United Kingdom timeline
-
Winston Churchill Establishes The 'Ten-Year Rule'
With peace seemingly assured, in 1919 it was decided that for planning purposes the armed forces should abide by the ten-year rule and not plan on... Read more
-
Afghanistan Gains Independence from the United Kingdom
Afghan Independence Day is celebrated in Afghanistan on 19 August to commemorate the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919. The treaty granted independence... Read more
-
ZR-2 Disaster
Whilst over the Humber the [ZR-2] airship carried out some high speed turns. The stress on the fuselage was too much and the craft broke in two,... Read more
-
Winston Churchill Signs The Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty would replace the Third Home Rule Bill and the Ireland Act and would result in a much more independent South Ireland, or... Read more
-
Winston Churchill Is Appointed Chancellor Of the Exchequer
Winston Churchill is justly admired for his lonely advocacy of rearmament in the 1930s, but as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 1920s he was an... Read more
-
Winston Churchill Returns Britain To The Gold Standard
Despite his readmission to office in 1917, after a spell commanding an infantry battalion on the Western Front, he failed to re-establish the... Read more
-
Winston Churchill Publishes 'Marlborough: His Life and Times
Marlborough: His Life and Times was a panegyric biography written by Winston Churchill about John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Churchill was... Read more
-
Gresford Disaster
On Saturday, 22 September 1934, an explosion occurred at the Gresford colliery, near Wrexham. Rescue workers worked tirelessly to reach the men... Read more
-
President Roosevelt Appoints Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Ambassador to Britain
Late in 1937, Mr. Kennedy was appointed United States Ambassador to England and moved there with his whole family, with the exception of Joe and... Read more
-
John and Joe Kennedy Travel to England to Work for Their Father During His Tenure as Ambassador
In late June 1938, Kennedy sailed with his father and his brother Joe on the SS Normandie to spend July working with his father, recently appointed... Read more
-
Anglo French Supreme War Council, Where it was Decided to Halt Saar Offensive
On September 12, the Anglo French Supreme War Council gathered for the first time at Abbeville in France. It was decided that all offensive actions... Read more
-
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
-
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
-
Winston Churchill Is Appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
From as early as 1936 Winston Churchill was making noises in Parliament about the overwhelming rate of German rearmament. His campaign made him... Read more
-
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
-
British Begin Evacuating Allied Soldiers from Dunkirk Evacuation, (Operation Dynamo)
Due to war-time censorship and the desire to keep up the morale of the nation, the full extent of the unfolding "disaster" around Dunkirk was not... Read more
-
Battle of Dunkirk Begins
The story of the Battle of Dunkirk is one of heroic courage amidst untold tragedy. In the year 1940, at a time when World War II was in full rage,... Read more
-
Sinking of the RMS Lancastria
A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. She was bombed at 15:48 by Junkers 88 aircraft from II. Gruppe/Kampfgeschwader 30. Three direct hits caused the... Read more
-
First German Bombs Fall on the English City of Plymouth
The Plymouth Blitz was a series of bombing raids carried out by the Nazi German Luftwaffe on the English city of Plymouth in the Second World War.... Read more
-
Germany Begins Air Assaults on Convoys in the English Channel
The Kanalkampf comprised a series of running fights over convoys in the English Channel and occasional attacks on the convoys by Stuka dive... Read more
-
Hitler Issues Directive No. 16, Calling for a Plan to Invade Britain, Code Named 'Operation Sealion'
Concerning preparations for an amphibious operation against England. Since Britain still shows no sign of willingness to come to an agreement in... Read more
-
First German Bomb Falls on Swindon
With the declaration of war and the onset of World War II, Evacuees arrived in Swindon in 1939. Troops were stationed in churches and school... Read more
-
Germany Begins Heavy Bombing of Birmingham
Situated in the Midlands, Birmingham is an important industrial and manufacturing location and is also heavily populated, being the UK's second... Read more
-
Germany Begins Main Assault on English Coastal Airfields
The main attack upon the RAF's defences was code-named Adlerangriff ("Eagle Attack"). Weather, which proved an important feature of the... Read more
-
The 'Greatest Day' of the Battle of Britain
Adlertag opened with a series of attacks, led again by Epro 210, on coastal airfields used as forward landing grounds for the RAF fighters, as well... Read more