istoryworld
Events relating to europe
Laurence Olivier directs and stars in a patriotic film of Henry V with stirring music by William Walton
US general Dwight Eisenhower is appointed to command the Allied invasion of Normandy
Galeazzo Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law, is sentenced to death at the Verona trials and is executed
The RAF's first jet, the Gloster Meteor, flies with a Whittle engine
In Operation Shingle an Allied force lands at Anzio, on the west coast of Italy behind the German lines
The German siege of Leningrad is finally broken, after 900 days
After relieving Leningrad, the Russians begin to drive the Germans back on all fronts
After a campaign of four months the monastery at Monte Cassino is captured, by Polish troops
A multinational Allied force moves fast from Monte Cassino to capture Rome
The Allies cross the Channel on D-day for the Normandy invasion
British general Bernard Montgomery commands the Allied land forces in the Normandy Landing on D-day
Two pre-constructed harbours, known by the code name Mulberries, are towed across the Channel to Normandy
German troops massacre more than 600 civilians in the French village of Oradour
The first V-1 flying bombs (or doodlebugs) appear over London, numbering more than 2000 in two weeks
The Allied advance in Italy comes to a halt at the Gothic Line of German defences, north of Florence
Members of the Polish resistance rise against the Germans in Warsaw, in a conflict lasting two months and bringing massive casualties
The hiding place in Amsterdam of Anne Frank and her family is discovered by the Gestapo
The Seventh US army, commanded by Alexander Patch, opens another front with a landing on the French Riviera
George Patton gets a division of his Third US Army across the Seine southeast of Paris
Barricades are built in the streets as Parisians stage an impromptu uprising against the Germans
Tanks of the Second French Armoured Division are the first of the Allies to enter and liberate Paris
Romania changes sides to fight with the Red Army against Germany
General de Gaulle walks down the Champs Elysées, and then on to Notre Dame, to massive aclaim
Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat in Budapest, saves thousands of Jews from extermination
British forces liberate Brussels and on the next day reach Antwerp
