Merriman - Greasepaint and Cordite: How ENSA Entertained the Troops During World War II

Look, dear, a contract from ENSA !

To my dad, Eric Merriman, and to all the troops and troupers of the Second World War

1939

15 March: German troops march into Czechoslovakia.

31 March: Britain and France pledge support to Poland.

23 August: Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin sign GermanSoviet Non-Aggression Pact.

25 August: Treaty of Mutual Assistance is signed by Britain and Poland.

1 September: Poland invaded by Germany.

3 September: War is declared by Britain and France on Nazi Germany; National Services (Armed Forces) Act is passed by Parliament; Franklin D. Roosevelt declares neutrality in European war.

1940

9 April: Denmark and Norway are invaded by Germany Denmark surrenders the same day (Norway surrenders on 9 June).

10 May: Hitler launches Western Offensive and France falls. Winston Churchill replaces Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister.

13 May: Ernest Bevin appointed as Minister of Labour and National Service by Winston Churchill.

14 May: Formation of the Home Guard is announced by Anthony Eden. The Netherlands surrender to Germany.

26 May: The Dunkirk evacuation begins.

28 May: Belgium surrenders to Germany.

4 June: Final 338,000 British, French and Belgian forces are evacuated from Dunkirk.

10 June: Benito Mussolini declares war on the Allies.

14 June: German troops enter Paris; Armistice negotiations with Germany and new Prime Minister Henri-Philippe Ptain begin.

22 June: Armistice signed between Germany and France.

16 July: The Luftwaffe initiates the Battle of Britain.

8 August: Intensive phase of attacks begin as the Luftwaffe attacks British fighter airfields and installations.

25 August: The Blitz begins.

13 September: Italy invades Egypt.

27 September: Tripartite Act is signed by Germany, Italy and Japan.

28 October: Italian forces invade Greece.

1941

22 January: British forces capture the port of Tobruk in Libya.

11 March: US Congress passes the Lend-Lease Act.

6 April: Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria invade Yugoslavia. Greece is invaded by Germany and Bulgaria in support of Italy.

24 May: The Bismarck sinks British battle cruiser HMS Hood.

27 May: Battleship Bismarck is sunk.

1 June: Government introduces plans to ration clothes and furniture.

22 June: Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Russia, is launched.

13 November: The Ark Royal is torpedoed and sunk off Gibraltar.

7 December: Japanese forces attack the US fleet at Pearl Harbor.

8 December: The US declares war on Japan.

11 December: Japanese invasion of Burma begins.

18 December: Conscription of unmarried women heralded by the passing of Parliaments National Service Act.

22 December: The start of the Washington Conference, in which Anglo-American military resources are to be coordinated.

26 December: Hong Kong is surrendered to Japanese Imperial Forces.

1942

30 January: Japan completes the capture of Malaya.

15 February: General Arthur Percival surrenders Singapore to Japan.

1 March: Japan starts the invasion of Java.

8 March: Rangoon falls to Japan.

15 April: King George VI awards the George Cross to the people of Malta.

30 May: Arthur Harris orders the first thousand-bomber raids on Germany.

21 June: Tobruk is captured in surprise attack by German forces.

22 June: Construction on the BurmaThailand Railway begins. Approximately 60,000 British, Australian, Dutch and American prisoners of war will be forced into hard labour.

4 July: The first Battle of El Alamein ends in a stalemate.

13 August: General Bernard Montgomery is appointed Commander of the British 8th Army.

4 November: The second Battle of El Alamein ends in victory for the Allies.

8 November: Operation Torch sees Allied forces land in French North Africa.

11 November: Germans launch Operation Anton, occupying southern France in response to Operation Torch.

13 November: The British Army recaptures Tobruk.

2 December: The Beveridge Report is published.

1943

18 January: The Luftwaffe recommences air attacks on London.

13 May: Axis forces surrender to Field Marshal Montgomery in Tunisia.

10 July: Allied troops land in German-occupied Sicily.

3 September: Allied forces land in Italy.

8 September: President Roosevelt announces that the Pietro Badoglio government of Italy has signed an unconditional armistice with the Allies.

1 October: The 5th Army captures Naples.

13 October: Italy declares war on Germany.

18 October: The first Moscow Conference begins.

18 November: RAF Bomber Commands Berlin Air Offensive begins.

28 November: The Tehran Conference, codenamed Eureka, takes place with Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin ready to confirm Normandy landings.

1944

5 March: Orde Wingate launches Operation Thursday in Burma.

24 March: Orde Wingate is killed in a plane crash in Burma.

18 May: Monte Cassino is captured by Allied troops.

5 June: General Mark Clark and Allied troops liberate Rome.

6 June: Operation Overlord (D-Day landings) commences.

20 July: The city of Caen is finally captured by Allied troops.

25 August: With support from Allied Troops, Free French Forces enter Paris.