Alternate Timeline of the 20th Century Part III (1939-1950)

[break=World War Two 1939-1940]
1/9/1939 – Stalin announces that German soldiers in Latvian uniforms crossed into Soviet territory and shot up an army command post. He calls this an act of war and states that “At 6:45am we have started to shoot back. From now on their bullets will be met by our bullets, and their bombs will be met by our bombs”. At 7:00am, Soviet troops cross into all three Baltic States, the German regions of East Prussia and Silesia, and into northern Austria. At the same time, Balkan troops invade southern Austria, while Italian troops invade the Austrian regions of Tyrol and Slovenia. At 2:00pm, the German and Austrian Emperors issue a statement denying the incursion into the Soviet Union, followed by a declaration of war on the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. France, Britain and the other NATO countries follow suit at 4:00pm, joined by the British Commonwealth countries of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. World War Two has begun.

5/9/1939 – Russian troops advance rapidly into northern Austria, but make slow progress in the Baltic States and Germany as the defenders fight tooth and nail to slow the Soviets progress. The Italian advance is similarly slowed in the Alps because of the mountainous terrain there. Austria concentrates its defence in the Balkans where Romanian, Yugoslav and Bulgarian forces only advance a few kilometres into Austrian Territory. A few days later, Dutch, Belgian and the first British troops arrive on the Eastern front. They are sent to reinforce the northern Austrian front but the Soviets and their allies are puzzled and worried by the absence of French troops.

11/9/1939 – Resistance in Estonia and Lithuania begins to weaken in the face of a renewed Soviet onslaught. German, Austrian and Baltic troops provide stiff resistance in the middle Baltic State of Latvia but are slowly pushed back towards the coastal capital of Riga. In Estonia, the defenders are pushed back towards the capital of Tallinn. A second Soviet drive into East Prussia between Koenigsberg and Danzig threatens to cut off the German and Baltic forces east of Danzig from the rest of the country.

15/9/1939 – France enters the war with full force by launching an invasion of Italy along the entire French-Italian Border. By nightfall, French troops are just 10 kilometres away from Turin and are making rapid progress towards the coastal city of Genoa.

17/9/1939 – Italian forces scramble from the Austrian front to defend Turin and Genoa against the French, and manage to stop the French just short of the outskirts of both cities.

19/9/1939 – Soviet troops reach the Baltic Sea between Danzig and Koenigsberg, cutting the East Prussian front in half. They establish a defensive line facing west with a view to destroying NATO forces in the rest of East Prussia and the Baltic States. The major front stretches from just east of Danzig, into Silesia past Posen and Cracow through north eastern Austria to the Romanian border. Most of the Austrian-Romanian border is lightly defended while the bulk of the Balkan forces hold scraps of territory near the Yugoslav-Austrian border.

20/9/1939 – The German Fleet sails from Kiel and other Baltic Sea harbours to Riga and Tallinn. The British fleet is already sailing through the Straits between Denmark, Norway and Sweden into the Baltic Sea.

22/9/1939 – Greece and Turkey launch a massive offensive into Bulgaria and the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Caught completely by surprise, Yugoslav and Bulgarian troops are scrambled to defend the invasion. Russian troops are also hastily sent to assist. In the meantime, British warships arrive in Istanbul.

24/9/1939 – The Greek and Turkish offensive is halted in a line across the Balkans that stretches from the Albanian coast to just south of Sofia and onto the Black Sea coast.

26/9/1939 – German warships and supply ships reach the Riga and Tallinn salients to reinforce and resupply the NATO armies fighting there. British warships clash with Soviet destroyers in the eastern Baltic, sinking both. A Russian battleship coming to the aid of the destroyers is severely damaged and manages to limp back to Leningrad.

1/10/1939 – NATO commanders and senior politicians meet in Luxembourg to assess the situation, especially where the situation with the Tallinn, Riga and East Prussian salients are concerned. It is decided that the situation in the Tallinn salient is hopeless and that all military personnel and civilians should be evacuated. It is, however, decided that it is possible to link the East Prussian and Riga salients to the rest of the front. Plans for the Balkan fronts are also developed.

3/10/1939 – The evacuation of the Tallinn salient begins with as much secrecy as possible. Everything possible is booby-trapped and everything not nailed down is taken. The civilians are taken to refugee camps in Germany and other NATO nations. The soldiers are sent to reinforce the other two salients.

4/10/1939 – A combined British and Turkish fleet heads into the Black Sea. In the meantime, British and German warships and submarines seal off the Gulf of Finland, trapping most of the Russian fleet in Leningrad. The Mediterranean is patrolled by the French and Austrian Navies, as well as some British ships stationed at Gibraltar.

10/10/1939 – Soviet forces storm the Tallinn salient only to find no military or civilian personnel opposing them. 2000 men are lost to booby traps and mines, but otherwise the Russians march into a ghost town. The head of Soviet intelligence, having failed to detect the evacuation, resigns in disgrace.

11/10/1939 – A vicious German offensive is launched from the main eastern front to attempt to reach the East Prussian salient. At the same time, NATO forces break out of the Riga salient to try and reach the East Prussian salient from the north. The Soviets between the main front and the East Prussian salient are overrun and the two fronts join by the morning of October 12. 20,000 Soviet soldiers are dead, 60,000 more are wounded and missing as Soviet forces retreat back towards Warsaw and try to stabilise the front.

13/10/1939 – The Riga breakout falters and the German, Austrian and Baltic troops are pushed to the coast, while ships are scramble to evacuate the survivors.

15/10/1939 – More than 250,000 German, Austrian and Baltic troops are evacuated from the coast near the Latvian-Lithuanian border. British and German battleships pound the Russian positions, while a brutal air battle rages overhead. While the evacuation is a success, British Prime Minister Churchill states that “wars are not won through evacuations”.

17/10/1939 – An Italian offensive at Turin and Genoa pushes the French back about 10 kilometres and eases the immediate threat to the two cities. All other fronts remain quiet for the rest of the month as both sides try to recover from the furious opening seven weeks of the war.

22/10/1939 – Evidence of Soviet atrocities during their occupation of East Prussia comes to light with the discovery of several mass graves, as well as through testimony from civilians.

30/10/1939 – Stalin summons his Generals for a discussion on the wars progress. He is pleased with the capture of the Baltic States, but unhappy with the stalled offensives into Germany and Austria. He is also displeased with the performance of his Balkan and Italian allies. It is decided that the Southern Balkan Front should be next on the list of priorities. He orders that the Soviet IV Corps, some 100,000 men, be sent to that theatre to beef up the Balkan armies that are already there. One of Stalin’s generals voices his concern about the United States, and their possible entry into the war. The General mentions that while the US has been quiet so far, there is no doubt about where their sympathies lie and on whose side they would fight should they choose to enter the war. Stalin tells the general to be unconcerned and states that the US will soon have major problems to deal with. He does not elaborate and his generals know better than to ask.

2/11/1939 – The Soviet IV Corps begins moving to the Southern Balkan Front, as ordered. The movement is detected, and newly mobilised French, British and Canadian troops are sent via the Mediterranean to reinforce the Greeks and Turks.

4/11/1939 – In a speech announcing his candidacy for a 3rd term as President, Roosevelt states that he has no intention of entering the war in Europe.

7/11/1939 – 100,000 German, Danish and Irish forces arrive at the border of Austria and Romania, to join 50,000 Austrians, mainly of Hungarian origin, already there.

11/11/1939 – Soviet, Yugoslav, Bulgarian, Romanian and Albanian forces launch a massive offensive in the Southern Balkans against the Greeks, Turks and their British, French and Canadian allies. The initial assault makes significant gains as NATO forces are thrown into retreat back towards the Greek and Turkish borders. The offensive lasts a week and at the end, NATO forces have lost nearly all of the territory that they had gained in September. Warsaw Pact forces hold some Greek and Turkish territory but the new front line almost matches the borders between Greece, Turkey and their northern neighbours.

17/11/1939 – It is NATO’s turn to strike, and they strike hard. An offensive is launched along the Austrian-Romanian border. The thinly spread Romanian troops are overwhelmed and retreat headlong towards the Soviet Union in the north or Bulgaria in the south. This leaves most of Romania virtually undefended and the way open for NATO forces to head to the Black Sea coast. Exhausted Russian troops from the Soviet IV Corps are sent north to plug the gaping hole and prevent Danish and Irish troops from capturing Bucharest. The Soviet V Corps is sent to the Ukraine to stop German and Austrian forces from capturing Odessa and Kishinev in Ukraine.

22/11/1939 – NATO forces reach the Romanian Black Sea coast but after vicious street fighting are prevented from capturing Bucharest. The front is about 3 kilometres north of the city, while a second front is established approximately 5 kilometres south of Kishinev and Odessa. All three cities are well within artillery range and suffer constant bombardment for the rest of the winter.

25/11/1939 – Stalin finally calms down after three days of a towering rage that has seen a large proportion of senior KGB agents and a few Generals board trains to Siberian holiday camps.

29/11/1939 – The Ukraine front is stabilised, but with NATO ships dominating the Black Sea, reinforcement and resupply of the Balkan fronts is proving difficult. After 10 troop and supply ships have been sunk by British and Turkish warships, a message is sent to the Balkans that tells them they are left to their own devices “until further notice”. The European winter sets in, putting a dampener on any more offensives for the rest of the year.

7/12/1939 – Newly developed and installed Radar near Darwin and Townsville in Australia spots large numbers of approaching Japanese aircraft. The Australian Air Force scrambles every available aircraft to head off the attacks, but cannot prevent the Japanese from reaching the two cities. The raids are met with ferocious resistance as two hundred Japanese Zeros in Darwin and 75 Zeros in Townsville are met by 50 British designed Spitfires and Hurricanes in each city as well as anti-aircraft fire. Australia loses 23 aircraft in Darwin and 18 in Townsville. Two destroyers in Darwin and three frigates in Townsville are sunk. The Docks in both cities are also extensively bombed and damaged. 374 Australians lose their lives. Japanese casualties are heavy – 105 Zeros are shot down over Darwin and 44 are lost over Townsville. Strangely, a squadron of 4 Zeros returning from the Darwin raid suddenly disintegrate after what other Japanese report is an attack by a super-fast aircraft that the pilots are unable to identify. The Australian government orders an immediate recall of its troops that are en route to Europe and sends troops still in Australia to the continents northern cities. Australia sends an urgent message to the United States warning of a possibly imminent attack. The warning is ignored by American authorities. Later that day, hundreds of Japanese planes launch three waves of attack against the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbour. Of the ten battleships stationed there, three – the Arizona, West Virginia and Nevada - are sunk, four more suffer heavy damage and the other three suffer only slight damage. A number of smaller ships are also sunk or damaged; airfields and hangars along with most aircraft in and around Pearl Harbour are also destroyed. More than 2500 Americans are killed and nearly 6000 are wounded. The four aircraft carriers usually stationed in Pearl Harbour are out at sea and therefore escape the attack.

8/12/1939 – President Roosevelt calls December 7 “a day of infamy” and asks Congress to declare war on Japan. Congress obliges. Japanese troops invade French Indochina, the Malaysian peninsula, various Indonesian islands, the Philippines, a number of Pacific islands, the Bismarck Archipelago off Papua New Guinea and Papua New Guinea itself.

10/12/1939 – Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Britain, France and the rest of NATO declare war on Japan. In the meantime, Japanese troops are making rapid progress with their various invasions. They sweep through French Indochina after annihilating the small French force stationed there and reach the border with Thailand.

12/12/1939 - Dutch forces in Java flee to the southeast corner of the island where they are picked up by Australian ships.

15/12/1939 – The Japanese have overrun the smaller islands in Indonesia, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Philippines. The forces that had invaded French Indochina sweep through northern Thailand and link up with the armies that had invaded the northern Malay peninsula. The combined armies prepare for an assault on Malaysian and the ultimate prize – Singapore. Japanese forces in Papua make slow but steady progress as the first Australian forces land in Port Moresby to oppose them.

17/12/1939 - The first Japanese troops invade the major Philippine island of Luzon where 70,000 American troops under General McArthur are stationed. At first, the Japanese meet little resistance.

18/12/1939 – Australian and Japanese units clash in minor, inconclusive skirmishes in the Papuan highlands.

22/12/1939 – More than 60,000 Japanese troops launch a full-scale assault on the US base at Corregidor on Luzon in the Philippines. After 6 hours of fighting, the Japanese are beaten back with more than 33,000 dead. American losses are also heavy – 19,000 are dead with another 15,000 wounded. The Japanese, stung by the determined American resistance, isolate the base and wait for reinforcements to finish the Americans off. McArthur manages to get an urgent call for help to Australia who send a number of warships and 20,000 newly mobilised troops to assist. 5,000 New Zealand troops also join the rescue expedition.

24/12/1939 – The long-awaited Japanese assault on the Malaysian peninsula begins. Japanese forces move more than 30 kilometres south, despite being harassed by British troops. On the same day, Australian cruisers and the battleship South Australia sink two Japanese cruisers that try to intercept the rescue expedition.

25/12/1939 – Christmas is quiet on the European fronts, but is marked by further Japanese advances in Malaysia and more jungle fighting in Papua New Guinea.

26/12/1939 – Japan launches a renewed assault on the Corregidor base on Luzon. 66,000 Japanese troops face 36,000 able bodied Americans who offer ferocious resistance. Nonetheless, after 3 hours the Japanese are inside the base and vicious house to house fighting ensues. One hour later, heavy artillery shells begin to land on Japanese positions, knocking out their artillery one by one and ripping their reinforcements to shreds. At the same time, Australian and New Zealand troops pour onto the beaches of the base and attack the Japanese in the base. The stunned Japanese are overwhelmed and driven from the base within an hour. They retreat into the Philippine jungle out of the range of the Australian guns. 29,000 Japanese, 14,000 Americans, 900 Australians and 225 New Zealanders lose their lives in the battle.

27/12/1939 – It is decided that the situation in Corregidor is hopeless, and that the base needs to be evacuated. The evacuation is completed on December 29. McArthur is last to leave and vows to return. The Australian ships arrive back in Darwin on New Years Eve. The recalled Australian and New Zealand troops that had been en route to Europe are also back in Australia and ready to join the war in the New Year. While the Japanese generals are pleased with the victory in the Philippines, Japan’s Prime Minister Tojo remarks that the victory has cost more than 60,000 Japanese lives and states that Japan cannot afford many more of these victories.

20/1/1940 – Kuala Lumpur falls despite stiff resistance and delaying tactics from British, Australian and New Zealand forces as Japanese troops march relentlessly down the Malaysian Peninsula. By the end of the month, the Japanese are poised to invade Singapore. Japanese planes also sink the only 2 British Battleships in the area.

3/2/1940 – The war in Europe restarts with a Soviet offensive near Odessa designed to break through into Romania and reach the Northern Balkan Front. Bulgarian and Romanian forces attack at the Northern Balkan Front attempting to link up with the Soviets. However, Danish and Irish forces stop the Balkan offensive, while Austrian, Dutch and Belgian troops halt the Soviet after a week. Less than 5 kilometres are gained on either front.

4/2/1940 – The Japanese invade Singapore with 150,000 troops. Facing them are 120,000 British, Australian, New Zealand and Dutch forces that fight the Japanese street by street, house by house.

9/2/1940 – With a half of Singapore in Japanese hands, Japan asks the Commonwealth forces to surrender. The request is refused. Japan responds by stating that no prisoners will be taken. Australia sends another convoy to evacuate the city.

12/2/1940 – The Australian convoy of civilian ships and warships reaches Singapore Harbour. The Fleet includes the Australian aircraft carrier Sirius and the American carrier Hornet who provide air cover. Japanese cruisers and a major battleship nearby are hit by mysterious objects that look like very long narrow shells and seem to appear out of nowhere. Two cruisers are sunk and the battleship is severely damaged.

14/2/1940 – Of the 120,000 Commonwealth troops that started the defence of Singapore, 42,000 are evacuated. More than 40,000 civilians are also evacuated. Japans losses amount to some 86,000 dead and missing. Only parts of Papua New Guinea now remain in Allied hands.

29/2/1940 – Warsaw Pact armies launch a massive offensive designed to knock Austria-Hungary out of the war. More than 2,000,000 Soviet, Balkan and Italian soldiers attack Austria-Hungary on all fronts. The Italians clear all Austrian troops from their territory, and forces on both major fronts are falling back rapidly, but do not break.

2/3/1940 – To relieve pressure on the Austrians, major offensives are launched by France in north-western Italy, while British, French, Greek and Turkish troops attack the Southern Balkan front. In the meantime, German, Belgian, Dutch, Danish and Irish units are rushed to the war zones to stop the Soviet onslaught.

4/3/1940 – Italian troops take Innsbruck and Ljubljana before they are halted, while Russian forces are almost within sight of Budapest. However the fronts in Romania hold out and the Russian plan to break through to the Balkans is beaten off.

5/3/1940 – After three days of attacks, the French begin to push the Italians back towards Genoa and Turin over ground they had lost a few months earlier.

7/3/1940 – The Southern Balkan Front disintegrates after five days of constant attacks. A retreat by Albanian, Yugoslav, Bulgarian and some Romanian forces turns into a rout as superior British, Canadian and French firepower along with superior Greek and Turkish manpower begins to take its toll. More than 60,000 Balkan troops are killed, a similar number are wounded and 90,000 are taken prisoner. The NATO forces begin to overrun Albania Yugoslavia and Bulgaria in an effort to reach the Northern Balkan Front and destroy it as well.

10/3/1940 – French troops take Genoa and Turin and continue eastwards to within 10 kilometres of Milan until the Italians finally establish a front from La Spezia on the coast to the Swiss border.

11/3/1940 – In an effort to avoid the oncoming NATO forces from the south, the Balkan armies on the Northern Balkan Front retreat into Romania in an attempt to break through to the Russian front.

13/3/1940 – Balkan forces in Romania launch their assault on Austrian, Danish and Irish units in Romania.

18/3/1940 - The offensive succeeds, albeit with heavy losses, and the surviving Balkan forces reach the Russian front just across the Romanian-Ukrainian border through gaps left for them by NATO units. Meanwhile, NATO forces from the many different countries that have fought on the Northern and Southern Balkan Fronts meet in Yugoslavia and northern Bulgaria to great jubilation.

20/3/1940 -In Luxembourg it is decided that Turkish troops should occupy Bulgaria and Romania, while Albania and Yugoslavia become the responsibility of Greece. The hunt for communist politicians, secret police and other officials begins. The war in the Balkan theatre is finished and NATO now turns its attention to the war in Italy and the major front in the Soviet Union.

1/4/1940 – Another lull in the war begins as combatants in Europe and the Pacific begin to build up their forces.

2/5/1940 - Australia and New Zealand pour their forces into Papua New Guinea, assisted by Dutch troops that have escaped from Indonesia.

3/6/1940 - French units join the Austrians at the Austro-Italian Front, while the British and Canadians are sent to beef up the Germans at the Russian front.

4/7/1940 – America celebrates Independence Day with an inconclusive battle in the Coral Sea off Australia. The US carrier Lexington is sunk as opposed to only a light carrier for Japan. However, the Japanese are still forced to retreat out of the Coral Sea and the battle puts an end to any Japanese plans of invading Australia.

20/7/1940 – Danish, Irish and Austrian forces launch attacks against the Soviets in north-eastern Austria and the Ukraine. The Soviets hold the line, but the attacks are only a diversion.

22/7/1940 – Austria and Germany launch a coordinated attack on the Warsaw salient roughly 50 kilometres north-east and south-east of Warsaw. The offensive is a spectacular success as Soviet forces crumble and their opponents advance deep into Russian territory. At the same time, German artillery in the western salient pounds Russian units, but no attack by ground forces occurs.

24/7/1940 – The Soviet General Staff realises what is going on and order Soviet units from all over the front to the combat zone to try and stop German and Austrian forces meeting near Brest, but it is too late.

25/7/1940 – German and Austrian soldiers meet at Brest in the Soviet Republic of Belarus, cutting off more than 2,500,000 Soviet troops. They come under immediate attack from Soviet units to the east, but hold on, at least temporarily. Meanwhile the sectors weakened by Soviet troops leaving for the site of the offensive come under renewed attack and begin to lose ground.

27/7/1940 – German and British forces finally launch an offensive near Lodz on the far western side of the Warsaw salient. Soviet ground commanders decide that the salient is lost and to establish a new, shorter front stretching from the Lithuanian coast to the Black Sea. However when the plan is put to Stalin, he orders that no ground should be given up.

31/7/1940 – Even Stalin now realises that the troops in the Warsaw salient are fighting a losing battle and gives the order to break through and join the main Russian front. The corridor between the major Russian front and the surrounded Warsaw salient troops has widened to 6 kilometres.

2/8/1940 – After a rapid retreat from Lodz, more than 2,000,000 Russian troops are massed near Brest-Litovsk and launch a desperate attack on German and Austrian troops. Their sheer numerical superiority enables them to break through the six kilometre corridor and join the rest of the Red Army on the main front line. Attacks by NATO forces elsewhere have almost pushed Soviet forces off all but a few scraps of Austrian territory near Romania. The Russian front now stretches from just outside Odessa to the east of Brest-Litovsk and on to the coast of Lithuania. Of the 2,500,000 Soviet troops cut off in the Warsaw salient, 250,000 are dead and a further 450,000 wounded or taken prisoner.

6/8/1940 – The Soviet leadership begins to grasp the unmitigated disaster that has befallen them. 700,000 men have been lost along with uncounted numbers of tanks and other military equipment, the major city of Warsaw is in German hands, and virtually all the territory gained in February and March has been handed back to NATO.

11/8/1940 – A naval and air battle near the Pacific island of Midway ends in a disastrous defeat for Japan. The Japanese lose four major aircraft carriers while the US only has to mourn the loss of the Yorktown. The American fleet is now the dominant one in the Pacific and their superior naval power will soon begin to make itself felt.

1/9/1940 – On the first anniversary of the outbreak of the war, the Americans land 40,000 troops on tiny Wake Island in the Pacific. The 5,000 Japanese troops there are overwhelmed, but fight to the death. Only 523 Japanese are captured, most of them severely wounded. The other 4477 Japanese troops are killed. The Americans lose 3256 dead, 6382 wounded.

19/9/1940 – The US invades the Gilbert Islands and the Kwajalein Atoll with a combined total of 60,000 troops. The 10,000 Japanese troops again fight to the death, with only a few hundred falling into captivity.

2/10/1940 – Austrian and French forces launch an offensive on the north-eastern Italian front. France also launches diversionary attacks on the north-western Italian front to keep the Italians tied up there. The Austrians and French retake Innsbruck and Ljubljana and push the Italians back to the border and even across it. Trieste falls to Austrian forces on October 8. Only a few square miles of Austrian territory remains in Italian hands.

10/10/1940 – The diversionary attack in the northwest is more successful than anticipated with French troops reaching the outskirts of Milan.

15/10/1940 – NATO splits the Eastern Front into three sectors, with German forces in the northern part, Austrians in the south and other NATO forces led by the British in the centre. With winter setting in again, both sides plan to win the war in 1941.

22/10/1940 – Dutch and New Zealand paratroopers rain down on the Indonesian Island of Timor where Australian Special Forces have been fighting a guerrilla war with the help of the native population. Murderous house-to-house fighting erupts in Timor’s major cities as the Japanese are slowly pushed into the countryside.

1/11/1940 – Japan sends reinforcements to Timor and the tide begins to turn. The New Zealanders and Dutch ask for American assistance.

5/11/1940 – Franklin Roosevelt is easily re-elected to his 3rd term as President. His opponent, Thomas Dewey, only wins 5 States.

17/11/1940 – 40,000 American marines, along with 10,000 Australian soldiers, land on east Timorese beaches. They quickly clear the eastern peninsula and link up with New Zealand and Dutch forces fighting in Dili and establish a front that stretches from north to south along the whole island. The last Japanese units are overwhelmed on November 24 on the western beaches of the island.
[break=World War Two 1941-1942]
28/2/1941 – The island hopping strategy of America continues as they slowly but surely retake Pacific islands. Another thrust is towards the Marianas Islands which puts Japan within range of American and Australian bombers. The fighting in PNG is at a stalemate despite vicious jungle warfare along the Kokoda Track. In Europe, small offensives along the Eastern and Italian fronts probe the defences of both sides.

7/3/1941 – Robert Menzies suffers a surprise defeat in the Australian election. The new Prime Minister is John Curtin as Labour wins office by a 3-seat majority.

10/3/1941 – Simultaneous offensives are launched on the Italian fronts by Austria and France. The north-western front begins to disintegrate under a brutal artillery attack followed by an offensive with thousands of tanks. Infantry assaults on Milan succeed in capturing the city on March 12. Mussolini orders reserves from the north-east to be transferred to the north-west, which causes the north-eastern front to collapse in the face of overwhelming Austrian assaults.

14/3/1941 – French and Austrian units meet near Vicenza to great jubilation in all NATO countries.

16/3/1941 – Mussolini orders that a frontline from just north of Pisa to Ravenna on the Adriatic be established and held to the last man. The Italians manage to hold off further Austrian and French attacks.

22/3/1941 – The Soviets launch a major offensive against what they perceive to be the weak central sector of the front. Like the French in Italy, they attack with artillery, masses of tanks and 8 divisions of infantry. The British and Danes bear the brunt of the assault and fall back more than 15 kilometres to the south of Brest-Litovsk. The Russians swing north to attack the city from the east and the south, exposing their flank.

26/3/1941 – Dutch, Belgian, British and Irish units launch a counterattack on the Soviet III Corps which is attacking Brest-Litovsk from the south. The Soviet II Corps attacking Brest-Litovsk from the east is stopped in its tracks by British and some German units.

29/3/1941 – Austrian forces join the fight against Soviet III Corps which is in danger of being encircled. Sensing the danger, their commander breaks off the attack and re-establishes the line towards the east of Brest-Litovsk. The week-long battle has cost 50,000 Soviet and 20,000 NATO lives for no discernable gain.

2/5/1941 – US Forces invade and take the Marianas islands of Guam and Saipan. Every Japanese soldier on Guam dies; on Saipan only a few dozen are captured. Japan is now within range of American bombers.

4/6/1941 – Kaiser Wilhelm II dies aged 82, after 52 years on the throne. He is buried amid great pomp and ceremony at a funeral attended by most European Heads of State as well as the American President. His son, 59-year-old Wilhelm III succeeds him to the throne.

16/6/1941 – After a long build-up, Australia launches an offensive against Japan in Papua New Guinea. Precision bombing against Japanese supply depots and reserve units weaken the Japanese forces at the frontline and the all-out attack throws Japanese troops into a headlong retreat towards the north coast of PNG. New Zealanders, Dutch and a division of American Marines join the attack, while the US and Australian navies seal off the island from Japanese reinforcements. 200,000 Japanese are trapped on the island.

22/6/1941 – Germany and Austria launch simultaneous offensives in the northern and southern sectors of the Russian Front. German troops attack in Lithuania, Austrians charge towards Odessa.

30/6/1941 – After a week of fighting, Austrians finally take Odessa and clear the Soviets from the rest of their territory. The Germans have overrun most of Lithuania and push on towards Latvia. A British-led attack in the central sector causes the whole front to retreat.

2/7/1941 – Stalin orders that a front west stretching from the Latvian coast to west of Minsk and Kiev and ending at the entry to the Crimea be defended at all costs.

5/7/1941 – Russian reinforcements halt the offensive 12 kilometres short of Minsk and 8 kilometres short of Kiev. However, Balkan units that have escaped from the previous years disaster are unable to stop the Austrians reaching the land bridge to the Crimea.

10/7/1941 – Austrian and Irish units conquer the Crimea in less than a week, kill 20,000 Russian troops and take 90,000 more Russians, including senior generals and admirals, prisoner. The loss of Sevastopol means that the Russian Black Sea Fleet doesn’t have a major home port. The Austrians lose 12,000 men in the entire offensive, the Irish lose 3,000. Total NATO deaths number 35,000, while the Soviets lose about twice that many.

18/8/1941 – Small offensives in Russia make little progress and the front only retreats another 40 kilometres or so.

29/9/1941 - The Italian front turns into a war of attrition costing the lives of thousands of Italian, French and Austrian soldiers.

31/10/1941 - The Soviet Black Sea fleet, deprived of a harbour in Sevastopol or Odessa is being picked off one ship at a time, until the senior Russian admiral makes a drastic decision.

10/11/1941 - The battle in Papua New Guinea is also not going to plan even after an Australian air strike eliminates the senior Japanese command on the island. Command devolves to battalion or company level with each group of Japanese soldiers fighting to the death. In the meantime, British and South African troops arrive in Australia for advanced jungle training.

14/11/1941 – The entire Soviet Black Sea Fleet appears near the Bosporus in an attempt to reach the Mediterranean and make for safety in Italian harbours. However, the plan has been discovered by British and Turkish authorities, and a massive naval battle erupts.

17/11/1941 – The Battle of the Bosporus ends. Of the 17 Russian battleships that took part, 13 are sunk, 2 are captured and one has run aground. Only one battleship has made it into the Mediterranean, along with 5 cruisers and a dozen destroyers and frigates. They reach the safety of Bari in Italy on December 8. The British have had eight battleships sunk and four more severely damaged. The Turks have lost three of their six battleships.

1/12/1941 – Australia brings all its technology and firepower to bear on the Japanese in Papua New Guinea. A new weapon called Napalm is unleashed against the Japanese. Napalm is jellified petroleum which is thrown from planes or shot from armoured vehicles. Bombs containing white phosphorus are also used against the Japanese.

28/2/1942 - The last Japanese units on Papua New Guinea are eliminated. Only 14,763 Japanese out of 200,000 are captured.

4/3/1942 – British and South African troops land on the large Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. Two days later, American forces invade the Solomon Islands, specifically the island of Guadalcanal.

11/3/1942 – Australian and New Zealand troops land on smaller Indonesian islands such as Bali, Lombok and Flores. The pattern from previous invasions repeats itself – fierce Japanese resistance and a refusal to surrender even in hopeless situations. In spite of this, the Japanese are slowly being overcome.

22/3/1942 – The Soviet Union launches an attack on the central sector of the front, hoping for more success than the previous year. German and Austrian reinforcements are rushed to assist the British, Canadian and other NATO troops, while counterattacks are launched in the northern and southern sectors, causing Russian troops to be diverted to stop those assaults. The Soviet offensive peters out a week later with only 20 kilometres of territory being regained. In spite of huge reserves of manpower and industrial muscle, the situation for the Soviet Union is looking increasingly grim. However, no-one dares to mention the idea of peace talks to Stalin.

2/4/1942 – French and Austrian units, reinforced by Dutch, Belgian and Danish forces as well as 15 German divisions, launch an all-out offensive on the Italian front. At the same time, Greek and Turkish units invade Sicily.

16/4/1942 – After two weeks of fighting the Italian front begins to collapse, while lightly defended Sicily is being overrun.

4/5/1942 - Greek and Turkish troops parachute into Reggio di Calabria on the Italian mainland.

11/6/1942 – Despite spirited Italian resistance, NATO forces move relentlessly down the peninsular, while Greek and Turkish forces fight their way north.

10/7/1942 - Mussolini flees from Rome to Naples. Divorced from reality, the Italian dictator refuses to capitulate.

30/8/1942 - More and more Italian units surrender to NATO troops in the north and south. It becomes increasingly obvious that a total Italian collapse is only a matter of time.

5/9/1942 – Mussolini launches the Monte Cassino Offensive as a last attempt to reverse the fortunes of his war. The attack pushes the northern front almost back to Rome, but two weeks later the Italians begin to run out of supplies, and the offensive stalls.

29/9/1942 – Mussolini is killed when a briefcase filled with explosives wrecks his Naples bunker. One of his senior deputies, Pietro Badoglio takes over command and asks NATO for terms of surrender.

10/10/1942 – Italy surrenders to NATO. Every senior fascist official either commits suicide or is captured. The deposed King Victor Emanuel is installed as temporary governor under the military supervision of French general Charles de Gaulle. Occupation troops come from France, Austria, Germany, Greece and Turkey. The war has cost 2,509,000 Italian soldiers and 306,000 civilians their lives.

30/11/1942 – The recapture of the Pacific islands that Allied forces invaded in March is completed and after the discovery of half-starved allied prisoners of war as well as reports of sex slavery, little mercy is shown to Japanese soldiers, officers and officials. It is decided that invasions of the Philippines (by America), Borneo and other Indonesian islands (by Australia, New Zealand and Holland), and the Malay peninsula (by Britain and South Africa) should commence in the New Year.

17/12/1942 – More than 150,000 French troops, freed from the Italian front in Europe, arrive in Australia for advanced jungle training in order to recapture French Indochina from Japan.
[break=World War Two 1943-1944]
16/1/1943 – Australian forces are first into action, with an invasion of Borneo and Sulawesi. New Zealand and Dutch troops invade the other Indonesian islands that remain in Japanese hands.

26/1/1943 – American forces land on the two main Philippine islands of Mindanao and Luzon. That night, British and South African paratroopers land in Singapore, while another British force goes ashore just north of the city, meeting heavy resistance.

31/1/1943 – Three separate French regiments invade the beaches of South Vietnam and Cambodia. The Japanese are caught totally unawares and are quickly overrun, enabling the French to gain 15 kilometres of ground on the first day.

12/2/1943 – German and British warships, which had been content to hold the Russian Baltic fleet in the harbour at Leningrad, move in to attack. A number of Russian warships are sunk in Leningrad Harbour, the rest set sail and attempt to break out.

13/2/1943 – A huge naval battle erupts in the Gulf of Finland, as the Soviet Baltic Fleet attempts to escape into the Baltic Sea. In a two-day battle, 26 of the 32 Russian battleships are sunk, three more surrender to British or German ships and the other three make it to neutral Swedish harbours where they and their crews are interned by Swedish authorities. Smaller Russian ships suffer similar fates. The Germans lose 10 battleships, the British lose 7 battleships. Dozens of smaller warships are also sunk and 107,000 Russian, 35,000 German and 28,000 British sailors are lost.

16/2/1943 – NATO forces in Russia launch a major offensive along the entire eastern front in an operation called “Barbarossa”. The Germans in the north attempt to finally liberate the rest of Latvia and Estonia. Another German attack is aimed at Minsk. The Austrians in the south attempt to push for the Caucasus and its oilfields, while the British and other NATO forces in the centre target Kiev. The Soviets have built up their reserves over winter as well and offer fierce resistance. On one of the bloodiest days of the war, 80,000 men lose their lives.

26/2/1943 – After a month of fighting, Singapore is retaken by British and South African troops. They find a prison camp at Changi, full of half-starved prisoners and hear tales of severe mistreatment and summary executions. The captured Japanese commander and all of his captured guards are hanged on the spot.

28/2/1943 – A series of tank battles has cleared the Soviets from Latvia and the Germans cross the border into Estonia, where resistance fighters assist the Germans by committing various acts of sabotage against the Soviets.

1/3/1943 – After the capture of Singapore, British and South African forces fight their way up the Malaysian peninsula and into Thailand while the French fight their way into Indochina and push the Japanese there west into Thailand.

8/3/1943 - In Russia, NATO is making steady progress after initial strong resistance from Soviet forces. The Austrians capture Rostov, the gateway to the Caucasus on and push the Soviets east towards the Volga and the city of Stalingrad.

28/3/1943 - Turkey invades the Soviet republic of Armenia and moves north to link up with the Austrians.

2/4/1943 - Kiev falls and the British, Canadians, Dutch, Belgians, Danes and Irish drive the Russians towards the River Don and the town of Kursk.

12/4/1943 - The Australians and their Allies force the Japanese on Borneo into the centre of the island while uncovering further prison camps in just as appalling a condition as the camp in Changi.

25/4/1943 - Estonia is liberated by German forces, Minsk falls on May 5 and the Germans throw the Soviets into a retreat towards Leningrad and Moscow.

3/5/1943 - The Americans on Luzon in the Philippines are having problems with elite Japanese units stalling their advance to Manila.

30/6/1943 - Land based artillery keeps NATO ships away from Leningrad, but the Germans reach the outskirts of the city before vicious counterattacks push them 20 kilometres south and establish a frontline from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga east of Leningrad.

20/7/1943 – A German amphibious landing north of Leningrad isolates the city and a siege ensues. Four million Russians, including 930,000 soldiers are trapped in Leningrad. Besieging them are 1,500,000 German troops.

15/8/1943 - The Americans on other Philippine islands are having more success than in Luzon with Mindanao, Cebu and other islands being captured.

11/9/1943 – Austrian and Turkish units meet near Tbilisi in the Soviet Republic of Georgia after annihilating the last remaining Soviet units in the Caucasus. The Eastern front now stretches from the Caspian Sea to the Volga and 5 kilometres west of Stalingrad to the Don River and the city of Kursk north to the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga.

4/10/1943 – The Battle of Kursk begins with an attack by 2,400 Soviet aircraft on 2,000 British aircraft. The Soviets intend to destroy the British planes on the ground, but the British receive a warning and a murderous dogfight erupts. The air battle turns into the longest and largest ever fought with more than 700 Soviet and 300 British planes shot down.

5/10/1943 – The battle starts in earnest as 1,300,000 Soviets with 3,600 tanks attack 800,000 NATO troops with 2,600 tanks in a pincer movement. The battle ends on October 20 in a crushing defeat for the Soviets as British air power demolishes their tanks and artillery. NATO loses 57,000 soldiers and 300 tanks, while the Soviets lose 180,000 men and 1,600 tanks, and are thrown across the Don River towards Moscow.

22/10/1943 – Reinforced and resupplied by oil from the Caucasus, the Austrian Air Force begins a week-long bombardment of Stalingrad. A firestorm on October 25 turns most of the city into rubble and destroys 80% of the city’s living space.

30/10/1943 – Austrian forces cross the Volga north and south of the city and, east of Stalingrad, destroy what is left of the Balkan forces that had escaped to the Soviet Union in 1940. 1,700,000 Soviet troops are trapped in the city along with around 400,000 civilians.

2/11/1943 – Germany launches a massive artillery barrage on the northern and southern Leningrad fronts.

3/11/1943 – Austrian forces launch an all-out assault on Stalingrad. The attack soon becomes bogged down in street warfare as the Soviets defend the city house by house. Casualties on both sides begin to mount.

30/11/1943 - German forces break through the Russian front 100 kilometres south of Leningrad. The Soviets disintegrate and German forces sweep across the country to try to encircle Moscow from the north and east. British and other NATO forces chase the Soviet survivors from Kursk, approaching Moscow from the south.

3/12/1943 – Stalin and his Politburo flee to the industrial city of Kazan, approximately 700 kilometres east of Moscow.

14/12/1943 – One of the bloodiest battles in history ends as Russian General Timoshenko surrenders Stalingrad to the Austrians. More than 470,000 Soviet soldiers are dead in the rubble with 510,000 wounded. Of the 400,000 civilians, 42,000 are dead and another 220,000 injured. Austrian losses are equally horrendous, with 350,000 killed and 650,000 wounded. Overall, 862,000 people have been killed and 1,380,000 wounded.

20/12/1943 – The last Soviet troops in Leningrad are captured or killed in the Winter Palace and the city falls to the Germans. The Soviets lose 330,000 men killed, while German losses amount to 260,000 dead. Nearly 80,000 civilians also lose their lives. The German troops that have taken part in the siege and capture are now transferred to the main front.

3/1/1944 – President Roosevelt states that he intends to run for a fourth term as President.

5/1/1944 – American forces are massed outside Manila in the Philippines and prepare for the final assault on Japanese troops in the country.

8/1/1944 – German and British units meet 100 kilometres east of Moscow, encircling the Russian capital, while the Austrians continue to drive the Russians eastwards, approaching Kazan from the southwest.

19/1/1944 – The usual vicious Japanese resistance only allows US forces to capture half of Manila, even after a fortnight of fighting.

24/1/1944 – German, British and other NATO troops reach Red Square in Moscow after surprisingly little resistance. The NATO soldiers search the Kremlin, not believing accounts that Stalin has fled.

2/2/1944 – French troops meet British and South African units roughly 400 kilometres north of Bangkok. The combined forces drive the Japanese towards Bangkok.

10/2/1944 – The last 3,000 Japanese on Borneo surrender to Australian forces. More than 170,000 Japanese corpses rot in the jungle as the Australians discover more appalling prison camps.

3/3/1944 – Manila finally falls. Only 18,000 Japanese had held off 5 times that many Americans for nearly 2 months. 16,000 Japanese are killed while 10,000 Americans also lose their lives.

6/3/1944 – Austrian forces annihilate a Soviet division 50 kilometres east of Kazan. Captured Soviet officers tell the Austrians that Stalin is still in the city. The message is relayed to the other NATO units who are not far away. The Germans have captured Novgorod to the north-west, while British tanks roll towards Kazan directly from the west. Danish and Irish units are sent to beef up the Austrians while Belgian, Dutch and Canadian forces plug the gap between the German and British divisions.

10/3/1944 – The encirclement of Kazan is completed. The city is surrounded by 5,000,000 NATO troops who are facing 1,000,000 defenders. Other NATO troops surge further east where they liberate thousands of political prisoners from Soviet gulags.

14/3/1944 – The attack on Kazan begins with a devastating NATO artillery barrage. Outlying suburbs are captured with little resistance.

17/3/1944 – British, French and South African troops, assisted by the US and Australian Air Forces, obliterate the remaining Japanese units on the beaches east of Bangkok.

19/3/1944 – More than 110,000 Americans invade the outlying Japanese island of Iwo Jima. Facing them are 22,000 Japanese defenders. On the same day, the other Pacific allies - Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Britain, South Africa and France - launch an attack on the Japanese colony of Formosa.

31/3/1944 – With NATO forces less than a kilometre away from his bunker, Stalin anoints Foreign Minister Molotov as his successor, shoots his wife and 14-year-old daughter and commits suicide by cyanide. Stalin’s aides burn the bodies.

2/4/1944 – News of Stalin’s death reaches the Soviet soldiers defending the last few square kilometres of Kazan and they begin to surrender in droves.

3/4/1944 – General Secretary Molotov and Field Marshall Zhukov surrender to British troops in Kazan. They are taken to NATO headquarters outside the city.

4/4/1944 – Molotov and Zhukov sign the unconditional surrender of the Soviet Union. The armistice is effective from 8:00am, but the guns have been silent since midnight as the remaining Soviet soldiers surrender. The final, futile struggle has resulted in 173,000 Soviet and 81,000 NATO dead. The war in Europe is over, but celebrations are muted. And there is still Japan.

16/4/1944 – The Americans raise the flag over Iwo Jima. The photograph of this event would become one of the most iconic pictures of the 20th Century. The victory has cost 8,700 American and 20,700 Japanese lives. Only 1,300 Japanese survive and are captured.

20/4/1944 – With the war all but over, Prime Minister Curtin is returned to office, beating Arthur Fadden in a landslide.

1/5/1944 – More than half a million Pacific allies invade the island of Okinawa. Facing them are 100,000 Japanese regular soldiers and 50,000 militia. No-one in the Allied camp thinks this will be a cakewalk.

10/5/1944 – The last Japanese on Formosa surrender to the Australians and British. The combined allied death toll is 16,600; Japanese dead number 31,000.

18/6/1944 – The last Japanese units on Okinawa are overwhelmed. The seven-week campaign has cost 12,500 allied and 66,000 Japanese lives.

25/7/1944 – After more than six years of research, Australia manages to successfully test a nuclear weapon at the test site of Maralinga in outback South Australia.

28/7/1944 – Prime Minister Curtin views the footage of the nuclear test in astonishment. “How powerful is this weapon”, he asks. “250 kilotons – enough to wipe Canberra or Newcastle off the map” comes the answer. “How many of these things do we have?” is Curtin’s next question. “We will have two 500-kiloton bombs by mid-August and about 10 one-megaton bombs by the end of the year, but there will be some more tests first” answers the Defence Minister.

6/8/1944 – A second successful nuclear test is performed at Maralinga, as preparations for the invasion of Japan proper continue. The invasion is scheduled for October.

9/8/1944 – A third nuclear test is performed. The test is successful and Prime Minister Curtin is informed that the two 500-kiloton bombs are ready for use from August 25.

22/8/1944 – The allies send a message to Japan asking for an unconditional surrender by September 1. Japan answers 3 days later rejecting the request.

1/9/1944 – At 8:00am on the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of the war, a lone Australian bomber appears high above the relatively untouched Japanese city of Hiroshima. Two minutes later, a blinding flash causes retinal burns to everyone who happens to look at it as the 500-kiloton bomb explodes over the centre of the city. Within a kilometre of ground zero, everything – human, animal, vegetable and mineral – evaporates as the ground fuses into brown glass. Living things within a 6 kilometre radius melt and soft materials such as wood and paint spontaneously combust. On the outer edges of this circle of death, skin and bone are welded into bricks and mortar leaving imprinted shadows of those that had stood there. Between 6 and 15 kilometres, the heat pulse causes serious burns on exposed skin, with cooked flesh coming off with burning clothes, exposing gleaming white bones. The shockwaves following the heat pulse flattens everything within a 7 kilometre radius and shreds any survivors of the heat pulse with a hail of flying masonry, glass and metal. One minute after the detonation, the back blast fuelling the rising mushroom cloud finishes off the survivors above and just below ground. Anyone still alive in basements or air-raid shelters is suffocated or dry roasted by carbon dioxide heated to 3000 degrees Celsius. Thirty minutes after the explosion, 110,000 of the city’s 120,000 inhabitants are dead. The rest die over the next 3 days as they succumb to their horrific injuries.

2/9/1944 – The Australian government again demands an unconditional Japanese surrender by midnight of September 5.

5/9/1944 – After no response from Japan, a second atomic bomb is dropped over Nagasaki. The initial blast claims 72,000 lives, with the 4,000 survivors dying over the following week.

6/9/1944 – Another demand for unconditional surrender is made, this time with a deadline of midnight, September 9.

8/9/1944 – After no response from the Japanese government to the Australian demand, Emperor Hirohito steps in and orders his ministers to accede to the allied demand. They obey.

9/9/1944 – World War 2, the bloodiest and most destructive war in history, ends at 9:00am. Military casualties alone include 10,700,000 Russians; 7,300,000 Germans; 5,000,000 Japanese; 4,300,000 Austrians; 2,500,000 Italians; 1,200,000 French; 1,100,000 British; 500,000 Americans; 300,000 soldiers each from Greece and Turkey; 400,000 Commonwealth troops, including 100,000 Australians, 90,000 Canadians and 40,000 each from South Africa and New Zealand. More than 300,000 troops from smaller NATO Nations such as Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Ireland also perish. Overall, around 35,000,000 soldiers died in Europe and the Pacific. Around 5,000,000 civilians, mostly in Asia, Japan, Russia, and the Balkans are also dead raising the total death toll for the war to 40,000,000 people.
[break=Aftermath]
15/9/1944 – American, Australian and New Zealand troops begin to arrive in Japan to occupy the country under the terms of surrender. By the end of the month, more than 100,000 troops and western civilians, mostly American, are in the country. Their commander is Douglas McArthur.

14/10/1944 – NATO politicians hold a conference in Luxembourg to decide the fate of Italy and the Balkans. Austria-Hungary regains the territory it had lost after the First World War, namely South Tyrol and Trieste and its surrounding area. Austria-Hungary also regains Bosnia-Herzegovina from Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia is broken up into its component parts of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. The three new States remain under Greek and Austrian occupation until constitutions can be drafted and elections held. These are tentatively scheduled for 1946. The Communist Party in the old Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania is banned. Their leaders are charged with war crimes and imprisoned or executed. The same fate awaits the surviving fascist leaders of Italy. Italy becomes a constitutional monarchy with a similar constitution to Germany, Britain and Austria-Hungary. As in the Balkan countries, the new constitution will come into effect in 1946, with elections to be held that year. The defeated countries are prohibited from possessing a military and disarmament commences immediately.

7/11/1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected to his 4th term as president, defeating Thomas Dewey by 432 electoral votes to 99.

14/12/1944 – The British and Australian Prime Ministers meet President Roosevelt in Washington to discuss Japan. It is decided to leave the Emperor in place, disarm the country and implement a pacifist constitution similar to that planned for Italy. However, it is not anticipated that this constitution will be implemented before 1947 or even 1948, since the country is in total ruins.

24/12/1944 – Christmas Eve is marked by victory celebrations in NATO and Pacific Ally capitals and cities. The celebrations are subdued, however, due to the horrendous death toll in the war and the large number of troops still occupying the defeated countries.

15/1/1945 – Politicians from NATO countries meet in Potsdam outside Berlin to decide the fate of the Soviet Union. It is decided to split the country into several parts based on its constituent republics. The central Asian republics east of Caspian Sea become five separate countries – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Each becomes a republic with a president as head of state and bicameral legislatures, similar to the constitutional monarchies of Europe. All are banned from possessing a military. In the Caucasus, the Republic of Georgia is created along similar lines, while the former countries of Belarus and Ukraine are joined together as the new nation of Poland with Warsaw as its capital. The former Soviet Republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan are annexed by Turkey. The former Russian Soviet Republic has its monarchy restored with the exiled Feodor Romanov being proclaimed Tsar Feodor IV. He has far more powers than the German and Austrian emperors or the British King with his powers being similar to those of the American President. Like the other new states, Russia is forbidden from building a military. A new constitution based on those of European countries and America will come into effect in 1946. Former communist officials are tried and severely punished. From documents and witness accounts it is estimated that the number of people that have perished in the gulags is more than 2,000,000.

20/1/1945 – President Roosevelt uses his 4th inaugural address to call for a world body of countries to mediate disputes. The reaction from other countries is lukewarm as they recall the failure of the League of Nations. The US begins quiet diplomatic efforts to persuade other nations of this idea’s merits.

27/2/1945 – The simmering conflict between China’s government and Mao’s communist rebels erupts into open warfare. Still exhausted from World War 2, no nation has the will or capacity to intervene.

18/3/1945 – Holland begins the process of relinquishing its Indonesian colony. A series of referendums is held in various provinces of Indonesia. West Papua decides to join the Australian protectorate of Papua New Guinea, and Timor also decides to become an Australian territory. Prime Minister Curtin agrees to administer the two new territories and sends a governor to Timor. The other provinces decide to form the new nation of Indonesia, effective on July 1. Holland and Australia are asked to organise and supervise elections by June 30.

12/4/1945 – Massive demonstrations led by Mahatma Ghandi occur in India. The demonstrations are largely peaceful, with only minor clashes between various religious groups.

22/5/1945 – Communist agitators let off a series of bombs in French Indochina, killing 20 and injuring 85.

18/6/1945 – The Golkar Party under its leader Sukarno is elected to form the first Indonesian government. Three other parties make up the unicameral parliament.

1/7/1945 – The Republic of Indonesia is proclaimed. It stretches across a vast archipelago and has a population of 110,000,000 people, 80% of whom live in rural areas and 90% of whom are Muslim.

8/8/1945 – More independence demonstrations take place in India, but the British make no overtures to their leaders.

9/9/1945 – “Good evening, and welcome to Television” says the matinee idol Clark Gable, before crossing to a speech by President Roosevelt commemorating the first anniversary of the end of the war, which is followed by a telecast of a World Series baseball game. Less than a million American households have the new invention, but the gadget will spread like wildfire across the country and the world.

17/10/1945 – In Britain, Winston Churchill is voted out of office and replaced by Clement Attlee of the Labour party.

1/11/1945 – The last Dutch troops leave Indonesia while Sukarno is already taking measures to solidify his power. Meanwhile, Mao is slowly winning the war against the KMT in China.

3/12/1945 – Elections are held in the Balkans, Russia, Poland, Italy and former Soviet republics as millions of people decide who should lead their various countries into nationhood. Russia elects a centre right government under former Gulag inmate Nikita Khrushchev. A referendum in Macedonia proposing union with Greece is successful. A referendum in Greece on the same topic is also successful.

1/1/1946 – The new nations of Poland, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan come into existence. Macedonia and its 1.5 million people join Greece.

1/2/1946 – The last American and Australian troops leave the former Japanese colony of Korea, which promptly erupts in civil war between Chinese sponsored communists led by Kim Il-Sung and the American-sponsored forces of Syngman Rhee. The other former Japanese colony of Formosa remains under US and Australian administration.

10/3/1946 – The first Australian nuclear reactor comes online. It supplies the power needs for Australia’s sixth-largest city, Newcastle, which has a population of 300,000.

22/4/1946 – Australian engineers demonstrate a small, commercial jet aircraft at an air show in Los Angeles. A number of American and European aircraft manufacturers are intrigued and offer lucrative contracts to the Australians to develop the engines further.

18/5/1946 – The first Australian nuclear submarine, named Collins after a World War 2 hero, is launched with utmost secrecy. The submarine does not carry nuclear weapons, but its nuclear engine makes it a lot quieter and faster than its diesel-powered counterparts.

11/6/1946 – The United States launches a multi-stage rocket from a site in New Mexico. The conventional payload blows up a purpose-built house in Arizona with unerring accuracy. Australian Prime Minister Curtin remarks to his defence minister: “It looks like the Yanks are catching up”. “Wait a month and see if you still feel that way, mate” replies the defence minister.

14/7/1946 – Australia launches a multi-stage rocket from its Woomera base in South Australia. A few minutes later, a one-megaton nuclear blast obliterates a purpose-built village at the Australian test site at Maralinga, South Australia. “I see what you meant last month” says Curtin, “but I suspect that the Yanks will have nuclear weapons soon enough. I also suspect that the Jerries are beavering away as well. Fortunately, they’re both on our side”.

7/8/1946 - Negotiations on the future of Korea begin in Manila. The civil war has so far claimed 10,000 lives.

19/9/1946 – In a shock announcement, British Prime Minister Attlee announces that Britain will withdraw from its biggest colony, India. The colony will be divided into three parts along ethnic and religious lines, with Muslim Pakistan and Bangladesh being carved out of Hindu India in the northwest and east.

30/10/1946 – Negotiations in Manila move at a snails pace and are frequently frustrated by intransigence from both Korean sides.

28/11/1946 – KMT boss Chou En-Lai who is losing the civil war in China to Mao, makes preparations to flee to Formosa.

15/12/1946 – Japanese wartime Prime Minister Tojo and several of his ministers pay the price for their wartime atrocities as they are hanged in Tokyo.

1/1/1947 – The nations of Pakistan and Bangladesh come into existence, carved out of the territory of Colonial India. India itself also gains independence, with Jawaghal Nehru as Prime Minister. Millions of Muslims and Hindus are on the march as they migrate to their respective countries.

18/2/1947 – Chinese KMT chief Chou En-Lai and most of his cabinet arrive in Taipei, Formosa after fleeing from the Chinese mainland. The civil war with Mao continues, however.

27/3/1947 – The first Vietnam War begins as Vietnamese communists called the Viet Minh begin guerrilla warfare against France by attacking French military outposts and convoys. Urban guerrillas target French military and colonial officials for assassination.

12/4/1947 – France sends reinforcements to Indochina to crush the communist insurrection in the Vietnamese part. A communist insurgency is also beginning in Laos, with only Cambodia remaining quiet.

19/5/1947 – Government officials from Europe, Asia and Australasia travel to Washington to hold serious talks on the formation of a successor to the League of Nations. The politicians are determined to learn the lesson of the Leagues failure before embarking on a similar venture.

23/6/1947 – Violent clashes between Muslims and Hindus erupt at the border of India and Pakistan. The riots soon spread to major Indian cities and hundreds of people are killed. India’s spiritual leader, Mahatma Ghandi, goes on a hunger strike.

10/7/1947 – With the elderly Mahatma close to death, the riots cease as the population movement comes to an end. Ghandi ends his hunger strike, but more than 3,000 people are dead and relations between Pakistan and India have nosedived.

22/8/1947 – Prime Minister Curtin repeats his success over Opposition Leader Fadden in an election and wins government by five seats. Fadden resigns his position and is replaced by former Prime Minister Robert Menzies.

29/9/1947 – The United States launches a rocket more than 500 kilometres up and beyond the atmosphere. A camera mounted on the module takes dozens of pictures of the Earth from space before it falls back to earth.

20/10/1947 – President Roosevelt announces in Manila that the Korean peninsular will be split into two parts at the 38th parallel. The northern part will become the communist Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, ruled by Kim Il-Sung, the southern part will become the Republic of Korea, ruled for at least 3 years by Syngman Rhee.

17/11/1947 – The last major Chinese city, Nanjing, falls to Mao. Only pockets of nationalist resistance remain on the Chinese mainland.

14/12/1947 – President Roosevelt is asked whether he will run for another term as President. He avoids the question.

1/1/1948 – North and South Korea come into existence. The 38th parallel gradually becomes a heavily fortified border, but Kim Il-Sung’s present priority is shoring up his power.

8/2/1948 – A week before the Iowa caucuses Roosevelt announces that he will not run for a 5th term as president. He endorses his Vice President, Harry Truman, as his successor, virtually guaranteeing Truman the nomination. The Republicans, fed up with losing, draft the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Dwight Eisenhower, as their nominee. There are other candidates on both sides running, but the nominations are almost a foregone conclusion.

1/3/1948 – Mao Zedong proclaims the People Republic of China, with himself as Head of the Communist Party and Head of State. Most countries accept the inevitable and recognise the new state.

24/4/1948 – The United States of America joins the nuclear club by successfully detonating a bomb in the New Mexico desert. “Took them long enough” remarks Prime Minister Curtin.

12/5/1948 – Australia launches two more nuclear-powered submarines, the Conqueror and the Constellation.

10/6/1948 – The Jewish population in Palestine has risen to 3 million, and Jewish groups begin to negotiate with the occupying British to set up a Jewish State.

1/7/1948 – Chou En-Lai proclaims the Republic of Taiwan, formerly Formosa. Communist China claims the island as its own and refuses recognition, but most other nations engage in another bout of Realpolitik.

16/8/1948 – The Republican and Democratic conventions in the US confirm Eisenhower and Truman as their respective presidential candidates.

5/9/1948 – The final two Collins-class submarines, named Canopus and Cannae, are launched by Australia. The Australian government orders the defence department to design nuclear armed, instead of just nuclear powered submarines.

16/10/1948 – Jewish negotiations with the British in Palestine continue, with the disorganised Palestinians being shut out of the process.

2/11/1948 – Republican Dwight Eisenhower of New York and his Californian running mate Richard Nixon score a thumping win over Vice President Harry Truman of Missouri with a score of 303-189 in the Electoral College. Third party candidate Strom Thurmond of South Carolina takes the remaining EC votes.

13/12/1948 – Britain announces its withdrawal from Palestine and the creation of a new Jewish state called Israel on its territory. The State will be set up on democratic principles and every Jew has an automatic right to settle there. The British withdrawal is scheduled to be complete on 1/1/1950.

20/1/1949 – Dwight Eisenhower is sworn in as the 32nd President of the United States of America. Franklin Roosevelt leaves office after 16 years as the longest-serving president to date.

14/2/1949 – Chinese military advisers arrive in North Korea and Vietnam to train the North Korean army and Viet Minh guerrillas. The guerrilla war in Indochina has claimed 3,000 French and more than 25,000 Vietnamese lives so far.

22/3/1949 – Australia launches the Sirius, a nuclear powered aircraft carrier. Two more carriers, the Endeavour and the Arthur Philip will soon follow.

12/4/1949 – Less than three months after leaving office, former President Roosevelt dies at his home on Long Island at the age of 67. President Eisenhower declares a week of national mourning.

10/5/1949 – Aircraft manufacturer Lockheed demonstrates the L1000-30, a civilian airliner powered by jet engines. The plane can carry 128 passengers and has a range of 3000 kilometres.

24/6/1949 – America’s first nuclear power station, at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, comes online.

1/7/1949 – The State of Israel is proclaimed, with David Ben-Gurion as the first prime Minister. The new country has a population of 3.1 million Jews and 800,000 Arabs who begin to leave for neighbouring Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

18/8/1949 – The highest mountain on earth is conquered, when the New Zealander Edmund Hillary reaches the top of Mount Everest.

19/9/1949 – The first purpose built civilian jetliner, the British de Havilland Comet, makes its maiden flight from London to Paris.

10/10/1949 – The Lockheed L1000-30, demonstrated a few months earlier, makes its maiden passenger flight from Chicago to New York. Other Aircraft manufacturers scramble to design their own jetliner.

24/11/1949 – A massive bomber, the B-52, makes its first test flight in the desert of Nevada, using jet engines developed by the American firm Convair. The Australians cast a keen eye on the design, and Curtin gives permission to purchase 5 planes to use as templates.

22/12/1949 – Australia conducts its biggest nuclear test when a missile containing 3 warheads is launched from the Northern Territory. The 1-megaton warheads detonate at 3 separate sites 100 kilometres apart a mere 12 minutes later.

19/1/1950 – Australian Prime Minister Curtin announces that he will retire due to health reasons and calls an election for early March.

17/2/1950 - Germany buys what is left of the Russian Baltic Fleet that has been stuck in Swedish harbours since the end of World War 2.

5/3/1950 – At the Australian elections, Labour Party support collapses and Robert Menzies of the Liberal Party becomes Prime Minister some nine years after losing the job to Curtin.

28/4/1950 – Germany becomes the third member of the nuclear club when they obliterate the former Russian Baltic Fleet ships with a 500-kiloton blast in a test in the Atlantic Ocean.

30/5/1950 – After three years of on-and-off talks, the major countries are unable to come to an agreement about the formation of new League of Nations. Further talks are postponed indefinitely.

25/6/1950 – North Korea launches a surprise invasion of South Korea. The South Koreans and their American allies are overwhelmed and retreat rapidly towards Seoul and further south.

4/7/1950 – As 100,000 American troops arrive in Korea to stem the communist onslaught, the US and South Korea ask for help from Australia, New Zealand and NATO. North Korean forces take Seoul 3 days later.

2/8/1950 – Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in South Korea, along with British, German and Austrian troops. The French are busy with their war in Indochina and are unable to help. However, the total number of allied forces is less than 200,000 and, while the North Korean advance is slowed, it is not stopped. By the end of the month, all but a small perimeter around Taegu and Pusan is in North Korean hands.

15/9/1950 – Douglas McArthur launches a seaborne invasion at Inchon near Seoul. More than 250,000 American, Australian and German troops go ashore, catching the North Koreans completely by surprise. At the same time, Austrian, British, New Zealand and South Korean forces launch a massive counterattack to break out of the Taegu perimeter. Seoul is recaptured a week later.

7/10/1950 – Allied forces from Inchon link up with their counterparts from the Taegu perimeter in the centre of South Korea. More than half a million North Koreans are trapped in the south-west, while the others retreat back over the 38th parallel.

2/11/1950 – The North Koreans trapped in the south-west are killed or captured while Allied forces prepare to capture Pyongyang, which they do on November 14. Kim Il-Sung and his senior officials flee north.

21/12/1950 – Severe winter conditions stop the allied advance about 50 kilometres short of the Yalu River. McArthur reports that “barring exceptional circumstances” the war is virtually over.