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The Kriegsmarine was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war Reichsmarine (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches, along with the Heer and the Luftwaffe, of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945.
Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion, was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle of France, Adolf Hitler, the German Führer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, hoped the British government would accept his offer to end the war, and he reluctantly considered invasion only as a last resort if all other options failed.
Operation Felix was the codename for a proposed Nazi German invasion of Spain and seizure of Gibraltar during the Second World War. Subject to the co-operation of the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco, the operation did not occur chiefly because of Franco's reluctance to enter the war due to influence of British intelligence.
Operation Margarethe was the occupation of Hungary by German Nazi troops during World War II that was ordered by Adolf Hitler.
Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who died from eating rat poison, dressed him as an officer of the Royal Marines and placed personal items on him identifying him as the fictitious Captain William Martin. Correspondence between two British generals that suggested that the Allies planned to invade Greece and Sardinia, with Sicily as merely the target of a feint, was also placed on the body.
The New Order of Europe was the political order which Nazi Germany wanted to impose on the areas of Europe which were conquered and therefore under its dominion. The establishment of the Neuordnung had already begun long before the start of World War II, but it was publicly proclaimed by Adolf Hitler in 1941: "The year 1941 will be, I am convinced, the historical year of a great European New Order!"
During World War II, the Spanish State under Francisco Franco espoused neutrality as its official wartime policy. This neutrality wavered at times and "strict neutrality" gave way to "non-belligerence" after the Fall of France in June 1940. Franco wrote to Adolf Hitler offering to join the war on 19 June 1940 in exchange for help building Spain's colonial empire. Later the same year Franco met with Hitler in Hendaye to discuss Spain's possible accession to the Axis Powers. The meeting went nowhere, but Franco did help the Axis—whose members Italy and Germany had supported him during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)—in various ways.
At the start of World War II in 1939, the Portuguese Government announced on 1 September that the 550-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance remained intact, but since the British did not seek Portuguese assistance, Portugal was free to remain neutral in the war and would do so. In an aide-mémoire of 5 September 1939, the British Government confirmed the understanding. As Adolf Hitler's occupation swept across Europe, neutral Portugal became one of Europe's last escape routes. Portugal was able to maintain its neutrality until 1944, when a military agreement was signed to give the United States permission to establish a military base in Santa Maria in the Azores and thus its status changed to non-belligerent in favour of the Allies.
The Meeting of Hendaye, or Interview of Hendaye, took place between Francisco Franco and Adolf Hitler on 23 October 1940 at the railway station in Hendaye, France, near the Spanish–French border. The meeting was also attended by the respective foreign ministers, Ramón Serrano Suñer of Francoist Spain and Joachim von Ribbentrop of Nazi Germany.
The military history of Gibraltar during World War II exemplifies Gibraltar's position as a British fortress since the early 18th century and as a vital factor in British military strategy, both as a foothold on the continent of Europe, and as a bastion of British sea power. During World War II, Gibraltar served a vital role in both the Atlantic Theatre and the Mediterranean Theatre, controlling virtually all naval traffic into and out of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.
This is a timeline of World War II events that took place in 1940, the first full year of the second global war of the 20th century.
Spain–United Kingdom relations, also called Spanish–British relations or Anglo-Spanish relations, are the bilateral international relations between Spain and United Kingdom.
Operation Weserübung was Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign.
German U-boat bases in occupied Norway operated between 1940 and 1945, when the Kriegsmarine, converted several naval bases in Norway into submarine bases. Norwegian coastal cities became available to the Kriegsmarine after the invasion of Denmark and Norway in April 1940. Following the conclusion of the Norwegian Campaign, the occupying Germans began to transfer U-boats stationed in Germany to many Norwegian port cities such as Bergen, Narvik, Trondheim, Hammerfest and Kirkenes. Initial planning for many U-boat bunkers began in late 1940. Starting in 1941, the Todt Organisation began the construction of bunkers in Bergen and Trondheim. These bunkers were completed by Weyss & Freytagg AG between 1942 and 1943.
The history of Gibraltar, a small peninsula on the southern Iberian coast near the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea, spans over 2,900 years. The peninsula has evolved from a place of reverence in ancient times into "one of the most densely fortified and fought-over places in Europe", as one historian has put it. Gibraltar's location has given it an outsized significance in the history of Europe and its fortified town, established in the Middle Ages, has hosted garrisons that sustained numerous sieges and battles over the centuries.
Erich Johann Albert Raeder was a naval leader in Germany who played a major role in the Naval history of World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank—that of Großadmiral – in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank since Henning von Holtzendorff. Raeder led the Kriegsmarine for the first half of the war; he resigned in 1943 and was replaced by Karl Dönitz. He was sentenced to life in prison at the Nuremberg Trials, but was released early due to failing health. Raeder is also well known for dismissing Reinhard Heydrich from the Reichsmarine in April 1931 for "conduct unbecoming to an officer and a gentleman".
Operation Alacrity was the code name for a possible Allied seizure of Azores during World War II. It never took place because Portugal agreed to an Allied request for use of air bases. The islands were of enormous strategic value in the defeat of the German U-boats. Portugal, too weak to defend the Azores, or its large colonial empire, or even its homeland, tried to stay neutral in the war. Dictator Salazar was especially worried about a possible German invasion through Spain and did not want to provoke Hitler nor did he want to give Spain an excuse to side with the Axis and invade Portugal due to the strategic importance of the Canary Islands. Great Britain and the United States devised plans to set up air bases regardless of Portugal's disapproval. The plans were never put into operation. Instead in 1943 Britain requested, and Portugal agreed, to allow Britain to set up bases there. Operation Alacrity was preceded by War Plan Gray.
Operation Pilgrim was a planned British operation to invade and occupy the Canary Islands during World War II. The invasion was a contingency plan to be executed in the event of a known plan whereby Germany would support Spain in occupying Gibraltar, the Azores, the Canary Islands as well as the Cape Verde Islands. The British feared that such occupation would materially affect Allied access to the Mediterranean and endanger Britain’s shipping-lanes to its Dominions. Operation Pilgrim was a preemptive invasion and occupation to prevent German control of the islands. The German invasion never materialised and consequently, Operation Pilgrim was never put into action.
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Christopher Chant (18 October 2013). "Isabella". The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II. Routledge. p. 354. ISBN 978-1-134-64787-3.
- Gerard F. Rutan (1970). "Hitler's Frustrated Conquest". University of Portland Review. Portland: University of Portland. 22: 3–17. ISSN 0041-9923. OCLC 655675137.
- Stanley G. Payne (1987). The Franco regime, 1936–1975. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 677.