London begins to prepare for enemy air attacks while the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, reshuffles his cabinet, bringing in people who have criticized his policy of appeasement. One of these is Winston Churchill, who is named First Lord of the Admiralty.
Roosevelt, watching events in Europe with alarm, takes the decision to end American diplomatic efforts to persuade Germany to desist from aggression.
The Nazis and Soviets continue to commit atrocities in Poland. The Gestapo arrest 167 professors from the University of Cracow and send them to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, to the north of Berlin. Seventeen of them are tortured to death, including the leading Polish literary critic Ignatius Chrzanowski.
In Poland there is no letup in the public executions carried out by the Soviets and the Germans. The objective is to terrorize the population and dissuade them from any action against the occupiers.
Nazi terror is enforced by a curfew, forcing all inhabitants to be inside their houses from eight at night onwards. Despite the fact that the mass executions and the transport of prisoners in cattle wagons is a daily occurrence, the Polish people are not easily intimidated and throughout the country posters and graffiti denounce the atrocities committed by the invaders.
For Churchill one of the biggest problems of the war is the threat posed by the German submarines in the Battle of the Atlantic. The repeated successes of the U-boats have surprised the British navy, which underestimated the danger of submarines and now orders a news blackout on radio broadcasts.
In London the British Secret Service warns the government of the build up of German troops and ships on the Dutch and Belgian coasts. In the House of Commons secret meetings continue, despite criticism from the press. Meanwhile, a group of pilots from Southern Rhodesia arrives at the country. The Italians continue their bombardment of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean.
In London, the Allied supreme war council decides that if Hitler's troops invade Belgium and the Netherlands the British and French armies will enter both countries in order to stop the offensive. At the same time, both Britain and France promise not to sign peace unilaterally with any enemy country.
In London Prime Minister Chamberlain confirms in the House of Commons the evacuation of the British and French troops from Norway and the withdrawal of a division from France, due to the threat of a German airborne offensive and landings in Britain itself.
From Italy Mussolini offers Hitler his help in the occupation of France. The Nazi leader declines his offer, saying to General Wilhelm Keitel “This fool said that his country wasn’t prepared for war and now he is in a rush to share the spoils”.
Hitler’s troops have taken over the Channel Islands, adding to the pressure on Churchill’s government. The British also have to face up to the possibility that both Syria and Lebanon, controlled by the French, might become German bases from which attacks may be launched against other countries in the Middle East with which Britain has defense agreements.
In London the British Secret Service warns the government of the build up of German troops and ships on the Dutch and Belgian coasts. In the House of Commons secret meetings continue, despite criticism from the press. Meanwhile, a group of pilots from Southern Rhodesia arrives at the country. The Italians continue their bombardment of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean.
For the German press there is no doubt that America fully supports Britain. With the American signing of a defensive agreement with Canada, which is part of the British Commonwealth, the USA is no longer neutral, as far as the Germans are concerned, but only a non-belligerent power. In Germany the government orders all Jews in the country to wear a yellow star sewn onto their clothes at all times.
Waves of Luftwaffe planes bomb London without letup. The city is enveloped by thick clouds of smoke and flames and its inhabitants are forced to take refuge in precarious shelters with no water or electricity. Crowded hospitals are hit in the merciless bombing. The British authorities desperately try to organize a sufficiently large fire service to cover the whole city.
After 57 consecutive days of heavy bombing, the city of London has a quiet night. It is now evident that the Germans have been unable to break British air defenses and their hopes that the Battle of Britain would only last a couple of weeks have faded. In Germany there is widespread anger among the citizens of Berlin who are forced to spend many hours during the night in air raid shelters.
In the Battle of Britain, Southampton, London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Plymouth and Bristol endure Luftwaffe attacks. The German pilots are unaware of the effectiveness of the British use of radar and after suffering heavy losses in bombers shot down by RAF Spitfires they are forced to fly in small squadrons and to constantly change their flying altitude.
In Washington President Roosevelt tells members of the 77th American Congress that the United States is at a moment unprecedented in its history. He announces that he looks forward to a world founded on four essential human freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Winston Churchill declares in a speech on the radio that the American people and government are resolved to provide Britain with everything it needs for victory. Give us the means and we will finish the job, he says. Even though Hitler will do everything he can to prevent it.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in a meeting with the War Cabinet, analyzes the German occupation of Bulgaria. With this action Hitler's troops have within reach all the strategic points of the Balkans, as well as the Bosporus Strait, which divides the city of Istanbul, the Dardanelles, which separate Europe and Asia, and Salonika, which is one of the major ports of the Aegean.
In Berlin, Hitler again meets with the Japanese Foreign Minister, Yosuke Matsuoka, who is returning from his visit to Italy.
The possibility of an attack against Singapore and the consequences of a possible American intervention in the war.
Winston Churchill speaks with President Roosevelt on the telephone and appeals for more help as Britain is in a desperate situation. The American Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, a passionate defender of Allied unity against the dictatorships, declares that the US government is deeply concerned about the situation in Europe.
In London, Winston Churchill declares on the radio that in recent weeks British planes have dropped on Germany half the number of bombs that the Germans have dropped during the whole war. But this is only the beginning, and there will be no letup until Hitler is destroyed. According to the British Prime Minister, some Germans can be forgiven, but others deserve to die.
The greatest conflict the world has known to date lasted from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945 when Japan signed the surrender. Six years, 2,190 days, in which the world lived through a terrible war which completely changed the system of alliances of the different countries and the way of life of millions of their inhabitants.
In Berlin, a decree is introduced ordering all Jews older than six years of age and living in German territory to wear a Star of David sewed onto their clothes over the chest. The gay and gipsy communities are forced to wear a triangular shape. In the US, President Roosevelt delivers a bellicose speech aimed at placating the impatience of the British people.
The government of the Third Reich decrees that no Jews will be allowed to leave Germany or the occupied territories. The Battle of Moscow begins. The third and fourth Panzer groups of Marshal Von Bock launch the first attack of Operation Typhoon (Tai fun). As Hitler put it, ‚Today begins the last great battle that will be decisive in the war.
The American public is shocked by the deaths of some of the crew members of the destroyer Reuben James. Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy declares that the sinking of the vessel was a cowardly action even worse than piracy. President Roosevelt accuses Hitler of ordering unprovoked attacks against American vessels.
The greatest conflict the world has known to date lasted from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945 when Japan signed the surrender. Six years, 2,190 days, in which the world lived through a terrible war which completely changed the system of alliances of the different countries and the way of life of millions of their inhabitants.
President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet in the White House. They agree that American arms production should be doubled.
Japanese are stretched to the limits of their capacities. They have suffered ten thousand casualties in Malaysia and their supply system is broken down.
In London a depressed Winston Churchill passes through one of his worst moments in office, under fire from his critics. Along with the problems in Southeast Asia, North Africa and the delicate situation in Malta, the country is facing shortages of foodstuffs and coal. The Prime Minister wants the American President to take determined action as time is running out for the United Kingdom.
At his headquarters in Rustenburg, Hitler meets with Himmler. The head of the SS presents his project for German schools. Children considered to be of Aryan race living in the occupied territories will be separated from their parents and educated in Nazi schools.
In the Philippines, General Jonathan Wainwright informs President Roosevelt and General MacArthur that it is useless to keep defending their positions on the island of Corregidor. A deathly silence takes hold as white flags are hoisted over the Allied positions. Colonel Motoo Nakayama takes Wainwright to Bataan to speak with General Masaharu Homma.
A decree is issued in France and the Netherlands making compulsory the use of the Jewish star on clothes. The SS states on the last report sent to Himmler that up to date 977,000 Jews have been eliminated using gas.
In Berlin, Heinrich Himmler presides over a secret meeting along with his personal doctor, Karl Gebhardt, and the SS general, Richard Glueks, General Inspector of concentration camps, and the leading German gynecologist, Karl Clauberg. With Hitler's consent, they agree to carry out medical experiments on the prisoners of the Auschwitz and Ravensbruck camps.
General Dwight Eisenhower is officially named Commander in Chief of the Allied forces in Europe. Roosevelt and Churchill also agree to put him in charge of Operation Torch, the Allied landings on the French colonies of North Africa.
The Fuhrer, distanced from direct contact with his High Command, and as he had vowed, eats alone and refuses to shake hands with some of his commanders. His obsession has become the rapid conquest of Stalingrad. He wishes to take and display the city as trophy to disguise the failure in the Caucasus. However, the battle in the city is becoming harsher by the second.
Hitler is obsessed with the conquest of Stalingrad, although General Kurt Zeitzler, the new Chief of the Army General Staff, warns him that it would be wise to reconsider their strategy after the success of the Soviets to resist the second German offensive. The Fuhrer, however, thinks that the battle will be decided with yet another attack.
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, after analyzing the situation orders part of the Italian forces to withdraw to positions behind the Afrika Korps. He later tells the Wehrmacht High Command that, due to lack of reinforcements and supplies, his only option is to retreat.
In Stalingrad, two hundred and fifty thousand German soldiers from the Sixth Army have been trapped in the Cauldron (Der Kessel), where rotting corpses are piling up. They have the vain hope that Marshal Erich Von Manstein will come to help them. The Fuhrer will not abandon us is the most common phrase among the Wehrmacht men.
In the Pacific, the Japanese High Command decides to evacuate the island of Guadalcanal. This means giving up complete control of the Solomon Islands and mastery of their northwest shipping routes to Australia and New Zealand.
In Stalingrad, the men of General Shumilov capture Marshal Friedrich Paulus. The remainders of the Sixth Army and the Fourth Panzerarmee have surrendered to the Red Army. Twenty-three generals, two thousand officers, and around 90,000 soldiers are estimated to have been taken prisoner along with Paulus. 130,000 still lie among the ruins of the city.
At Madison Square Garden's in New York, more than 20,000 Jews gather under the banner of the American Jewish Congress, whose aim is to pressurize the U.S. government and its allies into providing refuge for European Jews and to abolish restrictions on immigration to Palestine. RAF planes bomb Berlin in the most devastating attack of the war to date.
Many among the Nazi leadership are convinced that Germany will eventually be defeated. Heinrich Himmler, in anticipation of this possibility, orders that in the reports on the Jewish Question, the term special treatment be omitted so as to conceal the genocide. His aim is to eliminate as much evidence about the Holocaust as possible to avoid being charged for this after the war.
In Poland, over two thousand Jews are transferred from Wlodawa to the Sobibor death camp, directed by the SS general Franz Reichleitner. When they reach the arrivals platform and realize the tragic fate that awaits them, they desperately rebel against the SS guards watching over them, attacking them with sticks and stones. The rioters are gunned down.
German and Ukrainian soldiers encircle the Lvov ghetto (eastern Poland) to prevent its inhabitants from fleeing. When Nazi units penetrate it to carry out genocide, they encounter strong resistance, so they torch buildings to flush out the inhabitants. More than three thousand Jews are killed and another seven thousand are captured and sent to Janowska camp, where they will be killed.
The losses on both camps are rocketing. The intensity of the fighting is draining the morale out of men who are fighting among heaps of rotting corpses and tanks that have been turned into scrap. In the Battle of Kursk, in the course of the Soviet counteroffensive around Prokhorovka the Fourth Panzer Army of Marshal Von Manstein loses over ten thousand men and 350 tanks.
The American planes take off from a base near Benghazi (Libya) and, after flying 2,400 miles to reach the target, find it are heavily defended by German fighters and anti aircraft batteries. Subjected to incessant artillery fire and attacks by Luftwaffe aircraft, the B-24s launch their explosives on the huge Romanian oil installations, which represent one of the lifelines of the Third Reich.
The American carrier-based fighter plane Grumman F6F “Hellcat sees action for the first time. Protected by a heavy fuselage and armed with six 12.7mm machineguns, it will attain air supremacy. In many ways, it can be considered to be the best naval single-seater fighter of the Second World War. Over 12,000 units of its different models were produced.
Hitler orders the Marshal Kesselring to maintain defensive lines south of Rome and use any means necessary to avoid the Allies' advancing north. In Poland, 1196 children arrive at Auschwitz death camp from the Bialystok ghetto. They are sent straight to the gas chambers.
In Europe, Heinrich Himmler has decided to annihilate outright the Jews of the Polish labor camps. He orders Friedrich Wilhelm Kruger, head of the SS and the police in occupied Poland, to direct the extermination. He subsequently passes down the orders to Jakob Sporrenberg, who organizes the Akton Erntefest (Operation Harvest Festival), the killing of all the Jews from the Lublin district.
Several squadrons of the RAF bomb Berlin, dropping more than 1,500 tons of bombs that destroy two factories owned by Siemens and several railway centers located around the city. Flak and German fighters shoot down 40 Allied aircraft and 228 crew members die. So far 2700 Berliners have been killed and another 250,000 have lost their homes.
In Germany, Hitler, in his New Year's address to the German people, reasserts his will to keep fighting: “No matter how long the war may last, it's better to continue in it than to condemn our homeland to the humiliation of defeat, he says. In Plaszow, a suburb of Cracow (Poland), the Germans set up a new concentration camp.
Over 800 RAF bombers launch a night-time attack against the German city of Leipzig, which is followed in the morning by an air raid by the Eight US Air Force in what comes to be known as the Big Week, the carpet bombing of the major industrial centers of the Third Reich. The Big Week reaches its peak during an air raid by American bombers.
Allied commanders estimate that German troops need an average of four thousand tons of supplies daily to supply the forces that are in position on the Gustav Line and surrounding the Anzio beachhead. Their goal is to cut off the supply lines to the rearguard. General Alexander increases the number of U.S.
Hitler issues an order to the commanders on the Eastern Front encouraging them to achieve victory and saying the Russians have exhausted their strength and it's time to finally stop their advance. The German generals cannot believe what they read and consider the Fuhrer has lost his mind. In London, Churchill delivers in the House of Commons casualty figures suffered in the war so far.
Stalin claims that Germany has been defeated during a speech delivered during the May Day celebrations. He calls for Romanians, Bulgarians, and Hungarians to rise against Hitler and his occupation forces. He ends by saying: “the Nazi beast is wounded; we must now chase to its lair and destroy it.
In the early hours of the morning, 180 men of the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Battalion of the Sixth Airborne Division, known as The Red Devils, parachute into their sector of Normandy and, to the tremendous surprise of the Germans, capture Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal in Bénouville, a strategic point for the success of the landing operations.
To date, the Allies have landed to date more than one million soldiers and one hundred and seventy thousand vehicles in northern France. The number of captured German prisoners has risen to forty thousand. General George S. Patton lands near Omaha Beach in Normandy (France) aboard a Douglas C-47 plane.
Under Hitler's instructions, Heinrich Himmler orders that all family members of Von Stauffenberg be persecuted. His wife Nina, a few months pregnant, is arrested by security forces and sent to prison and then to the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp. Their four children are sent to an internment camp. In Warsaw, Polish and German forces continue to violently clash.
On the Western Front in northern France, General Eisenhower sets up his headquarters in the city of Reims. A great student of history, he is trying to emulate Hannibal, the Carthaginian general who defeated the Romans at Cannae in south eastern Italy, in a battle considered as one of the greatest tactical displays in military history.
The greatest conflict the world has known to date lasted from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945 when Japan signed the surrender. Six years, 2,190 days, in which the world lived through a terrible war which completely changed the system of alliances of the different countries and the way of life of millions of their inhabitants.
The Japanese launch the strategy of sending fire balloons over the Pacific Ocean with the hope that they will reach the United States and produce massive wildfires in the West Coast woodlands. The operation will take place over five months, in the course of which more than nine thousand balloons will be sent off. Three hundred of them will reach American territory, producing hardly any damage.
Charles De Gaulle travels to Moscow to meet with Josef Stalin. After a number of meetings over several days, they will sign a military alliance against Germany. In the Pacific, today marks the third anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and U.S. entry in the war. The Americans have recovered much of the lost ground, though this has been at the cost of thousands of deaths.
Both for Germany and for Japan, the outcome of the year 1944 has been catastrophic. Hitler's secret weapons have not had the desired effect, and they are proving inconsequential in the development of the war.
Among the few remaining active senior figures within the German High Command, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, General Alfred Jodl and Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, are still unquestioningly loyal to Hitler.
On the Eastern Front, the Germans fight a cutthroat battle, roused by National Socialist fanaticism and radical anti-communism. The greatest fear of the Wehrmacht soldiers is to fall into the hands of the Red Army.
Fifty thousand U.S. troops land unopposed along thirteen kilometers of beach of the southwest coast near Hagushi. Casualties are so scarce that the Marines call today the day of love. Hitler has included Vienna in the category of an especially important defensive zone, which means fighting with all available means until the last man alive.
In Germany, Hamburg radio announces Hitler's death: “fallen at his command in the Reich Chancery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz becomes the new head of state. In Germany, General Helmuth Weidling, commander of the Berlin Defense Area, surrenders the city and his troops to General Vasily Chuikov.
American bombers attack the Japanese city of Osaka, dropping over three thousand firebombs. In Germany, the Soviets have carefully studied the remains of Hitler, Eva Braun, and Joseph Goebbels and his family, who have been buried temporarily in a forest near the town of Rathenow in the vicinity of Brandenburg.
In Europe, the power of Stalin and his armies has penetrated into the heart of Europe. American and British troops begin to withdraw from the areas assigned to the Soviets, accompanied by many refugees. For Churchill, who is involved in general elections; the presence of the Soviets is a disaster for humanity. However, he was one of those responsible for having allowed it in the first place.
On the Pacific front, American Secret Services, after intercepting Japanese government messages, are convinced they will not accept unconditional surrender. Atomic bombs are dropped in Japanese cities.
The various delegations that will participate in the formal Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri continue to arrive.