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World War II Database

18 Jan 1879

France
10 Jan 1885

France
7 Jul 1911

France
  • The German ambassador in Paris, France informed the French Government that Germany had no territorial aspirations in Morocco and would negotiate for a French protectorate. ww2dbase [Paris | AC]
7 Nov 1911

France
30 Aug 1914

France
  • Paris, France was bombed for the first time, by a German Taube flown by Lieutenant Ferdinand von Hiddessen. ww2dbase [Paris | AC]
21 Jan 1916

France
12 Sep 1917

France
  • In Paris, Paul PainlevĂ© replaced Alexandre Ribot as Prime Minister of France. ww2dbase [Paris | AC]
9 Jun 1918

France
  • The Germans began a new drive that threatened Paris, France; the position was critical, with the enemy's advance units only thirty-seven miles from the French capital. ww2dbase [Paris | AC]
27 May 1919

Photo(s) dated 27 May 1919
UK Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Italian Premier Vittorio Orlando, French Premier Georges Clemenceau, and US President Woodrow Wilson, Paris peace conference, France, 27 May 1919
28 Jun 1919

France
21 Jan 1920

France
  • The Paris Peace Conference ended. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
26 Jun 1921

France
20 Sep 1922

France
  • British Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon held several angry meetings with French Prime Minister Raymond PaincarĂ© regarding the Chanak Crisis, finally reaching an agreement to negotiate an armistice with the Turks. ww2dbase [Paris | AC]
1 Apr 1923

France
  • Prince Yasuhiko was seriously injured in an automobile accident in a Paris suburb, France. Prince Kitashirakawa Naruhisa was killed in the same accident. ww2dbase [Yasuhiko | Paris | CPC]
14 Jul 1936

Photo(s) dated 14 Jul 1936
Renault UE vehicles on parade before the Grand Palais, Paris, France, 14 Jul 1936
11 Nov 1936

Photo(s) dated 11 Nov 1936
Renault UE tracked vehicles on parade, Paris, France, 11 Nov 1936
7 Nov 1938

France
  • French Jew Herschel Grynszpan, whose parents were recently expelled from Germany into Poland, assassinated German consular aide Ernst Vom Rath in Paris. ww2dbase [Kristallnacht | Paris | CPC]
  • German diplomat Ernst vom Rath was shot three times with a revolver by Herschel Grynszpan in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Ernst vom Rath | Paris | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 7 Nov 1938
Herschel Grynszpan under arrest after shooting German diplomat Ernst vom Rath, Paris, France, 7 Nov 1938
18 Sep 1939

France
  • Polish cipher experts fled to Paris, France with vital knowledge of the German Enigma code. ww2dbase [Enigma Code Broken | Paris | AC]
27 Sep 1939

France
  • The Polish government in exile was established in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Paris | TH]
10 Nov 1939

France
  • British Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Anthony Eden met with French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier and Commander-in-Chief General Maurice Gamelin in Paris, France, joined by representatives from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India. ww2dbase [Anthony Eden | Paris | CPC]
17 Jan 1940

France
  • Polish cryptographers in Paris, France cracked the German air force's Enigma codes, making it possible to intercept and read all the Luftwaffe's secret transmissions. ww2dbase [Enigma Code Broken | Paris | AC]
5 Feb 1940

France
  • After meeting in Paris, France, the Allied Supreme War Council agreed to send two divisions of British troops to Finland via Narvik, Norway, despite Norway's proclamation of neutrality. They also decided that, while the troops marched into Finland, they would take control of Swedish iron ore mines and the port of LuleĂĄ, despite Sweden had likely proclaimed neutral in the war. ww2dbase [The Winter War | Paris | CPC]
27 Mar 1940

France
  • The French government requested the Soviet Union to recall its ambassador to Paris, France. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
4 Apr 1940

France
  • Winston Churchill traveled to Paris, France to persuade the French on a plan to mine Norwegian waters. Unable to convince French leadership to mine the Rhine River at the same time, Churchill decided that the British would mine Norwegian waters without French cooperation. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | Paris | CPC]
22 Apr 1940

France
  • An Inter-Allied Supreme War Council, also attended by Poland and Norway, met in Paris, France. The meeting was characterized by the political fighting between French leaders Reynaud and Daladier. ww2dbase [Paris | TH]
15 May 1940

France
  • At 0730 hours, French Prime Minister Reynaud called his British counterpart Churchill on the telephone, saying "[w]e are beaten. We have lost the battle." Later on the same day in Paris, France, a reported German breakthrough at Sedan caused panic, with fleeing civilians jamming roads and blocking military traffic south and west of the city. ww2dbase [Paris | TH]
16 May 1940

France
  • British Prime Minister Winston Churchill flew to Paris, France to meet with his French counterpart Paul Reynaud; witnessing the burning of government archives, he inquired about the strategic reserve, and received the answer "Aucune" ("There is none"). On the same day, Churchill also sent his Italian counterpart Benito Mussolini a message, urging him to keep Italy out of the European War. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | Paris | TH, CPC]
21 May 1940

France
  • In Paris, France, General Robert Altmayer, a retired cavalry general who had retired four years earlier as Inspector-General of Cavalry, was summoned by Maxime Weygand to take command of Group A (later renamed Tenth Army) consisting of the 9th Corps, 10th Corps and 3rd Division Legere Mecanique. He was also told that all BEF troops south of the Somme (1st Armoured Division and 51st Highland Division) would also come under his orders. ww2dbase [Maxime Weygand | Paris | AC]
31 May 1940

France
  • UK Prime Minister Churchill traveled to Paris, France for a Supreme Allied War Council meeting. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | Paris | TH]
3 Jun 1940

France
9 Jun 1940

France
  • The German 7th Panzer Division under Rommel pushed the French 10th Army and British 51st Highland Division to the sea at St-Valery-en-Caux, France. To the east, the 14th Panzer Corps under Kleist advanced near Amiens, but his 16th Panzer Corp remained held down at PĂ©ronne. Further east, Guderian's tanks attacked toward Reims. French General Weygand announced that the battle was lost and France should attempt to negotiate an armistice. Meanwhile, the French government evacuated Paris, France. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Paris | CPC]
11 Jun 1940

France
12 Jun 1940

France
  • German tanks under Guderian crossed the Marne River at Chalons-sur-Marne, 80 miles east of Paris, France. Meanwhile, in the French capital, US Ambassador William Bullitt, the last ambassador of a major nation left in the city, was named the provisional governor of Paris as the French government moved to Tours. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Paris | TH, CPC]
13 Jun 1940

France
  • Maxime Weygand declared Paris, France an open city. Italian aircraft attacked the naval base at Toulon, France. British Prime Minister Churchill flew to Tours, France for what would become the last meeting of the Supreme War Council. Both Britain and France now acknowledged that defeat would be imminent. Churchill encouraged the French to withdraw to North Africa to continue the fight; his French counterpart Reynaud, however, said that France would like to secure Britain's permission to seek an armistice; Churchill refused the request. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Paris | CPC]
23 Jun 1940

France
  • Adolf Hitler arrived in Paris, France and did some sightseeing early in the morning; this would be his only visit to Paris. Although Germany and France had already signed an armistice, fighting between Italy and France continued while French delegates negotiated in Rome; General Huntzinger, who signed the German-French armistice at Compiègne on 22 Jun, was once again the a member of the French delegation. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Paris | TH]
Photo(s) dated 23 Jun 1940
Speer, Hitler, and sculptor Arno Breker in Paris, France, 23 Jun 1940Adolf Hitler and his entourage visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, 23 Jun 1940
12 Aug 1940

France
  • Starting on this day and continuing for one month, the new curriculum for primary school girls in Paris and the Department of the Seine in France called for a focus on mending clothes, cleaning, ironing, personal hygiene, and childcare. Meanwhile, young boys in the same school districts were to visit zoos and museums, play sports, learn trade skills, and learn languages. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
18 Sep 1940

France
  • The American Library in Paris, France reopened. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
11 Oct 1940

France
  • Charles Hunziger presented the Order of Merit and the Croix de Guerre medals to the American Hospital in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Charles Huntziger | Paris | CPC]
5 Nov 1940

France
  • Hermann Göring issued an order to loot the art treasures at the Louvre museum in Paris, France, which were to be distributed to German museums and private collections of Nazi leaders, with a large portion of the art reserved for himself. ww2dbase [Hermann Göring | Paris | CPC]
15 Dec 1940

France
  • The remains of Napoleon II were relocated to the Les Invalides cemetery in Paris, France. Benito Mussolini continued to assert his objection to this friendly gesture by Adolf Hitler to France. ww2dbase [Paris | TH, CPC]
3 Mar 1941

France
  • Admiral William Leahy, US Ambassador to Vichy France, secured an agreement from the Vichy government to deny the Axis any oil from French North Africa. ww2dbase [William Leahy | Paris | AC]
14 Apr 1941

France
14 May 1941

France
25 May 1941

France
  • Pierre Laval criticized the Vichy French government during an interview with American journalist Ralph Heinzen in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Pierre Laval | Paris | CPC]
20 Aug 1941

France
21 Aug 1941

France
  • A German naval cadet became the first victim of French Resistance, shot in a Metro station in Paris, France. Over 150 Parisians were shot in reprisal. ww2dbase [The French Resistance | Paris | TH]
5 Sep 1941

France
  • The exhibition "Le Juif et la France" ("The Jews and France") opened in Paris, France based on the work of the anti-Semitic French Professor George Montandon with the urging of the Nazi German occupation. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Paris | CPC]
15 Sep 1941

France
23 Sep 1941

France
24 Sep 1941

France
  • Tobacco ration in Paris, France dropped to 4 cigarettes per day for men and 0 for women. ww2dbase [Paris | TH]
13 Feb 1942

France
  • German Navy Admiral Ciliax sent a signal to Admiral Saalwächter in Paris, France in mid-morning: "It is my duty to inform you that Operation Cerberus has been successfully completed." ww2dbase [Operation Cerberus | Paris | CPC]
3 Mar 1942

France
  • British RAF bombers attacked Paris, France. One of the main targets was the Renault factory located southeast of the city, which exported 85% of its rubbers tires output to Germany and its repair shops serviced German military vehicles. Errant bombers from this raid killed hundreds of French civilians. ww2dbase [Bombing of Cities in France and Low Countries | Paris | CPC]
29 Apr 1942

France
  • 88 British bombers (73 Wellington, 9 Hampden, 6 Stirling) attacked the Gnome et RhĂ´ne aircraft engine factory near Paris, France; one building was destroyed and three buildings damaged at the cost of 3 bombers destroyed. ww2dbase [Bombing of Cities in France and Low Countries | Paris | CPC]
1 May 1942

France
  • German-controlled Radio Paris reported to its listeners that British RAF bombers had dropped bombs on Argenteuil, France during the previous night, killing 5 at a hospital. The radio announcer noted that the British was attempting to systematically destroy French workers' morale. He went on further to speculate that the British was attempting to damage French industrial capabilities in an attempt to weaken France as a long term industrial rival for the periods beyond the war. ww2dbase [Bombing of Cities in France and Low Countries | Paris | CPC]
16 Jul 1942

France
  • 9,000 French policemen conducted a round-up, gathering 12,887 Parisian Jews born outside of France. 6,000 of them were sent to Drancy Concentration Camp Camp located just outside the city, while the other 6,000 were detained at the VĂ©lodrome d'Hiver stadium where they had to share one water tap and ten toilets. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Drancy Concentration Camp | Paris | CPC]
7 May 1943

France
  • German television began broadcasting from studios in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
3 Jul 1943

France
14 Jul 1943

France
  • USAAF Eighth Bomber Command, including the 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh, attacked three targets in France, with 111 B-17 bombers and 5 YB-40 bombers launched against aircraft factories at Villacoublay (3 B-17 bombers lost), 64 B-17 bombers launched against Glisy Airfield at Amiens (1 B-17 bomber lost), and 84 B-17 bombers launched against LeBourget Airfield at Paris (4 B-17 bombers lost).n ww2dbase [Bombing of Cities in France and Low Countries | RAF Thurleigh | Paris | CPC]
19 Jul 1943

France
  • The German-sponsored French military formation LĂ©gion des Volontaires Français held a parade in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
16 Sep 1943

France
  • Julius Ritter, aide to the Labor Minister Fritz Sauckel, was shot in Paris, France; 50 French would be executed in reprisal. ww2dbase [Paris | TH]
7 Oct 1943

France
13 Oct 1943

France
  • Noor Inayat Khan was captured by agents of the German Sicherheitsdienst (SD) organization in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Noor Inayat Khan | Paris | CPC]
25 Nov 1943

France
  • Noor Inayat Khan attempted a failed escape attempt from her imprisonment at Sicherheitsdienst (SD) headquarters in Paris, France along with fellow Special Operations Executive agents John Renshaw Starr and Leon Faye. ww2dbase [Special Operations Executive | Noor Inayat Khan | Paris | CPC]
2 Dec 1943

France
  • Otto Skorzeny, who had been stationed in Paris, France due to the threat of Marshal Philippe PĂ©tain leaving for North Africa, was ordered to leave the city as that threat was proven to be false. ww2dbase [Otto Skorzeny | Paris | CPC]
3 Feb 1944

France
7 Mar 1944

France
7 Apr 1944

France
13 Apr 1944

France
26 Apr 1944

France
  • PĂ©tain made his first and only visit to Paris, France to inspect damage from Allied bombings. ww2dbase [Philippe PĂ©tain | Paris | TH]
1 May 1944

France
  • British Squadron Leader Maurice Southgate, whose task it was to coordinate the various Marquis groups between the Loire River and the Pyrenees mountains, was arrested by the Gestapo in Paris, France. ww2dbase [The French Resistance | Paris | AC]
14 May 1944

Photo(s) dated 14 May 1944
B-24 Liberator of the 705th Bomb Squadron over Orly Airfield, Paris, May 14 1944.
14 Jul 1944

France
  • Prisoners in the SantĂ© prison in Paris, France revolted, starting a fire in the prison compound. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
15 Jul 1944

France
  • French Milice members executed 28 prisoners who participated in a revolt on the previous day at SantĂ© Prison in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
10 Aug 1944

France
  • The railwaymen of Paris, France went on strike, and hundreds of soldiers awaiting evacuation back to Germany found themselves marooned on station platforms. The acts of random sabotage quickly escalated and within two days, instead of carrying the Germans away from the perils of Paris, the strikers were actively cutting off the German retreat by pulling up rails, wrecking points and crippling locomotives. Even with replacement German drivers the trains were unable to run and all Parisian rail links to the outside world had been effectively destroyed. ww2dbase [Liberation of Paris | Paris | AC]
19 Aug 1944

France
  • In Paris, France Raoul Nordling, the Swedish Consul-General went to General Dietrich Choltitz, military Commander of Paris, with a proposal to barter 600 Germans captured by the Resistance for 4,213 French prisoners held by the Germans in the Paris area. This was something of a showpiece exchange designed to impress Berlin, for the French prisoners not only vastly outnumbered the German captives but, unlike them, were to be released immediately. Outside the city, American troops began to reach the Seine River. ww2dbase [Liberation of Paris | Paris | TH, AC]
21 Aug 1944

France
  • James Johnson shot down two German Fw 190 fighters near Paris, France. ww2dbase [James Johnson | Paris | CPC]
23 Aug 1944

France
25 Aug 1944

France
  • The French 2nd Armoured Division entered Paris, France. De Gaulle moved his headquarters into the War Ministry in Paris on the same day with the approval of Eisenhower. ww2dbase [Liberation of Paris | Paris | AC]
Photo(s) dated 25 Aug 1944
Members of the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division sightseeing in Paris, France, Aug 25, 1944Charles de Gaulle, Philippe Leclerc, and others at Montparnasse railway station, Paris, France, 25 Aug 1944
26 Aug 1944

France
  • A German air raid on Paris, France destroyed several residential neighborhoods. To the east, Allied troops crossed the Seine River. ww2dbase [Liberation of Paris | Paris | TH]
Photo(s) dated 26 Aug 1944
French 2nd Armored Division troops and vehicles parading through the Arc de Triomphe down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris, France, 26 Aug 1944Crowds fill the Place de la Concorde celebrating the liberation of Paris, France, 26 Aug 1944.Charles de Gaulle and his entourage at the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France, 26 Aug 1944
27 Aug 1944

France
  • Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley made a visit to recently captured Paris, France. ww2dbase [Dwight Eisenhower | Paris | CPC]
29 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 29 Aug 1944
Troops of US 28th Division parading down the Champs Elysees, Paris, France, 29 Aug 1944, Photo 1 of 2.M8 Greyhound armored car of US Army 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron passing under the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France, 29 Aug 1944US Twenty-Eighth Infantry Division march along the Champs-Élysées, Paris, France with l’Arc de Triomphe in the background, Aug 29 1944. Photo 2 of 2.
8 Sep 1944

France
  • The third German V-2 rocket fired in anger became the first to successfully hit the intended target, hitting an area in the suburbs of Paris, France. The fourth and fifth rockets, aimed at London, England, United Kingdom, also found their targets. The fourth rocket fired at 1738 hours London time or 1838 hours German time landed in the Borough of Chiswick at 1843 hours London time; it landed on Staveley Road, collapsed three houses, killed 3 civilians and 1 off-duty Royal Engineers soldier, and made a crater 40 feet wide and between 10 and 20 feet deep. The fifth rocket landed 16 seconds later in Epping, which was 18 miles northeast of Whitehall and 20 miles from Chiswick; this rocket destroyed some wodden huts and made a crater 30 feet wide and 16 feet deep. The British government censored all these incidents in fear of potential demoralizing effects. ww2dbase [V-Weapons Campaign | Vergeltungswaffe 2 | Paris | CPC]
21 Sep 1944

France
  • George Patton traveled to Paris, France to meet with Dwight Eisenhower over lunch. ww2dbase [George Patton | Paris | CPC]
23 Jul 1945

France
  • The trial against Marshal Philippe PĂ©tain began at Palais de Justice, Paris, France. ww2dbase [Philippe PĂ©tain | Paris | CPC]
14 Aug 1945

France
  • France announced objections against Thailand's application to become a member of the United Nations. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
10 Feb 1947

France
  • As Jan Smuts affixed his signature to the Paris Peace Treaty in France, he became the only person to have signed the documents officially ending WW1 and WW2. ww2dbase [Jan Smuts | Paris | CPC]
11 Jan 1952

France
1 Feb 1960

France
  • Pierre Barjot passed away in the Neuilly-sur-Seine commune of Paris, France. ww2dbase [Pierre Barjot | Paris | CPC]
21 Oct 1963

France
  • Jean Decoux passed away in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Jean Decoux | Paris | CPC]
27 Nov 1966

France
30 Dec 1973

France
12 Apr 1975

France
30 Jul 1997

France
  • Bai Dai passed away in a military hospital in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Bao Dai | Paris | CPC]
30 Nov 2021

France
  • Josephine Baker became the first black woman to be inducted into the French PanthĂ©on in Paris, France. ww2dbase [Josephine Baker | Paris | CPC]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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