Timeline of World War II (1940) - August 1940

August 1940

1: Hitler sets 15 September as the date for Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of Britain.
: Russian Foreign Minister Molotov reaffirms Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in the Soviet Supreme while verbally attacking both Britain and the USA. He also asserts that the boundaries of Soviet Union are moved to the shores of the Baltic Sea.
: The Italian Royal Navy establishes its BETASOM submarine base in Bordeaux and joins the "Battle of the Atlantic."

2: General Charles de Gaulle sentenced to death in absentia by a French military court.
: The USSR annexes Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina.

3: The USSR formally annexes Lithuania.

4: Italian forces under General Guglielmo Nasi invade and occupy British Somaliland during the East African Campaign.

5: Failure to achieve air superiority and bad weather in the Channel results in a postponement of the invasion of Great Britain.
: The USSR formally annexes Latvia.

6: The USSR formally annexes Estonia.

11-15: Battle of Tug Argan fought in British Somaliland during the Italian invasion. To avoid encirclement, the British withdraw.

13: This is "Adler Tag" or "Eagle Day". Hermann Göring starts a two-week assault on British airfields in preparation for invasion. (For some German historians, this is the beginning of the "Battle of Britain.")

14: British scientist Sir Henry Tizard leaves for the United States on the Tizard Mission, giving over to the Americans a number of top secret British technologies including the magnetron, the secret device at the heart of radar. Radar is already proving itself in the defence of Britain.
: The destroyer/base exchange between the US and Britain goes forward.

15: RAF victories over the Luftwaffe continue, in a wide-ranging fight along the East coast. British fighter aircraft production begins to accelerate.
: Sinking of the Greek cruiser Elli by an Italian submarine on 15 August 1940 at the harbour of Tinos.

16: The Battle of Britain continues; Germans are hampered by poor aircraft range and British extensive use of RADAR.
: A first draft of the destroyer/base trade by the US and Britain is made public.

17: Hitler declares a blockade of the British Isles.

18: Heavy fighting in the Battle of Britain; Germans suffering severe losses on bomber formations. Göring declares cowardice among his fighter pilots and orders them to closely guard the bombers, further restricting their capabilities.

19: Italian forces take Berbera, the capital of British Somaliland and the British defenders flee to Aden. The fall of Berbera completes the invasion of the British colony. By the end of the month, the Italians control British Somaliland and several towns and forts along the border with the Sudan and Kenya including Kassala, Gallabat, and Moyale.

20: Italy announces a blockade of British ports in the Mediterranean area.
: Churchill's speech in Commons: "never was so much owed by so many to so few".

20:Chinese Communists launch the Hundred Regiments Offensive against the IJA in North China.

22: Germans are now shelling Dover and the nearby coastal area with long-range artillery.

24: German aircraft mistakenly bomb a church in Cripplegate, accidentally dictating the future shape of the Battle of Britain.

25: Churchill orders the bombing of Berlin in retaliation for the previous night's bombing of Cripplegate.

26: Both London and Berlin are bombed, Berlin for the first time.

30: The bombing of England continues; London is now bombed in retaliation for the bombing of Berlin; thus, the beginning of "the London Blitz."
: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini dictated the so-called Second Vienna Award which forced Romania to hand over the Northern Transylvania (including the entire Maramureş and part of Crişana) to Hungary.

31: Luftwaffe attacks on British airfields continue, as well as on London. Attacks on Radar installations prove ineffective.