The Main Events of WWII. (1938-1942)
By Peter Michalek and Bohumil Riha
September 29th 1938
Munich Agreement
On 29th September, 1938, Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier and Benito
Mussolini signed the Munich Agreement which transferred the Sudetenland to Germany.
When Eduard Benes, Czechoslovakia's head of state, protested at this decision, Neville
Chamberlain told him that Britain would be unwilling to go to war over the issue of the
Sudetenland. The Munich Agreement was popular with most people in Britain because it
appeared to have prevented a war with Germany. However, some politicians, including
Winston Churchill attacked the agreement.
September 27th 1939
Warsaw Surrenders
Warsaw surrendered to German troops encircling its borders. Massive air and artillery
bombardments left the poles no choice. Eastern Poland was occupied by the Soviet Union,
while the rest of Poland was occupied by the Germans.
The Germans immediately began their campaign against the Jews of Poland– herding them to
live in ghettos in big cities.
WW II started...
DECEMBER 1939
Battle For The Atlantic
The submarine war began on the third day of the war when a German submarine U-30
commanded by Lieutenant Fritz Julius Lemp fired on the British passenger liner Athenia. The
Athenia sunk the next day, after most of the passenger were saved. In the first four months of
the war 221 ships were sunk.
The period between July and October 1940 became know as the “Happy Time” for German
submarines. During this period the wolf pact, a group of submarines were operating together .
U-boats reached an outstanding 217 ships sunk and losing only six U boats.
AUGUST 1940
Battle Of Britain
The Germans attempted to subdue Great Britain by utilizing air attacks. Germany attacked all
major cities and military installations. British preparedness, combined with the valor of its
pilots and a new weapon called "radar," forced the Germans to pay a heavy price for their
bombing. By the end of October, when the winter weather made the threat of invasion
unlikely, the Germans had lost 2,375 planes, compared to 800 British planes lost. This was the
first battle where the Gemens was defeated and the mythus of undefeateble army was broken.
DECEMBER 8th 1940
British Attack Italian Forces In Egypt
British troops launched a surprise attack on Italian troops, which occupied parts of western
Egypt. The British routed the Italians. On January 5th, the Italian garrison at Bardia– with
25,000 troops– surrendered.
By the end of January, the British captured Tobruk and, in early February, captured Bengasi
and liberated Ethiopia. In April, German reinforcements, under the command of General
Rommel, arrived in Africa and stopped the British advance. The British were forced to
withdraw.
MARCH 28th 1941
Battle Of Matapan
The British fleet met the Italian fleet at the battle off of Cape Matapan. The Italian Force was
led by Vice Admiral Angelo Iachino, the British force was led by Admiral Cunningham. The
British force included the battleships Warspite, Valiant and Barham and carrier Formidable.
Cunnigham cruisers engaged part of the Italian force on March 28th. When the British aircraft
attacked, the Italians changed course and began to withdraw. Cunnighman then launched
successive air attacks against the Italian fleet. The cruiser Polo was seriously damaged and
later was boarded and captured. the Italian cruisers Zara and Fiume were sunk. The
destroyers Affeieri and Carducci soon followed. It was the greatest British naval victory since
Trafalgar.
MAY 27th 1941
German Battleship “Bismark” Sunk
The German battleship, "Bismark," was sunk by the British Navy . In the first round Bismark
sunk the battleship "Hood" and crippled the battleship "Prince of Wales"On May 26th, a plane
from the "Ark Royal" attacked the "Bismark." A torpedo hit its rudder and disabled the
steering. That night, battleships "Rodney" and "King George" attacked the "Bismark" with
their big guns. Together with torpedos from the "Doretshire," they sank the "Bismark".
DECEMBER 7th 1941
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese were convinced that they could not win a war of attrition with the United States,
so they planned a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, hoping that a decisive victory would be
achieved which would force the United States to negotiate. Americans at Pearl Harbor were
caught unprepared, and the attack was successful. Some people speculate that Churchill knew
about the Japanese airstrike of the Perl Harbour before 7th December due to the Ultra
Program Enigma, but he did not warned Americans, because he wanted Amerika to enter the
war.
FEBRUARY 15th 1942
Singapore Surrenders
The British fortress at Singapore was forced to surrender to the Japanese. The Japanese
advanced down through the Malayan pennisula. They crossed onto the island of Singapore on
the night of February 7th and forced the more numerous British troops to surrender.
OCTOBER 23rd 1942
British Are Victorious At El Alamein
German forces, under the command of Rommel, met the British forces, under the command of
General Montgomery at El Alamein. Montgomery had a two-to-one advantage in tanks, and
was victorious. The victory in El Alamain eliminated the German threat to the Suez Canal and
the Middle East.
NOVEMBER 8th 1942
Operation Torch
The invasion of North Africa, in what was named "Operation Torch," was designed to
encircle German troops stationed there. American troops went ashore in French North Africa
with limited opposition. Soon after the landings, French troops defected to the American side.
American and British troops advanced towards Tunisia, where they met stiff German
opposition.
JANUARY 1943
Casablanca Conference
A conference was held in Casablanca, in French Morocco. from January 14th to the 24th,
between Roosevelt and Churchill and their respective staffs. At the conference, it was
announced that the war would be fought until there was an unconditional surrender.
Agreement, in principle, was reached on the opening of a second front.
May 10, 1943
Bulldog Prime Minester
Sir Winston Churchill was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain. The master statesman
stood alone against fascism and renewed the world's faith in the superiority of democrac, but
his promis nothing more than 'blood, toil tears and sweat'
AUGUST 17th 1943
Quebec Conference
British and American leaders met in Quebec to coordinate war plans. At the meetings, which
were led by Churchill and Roosevelt, leaders discussed the upcoming landing in Italy, as well
as summit plans with Stalin.
SEPTEMBER 12th 1943
Allies Land In Italy
On September 3rd, the Italian government, led by Marshal Badoglio Mussolini– having been
dismissed by King Victor Emanuel– surrendered to the Allied forces. At the same time, the
British and Americans began an assualt on Italy, now defended by occupying Germans.
MAY 1944
Monte Cassino Falls To Allies
The town of Monte Cassino fell to the allies on May 18th. With the fall of Monte Cassino, the
whole Gustav line crumbled, and the road to Rome was open to US and other Allied troops.
JUNE 4th 1944
Rome Liberated
by Allied forces. On June 4th, American forces, under the command of General Mark Clark,
entered Rome– from which the Nazis were quickly retreating. The capture of Rome marked
the first Axis capital captured
JUNE 6th 1944
D–Day Operation Overlord
On June 6th, 1944, 45 Allied divisions with almost 3 million men, led by General
Eisenhower, began landing on Normandy Beach, in France. Within three weeks, Allied troops
had captured all of the Normandy peninsula and port of Cherbourg. By the end of August,
Paris was liberated, and Allied forces continued toward Germany. It is said that the English
had engaged a double-ganger of general Montgomery and send him to Africa to confuse
Germen spyes before the invasion.
AUGUST 25th 1944
Paris Liberated
Allied forces led by the French Second Armored Division, commanded by Major General
Lecleric, liberated Paris on August 25th. The next day, US and British forces entered the city
and were greeted by quite an emotional welcome.
SEPTEMBER 27th 1944
Market Garden Fails
After liberating Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium, the Allies planned a very ambitious
operation to capture the bridges over the Rhine. The plan entailed the landing of paratroopers
at Arnhem Bridge. They were to hold the bridge until advancing ground forces could
reinforce them. The ground forces failed, however, to make the link up, and the airborne
troops at Arnhem were wiped out.
OCTOBER 9th 1944
Dumbarton–Oaks Conference
This meeting was attended by representatives of the US, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and
China. At the conference, delegates discussed the charter of a new, permanent, post-war
international organization. The conference laid the groundwork for the creation of the United
Nations.
DECEMBER 16th 1944
Battle Of The Bulge
The German forces made a surprise attack against US forces in Belgium. The Germans made
rapid progress, but were unable to capture the city of Bastogne, where Ameican forces were
encircled. The US and the Brtish were able to counterattack, and the Germans were forced to
withdraw, but not before US forces lost 35,000 men.
FEBRUARY 1945
Yalta Conference
President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Marshall Stalin, met at Yalta in the
Southern Soviet Union. The meeting was a continuation of the earlier dialogue between
Churchill and Stalin. In that meeting, Churchill and Stalin had discussed spheres of influence
in post-war Europe, and Churchill was reported to have written down a list of countries in
which he recorded both nations and percentages. Accordingly, he wrote down; Romania-90%,
Soviets-10%, Allied Yugoslavia-50% Allies-50%.
APRIL 16th 1945
Battle Of Berlin
The final battle of the Eastern front began on April 16th, as Soviet troops attempted to capture
Berlin. German troops fought to the last man, but the Soviet victory was inevitable.
APRIL 1945
San Francisco Conference
On April 25th, 1945, the United Nations Founding Conference met in San Francisco. The
only purpose of the San Francisco Conference was the establishment of a Charter for the new
organization
MAY 8th 1945
Germany Surrenders
On May 8th, German forces officially surrendered. Signing for the Germans was Chief of
Staff General Jodl. The surrender ceremony took place at Eisenhower's headquarters at
Reims.
JULY 1945
Potsdam Conference
The three allies met on July 17th, 1945, in Potsdam, Germany. As the conference opened,
American President Truman received word of the successful detonation of the atomic bomb.It
was agreed that Germany would initially be governed by the Allied Control Council, made up
of military commanders from the four zones of occupation.
AUGUST 5th 1945
Atomic Bomb Dropped On Hiroshima
On August 6th the US Airforce dropped an Atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
The city was destroyed and over 70,000 were killed immediately from the effects of the blast.
Three days later a second bomb destroyed Nagasaki.
AUGUST 14th 1945
Japan Surrenders
On September 2nd, the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the Battleship Missouri in
Tokyo Harbor. Two attacks by atomic bombs finally convinced the Japanese government that
further resistance was useless.