(
With particular reference to Air Operations)
|
1940 |
june |
|
10 |
Italy declared war on Great Britain and
France. |
11 |
Malta raided by Italian aircraft. First sorties by ‘Faith’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Charity’. |
11 |
East African campaign began. |
11 |
RAF Blenheim bombers made dawn attack on Italian airfield at
El Adem. |
28 |
Sunderland flying-boat operating from
Malta attacked and sank
first Italian U-boat to be destroyed by aircraft during the war. |
28 |
Hurricanes made their first sorties from
Malta. |
august |
|
5 |
Italians invade
British Somaliland. |
18 |
Evacuation of
British Somaliland. |
september |
|
5 |
The first consignment of aircraft for delivery over the West
African reinforcement route arrived at
Takoradi. |
13 |
Italian forces advanced across Egyptian border. |
18 |
The first convoy of erected aircraft took off from
Takoradi for the
Middle East. |
october |
|
28 |
Italy invaded
Greece from
Albania. |
november |
|
1 |
RAF and Fleet Air Arm began attacks on Italian and Albanian
ports from
Malta. |
11 |
First RAF offensive operation over
Greece – attack on Valona
airfield. |
december |
|
9 |
First British offensive in the
Western Desert began. |
16 |
British offensive opened in Italian East Africa. |
16 |
Egypt cleared of all Italian forces.
|
|
1941
|
january |
|
3 |
Strong
Luftwaffe contingents transferred to
Italy and
Sicily. |
9 |
German and Italian air attacks on convoy in Sicilian Channel. HMS
Illustrious damaged. HMS
Southampton lost. |
10 |
Beginning of the
Illustrious blitz on
Malta which continued for ten days. |
22 |
Australian troops captured
Tobruk. |
february |
|
6 |
British forces entered
Benghazi. |
8 |
El Agheila occupied by British forces. |
march |
|
|
Enemy air raids on
Malta continue. |
4 |
British forces from Egypt disembark in
Greece. |
28–29 |
Naval battle at
Cape Matapan.
RAF aircraft from
Greece take part. |
29 |
South African troops supported by SAAF occupied Diredawa,
Abyssinia. |
30 |
Enemy counter-offensive in
Western Desert. |
april |
|
3 |
British forces evacuated
Benghazi. |
6 |
Imperial forces entered
Addis Ababa. |
6 |
Germans invade
Greece and
Yugoslavia. |
12 |
Siege of
Tobruk began. |
18 |
Yugoslav Army surrendered to German forces. |
27 |
Germans entered
Athens. |
27 |
Axis forces crossed the Egyptian frontier and occupied
Halfaya Pass. |
28 |
German forces captured
Sollum – front line stabilised at
Halfaya-
Capuzzo. |
may |
|
1 |
First attacks by Blenheims based on
Malta against enemy shipping in transit to North Africa. |
2 |
Evacuation of Imperial forces from
Greece completed. |
2 |
Siege of RAF Habbaniya began. |
6 |
Iraqi rebels driven from
Habbaniya. |
17 |
Italian forces in
East Africa surrendered. |
20 |
Germans invaded
Crete – first large-scale airborne invasion. |
28–31 |
British and Dominion troops evacuated from Crete. |
31 |
End of hostilities in
Iraq. |
june |
|
8 |
Imperial and Free French forces entered
Syria. |
15–18 |
Operation
battleaxe to relieve
Tobruk failed.
|
july |
|
11 |
Hostilities in
Syria ceased. |
25 |
British convoy arrives at
Malta after two-day battle. |
25–26 |
German air/sea attack on the Grand Harbour of
Malta repulsed
with heavy enemy losses. |
30 |
AVM Arthur Coningham assumes appointment as AOC Desert Air Force. |
august |
|
25 |
British and Russian forces entered Iran. |
november |
|
18 |
British
crusader offensive in
Western Desert began. |
december |
|
10 |
Siege of
Tobruk raised. |
24 |
British forces retake
Benghazi. |
|
1942
|
january |
|
11 |
AVM Keith Park takes up appointment as AOC Egypt. |
21 |
Second counter-offensive in the
Western Desert by Rommel,
east from
El Agheila. |
29 |
German forces retake
Benghazi and advance on
Barce. |
february |
|
|
RAF operates intensively in support of ground forces. Bombers
attack airfields in
Sicily; and in North Africa the ports of
Benghazi and
Tripoli and enemy shipping are the main targets. |
20 |
Western Desert battle line stabilised at
Gazala. |
march |
|
|
Heavy German air attacks on
Malta. |
10 |
First operations by Spitfires from
Malta. |
april |
|
|
Peak of enemy air attacks on
Malta. |
may |
|
7–10 |
Spitfire reinforcements, flown off the aircraft carriers
Wasp and
Eagle, arrived in
Malta. |
26 |
Axis offensive opened at
Gazala. Beginning of the Battle for Egypt. |
june |
|
10 |
Bir Hacheim evacuated by Allied forces. |
11–12 |
First USAAF attack in the
Middle East/
Mediterranean theatre.
Fifteen Liberators raided
Ploesti oilfields. |
17–18 |
Eighth Army withdrew to the Egyptian border, leaving a
garrison at
Tobruk. |
21 |
Tobruk captured by the Germans. |
july |
|
|
Further enemy attempt to neutralise
Malta by air attack. |
1 |
German forces advancing into Egypt halted at
El Alamein. |
15 |
AVM Keith Park becomes AOC Malta.
|
AUGUST
31 to SEPTEMBER
6
OCTOBER |
Battle of Alam el Halfa. Rommel's final attempt to break
through at
El Alamein defeated. |
11–19 |
Final enemy attempt to subdue
Malta by air attack is defeated. |
23–24 |
Eighth Army offensive opened at
El Alamein.
RAF provides
maximum air support. |
november |
|
|
RAF makes a great contribution to the defeat of Axis forces
in the desert and to the success of the Allied invasion of North-west
Africa. |
3 |
In Egypt Axis forces began retreating westwards from
El
Alamein. |
8 |
Allied forces landed in French North Africa (Operation
torch). |
11 |
Admiral Darlan ordered cease fire of French forces in North
Africa. |
|
German occupation of
Tunis and
Bizerta. |
13 |
Tobruk recaptured by Allied forces. |
14 |
Tunisia entered by British First Army from
Algiers. |
20 |
Benghazi entered by British Eighth Army. |
december |
|
13 |
German forces withdraw from
El Agheila. |
|
1943
|
january |
|
23 |
British forces entered
Tripoli. |
29 |
Advanced units of
Eighth Army crossed into
Tunisia from
Tripolitania. |
february |
|
14–22 |
Battle of
Kasserine Pass. |
17 |
Re-organisation of Allied Command.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder assumed command of
Allied Mediterranean Air Forces. |
27 |
Eighth Army took up positions on the
Mareth Line. |
march |
|
20–28 |
Eighth Army broke through the
Mareth Line. |
29 |
El Hamma occupied by British forces. |
april |
|
10 |
Sfax occupied by British forces. |
21 |
British forces captured
Enfidaville.
|
may |
|
7 |
Allies captured
Tunis and
Bizerta. |
13 |
Allied campaign in North Africa ended. |
june |
|
11 |
Pantellaria occupied by Allied forces. |
12 |
Surrender of Lampedusa. |
july |
|
9–10 |
Allied invasion of
Sicily by air and sea. |
august |
|
16 |
Messina,
Sicily, captured by Allied forces. |
17 |
End of Sicilian campaign. |
september |
|
3 |
British and Canadian troops landed in southern
Italy. |
3 |
Armistice signed with
Italy but not declared until 8 September. |
9 |
British and American troops landed on
Salerno beaches. |
14 |
Allied landings in
Sardinia. |
23 |
Allied forces landed in
Greece. |
27 |
Foggia captured by
Eighth Army. |
october |
|
1 |
Naples occupied by
Fifth Army. |
4 |
Corsica captured. |
18 |
Volturno River line cleared of enemy forces. |
23 |
Formation of Mediterranean Allied Strategical Air Force. |
december |
|
1 |
German line on
Sangro River broken. |
|
1944
|
january |
|
22 |
Fifth Army troops landed at
Anzio and Nettuno. |
february |
|
|
Battle for
Cassino began. |
15 |
Allied Air Forces bombed
Montecassino monastery, dropping
some 450 tons of bombs. |
march |
|
15 |
Cassino attacked by Allied Air Forces; 1100 tons of bombs
dropped. |
19 |
Operation
strangle – the rail interdiction programme in
Italy – began and continued until 11 May 1944. |
april |
|
2 |
Russian forces entered
Rumania. |
5 |
First of a series of twenty-four day and night attacks by American and British aircraft from the
Mediterranean on the oil
refineries at
Ploesti. |
8–9 |
RAF bombers flew the first minelaying mission to the Danube.
Mines laid near Belgrade.
|
may |
|
11–12 |
Allied aircraft opened attacks against the
Gustav Line in
Italy. |
18 |
Cassino and the monastery captured by the Allies. |
june |
|
1 |
Formation of the RAF Balkan Air Force. |
4 |
Fifth Army captured Rome. |
6 |
Allied armies landed in
Normandy. |
july |
|
12–16 |
Twenty bridges across the
Po River put out of use by Allied
air attacks. |
17 |
Eighth Army crossed the
Arno. |
august |
|
1 |
Polish Underground Army began the
Warsaw rising. Allied
aircraft dropped supplies and incurred heavy casualties before
the fighting ended on 3 October. |
11 |
Eighth Army liberated Florence. |
15 |
Allied invasion of southern
France, preceded by an intensive
four-day air bombardment and attacks by airborne troops. |
30 |
Ploesti captured by the Russians. |
september |
|
2 |
Eighth Army broke through the
Gothic Line. |
october |
|
4–5 |
RAF aircraft flew their last minelaying operation to the
Danube. |
14 |
Liberation of
Athens. |
november |
|
2 |
Greek mainland cleared of German forces. |
december |
|
3 |
Beginning of civil war in
Greece. |
4 |
Eighth Army entered
Ravenna,
Italy. |
|
1945
|
january |
|
14 |
End of civil war in
Greece. |
17 |
Warsaw occupied by Russian forces. |
april |
|
10 |
Final offensive by Fifth and Eighth Armies in
Italy began. |
20 |
Bologna captured by Allies. |
27 |
Genoa occupied by Americans. In this month the Mediterranean Allied Air Force dropped its
record bomb load for one month – 56,296 tons. |
may |
|
2 |
Surrender of German forces in
Italy. |