World War 2 timeline
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Operation Sealion is Cancelled a Second Time, Never to be Resumed
Although difficult on the civilian population, the Blitz gave the RAF a much-needed break. Air bases and factories could be repaired and plane... Read more
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Warsaw Ghetto established
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of the Jewish ghettos located in the territory of General Government in occupied Poland during World War... Read more
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Italian Forces Invade Greece
On 28 October 1940, after Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas rejected an Italian ultimatum demanding the occupation of Greek territory, Italian forces... Read more
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Luftwaffe Begins Heavy Bombing of British Cities
From November 1940 to February 1941, the Luftwaffe attacked industrial and port cities. Targets included Coventry, Southampton, Birmingham,... Read more
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English City of Coventry Sustains Devastating Bombing from German Luftwaffe
The raid that began on the evening of 14 November 1940 was the most severe to hit Coventry during the war. It was carried out by 515 German... Read more
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Greek Forces Launch Counter-offensive on Italians
Greek reserves started reaching the front in early November, while Bulgarian inactivity allowed the Greek High Command to transfer the majority of... Read more
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German Luftwaffe Commences Main Air Raid on English City of Southampton
Southampton Blitz The Second World War hit Southampton particularly hard. Pockets of Georgian architecture remain, but much of the city was leveled... Read more
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Luftwaffe Commences Heavy Bombing of Bristol
Hitler's propaganda claimed that Bristol had been completely destroyed in a night raid on November 2, 1940 in which 5,000 incendiary and 10,000... Read more
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Japanese Forces Capture Nanning
The occupation of Nanning cut a Chinese line of supply along the highways from French Indo-China into Kwansi Province. The railway from Indo-China... Read more
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Central Hupei Operation
The Central Hupei Operation was one of the engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second... Read more
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Hundred Regiments Offensive Ends in Victory for Chinese
The Japanese North China Area Army estimated the strength of communist regulars to be about 88,000 in December 1939. Two years later, they revised... Read more
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Sheffield Blitz
The Sheffield Blitz is the name given to the worst nights of German Luftwaffe bombing in Sheffield, England during the Second World War. It took... Read more
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The Christmas Blitz of Liverpool
The first major air raids began towards the end of 1940 against Liverpool and Wirral, with over 300 casualties sustained to air raids by the end of... Read more
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Heaviest Bombing of the Manchester Blitz, known as the 'Christmas Blitz'
The Manchester Blitz (also known as 'the Christmas Blitz') was the heavy bombing of the city of Manchester and its surrounding areas in England... Read more
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Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Draws Political Cartoons for PM Magazine
These cartoons rail against isolationism, racism, and ant-Semitism with a conviction and fervor lacking in most other American editorial pages of... Read more
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Llandaff Cathedral is Badly Damaged by a German Bomb During the Cardiff Blitz
On the evening of 2 January 1941 during World War II the cathedral was severely damaged when a landmine was dropped near it during the Cardiff... Read more
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Swansea Blitz
The Swansea Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of Swansea by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany on 19 February-21 February 1941. Swansea was... Read more
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Clydebank Blitz
On 13th March, 1941, 236 Luftwaffe bombers attacked targets in the Clydebank area. These included the shipyards, Dalnottar tank farm and large... Read more
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The English City of Plymouth Sustains Heavy Bombing from German Luftwaffe in the 'March Raids'
At just after 8.30pm the alert was sounded and at 8.39 the attack started. First came a group of Heinkel III bombers flying at between 9,900 and... Read more
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Battle of Cape Matapan
The Battle of Cape Matapan (Greek: Ναυμαχία του Ταίναρου) was a World War II naval battle fought from March 27 to March 29, 1941. The cape is on... Read more
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Axis Powers Begin Invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with the Bombing of Belgrade
At the end of March 1941 the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was forced to join the Axis, which ignited a popular revolution in the country; this led to a... Read more
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Battle of Fort Roupel
Like the Maginot Line on the Franco-German border, the Metaxas Line was outflanked by German forces specifically when the Germans invaded Greece in... Read more
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Yugoslav Army Begins Albanian Offensive
In accordance with the Royal Yugoslav Army’s war plan, R-41, a strategy was formulated that, in the face of a massive Axis attack, a retreat on all... Read more
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German Forces Seize Thessaloniki
On the dawn of April 6, the German armies invaded Greece, while the Luftwaffe began an intensive bombardment of Belgrade. The XL Panzer Corps—which... Read more
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Japanese Forces Retreat from Shanggao
On high at about 120 km southwest of Nanchang, the Jinjiang River north, briefly Hunan and Jiangxi Road (Nanchang to Changsha) hub of the east... Read more