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WW2 Overview.Indd 1933-1938 Pre - World War Two period 1933 Adolf Hitler comes to power 1936 Hitler reoccupies the Rhineland Breaking the Treaty of Versailles Hitler occupies the Rhineland - a demiliterised zone between Germany and Belgium. 1938 Hitler occupies Austria 1938 Munich Agreement Germany, France, Britain and Italy agree to Hitler’s request to partition Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain returns triumphant to UK - peace in our time. 1939 How the war began March Hitler breaks Munich Agreement and occupies Czechoslovakia May UK starts conscription Men aged 20 are called to join the British Army Germany signs Pact of Steel with Italy. Fellow Fascists Mussolini and Hitler form an alliance August Nazi-Soviet Pact Stalin forms alliance with Hitler. The two countries agree not to attack each other and to divide Poland between them. September 1st Germany advances Hitler invades Poland expecting a continuation of Europe’s policy of non- intervention (appeasement). 3rd Allies declare war Britain declares war on Germany alongside France, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Poland defeated by Germany three weeks later after heavy period of Blitzkrieg (lightning war). The phoney war - following Britain’s declaration of war, little happens for 6 months. 1940 War escalates January Rationing introduced in Britain Mainly food - bacon, eggs, milk, tea, fl our - later petrol, clothing and furniture. April-June Germany advances Hitler invades Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland and France. May Churchill becomes Prime Minister On the defeat and resignation of Chamberlain, Churchill heads an all-party coalition Government for the purpose of waging war. June Dunkirk - after the rapid advance of the German Army, and under the threat of invasion, British and French Forces are forced to retreat. Fighting takes place during the retreat, especially near Cassel, Calais, Bray Dunes and the retreating troops are cornered on the beaches around Dunkirk. Every British citizen with a boat is called upon to assist in the rescue of the stranded troops. The British Royal Navy lead hundreds of small private vessels across the channel. These small boats then either ferried the troops from the shore to the Royal Naval vessels or in some cases took the troops back with them to Britain. From the 27 May to the 4 June, 338,226 men escaped, including 139,997 French, Polish and Belgian troops, together with a small number of Dutch soldiers. Much of their equipment was left behind as the priority was on saving lives. Despite the retreat, the rescue is used as a moral boost for the British population who now realise that only the sea lies between themselves and Nazi-controlled Europe. June Italy dictator Mussolini declares war on Britain and France Summer Battle of Britain September 1940 - May 1941 The Blitz For eight months Hitler tries to bomb Britain into submission with heavy raids carried out by night. For 57 consecutive nights London is targeted and during the Blitz over 18,000 British citizens die. London is not the only city in the UK targeted. Many others of strategic value, such as Portsmouth, Swansea, Liverpool and other port towns are bombed. Large industrial cities are also targeted but so are important landmarks. The German tactic is a mixture of strategic targets but also targets identifi ed to break the will of the British people. The City of Coventry experienced some of the worst air raid attacks by the Nazis of any single British city. The attacks started in October 1940 with many small but intense raids, leaving 176 dead. On the 14 November 1940 the worst attack came. The bombing began around 7.30pm and it didn’t stop until after 5am the following morning. Five hundred German bombers dropped 30,000 incendiaries, 500 tons of high explosive, 50 landmines and 20 oil-mines, non-stop for eleven long hours. The Cathedral was hit along with most of the centre of the city. 4,330 homes were destroyed and three-quarters of the city’s factories damaged. Amongst the rubble lay human remains, some of whom were never identifi ed; 554 men, women and children lay dead and 865 injured. The city’s tram system was destroyed, with tram lines ripped from the ground or arched into the air. Out of a fl eet of 181 buses, only 73 remained. Practically all gas and water pipes were smashed and people were advised to boil emergency supplies of water. Further raids occurred into 1941 although nothing quite matched the scale of the November raid. Britain continued to experience bombing raids throughout the war years. 1941 Invasion of Pearl Harbour April Single women are conscripted Single women aged between 19-30 are called to register for war work and become secretaries, drivers, cooks and mechanics. April Germany advances German Forces invade Yugoslavia and enter Greece. Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria all agree to work alongside Germany. June Operation Barbarossa Hitler fails to defeat the British and invades his former ally, Russia - Leningrad is under siege for 900 days. June 8th - Invasion of Palestine Allied forces invade Palestine. After heavy fi ghting Damascus is taken on the 21 June December Invasion of Pearl Harbour brings USA into war and War in the Far East begins Japan bombs US Pacifi c Fleet at Pearl Harbour killing over 2,300 Service men. USA and Britain declare war on Japan. Hong Kong falls to Japan, as do Singapore, Burma and the Philippines and much of South East Asia. December Invasion of Pearl Harbour brings USA into war and War in the Far East begins Japan bombs US Pacifi c Fleet at Pearl Harbour killing over 2,300 Service men. USA and Britain declare war on Japan. Hong Kong falls to Japan, as do Singapore, Burma and the Philippines and much of South East Asia. The Japanese captured Hong Kong on Christmas Day and moved into the Malaysian Peninsula, the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. Malaya was overrun and Singapore fell on 15 February 1942. The Japanese Army advanced into Burma, involving the defending British and Indian troops in a long and demoralising fi ghting retreat through thick jungle terrain. Rangoon fell on 8 March 1942 and by mid-June the Japanese advance had reached the hills on the North East frontier of India. In December 1942, British and Indian troops mounted their fi rst offensive in the malaria-ridden coastal Arakan region. It was unsuccessful, although much was learned. During 1943, Chindit columns under Brigadier Orde Wingate, supported by the RAF, penetrated deep behind the Japanese lines in central Burma. In March 1943, a further determined attempt to invade India was repulsed after fi erce fi ghting. In August 1943 the South East Asia Command was formed under Lord Louis Mountbatten and in October that year General William Slim was appointed as Commander of the Fourteenth Army. In March 1944, the Japanese launched an offensive across the Chindwin River, cutting the Imphal-Kohima Road. There followed the ferocious battles of the ‘Admin Box’, Kohima (with its famous tennis court) and Imphal, at the end of which the defeated Japanese withdrew. Further Chindit columns operated deep behind enemy lines during 1944 and at the beginning of 1945 the Fourteenth Army launched a successful offensive down the Arakan Coast, followed by a major advance deep into central Burma. Mandalay was retaken on 20 March after a twelve day battle, and they continued on to Rangoon which was reoccupied in an amphibious operation on 3 May. The Fourteenth Army, known to many as ‘The Forgotten Army’, numbered over one million men under arms, the largest Commonwealth Army ever assembled. Air lines of communication were crucial: some 615,000 tons of supplies and 315,000 reinforcements were airlifted to and from the front line, frequently by parachuted air drops, and 210,000 casualties were evacuated. The RAF and the Indian Air Force, supported by carrier-borne Fleet Air Arm aircraft, provided constant offensive bombing sorties, together with fi ghter cover and essential photo-reconnaissance in support of the Army. Towards the end of the War, RAF Liberator aircraft carried out some of the longest operations ever fl own to drop mines into the Pacifi c. At sea, the Royal Navy and the Royal Indian Navy provided the landing craft, the minesweeping operations and the combined operations necessary for the coastal offensive in the Arakan, as well as providing gunfi re support from seaward. The Royal Marine Commando, as well as Royal Marines from the units of the Fleet, took part in the Arakan operations. The Japanese surrendered on 15 August 1945, now known as VJ Day. 1942 The Allies fi ght back 1942-1945 Allied bombing raids RAF and US Air Forces organise frequent bombing raids on German cities. May US Units arrive in UK June Battle of Midway Japanese Forces are defeated by US aircraft carriers and Japan loses its hold on the Pacifi c. October-November El Alamein First turning point of the War - General Montgomery beats Rommel’s troops who are advancing on Egypt at El Alamein and later drives Germany out of North Africa. 1943 Germany loses its hold February Second turning point German Forces in Stalingrad surrender to USSR. The German Army are not prepared for the Russian winter and there are massive German casualties. This defeat is an enormous blow to German morale. July Battle of Kursk The USSR defeats Germany in a crucial tank battle. September Allies land in Sicily Allies invade mainland Italy after Mussolini is deposed following the fall of Sicily. November Tehran conference Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill meet at the Tehran conference and agree to open a third front against the Germans. 1944 Allies advance 12 January - 5 June - The Battle for Monte Cassino, Central Italy April-June 1944 - Battle of Kohima Kohima, a hill town in North East India in Assam and 5000 feet above sea level, was the location for one of the most bitterly-fought battles of World War Two.
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