WWII History

1940 Denmark surrenders to the Germans. Bitter fighting as Germans advance north from Oslo. Six British destroyers surprise ten German Destroyers in Narvik Fiord, in what becomes known as the 1st Battle of Narvik. Two German and two British Destroyers are sunk and the British Flotilla commander, Captain Warburton-Lee is killed. He is later awarded […]

1940 German troops invade Denmark and Norway simultaneously. There is very little opposition by the surprised Danes, with Copenhagen being captured within 12 hours. The Germans make sea-borne landings in Norway at Oslo, Kristiansand, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik. An airborne landing is also made against the airfield at Stavanger. Norwegian defenders move inland. Major Quisling

1939 Italy invades Albania. 1940 British submarines torpedo three German ships. Destroyer Glowworm is sunk after reporting German fleet movements and ramming cruiser Hipper. British minelayers arrive off Norway and are surprised by German navy preparing to invade Norway. In heavy fighting, the destroyer HMS Glowworm is sunk while ramming German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper.

1940 The RAF spots units of the Kriegsmarine steaming North towards Narvik and Trondheim loaded with troops and equipment. 1941 British war budget raises income tax. Germans break towards Salonika. Great Britain severs diplomatic relations with Hungary. German troops capture Skopje in Macedonia forcing the Yugoslav forces to withdraw in the south of the country,

1938 The United States recognizes Nazi Germany’s conquest of Austria. 1940 British Ministry of Food announces “Kitchen Front” campaign to save food. Germany recalls all 1, 2, 5, and 10-pfennig coins to reclaim copper & bronze; will use zinc instead. 1941 German, Italian and Hungarian forces begin the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece. The Luftwaffe

1940 British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, tells the British people that Hitler has ‘missed the bus’, meaning that a German invasion of the west is now unlikely to succeed. Norway and Sweden are both informed of the allied intention to mine Norwegian waters. RAF launch attacks against ships at Wilhelmshaven. 1942 Fuhrer Directive 41 rolls

1940 In France, spreading Communist or antiwar propaganda is declared a capital offense. 1941 Field Marshal Erwin Rommel captures the British held town of Benghazi in North Africa. Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, is abandoned by Italians. 1943 Newly built gas chamber/crematory V opens at Auschwitz. 1944 Charles de Gaulle becomes the head of Free

1940 War Cabinet reshuffle, Churchill to chair committee directing general war policy. Soviets begin massacre of 20,000 Polish officers in Katyn Forest. The United States Congress cuts military spending 10 percent and refuses to fund heavy bombers as “aggressive weapons.” 1941 Hungarian Prime Minister Pál Teleki commits suicide rather than collaborate with Germany. In Iraq,

1940 Hitler gives orders that the invasion of Denmark and Norway is to begin on the 9th April 1940. Germans again attack Scapa Flow and North Sea convoys. 1941 The 5th Light Division recaptures Agedabia from the British and fans out into three columns, two of which race across the desert in an attempt to

1940 The United States 1940 Census taken: population 131,669,000, a 7.2% increase since 1930. The British Minister of Food announces Dig for Victory campaign to encourage growing food at home. 1941 General Platt and his ‘Northern Force’ capture Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. A pro-axis coup, led by Raschid Ali seizes power in Iraq. The