet offensive aimed at smashing through the German lines fails.
Thursday, August 5th, 1943
Soviet Army forces move towards Kharkov, liberating the city of Belgorod in the process.
Friday, December 22nd, 1944
As the German advance continues, supply lines are stretched to the limit and flanks become over exposed prompting German General Rundstedt to ask Hitler to halt the advance - Hitler refuses.
Monday, January 31st, 1944
Von Mackensen's forces now number some eight divisions in strength.
Thursday, September 28th, 1939
Polish forces fighting it out at the Modline fortress officially surrender.
Saturday, August 1st, 1942
De Havilland DH 98 Mosquito twin-engine fighters are assigned as "Pathfinder" units charged with lighting up ground targets via flares and incendiary ordnance for ensuing RAF heavy bombers.
Friday, May 15th, 1942
Manstein begins planning his next major offensive to take Sevastopol - this becomes Operation Sturgeon.
Saturday, February 3rd, 1945
The Soviet front lines total some 50 miles along the Oder River by this time.
Wednesday, December 13th, 1939
At 8:00 AM, Captain Langsdorff orders his lightly damaged Graf Spee towards the port at Montevideo in Uruguay with British ships in close pursuit.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
Allied naval warships open up with their guns on German defensive positions along the French coast.
Thursday, February 24th, 1944
A British bomber force made up of Handley Page Halifaxes and Avro Lancasters take part in a night-bombing raid on Schweinfurt, dropping some 2,000 tons of ordnance on the area.
Sunday, May 31st, 1942
Rommel orders his forces to begin defensive preparations across a 10 mile stretch.
Sunday, January 28th, 1940
Finnish ground forces recover territory from the Soviet 54th Division at Kuhmo.
Sunday, October 11th, 1942
A Japanese Navy convoy headed through the Eastern and Western Solomons is intercepted by a US Navy force, beginning what is known as the Battle of Cape Esperance.
Thursday, August 5th, 1943
After some time, the British finally capture the port at Catania. Though a vital and strategic victory, their advance delays the operation some.
Tuesday, May 28th, 1940
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.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
All incoming USN Devastator attackers are shot down by Japanese Zero fighters in the span of six minutes.
Monday, November 1st - November 30th, 1943
In this month, Allies convoys in the Artic resume their activities.
Tuesday, May 28th, 1940
By the end of this day, some 25,473 British soldiers have been evacuated from France.
Thursday, January 1st - March 1st, 1942
Off the east coast of the United States, some 216 vessels fall prey to the German U-boat scourge in this span.
Saturday, September 26th, 1942
Despite gains along the Kokoda Trail, the Japanese supply line begins to run thin and halt any further advance.
Sunday, April 26th, 1945
Soviet forces advance across the Spree River.
Saturday, September 7th, 1940
In an effort to break the resolve of the British people, Hitler orders the bombing of London over the bombing of strategic RAF airfields and installations.
Friday, February 25th, 1944
The final American air raid of Big Week is launched with 900 bombers against Regensburg, Augsburg and Forth.
Tuesday, November 23rd, 1943
The final Japanese defenders at Betio capitulate.
Monday, November 16th, 1942
British paratroopers land and capture the airfield at Soul el Arba.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
At 11:35 PM, the second wave of Royal Navy torpedo-laden aircraft moves into position.
Tuesday, June 20th, 1944
The aircraft carrier - IJN Chiyoda - takes heavy damage from American warplanes.
Tuesday, February 15th - February 18th, 1944
The 2nd New Zealand Division is charged with taking the railway station at Cassino.
Tuesday, July 4th, 1944
By this date, the 160,000-strong German 4th Army alone reports losses of 130,000 troops.
Monday, July 6th, 1942
The German 6th Army moves on Stalingrad.
Wednesday, January 22nd, 1941
The Allies take Tobruk, a key port city vital to North Africa operations.
Thursday, April 17th, 1941
Yugoslavian leadership, along with the army, surrenders to the Germans.
Monday, September 7th, 1942
US Marines enact a surprise amphibious landing against Japanese strongholds at Taivu.
Sunday, October 25th, 1942
Montgomery enacts Operation Supercharge and pulls some diversionary forces from his southern attacks to reinforce the north where losses continue to mount.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941
At 2:30PM Eastern Time, the Japanese diplomats in Washington finally visit with US Secretary of State Cordell Hull.
Wednesday, May 21st, 1941
German Army troops making their way to Crete via the sea are intercepted and pummeled by elements of the Royal Navy. Just 60 of these German soldiers live to see another day.
Thursday, September 24th, 1942
The German Army makes headway toward Tuapse.
Monday, January 19th, 1942
The Japanese Army makes short work of the light British defenses, covering some 230 miles in reaching Tavoy.
Friday, May 3rd, 1940
Duringan evacuation operation, the French destroyer Bison and the British destroyer Afridi are sunk by air attack.
Sunday, August 13th, 1944
Patton's 3rd Army arrives at Argentan.
Monday, May 26th, 1941
Between 8:47 and 9:25 PM, the Bismarck registers two direct torpedo hits. In a stroke of luck for the British, the second torpedo hits the stern section of the Bismarck, jamming her rudder to one side, forcing the vessel to go into an uncontrolled turn.
Wednesday, September 27th, 1944
Despite valliant actions, the Polish Parachute Brigade is forced to surrender at Arnhem.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
At 9:25AM, Japanese and American warplanes take to the skies.
Wednesday, July 16th, 1941
Marshal Timoshenko and his 4th and 13th Armies near the Sohz River counterattack the Germans at Smolensk.
Sunday, August 20th, 1944
The swift and thorough German response has divided the Polish resistance into three distinct groups, all cut off from one another.
Tuesday, April 10th, 1945
The American 27th Infantry Division lands at Tsugen. The island is just to the east of Okinawa proper.
Saturday, March 14th, 1942
The 4th Panzer Army surrounds the city of Kharkov.
Saturday, December 23rd, 1944
The foul weather over the Ardennes begins to clear.
Friday, September 25th, 1942
With winter upon the German Army once more, Hitler orders a halt to any major offensives around Leningrad.
Monday, August 23rd, 1943
Kharkov is retaken by the Soviet Army.
Saturday, February 12th, 1944
Winston Churchill pens a critical letter to supreme commander-in-chief of Allied operations in Italy. In his writings he claims he expected to see "a wild cat roaring" and has seen nothing but a "whale wallowing on the beaches".
Sunday, September 10th, 1939
Polish forces at the Modline fortress some 20 miles north of Warsaw fall under siege to the German Army.
Thursday, September 10th, 1942
100,000 incendiary bombs are dropped on Dusseldorf by no fewer than 476 RAF bombers.
Tuesday, June 2nd, 1942
600 German artillery guns open fire on Sevastopol.
Monday, February 5th, 1945
Soviet Army forces begin to cross the Oder River into Germany.
Wednesday, December 13th, 1939
At approximately 12:00 PM, Graf Spee enters the harbor at Montevideo, Uruguay, with the intention on having her damaged repaired. With political pressure from Britain, the Uruguayan government offers the Graff Spee only 72 hours rest.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
At approximately 6:30AM, American Army forces begin landing at two key beaches, codenamed Utah and Omaha.
Thursday, March 30th - March 31st, 1944
Some 100 Avro Lancaster and Handley Page Halifax bombers mistakenly drop 400-tons of ordnance on Schweinfurt, thinking that it is their target of Nuremburg.
Monday, June 1st - June 3rd, 1942
A German pocket develops near Sidi Muftah.
Thursday, February 1st, 1940
The Soviets enact a new offensive against Finnish positions along the Mannerheim Line, beginning with artillery attack accounting for some 300,000 shells.
Sunday, October 11th, 1942
At 11:32PM, US Navy warships fire upon IJN vessels in the convoy, sinking the IJN Fubuki and damaging the IJN Furutaka and IJN Aoba, which themselves begin sinking.
Sunday, August 8th, 1943
In an attempt to cut off the retreating Germans, the US 7th Army conducts a flanking amphibious attack.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
The initial American assault on the Japanese carrier strike force is over by 10:00AM.
Sunday, December 26th, 1943
The German battleship KMS Scharnhorst and 5 destroyers engage convoy JW55B.
Wednesday, May 29th, 1940
Another 47,000 British troops are evacuated from Dunkirk.
Thursday, May 14th, 1942
The convoy system is formally adopted by the United States in an effort to protect its merchant shipping in the Atlantic.
Saturday, September 26th, 1942
Australian Army forces hold fast to territory near Toribaiwa.
Sunday, April 26th, 1945
Soviet forces advance towards Unter den Linden.
Saturday, September 7th, 1940
348 bombers and 617 fighters of the German Luftwaffe descend on the British capital city of London in a massive bombing raid.
Tuesday, November 23rd, 1943
With the fall of Betio, the Gilbert Islands are now under control of US forces.
Friday, February 25th, 1944
RAF bombers hit Augsburg with 594 aircraft in a night time raid.
Monday, November 16th, 1942
Allied forces begin their move into German-held Tunisia.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
Once again, the bombing wave is led by signal aircraft marking targets with flares.
Tuesday, June 20th, 1944
During the attack, American fighter pilots score a further 65 enemy aircraft.
Tuesday, February 15th - February 18th, 1944
The 4th Indian Division is charged with taking both Monte Calvario and Monastary Hill.
Tuesday, July 4th, 1944
German losses total 400,000 personnel.
Tuesday, July 7th, 1942
German General Field Marshal List takes command of the new Army Goup A, made up of the 1st Panzer Army and the 17th Army.
Wednesday, January 22nd, 1941
Operation Compass is effectively over, netting some 130,000 total Italian prisoners.
Sunday, April 20th, 1941
The Greek Army surrenders to the Germans and Italians.
Tuesday, September 8th, 1942
The US Marine landings result in the destruction of vital Japanese supplies and the recovery of important operational data.
Monday, November 2nd, 1942
As more and more Allied armor crosses through the German perimeter, Rommel orders his battle-weary forces on an eastward retreat, keeping his forces within easy access to the North African coast.
Monday, December 8th, 1941
The United States, along with Britain, formally declare war on the Empire of Japan.
Friday, January 23rd, 1942
The American defensive lines finally break.
Thursday, May 22nd, 1941
The HMS Greyhound, a British destroyer, is downed by German bombers.
Tuesday, October 6th, 1942
Malgobek falls to the German Army.
Sunday, May 5th, 1940
French and Polish forces land at Tromso and Harstad.
Monday, August 14th, 1944
Elements of Patton's 3rd Army are sent from Falaise to the east towards Chartres and in the direction of Paris proper.
Monday, May 26th, 1941
Royal Navy ships open fire with their long range guns and close in on their prey.
Wednesday, September 27th, 1944
South of Arnhem, Allied forces continue to hold their gains. Over the next few months, some 3,500 casualties will be counted.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
At 11:40AM, US Navy warplanes manage to score devastating hits to the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku, severely damaging her.
Tuesday, July 22nd, 1941
The Soviet counterattack at Smolensk is driven back by Guderian's forces.
Sunday, August 20th, 1944
The German Army begins their final push to crush the Polish response.
Wednesday, April 11th, 1945
The conquest of Tsugen is completed by the 27th Infantry Division.
Wednesday, March 18th, 1942
The Germans complete the retaking of Kharkov.
Thursday, October 1st - October 31st, 1942
With a lull in the fighting, Soviet forces near Leningrad are able to receive much needed supplies and reinforcements.
Monday, August 30th, 1943
German Army Group Center is in full retreat.
Saturday, December 23rd, 1944
2,000 Allied air sorties are launched in improving skies against the Germans on the ground.
Wednesday, February 16th, 1944
Kesselring launches a large counterattack against the invading Allied forces.
Friday, September 29th, 1939
The German-Soviet Boundary Friendship Treaty is signed between German representative von Ribbentrop and Soviet representative Molotov. Poland is divided into a western zone under German control and an eastern zone under Soviet control.
Friday, January 1st, 1943
The H2S navigation system is delivered to the RAF for installation into bombers.
Sunday, June 7th, 1942
The German artillery guns cease fire on Sevastopol. The bombardment on the Soviets has spanned five days.
Thursday, February 15th, 1945
The German city of Breslau is surrounded by Soviet troops.
Sunday, December 17th, 1939
Graf Spee Captain Hans Langsdorff mistakenly believes there to be a large Royal Navy contingent waiting for his exit out of Montevideo harbor. As such, he orders the Graff Spee scuttled. The German vessel is effectively eliminated from the war.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Friday, July 21st, 1944
8th Air Force B-17 and B-24 bombers are launched on Schweinfurt.
Saturday, June 6th, 1942
The British 150th Brigade is utterly destroyed under the German assault, resulting in 4,000 British prisoners of war.
Sunday, February 11th - February 17th, 1940
The Soviet Army breaks through the defenses at the Mannerheim Line at Summa. Finnish Army units retreat.
Sunday, October 11th, 1942
At midnight, the Japanese convoy is in retreat and gone from the region in roughly 30 minutes.
Wednesday, August 11th, 1943
The US 7th Army undertakes another amphibious jump to head off the German retreat.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 10:25AM, a follow-up strike made up of 37 Dauntless dive bombers finds the Japanese carriers - now stocked with armed and fueled aircraft on their decks.
Sunday, December 26th, 1943
At 7:30 PM, the KMS Scharnhorst is lost to action by Royal Navy surface warships, leaving just 36 of her crew alive.
Thursday, May 30th, 1940
6,000 French soldiers join some 120,000 total Allied soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk on this day.
Monday, June 1st - June 30th, 1942
June of 1942 marks the single worst month of Allied shipping losses, totaling some 834,000 tons of goods at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Saturday, September 26th, 1942
The Japanese Army slowly begins to retreat back through the Kokoda Trail, finally realizing its perilous stuation.
Monday, April 27th, 1945
General Wenck's 12th Army is halted by the Soviet Army.
Sunday, September 15th, 1940
Two massive bombing raids are conducted against Britain. The German Luftwaffe sees some 300 total RAF fighters airborne, showcasing Goering's gross estimate of total RAF air power. 80 German aircraft are lost in total. This day would go on to become "Battle of Britain Day".
Friday, February 25th, 1944
By the end of it all, 3,300 Allied sorties are launched in the offensive and 226 bombers are lost. 290 German fighters are destroyed and another further 90 are damaged.
Tuesday, November 17th, 1942
The Allies capture Beja.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
Two signal aircraft attack the oil depot at Taranto but fail to produce much damage.
Tuesday, June 20th, 1944
By 8:45pm, the American attack shows a loss of 100 aircraft with 80 being lost to landing accidents at night or lack of fuel, forcing many airmen to ditch into the sea.
Tuesday, February 15th - February 18th, 1944
The 2nd New Zealand Division assault is twarted and driven back, suffering high casualties.
Wednesday, July 5th, 1944
Encircled, remnants of the German 4th Army are captured or killed trying to flee.
Thursday, July 9th, 1942
The German Army begins its move towards Rostov.
Saturday, April 26th, 1941
German airborne elements attempt to capture the bridge over the Corinth Canal in an attempt to encircle the retreating allies. The bridge is lost in the attack while the Allies have already moved on.
Saturday, September 12th, 1942
Some 6,000 Japanese Army personnel are used in a final thrust against the Americans at Henderson field. Among the attackers is the Japanese 35th Brigade.
Wednesday, November 4th, 1942
British X Corps makes a substantial gain in capturing Tel el Aqqaqir, running straight through the beleagured Axis lines, effectively ending the Battle of El Alamain in favor of the Allies. The victory is a major one for the Germans are in full retreat throughout North Africa. The action officially ends all Axis presence on the continent.
Thursday, December 11th, 1941
As expected, Germany and Italy side with Japan and officially declare war on the United States
Thursday, May 22nd, 1941
New Zealand troops are repelled from an attempt to retake the airfield at Maleme from the Germans.
Friday, October 9th, 1942
The Soviet government hands all military powers to the Soviet Army.
Saturday, February 14th, 1942
By this time, the Japanese have captured Borneo, Celebes and Sarawak.
Monday, May 13th, 1940
Norwegian forces move on Narvik.
Wednesday, August 16th, 1944
After seven days of continuous and bitter fighting, Canadian Army forces reach Falaise.
Tuesday, May 27th, 1941
At 8:47 AM, the Bismarck is now being raked from front to rear by the guns of the Royal Navy warships. The battleship HMS King George V and the HMS Rodney unleash their short range armament on the hapless German ship.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
At 2:47PM, the American carrier USS Lexington is hit by a Japanese torpedo, causing a major explosion in her generator room.
Tuesday, July 22nd, 1941
The German Army begins to encircled in Soviet Army pockets held up outside of Smolensk, Vitebsk and Mogilev.
Friday, August 25th, 1944
SS Obergruppenfuhrer Erich von dem Bach-Zelweski details the final German push.
Friday, April 13th, 1945
US Marines reach Hedo Point in the north of Okinawa.
Wednesday, March 18th - March 26th, 1942
The Soviets and Germans both dig in within and around the city of Kharkov, preparing to fight another day.
Tuesday, January 12th, 1943
The Soviets enact Operation Spark and cut a path through the German lines clearing a path to Leningrad. This offers the citizens of the city some much needed foot rations.
Thursday, September 30th, 1943
The German Army falls as far back as the Dniepr River.
Saturday, December 23rd, 1944
Supplies are dropped from Allied transport planes to the beleagured forces held up at Bastogne.
Thursday, February 17th, 1944
The Allies lose some four miles of territory but stand fast outside of Anzio.
Monday, October 2nd, 1939
The last valiant gap of Polish resistance - numbering some 4,500 soldiers under the command of Admiral Unruh - north of Danzig on the Polwysep Helski peninsula falls to the Germans.
Saturday, June 6th, 1942
The German Luftwaffe is called in to bomb Sevastopol.
Thursday, March 4th, 1943
RAF Bomber Command numbers total some 950 bombers of various types. Most important are the Avro Lancasters.
Thursday, February 22nd, 1945
Poznan falls to the Soviet Army after the defending German troops surrender.
Wednesday, December 20th, 1939
Choosing honor over justice, Captain Hans Langsdorff commits suicide, officially ending the reign of the Graf Spee.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Monday, October 9th, 1944
8th Air Force B-17 and B-24 bombers are once again launched on Schweinfurt.
Friday, June 5th, 1942
The Allies attempt an offensive to drive the German pocket back from Sidi Muftah and fail. 230 Allied tanks are lost in the attack.
Friday, February 23rd, 1940
The Soviet government delivers terms of surrender to the Finnish government, claiming the Karelian isthmus and Lake Lagoda as their own. The Finns are required to defend the Soviet Union from the north if the empire is attacked.
Sunday, October 11th, 1942
The IJN Furutaka officially sinks at 12:40AM.
Wednesday, August 11th, 1943
The evacuation of Axis forces from Sicily begins.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
The three Japanese carriers - Kaga, Soryu and Akagi - are struck with bombs and ultimately sunk.
Monday, April 3rd, 1944
The KMS Tirpitz is targeted once more and attack, this time by air elements of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. The battleship lives through the attack but suffers three more months of repairs as a result.
Friday, May 31st, 1940
Over 150,000 Allied soldiers (including some 15,000 French) arrive in Britain.
Sunday, July 19th, 1942
German U-boats off the eastern coast of the US are relocated to better assault the merchant fleets streaming across the Atlantic.
Thursday, October 15th, 1942
American soldiers of the 32nd US Division complete an amphibious assault near Pongani and Wanigela on Papua.
Monday, April 27th, 1945
The Soviet Army remains just 15 miles from the center of Berlin.
Monday, September 16th, 1940
The German Luftwaffe redirects it sbombing campaign to now cover night-bombing of British cities.
Wednesday, November 18th, 1942
The Allies take Sidi Nsir.
Monday, November 11th, 1940
The Italian battleship Caio Duilio is struck at her bow by a Royal Navy torpedo.
Tuesday, February 15th - February 18th, 1944
The 4th Indian Division assault is repelled and driven away, suffering high casualties.
Tuesday, July 11th, 1944
The German 9th Army is obliterated under the might of the Red Army.
Thursday, July 9th, 1942
German Army Group South is renamed Army Group B and placed under the control of Field Marshal von Bock.
Sunday, April 27th - April 30th, 1941
Operation Demon is activated, covering the evacuation of some 51,000 Allied troops from southern Greece via the Royal Navy.
Sunday, September 13th, 1942
Japanese forces come within a half-a-mile of Henderson Field before being stopped and, ultimately, driven back.
Friday, May 23rd, 1941
German dive bombers destroy the HMS Kelly and HMS Kashmir, two Royal Navy destroyers.
Sunday, February 15th, 1942
Singapore eventually falls to the might of the Japanese assault resulting in the capture of some 60,000 Allied prisoners against the cost of 2,000 Japanese soldiers.
Wednesday, October 14th, 1942
Adolf Hitler stops all further offensives against Soviet targets in the region for the year and orders his commanders to hold their positions until 1943.
Monday, May 13th, 1940
French forces land at Bjerkvik.
Wednesday, August 16th, 1944
German forces in Falaise are given the okay from Hitler to retreat to a more favorable position. The encirclement of German forces prompts the action from High Command.
Tuesday, May 27th, 1941
At 10:00 AM, the Bismarck's guns fall silent s she takes on water and burns.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
By 6:00PM that evening, nearly all of the USS Lexington's sailors have been rescued.
Thursday, July 17th, 1941
The German Army begins to tighten the noose around the encircled Soviet forces numbering some 25 divisions.
Friday, August 25th, 1944
The Germans begin their counter-offensive against the remaining Pole units.
Monday, April 16th, 1945
A five-day offensive is undertaken involving the American 77th Infantry Division and the island of Ie Shima. Ie Shima represents the tip of the Motobu Peninsula. Motobu is a defensive Japanese stronghold located to the west of Okinawa proper.
Tuesday, January 19th, 1943
The Soviets retake the city of Shlusselburg.
Thursday, September 30th, 1943
By this date, the Soviet Army has established no less than five bridgeheads crossing the Dniepr River, keeping the Germans at bay for the time being.
Saturday, December 23rd, 1944
Allied ground attack fighters target and destroy German ground vehicles and troop concentrations. Without air support of their own, there is little that the Germans can do in response.
Sunday, February 20th, 1944
The German attack is more or less repelled, at the cost of 5,500 German casualties.
Sunday, June 7th, 1942
The German 11th Army begins their assault on Sevastopol from the north at 2:30AM.
Friday, March 5th, 1943
For the first time, RAF bombers make use of the "Oboe" navigational aid in a large-scale operation.
Saturday, February 24th, 1945
General Konev's 1st Ukranian Front claims Lower Silesia.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
At approximately 7:25AM, forces of the British and Canadian armies wade ashore at beaches codenamed Gold and Juno.
Sunday, April 1st - April 30th, 1945
The final raid, this by American medium bombers, is launched against Schweinfurt.
Wednesday, June 10th, 1942
The 1st Free French Brigade at Bir Hacheim can hold no more and retreat under the mounting German pressure.
Tuesday, March 5th, 1940
Finland responds to the Soviet surrender overture with negotiations.
Sunday, October 25th, 1942
Japanese Navy supply ships make their way offshore of Guadalcanal where land forces there are attempting to take Henderson Field.
Thursday, August 12th, 1943
Some 100,000 Axis soldiers are successfully rescued from Sicily. The rest are captured by advancing Allied forces.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 12:00PM, Imperial Japanese Navy bomber aircraft strike against the attacking USS Yorktown.
Monday, May 1st - July 31st, 1944
The upcoming invasion at Normany puts a temporary halt on further convoy runs into Russia.
Saturday, June 1st, 1940
Defense of the outlying region near Dunkirk now passes to French XVI Corps.
Thursday, January 14th, 1943
U-boat bases at Cherbourg and Lorient are targeted by the Royal Air Force.
Sunday, November 1st, 1942
Japanese Army troops have taken to reinforcing their existing defenses at Buna, Gona and Sanananda.
Monday, April 27th, 1945
German soldiers set up defensive areas across a small 10 mile long front for their ultimate "last stand".
Tuesday, September 17th, 1940
With the unexpected results of his campaign against Britain, Hitler officially postpones Operation Sea Lion indefinitely.
Friday, November 20th, 1942
The Allied assault on the strategic city of Medjez el Bab begins.
Tuesday, November 12th, 1940
At 1:01 AM, The sinking Littorio is struck by another torpedo.
Saturday, February 19th - March 13th, 1944
The Italian winter makes its arrival and postpones any further Allied offensives for the next month.
Thursday, July 13th, 1944
Vilnius, Lithuania is captured by Soviet ground troops.
Monday, July 13th, 1942
General von Weichs takes control of Army Group B from Bock.
Monday, March 11th, 1940
The Finns agree to the Treaty of Moscow with the Soviets. 10 percent of Finnish territory is ceded to the invaders at the cost of 25,000 Finns to 200,000 Soviets.
Sunday, April 27th, 1941
Axis forces officially occupy Athens, effectively signaling the end of Greek resistance.
Monday, September 14th, 1942
At the end of the Henderson Field offensive, the fanatical Japanese have lost at least 1,200 soldiers in the fighting.
Friday, May 23rd, 1941
German dive bombers destroy the HMS Gloucester and the HMS Fiji, two Royal Navy cruisers.
Sunday, October 18th, 1942
The German drive against Tuapse is stopped by the Soviets.
Thursday, February 19th, 1942
The Japanese 1st Air Fleet conducts a surprise attack on Allied ships at Broome and Darwin. Twelve ships are sunk in the assault.
Friday, May 17th, 1940
The British lose HMS Effingham when it runs aground near Narvik.
Wednesday, August 16th, 1944
The American 3rd Army reaches Chartres.
Tuesday, May 27th, 1941
At 10:36 AM, the mighty German battleship Bismarck sinks into blue depths, leaving only 115 German sailors to recount her story.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
At 6:10PM, the USS Lexington is a complete loss. She is scuttled and sunk.
Thursday, July 24th, 1941
The German encirclement of Soviet forces is completed.
Saturday, September 16th, 1944
Pressured by the Americans and British, Stalin gives in - just a little - and delivers a meager air drop of arms consisting of just fifty pistols and a pair of machine guns.
Thursday, April 19th, 1945
Japanese defenders are pushed back towards Naha by American forces. The Japanese defensive lines are reset as territory is lost. The Americans report 1,000 casualties in their assaults.
Friday, January 14th, 1944
Soviet armies from the 2nd Baltic, Volkov and Leningrad fronts overtake German Army Group North in a massive two-week offensive.
Monday, December 25th, 1944
After achieving 60 miles of territory - the farthest march of the German Ardennes Offensive - the 2nd Panzer Division under Lieutenant-General von Lauchert is stopped by a combined force of British and American armor made up of the British 29th Armored Brigade and the American 2nd Armored Division.
Tuesday, February 22nd, 1944
The Allies replace the ineffective Major-General Lucas with Major-General Lucius Truscott.
Thursday, March 30th, 1944
795 RAF bombers attack Nuremburg with 95 aircraft lost to action. This mission marks the biggest RAF loss to date.
Thursday, June 11th, 1942
The German-allied Romanian Mountain Corps and 30th Army Corps launch their attack on Sevastopol.
Friday, March 16th, 1945
From Hungary, Soviet Army groups begin their offensive into Austria along the Danube River. The target is Vienna.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
The combined British and Canadian forces at Gold face little opposition and claim their objectives with little incident.
Thursday, June 11th, 1942
The German Army breaks out of their pocket near Sidi Muftah.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
A USN Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat scout plane spots the Japanese waterforce and relays their position.
Sunday, August 15th, 1943
One last amphibious assault by the 7th Army is conducted. The Germans now in full retreat to the northern tip of Sicily.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
By 2:30PM, the USS Yorktown is severely damaged but does not sink.
Tuesday, August 15th - August 29th, 1944
During another running battle, convoy JW59 and her surface warships inflict damage on the KMS Tirpitz.
Tuesday, June 4th, 1940
Some 40,000 French soldiers are taken prisoner by Germany at the fall of Dunkirk.
Monday, February 1st, 1943
A Presidential directive calls for some 250 American aircraft to begin offensive actions in the Atlantic.
Sunday, November 15th, 1942
US forces continue their march from the south against Japanese-held areas.
Sunday, November 15th, 1942
Australian forces continue their march from the west against Japanese-held areas.
Monday, April 30th, 1945
The Soviets capture the Reichstag.
Thursday, November 26th, 1942
Medjez el Bab falls to the Allies.
Tuesday, November 12th, 1940
Swordfish E4H is downed by enemy anti-aircraft fire, killing her co-pilot.
Wednesday, March 15th, 1944
A third major Allied offensive is put into action.
Thursday, July 13th, 1944
A new Soviet land offensive is launched with elements of the Soviet 1st and 4th Ukranian Fronts. Their target is Germany Army Group North in the Ukraine on their way to southern Poland.
Monday, July 13th, 1942
Adolf Hitler assigns General Paulus and his 6th Army to take Stalingrad.
Tuesday, September 15th - October 7th, 1942
The Japanese begin building up their forces to reclaim Henderson Field.
Tuesday, May 27th, 1941
The German Army takes Heraklion and her all-important airfield.
Sunday, October 25th, 1942
The Germans enact a new offensive in the Caucasus.
Sunday, March 8th, 1942
By this date, the Japanese capture the Dutch East Indies with the occupations of Bali, Timor and Java.
Tuesday, May 21st, 1940
The Allies are able to make some gains near Narvik.
Saturday, August 19th, 1944
At Mantes Grassicourt, a division of the American XV Corps manages to cross the Seine River.
Saturday, May 9th, 1942
Despite numbers against him, Japanese Vice-Admiral Takagi is ordered to send his warplanes aloft.
Tuesday, July 22nd, 1941
A Soviet offensive meant to break the German stranglehold fails due to poor coordination.
Friday, April 20th, 1945
Motobu Peninsula falls to the Americans as the Japanese defenders are either killed or captured.
Saturday, September 16th, 1944
Polish Army units fighting alongside the Soviet Army make a dash to support their comrades in Warsaw, this against the orders of Soviet High Command.
Friday, January 28th, 1944
German Army Group North is pushed away from the city of Leningrad.
Monday, December 25th, 1944
German losses on Christmas Day include 3,500 infantrymen and 400 vehicles, 81 of these being tanks.
Tuesday, February 29th, 1944
Von Mackensen cancels the German offensive amidst mounting casualties and little gain.
Friday, June 12th - June 16th, 1942
The German offensive against Sevastopol is repulsed by the 180,000 or so Russian soldiers holed up in the city.
Sunday, May 16th, 1943
RAF bombers make their most famous raid of the war to date - this through Operation Chastise - as 19 Lancasters attack the dams at Mohne, Eder, Sorpe and Schwelme supplying power to the Ruhr industrial sector. 9,000lb bouncing mines are used in the successful attack.
Saturday, March 31st, 1945
The Soviet Front gains tremendous ground since the start of the offensive back in January. Forces are a mere 50 miles from Berlin.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
The British 50th Division pushed some 6 miles inland.
Tuesday, March 12th, 1940
After months of fighting and countless lives lost on both sides, the Finnish government officially accepts the surrender terms of the Russian proposal in an internal vote numbering 145 to 3.
Thursday, June 11th, 1942
German forces breaking out near Sidi Muftah target the British 7th Armored Division near El Adem.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
The US Navy sends Task Force 16 and 17 to intercept the Japanese resupply action.
Tuesday, August 17th, 1943
The US 3rd Division gives the official "all clear" from their position in Messina. Operation Husky is a success and Sicily is firmly in Allied hands.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
By 3:00PM, the crew of the USS Yorktown has abandoned their carrier. The damaged vessel is towed by USN ships.
Sunday, November 12th, 1944
The KMS Tirpitz is finally destroyed at Troms by forces of the RAF.
Saturday, May 1st, 1943
Allied aircraft are fitted with U-boat detecting radar systems.
Saturday, May 1st - May 31st, 1943
By the end of May, 43 U-boats are sunk to just 34 merchant vessels.
Wednesday, December 9th, 1942
The Australian Army liberates the village of Gona from the hold of the Japanese Amry.
Monday, April 30th, 1945
German leader Adolf Hitler weds his mistress, Eva Braun, in his underground bunker under Berlin. After giving a final speech to his remaining supporters, he poisons his dog, then Braun and ultimately takes his own life. In his will, he leaves his authority to Admiral Doenitz.
Monday, November 30th, 1942
Despite the consistent progression throughout North Africa, the Allied invasion offensive grounds to a halt in the face of growing German resistance at key junctions. The total liberation of North Africa will have to wait.
Tuesday, November 12th, 1940
Swordfish E5H misses her mark against the Vittorio Veneto.
Wednesday, March 15th, 1944
Artillery guns open up on Cassino while 600-plus Allied bombers attempt to shake the German defenders.
Monday, July 17th, 1944
White Russia is cleansed of all German invaders, leading celebrations in the Soviet capital of Moscow.
Friday, July 17th, 1942
Hitler diverts the 4th Panzer Army away from Stalingrad and sends them towards the Caucasus.
Saturday, October 10th, 1942
Japanese reinforcements are shipped to the west and disembarked at Tenaro, some 20 miles from American forces.
Tuesday, May 27th, 1941
Allied forces retreat to defensive positions at Galatas.
Sunday, November 1st, 1942
The Caucasus town of Alagir is captured by the Germans.
Sunday, March 8th, 1942
Japan invades New Guinea.
Sunday, May 26th, 1940
The British lose HMS Curlew in an attack from the air.
Sunday, August 20th, 1944
The Falaise pocket is finally closed by the Allies. American and Canadian forces meet to complete the encirclement. German forces in Normandy are now trapped.
Saturday, May 9th, 1942
The Japanese aircraft do not locate the American fleet and any further actions are called off, effectively ending the Battle of Coral Sea.
Saturday, July 19th, 1941
A German High Command directive calls for the army to complete the destruction of Soviet forces around Smolensk and then head south to tackle forces in Kiev instead of marching on Moscow herself - this decision is viewed as the turning point to Germany's defeat in Russia.
Saturday, April 21st, 1945
The offensive to take Ie Shima is completed.
Sunday, September 17th, 1944
Under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Zygmunt Berling, the 1st Polish Army forces engage the Germans in Warsaw but are ultimately driven back in retreat.
Thursday, January 27th, 1944
The Moscow-Leningrad railway route is reopened in favor of the Soviets.
Tuesday, December 26th, 1944
The American 4th Armored Division makes its way to the beleagured 101st Airborne forces at Bastogne and the situation at the village is stabilized.
Wednesday, March 1st - May 22nd, 1944
The Anzio engagement is limited to minor activity for the time being, with the Allies dug in and the Germans trying to dislodge the invaders by limited means.
Tuesday, July 27th, 1943
44,600 Hamburg civilians are killed by RAF bomber attacks.
Wednesday, June 17th, 1942
Manstein launches another assault on Sevastopol.
Saturday, March 31st, 1945
Preparations for the final battle of Berlin are made.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
The British 3rd Division arriving at Sword beach face a stouter German defense but are able to overwhelm the enemy and establish a foothold.
Thursday, June 11th, 1942
The Allies go into full retreat as the Germans advance.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
US Navy aircraft are launched from USS Enterprise and USS Hornet but fail to locate the Japanese ships.
Thursday, June 4th, 1942
At 5:00PM, the Imperial Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu is set ablaze after being struck by no fewer than five direct bomb hits from aircraft of the USS Enterprise.
Wednesday, November 1st - November 30th, 1944
As the German defensive circle shrinks througout Europe, the Artic Convoys enjoy their best month, seeing not one vessel lost to enemy action.
Wednesday, May 19th, 1943
Some 33 U-boats assail an Allied convoy. However, the streamlined Allied response nets zero ship losses and fatalities. The U-boats come up empty.
Monday, December 14th, 1942
Allied Australian and US forces continued their maches against the Japanese, taking territory through fierce firefights.
Monday, April 30th, 1945
The bodies of Adolph Hitler and Eva Braun are taken to the Chancellery Gardens and incinerated under previous orders from Hitler, this to avoid capture and ultimate humiliation at the hands of the progressing Soviet Army.
Tuesday, November 12th, 1940
Swordfish L5F scored a direct hit via bomb on the Trento.
Wednesday, March 15th - March 21st, 1944
Against mounting casualties but with tank support, the 4th Indian Division gains ground.
Monday, July 17th, 1944
Some 57,000 German captives are paraded through the streets of Moscow.
Thursday, July 23rd, 1942
Rostov falls to the German Army Group A, netting some 83,000 Soviet prisoners as a result.
Friday, October 23rd, 1942
Some 20,000 Japanese fighters, including elements of the 2nd Division and 17th Army, undertake a new offensive under the direction of General Maruyama.
Friday, May 30th, 1941
The brave defense of Rethymnon by Australian soldiers finally falters under intense pressure from the German Army.
Monday, November 2nd, 1942
The Caucasus town of Ordzhonikidse is captured by the Germans.
Sunday, March 8th, 1942
Rangoon, Burma falls to the Japanese.
Monday, May 27th, 1940
The Allies enter Narvik.
Tuesday, August 22nd, 1944
After some additional fighting that results in a further 10,000 German soldiers killed, the trapped elements of the German Army at Normandy surrender to the Allies. In all, some 50,000 soldiers of the German Army are taken prisoner.
Tuesday, August 5th, 1941
The Soviet defense of Smolensk is obliterated and falls taking with it the end of the Soviet 16th and 20th Armies.
Monday, September 18th, 1944
American B-17 bombers land at Poltava, now under Soviet control, to refuel. Onboard are arms and supplies meant for the Polish resistance.
Friday, May 4th, 1945
The Japanese enact a major offensive in the south of Okinawa. A coast-to-coast defensive front is established from Naha to Yonabaru. Regardless, the line is targeted by prolonged American firepower and infantry.
Thursday, January 27th, 1944
The siege of Leningrad is declared by Soviet leader Stalin as over.
Thursday, December 28th, 1944
Hitler orders a halt to the advance - but no retreat - leaving his exposed and tired units at the mercy of the replenished Allied forces across the Ardennes Front.
Tuesday, May 23rd, 1944
The US VI Corps breaks out of the Anzio perimeter and takes ground well into the Alban Hills.
Tuesday, July 27th, 1943
RAF bombers make use of "Window" foil strips to disrupt enemy tracking radars.
Saturday, June 27th, 1942
The Romanian and German army forces capture key hilltop positions near Sevastopol.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
By 8:00AM, most of the German defenders at or near Gold and Sword beaches have been cleared or are on the run.
Thursday, June 18th, 1942
The city of Tobruk, defended by the 2nd South African Division, is completely surrounded by German forces.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
A PBY Catalina, capable of limited bombing, misses its mark as it attempts to hit several Japanese aircraft carriers at 2:50AM.
Friday, June 5th, 1942
The Japanese carrier Hiryu is scuttled.
Tuesday, May 1st - May 31st, 1945
The last Artic Convoy voyage - with the designation of JW67 - between Britian and Russia is completed.
Monday, May 24th, 1943
Due to dwindling results, German Admiral Karl Donitz calls back his U-boats from operations in the Atlantic.
Sunday, January 3rd, 1943
American forces lay claim to Buna.
Tuesday, May 1st, 1945
Soviet artillery opens up once again, this time in a massive barrage against the Chancellery and surrounding areas.
Tuesday, November 12th, 1940
By 1:22 AM, the attack on Taranto harbor is officially over.
Wednesday, March 15th - March 21st, 1944
The 2nd New Zealand Division captures German-held position with the help of Allied armor support.
Monday, July 17th, 1944
German Army Group Center is completely annihilated from the German ranks.
Thursday, July 23rd, 1942
Hitler issues a supplemental directive to Operation Blue requiring his 6th Army to take Stalingrad.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
After some 3,500 casualties are netted against the Japanese attackers, the offensive stalls and is ultimately called off.
Saturday, May 31st, 1941
By this date, Crete is firmly entrenched under German rule.
Thursday, November 19th, 1942
The Soviets push forward a new two-part offensive - Operation Uranus - north of Stalingrad and break through the Romanian-held defenses.
Sunday, March 8th, 1942
The British Burma Army escapes anhilation in Burma.
Monday, May 27th, 1940
German warplanes destroyer the city of Bodo.
Friday, August 25th, 1944
The Allies reach the French capital of Paris.
Tuesday, August 5th, 1941
300,000 Soviet prisoners, 3,200 tanks and 3,100 artillery guns are captured by the Germans at Smolensk.
Monday, September 18th, 1944
Josef Stalin refuses further Allied use of his forward airfields to resupply the Polish insurgents.
Sunday, May 27th, 1945
Naha is officially captured by American forces. The Orouku Peninsula to the south is now within reach.
Monday, January 1st, 1945
Weeks of fighting see German forces destroyed, taken prisoner or sent packing as the Allies regroup and respond.
Thursday, May 25th, 1944
The US VI Corps continues its gains and eventually combines with the arriving UU Corps. The road to Rome is now in the hands of the US Army and steps are taken for the final assault on the capital.
Monday, September 23rd, 1944
141 RAF bombers take on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. Some of these bombers make use of the massive "Tallboy" 12,000lb bomb.
Sunday, June 28th, 1942
German forces reach the outskirts of Sevastopol.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Saturday, June 20th, 1942
Rommel begins his offensive against the defenders in Tobruk.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
USS Enterprise launches a wave of Dauntless dive bombers in search of the Japanese group. Some 22 total aircraft are launched.
Saturday, June 6th, 1942
The USS Yorktown, now severely damaged and in tow of US Navy forces, is targeted and sunk by a Japanese submarine.
Tuesday, June 1st, 1943
The German U-boats are unleashed once more, this time operating in substantially smaller groups.
Sunday, January 31st, 1943
Sananada is officially in Allied hands.
Tuesday, May 1st, 1945
German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels murders his wife and six children before taking his own life.
Tuesday, November 12th, 1940
By 3:30 AM, all but two Swordfish aircraft are accounted for.
Wednesday, March 15th - March 21st, 1944
The 78th British Division makes headway thanks to the support of Allied armor.
Thursday, July 27th, 1944
Lvov is clamed by the Ukranian Fronts.
Sunday, August 9th, 1942
Army Group A captures the Maikop oil field on the Black Sea.
Sunday, November 1st - January 31st, 1942
Neither force can claim much action during this span. In time, US forces number some 58,000 troops while Japan can claim 20,000-strong.
Wednesday, May 28th, 1941
Heraklion in the north and Sphakia in the south of Crete will serve as major evacuation junctions for the Allies.
Friday, November 20th, 1942
Part 2 of Operation Uranus is enacted at the southern end of Stalingrad.
Thursday, April 1st, 1942
The Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo enters the Bay of Bengal.
Friday, May 31st, 1940
British forces at Bodo evacuate.
Friday, August 25th, 1944
Paris is liberated by the arriving Allies.
Tuesday, August 5th, 1941
The drive on Smolensk nets a total of 600,000 Russian prisoners of war, 5,700 tanks and 4,600 artillery pieces.
Thursday, September 21st, 1944
For his actions in disobeying Soviet Army orders, Berling is stripped of his army command.
Sunday, June 17th, 1945
By this time, the Japanese defenders have been seperated into three major fighting groups. The more raw recruits find it somewhat easy to surrender than fight to the death.
Wednesday, February 7th, 1945
By this date, all of the German gains of the Ardennes Offensive have been erased.
Thursday, November 18th, 1943
444 RAF bombs drop ordnance on the German capital of Berlin with only 9 loss to enemy fire.
Sunday, June 28th, 1942
By this date, over 90% of the Soviet defensive fortifications have fallen to the Germans.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
At approximately 10:00AM, British forces out of Gold beach take La Riviere.
Saturday, June 20th, 1942
Artillery shells and Luftwaffe bombs rain upon Tobruk.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
72 aircraft are launched as a combined force from USS Enterprise and USS Hornet.
Saturday, June 6th, 1942
The island of Kiska is taken by Japanese forces.
Sunday, June 6th, 1943
The Allied D-Day landings in the North of France eventually render the French-German U-boat bases inoperable.
Sunday, January 31st, 1943
The Kokoda Trail is firmly in Allied hands by this date.
Tuesday, May 1st, 1945
General Chuikov makes his way into the center of Berlin.
Wednesday, March 15th - March 21st, 1944
Positions on Monte Cassino are officially in Allied hands.
Friday, July 28th, 1944
Soviet forces lay claim to Brest-Litovsk.
Sunday, August 23rd, 1942
Army Group B reaches the Volga River.
Sunday, January 10th, 1943
The decision to abandon Guadalcanal is made by Japanese autorities.
Wednesday, May 28th, 1941
The evacuation order is given by Major-General Freyberg for the gradual withdrawel of Allied troops from the island of Crete.
Friday, November 20th, 1942
German General Manstein is appointed the commander of Army Group Don.
Friday, April 3rd, 1942
No fewer than five Japanese Navy aircraft carriers reach the Indian Ocean.
Saturday, June 1st, 1940
The British and French governments notify the Norwegian government of their plans to evacuate.
Friday, August 25th, 1944
Patton and his 3rd Army continue their march and setup critical strategic bridgeheads over the Seine River at Elbeuf and Louviers.
Monday, September 25th, 1944
American air drops deliver their much-needed cargo to the Polish resistance below. However, the drop zones are in firm German control and supplies are captured soon after landing.
Friday, June 22nd, 1945
The fighting on Okinawa comes to a close as American forces overwhelm the islands determined Japanese defenders. Those that are not taken prisoner or die in the fighting, subject themselves to ritual suicides.
Monday, October 2nd, 1944
Polish General Komorowski, sensing total defeat imminent, orders his Polish insurgents to surrender to the Germans.
Wednesday, February 7th, 1945
The German loss of life is a staggering 82,000 men, matched only by the 77,000 casualties suffered by the American Army.
Tuesday, February 13th, 1945
805 RAF bombers level the German city of Dresden, killing up to 130,000 of its inhabitants. The attack is notable for Dresden held little to no military or strategic value for Germany.
Tuesday, June 30th, 1942
Evacuation of Russian soldiers from Sevastopol begins with help from the Soviet Black Sea Fleet under Vice-Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
The Canadians out of Juno beach take Bernieres at about 11:00AM.
Saturday, June 20th, 1942
At 7:00PM, the German 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions have made it past Tobruk's first line of defense, making headway into the city.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
The IJN carrier launch around 110 aircraft in response.
Sunday, June 7th, 1942
The island of Attu is taken by Japanese forces.
Sunday, April 1st - April 30th, 1945
The USN is credited with sinking four German U-boats in what turns out to be the last recorded combat actions in the Atlantic Theater of War.
Tuesday, May 1st, 1945
German Generaloberst Hans Krebs approaches Chuikov with the formal German surrender.
Wednesday, March 22nd, 1944
With mounting losses in both manpower and tanks, further Allied thrusts are called off.
Tuesday, August 1st, 1944
The move westward continues.
Tuesday, September 1st - September 30th, 1942
German progress throughout the Casucasus is slowed by Soviet resistance and fuel/supply shortages.
Sunday, January 17th, 1943
The Japanese begin to withdraw their battered army units from Guadalcanal.
Sunday, November 22nd, 1942
Two elements of the Soviet Army meets at Kalach, effectively encircling the German 6th Army at Stalingrad.
Saturday, April 4th, 1942
A small contingent of British Royal Navy vessels operating in the Indian Ocean are warned of the arriving Japanese Navy force.
Tuesday, June 4th, 1940
Allied forces at Harstad begin their evacuation of the area.
Saturday, August 26th, 1944
Brigadier-General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French forces, leads a contingent of Allied troops on a march down the Champs Elysees to a thunderous reception by liberated French citizens.
Tuesday, October 3rd, 1944
Polish military forces all surrender to the German Army, ending the valliant uprising.
Friday, June 22nd, 1945
Understanding that defeat is iminent, Japanese Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushjima commits ritual suicide with his staff after reporting the loss of Okinawa to his superiors.
Wednesday, July 1st, 1942
One last German push secures strategic positions throughout the city of Sevastopol.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
Near the town of Pouppeville, the US 4th Infantry Division at Utah beach connects with the 101st Airborne Division paratroopers.
Sunday, June 21st, 1942
The 2nd South African Division under Allied General Klopper officially concede defeat and hand control of Tobruk to the Germans.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
At 7:40AM, USN dive bombers damage the IJN carrier Zuiho.
Sunday, August 15th, 1943
The Aleutian Islands Campaign comes to a close. The Japanese invasion is ultimately repelled.
Tuesday, May 1st, 1945
By May of 1945, the U-boat scourge in the Atlantic is over, completing one of the more important battles in all of World War 2.
Tuesday, May 1st, 1945
Berlin formally and unconditionally surrenders to the Soviet legions and Western Allies. General Jodl signs for the defeated Germans and Generals Bedell Smith and Suslaparov for the Allies.
Thursday, March 23rd - May 10th, 1944
A lengthy six-week period allows the Allies to rebuild their forces - though this period allows the Germans to increase their defensive foothold.
Tuesday, August 15th, 1944
Stretched and strained supply lines bring the Soviet war machine to a halt.
Sunday, November 15th, 1942
Army Group A reaches as far as Ordzhonikidze and Mt. Elbus.
Monday, February 1st, 1943
A massive evacuation effort sees some 11,000 Japanese personnel moved fom Tenaro, Gaudalcanal.
Wednesday, November 25th, 1942
In an effort to resupply their troops, the German Luftwaffe is called upon to exercise airdrops of vital supplies to the German 6th Army.
Saturday, April 4th, 1942
Admiral Sir James Somerville detaches a force to intercept the arriving Japanese fleet.
Friday, June 7th, 1940
The Norwegian government joins several other powers as a government-in-exile. Its officials board HMS Devonshire for their escape.
Tuesday, October 31st, 1944
Some 250,000 Polish civilians and soldiers of Warsaw will meet their end through execution or deportation to Nazi concentration camps as a result of the Warsaw uprising.
Friday, June 22nd, 1945
The Battle of Okinawa officially draws to a close and now represents the all-important staging area for the Allied invasion of the Japanese mainland.
Thursday, July 2nd, 1942
The last of the Soviet forces are evacuated by sea leaving little to stop the German onslaught.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
British and French special forces elements out of Sword beach connect with the British paratroopers holding the key bridges over the Orne River.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
US Navy and IJN aircraft formally meet in air to air combat by 8:15AM.
Wednesday, May 2nd, 1945
German forces across Berlin begin surrendering.
Thursday, May 11th, 1944
The fourth offensive to take Cassino is put into action.
Wednesday, August 30th, 1944
The massive Soviet offensive ends with much of the German-held territories now in Russian hands. The Soviet Army has made it as far as the outskirts of Warsaw in Poland with a front running from Lithuania in the north, through Belorussia in the center and Poland/Ukraine in the south.
Monday, November 30th, 1942
German General Paulus and his 6th Army is contained by the fierce resisting Soviets in Stalingrad, putting Hitler's plans on hold.
Sunday, February 7th, 1943
The last remnants of the Japanese Army on Guadalcanal is evacuated from the island.
Saturday, December 12th, 1942
While Hitler rejects any plea from the German 6th Army to retreat from their position, the 4th Panzer Army is used through Operation Winter Storm in an attempt to relieve the beleaguered German troops at Stalingrad.
Monday, April 6th, 1942
The Imperial Japanese Navy unleashes a surprise attack, with some 120 aircraft, on British forces at Columbo Harbor, Ceylon.
Saturday, June 8th, 1940
The Germans enact Operation Juno to relieve its forces at Narvik.
Saturday, July 4th, 1942
Sevastopol officially falls to German control.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
At 4:00PM, the mobilized German 21st Panzer Division launches a counter-attack.
Wednesday, May 2nd, 1945
The Fall of Berlin is complete - Soviet forces occupy all major sections of the German capital.
Thursday, May 11th, 1944
Approximately 2,000 Allied artillery guns open up on Cassino.
Sunday, February 7th, 1943
Gaudalcanal officially falls to the Americans.
Wednesday, December 16th, 1942
The Soviet Army puts Operation Little Saturn into effect and attacks Rostov.
Monday, April 6th, 1942
Twenty-six Allied aircraft are destroyed.
Saturday, June 8th, 1940
HMS Glorious is sunk by KMS Scharnhorst and KMS Gneisenau.
Saturday, July 4th, 1942
German control and the subsequent round up on the city nets some 90,000 Soviet army prisoners of war.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
The German counter-attack reaches the beachhead at Sword.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
The USS Hornet takes a critical hit at 9:15AM from attacking Japanese Navy dive bombers and torpedo bombers. The IJN forces claim two torpedo hits and a further six bomb hits against her.
Wednesday, May 2nd, 1945
The war in Europe officially comes to a close.
Thursday, May 11th, 1944
A combined British, Polish and American assault converge on Cassino involving the British 13th Corps, the Polish II Corps and the US 5th Army.
Wednesday, December 16th, 1942
The Italian Army goes into full retreat from the Soviet advance.
Monday, April 6th, 1942
The British Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk by the Japanese air strike.
Sunday, June 9th, 1940
The Norwegian military is ordered to surrender.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
The German 21st Panzer Division is repelled by a combined Allied armor and air assault, saving further actions at Sword.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
The crew of the USS Hornet begin evacuation procedures aboard their doomed ship.
Tuesday, May 8th, 1945
This day is formally announced as "VE Day" and celebrations break out across the world, though fighting in the Pacific against the Japanese Empire is ongoing.
Saturday, May 13th, 1944
German paratrooper forces defending Cassino being their evacuation.
Thursday, May 18th, 1944
The British take the town of Cassino.
Wednesday, December 16th, 1942
German Army forces are called off from further offensives at Tuapse.
Monday, April 6th, 1942
The British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Tenedos is sunk by the Japanese air strike.
Monday, June 10th, 1940
The invasion of Norway is complete, the victory going to the Germans.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
The crippled IJN carrier Zuiho is hit by another four bombs, bringing her tenure at sea to an official close at 9:18AM.
Thursday, May 18th, 1944
The Poles take Monte Calvario.
Thursday, April 9th, 1942
American forces fighting on the Bataan Peninsula finally surrender to the Japanese.
Monday, December 21st, 1942
Soviet relief forces and supplies headed for Stalingrad are stopped at Myshkova.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
USN bombers score several key direct hits against the carrier IJN Shokaku at 9:30AM.
Wednesday, May 17th, 1944
German paratrooper forces exit the Cassino region.
Wednesday, December 23rd, 1942
All further attempts to relieve Stalingrad are put on hold, indefinitely.
Thursday, April 9th, 1942
An 85-strong Japanese Navy aircraft contingent attacks airfields and targets of opportunity at Trincomalee, Ceylon.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
By midnight, D-Day is more or less over. Not all objectives are captured but progress is made nonetheless.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
USS Enterprise receives several direct hits from IJN dive bombers against her flight deck and forward elevator.
Thursday, May 18th, 1944
Monte Cassino falls to the Allies, costing some 50,000 casualties along both sides of the battlefield.
Thursday, December 24th, 1942
The Soviet Army launches a fresh attack at Kotelnikovo, routing its Romanian defenders and putting them into full retreat.
Thursday, April 9th, 1942
The HMS Hermes is one of four Royal Navy ships sunk by Japanese Navy aircraft.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
The Americans signal a withdrawal of all forces form the battle.
Monday, December 28th, 1942
German Army Group A is given the official order to retreat from the Caucasus region.
Tuesday, May 5th, 1942
The Japanese enact an offensive to take Corregidor Island, a strategic point providing access to Manila Bay.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Monday, October 26th, 1942
The USS Hornet is cleared of all crew by 11:40AM.
Wednesday, May 6th, 1942
Corregidor Island falls to the Japanese, giving the invaders control over Manila Bay.
Friday, January 1st, 1943
German forces at Terek retreat.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
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.
Tuesday, October 27th, 1942
Destroyers of the IJN come across the remains of the USS Hornet and launch torpedoes against her, sending her to the bottom of the Pacific.
Friday, January 8th, 1943
Soviet generals send in the formal request for surrender of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad, a request which is formally rejected.
Friday, May 15th, 1942
Burma falls to the Japanese.
Tuesday, June 6th, 1944
American forces at Utah beach hold pockets of land totaling just over 6 miles.
Sunday, January 10th, 1943
Soviet General Rokossovsky unleashes hell on the German 6th Army through thousands of artillery cannons and Katyusha rockets.
Monday, August 31st, 1942
By this date, the Japanese have completed their takeovers of the Caroline Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Marianas Islands and a portion of the Solomon Islands. This is the farthest that the Japanese Empire would reach in the Pacific.
Tuesday, January 12th, 1943
Soviet troops make headway against the defensive lines at the Don River held by Hungarian and Italian troops.
Tuesday, January 12th, 1943
German Caucasus elements make it to their bridgehead over the Kuban River.
Wednesday, January 13th, 1943
German Army elements at Terek retreat to the Nagutskoye-Alexsandrovskoye position.
Thursday, January 14th, 1943
In an effort to replenish and build up their army ranks along the East Front, German Generals proposed conscription service of the Baltic people for service .
Sunday, January 17th, 1943
The German Panzer Corps at the Don are officially surrounded.
Monday, January 25th, 1943
A Soviet offensive splits the German 6th Army at Stalingrad.
Monday, January 25th, 1943
German forces at Armavir retreat.
Monday, January 25th, 1943
German forces at Voronezh retreat.
Sunday, January 31st, 1943
German General Paulus formally surrenders his southern Stalingrad army to the Soviets.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 1943
The German Army north pocket at Stalingrad formally surrenders to the Soviet Army.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 1943
The liberation of Stalingrad is officially over.
