sign in sign up
<<
Home , Phoney War

1933-1938 Pre - World War Two period

1933 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 ’s policy of non- intervention (). 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 (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, , Belgium, Holland and France.

May Churchill becomes Prime Minister On the defeat and resignation of Chamberlain, Churchill heads an all-party 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 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 September 1940 - May 1941

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 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 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 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. Over the course of 18 months, the British and Indian Fourteenth Army, under the command of General William Slim, had been building up logistical bases at Dimapur and Imphal for an eventual offensive into Burma. In early 1944 the Japanese Army received orders to put a stop to British preparations in Assam. The fi ghting in and around Kohima in the spring of 1944 was part of a larger Japanese offensive attempting to destroy the British and Indian forces at Imphal, Naga Hills and Kohima.

The battle for Kohima can be divided into two phases: the siege, which lasted for 13 days; and the clearance of the Japanese from the area, followed by the opening of the Kohima-Imphal road from mid-April until 22 June. This second stage occurred over the course of two months and caused more casualties for both armies.

The battle was ultimately to prove to be a turning point in the Burma Campaign. Earl Mountbatten described it as “probably one of the greatest battles in history....in effect the Battle of Burma....naked unparalleled heroism.”

6 June - D-Day The Allies invade France, in the D-Day landings. British, US and Canadian troops land in Normandy and break through German defences. Once the Allied troops have landed successfully, the German generals admit the war is lost. Over 156,000 men took part in D-Day with 10,000 casualties on the fi rst day.

June 1944 First fl ying bomb lands in First V1 bombs land in UK killing more than 6,000 people in 80 days.

August 1944 The Allied troops advance on Paris following the D-Day landings. The citizens of Paris rise against occupying German Forces.

September 1944 The Battle of Arnhem The plan was for the airborne assault to THE BATTLE capture fi ve bridges in the Netherlands, securing the roads that the Allies needed OF ARNHEM to convey their armoured divisions and SEPTEMBER 1944 supply vehicles.

The D-Day landings in June 1944 had decisively changed the war. After early successes, fi ghting had become stalled in Normandy but eventually by August progress was being made and the Allies were pushing further into . However, the initial slowness had allowed the German forces to re-group and they were now determined not to collapse or retreat. In order for the Allies to keep pushing forward they needed to get across the River . Here the Germans had concentrated much of their defences. The British General, Bernard Montgomery, came up with an ambitious plan. He was one of the decisive planners for the D-Day invasion and its use of airborne attack (infantry soldiers parachuted in behind enemy lines). He believed another airborne landing this time in the eastern part of the Netherlands at Arnhem would defeat the German forces and provide the break that was needed to bring an end to the war. The attack was code-named .

It was believed that a large airborne force in that area could serve a number of purposes: It could fi nish German resistance in Holland but more importantly, it could attack and outfl ank the defences put up by the Germans along the , leaving the Allies to attack German defences behind the River Rhine and assist an Allied crossing of that river. Other Allied Forces would continue to advance in the south towards Germany. The airborne attack would be in the north of Europe, allowing both Allied forces to squeeze the Germans, leaving them no escape.

The plan was for the airborne assault to capture fi ve bridges in the Netherlands, securing the roads that the Allies needed to convey their armoured divisions and supply vehicles. Two of these bridges were over canals (the Wilhelma and Zuid Willems Vaart canals) while the other three bridges were over rivers. These rivers were the Maas where the bridge crossed at Grave; the Waal where the bridge crossed at Nijmegen and the Neder Rijn at Arnhem. At Arnhem, the capture of the bridge was vital as the Neder Rijn River was over 100 metres wide at that point.

The plan was not supported by everyone. Many thought Montgomery was being overly-ambitious, but equally most felt there needed to be a breakthrough. The Germans had started to launch V2 rockets at Britain - a more accurate version on the V1 (unmanned rockets fi red from mainland Europe). Originally the attack was planned for September 11 1944.

The Allied Airborne Army was made up of British and American divisions. Linked to it was the Polish Independent Parachute Brigade. The First Airborne had not taken part in D-Day. It had been kept in reserve and had remained inactive after June 1944. The attack was planned for the 17 September, giving commanders relatively little time to plan. Intelligence reports stated that the bridges were heavily defended.

If the German resistance was stronger than anticipated, there was a chance that the fi rst landing would not even get to Arnhem Bridge and take out the fl ak. British Intelligence reports indicated that the German presence in Arnhem was minimal. It was believed that the Germans only had six infantry divisions in the area with 25 guns and only 20 tanks. German troops, in an Intelligence report of September 11, were said to be “disorderly and dispirited”. A similar report was made on September 17. However, the reported that SS units had arrived in the area yet crucially, the First Airborne division was not told this until after the invasion had begun.

The attack of Operation Market Garden began on Sunday morning, 17 September, 1944. fi ghter bases had been attacked, as had German barracks based near the drop zones. 1,000 British and American fi ghter planes gave cover as the gliders crossed the North Sea and headed over mainland Europe. Very few of the 1,545 aircraft and 478 gliders were lost.

The 82nd Division landed without major problems around Grave and Nijmegan. The 101st Division was equally successful and by nightfall, the Americans and British Armoured Corps had met up in Eindhoven.

However, by the 18 September, fog set in and the glider and tug fl ights that needed to cross were unable to do so. The attacks were directly affected by this as the Allies now had a limited number of men.

At Arnhem, the British met much stronger opposition than anticipated - 2 German SS Panzer Divisions were there. Both groups, comprised of a total of 8,500 men, were ordered to stop the Allied attack. The British faced a number of serious problems in their landing zone. Nearly all the vehicles used by the Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron were lost, when the gliders carrying them failed to land. Therefore the advance into Arnhem was delayed and had to be made on foot. The lack of vehicles meant many problems in forging an attack and in carrying equipment. It also appeared that the maps the commanders had been given were inaccurate.

When the British got to the bridge at Arnhem, there were only about 500 men. They secured the northern end of the bridge and the buildings around it but they remained open to a German attack across the bridge. Around Arnhem, British troops were attacked by the SS units and experienced heavy casualties. At the same time, the Germans were being reinforced with Tiger tanks.

The British were short of ammunition, basic food and water supplies but they continued fi ghting. The SS fought well and stopped the rest of the Allied troops from reaching Arnhem. In the end, they were only 10 miles away. Those British troops who remained in the Arnhem area were caught in a situation that the SS called ‘The Cauldron’. It was decided that those British Service men that could withdraw, would. Those who were injured were to remain behind and become POW’s as there was no way to get them out without supplies. Over 1,500 British soldiers were killed in the battle and nearly 6,000 were taken prisoner with only 2,500 managing to get back in the retreat. 3,400 German troops were killed or wounded. Operation Market Garden was over by the 25 September.

The whole operation was seen as a disaster and Montgomery was held responsible. The plan failed because of misleading intelligence, the decision to spread the airborne landings over three days and because the Germans fought tactically and very well. The whole battle is generally looked on with regret - it was another four months before the Allies crossed the Rhine.

1945 Allied victory

January Russians discover the camp complex of Auschwitz Russians liberate Auschwitz and uncover the horrors of the German concentration camps. Over 6 million Jews died in and the killing site of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

March Germany is invaded British, USSR and US Forces invade Germany. In April, Hitler commits suicide.

May 7th - Germany surrenders to Britain, France USSR and US 8th - VE Day street parties and fi reworks as Britain celebrates the end of war in Europe.

August 1945 6th - Hiroshima - USA drops fi rst atomic bomb on Japan at Hiroshima killing 150,000 people. Three days later a second bomb is dropped at Nagasaki.

The Allied victory over Japan was known as VJ Day. It took place on 15 August 1945.

VJ Day 15 August 1945 marked victory over Japan Day or VJ Day, taking a name similar to VE Day. The day marks the end of the Sino-Japanese War, the Pacifi c War with the US, and other military confl icts in Asia.

At noon, Emperor Hirohito’s announcement of Japan’s acceptance of the terms of the was broadcast to the Japanese people via radio. Earlier the same day, the Japanese Government advised the Allies of the surrender by sending a cable to US President Harry S Truman via the Swiss diplomatic mission in Washington.

Since Japan was the last Axis Power to surrender and VJ Day followed VE Day by three months, VJ Day marked the end of World War Two.

The formal Japanese signing of the surrender terms took place on board the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.

VJ Day is now sometimes referred to as VP Day (Victory in the Pacifi c Day) to bring it in line with VE Day where the major enemy power, Germany, was not singled out in the way VJ Day did to Japan. However, since no other power was an Axis belligerent in the Pacifi c, such alteration of nomenclature seems unnecessary to many. In the United States VJ Day is commemorated on August 14 since the news of the surrender broke on that date in the US time zones.

One of the most famous photographs ever published by Life magazine was shot in Times Square on VJ Day. Alfred Eisenstaedt was in the square when he spotted a sailor “running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight,” he later explained. “Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn’t make any difference. I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder...Then suddenly, in a fl ash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse.” Eisenstadt was very gratifi ed and pleased with this enduring image, saying, “People tell me that when I am in heaven they will remember this picture. All there is to say is wow.” 1946 After the war

Nuremberg Trials 21 Nazi leaders are put before an international tribunal at the .

Human casualties (killed/missing)

USSR 25 million China 20 million Germany 6.5 million Poland 6 million Japan 2.5 million Yugoslavia 1.5 million Italy 0.5 million France 0.41 million Britain 0.36 million USA 0.34 million Holland 0.25 million Australia 0.034 million