The 1933-1946 Timeline
In the timeline, the blue text is where Ted fit into the grand scheme of things!
Pre-war Timeline
1933 - Adolf Hitler is elected chancellor of Germany. He abolishes democracy and becomes a dictator. Japan and Germany leave the League of Nations
1935 - The German military enters the neutral Saar region, Hitler restores conscription to the German military.
1936 - The German military enters the demilitarized Rhine region. The German-Italian 'axis' is formed.
1937 - Japan, which already occupies Manchuria, invades central China
1938 - Hitler annexes Austria and western Czechoslovakia.
Mar 1939 - Czechoslovakia surrenders to imminent German invasion
Apr 1939 - Hitler cancels the German-British naval agreement and the German-Polish non-aggression pact. Italy invades Albania.
July 1939 - Polish intelligence passes all its knowledge about the German Enigma machine to British and French intelligence
Aug 1939 - Germany and Russia sign non-aggression pact, secretly agreeing to invade Poland and share it. German U-boats and battleships sail to the Atlantic ocean for war.
War Begins in 1939
- Sep 1 - Germany invades Poland, world war 2 begins.
- Sep 3 - Britain and France declare war on Germany.
- Sep 8 - The US remains neutral but president Roosevelt declares 'limited national emergency'.
- Sep 17 - Russia invades Poland.
- Sep 27 - Warsaw surrenders.
- Oct 6 - The last remaining polish forces surrender.
- Nov 30 - Russia invades Finland.
1940
- Jan 17 - The first German Enigma messages are decoded by British intelligence
- Mar 12 - Russia-Finland war ends. It convinces Hitler that the Russian military is ineffective.
- Apr 8 - Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
- Apr 14 - British forces land in Narvik, Norway, but leave in 10 days
- May 10 - Germany invades France, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg. Winston Churchill becomes Britain's Prime Minister.
- May 20 - German forces reach the British channel.
- May 27 - Evacuation of British and French forces to Britain at Dunkirk begins.
- Jun 4 - The evacuation at Dunkirk ends. 338,000 troops were rescued. Churchill declares that Britain will never surrender.
- Jun 9- Norway surrenders.
- Jun 10 - Italy declares war on the collapsing France and on Britain.
- Jun 14 - German troops march into Paris.
- Jun 18 - Russia invades Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
- Jun 22 - France surrenders.
- Jun 27 - Russia annexes the eastern regions of Romania.
- Jul 1 - Germany invades the British channel islands.
- Jul 10 - The 'Battle of Britain' air campaign begins.
- Jul 18 - Churchill declares this is Britain's finest hour.
- Aug 8 - The Luftwaffe begins to bomb British early warning radars
Aug 15 - The Luftwaffe loses 76 aircraft in one day. - Aug 25 - British night bombers bomb Berlin.
- Sep 3 - Hitler changes the Luftwaffe's objective from destroying the Royal Air Force to bombing London. This allows the R.A.F to recover and win the battle of Britain.
- Sep 13 - Italy invades British-held Egypt from Libya, the north African campaign begins.
- Sep 15 - The largest Luftwaffe daytime bombardment, it loses 56 aircraft
- Sep 27 - Japan joins the 'axis'.
- Oct 7 - German troops enter their Ally Romania, Germany's only source of oil which is threatened by Russia.
- Oct 12 - Hitler cancels the invasion of Britain.
- Oct 23 - Spain rejects Hitler's offer to join the war and remains neutral.
- Oct 28 - Italy invades Greece from Albania, but stopped, twice.
- Nov 11 - British carrier aircraft sink Italian fleet in Taranto's harbor. Yamamoto in Japan is impressed by their success.
- Nov 20 - Hungary and Romania, both military dictatorships, join the axis.
- Dec 9 - British forces in Egypt counter attack the Italians and advance along the Libyan coast.
1941
- Feb 12 - Hitler sends Rommel and the 'Africa Korps' to help the Italians in north Africa.
- Mar 1 - Bulgaria joins the axis. The axis-Russian border now stretch from the Baltic sea to the black sea.
- Mar 3 - Rommel attacks the British forces in north Africa.
- Mar 5 - British troops arrive at Greece to support it.
- Apr 6 - Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece.
- Apr 13 - After military clashes, Japan and Russia sign non-aggression pact.
- Apr 17 - Yugoslavia surrenders. British forces evacuate Greek mainland to Crete.
- Apr 27 - German troops occupy Athens.
- May 9 - U-boat U-110 is captured with Enigma settings tables.
- May 20 - German paratroopers and airborne troops invade Crete by air.
- May 31 - British forces in Crete surrender.
- Jun 8 - British forces aided by Israeli volunteers invade French controlled Syria and Lebanon.
- Jun 22 - Germany invades Russia. Hitler orders maximum cruelty against civilians. It will push the Russians to fanatic resistance.
- Jul 3 - Stalin orders the 'scorched earth' strategy.
- Jul 21 - The Luftwaffe bombs Moscow.
- Jul 24 - Japan invades French Indo-China (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia).
- Jul 31 - Hermann Goering orders the S.S. to prepare "the final solution", the plan to murder the millions of European Jews.
- Sep 15 - The long German siege of Leningrad begins.
- Sep 18 - The Germans occupy Kiev and reach the Crimea.
- Oct 6 - The German attack towards Moscow begins.
- Oct 16 - Russian government leaves Moscow, the Germans occupy Odessa.
- Oct 17 - General Tojo becomes Japan's prime minister.
- Oct 21 - Churchill orders top priority to any request by the Enigma decoders.
- Oct 26 - The Germans occupy Kharkov.
- Nov 30 - The foremost German forces reach 27km from Moscow, but can advance no further.
- Dec 6 - The massive Russian counter attack near Moscow begins. The Germans are pushed back.
- Dec 7 - The Japanese navy attacks Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. The US joins the war.
- Dec 11 - Germany and Italy declare war on the US.
- Dec 19 - Hitler appoints himself commander-in-chief as he no longer trusts his generals ability to win the war
1942
- Jan 2 - Japanese forces occupy Manila.
- Jan 10 - Japanese forces invades Indonesia.
- Jan 11 - Japanese forces occupy Malaysia.
- Jan 12 - Japanese forces invade Burma.
- Jan 13 - German U-boats begin to sink ships along the US east coast.
- Jan 21 - Rommel begins another offensive in north Africa.
- Jan 25 - Japanese forces invade the Solomon islands.
- Jan 26 - US troops begin to arrive in Britain.
- Feb 15 - Singapore surrenders to the Japanese.
- Mar 20 - 'industrial-scale' murder of Jews by poison gas begins in Nazi death camps.
- Apr 18 - Doolittle's raid - US bombers bomb Tokyo.
- April - Ted takes the air corps entrance exam in Detroit (Ted is 21)
- May 7 - Battle of the Coral Sea. One Japanese carrier and one American carrier are sunk.
- May 6 - The last American troops in the Philippines surrender.
- May 8 - The German spring offensive in southern Russia begins.
- Jun 4 - Battle of Midway. Four Japanese carriers are sunk, and one American carrier. Japan's naval superiority is lost.
- Jul 3 - Japanese forces land in Guadalcanal.
- July - Sworn into service as an aviation cadet
- Jul 28 - Stalin forbids further Russian retreats, at any cost.
- Aug 7 - US forces land in Guadalcanal.
- Aug 13 - Montgomery becomes commander of the British 8th army in north Africa.
- Aug 19 - allied landing in Dieppe fails. The battle of Stalingrad begins.
- Sep 6 - The German advance is stopped in Stalingrad.
- Sep 23 - The battle of El Alamein in north Africa begins.
- Nov 8 - Allied forces land in western north Africa, at Rommel's back.
- Nov 19 - The Russian flanking counter attack around Stalingrad begins.
- Dec 19 - The Germans fail to break the encirclement of their army in Stalingrad.
1943
- January - Sent to Nashville for aviation training and selection
- Feb 2 - The last German forces in Stalingrad surrender.
- February - Transferred to Chino California for basic flying
- April - Assigned to Santa Maria for Primary Flying School
- May 13 - The long north Africa campaign ends. The allies control north Africa.
- May 22 - 41 German u-boats sunk in 3 weeks. Doenitz retreats all u-boats from the north Atlantic.
- June - Assigned To Santa Ana Airfield for flight training
- Jul 5 - The battle of Kursk begins.
- Jul 10 - The allies invade Sicily.
- July - Transferred to Luke Field to fly single engine fighters, P-40
- Jul 25 - Mussolini is replaced and arrested.
- Aug 10 - The Germans know the Enigma was decoded, but believe the new models and procedures are safe again.
- Sep 3 - The allies invade Italy's mainland.
- Sep 8 - Italy surrenders. The German forces in northern and central Italy occupy it
Sep 25 - The Russians liberate Smolensk. - October - Assigned to Tallahassee Florida to fly the new P51 Mustangs!
- Oct - Allied anti submarine bases established in the Azores, in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.
- Nov 6 - The Russians liberate Kiev.
- Nov 19 - The marines land in Tarawa.
- Nov - Rommel takes command of the 'Atlantic wall' in the French coast.
- Dec - P-51 fighters provide all-the-way long range escort to bombers over Germany.
1944
- Jan 16 - Eisenhower becomes supreme commander of western allies forces.
- Jan 22 - Allies land in Anzio, Italy.
- February - Sent to Boston for the transport to Liverpool
- Mar - The Russians advance into the Ukraine.
- March - Transferred to Goxhill for training with the British and met his future wife (Ted is 24)
- Apr 10 - The Russians liberate Odessa.
- May - Allied bombers begin to concentrate on the German fuel industry.
- May 13 - First assignment flying radio relay over the English Channel
- May 21 - Fighter sweep over Germany
- Jun 5 - The German navy's Enigma messages are decoded almost in real time.
- Jun 6 - D-Day. American, British, Canadian forces invade France at the beaches of Normandy.
- June 6 - Protection of the D-Day beachhead at Normandy
- Jun 12 - 1st German V-1 cruise missile attack on Britain.
- Jun 15 - The marines land in Saipan.
- Jun 19 - Battle of the Philippine sea.
- Jun 22 - The Russians advance to Belarus.
- Jun 27 - Cherbourg is liberated.
- Jul 20 - Hitler survives an assassination attempt by senior German officers with light wounds.
- Jul 21 - Hitler appoints General Guderian to chief of the army (OKH). The marines land in Guam.
- Jul 24 - The marines land in Tinian.
- July 25 - They were split into two half squadrons and sent on a fighter sweep into Northern France
- Jul 28 - The Russians reach the old German-Russian border in central Poland.
- Jul 30 - Patton breaks out of the beachhead deep into France.
- Aug 1 - Warsaw revolts against the Germans.
- August 7th - Assigned shuttle runs to/from Russia. They spent a week, flying several sorties out of Piryatin, the Russian fighter base, to Poland to help the Polish holdouts in Warsaw.
- Aug 17th - Flew from Italy to homebase in Britian
- Aug 15 - The allies land in southern France.
- Aug 23 - Romania surrenders to the Russians. Its oil fields were Germany's only source of natural oil.
- Aug 25 - Paris is liberated.
- Aug - Allied fighters achieve air superiority over Germany.
- Sep 6 - Finland and Bulgaria surrenders to the Russians.
- Sep 8 - 1st German V-2 ballistic missile attack on Britain.
- Sep 9 - They engaged a large mixed bunch of 109s and 190s and lost 4 while shooting down 5 of the enemy. He lost his only wingman, Lt. James Blanchard, in this engagement
- Sep 17 - Operation 'Market Garden' in Holland.
- Oct 5 - British forces land in Greece.
- Oct 10 - The Germans evacuate Riga, Latvia.
- Oct 14 - Athens is liberated.
- Oct 15 - Combat tour completed, flew to Manston RAF base
- Oct 20 - The marines land in Leyte.
- November - Assigned to Santa Ana Airbase again
- Nov 14 - B-29 bombers begin to bomb Tokyo from bases in the Mariana islands.
- Dec 16 - The German attack in the Ardennes begin.
1945
- Jan 9 - The marines land in Luzon, Philippines.
- Jan 23 - The Russians reach Germany itself at the Oder river.
- Jan 27 - The Russians liberate the Auschwitz death camp.
- Jan 28 - The Ardennes campaign ends.
- Feb 13 - The Russians occupy Budapest, Hungary. Dresden bombed.
- Feb 19 - The marines land in Iwo Jima.
- Mar 4 - Manila is liberated.
- Mar 6 - The allies occupy Cologne, Germany.
- Mar 7 - US forces cross the Rhine on the Remagen bridge.
- Mar 16 - The battle of Iwo Jima ends.
- Mar 27 - V-2 missile attacks end.
- Apr 1 - German forces encircled in the Ruhr by the Americans.
- Apr 6 - The marines land in Okinawa. Japan orders all its forces to use kamikaze suicide tactic.
- Apr 7 - The super battleship Yamato is sunk on its way to a kamikaze fight in Okinawa.
- Apr 10 - The allies occupy Hannover.
- Apr 11 - The allies liberate the Buchenwald death camp.
- Apr 12 - President Roosevelt dies..
- Apr 13 - The Russians enter Wienna.
- Apr 16 - The Russians begin final advance to Berlin.
- Apr 25 - American and Russian forces meet.
- Apr 26 - German defense in northern Italy finally collapse.
- Apr 29 - Mussolini is executed by the Italian resistance. The allies liberate the Dachau death camp.
- Apr 30 - Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin. He appoints Admiral Doenitz as his successor.
- May 8 - Germany surrenders. The war in Europe ends.
- May 28 - 450 B-29 bombers bomb Yokohama.
- Jun 2 - 660 B-29 bombers bomb Japanese cities.
- Jun 21 - Battle of Okinawa ends.
- Jul 16 - the US tests the atomic bomb in New Mexico. It works.
- Aug 6 - Hiroshima is destroyed by an atomic bomb.
- Aug 8 - Russia declares war on Japan.
- Aug 9 - Nagasaki is destroyed by an atomic bomb.
- Aug 14 - Japan surrenders. World war 2 finally ends.
- Sep 10 - Released from active duty, goes off to find Audrey!