istoryworld
Events relating to the second world war
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
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
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
Adolf Hitler attends the signing of the armistice with France, in the railway carriage used for the armistice after the German defeat in 1918
The British government gives recognition to Charles de Gaulle as official leader of the Free French
Increased German U-boat activity after the fall of France launches the crucial Battle of the Atlantic
Hitler orders preparations for the invasion of England, under the codename Operation Sea Lion
The Battle of Britain reaches its most intense phase, with 1500 German planes involved in a single day's assault
The first German night-time bombing raid on London signals the start of the Blitz on British cities
The US government provides 50 destroyers to boost the British escort of convoys in the Atlantic
After the summer's losses in the air, Hitler orders the effective cancellation of operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of Britain
Coventry suffers a raid of such intensity that the new technique becomes known as carpet bombing
The de Havilland Mosquito, a multi-purpose wooden aeroplane widely used by the RAF in World War II, makes its first flight
Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy in the Nazi party, flies to Britain on a bizarre secret mission
A Gloster E.28/39 air frame becomes the first craft to fly with a Whittle jet engine
Roosevelt and Churchill publish a joint Atlantic Charter, foreseeing a future free from 'Nazi tyranny'
De Gaulle forms in London the French National Committee, a government in exile in London for the Free French
Arthur Harris is put in charge of British Bomber Command, and is later much criticized for his ruthless approach
British engineer Barnes Wallis designs a bouncing and rotating bomb for use against German dams
