World War II

World War II was a major conflict conducted mainly in Europe and Asia and parts of northern Africa from 1939 to 1945.

Events
One of the earliest steps on the road to war occurred in 1938 due to the Nemesis statue passing over Earth. It caused Adolf Hitler to annex the country of Austria. (DW: Silver Nemesis) The war proper was launched on 1 September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland.

The immortal Jack Harkness served in the war as an RAF pilot (DW: Utopia); Fey Truscott-Sade served as a British spy and special operative in occupied Europe (DWM: Me and My Shadow); and Toshiko Sato's grand-parents and Rachel Jensen worked as code-breakers at Bletchley Park, alongside Alan Turing. (TW: Greeks Bearing Gifts) (MA: Who Killed Kennedy)

The Doctor ensured Hitler would fail to prevent the British evacuation of Dunkirk, thus ensuring Britain would remain in the war. (NA: Timewyrm: Exodus)

In 1940 and 1941 Germany bombed Great Britain, an event known as the Blitz. The Royal Air Force carried out its own systematic bombings of Germany. (Established History)

During this period, Edwin Bracewell approached a desperate Winston Churchill, offering what to all appearances were robotic war machines of a futuristic design that Churchill could use first to fend off Luftwaffe air raids on London and later, in mass numbers, take the war to Germany. After summoning The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond to view the new weapon, The Doctor realized immediately that the "Ironsides" that Bracewell had "created" were actually a resurfacing of the Daleks, who had used themselves as bait to get the Doctor to aid in the recreation of the Dalek race. A small number of Spitfire fighters were briefly upgraded with Dalek technology to fight a Dalek saucer, but all tech was subsequently removed by the Doctor to prevent wide-scale tampering with history. The Daleks attempted to destroy Earth with a powerful explosive in their android, Edwin Bracewell but the Doctor, Amy defused it. The Daleks escaped and Bracewell presumably lived a normal, human life. (DW: Victory of the Daleks)

In 1941, the Doctor and Rose Tyler defeat the Empty Child Plague and meet Jack Harkness.(DW: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances)

From 1940 to 1945, the Channel Islands were occupied by German forces. (NA: Just War)

For a short period of time on both sides, the Cardiff rift linked 1941 and 2008, allowing Jack Harkness and Toshiko Sato of Torchwood 3 to meet with the original Captain Jack Harkness, and to cause suspicions in the denomination of the institute about Bilis Manger. (TW: Captain Jack Harkness)

In 1943, Fenric was working with his Haemovores at Maiden's Point. Russia and Britain, while nominally allies, were plotting against each other in preparation for post-war conflicts. (DW: The Curse of Fenric)

In 1944, The Doctor and Ace arrived at Colditz. (BFA: Colditz)

In 1945, an amnesiac Doctor, Alan Turing and Graham Greene got involved in an unexplained alien conflict, as well as surviving through the Dresden firebombing. (EDA: The Turing Test)

Alternate timeline
In a history in which the Doctor did not find the Ironsides, they successfully turned the tide of the war and took the fight to Germany. After the war was won, Churchil was pressured by Stalin and Truman into having the Ironsides destroyed by a nuclear bomb. (DWA: Doctor Who The Official Annual 2011)

Stories that take place during this period

 * PDA: The Shadow in the Glass
 * ST: Special Weapons
 * DW: The Curse of Fenric
 * PDA: Illegal Alien
 * NA: Timewyrm: Exodus
 * NA: Just War
 * BFA: Colditz
 * EDA: Autumn Mist
 * EDA: The Turing Test
 * DW: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances
 * TW: Captain Jack Harkness
 * DW: The Beast Below (final scene)
 * DW: Victory of the Daleks