- March 14
- Slovakia and Ruthenice declare their independence from the Czech government in Prague. [166.277] [248.E5] [691.83] [801.vi]
- March 15
- German troops occupy the Czech parts of Bohemia and Moravia. [277.5] [653.22] [801.vi]
- Czech president Emil Hacha accepts Adolf Hitler's demand to surrender the entire country. [166.277] [248.E5] [293.E4] [373.115] [448.33] [691.83] [801.1]
- German troops enter the capital of Czechoslovakia, Prague. Adolf Hitler declares "Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist". [42.19] [78.248] [166.277] [248.16] [444.236] [448.33] [766.34]
- March 16
- Adolf Hitler accepts the protectorate of Slovakia. [801.vi]
- March 17
- British foreign secretary informs German Government that British Government considers this repudiation of Munich agreement. [448.34] [801.vi]
- March 18
- The Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Maxim Litvinov, suggests to British Ambassador Sir William Seeds that delegates from the UK, Soviet Union, France, Poland, and Romania should meet to discuss collective action in the event of war with Germany. [42.20]
- British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain tells the Cabinet that continuing negotiations with Adolf Hitler is impossible. [42.20]
- American President Franklin Roosevelt imposes punitive tariffs on imports from Germany. [653.28]
- March 19
- British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax replies to Soviet Commissar Maxim Litinov, saying they were examining an alternative scheme to a five-country pact. [42.20]
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- March 20
- British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax sends a telegram to E. Phipps in Paris, France, W. Seeds in Moscow, Russia, and H. Kennard in Warsaw, Poland. The British Government suggests a four-power committment to oppose actions threatening the independence of any European state. (France replies favorably; Russia will support if France and Poland accept it; Poland is reluctant to ally with the Soviet Union.) [448.96]
- March 22
- Lithuania surrenders Memel to Germany. [248.E5] [293.E4] [801.1]
- March 23
- Germany forces occupy Memel. [691.84]
- Poland partially mobilizes its armed forces. [42.22]
- March 27
- At a Foreign Policy Committee meeting of the British Cabinet, the Ministers decide to side with Poland, rather than try for a multi-nation agreement involving the Soviet Union. [42.22]
- British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax sends a telegram to H. Kennard of Warsaw, Poland, and R. Hoare of Bucharest, Romania, suggesting England, France, Poland, and Romania agree to help any of the group if attacked by Germany. (France replies in favor two days later.) [448.99]
- March 28
- Poland announces that any German attempt to alter the status of Danzig without Polish consent would lead to war. [166.283] [801.1]
- March 30
- The British and French governments guarantee Poland's independence. [42.19] [156.6]
- March 31
- (afternoon) British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announces in an address to the House of Commons that the British and French governments would lend support to the Polish government if its independence is threatened. [42.23] [406] [444.236] [448.34,102] [801.1]
- (month unknown)
- In the USA, a Gallup poll reveals that 99% of Americans wish the US to keep out of all foreign wars. [503.1762]
- (spring) Coal and electric power in Japan begin to run short. The financial world fears conditions may generate a crisis around April-May. [444.235]
- April 3
- Adolf Hitler issues a directive to the Army High Command to prepare for an attack on Poland, code named Fall Weiss (Case White), to be ready to implement by September 1. [42.25] [80.306] [149.37] [166.288]
- April 5
- German chief of armed forces General Wilhelm Keitel and Italian chief of armed forces General Pariani meet in Innsbruck to discuss division of operations in event of war with the West. [801.2]
- April 7
- Italy invades and annexes Albania. [140.51] [753.35] [759.32] [801.1]
- King Zog of Albania flees into exile. [768.16]
- April 11
- Adolf Hitler issues a Directive for the Armed Forces regarding the invasion of Poland. [149.25]
- April 13
- England and France issue guarantees to Romania. [801.2]
- April 15
- American President Franklin Roosevelt outlines a peace proposal for Europe to Germany and Italy. [232.770]
- France's Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet suggests an annex be added to the Franco-Soviet pact of 1935 pledging Russian aid to France if attacked by Germany. [801.2]
- British anbassador in Moscow Sir William Seeds requests Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs Maxim Litvinov to declare guarantee of Poland and Romania. [801.2]
- April
- Germany offers non-aggression pacts to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. [401.223]
- April 18
- USSR leader Josef Stalin proposes a triple treaty defensive alliance of Great Britain, France, and the USSR against Germany. [376.44] [444.238] [801.2]
- April 19
- Great Britain announces it will defend Denmark, Netherlands, and Switzerland in the event of war. [766.34]
- April 26
- British Minister for War Leslie Hore-Belisha announces introduction of conscription. [801.3]
- April 28
- Adolf Hitler addresses the Reichstag in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin, Germany. Hitler cancels the ten-year non-aggression pact with Poland (signed in January 1934), and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of June 1935. Hitler calls the Anglo-Polish Agreement an alliance directed exclusively against Germany. Hitler demands the return of Danzig to Germany. [232.770] [248.E5] [293.E4] [390.8] [801.1,3]
- May 3
- Soviet Union leader Josef Stalin replaces Maksim Litvinov as foreign commissar with Vyacheslav Molotov. [444.238] (May 4 [801.1])
- May 4
- Japanese Prime Minister Kiichiro Hiranuma declares to Adolf Hitler that Japan would support Germany and Italy with political, economic, and military aid if one was attacked by a power other than the Soviet Union, but not right away. [444.237]
- May 6
- Two warships escort Britain's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on a visit to Canada. Each ship carries about 15 million Pounds Sterling in gold for safekeeping in Canada. [118.37] [236.811]
- May 11
- The Japanese army attacks Outer Mongolia at Nomonhan (Khalkin Gol). (The dispute continues until September 15.) [444.242] [613.1]
- May 12
- Turkey and Great Britain conclude a security pact. [233.870]
- May 16
- In Halifax harbor, Nova Scotia, Canada, gold from two British warships is transferred to trains for delivery to Ottawa. [118.37]
- May
- Denmark accepts a German offer of a non-aggression pact. [38.17] [401.223]
- May 17
- Sweden, Norway, and Finland reject Germany's nonaggression pact offers. [766.34]
- May 20
- In Moscow, Russia, German ambassador Graf von Schulenburg proposes to Soviet foreign commissar Vyacheslav Molotov resumption of talks on German-Soviet trade agreement. Molotov responds that trade talks are meaningless without political agreement. [801.5]
- May 22
- At the Reich Chancellory in Berlin, Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop sign a ten-year political and military alliance, dubbed the Pact of Steel. [166.300,354] [204.422] [234.942] [248.E5] [293.E4] [406.193] [444.238] [766.34] [801.1]
- May 23
- German Chancellor Adolf Hitler informs his generals of his decision to attack Poland at the first available opportunity. Hitler tells commanders regarding Poland "We cannot expect a repetition of the Czech affair. There will be war." [801.5] [806.152] (early July [448.108])
- June 3
- British Winston Churchill writes in Collier's magazine: "Unless some change of heart or change of regime takes place in Germany she will deem it in her interest to make war, and this is more likely to happen in the present year than later on." [281.21]
- June
- The Soviet Union sends in better planes and pilots to the armed dispute at Nomonhan in Mongolia. [444.244]
- US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral William Leahy tentatively agrees with the British naval attaché to co-operate in Atlantic Ocean antisubmarine warfare in the event of war. [83.72]
- June 19
- General Walther von Brauchitsch, Commander in chief of the German Army, sends letters to Adolf Hitler and Wilhelm Keitel, chief of Wehrmacht High Command, noting that provision of raw materials for Army armaments industry is unbearable, and could lead to a shutdown of production. [653.25]
- (month unknown)
- Germany proposes a pact of non-aggression with Sweden. The Swedish government refuses. [110.444]
- July 1
- At wedding of Princess Irene of Greece, Duke of Kent informs cousin Prince Philipp von Hessen of Germany to convey message to Adolf Hitler that if Germany invades Poland, Great Britain would declare war on Germany. [839.145]
- July 3
- The Japanese army launches a powerful surprise attack against Soviet forces at Bain-Tsagan Mountain. [444.245]
- July 5
- The Japanese army retreats from its Soviet conflict with heavy losses. [444.245]
- July
- In Warsaw, Poland, Poles give British and French agents two copies each of their copies of the German Enigma encryption devices. [704.31]
- Adolf Hitler demands the reunification of Danzig with Germany. [5.18]
- Adolf Hitler invites Canadian students and officers to visit Germany as guests of the Third Reich. [5.18]
- July 24
- Great Britain, France, and Russia agree to offer mutual assistance should any of the three be attacked. [801.1]
- July
- The Danzig Senate, under orders from German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, threatens reprisals against Polish officials on the dispute over customs inspectors. [801.8]
- August 4
- The Polish government tells the Danzig Senate that any physical action against Polish customs officials in Danzig would be regarded as an act of violence against officials of the Polish state. [801.8]
- August 10
- Albert Forster, Gauleiter for Danzig and Nazi leader, addresses a crowd of 100,000 in Danzig: "The hour of liberation is at hand... our Motherland and our Führer, Adolf Hitler, are determined to support us.". [235.295]
- A trial blackout is ordered for London, England, in preparations for war. [20.475] [235.301]
- August
- Eastern and Western Air Commands of the Royal Canadian Air Force are formed. [1.39]
- Eastern Air Command of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins patrols of the north-west Atlantic Ocean. [1.39]
- Western Air Command of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins patrols of the north-east Pacific Ocean. [1.39]
- August 16
- Captain Bertrand of the French Signals Intelligence gives to a British Secret Service Liaison officer a Polish-built copy of the German Enigma coding machine, and much related material. [376.23]
- Baron von Weizsaecker, State Secretary in the German Foreign Office, tells Sir Nevile Henderson, British Ambassador to Berlin, that Russia would give negligible help to Poland, and would join in sharing the spoils. [673.1]
- August 18
- German troops occupy Slovakia. [390.8] [748.4]
- August 19
- Germany and the Soviet Union sign a trade treaty. [248.E5] [406.194]
- August 20
- Soviet forces under Lieutenant General Georgi Zhukov counterattack Japanese invaders at Nomanhan in the Mongolian People's Republic (Outer Mongolia) on the border with Manchukuo. (Within ten days, strong Soviet tanks overwhelm the Japanese forces.) [410.26] [444.246]
- August 21
- German pocket-battleship Admiral Graf Spee slips through the North Sea, unobserved by the British. [173.2] [560.141]
- Adolf Hitler reads a telegram from Josef Stalin, acknowledging agreement on a non-aggression pact. Hitler responds by banging his fist on the supper table, exclaiming "I have them! I have them!". [373.161]
- Berlin announces that Germany and Russia are concluding a treaty of non-aggression. [156.6] [390.8]
- August 23
- In Moscow, Germany and the Soviet Union sign a Treaty of Non-Aggression. A secret protocol of the pact defines domains of influence, with the Soviet Union to gain eastern Poland, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and the Romanian province of Bessarabia. Germany is to control western Poland and Lithuania. [38.19] [51.25] [149.44] [166.288,328] [179.397] [248.E5] [277.5] [293.E4] [373.162] [376.46] [405.516] [406.195] [444.239] [448.35] [622.A13] [766.34] [801.1,8]
- Prince Philipp von Hessen of Germany relays message from England's Duke of Kent to Adolf Hitler that if Germany invades Poland, Great Britain would declare war. Adolf Hitler does not believe Britain would fight over Poland. [1456.145]
- German pocket-battleship Deutschland slips through the North Sea, unobserved by the British. [173.2]
- August 25
- German battleship Schleswig-Holstein arrives at Danzig harbor. [180.428]
- In London, an Agreement of Mutual Assistance is signed by Poland and Great Britain. If Germany attacks either nation, the other will aid in its defence. [406.189]
- Japan breaks off talks of alliance with Germany. [801.9]
- (1500 hours) Adolf Hitler issues Order X, for partial mobilization in preparation for war, with an attack on Poland scheduled for August 26. [149.42] [801.1,8,18]
- (1630 hours) Adolf Hitler learns of the signing of the British guarantee of Poland. [801.8]
- (1800 hours) Italian Ambassador Bernardo Attolico informs Adolf Hitler that Italy could at present not join Germany in war. Adolf Hitler postpones Plan White to the following week. Commando units are notified of the delay. [373.164] [801.1,9]
- (1930 hours) Adolf Hitler postpones Plan White to the following week. Commando units are notified of the delay. [80.306] [373.164] [760.13] [801.9]
- August 26
- (0030 hours) German Lieutenant Dr. Hans-Albrecht Herzner leads a 24-man group, the Construction Training Company 800 for Special Duties, into the forests of Poland. Their mission is to seize the railway station at Mosty in Jablunka Pass in the Carpathian Mountains to prevent destruction of the rail tunnel. Herzner had not been contacted to delay the mission. [760.12]
- (afternoon) 14 men of the German Construction Training Company 800 for Special Duties inside Poland reach Mosty, cutting the telephone and telegraph lines. Polish guards are alerted and counterattack. [760.12]
- In Canada, the Irish Regiment of Canada is called to active duty. [49.5]
- In Canada, the militia is called to duty to protect coastal defences and vulnerable industrial points. [156.6]
- August 27
- (0935 hours) German Abwehr contacts Lieutenant Dr. Hans-Albrecht Herzner of the Construction Training Company 800 for Special Duties in Poland, telling him to release his prisoners and get his group back to German soil immediately. [760.13]
- (1230 hours) The German Construction Training Company 800 for Special Duties re-crosses the border back into Germany. [760.13]
- August 28
- Adolf Hitler abrogates the German-Polish non-aggression treaty of 1934. [760.18]
- August 29
- The British Admiralty assumes control of all British-registered merchant ships. [27.16]
- August 30
- Japanese forces at Nomonhan are virtually destroyed. [444.246]
- Poland officially announces military mobilization. [801.18]
- August 31
- In Cairo, Egypt, forty cases are packed with the sarcophagus of King Tut-ankh-Amen and items found in his tombs, and the cases are hidden in bombproof chambers underground to protect them from possible wartime destruction. [231.2]
- The Slovak Government calls on Poland to return the Javorina district territory to Slovakia. (The territory was occupied by Poland when Czecho-Slovakia was partitioned last September.) [231.7]
- In the Council Hall of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Marshal Klemenly Voroshiloff, Commisar of War, announces the proposed Military Training Law. Conscription age is lowered from 19 to 17, most exemptions to service are abolished, and two reserves are established, including women. [231.5]
- (1730 hours) Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 1 to senior commanders, "for the Conduct of the War". His orders include: attack Poland on September 1; respect neutrality of Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland; Western forces are not to be attacked until fired upon. [80.306] [149.37] [760.14] [801.1,9]
- In England, full army and navy mobilization is commenced, censorship of all communications to and from the British Isles is imposed, the Stock Exchange is closed, and civil airplanes are banned from flying over half of Britain. [231.3]
- (1945 German time) In Berlin, Germany, the German Foreign Minister sees Polish ambassador Lipski, but refuses to list peace terms as the ambassador had no authority to accept or reject them. [248.16]
- German radio makes public a proposed 16-point peace plan the government had proposed for Poland, claiming Poland refused to accept the terms. The proposal deals with annexing Danzig, maintaining a corridor from Germany to East Prussia, and the treatment of minorities in Germany and Poland. [231.2] [248.16]
- (evening) In Moscow, Russia, the Soviet Parliament unanimously ratifies the Russo-German non-aggression pact. [231.1]
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