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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1939 | - 1939—1939:
Germany annexes Czechoslovakia
- 1939—1939:
Start of evacuation of women and children from London
- 1939—1939:
Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time
- 1 Sep 1939—1 Sep 1939:
Germany invades Poland
- 3 Sep 1939—3 Sep 1939:
Britain and France declare war on Germany
- 6 Sep 1939—6 Sep 1939:
First air-raid on Britain
- 11 Sep 1939—11 Sep 1939:
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France
- 14 Oct 1939—14 Oct 1939:
HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives
- 7 Dec 1939—7 Dec 1939:
'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain - 7,400 men on 5 ships
- 17 Dec 1939—17 Dec 1939:
'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
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| 2 | 1940 | - 1 Apr 1940—1 Apr 1940:
BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd
- 11 May 1940—11 May 1940:
National Government formed under Churchill
- 13 May 1940—13 May 1940:
Germany invades France
- 27 May 1940—27 May 1940:
Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk (27 May - 4 Jun)
- 25 Jun 1940—25 Jun 1940:
Fall of France to Germany
- 7 Sep 1940—7 Sep 1940:
Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of
bombing
- 15 Sep 1940—15 Sep 1940:
Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the
RAF - Hitler postpones invasion of Britain
- 14 Nov 1940—14 Nov 1940:
Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed
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| 3 | 1941 | - 1941—1941:
Britain introduces severe rationing
- 1941—1941:
First British jet aircraft flies, based on work of Whittle
- 1941—1941:
Bailey invents his portable military bridge
- 1941—1941:
First use of antibiotics
- 1941—1941:
SA - South African Forces take Mega in Southern Abyssinia. South African Forces arrive in Egypt in April.
- 1941—1941:
SA - Heroic stand by South African Forces at Sidi Resegh in November 1944. The black-out in Cape Town is suspended. 6th South African Armoured Division leads 8th Army offensive in Italy, South Africans were the first to enter Florence.
- 10 May 1941—10 May 1941:
Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland
- 27 May 1941—27 May 1941:
'Bismark' sunk
- 22 Jun 1941—22 Jun 1941:
Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa)
- 1 Jul 1941—1 Jul 1941:
First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in Britain
- Dec 1941—Dec 1941:
Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of England
- Dec 1941—Dec 1941:
'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America
- 7 Dec 1941—7 Dec 1941:
Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour
- 8 Dec 1941—8 Dec 1941:
USA enters WWII
- 24 Dec 1941—24 Dec 1941:
Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
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