Sweden in World War II - across borders Timeline World War II around Sweden

It is estimated that in early August 1939, 10 000 000 men in Europe were ready for war. [s04]

(Various sources sometimes have various information about when what happened.)

1939	January 27	The end of the civil war in Spain, that began in 1936.
	Sep 1	Germany attacked Poland. Sweden declared neutrality.
	Sep 3	France and Great Britain declared war to Germany. Sweden declared neutrality.
	Sep 28 - Oct 18	Estonia was forced to accept a military alliance with the Soviet Union, including Soviet Union naval and air force bases. After some weeks Estonia was occupied.
	Oct 1-10	Latvia and Lithuania were forced to accept a military alliance with the Soviet Union. In the summer of 1940 new governments in the countries asked to be included in the Soviet Union.
	Nov 30	The Soviet Union attacked Finland.
1940	March 13	The end of the war Soviet Union – Finland. The Soviet Union won. Finland lost land areas, but was not occupied.
	April 9	Germany attacked Denmark and Norway. Norway was attacked with synchronized landings in 7 port towns and 2 airfields, among others Narvik in the north.
	April 9	Denmark accepted German conditions during the morning. Norway decided to fight.
	April 10	The Danish island Bornholm, south of Sweden, was occupied by German troops.
	May 15	The Netherlands surrendered to Germany.
	May 15	First British troops landed in Norway, in Harstad, with Narvik as target.
	May 28	Belgium surrendered to Germany.
	May 28	Norwegian, British, French and Polish troops took back Narvik in northern Norway.
	June 7	The Norwegian king, crown prince and government sailed to Britain to continue their work for Norway.
	June 8	Last Allied forces left Norway.
	June 19	The end of the war actions in Norway. Norway was occupied, but had not surrendered.
	June 22	France surrendered to Germany.
1941	June 22	Germany attacked the Soviet Union, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
	June 26	Finland declared war to the Soviet Union, and fought together with German troops.
1942	Nov 4	German troops retreated in Libya, after battle at El-Alamein.
	Nov 19	Russian counterattack started in southern Soviet Union.
1943	January 14	After allied conference in Casablanca, US president Roosevelt declared that the allied forces demanded an unconditional surrender from Germany.
1944	June 9	The Soviet Union broke through Finland's defence lines.
	August 1	Finland terminated the contacts with Germany, and the German troops were forced out of Finland.
	Sep 19	Finland and the Soviet Union declared armistice.
	Oct 13	The Soviet Union had forced almost all the Germans out from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
1945	May 4	Germany was willing to surrendered its troops that faced the British army group – in Denmark, the Netherlands and northern Germany. The Allies refused. Alternative version: In the evening, the Danish radio from London announced that the German troops in Denmark, the Netherlands and northwestern Germany will capitulate at 8 o'clock the following morning.
	May 5	Denmark accepted as part of the Allied nations. First allied troops to Denmark. Fights in København with Danish nazi and German troops, 54 killed and 255 wounded.
	May 7	Germany surrendered completely, but the surrender in Norway was not clear.
	May 8	The official Victory Day in Europe.
	May 8	During the late morning the Allies overheard a message from the German supreme commander of the Wehrmacht in Norway, that he was prepared to capitulate.
	May 9	Troops from the Soviet Union to the Danish island Bornholm, where the German commander had refused to capitulate to the Soviet Union.
	May 10	First Norwegian and Allied soldiers to Norway.
	Sep 2	World War II ended, when Japan surrendered.

The Danish islands Færøyene (the Faroe Islands), situated west of Norway, was occupied by Britain from 11 April 1940 until 1945. [s17]

In May 1940 British troops occupied Iceland, then in union with Denmark. In 1941 they were relieved by troops from the USA. [s15]

Greenland, the largest part of Denmark, was after request from Denmark military protected by the USA while Denmark was occupied. [s16]

The Norwegian islands Svalbard, situated far north of Norway, had no military significance – until late July 1941 with the start of Allied convoys with material to the Soviet Union. These convoys sailed via northern Atlantic Ocean, north of Norway and east to Murmansk and Archangelsk with various supplies to the Soviet Union. There were some ‘smaller’ battles on the main island Spetsbergen, once with the German battleships Scharnhorst and Tirpitz shelling Norwegian bases in Barentsburg and Longyearbyen. [s20]

2011-12-22. www.granfoss.se. Text/pictures: Arne Granfoss