Weimar World timeline: 1940-1949
1940
January 14, 1940 Brazil's manufacturing output has increased substantially over the decade, but coffee production has declined. As a result, to further placate the forces of the old order, the government between 1934-37 and under the Estado Novo also has invested considerably in the expansion of coffee production. Coffee is also the principal foreign exchange export earner.
May 12, 1940 Presidential and Reichstag elections held. President Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck in his second election becomes the first President of the Republic to win a majority on the first ballot. With the addition of Catholic Austria to the Republic, the Center party and its allied minor parties are winners as well, and the new Center Party leader Konrad Adenauer becomes Chancellor of Germany (though still in a center-right coalition government).
September 1, 1940 Romanian negotiations to join the Axis break down over demands of land concessions to Hungary and Bulgaria. Fearing that the Romanians may instead join the Alliance, Hungary launches their long considered war against Romania over Transylvania. Their allies the Bulgarians simultaneously attack into Dobruja.
September 24, 1940 The Romanians were doing well against the Italian supported Hungarians and Bulgarians when the Soviets launch a surprise action into Bessarabia. Shortly thereafter, the Romanians are forced to cede Bessarabia to the Soviets in order to save their nation from them and return their attentions to the Hungarians and Bulgarians.
October 24, 1940 Much progress has been made in Brazil since Vargas came to power ten years ago. Cement production increases to 700,000 tons from 87,000 tons in October 24, 1930. Brazil's capacity for electricity generation reaches 1 million kilowatts, of which 60 percent was located in the São Paulo area, primarily due to the construction of hydroelectric power stations. Iron and steel output went up to 150,000 tons in 1939-40. The number of manufacturing enterprises more than double during the decade leading up to this date, reaching 50,000. Factories in the São Paulo area employ 35 percent of the industrial labor force and generate 43 percent of the value of industrial production. Aside from the export of textiles, the manufacturing industries serve the domestic market almost exclusively. Brazil has 44,100 plants employing 944,000 workers; the comparable figure for December 31, 1920 was 13,336 plants with about 300,000 workers.
November 5, 1940 Arthur Vandenberg is elected President of the United States of America.
December 25, 1940 Romanian soldiers and civilians celebrate as the last of Hungarian and Bulgarian forces retreat from Romania.
1941
January 20, 1941 Romania joins the Northern European Alliance.
February 19, 1941 Communist activist Ho Chi Minh returns to Vietnam after 30 years in exile and organizes a nationalist organization named the Viet Minh.
March 12, 1941 Konrad Zuse creates the first tape-stored, program-controlled computer, which would become the basis for the new field of computing for the next decade.
June 1, 1941 As relations with Japan remain strained, and Europe seems more risky with both the Northern European Alliance and Axis Pact of Steel to deal with, Stalin begins a secret military build up on the Manchurian-Soviet and the Mongolian-Manchurian border, with Georgy Zhukov in command.
July 30, 1941 By the end of the month 30 Russian divisions are in the Far East, the Soviets have an advantage 2:1 in men, 4:1 in tanks and vehicles and 3:1 in aircrafts.
August 9th 1941 The Second Russo-Japanese war starts. The Soviets launch a two front attack with the city of Harbin as their first goal.
August 12, 1941 At the Battle of Vladivostsk, the Soviet Far East Fleet’s attempt to escape is foiled and the majority of the fleet is destroyed.
August 16th 1941 Peruvian forces capture Cuenca after heavy fighting. Both sides are exhausted and both sides agree a cease-fire. But secret pledges by the Colombian government that they will join the conflict helps the Ecuadorians to break the cease fire on September 10th 1941 after the arrival of Colombian “volunteers” and weapons.
August 18, 1941 The Sakhalin campaign launched by the Japanese.
September 26th 1941 Ecuadorian counter offensive recaptures Cuenca. Peru prepares for a final offensive to try to end the conflict.
October 10th 1941 Coastal offensive started by Peru.
November 3, 1941 The Sakhalin campaign ends with a combined army-marine Japanese effort successfully conquering the northern half of the island.
November 16, 1941 Due to the terrain and stubborn Japanese resistance it is not until the middle of November that Soviets reach Harbin. The siege of Harbin begins.
November 21, 1941 Czechoslovakia formally changes its name to the Central European Republic.
December 7th 1941 Guayaquil falls to Peruvian army. Peru sends terms of surrender to Ecuador. Ecuador after consideration and further promises by Colombia refuses. A December ceasefire agreed by both sides, in reality both sides are exhausted.
December 20, 1941 The Hungarians and Bulgarians give up their attempts at Romania and withdraw to the 1940 borders.
December 24, 1941 An informal ceasefire due to weather conditions has set in and both sides consolidate their positions.
1942
February 8, 1942 Ecuadorian counter offensive starts in attempt to recapture Guayaquil, casualties mount especially between Colombian volunteers. The offensive is called off on March 2nd 1942 after failing in their objectives.
February 9, 1942 Peruvian counter offensive starts in an attempt to recapture Cuenca. With majority of enemy forces facing Guayaquil the city falls by February 21st 1942.
February 15, 1942 President Baldomir dissolves the General Assembly in Montevideo and asks the opposition parties to join in defeating the military. Uruguay Civil War starts. Colorado Party changes name to Uruguayan Communist Party.
February 24, 1942 The ceasefire comes to an end when the Japanese begin their effort to relieve Harbin.
March 9, 1942 The Harbin relief effort collapses for the Japanese. Japanese inflict severe losses upon the Soviets in this attack but fail in their objective.
March 11, 1942 Ecuador accepts terms of Peru. Peru gains all disputed territory plus El Oro province.
March 17, 1942 Harbin falls to the Soviets. A Japanese offer of peace in exchange for accepting Soviet border claims in Manchuria is rejected.
April 1, 1942 The Deep Thrust; Soviet forces, finally in better terrain than the northern part of Manchuria launch a combined arms operation to destroy the Japanese presence in Manchuria.
April 12, 1942 Liberal leader Jorge Eliezer Gaitan asks for the resignation of the current Colombian government. He blamed them for the thousands of casualties incurred during the just ended conflict and the economic chaos the nation was suffering. The lower classes, from whom the majority of the casualties came, and the ones suffering more of the slow recovery from the Depression, flock to him, especially in the cities.
April 23, 1942 India is divided into a loose confederation of Hindu majority provinces, Muslim majority ones, and the Sikh Azaz Punjab. Each province is governed with a high degree of autonomy except for foreign affairs, communications, defense, and finances needed for nationwide affairs. The central government is located in Delhi. There was some opposition by all sides to this final arrangement but after some violence it was accepted; it was this or the dismembering of India.
May 1, 1942 Gandhi assassinated by a disgruntled INC fanatic.
May 15 1942 Ceasefire agreement between Japan and Nationalist Chinese allows Japan to move more forces to face the Soviets.
May 20, 1942 Eliezer Gaitan assassinated while giving speech in Bogotá. Start of the Colombian Civil War. Liberal sympathizers take to the streets to fight government forces.
May 29, 1942 Liberal forces capture Bogotá. Alfonso Lopez Pumarejo declared President by the Liberals. Incumbent President Eduardo Santos flees to Cartagena and asks for international recognition of his cabinet as the true government of Colombia.
June 3, 1942 The Brazilian government establishes the Companhia Vale do Rio Doce to exploit the rich iron-ore deposits of Itabira.
June 6, 1942 The largest air battle ever seen is fought on this day. Both sides claim victory, but it appears to be a narrow victory for the Soviets through the sheer number of Soviet planes, not by technical or equipment advantages of which they have none; the Japanese machines are superior and Japanese pilots are about even in quality.
June 18 1942 Two Soviet tank divisions fight an ad-hoc formation equivalent to a reinforced armored brigade near Mukden. The Soviets have mostly T-26s, but with a considerable number of T-34s as well; the Japanese have Type 95 tanks. After the Soviet victory, the Japanese recognize the failure of their tank designs and begin searching abroad for new models.
July 12, 1942 The Japanese have been expelled from most of Manchuria and forced to a defensive line on the Yalu River.
July 28, 1942 Nationalist China refuses to let Japanese forces in China attack north, threatening to end the ceasefire agreement if the Japanese attack the Soviets from Chinese soil.
August 10, 1942 After a lull of one month to recover, the Soviets begin their offensive into Korea.
September 14, 1942 Uruguayan Civil War ends. Communist Party wins and declares the People’s Republic of Uruguay. While neutral, this nation turns into a sanctuary for communist sympathizers from Argentina and neighboring countries. They are immediately recognized by the Soviet Union.
October 7, 1942 The Japanese evacuation of the Liounyan Peninsula culminates with the destruction of the Port Arthur facilities.
November 25, 1942 Juan Antonio Ríos Morales, a member of the Radical Party, is elected president of Chile.
December 31, 1942 The Japanese front is a line anchored by Wonsan and running from there west. Japanese offers of peace (Manchuria to the Soviets, Korea to the Japanese) are considered by Stalin, but rejected.
1943
March 1, 1943 - The American Birth Control League affiliates with several other organizations and reorganizes under the name of the Eugenics Federation of America. It promotes legalization of birth control and abortion as well as legally mandated sterilization for the mentally ill, violent criminals, and others seen as undesirable by the organization.
March 23, 1943 The first jet fighter is developed by RLM using engine design of Anselm Franz.
April 6, 1943 The Japanese launch their counter-offensive. The slow grinding Soviet offensive has been continual throughout the year, but with the arrival of Japanese forces from China and the Japanese shorter supply lines the Soviet casualties are finally beginning to be felt. The Soviet push into Korea has bogged down. With Japan still controlling the seas, it has become a slow, grinding fight all the way down the peninsula, as the Soviets have to take on every fortified pass. The mountainous terrain also does much to negate the Soviet armor advantage. The Japanese actually gain ground and recapture Seoul.
May 1, 1943 Alarmed by the success and aggressiveness of the Soviet Union in the Far East, and impressed by the demonstrations of the German fighter jet, Sweden and Norway agree to join the NEA on the anniversary of its founding.
May 13, 1943 The military ousts Argentina's constitutional government.
June 18 1943 After mediation by the United States, the Second Russo-Japanese War ends when Stalin accepts the last Japanese offer of borders drawn based on the front lines. Manchuria will become the People’s Republic of Manchuria under Mao Tse Tong, but with Soviet troops stationed there guaranteeing they remain within the Soviet sphere. North Korea too becomes a Communist satellite of the USSR. Japan, bled dry by the war, also formalizes the ceasefire with Nationalist China. The Japanese pull out of all of Mainland China, but keep Formosa and Hainan.
July 1, 1943 Impressed with the performance of Soviet armor during the Second Russo-Japanese War, the Reichswehr orders the development of a completely new line of tank inspired by examples acquired from the Japanese.
August 5, 1943 Vargas announces for Brazil a twelve year plan for growth into the interior. To distance himself from the newly defeated Mussolini he begins to go back to some of his left-centre ideologies. The opening of Southern Brazil for homesteading, a more open stance on immigration, and land reforms are key points to his plan. Vargas opens the frontier by opening forts and oil towns around the west and south.
September 20, 1943 In the wake of the Japanese performance in the Second Russo-Japanese war, the Emperor dismisses the militarists and installs more democratically minded ministers.
October 28, 1943 Axis powers launch a surprise invasion of Greece. Bulgaria hits a wall from the very beginning but Italy made some minimal gains before also being stopped. The UK and France consider forcing another conference to deal with the situation, but fall apart with the UK wanting to take a more aggressive stance whereas France wishes to continue the appeasement policy of the past several years.
November 21, 1943 The Greeks, with secret shipments of weapons from the British out of Egypt, launches a counter offensive that recaptures most of the lost territory.
December 1, 1943 Faced with French disinterest in a confrontation with Italy, the UK instead turns to the German Republic and the Northern European Alliance, jointly sending a demarche to the Axis powers to withdraw to their borders or a state of war will exist between them. The Axis received 72 hours to comply. Europe is on the brink of a major war.
December 2, 1943 Armed forces of the Northern European Alliance begin to mobilize. Axis nations’ leaders meet in an emergency meeting in Rome.
December 3, 1943 Axis begins withdrawing from Greece. German President Lettow-Vorbeck announces this as a victory for the democracies of Europe. He also states that the Balkans is not a playfield that could be trampled on by the fascist nations and invites both Turkey and Greece to join their European Alliance. The United Kingdom, disillusioned with the French response to the crisis, announces that it will be formally joining the NEA, which it has supported for years. France appears to stand alone.
1944
January 7, 1944 The A-4 rocket has its first successful launch at Peenemünde.
February 7, 1944 Turkey asks for membership of the Northern European Alliance. With borders with both communists and fascists they consider this their best course of action.
February 21, 1944 Greece asks for membership to the Northern European Alliance. With their pre-Greek crisis neutrality stance shot to bits by the actions of the Axis they decide like the Turkish government that their best course of action was to join the Northern European Alliance.
March 15, 1944 Konrad Zuse forms Zusewerks to develop commercial computers, in large part based on contracts with the German Republic. Zusewerks will be the dominant computer corporation in Europe.
June 5, 1944 Brazil creates a company for the production of materials needed by the chemical industry.
November 7, 1944 President Vandenberg wins re-election in the USA.
December 8, 1944 Denmark announces it will be joining the NEA, completing the Alliance's control of the Baltic.
1945
March 2nd 1945 Border dispute on Tunisian-Libyan border. Small casualties on both sides. Mussolini asks for an apology from the French government, even when his troops were the ones that stray into French territory.
March 9th 1945 Secret buildup of Italian forces in Libya is started under the guise of a military exercise.
April 4th 1945 Italian forces cross into Tunisia in force. While overall the French border fortifications resisted the onslaught, breakthroughs by Italian forces forced the French to abandon the border fortifications and withdrew north on the 7th.
April 13th 1945 Italian forces capture Gabes. French offer cease-fire to discuss border adjustments. But Mussolini refuses out of hand and dreams of pushing the French out of Tunisia altogether and of even greater ones.
April/June 1945 Italian forces continued their advance in Tunisia while French fought a defensive strategy while moving forces into the theater. The Italian advance to the interior in the direction of the Kasserine Pass bogged down but the city of Sfax was captured the 4th of June. Italians have the initiative on all theaters during this period.
April 18th 1945 A motorized corps is organized in France, composed of the 3rd and 4th Armored plus the 1st DLM under the command of Charles de Gaulle for deployment to Africa.
April 19th 1945 Italy expands the war with the beginning of an air campaign directed at the French airfields on the south of France and Corsica. The French responded in kind with attacks to Italian air bases in northern Italy. So far into the war both sides are not targeting civilian targets. By the end of April, French aircrafts coming from the north turn this campaign into a stalemate but the Italians ruled the skies over Corsica.
April 20th 1945 French Somaliland surrenders to Italian forces.
April 28th 1945 Battle of Convoy FG28- Two Italian light cruiser with destroyer escorts tried to intercept this convoy. Unknown to them this convoy was escorted by the battle cruiser Bretagne, a light cruiser and destroyers. On the ensuing battle one Italian cruiser was sunk and the other suffers considerable damage while the French losses were minimal. The French convoys to North Africa thereafter were only affected by an overall ineffective submarine campaign.
May 1st 1945 Charles de Gaulle and lead elements arrive to Algiers. Rest of his Corps will be in theater and ready to enter combat by the end of the month.
May 8th 1945 In the biggest airborne operation in history, two airborne divisions dropped on the island of Corsica and caught the small garrison unprepared. The island is considered secure by the 18th of May after the arrival of another division by sea on the 10th to help consolidate the situation.
May 10th 1945 1st naval Battle of Corsica. The French cruiser Algiers, a light cruiser and escorts clashed with the ships escorting the infantry division on bound to Corsica. The Vittorio Veneto and the Roma made mincemeat of the French ships, sinking both the Algiers and the light cruiser with the lost of a single destroyer. Mussolini hailed this victory as a sign of the Italian superiority in battleships.
May 15th 1945 Mussolini offers terms to French to accept the current situation as permanent. The French refuse out of hand.
May 22nd 1945 French government receives assurances from the German nation that they will stay neutral in this conflict. Great Britain guaranteed this, even stating they will side with the French if Germany breaks their word. Story is that German President Lettow -Vorbeck said. “Your flank is secure. Go deal with our would-be Caesar, and when his little sticks are kindling, tell him Arminius says hello.”
May 24th 1945 French High Command began swift of forces south. While still leaving a sizeable force on the border with Germany, the bulk of the forces in Northern France began to move south in preparation of the one-two punch planned by the French leaders.
June 6th 1945 2nd naval Battle of Corsica. The French plan to gain naval superiority in the immediate waters of Corsica was a classic battle facing two battleships on each side were the lines of communication with the Italian garrison in Corsica was on the balance. The French battleships Richelieu and Jean Bart suffered moderate and slight damage respectively but they fared better than their Italian counterparts. The Duilio was sunk while the Roma suffered severe damage and has to withdraw in the direction of Taranto for repairs.
June 8th 1945 The sinking of the Roma. The battleship Roma, moving away from Corsica after being damaged in battle, is sunk by an aerial attack launched from the aircraft carrier Bearn. While many said the ship prior damage in battle is the real reason it was sunk, this action together with the actions of the Japanese fleet during the Russo-Japanese fleet proved the aircraft carrier was the future of naval forces.
June14th 1945 Italian forces in Tunisia stop offensive operations due to weariness. By now the forces involved have been fighting close to two months without rest and where close to been exhausted. Reinforcements and replacements were been marshaled in southern Italy for the trip to Libya.
June 29th 1945 British government closes the Suez Canal to all military traffic, even troop carriers.
July 3rd 1945- Simultaneous campaigns launched in the French-Italian border and in Tunisia.
July 4th 1945 Late on the afternoon Corps d’Afrique under de Gaulle achieves breakthrough and began his race for Gabes.
July 5th 1945 General Graziani recognizes the danger of the French breakthrough and orders a general withdraw before his forces get encircled.
July 8th 1945 First registered use of gas in the war. Use by Italian forces on the Alps to defeat a French attack against a fortified position.
July 9th 1945 Forces marked for reinforcement of the Tunisian effort have to be deviated north to help stop the French attack on the Alps. Forces in Tunisia were left to fend for themselves.
July 9th 1945 First registered use of gas in Tunisia. Forces escaping from the Kasserine front use gas in their attempt to break free. The shock of the use of gas made possible the escape of the majority of the forces in that front back to the border.
July 10th 1945 First bombardment of cities. Cities on Nice, Marseilles and Grenoble received the “visit” of Italian bombers. French responded later on the day with attacks to Genoa and Milan.
July 11th - 12th 1945 The Corps d’Afrique fought the biggest mechanized battle ever with the Ariete armored division and the Trieste motorized one, part of the forces trying to escape encirclement north of Gabes. Both forces suffered heavy casualties but the Italians failed in their attempt to escape encirclement. De Gaulle units pocketed the Sfax force.
July 19th 1945 Battered Italians forces reached the Tunisian-Libyan border and began to dig in. 75,000 Italians soldiers are surrounded on the Tunisian coast south of Sfax and north of Gabes.
July 23rd 1945 Offensive on the Alps stopped with minimal gains. Some news reporters compared the casualties suffered by the French “as a replay of the Great War.” Still Mussolini was forced by his own casualties to ask his Axis allies for help.
July 24th 1945 Germany and all members of the Northern European Alliance refuse the final Axis petition for right of transit of land and air forces through their territories. Instead, forces must be sent by circuitous routes in the case of Bulgaria and Hungary, and Poland can only send ‘volunteers’ through civilian transportation, with no equipment. Mussolini considers declaring war on the Northern European Alliance over this ‘obstructionism’, but King Victor Emmanuel III forbids a widening of the war.
August 1, 1945 The Kriegsmarine is granted permission to begin design work for a line of aircraft carriers.
August 3rd 1945 French Foreign Legion 3rd REI opens gap on Italian forces in Libyan border. De Gaulle Corps d’ Afrique, now reduced to two under strength divisions in manpower, pours thru the gap. Italian forces began disorganized withdraw east.
August 5th 1945 General LeClerc’s Army of Central Africa began invasion of southern Libya from French Equatorial Africa. Opposition is minimal with Italian forces escaping north.
August 13th 1945 De Gaulle enters city of Tripoli. General Graziani sacked by Mussolini.
August 20 1945 Ethiopians surreptitiously armed by the British and French begin an insurrection against the Italians.
August 22nd 1945 French forces capture el Agheila. French forces in control of Tripolitania and southern Libya. Mussolini offers peace based on the pre-war borders. France, sure now of their ability to take the war to the enemy, refuses to event discuss those terms. War continues.
September 1st 1945 The bomber campaigns begin. Both nations began bomber campaigns against each other cities. These raids continued thru the rest of the war and affected more Italy, due to their industrial sites being located in the northern cities for the most part.
September 4th 1945 Franco rejected the plea of Mussolini to join the war on the Axis side. He used as an excuse that his nation was still recovering from the effects of the Civil War.
September 5th 1945 Italian forces pocketed in Tunisia surrender and go into captivity. More than 70,000 men were captured.
September 18th 1945 French forces launch amphibious invasion of Sardinia. Small garrison on the island overwhelm in 10 days after heavy casualties for both sides.
September 19th 1945 Battle of the
Tyrrhenian Sea Sea. Battleship Impero and escorts intercepted by the battleship Jean Bart and the battle cruiser Lorraine. The aftermath was the destruction of the Impero while the Lorraine suffered severe damage and it took years to repair the extensive damage it suffered. The Italian navy never again tried to contend the French domain of the sea.
September 21, 1945 End of the severe famine due to drought near Hanoi and surrounding areas kills close to one million people but more are saved by a League of Nations effort to help the people in the area. However, Ho Chi Minh uses this drought to recruit members for his movement.
December 23, 1945 Ho Chi Minh launches their first large-scale attack against the French. By now the Viet Minh are 30,000 strong and the numbers continue to grow.
October 2nd 1945 Simultaneous offensives launched in Africa and northern Italy by the French. This time French forces are prepared for chemical warfare and they expect to break the Italian lines this time.
October 7th 1945 With the Italian lines on the verge of collapse, nerve gas is used for first time in history to try to stop the French. The French offensive is stopped due to the terrible casualties inflicted to the unprepared troops. The results of the use of this experimental weapon never tested were a shock to both the Italians and the rest of the world.
October 9th 1945 With world public opinion outraged by the use of this new weapon and the latest ill-fortunes of the Italian forces being made public to the Italians, King Victor Emmanuel III asks Mussolini for his resignation. Mussolini, after a late bid to save his position, gave his resignation early in the morning of the 10th of October.
October 10th 1945 Count Ciano, Italian temporary leader offers peace based on October 1st frontlines. The offer is refused.
October 14th 1945 Benghazi captured by French forces. Italians continue their escape east.
October 21st 1945 Tobruk abandoned by Italian forces. More than 20,000 men flee by sea from this port before the evacuation of the city. Italian forces are actually fleeing east. Any sense of trying to defend is now gone.
October 28th 1945 Bardia and Fort Capputo surrenders to French forces. Close to 50,000 men cross into Egypt to be interned.
October 25, 1945 The German speaking portion of the Tyrol in Italy rises up and declares itself free of the Italians. German Alpine troops are requested by the leaders of the revolt to move into the area to maintain the peace.
October 31 1945 The French gained the initiative in mid June and never lost it. Their simultaneous campaigns in July, while one of them could be considered a failure, were too much for the Italian forces. Even with reinforcements from their Axis allies the tide could not be turned back, especially when efforts went in vain to get Franco’s Spain to join the war. By the end of October the end was near.
November 11th 1945 Italian garrison in Corsica asks for terms due to the lack of supplies and according to their commander, “To ease the suffering of the civilians on the island.”
November 17th 1945- In an accord brokered by the United States and the League of Nations, the warring factions in Colombia agreed to end the conflict that caused thousands of deaths and devastated the economy of that nation. President Vandenberg sees this accord “as giving peace to this generation of Colombians and hopefully to the coming ones.”
December 15th 1945 “The Christmas Offensive” starts. The French used chemicals weapons offensively for the first time in the war and a small amphibious force was landed behind the enemy lines.
December 18th 1945 The landing behind the lines is contained on the beachheads but the front line on the passes was ready to burst. With both forces near exhaustion
December 21, 1945 Italian defenses on the passes were broken. The road to Northern Italy was open for the French.
December 23rd 1945 Count Ciano asks for a ceasefire to discuss terms of surrender. After deliberation the French government agreed.
1946
January 15, 1946 Conservative Eduardo Cruz-Coke Lassabe is elected president of Chile.
January 29th 1946 The British mediated Treaty of Nice is signed. The terms were harsh but not as bad as expected. The French recovered French Somaliland and kept Libya and Sardinia. Albania was granted its independence. Abyssinia also regained its independence once more and was given Eritrea as a sea access, both as a reward for the Abyssinian insurrection that tied down Italian troops and to placate the UK, who did not wish to see the French presence grow in East Africa. Similarly, Italian Somaliland stayed in the hands of the Italians due to British worries about French encroachment in East Africa and their preference to have a now weak Italy in control of that area than a strong France. The Franco-Italian border was demilitarized. The Italian army was reduced to 200,000 men and prohibited from having chemical weapons or armored vehicles. Also the two newest remaining battleships, the Littorio and the Vittorio Veneto were taken by the French as war booty while the Italian navy had to discard their submarine fleet and was prohibited from building more battleships, aircraft carriers or ships with guns bigger than 12”. Italy’s bid to be a major power was over. Another result of this treaty was the effective end of the Axis alliance, as the Italians were forced to repudiate all previous security agreements.
January 30, 1946 Italy agrees to cede the German-speaking Tyrol to Germany.
February 20, 1946 Perón is victorious in Argentine elections. He aggressively pursues policies aimed at giving an economic and political voice to the working class and greatly expanding the number of unionized workers.
June 3, 1946 the National Motor Company begins the production of trucks.
August 14, 1946 Dictator Vargas of Brazil sees the realization of one of his cherished dreams; The National Steel Company begins production at the Volta Redonda plant between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
August 26, 1946 Philippines awarded their independence by the United States; a very peaceful transition from Commonwealth to Republic.
August 29, 1946 Start of communist guerilla campaign in China. Chiang accuses the Soviet and the Republic of Manchuria of aiding the rebels, charges they deny.
September 27, 1946 Communist forces capture Xian. Evidence of heavy artillery and crew served weapons verified by foreign witnesses.
October 18, 1946 US President Arthur Vandenberg pledge his support to the government of the Republic of China. Loans are granted to purchase newer equipment to fight the communist aggression.
December 11, 1946 - After the Tunisian War has ended, the first significant change in the League of Nations is accepted by the Assembly (which consists of all member states). From now on, the Council will be in constant meeting, as a diplomatic front and coordination hub for multinational actions.
1947
January 14, 1947 Communist insurrection started in Luzon Island by a group later know as the Huks.
February 4, 1947 President Lettow-Vorbeck announces that he will not seek re-election to the Presidency.
February 14th 1947 First free elections in Italy since the 1920’s. A coalition of center-left factions wins the election as a response of the electorate to the failure of the fascists during the war.
March 13, 1947 Communist strikes on the Japanese port of Osaka and other major ports turns violent. Troops called to break the disturbances. Japanese Communist Party outlawed as a result. Emergency powers are given to Admiral Yamamoto to rule Japan until the Communist menace is eliminated.
April 20, 1947 The first successful test detonation of an atomic bomb performed by Germany.
June 20, 1947 In the second dual Presidential and Reichstag elections, the SPD candidate, senior statesman Otto Braun wins the presidency on the second ballot. SPD leader Erich Ollenhauer becomes Chancellor of a center-left coalition government. He and UK Labour Government Prime Minister Clement Attlee would come to work closely together over the years.
August 1, 1947 Though delayed by security concerns caused by the recent Tunisian War in North Africa, the Partition of the Palestinian mandate goes into effect, creating a Jewish state called Israel in the Northwest, Palestine in the rest of the mandate, and leaving a large British controlled enclave in the middle centered on Jerusalem. The event is marred by violence by extremist groups from both sides dissatisfied by the arrangement, but the large British troop contingent keeps the event relatively peaceful.
1948
March 12 1948 Miklos Horthy is reported to die from a heart attack in his sleep. Shortly thereafter, a popular coup is launched against the fascist government by a coalition of republicans and monarchists, secretly sponsored by the German government. As part of the coalition agreement, a constitutional monarchy is established under the Hapsburg heir, Otto I. However, in return for German assistance and non-interference, Otto renounces all claims to former Hapsburg lands outside of Hungary proper. One of the first acts of the new government is to repeal the oppressive numerus clausus and anti-Semitic laws.
March 29, 1948 Werner von Braun becomes head of the new civilian German Space Agency he has lobbied for years to have formed.
April 8, 1948 Admiral Yamamoto announces the Emergency is over and elections will be held on June 8th 1948 to elect a new Prime Minister. The Japanese communist movement has been stamped out. With their leaders dead, jailed or gone into exile the movement is effectively dead.
June 12, 1948 Mohammed Hatta and Sukarno ask the Dutch Government in a letter published in Batavia to begin a process of gradual independence to Indonesia. Both are jailed for sedition.
July 4, 1948 Schwinn declares that men’s bicycling has doubled in the past decade, making it one of the most popular activities in America.
October 5, 1948 Japan is accepted back as a member of the League of Nations after Admiral Yamamoto put in a request for admittance as one of his last officials acts as de facto ruler of Japan.
July 8, 1948 - Portugal announces the formation of the Portuguese Union, comprised of Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, and Portugal's few other small colonies. It is modeled on the examples of the French Union and British Commonwealth.
November 2, 1948 Democrat Claude Pepper wins the US Presidential Election.
1949
February 7, 1949 With Huk influence now covering more than ¾ of the island of Luzon, the Philippines government ask the League of Nations for help in stamping this rebellion. Japan pledge air support and two SNLF brigades to help defeating the rebellion. Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and Germany also pledge their support but in a smaller scale than Japan.
February 11, 1949 The United States, worried by how much the League and especially Japan can extend their influence over Philippines, also offers help in the form of air support, loans for the purchase of weapons and a mix Marine-Army Task Force comprised of forces already stationed in Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States.
August 14, 1949 The last British forces leave India except for the ones in the Calcutta naval station, the airbase near Bombay, and sundry other bases necessary for the defense of the Commonwealth.
October 2, 1949 The German Reichstag passes an amendment to have the Presidential election go to a run-off if there is no majority winner in the first round.
October 4, 1949 The Chinese Communist stronghold in Yennan falls to Nationalist Army. End of organized communist resistance in China. While low-level guerilla warfare will continue the threat of a Communist insurrection achieving their goal of defeating Chiang’s government is considered over.
November 1, 1949 The guerilla war in Vietnam continues with no end in sight. By now the Viet Minh is close to 45,000 men strong.
December 2, 1949 Charles de Gaulle, a hero of the French-Italian war, ordered to Indochina to take command of the forces in the region.