Digital Mirror
1940
January
Finnish forces inflict casualties on the Soviets
February
The war in Finland continues
March
Finland is defeated by the Soviet Union and is forced to accept peace terms
April
Germany invades Denmark and Norway
May
Germany invades Holland and Belgium
June
France surrenders
July
Local Defence Volunteers, later called the Home Guard is formed
August
Southern England is attacked by Nazi warplanes
September
The Battle of Britain is fought in the air over London and the south east of England
October
Battle begins for control of the Atlantic Ocean
November
Roosevelt wins United States Presidential election once again
December
Britain prepares for Christmas
1941
January
Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk in north Africa
February
Rommel's Afrika Korps arrive in Tripoli
March
The United States announces the Lend-Lease Pact in order to aid Allied states
April
Yugoslavia falls to the Germans
May
The Bismarck is sunk
June
Germany invades the Soviet Union
July
American troops land in Iceland to protect it from the Germans
August
Atlantic Charter agreed
September
Wehrmacht arrives at Lenningrad
October
Wehrmacht nears the gates of Moscow
November
Ark Royal sunk by the Italian navy
December
Japan bombs the US navy at Pearl Harbor; the USA joins the war
1942
January
Nazis agree the 'Final Solution'
February
Singapore falls to Japan
March
RAF begins bombing campaign in Germany
April
Japan bombs Ceylon
May
Red Army foils Nazi spring offensive
June
USA routs Japan in the Battle of Midway
July
German advance in north Africa is halted at El Alamein
August
American victory in the Solomon Islands
September
The Battle for Stalingrad rages on
October
The Battle of El Alamein begins
November
The Red Army counter attacks at Stalingrad
December
The Beveridge Report, proposing a welfare state, is published
1943
January
Soviet victory at Stalingrad
February
A Soviet advance captures the cities of Kursk and Rostov from the Nazis
March
The RAF bombs German industry
April
Germans uncover a grave of 4,000 Polish officers killed by the Red Army
May
The Dambusters Raid
June
The island of Pantelleria near Sicily is taken by the Allies
July
Allied forces land on Sicily; Mussolini deposed
August
Hamburg bombed
September
Italy signs an armistice
October
Italy declares war on Germany
November
Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill meet at the Tehran Conference
December
The German battleship Scharnhorst is sunk
1944
January
Allied forces land at Anzio near Rome
February
Allies bomb the monastery at Monte Cassino
March
British coal miners stage an unofficial strike
April
The Red Army enters Crimea
May
The Allies cross Monte Cassino line in Italy
June
The D Day landings
July
Hitler survives an assassination attempt
August
The Allies arrive in Paris
September
Allied troops reach Germany
October
The Allies reach the German town of Aachen
November
Roosevelt wins fourth term of office as US president
December
Civil war in Greece
1945
January
The Red Army liberates Auschwitz Concentration Camp
February
The bombing of Dresden
March
The Allies cross the Rhine
April
The Red Army arrives in Berlin
May
Germany surrenders
June
Campaigning starts for the UK general election
July
Labour wins the UK general election
August
Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Japan surrenders
September
Foreign ministers' conference is held in London
October
Juan Perón elected President of Argentina
November
Illingworth looks at post war problems
December
The United States agrees a loan to Britain
1946
January
The UN holds its first session
February
Fears of civil war in India
March
Churchill delivers the 'Iron Curtain' speech
April
International Summit meeting in Paris
May
Bread rationing begins in Britain
June
The USA test a nuclear bomb in Bikini Atoll
July
A bomb explodes at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem
August
Britain prevents Jewish refugees from arriving in Palestine
September
Nehru elected Prime Minister of India
October
Nazi leaders are executed at Nuremberg
November
Discussions held on India's constitution
December
Plans are published to nationalise railways and ports in Britain
1947
January
National Coal Board established
February
Blizzards cripple Britain
March
Discussions take place on the future of Germany
April
Taxes rise in the UK budget
May
The British cabinet agrees to the partition of India
June
The Marshall Plan offers aid to rebuild western Europe
July
The Soviet Union rejects the Marshall Plan
August
A financial crisis hits Britain
September
Britain announces that it is withdrawing from Palestine
October
De Gaulle calls a general election in France
November
Prince Philip marries Princess Elizabeth
December
The Allies agree a plan for Germany's future
1948
January
Gandhi is assassinated; Doctors oppose the setting up of the National Health Service
February
Communists seize power in Czechoslovakia
March
The government announces a purge of communists in the civil service
April
The Soviet Union stops road and rail traffic to Berlin
May
Israel proclaims its independence
June
The Berlin airlift begins
July
The NHS begins operation
August
Western Powers excluded from the Danube River Authority
September
The Berlin airlift continues
October
Members of the Commonwealth meet in London
November
Harry S Truman wins the US Presidential election
December
The Berlin airlift continues
1949
January
Trouble continues in Palestine
February
The Berlin airlift continues
March
Plans for NATO published
April
Ireland and India become republics
May
Allied sectors unite to form West Germany
June
George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-four' is published
July
Dockers in Britain go on strike
August
The Council of Europe meets for the first time
September
Sterling is devalued by 30%
October
East Germany established
November
China proclaims itself a communist republic
December
Goods are still in short supply in Britain
