ClareTimeline in WW2 for - ClareThe Emergency in WW2 - Timeline D Day 1944 - The 2nd US Rangers By Ger Browne The aim of this project is to find out how many men and women from Clare took part in WW2, and the effect of the war on Clare. It is hoped that an extension will be added to the Great War Memorial in Ennis that will include the names of the Clare War Dead from WW2 / The Emergency. At the moment we know that 86 died from Clare as well as in Clare. I would like to thank Keir McNamara, and his late father Peadar McNamara for all their research on WW1 and WW2. Eric Shaw, who has been providing me with amazing WW1 and WW2 information for years, and all the following who have helped make this project possible. Paddy Waldron, The Local Studies Centre, Peter Beirne, Brian Doyle, Guss O’Halloran, Sean Glennon, Jim Molohan, Joe Ó Muircheartaigh, Eddie Lough, Local Parish Booklets, The Clare Champion and The Clare People. I have also named the sources, with many of the names below. I thank them all. The following websites: findagrave website, ancestry.com, fold3.com, http://www.ww2irishaviation.com, and the Commonwealth War Grave Commission. Finally thanks to the Clare Library for publishing all the information, and Larry and James Brennan along with the Clare Roots Society, for all their help. 1 Timeline for WW2 Date Summary Detailed Information Hitler invades 1 Sept 1939 Adolf Hitler invaded Poland. Poland Britain and Britain and France declared war on Germany. Neville Chamberlain 3 Sept 1939 France declare broadcast the announcement that the country was at war. war Hitler invades Hitler invaded and occupied Denmark and Norway to safeguard April/May Denmark and supply routes of Swedish ore and also to establish a Norwegian base 1940 Norway from which to break the British naval blockade on Germany. Hitler launched his blitzkrieg (lightning war) against Holland and 10 May Blitzkrieg Belgium. Rotterdam was bombed almost to extinction. Both 1940 countries were occupied. Neville Chamberlain resigned after pressure from Labour members 13 May Chamberlain for a more active prosecution of the war and Winston Churchill 1940 resigns became the new head of the wartime coalition government. The British commander-in-chief, General Gort, had been forced to retreat to the coast at Dunkirk. The troops waited, under merciless Dunkirk fire, to be taken off the beaches. A call went out to all owners of sea- 26 May (Operation worthy vessels to travel to Dunkirk to take the troops off the 1940 Dynamo) beaches of Dunkirk. More than 338,000 men were rescued, among them some 140,000 French who would form the nucleus of the Free French army under a little known general, Charles de Gaulle. The Battle of Britain comprised four phases: 1. During July Hitler sent his Luftwaffe bombers to attack British ports. His aim was also to assess the speed and quality of response by the RAF. 2. During August the attacks on shipping continued but bombing 10 July – 31 raids were concentrated on RAF airfields. October Battle of Britain 3. The Blitz – From September 7th the city of London was heavily 1940 bombed. Hitler hoped to destroy the morale of the British people. 4. Night Bombing – With the failure of daylight bombing raids Hitler began a series of nightly bombing raids on London and other important industrial cities. The RAF defended the skies and by October 31 the raids had ceased. 2 Italy and German and Italian troops attacked Yugoslavia, Greece and the Early 1941 Germany attack island of Crete. German field Marshall Erwin Rommel led the axis Yugoslavia powers back to North Africa. Hitler sent 3 million soldiers and 3,500 tanks into Russia. The Russians were taken by surprise as they had signed a treaty with Hitler attacks Germany in 1939. Stalin immediately signed a mutual assistance 22 June Russia – treaty with Britain and launched an Eastern front battle that would 1941 Operation claim 20 million casualties. The USA, which had been supplying arms Barbarossa to Britain under a ‘Lend-Lease’ agreement, offered similar aid to USSR. The Japanese, who were already waging war against the Chinese, attacked the US pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, as a 7 Dec 1941 Pearl Harbor preliminary to taking British, French and Dutch colonies in South East Asia. Japanese take The Japanese captured Singapore from the British, taking some Feb 1942 Singapore 60,000 prisoners. The USA defeated the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway. June 1942 Battle of Midway Following this victory, the US navy was able to push the Japanese back. General Alexander’s main directive was to be the destruction of the German-Italian army commanded by Field-Marshall Rommell Allies in N. Africa together with all its supplies and establishments in Egypt and Libya. Aug 1942 Guadacanal As soon as sufficient material had been built up, Alexander handed the campaign over to General Montgomery. First US land offensive against Japan at Guadalcanal Montgomery attacked the German-Italian army in North Africa with Battle of El a massive bombardment followed by an armoured attack. He then 23 Oct 1942 Alamein proceeded to chase the routed enemy some 1500 miles across the desert. Battle of The Russians won their first victory against Germany at the Battle of Nov 1942 Stalingrad Stalingrad. May 12 Axis surrender N The British and American forces managed to defeat the Axis forces 1943 Africa in North Africa Oct 1943 The Pacific US Forces attack Wake Island 3 Mussolini had been thrown out of office and the new government of Italy surrendered to the British and the USA. They then agreed to join the allies. The Germans took control of the Italian army, freed 3 Sept 1943 Italy surrenders Mussolini from imprisonment and set him up as head of a puppet government in Northern Italy. This blocked any further allied advance through Italy. Although Italy had surrendered in September, it was only now that June 1944 Rome liberated the allies were able to liberate Rome from the Germans. The allies launched an attack on Germany’s forces in Normandy, Western France. Thousands of transports carried an invasion army under the supreme command of general Eisenhower to the 6 June 1944 D-Day Normandy beaches. The Germans who had been fed false information about a landing near Calais, rushed troops to the area but were unable to prevent the allies from forming a solid bridgehead. For the allies it was essential to first capture a port. Japanese evicted July 1944 Japanese evicted from Burma. US troops land in Guam. from Burma 25 Aug 1944 Paris liberated The French capital of Paris was liberated from the Germans. Battle of the Germany launched its final defensive through the Ardennes region Dec 1944 Bulge of Belgium. However, they were beaten back by the allies. Feb 1945 The Pacific US troops land on Iwo Jima, Japan. Russians reach April 1945 The Russians reached Berlin shortly before the US forces. Berlin The German leader, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bombproof 30 April Hitler commits shelter together with his mistress, Eva Braun, who he had, at the last 1945 suicide minute, made his wife. Atomic bomb The Japanese generals refused to surrender. The US dropped an 6 Aug 1945 dropped on atomic bomb on the island of Hiroshima. Hiroshima Atomic bomb The US dropped an atomic bomb on the island of Nagasaki as the 9 Aug 1945 dropped on Japanese had not surrendered following Hiroshima. Nagasaki Japanese The Japanese unconditionally surrendered to the allies ending the 14 Aug 1945 surrender second world war. 4 1940 Sergeant Stephen Ryan, Mullagh, Irish Army. Murdered by James Fennell at Collins Barracks, Cork, 13th Feb 1940 age 37. Fennell was sentenced to death. 1940 24th February (Clare Champion): Drama of the sea. Shipwrecked sailors in Clare. On Wed Feb 14 1940 at 8 am German time the British merchant navy vessel S.S. Langleeford with a crew of 34 was torpedoed without warning by the German U-Boat U-26.The Langleeford broke in two and sank in 13 minutes, just off the south west coast of Ireland 70 miles northwest of the Fastnet Rock. After a terrible struggle, for almost three days, fighting against wind and tides, rain and hail fifteen men were landed in Fodra Bay near Loop Head on Friday evening. They had been battling for life since 9 o'clock on the previous Wednesday morning when their vessel was sunk by a German submarine and its cargo of 8,000 tons on wheat sent to the bottom. Famished and half frozen they were in a terrible plight when they arrived at Mr. Stephen Haier's in Kilbaha but the hospitality they received there: blazing fires, hot drinks, tea and other refreshments-quickly recovered------ (The ship was not named in this report but was in a letter of thanks on behalf of the crew published in the Clare Champion on the 16th March 1940. She was the SS Langleeford (4,622t) steamer from Boston to the Tyne. She was torpedoed by U 26 about 70 miles from Fastnet on the 14th February 1940. Four of her crew died.) Kilrush, County Clare: Notes from c 1760 to 1960 by Senan Scanlan Private Patrick Slattery, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Irish Army, killed accidentally at Gormanstown Barracks. 19th Feb 1940. 5 Gunner Thomas (Tommy) Brady Cullinan was born at Brookville House, Ennis on the 15th May 1906. He joined the 90 Bty., 35 Lt. A.A. Regt Royal Artillery 1543457 during the Second World War as an anti-aircraft gunner, and died in service age 33 on the 11th April 1940.