World War II in real time
World War II in real time    This thread is about World War II in real time either using YouTube, Wikipedia
https://storage.proboards.com/forum/images/favicon.ico
This thread is about World War II in real time either using YouTube, Wikipedia ore other sources, several listed below.

The Youtube clips come from this YouTube channel (World War Two)

Navy Department Communiques 301-600 and Pacific Fleet Communiques

Onwar.com (Chronology of World War II)

Battle of Normandy day after day

World War II Realtime Instagram Account

This day in the war in the Pacific 65 years ago

This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

WORLD WAR II DAY-BY-DAY

United States Army World War, 1939 to 1945

U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II Combat Chronology

The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II

Day 1 of World War II, September 1st 1939

YouTube (The Polish-German War)

Invasion of Poland

At 0445 hours German forces invade Poland without a declaration of war. The operation is code named Fall Weiss (Plan White). The Germans allot 52 divisions for the invasion (some 1.5 million men), including the 6 armored divisions and all their motorized units. Of the divisions left to defend against an Anglo-French front, only about 10 are regarded by the Germans as being fit for any kind of action. General Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, is in command of the campaign. Bock leads Army Group North, consisting of the 4th Army (Kuchler) and 3rd Army (Kluge); Rundstedt leads Army Group South, consisting of 8th Army (Balskowitz), 10th Army (Reichenau) and 14th Army (List). Air support comes from two Air Fleets, commanded by Kesselring and Lohr, which have around 1,600 aircraft. Army Group South, advancing from Silesia, is to provide the main German attacks. The 8th Army on the left is to move toward Poznan, the principal thrust is to be delivered by 10th Army which is to advance in the center to the Vistula River between Warsaw and Sandomierz, while 14th Army on the right moves toward Krakow and the Carpathian flank. The 4th Army from East Prussia is to move south toward Warsaw and the line to the Bug River to the east; 3rd Army is to cross the Polish Corridor and join 4th Army in moving south. The Poles have 23 regular infantry divisions prepared with 7 more assembling, 1 weak armored division and an inadequate supply of artillery. They also have a considerable force of cavalry. The reserve units were only called up on August 30th and are not ready for combat. In the air, almost all the 500 Polish planes are obsolete and prove unable to blunt the impact of the German attack. During the day, the Luftwaffe launches air strikes on Warsaw, Lodz and Krakow. The Polish Commander in Chief, Marshal Rydz-Smigly, has deployed the stronger parts of his army in the northwestern half of the country, including large forces in the Poznan area and the Polish Corridor. He hopes to hold the Germans to only gradual gains. All along the front the superior training, equipment and strength of the Germans quickly brings them the advantage in the first battles. Many Polish units are overrun before their reinforcements from the reserve mobilization can arrive. At sea, as in the air, Polish technical inferiority leads to crushing early defeats. Three of the four Polish destroyers manage to leave for Britain before hostilities begin and later one submarine also escapes. On the first day the old pre-Dreadnought battleship, Schleswig-Holstein, bombards the Polish naval base at Westerplatte.

Germany

Officials claim that Polish army regulars started firing on Germans along the frontier and that the fire was returned beginning at 0445 hours. Hitler addresses the Reichstag during the day, declaring "I am determined to eliminate from the German frontiers the element of insecurity, the atmosphere which permanently resembles that of civil war."

Poland

The Polish government appeals for British and French intervention under the terms of the Mutual Assistance Treaties.

United Kingdom

The British government demands a German withdrawal from Poland.

Because of the fear of air attacks, the evacuation of young children from London and other supposedly vulnerable areas is begun. General mobilization is proclaimed. (The Royal Navy was mobilized on August 31st.) Air Raid Precautions (ARP) are introduced and a "blackout" enforced from sunset. British railways are taken under government control.

France

The French government demands a German withdrawal from Poland.

General mobilization and a "state of siege" (martial law) are proclaimed.

Italy

The Italian government announces that it will not take any military initiative.

Soviet Union

In the Soviet Union... The armed forces are mobilized and the draft age is lowered from 21 to 19.

United States

President Roosevelt calls for a ban on indiscriminate bombing of civilians and undefended towns.

Norway

In Oslo... The Norwegian government declares its neutrality.

Day 8 of World War II, September 8th 1939

YouTube (World War Two begins)

Day 15 of World War II, September 15th 1939

YouTube (Poland on Her Own)

Day 22 of World War II, September 22nd 1939

YouTube (The Russians are Coming! - The Soviet Invasion of Poland)

Post by lordroel on

October 23rd 1939

On 23 October 1939, a poll was held in the United States to survey US citizens’ feelings about the fighting parties in World War Two. A number of questions were asked, one among which was ‘Which side do you want to see win the war?’. 84% of the respondents wanted to see the Allied side win, while only 2% were in favour of German victory.

Still, there was a big debate in America on the course of action the nation should take in the conflict. In the same poll, 95% of the respondents said they were against American military intervention in the conflict, while 62% thought that America should do everything it could to support the Allies, except for going to war. Similarly, 60% were in favour of changing the Neutrality Laws in favour of trade with the Allied nations in Europe.

Several movements were established to represent the varying viewpoints. For example, there was the ‘America First’ movement, in favour of American Isolationism – we have already made two posts about their spokesman Charles Lindbergh. There were also movements that actively expressed their preference for a faction in the European conflict. This photo shows the German American Bund during a parade, waving swastikas in the streets of New York to promote the Nazi cause and support for Germany.

World War II Realtime Instagram Account

Post by lordroel on

October 25th 1939

On 25 October 1939, the first Jewish people were forced to wear a Yellow Star of David on their clothes in the Polish town of Włocławek. A German scholar, Dr Herbert Morgen, made a trip through the ‘New German Eastern Area’ around this time in the war, and wrote about the introduction of the signs. Upon encountering Jewish people wearing visible marks of their position in the Reich, he wrote: ‘As an external sign of belonging to their tribe, the Jews carry (…) a yellow star of David or a yellow triangle or something like it on their breasts and back. The general expression one receives of this human mass is appalling. And one quietly arrives at the conclusion that one is dealing here with a completely degenerate, inferior part of human society.’

What this fragment shows, is that several tactics to frame and humiliate Jewish people were used already early in the war and how propaganda tactics as such affected and formed the German public opinion. The mental distance created between one human and the other, achieved only by a simple piece of cloth, is enormous and shouldn’t be underestimated.

Photo: Jewish persons with a star of David, photo made by the Gettopolizei somewhere in 1940.

World War II Realtime Instagram Account

Post by lordroel on

October 27th 1939

Belgium proclaimed its neutrality once again. The country had already done so, but King Leopold III addressed the issue in a public radio broadcast again on this day. At this point in the war, Belgium feared that they would be used by the Germans to bypass the Maginot line at the French-German border in an attack on France, just like in 1914.

Belgium was referred to as ‘the cockpit of Europe’ because of its geographical location. This time in the war was especially weird for Belgium, since it basically knew that it would be attacked eventually, and that it couldn’t do anything about that, given the size of the country and its military. Furthermore, Belgian neutrality was an advantage for Germany, since there would be no military cooperation between the Belgian and the Allied forces because that would go against the Belgians’ neutrality.

In the 1930s Belgium had seen massive public opposition to military development due to the damage to the country after WWI. Moreover, in 1939 the country had only barely avoided a fascist surge that had destabilized the government. The Belgian leadership had neither the public support, nor the military means to join the Allies at this point, leaving them with little choice other than neutrality in the hope that the Allies would come to their aid when Germany would invade.

Photo: Belgian King Leopold III in 1934.

World War II Realtime Instagram Account