WWII Today in History. On these pages you will find of some of the most important events that shaped World War 2.
1939 Nazis begin euthanasia on sick and disabled in Germany. 1940 Mussolini and Hitler meet at the Brenner Pass. Admiralty announces recent sinking of seven German and two Italian submarines. 1942 A Commando raid on Occupied Sark, in Channel Islands capture’s one German soldier. The fourth German offensive begins in Stalingrad as the XIV Panzer […]
World War II Today: October 4 Read More »
1940 U.S. Army adopts airborne, or parachute, soldiers. Airborne troops were later used in World War II for landing troops in combat and infiltrating agents into enemy territory. Chamberlain resigns as Lord President of the Council through ill health, and cabinet is reshuffled with Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor, and Ernie Bevin, Minister of Labour
World War II Today: October 3 Read More »
1938 Winston Churchill comments to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain about the Munich Agreement; “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You have chosen dishonor and you will have war.” 1939 The first Poles are imprisoned in Pawiak Prison in Warsaw. Some 100,000 people will undergo Nazi interrogations here, of whom 37,000 will be
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1939 In Germany, Karl Dönitz promoted to rear admiral and commander of the submarines. British men between 20 and 22 are now liable for conscription. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during a radio broadcast described the Soviet Union as ”a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. German troops enter the devastated city of
World War II Today: October 1 Read More »
1938 Under German threats of war, Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign an accord permitting Germany to take control of Sudetenland–a region of Czechoslovakia inhabited by a German-speaking minority. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain boasts, “I believe it is peace in our time.” 1939 Graf Spee sinks the British steamship Clement off Pernambuco, Brazil. Polish government-in-exile
World War II Today: September 30 Read More »
1938 Hitler and Mussolini sign a treaty creating the Rome-Berlin Axis. Mussolini agrees to let Hitler do what he pleases in Europe, while Hitler agrees to assist Italy if war breaks out. 1939 Poland formally surrenders, relieving the 35,000 besieged Polish troops who are defending the fortress of Modlin of their obligations thereby enabling them
World War II Today: September 29 Read More »
1937 In a speech given during a visit to Berlin, Mussolini assures the world;”There are no secret intentions in my visit. Nothing is being plotted”. 1939 The last Polish resistance, the fortress of Modlin, falls after 18-day siege. German and Soviet troops meet at Brest-Litovsk and together stage a military review. An agreement is signed
World War II Today: September 28 Read More »
1939 The German pocket Battleships, Graf Spee and Deutschland, which had sailed from Germany in August, are given orders to attack allied shipping in the Atlantic. Sir John Simon’s first war budget, income tax up to 7s 6d in the £. Polish government-in-exile set up in Paris. Warsaw, besieged for more than two weeks, surrenders
World War II Today: September 27 Read More »
1938 Chancellor Adolf Hitler announces in a speech; “The Sudetenland is the last territorial claim I have to make in Europe.” 1939 Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa – AK) is formed in Warsaw. The British first use naval air warning radar, in Luftwaffe attack on carrier HMS Ark Royal. 1940 During the London Blitz, the underground
World War II Today: September 26 Read More »
1938 President Franklin Roosevelt urges negotiations between Hitler and Czech President Benes over the Sudetenland. 1939 Heavy artillery duels flare on Western Front. Churchill claims the U-boat menace has been overcome, but U-48 sinks the steamer Royal Sceptre and casts its crew adrift 300 miles from land. The Luftwaffe bomb Warsaw with 420 planes. Casualties
World War II Today: September 25 Read More »
