Churchill timeline Flashcards
1929
24 July The Kellogg-Briand Pact, agreed in 1928, goes into effect.
31 October Irwin Declaration suggests future ‘Dominion Status’ for India.
1930
March-April Gandhi leads the Salt March in India
Nov-Jan (1931) First Round Table Conference in London.
1931
25 January Gandhi is released from prison
27 January Churchill resigns from shadow cabinet over India policy
5 March Before the Second Round Table Conference later that year, Gandhi and Lord Irwin agreed the Gandi-Irwin Pact which laid out conditions for a truce in India and INC participation at the Conference.
Sept-Dec The Second Round Table Conference takes place in London.
1932
28 January Japan attacks Shanghai.
Feb-Jan (1933) World Disarmament Conference takes place and ends in failure.
Nov-Dec Third Round Table Conference.
1933
4 July Gandhi is sentenced to prison in India.
12 August Churchill makes first speech publicly warning of the dangers of German rearmament
25 October East Fulham by-election won by pacifist John Wilmot.
7 November Churchill warns the Commons Hitler has started to rearm.
1934
8 March Churchill urges increased spending on RAF in the Commons. Attlee declares support for ‘total disarmament’.
31 July Cabinet approves report calling for RAF expansion, creating 40 new squadrons over next five years.
5 December Walwal incident triggers Abyssinia Crisis.
1935
16 March Hitler publicly announces German rearmament.
21 May Hitler announces reintroduction of conscription to the Wehrmacht.
3 October Italy invades Abyssinia.
1936
20 January The Prince of Wales becomes King Edward VIII following the death of his father, George V.
7 March Hitler remilitarises the Rhineland, promising he has only limited expansionist aims.
17 July Spanish Civil War begins.
15 November Luftwaffe participates in Spanish Civil War.
25 November Japan and Germany sign Anti-Comintern Pact.
Nov.-Dec Churchill takes unpopular position supporting Edward VIII.
1 December Bishop Blunt of Bradford delivers a speech alluding to Edward VIII’s behaviour. The press report his affair with Wallis Simpson.
7 December Churchill is shouted down in Commons over abdication.
11 December Edward VIII abdicates. The Duke of York accedes to the throne as George VI.
1937
26 April Bombing of Guernica.
28 May Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister following Baldwin’s retirement.
3 June Wallis Simpson marries the Duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII).
11 December Italy leaves League of Nations.
1938
20 February Lord Halifax becomes Foreign Secretary following Eden’s resignation. Eden disagreed with Chamberlain over Britain’s policy towards Italy.
13 March Germany annexes Austria (Anschluss).
29-30 Sept. Leaders of Germany, Italy, Britain and France attend the Munich Conference. The Czechs and Soviets are not invited. An agreements is reached to give the Sudetenland to Germany.
30 September Chamberlain declares ‘peace for our time’ on arriving back in Britain.
2 October Duff Cooper, First Lord of the Admiralty, resigns over the Munich Agreement.
5 October Churchill denounces Munich Agreement in Commons as ‘a defeat without a war’ and warning that it was ‘only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup’.
16 October Churchill gives broadcast address to the USA, condemning the Munich Agreement and calling upon America and western Europe to prepare for armed resistance against Hitler.
1939
22 May Pact of Steel signed between Italy and Germany, formalising Rome-Berlin axis.
23 August Molotov-Ribbentrop/Nazi-Soviet Pact is signed.
1 September Germany invades Poland. Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland declare their neutrality. FDR states that ‘every effort’ would be made to keep the USA out the war.
3 September Britain, France, New Zealand, Australia and India (by Viceroy Linlithgow) declare war on Germany.
5 September The USA declares its neutrality in the war.
17 September Soviet Union invades Poland.
1940
April-June Norway campaign
7-8 May Norway debate
10 May Hitler attacks western Europe, ending the ‘Phoney War’ and beginning battle of France. Churchill becomes PM.
13 May Churchill delivers ‘Blood, toil, tears and sweat’ speech.
27 May-4 June Evacuation of Dunkirk
4 June Churchill delivers ‘We shall fight on the beaches’ speech.
10 June Italy enters the war
18 June Churchill delivers ‘Their Finest Hour’ speech, declaring ‘The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin.’ Charles de Gaulle broadcasts from London, rallying the French Resistance.
22 June France surrenders to Germany
July-Oct. Battle of Britain
2 September ‘Destroyers for Bases’ deal agreed, providing Britain with 50 US destroyers.
7 September The Blitz begins with German bombing of London. Germans bomb British targets for the next 56 nights.
17 September Hitler postpones Operation Sealion, the planned invasion of Britain.
1941
11 March The Lend-Lease Act is signed into law by FDR, effectively ending the USA’s position of neutrality.
22 June Hitler launches Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the USSR. Churchill immediately offers support to the Soviet Union, declaring: ‘Any man or state who fights against Nazidom will have our aid.’
9-12 August Churchill meets FDR in Newfoundland. They agree the Atlantic Charter which sets out goals for post war international cooperation.
29 September Moscow Conference begins, with representatives of the US and UK governments meeting Soviet foreign minister Molotov to arrange urgent assistance for Russia.
7 December Pearl Harbour
8 December USA declares war on Japan. FDR delivers his ‘Infamy Speech’.
11 December Germany declares war on USA. The USA declares war on Germany and Italy.
22 Dec.-14 Jan. Washington Conference
1942
2 July Following surrender at Tobruk, ‘No Confidence’ motion is debated in Commons. Motion is defeated 475 to 25.
12 August Churchill arrives in Moscow to meet Stalin
23 August Battle of Stalingrad begins
23 October Second Battle of El Alamein begins
4 November British victory at Second Battle of El Alamein, Egypt.
1943
11-25 May Second Washington Conference. Churchill and FDR agree delay of second front until May 1944.
July Soviets begin pushing westwards.
July-August The Allies invade and secure island of Sicily.
3 September The Allies land in southern Italy.
8 September Italian government surrenders unconditionally to Allies.
28 Nov-1 Dec At Tehran Conference, FDR, Churchill and Stalin meet together for first time. It is agreed the USA and Britain would invade France by May 1944 and the USSR would join the fight against Japan.
1944
6 June D-Day. In the Commons, Churchill announces liberation of Rome and Normandy landing
25 August Allied troops enter Paris, thus completing Operation Overlord
12-16 Sept. Second Quebec Conference, Churchill and FDR discuss plan for post-war Germany
9-19 October Moscow Conference, Churchill and Stalin agree zones of influence in Eastern Europe
1945
4-11 February Yalta Conference (FDR, Churchill, Stalin) results in several agreements.
30 April Hitler commits suicide
7 May Germany surrenders to western Allies
8 May Victory in Europe Day
17 July – 2 Aug Potsdam Conference (Truman, Churchill/Attlee, Stalin).
26 July Labour win the general election
6 August USA drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima
9 August USA drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki
14 August Japan agrees to surrender.
2 September Japan formally surrenders.
1946
5 March Iron Curtain speech
15 March Clement Attlee promises independence to India as soon as constitution can be agreed
1947
20 Feb Attlee announces India to have full self-government by 30 June 1948 latest
15 March Hindus and Muslims clash in Punjab
14 August India, West Pakistan (Pakistan) and East Pakistan (Bangladesh) gain their independence. Jawaharlal Nehru becomes first Indian Prime Minister
14 October 1947 Jammu massacres leaves between 20,000 and 100,000 Muslims dead at hands of extremist Sikhs and Hindus
1948
30 January Gandhi is assassinated
21 June The Gathering Storm is published. The Deutsche Mark becomes the official currency of the future West Germany
1949
19 September Labour government devalues the pound, from $4.03 to $2.80
1950
25 June The Korean War begins
1951
25 October The Conservatives win the general election with a majority of 17. Churchill becomes prime minister for a second time.
