| 1942 January 14 - Washington
conference ends. Churchill talks with FDR, lived in the White House since December 22.
February - Rommel promoted to command the Afrika Corps.
 April 1 - Patton establishes Desert Training
Center for 1st Armored Division.
May 8 - Paulus and German 6th Army begin offensive toward Stalingrad.
June 4 and 5 - US Navy wins decisive battle at Midway.
July - Churchill gives British 8th Army to Bernard Montgomery.
 August 7 - US Marines land at Guadalcanal.
August 8 - Ike chosen to head TORCH.
October 23 - November 4 - Monty's breakthrough at El Alamein
November 8 - TORCH landings begin in French North Africa at 3 points:
Casablanca = 35,000 US troops from US under Patton
Oran = 39,000 US troops from England under Fredendall
Algiers = 33,000 US and British under Ryder
November 19 - Russian Army begins the counterattack at Stalingrad.
1943
January 14 - 24 - Casablanca Conference , FDR and Churchill meet in North Africa.
January 31 - Paulus surrenders German 6th Army to the Russians at Stalingrad.
February 19 - Germans defeat US II Corps in Kasserine Pass. US lost 3,000 casualties
and 3,700 captured. 200 tanks destroyed.
March 4 - 2-star (Major General) George S. Patton arrives to command II Corps.
March 12 - Patton promoted to Lieutenant General (3rd star).
 March 16 -
Gafsa, El Guettar
April 1 - Patton drives down road to Gabes - thru minefield.
May 13 - final surrender of German Africa Korps - 275,000 POWs.
July 10 - Invasion of Sicily. US 7th Army under Patton landed on south coast, British
8th Army under Montgomery landed on east coast.
July 12 - battle of Kursk in Russia - largest tank battle of all time (1,800 tanks).
July 22 - US 3rd Division ( Major Gen. Lucian Truscott) of Patton's 7th Army takes
Palermo. Lieutenant General Omar Bradley commands US II Corps (under Patton) on west side
of Mt. Etna.
 August
16 - Messina surrenders to Patton. Montgomery 12 miles away.
September 3 - Monty crosses Strait of Messina. US 5th Army under Mark Clark to land 150
miles north at Salerno.
November 27 - December 1 - Teheran Conference 1st meeting of Big 3: FDR, Churchill,
Stalin - agreement on OVERLORD for following year.
1944
January 22 - Anzio landings
 Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) for Normandy landing
under Eisenhower
• 21st Army Group under Montgomery
• US First Army under Bradley
• First US Army Group (FUSAG) under Patton (deception for Pas de Calais)
May 30 - troops begin to load in England
June 4 - Rome falls to Mark Clark's 5th Army.
June 5 - Ike orders "OK, we'll go"
June 6 - Overlord (D - Day) begins
June 13 - first V-1 hits London
July 25 - COBRA begins
August 1 - Patton's new Third Army takes Avranches.
August 8 - Patton takes Le Mans.
August 13 - Patton turns north toward Nancy and Metz - most heavily fortified part of
West Wall.
August 19 - Patton reaches the Seine at Mantes.
August 23 - French 2nd Armored Division first to enter Paris.
 August 31 -
Patton runs out of gas at the Meuse river.
September 5 - Patton begins Lorraine offensive.
September 17-25 - Monty's Operation MARKET GARDEN to seize Holland bridges and Rhine
bridgehead at Arnheim using British 1st and US 82nd and 101st Airborne fails to take the
bridge at Arnheim.
November 8 - Ike orders broad offensive.
December 16 - German counterattack in Ardennes begins Battle of the Bulge. 2 Panzer
armies (200,000 men in 24 divisions) attack 3 US divisions.
 December 19
- 101st Airborne under McAuliffe surrounded in siege of Bastogne. McAuliffe replies to
German surrender demand: "Nuts."
December 20 - Patton turns whole army (250,000 men) north amid miserable weather.
December 23 - weather changes
December 26 - Patton relieves Bastogne.
1945
January 3 - Montgomery finally begins attack on the northern shoulder of the German
'Bulge'.
January - General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe promoted to
five-star (General of the Army) rank.
January 12 - Russian offensive from the Vistula (Warsaw) to Berlin begins - 400 miles.
March 3 - Patton reaches the Rhine near Coblenz.
March 22 - Patton crosses the Rhine near Nierstein, 1 day before Montgomery. Patton
urinates in Rhine March 24
Bradley commands the largest US Army in all history: 1.3 million men in 4 armies (12
corps, 48 divisions); Ike commands all Allied forces in Western Europe including North
Africa and Italy - 85 divisions with 4 million men total.
April 11 - US forces under Simpson reach the Elbe at Magdeburg.
April 16 - Russian offensive begins from the Oder.
April 21 - Zhukov enters Berlin.
April 22 - Patton into Czechoslovakia.
April 25 - US & USSR armies meet at the Elbe.
April 30 - Hitler commits suicide.
 May
8 - VE Day
19 November - Eisenhower is promoted to Chief of Staff of the US Army.
21 December - General Patton was hospitalized following an automobile accident and died
in Heidelberg, Germany
1946
Montgomery appointed viscount and Chief of the Imperial General Staff (until 1948)
1948
7 February - Bradley succeeded Eisenhower as Army Chief of Staff
1949
16 August - Bradley became the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff (JCS).
1950
22 September - Bradley officially promoted to General of the Army
with five stars
1951
Montgomery appointed deputy supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe (until 1958)
1952
4 November - Eisenhower elected President of the United States.
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