WHAT ALL HAPPENED FEBRUARY TO MAY 1940
Find out what all happened February to May 1940

World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons. (13. May 1940)

Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway. (9. April 1940)

World War II: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. (10. May 1940)

Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei. (30. March 1940)

World War II: Rotterdam is bombed by the German Luftwaffe. (14. May 1940)

World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium. (17. May 1940)

The Russo-Finnish Winter War ends. (13. March 1940)

World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium. (28. May 1940)

World War II: Battle of Dunkirk – In France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France. (26. May 1940)

World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne (25. May 1940)

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees her country to Great Britain after the German invasion. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety. (13. May 1940)

For her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award. (29. February 1940)

First person killed in a German bombing raid on the UK in World War II during a raid on Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, James Isbister. (16. March 1940)

Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight. (24. May 1940)

McDonald's opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California. (15. May 1940)

Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Norrskensflamman in Luleå, Sweden. (3. March 1940)

World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (10. May 1940)

World War II: Norwegian refugees form a government-in-exile in London (5. May 1940)

World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg. (10. May 1940)

World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War. (28. May 1940)