Timeline: Europe on World War II 1939-1945

Sep 1, 1939

World War II Begins

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/bulge/ Employing blitzkrieg, Germany invades Poland. Polish military forces are unprepared for the ferocity of Germany's attack

Sep 1, 1939

Warsaw and Poland surrenders

http://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_war_timeline_1939.htm
-Warsaw, Poland, surrenders to German forces. Poland is partitioned by Germany and Russia.

Sep 2, 1939

Governments of Britain and France deliver ultimatums

http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/germany-ww2-events-timeline.asp
-The governments of Britain and France deliver their ultimatums to German officials in regards to the German invasion of Poland.

Sep 3, 1939

Britain and France declares war on Germany

http://sp.uconn.edu/~wwwcoh/TIMELINE.HTM
-Britain declares war on Germany at 11 am, France declares war on Germany six hours later.

Sep 3, 1939

Athenia is targeted and sunk

http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/germany-ww2-events-timeline.asp
-British passenger liner, Athenia, is targeted and sunk by a German U-boat resulting the loss of 112 people.

Sep 4, 1939

East Prussia and Reich and the RAFs

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/history/final/interactive_timeline.html
-German armies re-establish the land connection between East Prussia and the Reich that was severed by the 1919 Versailles Treaty. Also on this day: British RAF attacks on German vessels.

Sep 7, 1939

British Broadcasting on WWII

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/history/final/interactive_timeline.html
-The BBC commences daily radio broadcasts in Polish.

Sep 9, 1939

The British Expeditionary

Advance elements of the British expeditionary force arrive in France ;Chamberlain's cabinet plans for a three year war.

Sep 9, 1939

Hitler Calls for Another Invasion

Hitler issues an order for an invasion of France and the Low Countries.

Sep 17, 1939

Soviet forces invade Poland

The Soviets invade Poland from the east on the pretext of protecting Poland's ByeloRussian and Ukrainian population.

Sep 18, 1939

Wehrmacht and Red Army

The Wehrmacht and Red Army stage a joint parade in Brest-Litovsk, Poland.

Sep 19, 1939

British Casualty List

First Britain casualty list is published.

Sep 22, 1939

Germany and Russia on Poland

Germany and Russia agree on partition of Poland. 217,000 Polish troops surrender to Soviet Army at Lvov.

Sep 24, 1939

German Special Task Force

German Special Task Forces execute 800 Polish intellectuals.

Sep 25, 1939

The Luftwaffe

The Luftwaffe bomb Warsaw with 420 planes. Civilian deaths in Warsaw reach 40,000.

Oct 6, 1939

Hitler Declares Victory

Hitler declares victory over Poland, calls for peace with Britain and France.

Oct 9, 1939

Hitler Calls for Another Invasion

Hitler issues orders for an invasion for France and the Low Countries.

Oct 14, 1939

German U-boats attack another passenger liner

German U-boats sink HMS Royal Oak at anchor in Scapa flow, killing 883.

Oct 16, 1939

German Air Raid

First German has occurred on British isles.

Nov 14, 1939

Soviet Union Gets Expelled

The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for its aggression against Finland.

May 10, 1940

Germany Invades

Germany invades Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. Because of the failure of his appeasement policies, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns. Forming a coalition government, Winston Churchill replaces him. Standing alone, Churchill soon began conferring with U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt for the aid of the British cause.

Jun 11, 1940

Italy Declares War

Italy declares war against the Allies, Great Britain, France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India and South Africa declare war on Italy. General Hering, the military governor of Paris, declares the French capital an open city to prevent its destruction.

Jul 8, 1941