World War 2 In Review No. 36: An Illustrated Chronology

By Merriam Press

Merriam Press World War 2 In Review Series. Provides a detailed chronology of the war from September 1, 1939, and includes a selection of 474 B&W and color photographs covering the war from beginning to end. The photos are placed in chronological order showing how the war affected everyone, everywhere, every day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781387518531

Book preview

World War 2 In Review No. 36: An Illustrated Chronology

World War 2 In Review No. 36: An Illustrated Chronology

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Hoosick Falls, New York

2018

First eBook Edition

Copyright © 2018 by Ray Merriam

Additional material copyright of named contributors.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

The views expressed are solely those of the author.

ISBN 9781387518531

This work was designed, produced, and published in the United States of America by the Merriam Press, 489 South Street, Hoosick Falls NY 12090.

Notice

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Mission Statement

This series presents articles and pictorials on topics covering many aspects of World War 2. In addition to new articles and pictorials on topics not previously covered, future volumes may include additional material on the subjects covered in this volume. The volumes in this series will comprise a single source for innumerable articles and tens of thousands of images of interest to anyone interested in the history and study of World War 2. While no doubt some of these images and other materials could be found online, countless hours could be spent searching thousands of web sites to find at least some of this material.

The Images

These photos are seventy-plus years old, were taken under less than ideal conditions, and some were taken by individuals who were neither professional photographers nor using professional equipment. Thus the quality of the original image may be less than perfect. While Merriam Press tries to obtain the best quality images possible, the quality of the images in this publication will no doubt vary greatly.

This series of publications utilizes the editor’s collection of tens of thousands of photographs and other illustrative material acquired since 1968. Hundreds of sources over the years have been searched for material on every subject.

Photographs Needed

Merriam Press welcomes any contributions of photographs

of this or any subject for future volumes in this series.

How to Use This Publication

To get the best viewing experience, the use of the Adobe Digital program is highly recommended. This free program is available from Adobe.

This publication was designed to allow for larger images than most eReaders will accommodate. When the publication was created, the images were inserted in a fixed size (6.2 inches wide and up to 8 inches high), and cannot be resized in the program. The text, of course, can be enlarged and reduced as desired.

Viewing on a computer or other device with a large enough screen will allow viewing of the photos and other illustrations in their entirety. Viewing this publication on most eReaders will result in the images not being shown in their entirety.

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Welcome to No. 36 of the World War 2 In Review Series

The following articles are in this issue of World War 2 In Review:

(1) Foreword

(2) Chronology of World War II

with 474 B&W and color photographs, maps and illustrations.

Watch for future issues of this series with more articles on the history of World War II.

Foreword

World War II, alternately known as the Second World War, began with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 and ended on September 2, 1945 with the formal surrender of Japan. World War II involved countries from all over the world, known as the Axis powers, Germany, Japan, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Finland and Bulgaria, and the Allies, made up of Great Britain, France, the United States, Soviet Union, China, Poland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Yugoslavia, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Brazil, and the Philippines. Key events during the war include the battle of Britain, in which the British were able to prevent a German invasion of England, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and destruction of the U.S. Naval fleet in the Philippines, resulting in the U.S. declaration of war on Japan, and atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Various sources estimate between 40,000,000 to 75,000,000 fatalities occurred during World War II, making it the deadliest conflict in history.

No conflict in recorded history transformed the globe as thoroughly as World War II. Cities were obliterated; national borders were altered; revolutionary and, in some cases, fearsome military, medical, communication and transportation technology were invented; and tens of millions were killed — the majority of them civilians. Simply put, the world of August 1945, when the war ended, bore little resemblance to that of September 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

Seven decades have passed since the war ended, but confronting them today, we're still dumbstruck by the destruction; we still flinch at the scale of the suffering; and we marvel at the courage of the men and women whose unity of purpose kept the flame of hope alive in the darkest hours.

The War in Color

For years, the general public thought of World War II as a black and white war, in that the photography and newsreels and even movies were primarily in B&W. Part of the reason for this was that color photography was more costly. Publishing in color was also expensive, so most books and publications did not use color. However, there is actually a considerable amount of color imagery of World War II available in archives and even personal collections.

Early in the war the U.S. Army decided to use primarily B&W for its official photography. The U.S. Navy, however, used a considerable amount of color film, both for still photography and motion picture footage. Even though the USAAF was a part of the Army, the USAAF did use a fair amount of color.

Germany’s official military photographers used color extensively. Signal, the German propaganda magazine, issued biweekly in 25 languages, used color throughout its lavishly illustrated pages. The photographers of other nations also utilized color.

Much of the color photography lay unused in archives worldwide and only in the last few decades, as printing has become easier due to computerization, more and more color is being used by publishers.

Chronology of World War II

September 1939

1: The Republic of China and the Empire of Japan are involved in the early stages of the third year of armed conflict between them during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The war is in what will be known as the Second Period, which starts in October 1938 and ends in December 1941. This conflict will eventually be swept up into WWII when Japan joins the Axis and China the Allies.

1: The Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany begins at 4:45 a.m. with the Luftwaffe attacking several targets in Poland. The Luftwaffe launches air attacks against Kraków, Łódź, and Warsaw. Within five minutes of the Luftwaffe attacks, Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine orders the old Battleship Schleswig-Holstein to open fire on the Polish military transit depot at Westerplatte in the Free City of Danzig on the Baltic Sea, but the attack is repulsed. By 8:00 a.m., troops of the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer), still without a formal declaration of war issued, launch an attack near the Polish town of Mokra.

1: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Switzerland declare their neutrality.

1: The British government declares general mobilization of the British Armed Forces and begins evacuation plans in preparation of German air attacks.

2: The United Kingdom and France issue a joint ultimatum to Germany, requiring German troops to evacuate Polish territory; Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declares the neutrality of his nation; President Douglas Hyde of the Republic of Ireland declares the neutrality of his nation; the Swiss government orders a general mobilization of its forces.

2: The National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939 is enacted immediately and enforces full conscription on all males between 18 and 41 resident in the UK.

2: The Free City of Danzig is annexed by Germany. Resistors entrenched in the city’s Polish Post Office are overwhelmed

3: At 11:15 a.m. British Standard Time (BST), British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announces on BBC Radio that the deadline of the final British ultimatum for the withdrawal of German troops from Poland expired at 11:00am and that consequently this nation is at war with Germany. Australia, India, and New Zealand also declare war on Germany within hours of Britain’s declaration.

3: At 12:30pm BST the French Government delivers a similar final ultimatum; which expires at 3:00pm BST.

3: Within hours of the British declaration of War, SS Athenia, a British cruise ship en route from Glasgow, Scotland to Montreal, Canada is torpedoed by the German submarine U-30 250 miles Northwest of Ireland. 112 passengers and crew members are killed. The Battle of the Atlantic begins.

3: Bromberg massacre: many ethnic German civilians are killed in the Polish city of Bromberg.

4: At 8:00 a.m. Newfoundland Standard Time (NST), Dominion of Newfoundland declares war on Germany.

4: In the first British offensive action of the War, the Royal Air Force launch a raid on the German fleet in the Heligoland Bight. They target the German pocket-battleship Admiral Scheer anchored off Wilhelmshaven at the western end of the Kiel Canal. Several aircraft are lost in the attack and, although the German vessel is hit three times, all of the bombs fail to explode.

4: Japan announces its neutrality in the European situation. The British Admiralty announces the beginning of a naval blockade on Germany, one of a range of measures by which the British will wage economic warfare on the Axis Powers

4: The United States launches the Neutrality Patrol.

5: South African Prime Minister Barry Hertzog fails to gain support for a declaration of South African neutrality and is deposed by a party caucus for Deputy Prime Minister Jan Smuts.

5: The United States publicly declares neutrality.

6: South Africa, now under Prime Minister Jan Smuts, declares war on Germany.

6: Battle of Barking Creek, a friendly fire incident, results in the first RAF fighter pilot fatalities of the War).

6: One of Germany’s land forces (Wehrmacht Heer) captures Kraków in the south of Poland; Polish army is in general retreat.

7: France begins a token offensive, moving into German territory near Saarbrücken.

7: The National Registration Act 1939 is passed in Britain introducing identity cards and allowing the government to control labor.

8: The British Government announces the re-introduction of the convoy system for merchant ships and a full-scale blockade on German shipping.

9: The French Saar Offensive stalls at the heavily mined Warndt Forest having advanced approximately 8 miles into lightly defended German territory.

10: After passing both Houses of the Canadian parliament by unanimous consent and receiving Royal Assent by the Governor General of Canada, Lord Tweedsmuir, Canada declares war on Germany on September 10th.

11: Viceroy of India Lord Linlithgow announces to the two houses of the Indian Legislature (the Council of State and the Legislative Assembly) that due to India’s participation in the war, the plans for the Federation of India under the Government of India Act 1935 will be indefinitely postponed.

12: General Gamelin orders a halt to the French advance into Germany.

15: The Polish Army is ordered to hold out at the Romanian border until the Allies arrive.

16: The German Army complete the encirclement of Warsaw.

16: The French complete their retreat from Germany, ending the Saar Offensive.

17: The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east, occupying the territory east of the Curzon line as well as Białystok and Eastern Galicia.

17: Aircraft carrier HMS Courageous is torpedoed and sunk by U-29 on patrol off the coast of Ireland

17: The Imperial Japanese Army launches attacks on the Chinese city of Changsha, when their forces in northern Jiangxi attacked westward toward Henan.

18: Polish President Ignacy Mościcki and Commander-in-Chief Edward Rydz-Śmigły leave Poland for Romania, where they are both interned; Russian forces reach Vilnius and Brest-Litovsk. Polish submarine escapes from Tallinn - Estonia’s neutrality is questioned by the Soviet Union and Germany.

19: The German and Soviet armies link up near Brest Litovsk.

19: Soviet Union blockades the harbor of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.

19: Soviet Union and its ally Mongolia win the Battle of Khalkhin Gol against Japan, ending the Soviet-Japanese Border Wars.

19: The Japanese Imperial Army attacks the Chinese National Revolutionary Army along the Xinqiang River using poison gas during the Battle of Changsha.

20: German submarine U-27 is sunk with depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Fortune and HMS Forester.

21: Romanian Prime Minister Armand Călinescu is assassinated by the Iron Guard, an ultra-nationalistic group in Romania.

23: The Imperial Japanese Army drive the Chinese National Revolutionary Army out of the Sinchiang river area, and the 6th and 13th Divisions cross the river under artillery cover and advances further south along the Miluo River during the Battle of Changsha.

24: Soviet air force violates Estonian airspace. The Estonians negotiate with Molotov in Moscow. Molotov warns the Estonians that if the Soviet Union doesn’t get military bases in Estonia, it will be forced to use more radical actions.

25: German home front measures begin with food rationing.

25: Soviet air activity in Estonia. Soviet troops along the Estonian border include 600 tanks and 600 aircraft and 160 000 men.

26: Following a massive artillery bombardment, the Germans launch a major infantry assault on the centre of Warsaw.

26: Russian bombers seen in the Tallinn sky.

27: In the first offensive operations by the German Army in Western Europe, guns on the Siegfried Line open up on villages behind French Maginot line.

28: German-Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty is signed by Molotov and Ribbentrop. The secret protocol specifies the details of partition of Poland originally defined in Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (August 23, 1939) and adds Lithuania to the Soviet Union sphere of interest.

28: The remaining Polish army and militia in the centre of Warsaw capitulate to the Germans.

28: Soviet troops mass by the Latvian border. Latvian air space violated.

28: Estonia signs a 10-year Mutual Assistance Pact with the Soviet Union, which allows the Soviets to have 30 000-men military bases in Estonia. As a gift in return Stalin promises to respect Estonian independence.

29: The Japanese Imperial Army reaches the outskirts of Changsha. However, it is unable to conquer the city because its supply lines are cut off by the Chinese National Revolutionary Army.

30: The German pocket-battleship Admiral Graf Spee sinks its first merchant ship, the British freighter Clement while off the coast of Pernambuco, Brazil.

30: French forces on the French-German border fall back to the Maginot Line in anticipation of a German invasion.

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Soldiers of the German Wehrmacht tearing down the border crossing between Poland and the Free City of Danzig, 1 September 1939.

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German Panzer I tanks near the city of Bydgoszcz, during the invasion of Poland, September 1939.

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German bombers strike the suburbs of Warsaw, Poland, September 1939.

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German troops march through occupied Warsaw, Poland, after invading the nation on September 1, 1939, and igniting World War II.

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German and Soviet army officers pictured shaking hands—after Nazi Germany and Soviet Union annexed new territories in Eastern Europe, 1939.

October 1939

2: Latvian representatives negotiate with Stalin and Molotov. Soviets threaten an occupation by force if they do not get military bases in Latvia.

2: Declaration of Panama is approved by American Republics. Belligerent activities should not take place within waters adjacent to the American continent. A neutrality zone of some 300 miles in breadth is to be patrolled by the U.S. Navy.

3: British forces move to the Belgian border, anticipating a German invasion of the West.

3: Lithuanians meet Stalin and Molotov in Moscow. Stalin offers Lithuania the city of Vilnius (in Poland) in return for allowing Soviet military bases in Lithuania. The Lithuanians are reluctant.

5: Latvia signs a 10-year Mutual Assistance Pact with the Soviet Union, which allows the Soviets to have 25,000 men in military bases in Latvia. Stalin promises to respect Latvian independence.

6: Chinese army reportedly defeats the Japanese at the Battle of Changsha.

6: Polish resistance in the Polish September Campaign comes to an end. Hitler speaks before the Reichstag, declaring a desire for a conference with Britain and France to restore peace.

7: Lithuanians again meet the Soviets in Moscow. The Soviets demand military bases.

9: Germany issues orders (Case Yellow) to prepare for the invasion of Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

10: The last of Poland’s military surrenders to the Germans.

10: The leaders of the German navy suggest to Hitler they need to occupy Norway.

10: British Prime Minister Chamberlain declines Hitler’s offer of peace.

10: Lithuania signs a 15-year Mutual Assistance Pact with the Soviet Union, which allows the Soviets to have 20,000 men in military bases in Lithuania. In a secret protocol, Vilnius is made Lithuanian territory.

11: An estimated 158,000 British troops are now in France.

12: Adolf Eichmann begins deporting Jews from Austria and Czechoslovakia into Poland.

12: French Premier Édouard Daladier declines Hitler’s offer of peace.

12: Finland’s representatives meet Stalin and Molotov in Moscow. Soviet Union demands Finland give up a military base near Helsinki and exchange some Soviet and Finnish territories to protect Leningrad against Great Britain or the eventual future threat of Germany.

14: The British battleship HMS Royal Oak is sunk in Scapa Flow harbor by U-47, under the command of Günther Prien.

14: Finns meet Stalin again. Stalin tells that an accident might happen between Finnish and Soviet troops, if the negotiations last too long.

16: First air attack on Great Britain, aimed at ships in the Firth of Forth, Scotland.

18: First Soviet forces enter Estonia. During the Umsiedlung, 12,600 Baltic Germans leave Estonia.

19: Portions of Poland are formally inducted into Germany; the first Jewish ghetto is established at Lublin

20: The Phony War: French troops settle in the Maginot line’s dormitories and tunnels; the British build new fortifications along