The Hellsing Timeline (English Translation)
As I'm sure many people know by now, there is an ongoing Kohta Hirano expo occurring in Japan at the moment. One of the first things that greets you there is a timeline of events of the series, beginning from Vlad III's birth, and ending with the battle of London.
I have fully translated the timeline under the cut. I also have some additional notes down below detailing important tidbits and contradictions, and clarifying a couple things.
Please note that while some of the dates in this timeline are not "historically accurate," they mostly reflect the dates I have found in Japanese sources.
The 15th Century
November 10, 1431
Vlad III is born.
November 10, 1444 – Battle of Varna
The Varna Crusader forces, including Wallachia, are defeated by the Ottoman Empire. Vlad III effectively becomes a hostage of the Ottomans.
1447
Vlad III is released from Ottoman captivity.
June 17, 1462 – Night Attack at Târgoviște
Vlad III impales approximately 20,000 Ottoman soldiers, forcing their retreat.
1462
Vlad III is imprisoned in Hungary.
1474
Vlad III is released.
1476
Vlad III is killed in battle against the Ottoman Empire.
1885
The cargo ship Demeter is wrecked off the coast of Whitby in north-east England.
1897
Bram Stoker publishes Dracula (May 26).
Alucard is defeated by Abraham Van Helsing and others.
The 20th Century
September 1, 1939
The Germany army invades Poland, triggering the start of World War II.
September 3, 1939
Britain and France declare war on Germany.
1939
Alucard meets Walter.
1941
Germany invades the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa, June 22).
The Major—then a Lieutenant—contacts the Vatican and requests cooperation for the "Letzte Bataillon" project.
September, 1944
Alucard and Walter destroy a Nazi vampire manufacturing facility in Warsaw
December 17, 1462 – Night Attack at Târgoviște
The Malmedy Massacre. 84 American prisoners of war were killed by German military forces.
February 6, 1952
Queen Elizabeth II ascends to the throne.
1972
Abraham Van Helsing imprisons Alucard in the Hellsing family’s underground dungeon. Arthur Van Helsing succeeds him as the head of the family.
1982
After Arthur's death, Integra Hellsing takes over as the head of the family. Alucard is resurrected.
June 12, 1992
Pip Bernadotte participates in the Battle of Jaungaide, Uganda.
Hellsing Manga Events (1999)
June 14
A strange priest arrives in the small village of Cheddar in Northern England.
June 21
The first incident occurs in Cheddar: A young man goes missing. Over the next 10 days, 10 more villagers disappear.
July 3
The priest reveals himself as a vampire and devastates the village.
July 5
The HELLSING Organization is deployed to Cheddar and suppresses the incident.
July 13
Maxwell executes a bishop in the Vatican for conspiring with Millennium.
August 12
The vampires Jessica and Hagar attack houses one after another along Highway 17 near Birmingham, England.
August 15
The HELLSING Organization encounters Father Anderson while exterminating vampires near Baldrick, Northern Ireland.
September 3
The HELLSING Organization's London headquarters is attacked by the Valentine Brothers, resulting in the deaths of 86 out of 96 personnel.
September 10
Integra, in front of the painting The Battle of Mamon Plains by Kaster at the Imperial War Museum in London, meets Maxwell, the head of the Iscariot Agency of the Vatican’s Special Affairs Division, with the title of "Iscariot."
[The rest have no specified date.]
1999
Alucard fights Tubalcain Alhambra in Rio de Janeiro.
Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle hijacks the HMS Eagle, a British Royal Navy aircraft carrier.
Anderson leads armed priests into battle against the Letzte Bataillon in London.
The Ninth Crusade is assembled. Maxwell is promoted to Archbishop.
Lieutenant Zorin Blitz leads an assault unit against Hellsing.
Millennium launches Operation Seelöwe II (Second Sea Lion Operation).
The British Security Special Command headquarters is attacked from behind by Millennium.
A chaotic three-sided battle ensues.
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Important Dates and Notes
Vlad III was born on November 10th, 1431.
He was taken hostage on November 10th, 1444—his 13th birthday.
He was released when he was roughly 16.
At the age of 30, he impaled 20,000 Ottoman soldiers.
He was captured at the age of 31, then released at the age of 43, and killed at the age of 45.
There is no information about most of his life as a vampire. All we get is the following:
The cargo ship Demeter wrecks on England in 1885 (this event is referenced in the Hellsing manga).
Bram Stoker publishes Dracula on May 26, 1897 (also mentioned).
Later that same year, Dracula is defeated by Abraham & co.
The information in the 20th century before the series proper is mostly just historical dates with no direct link to the story. Unfortunately, we don't learn any other birthdays. Here is what stood out to me:
Alucard and Walter met in 1939, likely in the month of September.
The Major, when he was a Lieutenant, met with the Vatican and requested their cooperation for his Letzte Batallian project in 1941, after Germany had invaded the Soviet Union.
Alucard and Walter destroyed the Nazi vampire manufacturing facility in Warsaw in September, 1944, and this is the last time any of their war efforts are mentioned.
The timeline states that Abraham Van Helsing imprisoned Alucard in 1972. This directly contradicts statements from the canon and the guidebook. It is also extremely unlikely that Abraham lived long enough to do that, as he was already a weathered old man when he defeated Alucard in 1897. More on this later.
In 1982, Arthur dies and Integra resurrects Alucard and takes over as the family head.
In 1992, Pip Bernadotte participates in the Battle of Jaungaide in Uganda. I have zero idea what this is supposed to mean, but he briefly mentions this battle in the manga, too. Any ideas? I looked it up in Japanese and could only find info about Hellsing.
After this, the events of Hellsing unfold.
The entire story takes place in the span of roughly 4 months.
The last given date is September 10th, when Integra and Maxwell meet at the museum.
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Now, as far as the canon goes, it's hard to say how accurate this is. There is a note at the very bottom of the timeline which reads, "A Certain Historian's Private Timeline / Various Theories Exist." I don't know how much input Hirano had on this exhibit, and he hasn't said much about it so far. If this timeline wasn't written by him, then it's possible the one who finalized it wasn't aware that Arthur is stated to have imprisoned Alucard in the canon. So I don't think that this is a retcon or anything like that, just a mistake.
If you are the type of person who doesn't believe that extratextual things matter and only cares about what is explicitly inside the pages of the manga proper, then I suppose none of this information really matters. Very little here actually changes anything about the story anyway.
Personally, I think it's nice to have Vlad III's dates of birth and death, and knowing that he was taken hostage on his 13th birthday is also interesting to me, so I choose to believe that part.
If you notice I made any mistakes, please let me know! I will fix them and be sure to credit you :)
