1939

World War II begins while the war between China and Japan continues. American public opinion becomes less neutral because of German invasions of Czechoslovakia and Poland. Germany and USSR sign a treaty of nonagression with each other and then attack and occupy Poland. Soviet and Japanese forces fight to a standstill in Mongolia. German submarine warfare begins. In World War II, the airplane, aircraft carrier and escort carrier would be the most prominent weapons in use. Because the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans lay between US and Europe and between US and Japan, supply ships would be critical to waging warfare. Against these the submarine would be lethal and then radar would be developed to limit the effectiveness of submarines. The aircraft carrier and its dive bombers will prove the vulnerability of battleships and the Naval Treaty of 1922 outlawed them, so none will be built during the war, although upgraded older ones will serve with distinction in that conflict.

January 12.   Washington:   Recognizing the growing militarism in Germany and Japan, and the reduced isolationist sentiments among Americans, Pres. Roosevelt asks Contress for $552 million in defense expenditures for expand fortifications in American possessions in the Pacific and Caribbean. The US will also allow UK and France to purchase airplanes. The President will ask Congress for more defense expenditures after Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 and again after Japan attacks Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. A summary of these expenditures that allowed the US to become the most formidable military in the world: ($ millions)^{DOC 1114}

1940 $   9.06
1941 $ 13.25
1942 $ 34.04
1943 $ 79.37
1944 $ 94.99
1945 $ 98.30

The US will produce 324, 000 airplanes, 88,000 tanks and self-propelled guns, 257,000 artillery, 481,000 trucks, 100,000 fighter airplanes, 98,000 bombers, 24,000 transport airplanes, 22 aircraft carriers, 349 destroyers, 203 submarines, 34 million tons of merchant ships, and millions of small arms.

February 10.   Hainan Island, China   Japanese forces occupy Hainan Island, giving Japan greater control over the southern Chinese coast.

February 14.   Hamburg, Germany:   The famous German battleship, Bismarck is launched. Largest of any warship and faster than any battleship at that time, it will become a successful commercial raider until sunk by British ships on May 27, 1941.

March.   Paris:   Because of German expansion to the east, the French government authorizes the President to govern by decree. He begins rearmament and partial mobilization of reserve armed forces. France will soon begin purchasing airplaness and arms from US companies for its defense.

March 14.   Slovakia & Carpatho-Ruthenia   Slovakia and Carpatho-Ruthenia declare their independence from Czechoslovakia. Slovakia will became a puppet state of Nazi Germany on March 16 after Germany's occupation of Czechoslovakia. Hungary immediately annexes Carpatho-Ruthenia.

March 15.   Czechoslovakia:   A German army takes control of Bohemia and Moravia after invading the Sudetenland in October, 1938. The Czech army is disbanded and the Czech arms industry comes under the control of Germany. US, UK and France are alarmed and accelerate their arms buildup. The Czech government flees to exile in UK. Germany's intent is to conquer the European countries that lay between it and USSR, its ultimate goal of conquest to provide living room (Lebensraum) for Germans.

March 20.   Washington:   US recalls its ambassador to Berlin in response to Germany's violation of the Munich Agreement of 1938 and its occupation of Bohemia and Moravia.

March 23.   Memel Territory   Lithuania cedes Memel to Germany, the forces of which will occupy it the next day.

April 1.   Spain & Washington:   The Spanish civil war ends and US recognizes the new government of Spain under the dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco. Germany will attempt to enlist Spain in its wars, but Spain resists with too many demands and will remain a "non-belligerant". However, Spain will provide Germany with volunteer troops to fight against USSR and allow German ships to use Spanish naval facilities.

April 6.   London:   UK, France and Poland sign a mutual assistance agreement, promising that UK and France will send military aid to Poland in the event of a German attack. This pact indicates that UK and France finally are determined to stop Germany's conquests in the east that might result in conquests of its own countries.

April 7.   Albania:   Italy invades Albania and completes its conquest on April 12. King Zog I is forced into exile and Albania becomes an Italian protectorate.

April 13.   London:   UK pledges support to Greece and Romania if invaded following Italy's invasion of Albania on April 7.

April 28.   Berlin:   Adolph Hitler officially renounces the Anglo-German Naval Treaty of 1935 that restricted the German navy to 1/3 the size of the British navy.

May 11.   Mongolia:   In the battle of Khalkhin Gol River on the Mongolian border, Japanese and Russian armies fight over a disputed area occupied by Mongolian forces. The USSR I Army Group under Marshall Zhukov defeats the Japanese Kwantung army. The battle is significant in that it eliminated the possibility of German and Japanese forces linking up through USSR. Japan had to give up its attempt to seize Siberia as far as Lake Baikal for its resources. Japan would never attempt to invade USSR again during World War II. USSR and Japan agree to an armistice on September 16. In 1941, the two countries will agree to respect the borders of Mongolia and Manchukuo and pledge neutrality towards each other.^Wiki This battle forces USSR to leave troops in the east for fear of another Japanese attack. However, the battle leaves Japan with no desire to fight again in that region. (USSR will invade Manchukuo in August, 1945 as a western Ally against Japan.)

May 22.   Berlin:   Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy (Pact of Steel) is an agreement between Germany and Italy to aid each other in the event of war. Italy will be unprepared to assist Germany in its attack on Poland on September 1. Italy entered World War II by unsuccessfully attacking southern France in June, 1940.

May 26.   London:   UK and Portugal reaffirmed their ancient (1373) alliance, which secures UKs sea lanes to Africa and the Mediterranean. Neutral Portugal will continue to work with both the Allies and Axis during World War II, although Portugese dictator Antonio Salazar is sympathetic with Germany and Spain, both dictatorships.

July 26.   Washington:   US withdraws from the 1911 trade pact with Japan to pressure it into modifying its military stance against China. Trade thereafter will be conducted without a treaty.

August 2.   Peconic, Long Island, NY:   From his summer home, Albert Einstein writes a famous letter to Pres. Roosevelt wherein he explains that recent research in the US and Germany may lead to the development of nuclear chain reactions from uranium atoms that might result in enormous releases of energy. Further, that such a reaction could be used to construct bombs that would release such large amounts of energy as an explosion. The letter was written with the assistance of physicist Leo Szilard in consultation with physicists Edward Teller and Eugene Wigner, but not delivered to Pres. Roosevelt until October 11. The president creates an Advisory Committee on Uranium and $6,000 is given to the U. of Chicago for further research. After further delays, the research will be turned over to the National Defense Research Committee and then the Office of Scientific Research and Developoment in May 1941 and finally to the Manhattan Engineering District in August 1942. On December 2, 1942 the atomic pile at the U. of Chicago goes critical under the leadership of Enrico Fermi. On February 18, construction will begin at Oak Ridge Tennessee for a magnetic separation plant. On July 16, 1945 the first nuclear explosion is successful at a test range near Alamogordo, NM. On August 6, "Little Boy" will be detonated over the city of Horoshima, Japan and on Aust 9, "Fat Man" will be exploded over the city of Nagasaki, Japan. Both events will precipitate the surrender of Japan on August 15.

August 23.   Moscow:   Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact (Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in which both countries promise to remain neutral if either country becomes involved in war. Hitler wants no interference from USSR as he plans to invade Poland while Stalin wants to appease a more powerful Germany. The pact also includes a secret protocol dividing Northern and Eastern Europe into Germany and Soviet spheres of influence. Soon, Germany and USSR will invade their respective sides of Poland to divide the country between them. USSSR will later invade Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and eastern and northern Romania.^Wiki

August 24.   London:   The British parliament votes the Chamberlain government almost dictatorial powers to deal with the Danzig-Polish crisis. At the same time, British and Polish representatives sign a mutual assistance pact. The British government wants to demonstrate its support of Poland to deter a German invasion and the Polish government begins to call up reserves.

September 1.   Poland:   German armies invade Poland from the west and north to begin World War II. USSR invades Poland from the east on September 17. Fighting will end on October 6 with the defeat of Poland and the division of the country between Germany and USSR. On October 8, Germany annexes the free city of Danzig (Gdansk). The Polish government refuses to surrender and escapes to the west along with some armed forces who will eventually fight on the side of the Allies. The conquest of Poland along with other eastern European countries will secure Germany's route to its conquest of USSR.

September 3.   London & Paris:   UK (at 1110 hours) and France (at 1700 hours) declare war on Germany in accord with their previous pacts with Poland. France will invade the Saar region of Germany on September 7, but will stop and withdraw by September 20. The British dominions of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada declare war on Germany, but most other countries, including the US on September 5, already have or will soon declare neutrality.

September 3.   Australia & New Zealand:   Both countries declare war on Germany. They will contribute troops, food, and arms to UK and US in North Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Pacific Ocean battles throughout the war.

September 4.   South Africa   After deposing the pro-German Prime Minister, Barry Herzog, South Africa declares war on Germany. It has few white troops to contribute (it did not want to put its great numbers of blacks under arms) to various war theaters, but its docks will serve Allied ships operating in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country will later enter the war against Japan.

September 3.   North Atlantic Ocean, 250 miles northwest of Ireland:   German submarine, U-30 torpedoes the British passenger liner Athenia at 1730 hours, mistaking it for a British armed merchant cruiser or troop ship. The ship was bound for Canada from UK and had 1418 on board, of which 117 died, including 28 Americans. This is the first ship sunk in World War II and as a passenger ship was exempt from attack under international law, and if the ship also carried war material, the passengers were to be removed before sinking. Since Germany does not want to provoke a war with the US, it invents a false cover story, but the world becomes aware and alarmed at the U-boat menace. German U-boats will escalate their attacks on merchant ships, particularly those bound for UK, in the longest battle, called the "Battle of the Atlantic" of World War II in order to knock UK out of the war, which it is not able to do by invasion. As an island country, UK requires large shipments of food and war material to persevere against Germany and Japan, so much time and effort will be devoted to defending against the U-boat. This menace will operate with varying strengths in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Carribean Sea near UK, US, and African shipping routes. Another important target for the U-boats are the convoys to USSR in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Allied convoys are protected by warships and airplanes with limited success against U-boats until the middle of 1943 when aircraft carrier escorts, more destroyer escorts, longer range bombers, codebreaking, and radar combine to sink U-boats in large numbers. After the Allies conquer German forces in France and the Low Countries in 1944, U-boat bases will cease operations. A few U-boats will continue to sink Allied ships and be sunk in return until Germany surrenders in May, 1945.

September 5.   Washington:   US declares neutrality in the European war. Under the Neutrality Act of 1937, President Roosevelt prohibites the export of arms and munitions to the belligerent powers, including Britain and France.

September 10.   Canada:   Canada declares war on Germany. Although it had only about 12 million population, Canada will contribute 1.1 million people towards the war effort. Canada will produce military trucks, food, and arms for UK. Canadian navy, merchant marine, and coast guard will contribute to the Atlantic Ocean convoys that will be attacked by German submarines. Canadian troops will fight in North Africa, Europe, and Pacific Ocean with UK and US troops.

September 14.   North Atlantic Ocean:   The German submarine, U-39, attempts to torpedo the British aircraft carrier, but misses. Escort destroyers damage the submarine with depth charges, forcing it to the surface. The sub is sunk and its crew is taken prisoner. This the first German submarine sunk in the war.

September 17.   USSR:   THe Soviet Army invades Poland. It will annex about 1/3 of Poland. (2/3 will be annexed by Germany.) Polish resistance ceases and some forces escape across neutral borders and will fight on the side of the Allies. The Polish government was established in exile in France on September 30, but later will move to UK after France is overrun by German armies.

September 28.   New York City:   The New York Times reports that a poll conducted by the American Institutute of Public Opinion reveals that 63% of Americans believe that Germany will go to war against the US if UK and France are defeated. This poll shows a shift of American opinion from its earlier belief that neutrality will keep it out of war. Consequently, the President and Congress will be able to further arm the country.

October 28.   Poland:   The first of many Jewish ghettos is established in Poland by Germany to confine and isolate Polish Jews. These grreatly overpopulated areas with little recourse to food and medical attention will result in many Jewish deaths from starvation and disease.

November 3.   Washington:   The U.S. Congress amends the Neutrality Act of May 1937, repealing the embargo on arms to belligerents, but also placing the sale of arms exports to belligerents on a cash-and-carry basis. This allowed U.S. munitions manufacturers to sell arms to the Allies.

November 24.   China:   Japanese forces conquer southern China and sever the communcations and railroad transportation from French-Indo-China. Together with previous conquests of Chinese ports, this event prevents China from being supplied by Allies except through the Burma Road.

November 30.   Finland:   In response to Finland's rejection of Soviet demands for lands that were once part of Russia under the czars amd secure its borders, USSR forces invade Finland. Soviet armies attack at Petsamo on the Arctic Ocean, central Finland, and Karelian Isthmus. The Finnish army puts up a strong defense and stops the offensive. Eventually, however, augmented forces force Finland to an armistice on March 12, 1940, and accede to Soviet territorial demands. The League of Nations expels USSSR because of this conquest. To regain its territory, Finland will join the Axis against USSR. Therefore, UK will declare war on Finland in 1941. Russian armies lose heavily in this war compared to Finnish armies, but they learn valuable lessons about winter provisioning and fighting that will be valuable in their winter wars against German troops in 1941 through 1943.

December 13.   South Atlantic Ocean:   The German commerce raider, Admiral Graf Spee, is attacked by 3 British cruisers in the Battle in the River Plate off the coast of neutral Uruguay and neutral Argentina. and forced to dock at Montivideo for repairs. Uruguay threatens to seize the ship, so she is scuttled by her German crew. The Graf Spee had sunk 9 Allied merchant ships, so numerous British ships hunted her across the Atlantic. This battle is the first naval engagement of World War II between Allies and Axis.