istoryworld
All Events
German ships and marines occupy the harbours of neutral Denmark and Norway
The German invasion of Norway includes the world's first airborne assault, with troops arriving by plane to attack the airports of Oslo and Stavanger
Allied ships on patrol in the North Sea, soon followed by troops, rush to the defence of Norway
German tanks cross the borders into neutral Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium
After the German invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium, Winston Churchill replaces Chamberlain as the British prime minister
German troops force their way into France through the Ardennes, launching the Battle of France
The French rely on the heavily fortified Maginot Line to keep out the Germans, but they outflank it
Only two days after crossing the Netherlands border, a German division reaches the coast near Rotterdam
Queen Wilhelmina and the Dutch government escape just in time to Britain
Winston Churchill, in his first speech to the House of Commons as prime minister, offers the nation nothing but 'blood, toil, tears and sweat'
The caretaker government of the Netherlands surrenders to the German invaders
The Local Defence Volunteers are formed in Britain and are soon given, on Winston Churchill's suggestion, the name Home Guard
A German army races west through northern France, aiming to cut off the Allied troops in Belgium
Fishing smacks and private launches are enlisted from southern England's coasts and rivers for a rescue mission across the Channel
German tanks reach the French coast at Abbeville, nine days after crossing the border from Germany
Evacuation begins from Dunkirk, and over the next ten days some 860 vessels ferry troops across the Channel
The Belgians surrender to the German armies encircling them north and south
Some 340,000 British and French troops have by now been rescued from Dunkirk, but a million Allied soldiers are now prisoners of the Germans
The last Allied forces withdraw from Norway, leaving the country entirely in the hands of its German occupiers
Mussolini declares war on a France already on the verge of defeat
German and Italian planes begin a prolonged assault on the Mediterranean island of Malta
June 14 - a German army takes Paris and pushes on further south into the Rhone valley
Marshal Pétain, French hero from World War I, becomes France's prime minister
Marshal Pétain, as the new premier of France, immediately asks Germany for an armistice
Charles de Gaulle broadcasts to the French nation from London, declaring himself the leader of the Free French
