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2 gm’s guide to wwii

blood and guts 2: gm’s guide to wwiiintroductionAlthough it’s been over for more than 60 years, the Second World War is still alive today. Turn on your TV and you can watch a documentary about the war every day of the year. Major historical texts are done examining the major battles and the strategists who fought them. In the realm of fiction, movies, novels and comics are set during the war, either as a backdrop or with the characters actually participating in the battle. In the realm of video games, WWII is the most popular setting for one of gaming’s most important genre: the first person shooter. It is possible there’s as much daily exposure to the events of the war today than there was when it was happening. Why is this?

In part because WWII has become a large part of how America sees itself as a nation, in the same category as the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the Old West. And like two of the three events mentioned previously, WWII also influenced America’s place in the world. When the war started the United States had the 19th largest army in the world, a smaller army than Poland. At the end of the war America was one of two superpowers, an atomic power and the world was aligned along two poles between the U.S. and another power that ended the war far more powerful than when it began: the Soviet Union.

That conflict, known as the “cold war” lasted for 30 years and was a direct consequence of the war. Not only had the way nuclear weaponry (which had been an innovation of the war) influenced geo-politics but also in terms of the organizations that would confront one another politically and militarily. The United Nations, NATO and the Warsaw Pact were all attempts at collective security designed to prevent another war. These organizations, like the nations leading the two

poles of the Cold War were a direct product of the Second World War. In fact some historians believe that, as more and more distance from the conflict is gained, historians will simply fold the Cold War into WWII, addressing them as two phases of a much larger conflict.

So clearly, there are a lot of reasons to think about, talk about and research about the Second World War. Scholars devote their life’s work to the endeavor. But this isn’t a scholarly work; it’s a game, which brings about a whole new set of questions. Why a game about WWII?

In part, for all the reasons listed above. Everyone knows that the war shaped the world we live in today. The idea of being a part of that, even vicariously, is a powerful draw to a game. And in part because the war exists in our minds as one of history’s few “good wars”. The opponents of the Allied powers unquestionably needed to be fought. In many cases the Allies were attacked first and so were defending themselves. For these reasons, there’s less morale ambiguity about the war. You can really believe that the Allies were the good guys and the Axis were bad guys in a way that’s much harder than a game about, say, the Civil War or Viet Nam. This is why the Axis are frequently the villains in modern pulp literature. Since they were inarguably horrible, there’s no moral quandary about making them cartoon villains.

But mostly, it’s because the war has become a part of our national identity. Like the Battle of Marathon to the Greeks and the Second Punic War to the Romans, the Second World War represents the Allied powers at their best - a time when nations were tested. While some were found wanting, many triumphed in a way they never want to forget. Simply put it was, as Winston Churchill predicted it would be, our finest hour.

world at warThe Second World War is the greatest global conflict in the history of the world. In 1939 a German attack on Poland caused Great Britain, France, India, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, South Africa and Canada to declare war on Germany. Less than six months later, continued German aggression caused Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Greece and Yugoslavia to join the Allies in their war against Germany.

On June 10, 1940 the original fascist power entered the war as Germany’s ally and Germany turned its attention to The Soviet Union in a savage blitzkrieg attack, ending the neutrality agreement the two nations had secretly signed. In September of 1940 Japan, which had been at war with China and the South Pacific signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, forming the Axis alliance.

After the Japanese conducted a surprise attack by air on the American Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor, the United States, China, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba and Czechoslovakia entered the war. In 1942 these nations signed The Declaration of the United Nations which stated they would work jointly against the Axis Powers, further pledging not to sign a separate peace agreement with any nation signing the Tripartite Pact. In 1942 Mexico, the Philippines and Ethiopia joined the Allies, signing the declaration. Iraq, Brazil, Bolivia, Iran and Columbia signed in 1943 and in 1945 Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela, Uruguay, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria and Ecuador signed as well.


This global conflict would see the United States and The Soviet Union emerge as global superpowers, the end of militarism in Germany and Japan, the rise of the aircraft carrier as the dominant instrument of naval warfare and the development of atomic weapons, as well as numerous other military, social and technological advancements to grow out of the war.

flashpoints of wwii european theater Before jumping into a discussion of the conflict, a brief note about the format is in order. Several major turning points (dubbed flashpoints because it sounds cooler) of the war are addressed in detail, essay style. Following these closer looks, a timeline is presented to give an overview of the war’s events. Even during the periods addressed in long-form, you will probably need to do some research on your own to set an adventure, let alone a campaign there. It is hoped that the historical material presented will spark ideas, lead you to research events you weren’t familiar with before and serve as a guide. The subject is much too big to discuss in depth here, think of me as a tour guide. You have to decide about where you want to live.

path to warIn many ways WWII was the offspring of WWI. Though hostilities ceased, the underlying tensions of the war remained and nothing in the political climate of Europe had been done to defuse those tensions.

Indeed the armistice treaty that formally ended WWI, the Treaty of Versailles (discussed in more depth below) is often cited as the primary instigator of WWII. Added into this mix were new technological improvements in armor and aircraft as well as a rising European tide of nationalism, fascism, militarism and communism. These combined to make WWII an even larger and bloodier war than its predecessor.

end of wwi: treaty of versaillesIt has been said the road to hell is paved with good intentions. While this can be true, in the case of WWII the road to hell was paved with decidedly bad intentions. At the end of WWI the European powers set about to punish Germany. The instrument of their punishment, the Treaty of Versailles, was the worst of both worlds. It did not demilitarize Germany to an extent that the country could never again be a threat to her neighbors. It did, however, cripple the German economy with spiraling inflation and force the country into debt to make war reparation payments. These

A Joint Declaration by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, China, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Poland, South Africa, Yugoslavia

The Governments signatory hereto,

Having subscribed to a common program of purposes and principles embodied in the Joint Declaration of the President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland dated August 14, 1941, known as the Atlantic Charter.

Being convinced that complete victory over their enemies is essential to defend life, liberty, independence and religious freedom, and to preserve human rights and justice in their own lands as well as in other lands, and that they are now engaged in a common struggle against savage and brutal forces seeking to subjugate the world,

DECLARE:(1) Each Government pledges itself to employ its full resources, military or economic, against those members of the Tripartite Pact and its adherents with which such government is at war.(2) Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto and not to make a separate armistice or peace with the enemies.

The foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism.

Done at Washington

January First, 1942

“The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.”Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, the “Guilt Clause”


onerous terms caused a seething resentment among the German people toward the victors of WWI, especially England and France.

In part the Treaty of Versailles was the worst kind of compromise. While it punished Germany as France wanted, it did not divide the country into smaller republics, unraveling the empire Bismarck had woven together. So while the German economy was in shambles, all the elements that had allowed Germany to threaten her neighbors in WWI were still present. While severe restrictions had been placed on the German military the capacity of the nation to quickly rearm was left in place.

beer hall putschIn addition to the military and economic restrictions placed on Germany, the country had been forced to replace the imperial form of government for a liberal democracy patterned after France and the United States, called the Weimar Republic. This republic was widely despised within Germany and even in some quarters (especially the more militant elements of German society) seen as complicit in the German defeat in WWI.

On November 9th, 1923 Adolf Hitler, a former WWI corporal who had risen public dissatisfaction to the leadership of the small National Socialist or Nazi party allied himself with popular WWI general Erich Ludendorff in an attempted overthrow of the Weimar government. This movement would be launched from Germany’s beer halls, which double as places political rallies, can be held to this day and one of the main places where Hitler appealed to his followers to join him in the coup.

As the night of confusion and chaos of the putsch unfolded the future character of the Nazi regime was revealed. Local police officials were captured and had their lives threatened if they would not join Hitler’s cause, lists of prominent Jews were drawn up and

Hitler’s “stormtroopers” moved to arrest them even while the coup was ongoing, while other Jews were subjected to random acts of vandalism, terrorism and violence.

Finally as dawn broke and it became clear that the coup was not really gaining control over anything, Hitler, Ludendorff and about 2,000 of their followers decided to march on Berlin in an attempt to recreate Mussolini’s “march on Rome”. As they moved toward the Defense Ministry, they were met by 100 police officers who blocked their way. The two sides exchanged gunfire and three of Hitler’s men were killed while Hitler and Goring were wounded.

During the firefight, the blood of one of the slain men stained the Nazi flag carried by Hitler’s men which became one of the holiest relics of the Nazi party, “the Blutfahne” or Blood Flag. Following his rise to power Hitler gave many speeches in front of the Blood Flag and touched new Nazi party flags with it to “sanctify” them.

Finally members of the military caught wind of the coup and put it down, and a few days later Hitler was arrested and charged with treason. Despite this very serious charge he was sentenced to only 5 years in prison and was ordered to serve his sentence at the Festungshaft, a comfortable prison where inmates were not put into forced labor and could receive visitors every day for several hours a day. It was the sentence of a man who done the wrong thing for the right reason (in the eyes of the judge). Despite this extremely lenient prison sentence, Hitler served only 8 months of it and composed his manifesto, Mein Kampf or “My Struggle” while in prison.

Following this failed coup Hitler decided that the German people would never accept a leader who rose to power through violence. He decided he would achieve power strictly through legal means from then on though his ultimate goal of being dictator had never changed. He would simply have to convince the German people to legally name him a dictator.

great depressionGermany’s economy had been critically wounded by their “guilt debt” to the victorious European powers. This had sparked a dangerous spiral of hyperinflation, with money being printed to pay debts, causing prices to rise, which created a demand for more currency. When the great depression struck, hitting America and Europe the hardest, there was perhaps no area as effected as Germany.

The depression hit highly industrialized nations like Germany and the United States especially hard. Worse, Germany owed a great deal of money to the U.S. and that debt simply added to the economic problems of both countries, since the United States’ initial response to the depression was to restrict the money supply by one-third, loans became almost impossible to come by and existing loans, like the very large ones made to Germany were called due, since they could not be extended (this unfortunate occurrence happened to thousands of American businessmen as well).

For the purposes of WWII however, the greatest change brought about by the great depression was the new leaders it brought into power. In America, Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover by campaigning for his New Deal. Roosevelt argued that Hoover was not taking adequate steps to repair the damage done to the economy, using the depression and Hoover’s management of it to win election.

rise of the nazi partySimilarly, the depression caused political upheaval that would allow Hitler his long-dreamed-of “legal dictatorship” to become reality. The economic upheaval caused the Weimar coalition that led parliament to break up, with no party having enough of a coalition to get any measure passed. This caused the reliance on “emergency Presidential decrees”


for political action. As these “emergency decrees” became the rule, the German government slid into authoritarianism.

In the 1930 elections, Hitler’s Nazi Party became the second-largest part in parliament when they won 107 seats in the Reichstag.

In 1932, Hitler ran for president. Although he was defeated by Paul von Hindenburg, he won 35% of the vote by appealing to farmers, war veterans the middle class who had been hardest hit by the depression. In 1932 the Nazi Party won a clear majority in the Reichstag, winning 230 seats. In the meantime Hindenburg had taken another step toward authoritarianism by appointing a Chancellor with wide-ranging powers, Franz von Papen. When Papen and Hitler could not come to an agreement on a parliamentary majority, Papen moved to postpone parliament indefinitely, effectively dissolving the legislative body.

Following several failed attempts at forming a non-Nazi parliamentary majority, Hindenburg gave in to the requests of many prominent businessmen, who had backed Hitler’s expensive campaigns financially. Hitler was appointed Chancellor, a position with sweeping, dictatorial powers that could only be checked by President Hindenburg.

With Hitler sworn in as Chancellor and new elections finally scheduled for 1933, there was a fire at the Reichstag building that was blamed on communists. On February 28th, 1933 the Reichstag Fire Decree was issued which severely curtailed civil rights and suspended habeus corpus. The German Communist Party was suppressed and many of its officials were arrested, others fled the country. In the same month Hitler began to show his true face when he also issued decrees banning pornography, gay bars, bath houses and other organizations that “promoted the rights of homosexuals”.

In March, with the Reichstag finally back in session, Chancellor Hitler proposed the Enabling Act that

would allow his “Council of Barons” legislative powers for a period of 4 years, including those that violated Germany’s constitution. This measure required a two-thirds vote of the Reichstag and was passed with the support of the Catholic Centre Party, Germany’s third-largest political party after they received verbal assurances that the freedom of the Catholic Church would not be restricted by Hitler. This Enabling Act, which removed all checks on Hitler’s power, was confirmed by the Reichstag every 4 years thereafter, even during the height of WWII.

With legislative and executive powers under his control, Hitler moved to persecute his political enemies, using his paramilitary SA or stormtroopers to drive his opponents into resigning and forming all labor unions into one massive labor coalition under the auspices of the Nazi Party. When President Hindenburg, the only figure in government with any power over Hitler, died, Hitler’s Council of Barons declared the presidency “dormant” and decreed that no new elections for the post would be held. Instead Hitler was named Fuhrer and Reichskanzler (leader and chancellor). Hitler than had himself named supreme commander of the military which then swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler personally (not the nation or state). In an August 1934 plebiscite these acts were approved by 90% of the German people. Hitler now had sole legislative, executive and military power.

battle of britainThe Battle of Britain was the clash between the air forces of Britain and Germany. As part of Operation Sealion, the planned amphibious assault of Britain by German forces, the Germans first needed to establish air superiority over Britain. This was considered a necessary part of the invasion of Britain since the Germans did not believe they could successfully land and invade the island while under direct attack from the Royal Air Force. It was also believed that air

superiority would have allowed the Germans to nullify the tremendous advantage the vaunted Royal Navy had over the German Kriegsmarine, another necessary requirement for an amphibious assault.

A secondary objective of the Battle of Britain was the destruction of arms production and infrastructure by the Luftwaffe and the intimidation of the British civilian population. Even if the operation did not result in air superiority, Hitler hoped to intimidate the British into signing an armistice.

In all, 2,440 British pilots and 510 foreign pilots fought for Britain in the battle. The foreign pilots consisted of 139 Poles, 98 New Zealanders, 86 Canadians, 84 Czechoslovaks, 29 Belgians, 21 Australians, 20 South Africans, 13 French, 10 Irish, 7 Americans (who forfeited their citizenship under the Neutrality Acts), 1 Jamaican, 1 Palestinian and 1 Southern Rhodesian.

Hitler believed the war was almost over and that Britain had no choice but to negotiate with the Nazis following the fall of France. England was now alone with no allies on the mainland (or really anywhere else). There was also widespread public opinion favoring a peace with Germany of some sort in Britain. Churchill however, remained resolute and managed to sway public opinion and rally parliament. Before the House of Commons on June 18th, 1940, the same day General de Gaulle announced the existence of the Free French and the French Resistance on BBC radio, Churchill said:

“What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can


stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour’”.

In the first stage of the battle, known as the Channel Battle, the Luftwaffe began attacking convoys in the English Channel as a way to test British air defenses and reduce the numbers of fighter aircraft through attrition. This stage of the battle lasted approximately one month and began on July 10th, 1940 the date commonly given for the start of the Battle of Britain.

british and german forcesFor the German Luftwaffe, previous engagements in the war had shown what a powerful force they were as part of a combined arms strategy with German ground forces, attacking in advance of Blitzkrieg assaults. In the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe had to prove it was a force to be reckoned with on its own, establishing air superiority and then extending that superiority over the ground and sea through precision bombing strikes.

But the British force opposing the Germans in this effort was like no other air force they had faced before. Larger and better organized, British pilots also had aircraft capable of matching the German Luftwaffe. The Germans used the Bf-109 and Bf-110 while the majority of the British opposing force would be the Hurricane. These were supplemented with the

Spitfire, an aircraft that shocked the Germans as being the equal, if not better of their most advanced aircraft.

In addition to the potent Royal Air Force that would oppose them, the Germans also suffered from a lack of intelligence. Their attempts to move agents into Britain had been ham-handed and the agents were often captured within minutes of their arrival in Britain.

Germans would successfully punch through British defenses for an attack on a British fighter field only to find themselves attacking a bomber airfield or coastal defense instead. These sorts of mistakes severely hampered the German effort.

By contrast the British air defense plan, called the Dowding Plan after its creator, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding was the best devised air defense scheme in the world. Even with the relatively primitive radar and radio communications of the day, the British defenders achieved close to an 80% interception rate. Since the British radar was primitive however, their defenses were severely reduced at night, since they could not use air spotters to compliment their radar detection.

A vital part of the German strategy revolved around the weakness of the British night air defense since the Germans had developed a method of radio triangulation that allowed their bombers to operate at night with astonishing accuracy, detecting the radio waves and following them until they intersected over their target, when the Germans would drop their bomb payloads. But the British were able to negate this advantage as well, thanks to the efforts of MI6 science advisor Reginald Victor Jones and his Telecommunications Research Establishment. They succeeded in altering or interfering with the radio beams, or the Germans’ ability to detect them, throughout the Battle of Britain, greatly reducing their effectiveness at night bombing. Each time the British came up with a means of countering the German triangulation, the Germans would move to a new system of detection and this scientific battle of wits continued through the entire air battle (these sorts of efforts could provide a way for brainiac Smart Heroes to assist their hotshot Fast Hero companions who are flying the planes).

battle of the beams

german strategiesSince the Germans had numerical superiority (and early in the battle tactical superiority as well), they sought to draw the RAF fighters into a direct confrontation and destroy them throughout the Battle of Britain. They would send waves of fighters through Britain on “hunts”, attempting to trick the RAF into engagement. Through attrition then, if nothing else, the Germans hoped to reduce the air defenses of Britain to nothing and achieve complete air superiority.

Unfortunately, British forces learned to spot these “hunting patrols” and would simply avoid the German fighters, preserving their fighting force to oppose German bombing raids.

Since the Bf-110s were not really a match for the British Hurricanes and Spitfires, the bulk of the German escort duties had to be undertaken by the Messerschmitt Bf-109. Since the Bf-109s stayed in close to their bombers in an attempt to protect them, they were limited in their maneuverability, granting the nimble fighters of the RAF another advantage.


british strategiesBesides avoiding direct confrontation with German fighters that were not actively engaging in bomb escort duties, the British tactics at the beginning of the Battle of Britain were severely antiquated, dating back to WWI. They flew in tight “V” formations. This was a severe disadvantage since such precision flying, especially in combat conditions, required all the pilots in the squadron but the squadron leader to keep a close watch on their fellow pilots.

Meaning only one person per squadron (the leader) could watch for enemy fighters. By contrast the Germans used a tactic they called “schwarme” which employed fighters in loose groups of four, each containing two pilots and two wingmen. The British “V” formation made them relatively easy pickings despite advantages in maneuverability at the start of the battle and this tactic was called “the row of idiots” by German pilots.

Worse, pilots in the middle of the largest air combat in history can’t exactly be retrained once the battle has begun so the V formation had to remain throughout the battle. It was modified however, with a second group of two pilots (a pilot and wingman) being employed to escort the V formations in a spotter role, preventing the German schwarme from gaining tactical surprise.

Besides these tactical disadvantages however, the RAF pilots were extraordinarily well trained and disciplined and they used their exceptional aircraft well, with the Spitfires directly engaging enemy Bf-109s while the slightly less maneuverable Hurricanes engaged German bombers.

the battle’s final stages

From the 24th of August on the German Luftwaffe turned its full fury on the RAF squadrons that

were preventing them from bombing Britain into submission. During these final two weeks of the battle the Germans 33 separate attacks, all aimed at RAF radio control towers and airfields. British production capabilities could not replace lost planes in sufficient numbers and new pilots were sent up with as little as nine hours of flight training (and no combat training). Many of these new pilots were dead within hours of their first missions. At this time many of the foreign pilots serving with the RAF, who had been held back because of the language barriers (they were unable to communicate with ground crews or spotters at all in many cases) were fully committed to the battle and showed their mettle during these darkest hours for the RAF.

For the Germans, combat fatigue from the constant fighting over unfriendly territory, called “channel sickness” began to set in. British pilots could bail out of an aircraft and be back with their squadron within hours. For Germans who bailed out, the prospect was capture by the British (if they bailed out over the mainland) or death by drowning and cold (if they bailed out over the channel).

While the RAF airfields and radio towers continued to take a pounding and they were close to being forced to withdraw air cover over portions of England, this was not apparent to the intelligence-starved Germans, who were mystified at the way the RAF always seemed to detect the target of their attack and intercept them. German air commanders were also approaching the end of the time by which they said air superiority over Britain would be achieved and they were desperate to meet that deadline and prove themselves to Hitler. Both sides were getting desperate and the time had come for a final confrontation.

The Germans decided to try and lure the last of the British Spitfires into the sky for a decisive confrontation with a massive bombing campaign on the city of London. They hoped to accomplish two goals at once: defeat the RAF and gain air superiority

over Britain and break the spirit of the British and force them to the negotiating table. The plan backfired, blowing up spectacularly in the face of the Germans.

First, London was further away and the limited fuel capacity of the Bf-109 meant they could only stay over London for 10 minutes before leaving their bombers and turning back toward France. This allowed the British aircraft to severely pummel the German bombers. The total aircraft lost during the bombing raids over London favored the British by two to one and by now even the vast German Luftwaffe was starting to run short of planes.

Secondly and perhaps most importantly, the change in targets allowed the British to finally begin to repair the damage airfields and radio towers that had taken such a pounding. Instead of being forced to move to different airfields and withdraw air cover over sections of Britain, the RAF was able to take to the sky in even greater numbers than before.

Finally on September 17th, 1940 Hitler ordered preparations for Operation Sealion to cease. He also ordered a halt to all daylight bombing on Britain. From this point until 1941, the German blitz would only come under cover of darkness. The Battle of Britain had been won.

The effects of this battle were huge. Many in the United States opposed entry into the war for isolationist reasons but many others, despite sympathies to the British plight, did not believe the nation would be able to resist long enough even for America to enter the war. After the Battle of Britain, public opinion shifted mightily in favor of increased assistance for Britain (though America would still not enter the war, assistance increased after the battle). Further the morale of all forces opposing Hitler was tremendously enhanced. The German war machine was not invincible. It could be beaten. Hitler’s forces had for the first time suffered a decisive defeat.

And since the British pilots were often able to bail


the carrier launched 21 Swordfish Torpedo bombers which sunk 1 Italian battleship and damaged 2 others. This blow crippled the Italian fleet and caused them to move their ships to more secure ports in the north, opening up the Mediterranean to British control.

That one carrier was able to inflict such damage to a fleet in port was not lost on naval planners but the Japanese Navy in particular studied this attack with intense interest. Ultimately the lessons learned from the Battle of Taranto led the Japanese Navy to formulate the plan to attack the much more formidable American Navy in its port at Pearl Harbor in a classic Japanese high-risk, high-reward decapitation attack. Using 6 carriers rather than one, they would catch the American battleships in port and achieve a level of naval dominance that would force the Americans to the negotiating table and grant the Japanese Navy control over the Pacific.

attack on pearl harborOn December 7th 1941, 7:53 am (Hawaiian time) Japan put the lessons of Taranto into practice against the American Navy, moored at Pearl Harbor. For this attack the Japanese would use 6 carriers not one and launch 441 planes at their targets rather than 21. This was Taranto taken to its logical conclusion. The primary target was a tight grouping of battleships nestled between two islands in what was called “Battleship Row”. Of the eight battleships on Battleship row, four were sunk (USS Arizona, California, Oklahoma and West Virginia) and four were damaged (USS Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Tennessee). Despite bearing the brunt of the assault, an astounding six of these vessels would eventually see action in WWII (only the Arizona, which was ripped apart by a magazine explosion and Oklahoma, which capsized before sinking were

beyond repair). If Taranto and Pearl Harbor had not already

shown decisively that the carrier had supplanted the battleship as the most potent weapon in the modern naval arsenal, the remainder of WWII drove the point home again and again with brutal clarity. While battleships spent the majority of the war bombarding shore positions in support of amphibious landings, carriers fought and decided every decisive engagement of the war between the United States and Japan, with planes from the carriers engaging their opposite numbers and large task forces of cruisers and destroyers on each side acting as pawns and knights to protect their carrier queens.

In the Battle of Midway, considered by many naval historians to be the pivotal battle in the Pacific campaign, three American carriers protected by 50 support ships engaged four Japanese carriers and seven battleships, along with 248 supporting ships. While the great Japanese battleships labored to even get to the site of the battle, the carriers dueled, with one American carrier and four Japanese carriers being sunk. Having achieved parity with the Japanese in number of carriers, the Americans able to go on the offensive and invaded Guadalcanal

out and fight another day, the Battle of Britain left the British with one of the most capable corps of veteran combat pilots in the world. By contrast the Germans lost many pilots who had themselves gained great combat experience early in the war. It was a blow from which the Luftwaffe never fully recovered.

war goes global: japanese campaigns in the pacific and america enters the war

world war ii: carrier warAs WWII consumed Europe, the mighty British Royal Navy sought to attain control of the vital Mediterranean Sea. Their principal opponent in this was the navy of Axis Italy. Despite several victories over the Italian Navy, the Italians kept the bulk of their ships safely in harbor under the naval doctrine of a “fleet in being”. This requires an enemy power (in this case the British) to devote substantial forces to counter the “fleet in being” without that fleet ever needing to risk itself in the open ocean. The doctrine was deemed especially sound since it was impractical for the British fleet to come into port to seek out the Italian fleet, since their ships would be easy pickings for ground-based artillery.

In response to this, the British Navy came up with a daring, brilliant plan that would alter the course of history in a most unforeseen way: they would use aircraft launched from a carrier to destroy the Italian fleet in port. This surprise attack on Taranto, Operation Judgment, was conducted by just one carrier group, the HMS Illustrious, overloaded with planes from HMS Eagle. She was defended by 2 cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 4 destroyers and on November 11th, 1940


almost immediately. Japanese battleship hulls under construction were converted to carriers as rapidly as possible but the damage was done, the Japanese were not able to match American industrial production and soon fell behind in the carrier arms race and would never catch up.

d-dayConducted over 60 years ago, D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, remains the largest amphibious assault in the history of the world, with three million Allied troops from the countries of the United States, Britain and Canada participating in the first assault across the English Channel and into Nazi-controlled France. After the initial assault forces from Free France, Poland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, the Netherlands and Norway also took part.

initial planningFollowing the German invasion of the Soviet

Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, the United States and Britain had committed to opening up a second front against the Axis powers. There were many different proposals considered, with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill favoring a slow approach that allowed the various insurgent groups in France, Poland and elsewhere to gain strength, advised and coordinated by the Special Operations Executive. This would be followed with an invasion from the Mediterranean through Vienna and then north into Germany. One reason Churchill favored this plan was that the Allied advance would essentially create a “wall” between Europe and the Soviet advance.

However the United States favored an assault on Germany by the shortest route possible, from the largest nearby base of Allied power: in short, an assault from Britain through France and they made it clear that this was the only plan they would support in the long run. This assault was first called Operation Sledgehammer and slated for 1942, followed by a

SUPREME HEADQUARTERS

ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944 ! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground.

Our Home Fronts have given us an superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your devotion to duty and skill in battle.

We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good Luck! And let us all beseech blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

larger assault called Operation Roundup in 1943. In the end only the plan initially conceived as Operation Roundup was put into practice (though modified) and renamed Operation Overlord.

Planning was initially conducted by British Lieutenant-General Sir Fredrick Morgan in 1943. His plan was adopted and refined by General Dwight Eisenhower’s staff after he was named Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary force.

Geography and the short range of Allied fighters reduced the options for possible invasion sites to two: Pas de Calais and Normandy beach. Pas de Calais was considered the superior landing site in every way, having better beaches and a direct overland route to Germany. Because of this it was heavily defended by Germany, leading to the Normandy coast being selected for the invasion.

Although not as prime a location as Pas de Calais,


Normandy was an excellent landing site strategically, allowing the Allies to threaten ports in Bretagne and Cherbourg as well as providing an overland route to Paris. It was also believed that if forces spread out from Normandy to assault these locations simultaneously, German forces could be scattered and confused.

preparationsIn the end the plan was modified and developed by British General Sir Bernard Montgomery and called for 47 divisions to take part, including 21 American, 19 British, 5 Canadian, 1 Polish and 1 Free French. 6,900 ships would be used in the invasion, commanded by Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey (who had also commanded the ships in the Allied landings in Italy) and 12,000 aircraft would be used for close air support and bombing German fortified positions. An additional 1,000 air transports would deliver paratroopers. The air forces would be commanded by Air Marshall Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory.

While the preparations and build-up of forces was taking place in Britain, the Allies conducted a number of operations designed to convince the Germans that an attack would be launched elsewhere (since the buildup of forces in Britain was impossible to hide the Germans would expect an attack somewhere). First Operation Bodyguard attempted to persuade the Germans that the attack would be launched in Northern France. Later Operation Fortitude was launched to try and divert the German defenses to both Norway and Pas de Calais.

As part of Operation Fortitude, the Allies created an entirely fictitious army group, First U.S. Army Group, supposedly commanded by General Lesley McNair and General George Patton. The illusion of this army group was created using false radio traffic and the use of double agents. Unknown to Germany, British Intelligence had turned every one of their agents in

England and these agents were providing the Germans with messages confirming the existence of First U.S. Army Group and that their destination was Pas de Calais. To finally cement the illusion, fake landing aircraft were constructed of canvas and plywood and Luftwaffe reconnaissance planes were allowed to photograph them and return to Germany.

Finally Operation Skye was conducted, using false radio traffic to convince the Germans that an assault force intending to attack Norway was being assembled in Scotland. This operation was especially important since it would prevent the Germans from sending all their troops to reinforce Normandy after the invasion, waiting to defend against a second (totally fictitious) assault on Norway.

As the landings approached, Britain was subjected to a news blackout, travel was restricted (and travel to within several miles of the coast was prohibited) and foreign embassies were flooded with false reports that were confusing and contradictory in nature. The hope was that any information that did leak out would be lost in a flood of reports.

In addition, several new vehicles and pieces of equipment were constructed specifically for the landing: Amphibious Sherman Tanks, mine-clearing tanks, road-laying tanks, bridge-laying tanks and tanks armed with large mortars for destroying concrete fortifications. Finally two artificial harbors and an undersea pipeline were constructed so that supplies and fuel could be delivered to the beachhead after the landings.

In the days leading up to the invasion British Intelligence began to notice a number of words related to the invasion appearing in crossword puzzles in the British Daily Telegraph. After “overlord”, “Omaha” and “mulberry” all appeared in the puzzles, the compiler of the puzzles, a school master, was interviewed and the Allies were convinced of his innocence. It was learned decades later that the words were suggested by his students and that they had picked up the words in snippets of overheard conversation between soldiers, without ever knowing what the words signified.

the crossword mystery

landings beginThe first units to go into enemy territory were paratrooper and glider units of the British 6th Airborne and the American 82nd and 101st Airborne. In many cases these units were too widely dispersed to accomplish their main objective but still managed to contribute to the success of the landings. Many airborne units operated and fought behind the lines for days, fragmenting and confusing the German response.

While most of the units landing on D-Day did not meet their ambitious day one objectives, the beaches were made secure enough for the artificial harbors to be towed across the English Channel so that reinforcements and supplies could be landed in earnest. After three days, each of the two artificial harbors had landed over 300,000 additional troops, over 40,000 vehicles and over 100,000 tons of supplies.

In fact, although the Germans succeeded for several days in bottling up the Allies on the beaches, the artificial harbors worked so well (and the French rail system had been so destroyed by Allied bombing and Maquis saboteurs) that the Allies were able to reinforce the beachhead faster than the defenders. In fact throughout the Normandy operation the technical achievement of the Allied landings cannot be overlooked, as it directly contributed to the Allied victory.


The Allies were never short on critical supplies and by the time of the July 24th breakout had achieved an almost 4-to-1 troop superiority over the German defenders and a similar 4-to-1 margin of vehicle strength was achieved as well.

By July 24th the Allies had begun breaking out from their beachheads in force and moving inland, with Montgomery’s British forces threatening to take Caen. Although the Germans had finally decided there would be no landings at Pas de Calais, giving them additional troops to send against the Allied invaders, German Generals’ desire to fall back into better defended areas, in order to attempt attritional battles against the Allies and possibly bottle them up, were overruled by Hitler, who ordered a series of costly

counterattacks that were turned away by the Allies with little result. In the end the Allies goal of reaching the Seine within 90 days was met with ease.

In the end the Normandy landings were a tremendous victory for the Allies and an equally traumatic defeat for the Germans. The largest amphibious landing in history and the first successful opposed landing across the English Channel into France, the battle would ultimately lead to German defeat in France and begins a series of defeats, with the Allies liberating city after city, advancing on the German front from three directions.

timeline of wwii in europe1935-1939: hitler’s rise, the failure of appeasementThroughout this period Hitler takes one bold gamble after another that he does not have the power to support, only to see the Allies accept his actions. Hitler took appeasement as a sign of weakness and with each compromise grew bolder, even alarming his own military staff, who were shocked when the Allies gave in to Hitler time and again.

By the time Allies finally resolve to take action in 1939, it is too late to defeat Hitler without great hardship. The Nazi war machine was no longer weak.

1935: Congress passes the first of several Neutrality Acts aimed at preventing the United States from becoming involved in the looming European war as part of a growing movement of isolationism in America of the 1930’s. The 1935 Neutrality Act

prohibited the United States from selling weapons to countries at war.

1936: Seeking to close loopholes in the 1935 act, the 1936 Neutrality Act prohibited sale of war materials to nations at war as well, especially oil and steel.

1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister of Britain. One of the worst regarded British Prime Ministers ever (and widely considered the worst of the 20th century), Chamberlain is remembered most for his appeasement of Hitler which many believe directly led to WWII.

Chamberlain naively believed that dictators like Hitler arose because the German people had grievances and that by his policies of appeasement, he could remove the source of German grievances, thereby removing the need for Hitler.

In the United States, two Neutrality Acts are passed, tightening the restrictions to cover civil wars in addition to wars between nations. Further, American citizens are forbidden to take part in conflicts with other nations, facing a loss of citizenship and even jail terms if they fight in a foreign war.

March 12th, 1938: Germany engineers a coup in Austria, aided by the Austrian Nazi Party, which throws Austria into chaos on the eve of national elections. German troops enter Austria and immediately call for a national vote on an annexation of Austria by Germany, which passes with 99.73% of Austrians voting in favor of a union with Germany.

Typically, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sought appeasement from Germany and in a radio address in Britain had this to say:

“This is not a moment for hasty decisions or for careless words. We must consider the new situation quickly, but with cool judgement... As regards our defence programmes, we have always made it clear that they were flexible and that they would have to be reviewed from time to time in


the light of any development in the international situation. It would be idle to pretend that recent events do not constitute a change of the kind that we had in mind. Accordingly we have decided to make a fresh review, and in due course we shall announce what further steps we may think it necessary to take.”

September 29th, 1938: Britain, Germany, France and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland, an area bordering Germany with a predominantly German population (in a particularly disgusting sign of the political climate and the desperate desire to avoid war by Britain and France, Czechoslovakia was not even invited to witness this conference that for all intents and purposes decided its fate). The Sudetenland is also where the majority of Czechoslovakia’s defenses against German invasion are located and is crucial to any hope of preventing a German invasion. The area also contained one of Czechoslovakia’s largest arms factories, Skoda Works. In return for the Sudetenland, Hitler agreed to no further aggression toward Czechoslovakia, despite the fact that the country would be defenseless to a German invasion.

The two most prominent British politicians of the day had notably different takes on the agreement. Neville Chamberlain, who was greeted as a hero by his people for avoiding war, had this to say: “My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time.”

Winston Churchill had a much different reaction: “We have suffered a total and unmitigated defeat...you will find that in a period of time which may be measured by years, but may be measured by months, Czechoslovakia will be engulfed in the Nazi régime. We are in the presence of a disaster of the first magnitude...

we have sustained a defeat without a war, the consequences of which will travel far with us along our road...we have passed an awful milestone in our history, when the whole equilibrium of Europe has been deranged, and that the terrible words have for the time being been pronounced against the Western democracies: “Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting”. And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.”

Besides emboldening Hitler (he now regarded Neville Chamberlain with nothing but contempt), the Munich Agreement also pushed the Soviets closer to Hitler, prompting them to sign a secret non-aggression pact with Hitler within the year. One reason for this was Stalin’s rage at not having been invited to the conference, feeling the Soviets were thus not considered a major power. Stalin also feared that his country would one receive the same cavalier treatment by Britain and France as well, and so he sided with Hitler rather than be carved up by the other European powers.

By any measure, the Munich Agreement was an unmitigated disaster and all the proof Europe would need that appeasement was a terrible policy. The proof of that would come slowly however, and at the cost of tens of millions of lives. At this time the majority of Europe was ecstatic that war had been averted.

March 15th, 1939: Germany invades Czechoslovakia. The near-defenseless country is quickly captured and made a “protectorate” of the German Reich.

March 21st, 1939: Hitler demands the free city of

Danzig in Poland.March 29th, 1939: Britain and France pledge

military support Poland.April 13th, 1939: Britain and France pledge

military support to Greece and Romania. April 18th, 1939: Britain and France rebuff the

Soviet Union’s offer of a three-way military alliance. May 17th, 1939: German non-aggression pacts are

rejected by Finland, Norway and Sweden.June 3rd, 1939: Britain institutes its first peacetime

draft. All men aged 20-21 are eligible for induction into the military as “militiamen”.

August 23rd, 1939: The Soviet Union and Germany sign the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in secret. This pact declares non-aggression between Germany and the only power Hitler feared, the Soviet Union. The two powers also agree on a division of Eastern Europe.

August 24th, 1939: As the situation in Europe deteriorates, the British Parliament enacts the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act of 1939 in a special session. This grants the government special legislative powers for the duration of the crisis.

Army reservists are also called to active duty and Civil Defence workers are put on alert.

September 1st, 1939: The invasion of Poland begins at 4:30 am with the German Luftwaffe bombing ground targets. Britain and France immediately demand Germany withdraw, a demand that is ignored.

Britain begins planning for the evacuation of children and pregnant women from London and other areas deemed vulnerable to German air attack.

The blackout is instituted in Britain, with the country going dark at night to make navigation and target acquisition more difficult for enemy aircraft and submarines. The British Army is fully mobilized for war.

September 2nd, 1939: Under intense domestic criticism, Neville Chamberlain abandons a plan to


attempt to negotiate a treaty between Germany and Poland. Instead he agrees to deliver an ultimatum to Hitler. By the end of the day, both Britain and France have issued ultimatums threatening war if Hitler does not order the withdrawal of all German forces from Poland by 11 am the next day.

September 3rd, 1939: At 11:15 am British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announces by radio that Britain has declared war on Germany. Australia and New Zealand declare war immediately following this announcement. At 5 pm, though their ultimatum has not yet expired, France declares war on Germany.

Neville Chamberlain forms a War Cabinet, appointing Winston Churchill First Lord of the Admiralty.

The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous conflict of WWII begins with German U-Boats and surface vessels attacking allied merchant shipping. Within hours of Britain’s declaration of war U-30 sinks the liner SS Athenia, a passenger vessel.

German U-Boats also begin mine-laying operations in British coastal waters almost immediately.

Seeking the offensive in the Battle of the Atlantic, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill forms anti-submarine groups centered on British aircraft carriers. This strategy is premature, since the carriers do not yet have weapons effective against submarines and a carrier is sunk in these hunting expeditions early in the war.

Churchill also begins to organize mercantile fleets into convoys so that escorts could better protect them and engage German U-Boats in the one place they are guaranteed to be, in the vicinity of a convoy.

The Royal Air Force begins striking German naval targets.

September 5th, 1939: The United States declares its neutrality.

September 6th, 1939: South Africa declares war on Germany.

Spain announces its neutrality while secretly

offering support to GermanySeptember 10th, 1939: Canada declares war on

Germany.September 11th, 1939: The Allied War Council

holds its first meetings as the Allies discuss strategies for dealing with German aggression.

September 17th, 1939: The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east, throwing the Polish forces defending the country from Germany into disarray.

September 18th-28th, 1939: German forces surround Warsaw and begin extensive artillery bombardment of the city.

September 21st, 1939: Romanian President Calinescu is assassinated by the Iron Guard, a pro-fascist paramilitary organization.

September 25th, 1939: Germany begins food rationing.

September 27th, 1939: As part of its war preparations Britain passes several new taxes to raise funds including a large spike in the income tax.

September 28th, 1939: Warsaw surrenders to the German Army.

September 29th, 1939: The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact is announced to the world. Poland is divided into a large eastern zone under Soviet control, with Germany incorporating a smaller section in the west, though containing most of Poland’s industrial centers.

September 30th, 1939: Escaped Polish government officials form a government-in-exile in Paris.

October 1st, 1939: Britain orders all men age 20-21 to enter the military if they have not already done so.

October 5th, 1939: The Soviet Union begins talks with Finland about “adjusting” the border between the two countries, causing Finland to begin mobilizing its armed forces.

October 6th, 1939: Poland formally surrenders to Germany, though underground resistance continues throughout the war. Hitler speaks before the Reichstag, offering to meet with Britain and France and discuss peace.

October 9th, 1939: Hitler orders planning and preparations to begin for invasion of Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

October 14th, 1939: British battleship HMS Royal Oak sunk by U-47.

October 19th, 1939: Portions of Poland are formally inducted into Germany. The first Jewish ghetto is established in former Polish territory in the city of Lublin.

November 4th, 1939: Roosevelt successfully convinces congress to amend the Neutrality Acts allowing for war materials to be sold to foreign nations on a “cash and carry” basis. While America would not extend credit to Britain or France and American vessels would not enter hostile territory, war materials (especially steel and oil) could be sold for cash (and cash only) to British and French vessels who made the dangerous trip across the Atlantic through the German U-Boat wolfpacks.

November 8th, 1939: While Hitler is giving a speech a bomb explodes but fails to kill him. This is the first of many assassination attempts against Hitler, most are bombings.

During the “Venlo Incident” two British SIS agents are kidnapped by German Gestapo officers posing as refuges from the Netherlands. The British agents had a list of other SIS agents with them and were forced to reveal more names under torture, giving Germany valuable insight into British intelligence efforts in Europe. Hitler also used the supposed meeting with Netherlands sympathizers to claim the country had violated its neutrality and was aiding the British.

Hans Frank is appointed German Governor General of Poland and begins instituting several anti-Semitic programs.

November 30th, 1939: The Soviet Union attacks Finland.

December 13th, 1939: Battle of the River Plate takes place, the first major naval engagement of WWII. The battle takes place between a German


heavy cruiser, the Admiral Graf Spree (often called a “pocket battleship” in naval parlance) and three British cruisers: HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles. The Admiral Graf Spree was found engaged in commerce raiding activities off the estuary of the River Plate in South America and was engaged by the three cruisers, part of the Royal Navy’s New Zealand Division. When the battle was engaged, the Exeter suffered heavy damage and was forced to retire, while the remaining two vessels followed the German cruiser until it entered the neutral port of Montevideo.

While the Admiral Graf Spree remained in port, British intelligence fed the Germans false information that a large British task force was assembled outside the harbor, including HMS Ark Royal, the most sophisticated aircraft carrier in the Royal Navy as well as the heavy cruiser HMS Renown. In fact, beyond the two light cruiser Ajax and Achilles, only HMS Cumberland, an outdated heavy cruiser that was barely more powerful than Ajax and Achilles had managed to reach the area. While Ark Royal was en route, it would not arrive for several days.

December 14th, 1939: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations.

December 17th, 1939: Rather than come out and face what he thinks is an overwhelming British force, the captain of the Admiral Graf Spree scuttles his ship. This incident greatly diminishes Hitler’s regard for his surface fleet and damages the reputation of the German navy. It similarly enhances the reputation of First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill.

December 18th, 1939: First Canadian troops arrive in Europe.

December 27th, 1939: First Indian troops arrive in France.

December 28th, 1939: Meat rationing begins in Britain.

1940: britain alone1940 was a disastrous year for Europe. Germany crashed through the Ardennes forest, delivering a surprise knock-out blow to France. With the fall of France, the British were pushed off the European continent altogether and the only question seemed to be how Hitler’s coalition of Germany, Italy and Russia would divide the spoils. With total victory in Europe in sight, Hitler turned his attention toward a reeling Britain and its defiant leader, a man Hitler referred to as “the warmonger”: Winston Churchill.

As a prelude to invasion of Britain, Hitler launches an attack to gain air superiority over the island the English Channel. This pitched air battle saved Britain which then managed to gain naval dominance over the North Sea and the Mediterranean as well. Although its involvement in Europe was limited for the time being to resistance partisans and commando raids, Britain had managed to survive but only barely.

February 1st, 1940: The Japanese Diet, the country’s ruling council, announces a huge military budget that is over one-half military expenditures.

February 5th, 1940: Britain and France begin planning an operation in Norway both to cut off German supplies of iron ore and also to assist Finland against the Soviets.

February 15th, 1940: Soviet forces capture the Finnish city of Summa.

February 16th, 1940: 299 British POWs are forcibly removed from the German transport Altmark in neutral Norwegian waters by the British destroyer HMS Cossack

February 17th, 1940: Erich von Manstein, commander of German XXXIII Armor Corps presents Hitler with a plan for invading France through the Ardennes forest.

February 21st, 1940: German General Nickolaus von Falkenhorst is placed in command of the planned German invasion of Norway.

Work begins on the construction of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

February 24th, 1940: Manstein’s plan for invading France through the Ardennes forest is adopted.

March 3rd, 1940: The Soviets attack the city of Viipuri, Finland’s second largest city.

March 12th, 1940: Finland signs a peace treaty with Russia, agreeing to their terms for ending the conflict.

March 16th, 1940: German air raids on Scapa Flow result in the first British civilian casualties of WWII.

March 18th, 1940: Mussolini agrees to enter the war as an ally of Germany at “an opportune moment”.

March 21st, 1940: Paul Reynaud becomes Prime Minister of France following the resignation of the previous Prime Minister


March 28th, 1940: Britain and France formally agree that neither will seek a separate peace with Germany.

March 30th, 1940: Japan establishes a puppet dictatorship at Nanking. Wang Jingwei will head the collaborationist government.

April 1st, 1940: Hitler approves the invasion of Norway and Denmark.

April 3rd, 1940: Following the resignation of Lord Chatfield, Winston Churchill is appointed chairman of the Ministerial Defense Committee.

April 5th, 1940: British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain infamously remarks that Hitler has “missed the bus”.

April 8th, 1940: Allies begin mining Norwegian waters.

April 9th, 1940: Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders within the day.

April 10th -13th, 1940: At the first Battle of Narvik, British destroyers and aircraft successfully ambush a larger German force. The British force, commanded by Commodore Bernard Warburton-Lee consisted of HMS Hardy, Hotspur, Havock, Hunter and Hostile. As they moved into the harbor of Narvik they surprised the German ships and sank two destroyers, the Wilhelm Heidkamp (killing the German naval commander Commodore Bonte) and the Anton Schmidt. The British destroyers were then engaged by five German destroyers coming to the aid of their fellow ships under attack and as the British retreated, HMS Hardy (commanded by Commodore Warburton-Lee) and HMS Hunter were sunk.

Both naval commanders were posthumously decorated for their efforts in the First Battle of Narvik, with Warburton-Lee receiving the Victoria Cross and Bonte the Knight’s Cross.

April 14th, 1940: British and French troops begin landing in Norway.

April 30th, 1940: British and French troops withdraw from Norway.

“I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.You ask, what is our policy? I would say it is to wage war by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God has given us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs — Victory in spite of all terror — Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.”

winston churchill, before the house of commons, may 13th, 1940:

Following the debacle in Norway, British opposition to Neville Chamberlain reaches a tipping point as several longtime supporters now turn on him and begin pressuring him to resign. After narrowly surviving a vote of no-confidence, Chamberlain begins to attempt to rally support.

May 9th, 1940: British conscription extended to age 36.

May 10th, 1940: Germany invades Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Neville Chamberlain finally succumbs to the growing pressure from Parliament and resigns, recommending Winston Churchill to succeed him.

“I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny if necessary for years, if necessary alone.Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old.”

May 11th, 1940: Germany occupies Luxembourg.May 13th, 1940: Dutch government-in-exile

established in London.May 14th, 1940: After the Luftwaffe carpet bomb

Rotterdam, the Netherlands surrender.After the HMS Royal Oak is torpedoed in Scapa

Flow, Churchill writes a letter to his chiefs of staff asking “what would happen if 20,000 German soldiers landed on the coast of England?” The result of this, and discussions among British officials who knew such an event was likely and that Britain was woefully prepared for such an eventuality, leads to the creation of the Home Guard, a group of volunteers too old for

winston churchill, in an address to the house of commons, june 4th, 1940:


the draft who learn to man artillery and anti-aircraft weapons.

At first the Home Guard received little in the way of arms or training, wearing no uniforms, only an armband and armed with pitchforks and shotguns. They conducted patrols on bicycles.

By the end of the war, this force had uniforms, carried antique American 30-06 rifles and other, heavier armaments that could be made cheaply, since the needs of forces at the front took precedence over everything. In particular they used a black powder mortar which fired No. 76 Special Incendiary grenades which were essentially glass shells filled with a highly flammable liquid.

They also used Smith Guns, artillery pieces light enough to be towed by a private automobile. The Home Guard also watched the skies for paratroop landings and the sea for amphibious assault.

May 26th 1940: Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of British forces from Dunkirk, begins.

May 28th, 1940: Belgium surrenders to Germany.June 3rd, 1940: End of Operation Dynamo. Using

fishing vessels and anything else that would float, 224,000 British, 121,000 French and Belgium soldiers are removed from Dunkirk and relocated to Britain.

The Luftwaffe begins to bomb Paris.June 10th, 1940: Italy declares war on France and

Britain. Norway surrenders to Germany. June 11th, 1940: French government moves to

Tours as the German advance into France continues.June 14th, 1940: Paris occupied by Nazi forces.

French government moves to Bordeaux. June 16th, 1940: French government collapses.

A WWI hero, Marshall Philippe Petain forms a new government with the consent of Parliament, then immediately suppresses Parliament and begins to collaborate with the Nazi occupiers in France. The name of this government at the time was simply “the French State” but it is better known as Vichy France.

June 18th, 1940: General Charles de Gaulle, in

Britain as an emissary when the French government collapses, refuses to recognize the French surrender or the Vichy government and announces the formation of a “government of Free France” in exile. As the leader of this movement, he will coordinate the ongoing guerilla war in France with the Allies.

De Gaulle’s speech, broadcast to Britain and France on the BBC, known simply as “the appeal of June 18th” is one of the most famous speeches in history:

“The leaders who, for many years, were at the head of French armies, have formed a government. This government, alleging our armies to be undone, agreed with the enemy to stop fighting. Of course, we were subdued by the mechanical, ground and air forces of the enemy. Infinitely more than their number, it was the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans which made us retreat. It was the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans that surprised our leaders to the point to bring them there where they are today.”

“But has the last word been said? Must hope disappear? Is defeat final? No!”

“Believe me, I speak to you with full knowledge of the facts and tell you that nothing is lost for France. The same means that overcame us can bring us to a day of victory. For France is not alone! She is not alone! She is not alone! She has a vast Empire behind her. She can align with the British Empire that holds the sea and continues the fight. She can, like England, use without limit the immense industry of United States.”

“This war is not limited to the unfortunate territory of our country. This war is not finished by the battle of France. This war is a world-wide war. All the faults, all the delays, all the suffering, do not prevent there to be, in the world, all the necessary means to one day crush our enemies.

Vanquished today by mechanical force, we will be able to overcome in the future by a superior mechanical force.”

“The destiny of the world is here. I, General de Gaulle, currently in London, invite the officers and the French soldiers who are located in British territory or who would come there, with their weapons or without their weapons, I invite the engineers and the special workers of armament industries who are located in British territory or who would come there, to put themselves in contact with me.”

“Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished. Tomorrow, as today, I will speak on Radio London.”

June 22, 1940: Vichy France signs an armistice with Germany.

June 24, 1940: Vichy France signs an armistice with Italy.

June 25, 1940: France formally surrenders to Germany in Versailles.

June 28th, 1940: British government officially recognizes Charles de Gaulle as leader of the Free French.

June 30th, 1940: Germany invades and successfully occupies the Channel Islands, the only part of Britain they will ever successfully occupy. Though this is a huge boon to the German propaganda machine (mostly in terms of further indoctrinating the German people about Nazi superiority) it has little tactical bearing on the outcome of the war. In fact the islands had been abandoned by the British because they thought them of little tactical importance and would be a drain of resources to defend.

July 1st, 1940: Winston Churchill forms the Special Operations Executive, a group tasked with non-conventional warfare, especially behind enemy lines. Churchill famously orders the unit to “set Europe


ablaze”. It is the first true modern special operations command. The unit is also charged with coordinating, assisting and training various resistance movements in occupied Europe. It was also engaged in training British citizens to form the core of a British resistance should Britain ever fall to the Nazis.

July 2nd, 1940: Hitler orders preparations to begin for Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain across the English Channel. A necessary first step for this operation is the establishment of air superiority over Britain.

July 4th, 1940: Although the armistice between Vichy France and Germany forbids the use of the French navy in support of Germany, Churchill knows Hitler is not a man to be trusted. Thus he orders the British Navy in North African waters to deliver an ultimatum to the largest concentration of French ships, moored in Mers el-Kebir (modern Algeria): either join the Free French in aiding Britain or be considered German collaborators and be destroyed.

Ultimately the British vessels engaged the French ships in combat. Although the forces were roughly equal in size, the British force contained some of the most advanced vessels in their fleet, including one of the most advanced aircraft carriers in the world HMS Ark Royal. Also the French vessels were at a decided disadvantage since they were bottled up in harbor and not free to maneuver. In the end several French ships were sunk and more than 1,000 French sailors were killed. Some ships, especially those that had taken port in British harbors following the fall of France, joined the Free French while others made their way to French ports and continued to obey the terms of the armistice with Germany, remaining neutral.

The operation ended as a propaganda victory for

“The great air battle which has been in progress over this Island for the last few weeks has recently attained a high intensity. It is too soon to attempt to assign limits either to its scale or to its duration. We must certainly expect that greater efforts will be made by the enemy than any he has so far put forth.… It is quite plain that Herr Hitler could not admit defeat in his air attack on Great Britain without sustaining most serious injury. If after all his boastings and bloodcurdling threats and lurid accounts trumpeted round the world of the damage he has inflicted, of the vast numbers of our Air Force he has shot down, so he says, with so little loss to himself …if after all this his whole air onslaught were forced after a while tamely to peter out, the Fuhrer’s reputation for veracity of statement might be seriously impugned. We may be sure, therefore, that he will continue as long as he has the strength to do so.…....................It must also be remembered that all the enemy machines and pilots which are shot down over our Island, or over the seas which surround it, are either destroyed or captured; whereas a considerable proportion of our machines, and also of our pilots, are saved, and soon again in many cases come into action.… We believe that we shall be able to continue the air struggle indefinitely and as long as the enemy pleases, and the longer it continues the more rapid will be our approach, first towards that parity, and then into that superiority, in the air upon which in a large measure the decision of the war depends.

The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day.”

winston churchill, before the house of commons, august 20th, 1940:

“Like so many of our people, we have now had a personal experience of German barbarity which only strengthens the resolution of all of us to fight through to final victory.”King George VI of Britain

both Britain and Germany. The Germans used to incident to inflame anti-British feelings among the French and successfully used it to increase support for the Vichy government. For the British, this display of resolve and ruthlessness helped encourage American support of Britain, dispelling any notions that the country would soon (or easily) fall to the Nazi advance.

July 5th, 1940: Romania allies with Germany.July 10th-September 7th, 1940: Battle of Britain

(see the Flashpoints section for more information). August 2nd, 1940: De Gaulle is tried in absentia

in France and sentenced to death for treason. He continues to maintain that the Vichy government is the true traitor, having seized power through an undemocratic coup and that he is the sole remaining member of the legitimate French government.

August 4th, 1940: Italian forces invade British Somaliland.

August 17th, 1940: Hitler orders the German


Kriegsmarine to blockade Britain.August 19th, 1940: Berbera, the capital of British

Somaliland is seized by the Italians. August 25th, 1940: First British air attack on

Berlin.September 13th, 1940: Italy invades Egypt.September 16th, 1940: With the passage of the

Selective Training and Service Act, the United States institutes its first peacetime draft.

September 27th, 1940: Germany, Italy and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact, also known as the Axis Pact. This pact divided the world into “zones of influence” for each of the three Axis powers and was meant to serve as a warning to the United States not to come to Britain’s defense, since that would mean fighting a two-front war in the Atlantic with Germany and the Pacific with Japan.

October 16th, 1940: Draft registration begins in the United States.

October 28th, 1940: Italy issues an ultimatum to Greece, to which the Greek Prime Minister famously replies “so it is war”. Italy invades Greece.

November 11th, 1940: British naval forces launch an air attack on Italian ships in port, using Swordfish bombers launched from HMS Illustrious. This attack, which helps cement the control of the British Royal Navy over the Mediterranean over the Italian Navy, is studied intensely by the Japanese and serves as the template (on a much larger scale) for their attack on the American Navy at Pearl Harbor.

November 20th, 1940: Hungary signs the Tripartite Pact.

November 23rd, 1940: Romania signs the Tripartite Pact.

November 24th, 1940: Slovakia signs the Tripartite Pact.

December 8th, 1940: Franco rules out Spanish entry into the fighting.

December 9th, 1940: British forces launch an offensive against Italian forces in North Africa.

December 18th, 1940: German plans for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union are finalized.


1941: axis dominance1941 was the high water mark for the Axis powers during WWII, with the Allies retreating on virtually every front. Although Britain remained defiant, it was unable to take offensive action outside of North Africa and Europe was safely in German hands. Roosevelt finally managed to break through the grip of isolationism in the United States with the Lend-Lease act, declaring America the “arsenal of democracy” but for this year America’s part in the war would be strictly one of support.

Meanwhile, Germany seemed poised to make short work of Russia with its surprise blitzkrieg assault, making huge gains and almost landing a knock-out blow on Russia. By October the German army was attacking Moscow and the entire Russian government, except for a defiant Stalin, had withdrawn further east.

Mirroring these gains, the Japanese launched a surprise attack of their own on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, attempting to score a knock-out. At first it seemed they had accomplished just that and for a time, as Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the Pearl Harbor attack predicted, Japanese forces “ran wild” in the Pacific, capturing Hong Kong and threatening to take control of the entire South Pacific.

And with America’s entry into the war, the dreaded German U-boats could now threaten to strangle the vitally important American supply at its source, with German U-boats operating with near-impunity up and down the east coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico.

January 12th, 1941: British, Australian and New Zealand troops capture Tobruk, a vitally important port-city in North Africa (today part of Libya).

January 19th, 1941: British forces attack the Italians in Eritrea.

January 23rd, 1941: Charles Lindbergh testifies before Congress, suggesting the United States should seek a neutrality agreement with Nazi Germany.

These statements draw sharp criticism for the famous aviation hero from the Roosevelt administration.

February 11th, 1941: As the Italian position in North Africa continues to worsen, Germany dispatches Lt. General Erwin Rommel to Tripoli to engage in a joint defense of North Africa.

February 19th-22nd, 1941: The Luftwaffe bombs the city of Swansea, South Wales for three consecutive nights. Almost 900 bombs are dropped on the city in these three nights, completely obliterating the center of the city and killing over 200 people.

February 25th, 1941: British forces capture the Italian-controlled city of Mogadishu.

March 1st, 1941: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact.March 4th, 1941: British Commandos attack oil

facilities in Narvik, Norway. March 11th, 1941: In a sharp turn away from the

isolationism that had gripped America since the end of WWI, the Lend-Lease program is passed in Congress. This program allows for the President of the United States to “sell, transfer title to, exchange, or otherwise dispose of to any such government” that the President deems vital to the national security of the United States any defense article. Initially $1 billion is set aside for Lend-Lease but by the end of the war this program, which served as a lifeline to Britain and Free France (and later the Soviet Union) before America’s entry into the war would see over $50 billion dollars in aid. This aid was never repaid (and indeed it was never intended to be).

March 27th-29th, 1941: Battle of Cape Matapan: British Royal Navy forces defeat the Italian Navy in this Mediterranean engagement, sinking 5 Italian vessels.

Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy, lands in Honolulu and begins covertly studying the American position at Pearl Harbor.

March 29th, 1941: British Navy sinks five Italian ships at the Battle of Cape Matapan, further cementing British naval control over the Mediterranean.

March 30th, 1941: Africa Korps, led by Lt. General Rommel begins the German offensive in North Africa.

April 6th, 1941: Germany, Hungary and Italy invade Yugoslavia and Greece.

April 10th, 1941: United States occupied Greenland.

April 12th, 1941: Siege of Tobruk by German forces begins. This siege would last for months (until December 1941), with Rommel’s forces attempting to break the resistance of the defenders, who were largely Australian soldiers supplemented by British artillery and naval bombardment.

April 13th, 1941: Japan and the Soviet Union sign a neutrality pact.

April 17th, 1941: Yugoslavia surrenders, forms a government-in-exile in London.

April 21st, 1941: Over 220,000 Greek soldiers surrender to the Germans.

April 23rd, 1941: Greek government relocates to Crete.

April 27th, 1941: Athens occupied by the German Army.

May 1st, 1941: British forces in Iraq are attacked by Iraqi forces.

May 9th, 1941: Two Royal Navy vessels, HMS Bulldog and HMS Broadway succeed in capturing U-110 and keeping it afloat long enough to recover the latest German Enigma machine, used to encode messages. This allows British cryptographers to crack the German codes, providing vital intelligence during the war. The capture of U-110 is one of the most closely held secrets of the war with Winston Churchill not even informing Franklin Roosevelt of this event until 1942.

British forces take control of Iraq with the help of the 21st Indian division.

May 10th, 1941: Rudolf Hess is captured in Scotland. The British House of Commons is damaged by a Luftwaffe air raid.

May 15th, 1941: First Civilian Public Service


camp opens in the United States. These camps housed conscientious objectors who had been drafted by the United States government, largely from religions whose members forbade them to kill even in war. Although they were conscientious objectors, they were willing to serve their country in time of war and served as firefighters, social services, agriculture and forestry duties, along with other “work of national importance”. The men who served in these camps would serve until 1947. The camps were largely not supported by the United States government but rather by the families and churches of the conscientious objectors.

May 20th, 1941: German paratroopers attack Crete.May 24th, 1941: Battlecruiser HMS Hood is sunk

by the German battleship Bismarck. Greek government evacuates Crete and moves to

Cairo.May 26th, 1941: Swordfish torpedo bombers

launched from HMS Ark Royal fatally cripple the Bismarck.

May 27th, 1941: Bismarck sinks in the North Atlantic.

May 28th, 1941: The Royal Navy begins to assist in the evacuation of Crete.

June 4th, 1941: British forces invade Iraq and overthrow the pro-Nazi government there.

June 14th, 1941: All German and Italian assets in the United States are frozen.

June 16th, 1941: The United States cuts off diplomatic ties with Germany and Italy. All consulates for the two nations are closed and their diplomats are ordered out of the country no later than July 10th.

June 22nd, 1941: Germany begins Operation Barbarossa, invading the Soviet Union in an attack that catches Soviet forces completely off guard.

June 23rd, 1941: Hungary and Slovakia declare war on the Soviet Union.

June 26th, 1941: Finland declares war on the Soviet Union.

June 28th, 1941: Albania declares war on the Soviet Union.

July 4th, 1941: German soldiers in the Polish city of Lwow murder 45 Polish professors from the University of Lwow and their families by beating them to death, blunt force trauma with hammers and by execution shootings.

July 7th, 1941: The United States occupies Iceland.July 12th, 1941: Britain and the Soviet Union sign

a mutual defense agreement and agree not to negotiate a separate peace with Germany.

July 25th, 1941: Iran is occupied by British and Soviet forces.

July 26th, 1941: In response to the Japanese occupation of Indo-China, Franklin Roosevelt orders all Japanese assets in the United States seized.

July 31st, 1941: Under orders from Adolf Hitler, Herman Goring orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to “submit to me as soon as possible a general plan … for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question”.

August 6th, 1941: Britain and the United States caution Japan against invading Thailand.

August 9th, 1941: Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Iceland and agree to the Atlantic Charter, which laid out an eight-point plan for the reconstruction of Europe following WWII (even though the United States had not yet entered the war). Among the aims laid out in the Atlantic Charter were that neither Britain nor America would use the war to expand their territory and that any territorial adjustments following the war were to be conducted according to the wishes of the people living in those areas.

August 18th, 1941: Facing domestic pressure and protests, Adolf Hitler orders a temporary halt to the systematic murder of the handicapped and mentally ill in Germany. Although the program is halted, those carrying out the murders are transferred to the concentration camps to continue their work on Jews,

gypsies and other “undesirables”.August 25th, 1941: British and Soviet forces seize

Iranian oil fields and rail lines to secure war supplies of oil from Iran to the Soviet Union.

September 4th, 1941: The USS Greer becomes the first American vessel fired on by a German submarine. This event severely raises tensions between the two powers.

September 6th, 1941: All Jews over the age of 6 in German-occupied areas are required to wear a Star of David with the word “Jew” inscribed.

September 8th, 1941: The Germany Army begins the siege of Leningrad, the Soviet Union’s second largest city.

September 11th, 1941: Franklin Roosevelt orders the United States Navy to shoot any hostile ship on sight while on convoy escort duty.

September 16th, 1941: Under pressure from British and Soviet forces, the Shah of Iran abdicates in favor of his son, who will remain in power with Western backing until overthrown during an Islamic revolution in 1979.

September 19th, 1941: Germans take the city of Kiev.

October 2nd, 1941: Operation Typhoon, the German assault on Moscow, begins.

October 8th, 1941: The German advance into Soviet territory reaches the Sea of Azov.

October 16th, 1941: The Soviet government moves to Kuibyshev but Stalin remains in Moscow.

October 17th, 1941: The United States suffers its first casualties of WWII when the USS Kearny is torpedoed off the coast of Iceland, killing 11 sailors.

October 18th, 1941: General Hideki Tojo becomes Prime Minister of Japan.

October 20th, 1941: The French Resistance assassinates German Lt. Col. Fritz Hotz. As retaliation for this attack the Germans kill 50 French civilians.

October 30th, 1941: Franklin Roosevelt approves $1 billion in lend-lease aid to the Soviet Union.


October 31st, 1941: Over 100 sailors aboard the USS Reuben James are killed when the ship is struck by a German torpedo.

November 6th, 1941: Joseph Stalin addresses the Soviet people for only the second time in his rule of the country, stating that although 350,000 Soviets have been killed by the German Army, the Soviets have killed 4.5 million Germans and victory is near.

Japanese diplomat Kichisaburo presents the United States government with an offer for a partial Japanese withdrawal from China in return for normalized relations and trade with the United States. This proposal is rejected.

November 12th, 1941: During the Siege of Moscow, temperatures drop to -10 degrees Fahrenheit. While the German forces, unprepared for such harsh

“Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives: yesterday, December 7th, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”

united states president franklin d. roosevelt before a joint session of congress:


conditions, freeze to death outside of Moscow, the Soviets attack with ski soldiers for the first time.

November 14th, 1941: After having been struck by a torpedo from U-81 the previous day, the HMS Ark Royal capsizes and sinks.

November 17th, 1941: American ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew, cables Washington that an attack on Pearl Harbor is imminent. This message is ignored.

November 18th, 1941: British forces invade Libya. November 19th, 1941: Australian cruiser HMAS

Sydney and German cruiser Kormoran sink each other off the coast of Western Australia.

November 20th, 1941: Ambassador Nomura of Japan makes a second proposal, to stop all further Japanese aggression in return for 1,000,000 gallons of aviation fuel. America was preparing to offer a

With Germany and the United States finally at war, German U-boats could do something they had greatly wanted to since the United States declared itself the “arsenal of democracy” and began to supply Britain and later Russia: they could operate inside American territorial waters. During this “second happy time”, as German U-boat commanders refer to the period, German submarines operate with near-impunity up and down the east coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico. With resistance weak and disorganized, the Germans sink over 600 vessels and lose only 22 U-boats during this period. Some historians consider these losses a greater American naval defeat than the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Eventually, American merchant vessels were grouped into convoys that traveled only by day for safety and a blackout was instituted in coastal areas to prevent night attacks, these greatly reduced shipping losses but few U-boats were sunk. In March of 1942, when the Royal Navy transferred 50 of its excellent anti-submarine trawlers to America for the defense of coastal waters, the threat was finally neutralized.

“the second happy time”

counter-proposal, offering commercial aircraft fuel in monthly installments, but this offer was withdrawn when it was learned that Japanese troop transports were approaching Indochina.

November 26th, 1941: 33 Japanese warships set sail for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. They travel a route previously traveled by a Japanese cruise liner which reported seeing not a single other ship or aircraft on its way to Hawaii.

November 27th, 1941: During the Battle of Moscow, the Germans reach their closest approach to the city but are halted by the numbing cold and Soviet counterattacks.

December 5th, 1941: Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.

December 7th, 1941: A Japanese attack fleet led by Admiral Nagumo attacks the American fleet moored at Pearl Harbor. The attack sinks four battleships, 3 destroyers and destroys 188 aircraft on the ground. The attack also kills 2,335 military and 68 civilians.

Japanese forces attack Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaya, Thailand, the Philippines and Shanghai.

December 8th, 1941: Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States enters the war, declaring war on Japan.

Britain and the Netherlands also declare war on Japan.

Japan invades Malaya. December 9th, 1941: China declares war on Japan.December 10th, 1941: British battleships HMS


Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales are sunk by Japanese aircraft.

December 11th, 1941: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. The United States answers these with declarations of its own. American forces at Wake Island repel an attempted Japanese landing.

December 12th, 1941: Britain and the United States declare war on Romania and Bulgaria.

India declares war on Japan.December 16th, 1941: Japan invades Borneo.

December 17th, 1941: Battle of Sevastopol begins as Germany attempts to capture the main Soviet naval base on the Black Sea.

December 18th, 1941: Japanese forces land on Hong Kong island.

December 19th, 1941: Hitler is named Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the German Army.

December 23rd, 1941: Japanese successfully land on Wake Island and the American garrison surrenders after heavy fighting.

December 25th, 1941: Hong Kong surrenders to the Japanese.

December 27th, 1941: British Commandos raid the Norwegian port of Vaagso, forcing the Germans to reinforce it.

1942: in the balanceThe year begins with the Allies on the verge of defeat on all fronts. But throughout 1942 things begin to change. British victories in North Africa force the Germans to come to Italy’s aid and the German offensive in Russia slows from a gallop to a bloody crawl. And in the Pacific, the American Navy finally inflicts defeat on Japan at the Battle of Midway. In short, the Axis powers begin the year exultant, feeling victory is within their grasp in every theater. But by the end of the year the Allies have not only managed to hang on but have subtly clawed their way, at great

cost, back into the war. January 1st, 1942: The term “United Nations” is

used for the first time to describe the Allies.January 2nd, 1942: Manila is captured by Japanese

forces.January 7th, 1942: Siege of the Bataan peninsula

by Japanese forces begins. January 11th, 1942: Japanese forces capture

Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Japan declares war on the Netherlands.

January 19th, 1942: Japan invades Burma. January 20th, 1942: German officials attending

the Wannsee conference Berlin decide that the “final solution” for the “Jewish question” will be relocation to concentration camps and then extermination.

January 23rd, 1942: Japanese capture Rabaul on the island of New Britain and turn it into a major airbase.

January 25th, 1942: Japan invades the Solomon Islands.

January 26th, 1942: The first American troops land in Europe, arriving at Northern Ireland.

January 31st, 1942: Allies forces withdraw from Malaya.

February 9th, 1942: Top military leaders in the United States meet to discuss their strategy for the war.

February 15th, 1942: Singapore surrenders to the Japanese, a huge blow to the Allies. Like Pearl Harbor before it, Singapore was seen as an almost impregnable British position in Southeast Asia. With their victories in the Pacific continuing to mount, the Japanese begin to speak of creating a “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere”, and a massive

“Australia and New Zealand are now threatened by the might of the Imperial forces, and both them should know that any resistance is futile. If the Australian government does not modify her present attitude, their continent will suffer the same fate as the Dutch East Indies.”General Hideki Tojo

propaganda campaign takes place in Asia with the Japanese now casting their battles as an attempt to free the South Pacific from western colonial powers.

February 19th, 1942: Japanese aircraft attack Darwin, Australia. Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an executive order designating portions of America “exclusionary zones” for the internment of Japanese-Americans on the west coast and German- and Italian-Americans on the east coast.

February 22nd, 1942: Franklin Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur to evacuate the Philippines as the island’s defenses collapse. The


general famously vows “I will return”. February 23rd, 1942: A Japanese submarine

shells an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California. Although the attack causes little damage it heightens tensions in America.

February 25th, 1942: Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) registers for military service.

February 27th, 1942: Japanese aircraft sink the first American aircraft carrier ever constructed, USS Langley off the coast of Java as they prepare to invade the island (the invasion begins the next day).

March 9th, 1942: The Secretary of War reorganizes the Army, dividing it into three major commands: Army Ground Forces, Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces.

March 10th, 1942: Rangoon, Burma falls to the Japanese. Britain has now been pushed out of Southeast Asia and its position in India is threatened.

March 17th, 1942: General MacArthur arrives safely in Australia.

April 3rd, 1942: Final Japanese assault begins on the Bataan peninsula.

April 5th, 1942: During Japanese attacks on Sri Lanka, Royal Navy ships HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk.

April 9th, 1942: Bataan falls and the prisoners are marched out under extreme conditions, an event known as the “Bataan Death March”. During the 100 mile march, the American and Filipino prisoners were denied food and water, beaten randomly, tortured, shot, bayoneted and beheaded. Of 75,000 captives, 10,000 will die during the march.

During continuing Japanese attacks on Sri Lanka, Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Vampire are sunk.

April 18th, 1942: Doolittle Raid, America’s first successful offensive action of WWII, takes place when Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle organizes the launching of B-25 medium bombers from the carrier USS Hornet. The planes successful reach Japan and

bomb targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, Osaka and Nagoya. None of the planes were successfully shot down over Japan and they made their way to China, where the pilots bailed out and began the long journey home through hostile territory.

Eight airmen are captured by the Japanese, who execute some and treat the rest very harshly as prisoners of war. One crew of five is captured by the Russians but manages to escape in 1943. Doolittle and the majority of his men escaped however, with the help of the Japanese, a “crime” for which the Chinese were severely punished, with 250,000 Chinese killed by the Japanese as they searched for the airmen.

Doolittle considered the attack a failure and told his men he expected a court martial, instead he was awarded the Medal of Honor and was promoted to Brigadier General. He would go on to command the 12th Air Force in North Africa, the 15th Air Force in the Mediterranean and the 8th Air Force in England before the end of the war.

Although the raid caused little damage, it raised critically low morale among American forces and served as a shock to Japanese civilians, who, like German civilians, had been promised the war would never come to their soil.

April 27th, 1942: Canada holds a national plebiscite on conscription.

May 7th, 1942: Battle of the Coral Sea begins between the navies of the United States and Japan, part of Yamamoto’s continuing efforts to engage and destroy the American naval forces that eluded destruction at Pearl Harbor (especially the American aircraft carriers).

For the first time in history aircraft carriers battle one another as the Japanese attempt to cut Australia off from the United States. This also marks the first time in history that all damage inflicted during a naval battle would be inflicted by carrier-based aircraft and not the ships themselves.

The Japanese forces taking part in the battle

consisted of two large Japanese carriers, the Shokaku and the Zuikaku, both veterans of the Pearl Harbor attacks and a smaller carrier, the Shoho. Against this force the Americans employed two of their precious large carriers, USS Yorktown and USS Lexington. Both sides also employed other surface vessels but these vessels acted strictly to defend the carriers. USS Hornet and USS Enterprise, having taken part in the Doolittle air raid were en route but arrived too late to take part in the battle.

Tactically the Battle of the Coral Sea was a draw (though both sides hailed it as a victory at the time). The Japanese lost the small carrier Shoho while the United States lost USS Lexington. Strategically the battle truly was an Allied victory however, since the Japanese were forced to withdraw and were unable


to complete their larger objective of cutting Australia off from American supply. The battle was also of significant help to the Allies since both Japanese large carriers were damaged enough that they missed the crucial Battle of Midway one month later, thought by many to be the true turning point of the Pacific theater.

May 12th, 1942: Second Battle of Kharkov. The Soviets briefly recapture the city of Kharkov from the Germans before being outmaneuvered, encircled and destroyed.

May 15th, 1942: The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAACs) is created.

May 27th, 1942: Operation Anthropoid is carried out, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by the British SOE and agents of the Czech Resistance. Heydrich was Hitler’s second in command and nominal successor. He was the head of Reich Main Security which included the Gestapo, Security Agency and Criminal Police (as has been mentioned earlier, he was also charged with the planning and execution of the “final solution”). He was also the de facto dictator of Bohemia and Moravia, so confident in the ability of his occupation forces to control these regions that he drove in a convertible staff car. He was also known as the “Butcher of Prague”, the “Blonde Beast” and “the Hangman”. After being wounded by a grenade from the agents conducting the assassination, Heydrich died under the care of the personal physicians Heinrich Himmler, one of Heydrich’s many rivals in the Nazi regime. Needless to say Heydrich’s death by infection (he was not directly killed by the grenade blast or shrapnel) is considered by many suspicious.

June 1st, 1942: Mexico declares war on Germany, Italy and Japan.

June 4th, 1942: Battle of Midway. (See Attack on Pearl Harbor).

June 5th, 1942: The United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania

June 7th, 1942: Japanese invade the Aleutian Islands, the first foreign invasion of American soil in

over 125 years.June 9th, 1942: Nazi soldiers burn down the

village of Lidice in retribution for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.

June 13th, 1942: The Office of War Information, a unit for the production of propaganda is opened in the United States.

June 18th, 1942: The Manhattan Project begins.June 21st, 1942: The Afrika Corps, led by Rommel

recaptures Tobruk from British forces.June 28th, 1942: Operation Blue, the German

offensive to capture Stalingrad and Russian oil fields in the Caucasus begins.

July 1st-27th, 1942: In North Africa, First Battle of El Alamein.

July 3rd, 1942: Japanese capture Guadalcanal.July 16th, 1942: The government of Vichy France

orders the arrest between 13,000 and 20,000 thousand French Jews.

July 18th, 1942: The Germans test fly the Me-262, the first jet powered fighter in history, using only its jets for the first time. The planes official name is the Sparrow but it is known to German pilots as “turbo” and Allied pilots call it the “stormbird”. The plane enters mass production in mid-1944, too late to alter the course of the war.

July 19th, 1942: In response to more effective American convoy tactics, the last German U-boats withdraw from their positions along the east coast of the United States.

July 21st, 1942: Japanese establish a beachhead on New Guinea.

July 22nd, 1942: Systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto begins.

August 7th, 1942: Operation Watchtower: American forces invade Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands.

August 8th, 1942: Eight German saboteurs in the United States are tried and convicted. Two cooperate and are given life in prison while the other 6 are

executed. August 13th, 1942: General Bernard Montgomery

appointed head of British 8th Army in North Africa. August 19th, 1942: Operation Jubilee, a British and

Canadian raid on Dieppe, France ends in complete defeat for the Allies, though they do learn some valuable lessons that will be used in the later D-Day landings.

August 22nd, 1942: Brazil declares war on Germany, Italy and Japan.

August 26th, 1942: During the Battle of Milne Bay, Japanese forces launch a major assault on the Australian position in New Guinea.

August 30th, 1942: Luxembourg annexed into the German Reich.

September 1st, 1942: The atomic bomb goes into production in the United States.

Stalingrad encircled by German forces. September 3rd, 1942: American and Australian

forces hand the Japanese their first land defeat of WWII, emerging victorious in the Battle of Milne Bay.

October 3rd, 1942: The Germans test-fire their first rocket which travels almost 90 miles and reaches a height of over 50 miles, making it the first man-made object to enter space.

October 4th, 1942: British Commandos raid the French island of Sark in the English Channel, capturing one German soldier.

October 11th, 1942: During the Battle of Cape Esperance, an American naval task force defeats a Japanese fleet attempting to reinforce Guadalcanal.

October 14th, 1942: The ferry SS Caribou is sunk by a German U-boat, killing 137.

October 18th, 1942: Hitler’s frustration over the inability of his forces to develop a strategy to deal with airborne and amphibious insertion of groups like the British Commandos grows. These raids have become more frequent and are beginning to affect German morale. Finally Hitler issues Commando


Order which states: “From now on all men operating against German troops in so-called commando raids, even if they are in uniform, whether armed or unarmed, in battle or in flight, are to be annihilated to the last man.... Even if these individuals on discovery ... give themselves up as prisoners, no pardon is on any account to be given.”

October 22nd, 1942: Conscription age in Britain is reduced to 18.

October 29th, 1942: British clergy hold a public demonstration to protest the German treatment of European Jews.

November 1st, 1942: Operation Supercharge, an attempted Allied breakout at El-Alamein begins.

November 3rd, 1942: The Second Battle of El-Alamein ends, with Rommel being forced to withdraw his forces under cover of darkness.

November 8th, 1942: Operation Torch, an allied invasion of Vichy-controlled Algeria and Morocco begins. French Resistance fighters stage a coup coordinated with the start of this operation, neutralizing Vichy armor and even capturing some Vichy generals. This allows Operation Torch to succeed almost immediately and leads to the fall of Vichy France in North Africa.

November 10th, 1942: Germany invades Vichy France in violation of their armistice with France, ending any semblance of French self-rule. Hitler orders this action in retaliation for French forces in North Africa signing an armistice with the Allies.

November 12th, 1942: Guadalcanal campaign heats up yet again as American and Japanese naval forces clash.

November 13th, 1942: British 8th Army, led by Montgomery recaptures Tobruk.

In the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Japanese battleship Hiei is sunk by the USS Enterprise.

November 19th, 1942: Soviet forces under command of General Georgy Zhukov launch Operation Uranus, a series of deadly counterattacks that turn the war on the Eastern Front in favor of the Soviets.

November 22nd, 1942: Hitler receives a telegram from German General Friedrich von Paulus, informing him that the German 6th army has been surrounded by the Soviets.

November 27th, 1942: In violation of their armistice with Vichy France, German forces attempt to seize the French ships moored at Toulon, which are supposed to remain out of the fighting.

The French crews scuttle their ships rather than allow them to fall into Hitler’s hands.

December 2nd, 1942: Below Stagg Field in Chicago, a team of researchers initiate the first successful nuclear chain reaction.

December 7th, 1942: British Commandos raid shipping in Bordeaux harbor as part of Operation

Frankton.December 24th, 1942: Admiral Darlan, who has

switched sides from Vichy France to the Allies is assassinated in Algiers.

1943: the turning pointJanuary 14th, 1943: Allied leaders Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle hold a conference to discuss war strategy in Casablanca, Morocco. Stalin is invited to attend the conference but declines to attend, citing pressing matters at home.

Roosevelt gives a radio address to the American people about the results of the conference, which include: a demand for Germany’s unconditional surrender, Allied aid the Soviet Union, impending invasion of Sicily and Italy and a recognition of Charles de Gaulle along with Henri Giraud as the leaders of the Free French.

January 18th, 1943: Soviets announce they have broken the German siege of Leningrad.

Jews in the Warsaw ghetto rise up against the Germans. Though the resistance is fierce, the Jews are poorly armed and prove no match for their Nazi oppressors.

January 23rd, 1943: Allies capture Tripoli, Libya. January 27th, 1943: 50 American bombers

undertake the first all-American air raid of Germany during WWII.

January 30th, 1943: General Friedrich von Paulus requests permission from Hitler for his army, which has been surrounded by the Soviet Red Army for weeks, to surrender. Hitler responds by promoting Paulus to Field Marshall. Since no Field Marshall had ever surrendered or allowed himself to be captured, the meaning of this promotion was clear.

February 1st, 1943: German occupiers in Norway


appoint Vidkun Quisling Prime Minister. February 2nd, 1943: The German 6th Army

surrenders to the Soviets, including Field Marshall von Paulus.

February 7th, 1943: Shoe rationing begins in America.

February 8th, 1943: American forces defeat the Japanese, driving them from Guadalcanal.

February 11th, 1943: Dwight D. Eisenhower is selected to command Allied forces in Europe.

February 14th, 1943: Battle of Kasserine Pass, Rommel’s Afrika Corps attacks Allied positions in North Africa and scores a major victory.

February 18th, 1943: Joseph Goebbels, the German propaganda minister, declares “total war” against the Allies.

February 28th, 1943: Believing the Germans are close to creating an atomic bomb, 6 Norwegian agents sabotage the heavy water plant in Vemork (it was later determined that the Germans were not at all close to completing their heavy water experiments).

March 2nd, 1943: During the Battle of the Bismarck Sea American and Australian ships sink Japanese convoy ships.

March 13th, 1943: German soldiers eliminate the Jewish ghetto in Krakow.

March 26th, 1943: During the Battle of the Komandorski Islands, American vessels attack Japanese vessels that are attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.

April 7th, 1943: Bolivia declares war on Germany, Italy and Japan

April 13th, 1943: German forces announce the discovery of mass graves in Katyn, Poland of civilians they claim were liquidated by the Russians. Although the Russians deny responsibility until 1990, they eventually admit that all Polish reservists were ordered executed by the NKVD secret police. Since Poland had mandatory conscription for almost all males, these executions consisted of over 22,000 dead.

May 7th, 1943: British 1st Army captures Tunisia. May 11th, 1943: American soldiers move into the

Aleutian Islands to attempt to expel the Japanese forces occupying them.

May 12th, 1943: Trident Conference between Roosevelt and Churchill takes place in Washington D.C.

May 13th, 1943: The German Afrika Corps and all Italian forces in North Africa surrender to the Allies.

May 16th-17th, 1943: Operation Chastise, better known to the public as the “Dambuster Raids” takes place. Using specially designed bombs, British pilots attack key German dams, to deny the Germans of hydroelectric power, to deny cities water and also to inflict damage on the German war effort through flooding. The operation successfully breaches two German dams, the Mohn and the Sorpe, releasing 330 million tons of water into the Ruhr Valley area. Despite this fact, the raid was costly in Allied planes and lives and proved no more than an inconvenience to the German war effort.

May 19th, 1943: Winston Churchill addresses a joint session of the United States Congress.

May 24th, 1943: U-boats continue to pull further back as Allied convoys and anti-submarine efforts take an increasing toll. They have now largely abandoned their efforts to halt Allied shipping in the Atlantic.

Josef Mengele becomes the Chief Medical Officer at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

June 22nd, 1943: The American Army 45th Infantry Division lands in North Africa for training.

July 4th, 1943: Battle of Kursk begins in the Soviet Union. This battle begins as a German attack, however the Soviets have established excellent concealed defenses, including minefields and have been planning a counter-attack for some time, only needing the Germans to make their move and fall into the trap. This battle, studied in war colleges for decades, is the largest armored battle in history and sees the largest

single day air casualties of any battle in history. The Soviets advance on a mass scale, almost across the entire eastern front. Halting at a predesignated line so as not to overextend themselves and lose the territory regained in this battle. Kursk marks the end of expansion of the Nazi empire and from this day forward, the territory controlled by Germany slowly decreases over time.

July 4th, 1943: Allied invasion of Sicily by the United States 45th Infantry Division.

July 19th, 1943: Allies bomb Rome for the first time.

July 22nd, 1943: Deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto begins. The Treblinka concentration camp is opened in German-occupied Poland. Eventually 800,000 will die there.

July 24th, 1943: Operation Gomorrah: British and Canadian forces bomb Germany by night while Americans bomb during the day. This operation will continue around the clock until November, by which time the bombing has killed 30,000 people and destroyed almost 300,000 buildings.

July 25th, 1943: Mussolini is arrested in Italy. Power is given to General Pietro Badoglio.

July 28th, 1943: British bombing as part of Operation Gomorrah causes a firestorm in Hamburg that kills 42,000 Germans.

August 6th, 1943: Americans and Japanese fight the Battle of Vella Gulf.

August 14th, 1943: Quadrant Conference begins in Quebec City, with Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King meeting with Roosevelt and Churchill.

August 17th, 1943: United States 7th Army, commanded by General Patton and the British 8th Army, commanded by Field Marshall Bernard L. Montgomery arrive in Sicily, completing the Allied capture of the island.

August 19th, 1943: Meeting in Quebec, Roosevelt and Churchill agree to share atomic research.


September 3rd, 1943: Allied forces led by British Field Marshall Montgomery invade mainland Italy.

September 5th, 1943: The 503rd Parachute Regiment, commanded by Douglas MacArthur occupies Nadzab, New Guinea.

September 8th, 1943: General Dwight D. Eisenhower announces the formal surrender of Italy to the Allies.

September 9th, 1943: Under pressure from British occupying forces, Iran declares war on Germany.

September 23rd, 1943: Germany sets up the Italian Social Republic in Northern Italy, which it still controls. Italy is now a divided state.

October 6th, 1943: Japanese and American naval forces fight the Battle of Vella Lavella.

October 13th, 1943: The new government of Italy sides with the Allies and declares war on Germany.

October 18th, 1943: Chiang Kai-shek takes the oath of office as President of China.

October 22nd, 1943: Royal Air Force devastates the German industrial and population center of Kassel.

November 1st, 1943: Operation Goodtime: United States Marines land in the Solomon Islands.

November 6th, 1943: The Soviet Red Army recaptures Kiev.

November 15th, 1943: Allied Expeditionary Force for the invasion of Europe is formed.

Heinrich Himmler orders Gypsies and “part-gypsies” to receive the same treatment as Jews at concentration camps.

November 16th, 1943: 160 American bombers attack the Vemork hydro-electric plant in Norway, where German heavy water experiments have resumed.

November 20th, 1943: During the Battle of Tarawa, U.S. Marines land in the Gilbert Islands and begin to take heavy fire from Japanese shore guns.

November 22nd, 1943: Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek meet in Cairo, Egypt to discuss strategy.

November 25th, 1943: Americans and Japanese fight the Battle of Caoe St. George.

November 28th, 1943: Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin meet in Tehran to discuss war strategy. Stalin demands the Allies open a second front with an invasion of Western Europe and Roosevelt convinces Churchill to agree.

December 3rd, 1943: Radio personality Edward R. Murrow famously describes the British bombing of Germany as “orchestrated hell”.

December 4th, 1943: Bolivia declares war on the Axis powers.

December 24th, 1943: General Dwight Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

December 26th, 1943: German cruiser Scharnhorst is sunk.

1944: beginning of the endIn 1942, when American and British forces had surrounded the North African port of Casablanca, people in Britain began to talk about a turning point, the beginning of the end of the war. Churchill famously replied that not only was this battle not the beginning of the end, he said “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”. By 1944 however, it was becoming clear to all parties involved in the war that the Axis powers were waning. It seemed that each day brought word of new victories for the Allies and a new retreat for the Axis.

January 4th, 1944: Battle of Monte Cassino begins. This battle was necessary to break through the Winter Line defenses the Germans had set up south of Rome. In all this battle will see four assaults take place over a five month period and result in 54,000 Allied casualties and 20,000 German casualties - a victory for the Allies but a costly one.

January 14th, 1944: Soviet offensives at Leningrad and Novgorod begin.

January 15th, 1944: Polish 27th Army Home Infantry Division is formed when several smaller Polish partisan units combine into a single command of 7300 soldiers. This unit, the largest partisan force in Central Europe, begins attacking Polish cities in the German rear, left lightly defended as the Germans prepared for the Soviet Red Army’s arrival. Their mission, codenamed Operation Tempest was to seize as much territory as possible and prevent the Soviets from seizing control of Poland after driving the Germans out. After five months of fighting the Germans, during which the unit suffers more than 50% casualties, they are captured by the Russians. A small percentage of the men are drafted into the Soviet Army but most are sent to Soviet gulags.

January 17th, 1944: The first assault of the Battle of Monte Cassino begins.

January 18th, 1944: Siege of Leningrad ends. January 20th, 1944: The British Royal Air Force

drops 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin.January 22nd, 1944: Operation Shingle, the

Allied assault on Anzio, begins. The U.S. Army 45th Division will stand their ground at Anzio for four months under severe pressure from the Germans.

January 29th, 1944: Battle of Cisterna takes place, in support of Operation Shingle. During this battle, 3 U.S. Army Ranger battalions, the 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion and a battalion of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment attempt to capture the town of Cisterna under cover of darkness. Unable to reach their objective during the night, the Rangers were met on open ground by German soldiers, including 17 Panzer tanks. Of the 767 man force, 761 are lost.

February 1st, 1944: American troops land on the Japanese-controlled Marshall Islands.

February 3rd, 1944: American troops capture the Marshall Islands.


February 7th, 1944: Italian forces launch a counteroffensive on Allied troops occupying Anzio.

February 8th, 1944: Plans for Operation Overlord, the Allied landings at Normandy, France are approved.

February 15th, 1944: During the Battle of Monte Cassino, the Benedictine monastery on top of Monte Cassino is destroyed by Allied air raids. This monastery, of great historical importance, was supposed to be off limits to the Germans but was bombed by the Allies anyway because of its potential as an excellent observation post for artillery observers.

February 20th, 1944: Operation Argument, nicknamed “Big Week” by the Allied air crews who participated in it, begins. This operation is a massive bombing campaign against aircraft manufacturing plants in Leipzig, Brunswick, Gotha, Regensburg, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, Stuttgart and Steyr. The purpose of the operation is two-fold: first to destroy German aircraft manufacturing and secondly to lure the Luftwaffe up into the air for a decisive battle. If both objectives were achieved, the Allies would have achieved the air superiority over Europe needed for Operation Overlord to take place.

In the end, Operation Argument was a huge success for the Allies, who achieved air superiority over Europe early in the operation and retained it for the rest of the war. Germany was forced to disperse its aircraft manufacturing plants, which allowed the Allies to disrupt aircraft assembly through attacks on roads and other infrastructure. The operation also succeeded in crippling Germany’s air defense, with Germany losing 600 combat veteran fighter pilots. Following this operation, Germany cedes air superiority to Europe, with German fighters only taking to the sky sporadically (prior to this every bombing run by the Allies on Germany was contested by German fighters).

February 28th, 1944: Operation Brewer: American invasion of the Admiralty Islands.

April 14th, 1944: Odessa liberated by the Soviet

Red Army.May 8th, 1944: Date for D-Day landings at

Normandy set for June 5th.May 9th, 1944: Germans evacuate Sevastopol.May 12th, 1944: Soviets liberate Crimea.May 18th, 1944: Battle of Monte Cassino finally

ends.June 2nd, 1944: French provisional government

established in anticipation of handover of power from German/Vichy regime to Free French control.

June 4th, 1944: Operation Overlord postponed due to high seas.

June 5th, 1944: Rome falls to the Allies. It is the first Axis capital to be taken by the enemy since the start of WWII. British Royal Air Force planes drop 5,000 tons of bombs on gun positions on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-day.

June 6th, 1944: D-Day sees the start of Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious landing in history, with 155,000 Allied troops landing on the Normandy beaches and pushing inland.

June 7th, 1944: Bayeux, France liberated by Allied forces.

June 9th, 1944: Soviet Red Army launches an offensive against Finland, in preparation for a ground assault on Germany.

June 13th, 1944: Germany launches a V-1 rocket at Britain.

June 15th, 1944: American forces invade Saipan. June 17th, 1944: Free French troops land on Elba,

the third largest Italian island after Sicily and Sardinia and liberate it.

June 22nd, 1944: Soviet Red Army destroys German Army Group Centre in Belarus, the worst defeat for the German Army yet in WWII.

June 26th, 1944: Cherbourg, France liberated by Allied forces.

July 3rd, 1944: Minsk liberated by the Soviet Red Army.

July 9th, 1944: Caen, France is liberated by Allied

forces.July 18th, 1944: British XIII repulsed by German

counterattack, suffering heavy losses. July 19th, 1944: The entire Japanese government

resigns. Emperor Hirohito asks General Kuniaka Koiso to form a new government.

July 24th, 1944: Majdanek concentration camp liberated by Soviet Red Army.

August 1st, 1944: Warsaw Uprising, staged by Polish Resistance forces begins.

August 4th, 1944: Florence liberated by Allied forces.

August 10th, 1944: American forces liberate Guam. August 15th, 1944: Operation Dragoon, the Allied

amphibious landings for the invasion of Southern France begin.

August 19th, 1944: French Resistance stages an uprising in Paris.

August 23rd, 1944: Romania surrenders.August 25th, 1944: Paris is liberated by Allied

forces. Charles de Gaulle and the Free French march triumphantly down the Champs-Elysees.

August 29th, 1944: Slovak National Uprising begins.

September 4th, 1944: Antwerp, Belgium is liberated by Allied forces.

September 6th, 1944: Ghent and Liege are liberated by Allied forces.

September 8th, 1944: Ostend is liberated by Allied forces.

September 9th, 1944: Charles de Gaulle establishes the provisional government in France.

September 10th, 1944: Luxembourg liberated by Allied forces.

September 17th, 1944: Operation Market Garden, an attempt by the Allies to liberate Arnhem, Netherlands is launched.

September 25th, 1944: Allied forces are forced to pull out of Arnhem as Operation Market Garden is defeated. Over 6,000 paratroopers are captured.


September 30th, 1944: German garrison in Calais surrenders to the Allies.

October 1st, 1944: Soviet Red Army enters Yugoslavia.

October 2nd, 1944: Germans succeed in crushing the Warsaw Uprising.

October 4th, 1944: In the face of an Allied advance, German troops are withdrawn from Greece.

October 6th, 1944: Soviet and Czechoslovak troops enter Slovakia.

October 14th, 1944: Athens liberated by Allied forces.

October 20th, 1944: Belgrade liberated by Soviet and Yugoslav forces.

American forces invade the Philippines. October 21st, 1944: Aachen, Germany captured by

Allied forces, the first German city to fall to the Allies.October 23rd, 1944: Battle of Leyte Gulf is fought

between the navies of the United States and Japan. It is the largest naval engagement in world history.

October 25th, 1944: Soviet Red Army invades Norway.

November 2nd, 1944: Belgium now completely liberated by Allied forces.

November 4th, 1944: Greece completely liberated by Allied forces.

November 24th, 1944: Strasbourg, France is liberated by Allied forces.

November 29th, 1944: Albania is liberated by Allied forces.

December 3rd, 1944: British Home Guard stands down.

December 16th, 1944: Battle of the Bulge, a German counteroffensive in Ardennes begins.

1945: war’s endBy 1945 the war had decidedly turned to the Allies favor. The only questions now were how many lives would have to be lost before the German and Japanese

forces were forced to surrender. There would be no negotiated peace. The Allied leaders were unanimous that surrender must be unconditional. 1945 also sees the Allies giving serious thought to how the world would look once the war was over. Here the Allies differed, with Roosevelt and Churchill committed to gaining no territory and to the collective security of the United Nations, while Stalin saw the opportunity for territorial gain in Eastern Europe.

January 14th, 1945: The 2nd British Army clears the Roer Triangle as part of Operation Blackcock.

January 16th, 1945: U.S. 1st and 3rd Armies link up after the Battle of the Bulge.

January 17th, 1945: Soviet Red Army liberate Warsaw.

January 27th, 1945: Battle of the Bulge ends.Auschwitz concentration camp liberated by the

Soviet Red Army.February 2nd, 1945: Ecuador declares war on

Germany.February 4th, 1945: Belgium completely liberated

by Allied forces.February 8th, 1945: Paraguay declares war on

Germany.February 12th, 1945: Peru declares war on

Germany.February 13th, 1945: Dresden firebombed by the

Allies, destroying most of the city.February 14th, 1945: Uruguay declares war on

Germany.February 19th, 1945: American Marines land on

Iwo Jima.February 23rd, 1945: Marines raise the American

flag on Mt. Suribachi in Iwo Jima.February 25th, 1945: Turkey declares war on

Germany.February 28th, 1945: American forces capture

Manila, the Philippine capital.March 9th, 1945: American aircraft firebomb

Japan.

March 20th, 1945: Mandalay liberated by the Indian 19th Infantry Division.

March 22nd, 1945: American and British forces cross the Rhine.

March 28th, 1945: Argentina declares war on Germany.

March 29th, 1945: Soviet Red Army enters Austria.March 20th, 1945: Soviet Red Army liberates

Danzig.April 1st, 1945: American forces invade Okinawa.April 4th, 1945: Ohrdruf concentration camp

liberated by the Allies.April 10th, 1945: Buchenwald concentration camp

liberated by the Allies.April 12th, 1945: President Roosevelt dies, Harry

Truman sworn in as President.April 13th, 1945: Vienna liberated by Soviet Red

Army.April 15th, 1945: Bergen-Belsen concentration

camp liberated.April 21st, 1945: Soviet Red Army begins assault

on Berlin.April 25th, 1945: Soviet and American forces meet

on the River Elbe.April 28th, 1945: Mussolini captured and executed

by Italian forces.April 29th, 1945: Dachau concentration camp

liberated by Allied forces.April 30th, 1945: Hitler commits suicide in his

Berlin bunker. May 2nd, 1945: Berlin captured by Allied, Soviet

and Polish forces.May 5th, 1945: German troops in the Netherlands

surrender. Denmark liberated by Allied forces.May 6th, 1945: German soldiers open fire on

crowds celebrating the liberation of Amsterdam.May 7th, 1945: V-E Day: Germany surrenders

unconditionally to the Allies.May 16th, 1945: British forces remove German

forces from the Channel Islands.


July 6th, 1945: Norway declares war on Japan.July 16th, 1945: American scientists conduct

Trinity Test, the first test of an atomic weapon.July 24th, 1945: President Truman informs Soviet

leader Stalin that the Unites States has an atomic weapon (though Stalin’s spies have already informed him of this).

August 6th, 1945: Atomic bomb “little boy” dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay.

August 8th, 1945: Soviet Union declares war on Japan, invades Manchuria.

August 9th, 1945: Atomic bomb “fat man” dropped on Nagasaki by the Bockscar. Soviet forces enter China and Korea.

August 15th, 1945: Emperor Hirohito announces Japan’s unconditional surrender by radio and orders all Japanese forces to cease fire.

August 30th, 1945: British forces liberate Hong Kong.

September 2nd, 1945: Japan signs the articles of surrender on board the USS Missouri.

September 3rd, 1945: Japanese forces in the Philippines and Singapore surrender to American and British forces.

world war ii campaignsRunning a WWII campaign gives the game master a chance to set his game during one of the greatest periods of heroism in world history. It also presents some unique challenges. First the sheer scope of the conflict can be overwhelming. WWII lasted seven years, encompassed the entire globe and saw tremendous change in technology and the military fortunes of the powers involved. Because the subject is so big, unless you are an expert on the war, at

least on the hobbyist level, focus is needed so your campaigns feel authentic. Even in a cinematic campaign, the sense that the players are really in the war is one of the most crucial things to make a WWII campaign really stand out.

campaign checklistThe items on the checklist below are some things you should consider before starting your campaign. Since gaming is a social activity, invite your friends over and discuss the options that appeal to you and see which types of campaign spark the most interest. A campaign with a group of enthusiastic, engaged players is going to be the best campaign.

1. choose the general campaign typeThe world is at war. That doesn’t mean the campaign has to focus around combat, or even involve combat at all. Give some thought to the types of adventures you and your players enjoy. Do they love nothing better than close, brutal combat? Do they like careful battles of maneuver where each side tries to use the terrain to best advantage before delivering a lethal attack? Do they prefer role-playing, intrigue or stealth? And of course you can go with that old standby, especially appropriate if you plan on a long campaign, all of the above!

2. choose your theaterOnce you decide the types of adventures you want to run, then you need to decide the theater of the war your campaign will be set in. This choice ties in with the first one in a lot of ways. The European theater was primarily an air and infantry conflict, the Pacific theater saw air, naval and amphibious combat, etc. In other words, once you decide the types of adventures you want to run, if combat missions involving amphibious landings interest you, there was more of that in the Pacific theater than the European or North

African theaters. If you want tank combat, then you’re more likely to be able to feature that in a campaign set in North Africa and so forth.

3. choose the starting yearSimilar to your choice of theater, this will be informed by the types of adventures you want to run. Early in the war (1939-1941) Europe is the scene for behind the lines action, intrigue and sabotage. Later in the war it becomes the scene of terrific air combat as the Allies slowly claw their way to air superiority and finally in the last years of the war sees blistering ground combat in Italy and France. The starting year will also affect the combatants involved in the war. Very few Americans were involved in the war prior to 1941 (there were a few who participated in the Battle of Britain). As the war drags on, more and more nations are involved.

4. choose your realism settingThis last choice will affect the campaign more than any of the others. An extremely gritty campaign will see frequent PC death and see the players go through a progression of characters through the course of a long campaign. Regardless of the types of adventures you wish to run, talk with your players about the level of realism they’re comfortable with. If they want a rollicking action campaign, setting the realism on 11 will probably not give them the play experience they were looking for.

Realism settings come in three flavors: Modern, Gritty and True Grit.

Modern combat basically uses the d20 Modern rules as is. It is somewhat realistic at low levels but becomes increasingly cinematic over time as the players gain levels and have more HP as well as less to fear from a massive damage save.

Gritty makes combat more deadly. Players have to be more cautious, can’t just assault fixed positions


without casualties and have to make better use of cover. This level of realism can be easily achieved simply by adjusting the amount of damage needed to trigger a massive damage save down (from Con to 10) or raising the difficulty of the Fortitude save from 15 to 20 or even higher.

True Grit makes things even deadlier, usually through the use of optional rules. Perhaps the PCs do not gain HP at all beyond first level and have to rely solely on their improving Defense to become more survivable at higher levels. The sorts of changes involved make characters much more fragile and will affect the way the game is played.

Of special concern in this type of campaign is the possibility that players will frequently miss out on the fun because they’ve been sidelined by a character death. Before starting a True Grit campaign, talk with your players and make sure they understand all the implications and then take a few steps to make sure everyone gets a chance to participate. Perhaps each player will generate several characters each that are part of the same overall unit. The “non-player PCs” will fade into the background until a character dies, at which point they can be “activated” by their player. This puts the characters close enough to the action to dive right in and removes the often length time required to generate a new character. This allows for maximum participation from players.

The “reality settings” above are drawn from RPGObjects’ Blood and Guts II: Combat Procedures Manual. In this book you will find numerous optional combat rules keyed to each of the realism settings above. Another excellent source of alternative rules for True Grit campaigns are the legendary Grim n’ Gritty hit point rules, which can also be found at RPGNow.

5. fx/no fxOne final decision to make is on the existence of supernatural powers and abilities. While this might seem incompatible with a realistic campaign using the reality settings above, keep in mind the reality settings really only deal with how dangerous combat is to the players. A superhero campaign could still feature gritty combat with player death being common.

Again, this is a decision that the game master should discuss with his players to ensure everyone is on the same page and gets the most out of the game. While genre shifts mid-campaign can be fun, it’s generally better to warn your players ahead of time, even if that means spoiling the surprise. You’ll get players better suited to the campaign you will eventually run.

If you tell your players you plan on running a grimly realistic depiction of the Italian campaigns, beginning with the Allied landings on Sicily, the characters your players create will probably be ill-suited for the arrival of the alien artifact that transforms the entire group into the Amazing Squad.

sample campaignsWhile the information above is all well and good, and should help you in determining the sorts of campaigns you want to run, some examples as well as inspiration are always good starting points, especially for those new to the period of WWII. With that in mind, some sample campaigns are sketched out below. Future products might provide more detail on some of the campaigns if there is sufficient interest (and if you write enough emails to me).

homefrontCampaign Type: Role-playing, intrigueTheater: American homefrontStarting year: 1942Realism: ModernFX:Optional

introductionThe American homefront was arguably the most

important front in WWII. As one example of how mighty the American war machine was at the height of the war, an assembly line in Detroit, constructed by Henry Ford, could produce a B-29 bomber in 62 seconds when running at high speed. This was the “sleeping giant” Yamamoto was afraid of awakening: American production.

While the war was going on, America was a nation in flux, with African-American and women entering the work force as never before and working jobs normally reserved for white men, especially manufacturing jobs. This caused racial and gender tensions that required government intervention.

Despite blackouts along the coasts to aid in anti-submarine warfare, the American homefront was also a place with a great nightlife. Jazz and swing clubs entered a new era of popularity as did movies (especially musicals) as workers on the homefront tried to forget what was going on in the rest of the world.

homefront charactersOne of the advantages of a homefront campaign is that it allows a more mixed group of characters than would be seen in a typical military campaign. Combat units of the war consisted entirely of white men or entirely of African-America men. Segregation would be a problem tackled by the military after WWII. On the homefront, female characters and characters of all races could adventure side by side in a way that would not be realistic on the front lines.


homefront adventuresAlthough there was very literal actual espionage taking place on American soil during WWII, war comics and fiction frequently have such activities taking place. These will be some of the best opportunities for adventure in a homefront campaign.

Loose Lips Sink Ships!One of the PCs’ friends has a new girlfriend who seems too good to be true. Gorgeous, intelligent and wants to know everything about what he does. Since he works in a munitions plant, this is not a good

thing. Is she a spy or just really inquisitive? And how do the PCs investigate her without damaging their friendship?

The Saboteur There have been several acts of sabotage at the plant where the PCs work. After being questioned by government authorities, the PCs are asked to help catch the criminals. While investigating, the PCs discover that one of their co-workers is a Nazi spy and while attempting to notify the authorities, they are attacked.

The Infiltrators While attending a cook-out on the beach, the PCs actually witness a small group of enemy soldiers coming ashore. The PCs suddenly have to either fight or get away from a group of saboteurs attempting to infiltrate the country to engage in sabotage.

island hoppingCampaign type: CombatTheater: PacificStarting year: 1942Realism: Gritty or True GritFX: Optional

introductionGuadalcanal. Iwo Jima. Okinawa. These islands were unknown to most Americans prior to WWII but since they have become a part of American military lore and part of the legacy of the services, especially the Marine Corps. Some of the most brutal engagements of the war were fought over these islands as the Americans drove across the Central Pacific, moving closer and closer to the Japanese homeland.

island hopping charactersIsland hopping characters should be built for combat, especially durability as the characters assault fixed positions well defended by Japanese soldiers who fight to the death with fanatical loyalty. Assault Training characters (from Blood and Guts II: Military Training Manual) are especially suited to the island hopping campaign, with Amphibious Warfare and Shock Assault advanced training talents being especially useful.

island hopping adventuresAny one of the great island assaults could take several adventures to play out. There are numerous books about each of these assaults that would allow the


game master to run the campaigns in as much detail as desired. These books will also provide maps for many of the assaults.

set europe ablazeCampaign Type: Combat, role-playing, intrigueTheater: EuropeStarting year: 1940Realism: Modern, Gritty or True GritFX: Optional

introductionIn July, 1940 the British government created the Special Operations Executive, the first modern special operations command. Churchill was determined to engage in offensive operations against the Germans as soon as possible. Since a direct military attack on the mainland of Europe was impossible in 1940, it was determined that an unconventional warfare strategy was the best way to go on the offensive immediately. The British Commandos along with intelligence agents entered Europe by stealth (usually through amphibious landings) to conduct sabotage and to coordinate with native resistance fighters.

europe ablaze charactersCharacters should be well-rounded, since they might be called upon to engage in espionage, sabotage, assassination or even a direct assault on a vulnerable, high-priority target. Stealth will be critical to all these missions however, so a combination of Recon Training and Assault Training are probably the best classes to acquire (these classes can be found in Blood and Guts II: Military Training Manual).

europe ablaze adventuresBehind enemy lines, out of contact with their superiors, this is one of the best campaigns for a typical adventure group, since it forces the PCs to operate on their own, without being micromanaged by a GM-run NPC military superior.

Assassination:Special operations forces in WWII undertook assassination of German officers, some high-profile but also rank and file officers.

Operation Anthropoid, mentioned above in the timeline is an example of the types of activities special operations would undertake, often with the assistance of native resistance fighters.

SabotageSpecial operators also conducted numerous sabotage missions, including attacks on research sites where it was thought the Germans were carrying out heavy water experiments. Other more practical military targets could be assigned, such as destroying fuel supplies in preparation for an offensive or parachuting into an area before an attack to secure a key bridge.

ResistanceSpecial operators also were charged with aiding and coordinating European resistance. France, Poland and Czechoslovakia all had large resistance movements who counted on Britain for supplies and military support. In preparation for the Allied landings at D-Day, thousands of special operators went into France to coordinate a massive French uprising that harried German supply lines and caused confusion as to the exact direction of the attacks.

military ranks of world war iiLike many modern military institutions, the modern rank structure evolved during the Second World War. Many nations modified their rank structures strictly to make working with other militaries easier, adding or removing ranks to make sure all militaries had the same basic rank structure, since different armies working together still needed a clear chain of command (this was especially true with the British and American armies, who worked most closely together).


rank great britain united states germany japan soviet union0-1 Commissioned Warrant Officer (Navy)

2nd Lieutenant (Army)Pilot Officer (RAF)

Ensign (Navy)2nd Lieutenant 1 (Army)

Untersturmfuhrer (SS)Leutenant (Army)Lt. zur See (Navy)

Shoi2 Junior Lieutenant

0-1+ Sub-Lieutenant (Navy)Lieutenant (Army)

Flying Officer (RAF)

Lieutenant Jr. Grade (Navy)1st Lieutenant (Army)

Obersturmfuhrer (SS)Oberleutenant (Army)

Oberleutenant zur See (Navy)

Chui Senior Lieutenant

0-2 Lieutenant (Navy)Captain (Army)

Flight Lieutenant (RAF)

Lieutenant (Navy)Captain (Army)

Hauptsturmfuhrer (SS)Kapitanleutenant (Navy)

Hauptmann (Army-Infantry)Rittmeister (Army- Cavalry/Mounted

Transport)

Daii (Navy)Taii (Army)

Capt. Lieutenant (Navy)Captain (Army)

0-3 Lt. Commander (Navy)Major (Army)

Squadron Leader (RAF)

Lt. Commander (Navy)Major (Army)

Sturmbannfuhrer (SS)Korvettenkapitan (Navy)

Major (Army)

Shosa Capt. 3rd Rank (Navy)Major (Army)

0-4 Commander (Navy)Lt. Colonel (Army)

Wing Commander (RAF)

Commander (Navy)Lt. Colonel (Army)

Obersturmbannfuhrer (SS)Fregattenkapitan (Navy)Oberstleutenant (Army)

Chusa Capt. 2nd Rank (Navy)Podpolkovnik (Army)

0-5 Captain (Navy)Colonel (Army)

Group Captain (RAF)

Captain (Navy)Colonel (Army)

Standartenfuhrer (SS)Kapitan zur See (Navy)

Oberst (Army)

Daisa (Navy)Taisa (Army)

Capt. 1st Rank (Navy)Polkovnik (Army)

0-6+ Brigadefuhrer (SS)Konteradmiral (Navy)Generalmajor (Army)

0-7 Rear Admiral (Navy)Major General (Army)

Air Vice-Marshal (RAF)

Rear Admiral (Navy)Major General (Army)

Gruppenfuhrer (SS)Vizeadmiral (Navy)

Generalleutenant (Army)

Shosho Counter Admiral (Navy)General Major (Army)

0-8 Vice Admiral (Navy)Lt. General (Army)Air Marshal (RAF)

Vice Admiral (Navy)Lt. General (Army)

Obergruppenfuher (SS)Admiral (Navy)General (Army)3

Chuju Vice Admiral (Navy)General Leutenant (Army)

officer ranks


0-9 Admiral (Navy)General (Army)

Air Chief Marshal (RAF)

Admiral (Navy)General (Army)

Oberstgruppenfuhrer (SS)Generaladmiral (Navy)Generaloberst (Army)

Taisho Admiral (Navy)General Colonel (Army)

0-10 Admiral of the Fleet (Navy)Field Marshal (Army)

Marshal of the RAF (RAF)

Fleet Admiral (Navy)General of the Army (Army)

Reichsfuhrer-SS (SS)Großadmiral (Navy)

Generalfieldmarshal (Army)

Gensui4 Admiral of the Fleet (Navy)Marshal (Army)

General of the Army (Army)Chief Marshal (Army)5

0-10+ Admiral of the Navy (Navy)General of the Armies (Army)6

Reichsmarschall des Großdeutschen Reiches7

Dai-Gensui 8 Marshal of the Soviet Union

enlisted ranksrank 9 britain united states germany japan soviet union

E-110 Seaman (Navy)Private (Army)Private (RAF)

Apprentice Seaman (Navy)Private (Army

Mannschaften (Army and Air Force) Nitto-hei (Army) Rank names unknown

E-2 Private (Army)Flying Officer (RAF)

Junior Technician (RAF)

Seaman 2nd Class (Navy)Private 1st Class

Itto-hei (Army)

E-3 Leading Seaman (Navy)Lance Corporal (Army)

Corporal (RAF)

Seaman 1st Class (Navy)Technician 5th Class (Army)

Corporal (Army)11

Joto-hei (Army)

E-4 Corporal (Army)Sergeant (RAF)

Senior Technician (RAF)

Petty Officer 3rd Class (Navy)Technician 4th Class (Army)

Sergeant (Army)

Go-cho (Army)

E-5 Sergeant (Army) Petty Officer 2nd Class (Navy)Technician 3rd Class (Army)

Staff Sergeant (Army)

Gun-so (Army)

E-6 Petty Officer (Navy)Sergeant (Army)

Petty Officer 1st Class (Navy)Technical Sergeant (Army)


E-7 Staff Sergeant (Army)Flight Sergeant (RAF)

Chief Technician (RAF)

First Sergeant (Army)

E-8 Chief Petty Officer (Navy)Sgt. Major (Army)

Master Technician (RAF)

Chief Petty Officer (Navy)Master Sergeant (Army)

Oberfeldwebel (Army and Air Force) So-cho (Navy)

1.Includes Army Air Force.2.Unless specified Japanese military ranks are often the same regardless of service branch.3.German Generals carried their specific branch of service after their rank, such as “General der Infanterie” for the Infantry

or “General der Flieger” for the air force. 4.This was an honorary title bestowed by the Emperor.5.There was a Marshal for each branch of the Army (Infantry, Artillery, Tanks etc.)6.Neither of these ranks were actively used during WWII. They are effectively “six star” military ranks. Only two men have

ever held the rank General of the Armies, George Washington (bestowed posthumously) and General John “Blackjack” Pershing.A rank created specifically for Herman Goring and bestowed upon him by Adolf Hitler7.The highest possible Japanese military rank, held solely by the Emperor of Japan.8.If a rank is missing, the player may roll Promotion checks as normal if using the system found in Blood and Guts II:

Military Training Manual and gain all the normal benefits. His title stays the same but his seniority and thus his pull increase. 9.These ranks are approximations. In WWII ranks were divided into grades with highest rank being the least important. Thus a

Private was Grade 7 while a Master Sergeant and First Sergeant were both Grade 1. In order to keep to the pattern most players are used to, as well as allow the promotion rules in Blood and Guts II: Military Training Manual to be used with minimum effort, a more standardized rank system is used here. 10.Technicians used the same rank as their equivalent command rank but with a “T” added to the insignia. Technicians could

not issue commands or orders.

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