Germany timeline
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Red Army Joins Siege of Lvov
On September 17, 1939, the Soviet Union declared all pacts with Poland null and void as the Polish state had in their opinion ceased to exist, and... Read more
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Soviet Union Violates Polish-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact with Invasion of Polish Territory by Red Army
The Red Army entered the eastern regions of Poland with seven field armies, containing between 450,000 and 1,000,000 troops, split between two... Read more
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Polish Forces Attempt to Break Through German Positions around Tomaszów
Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 17 September to 26 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. It was the second largest battle... Read more
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First Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski
Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 17 September to 26 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. It was the second largest battle... Read more
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Soviet People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) is Ordered to Create Special Administration for Dealing with Polish Prisoners
As early as September 19, the People's Commissar for Internal Affairs and First Rank Commissar of State Security, Lavrentiy Beria, ordered the NKVD... Read more
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Second Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski
Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 17 September to 26 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. It was the second largest battle... Read more
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Von Manstein Formulates the Manstein Plan to Invade France After Rejection of Halder Plan
Von Manstein, chief of staff of Army Group A, had originally formulated his plan in October 1939 in Koblenz on instigation of his superior General... Read more
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First Jewish ghetto established at Lublin
The Lublin district became a Judenreservat (Jewish reservoir): All Jews from the Generalgouvernement, the occupied Polish districts and the German... Read more
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Battle of Kock (1939)
On 30 September, the commander of 10th Army, Walther von Reichenau, ordered his staff to plan the destruction of a large Polish force which was... Read more
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Germany Directly Annexes Western Poland and the Former Free City of Danzig
On 8 October, Germany directly annexed western Poland and the former Free City of Danzig and placed the remaining block of territory under... Read more
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Britain Refuses Hitler's Offer of Peace
On 10 October 1939, the British refused Hitler's offer of peace; on 12 October the French did the same. Franz Halder, the chief of staff of the... Read more
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German U-47 sinks British battleship HMS Royal Oak
HMS Royal Oak (pennant number 08) was a Revenge-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, torpedoed at anchor by the German submarine U-47 on 14... Read more
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The Mechelen Incident
The Mechelen Incident of 10 January 1940, also known as the Mechelen affair, was an event during the Phoney War. A German aircraft with an officer... Read more
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Adolf Hitler Approves the Manstein Plan
Adolf Hitler gave his approval to the Manstein Plan on 17th February, 1940, but it was not activated until the 10th May, when the Luftwaffe bombed... Read more
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Soviet Politburo Members Sign Order to Execute 25,700 Polish Prisoners
On 5 March, 1940, pursuant to a note to Stalin from Beria, the members of the Soviet Politburo — Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov, Kliment Voroshilov and... Read more
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Soviets Begin Month-long Murder of Polish Prisoners, Known as the Katyn Massacre
After 3 April, 1940, at least 22,436 POWs and prisoners were executed: 15,131 POWs (most or all of them from the three camps) and at least 7,305... Read more
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The Norwegian Campaign - first Allied confrontation with Nazi forces
The Norwegian Campaign was the name used by the Allies – United Kingdom and France – for their first direct land confrontation with the military... Read more
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German Forces Occupy Luxembourg
Germany initiated Fall Gelb on the evening prior to and the night of 10 May. During the late evening of 9 May, German forces occupied Luxembourg.... Read more
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Allied Forces Initiate Dyle Plan
At roughly 04:00 the first air raids were conducted against airfields and communication centres. The Allied armies had enacted their Dyle plan on... Read more
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Battle of Maastricht
The Battle of Maastricht was one of the first battles that took place during the German Campaign on the Western Front. Maastricht was a key city in... Read more
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Battle of Fort Eben-Emael Begins
he Battle of Fort Eben-Emael was a battle between Belgian and German forces that took place between 10 May and 11 May, 1940, and was part of the... Read more
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Battle for The Hague
Although the German troops managed to capture the three airfields, they failed in their primary objective of taking the city of Hague and forcing... Read more
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Nazi German Forces Begin Operation Fall Gelb with Attack on the Netherlands
On the morning of 10 May 1940 the Dutch awoke to the sound of aircraft engines roaring in the sky. Nazi Germany had commenced operation Fall Gelb... Read more
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General Winkelman Orders Destruction of Dutch Bridges and Oil Reserves to Prevent German Advance
In the afternoon General Winkelman received information about armoured forces advancing in the Langstraat region, on the road between... Read more
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British Royal Air Force French Armée de l'Air Attack German-Held Maastricht
On the morning of 12 May, in response to Belgian pressure and necessity, the Royal Air Force and the Armée de l'Air undertook several air attacks... Read more