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Conflicts in 1940

  • Italian invasion of EgyptItaly's 1940 invasion of Egypt began with a marshal who thought it could not succeed.
  • Dunkirk evacuationThe Dunkirk evacuation aimed to save 45,000 men, but more than 338,000 got home.
  • Italian invasion of British SomalilandChurchill's fury over losing British Somaliland helped end General Wavell's career.
  • Battle of FranceIn 1940, France fell within six weeks despite having more tanks than Germany.
  • German invasion of Belgium (1940)German gliders landed on top of Belgium's Fort Eben-Emael on the 10th of May 1940. Explosives disabled its defenses.
  • North African campaignGerman commanders in North Africa read a US attaché's secret reports.
  • Attack on Mers-el-KébirOn July 3, 1940, Britain shelled its own ally's fleet at Mers-el-Kébir. It killed 1,297 French servicemen in total.
  • German invasion of the NetherlandsOn the day Germany invaded in 1940, the Netherlands had zero modern tanks.
  • 1939–1940 Winter OffensiveJapan never expected China's army to attack on many fronts at once. Its commanders thought that army was spent.
  • German invasion of Denmark (1940)Germany's 1940 invasion of Denmark lasted approximately six hours. Danish forces surrendered before noon.
  • Japanese invasion of French IndochinaJapan invaded French Indochina within an hour of signing a deal to prevent it. The 1940 attack lasted four days.
  • Battle of BritainThe Battle of Britain was named before it began. Churchill announced it on June 18, 1940, weeks ahead of the start.
  • Winter WarIn the Winter War, a small Finland with almost no tanks held off the Soviet Union for three and a half months.
  • Italian invasion of FranceItaly invaded France in June 1940 and took only a thin strip of land. Its biggest prize was the town of Menton.
  • Balkans campaign (World War II)Italy invaded Greece on the 28th of October 1940, and the failure pulled Hitler into the Balkans.
  • Operation WeserübungTwo 48-year-old guns sank a German cruiser in Norway's Oslofjord. It bought Norway's king time to flee.
  • East African campaign (World War II)On the 13th of June 1940, Italian aircraft raided the RAF base at Wajir in Kenya. That raid opened the East African campaign, also known as the Abyssinian campaign. It was fought across Kenya, Sudan, Somaliland, Eritrea and Ethiopia,…
  • Greco-Italian WarIn 1940 Italy invaded small Greece, and within weeks the Greeks were advancing.
  • Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern BukovinaIn June 1940, Molotov gave Romania four days to hand over Bessarabia and northern Bukovina.
  • World War IIHistorians still disagree about the day World War II began. Most choose 1 September 1939, when Germany invaded Poland.
  • Siege of Malta (World War II)Malta began World War II with six obsolete biplane fighters. It still survived more than two years of siege.
  • Battle of TarantoAt Taranto, a wire and drum kept British torpedoes from sinking into the mud. The harbor was only about 39 feet deep.
  • Bombing of ChongqingChina's wartime capital, Chongqing, endured 268 air raids over nearly seven years.
  • Hundred Regiments OffensiveAt midnight on August 20, 1940, the Eighth Route Army struck Japanese railways across North China.
  • Phoney WarDuring the Phoney War, the RAF helped bury German airmen at Clacton-on-Sea. Wreaths of sympathy lay on the coffins.

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