Natalia
Author
(823)1939
January
March
April
May
June
August
September
- 01
- Key eventGermany invades PolandAt dawn on 1 September 1939 the Wehrmacht attacked Poland from the north, west and south without declaring war. The Slovak army struck alongside the Germans.
- The bombing of WieluńOn the morning of 1 September 1939 Luftwaffe dive-bombers destroyed central Wieluń, a town with no troops or air defences. The first bombs hit its hospital.
- Germany annexes the Free City of DanzigOn 1 September 1939 Albert Forster proclaimed the Free City of Danzig part of the Reich, and the Reichstag confirmed it by law. Arrests of Poles began.
- Britain prepares for warOn 1 September 1939 Britain ordered mobilisation, the blackout and the evacuation of its cities. A population register and a Ministry of Food followed.
- Britain and France demand a German withdrawal from PolandOn the evening of 1 September 1939 Henderson and Coulondre demanded that Germany withdraw from Poland. The notes were a warning, not an ultimatum.
- 03
- Key eventBritain and France declare war on GermanyOn 3 September 1939 Britain at 11 a.m. and France at 5 p.m. found themselves at war with Germany. Warsaw cheered, but no real help arrived.
- India, Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland at warOn 3 September 1939 the Viceroy declared India at war without consulting Indians. Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland also entered the war that day.
- The sinking of Wicher and GryfOn 3 September 1939 German dive bombers sank the destroyer Wicher and the minelayer Gryf in the naval port of Hel, Poland’s largest warships in the Baltic.
- 04
- Germany cuts the Polish CorridorAfter the fighting in the Tuchola Forest the German 4th Army reached the Vistula and met the 3rd Army from East Prussia. The Pomorze Army lost two divisions.
- More countries declare neutralityIn early September 1939 Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Lithuania, Iran, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico declared neutrality.
- 10
- Canada declares war on GermanyOn 10 September 1939 Canada declared war on Germany, a week after Britain. The delay was deliberate, to show that parliament in Ottawa had decided.
- The bombing of WarsawOn 10 September 1939 Warsaw endured one of the worst days of the siege, with over a dozen Luftwaffe raids. Yet it had been bombed since the war began.
- 24
- Dönitz intensifies the U-boat warOn 24 September 1939, at Dönitz's request, U-boats were allowed to sink ships using their radio and to attack French ones – a first step away from prize rules.
- Soviet demands on EstoniaOn 24 September 1939 Molotov demanded that Estonia's Selter sign a mutual assistance pact with Soviet bases, threatening force if Estonia refused.
October
November
- 17
- IRA bombings in LondonIn November 1939 bombs blamed on the IRA went off in London again. Its bombing campaign had begun in January and, once war broke out, became a security matter.
- Sonderaktion PragOn 17 November 1939 the Germans closed the Czech universities, shot nine student leaders without trial and deported some 1,200 students to Sachsenhausen.
- 26
- The shelling of MainilaOn 26 November 1939 Moscow blamed Finland for shelling Soviet troops at Mainila, though the shots came from the Soviet side. It cut relations on 29 November.
- Germany hands Polish land to SlovakiaIn November 1939 Germany gave Slovakia Poland's part of Spiš and Orava and the land Poland took in 1938, about 770 km², as a reward for joining the war.