Animal farm timeline

Napoleon listens to Old Major as he speaks about rebelling against Farmer Jones.

Napoleon along with Snowball and Squealer take charge of the farm after the death of Old Major.
The three hold late night meetings in the barn as they discuss 'Animalism' to the animals. After the rebellion takes place, the farm then belongs to the animals.

Napoleon assists in explaining the seven commandments pf Animalism to the farm.

Later, the cows tell the pigs that they have not been milked and Napoleon, along with the other two, happily do so. They fill five buckets of milk and take it away. The animals ask what they will do with the milk but Napoleon tells them not to worry. The milk then "disappears".

Napoleon and Snowball make it clear that they can't agree on a single thing.
Snowball believes that they need to focus on forming committees to better improve the farm. Napoleon believes that Snowball's idea is useless and they should focus more on educating the young. So, when two dogs have puppies, Napoleon takes them away to educate them properly on the principles of Animalism.
Remember the disappearing milk? It turns out it was never really missing and it was stolen by the pigs to drink

Napoleon and Snowball send two birds to spread the word about their farm. Soon enough everyone around the country knows, including farmers and animals, and it results in a battle in which the animals are victorious.

Snowball and Napoleon begin to clash more and more. Snowball then proposes the idea of building a windmill and of course Napoleon frowns upon it. Napoleon is able to get Snowball out of the farm.When all of the animals gather to vote whether or not the windmill should be built, it is clear that Snowball will win. Just then, Napoleon makes a sound and out come the nine puppies, now full grown and terrifying. They are able to chase poor Snowball away and he is never seen again.

Animals begin to run out of supplies so Napoleon tells them that they will begin trading with other farms and that products from the farm are going to be sold. He arranges all of this even after the fact that he had previously stated that no animal should ever have anything to do with a human ever again. Aside from this, Napoleon and Squealer move into the farmhouse, the animals notice them sleeping on the beds. Napoleon tells the animals that they have to work on Sundays.s

As the human world watches Animal Farm and waits for news of its failure, the animals struggle against starvation. Napoleon uses Mr. Whymper to spread news of Animal Farm's sufficiency to the human world. After learning that they must surrender their eggs, the hens stage a demonstration that only ends when they can no longer live without the rations that Napoleon had denied them. Nine hens die as a result of the protest.

The animals are led to believe that Snowball is visiting the farm at night and spitefully subverting their labor. He becomes a constant threat to the animals' security, and Squealer eventually tells the animals that Snowball has sold himself to Frederick and that he was in league with Jones from the very beginning.

The mayhem continues as Napoleon tells the animals that everything wrong with the farm is Snowball's fault. The dogs, as ordered by Napoleon, slaughter many animals due to the fact that they confess on breaking rules around the farm. I'm guessing that the "no animal shall kill any other animal" rule does not apply to Napoleon anymore.

After the completion of the new windmill in August, Napoleon sells the pile of timber to Frederick, who tries to pay with a check. Napoleon, however, demands cash, which he receives. Whymper then learns that Frederick's banknotes are forgeries, and Napoleon pronounces the death sentence on the traitorous human.

The following year brings more work on the windmill and less food for the workers, despite Squealer's lists of figures supposedly proving that food production has increased dramatically under Napoleon's rule. As Napoleon gains power, he is seen in public less often. More executions occur while Napoleon schemes to sell a pile of timber to Frederick who is alternately rumored to be a sadistic torturer of animals and the victim of unfounded gossip.

Some days later, the pigs discover a case of whisky in Jones' cellar. After drinking too much of it, Napoleon fears he is dying and decrees that the drinking of alcohol is punishable by death. Two days later, however, Napoleon feels better and orders the small paddock to be ploughed and planted with barley. The chapter ends with Muriel rereading the Seven Commandments and noticing, for the first time, that the Fifth Commandment now reads, "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."

The next morning, Frederick and 14 men arrive at Animal Farm and attempt to take it by force. Although the humans are initially successful, after they blow up the windmill, the animals are completely enraged and drive the men from the farm. Squealer explains to the bleeding animals that, despite what they may think, they were actually victorious in what will hereafter be called "The Battle of the Windmill."

After celebrating their so-called victory against Frederick, the animals begin building a new windmill. Their efforts are again led by Boxer who, despite his split hoof, insists on working harder and getting the windmill started before he retires. Food supplies continue to get low, Squealer explains that they actually have more food and better lives than they have ever known The four sows litter 31 piglets, Napoleon, the father of all of them, orders a schoolroom to be built for their education.

Once his hoof heals, Boxer works as hard as he can at building the windmill — until the day he collapses because of a lung ailment. After he is helped back to his stall, Squealer informs them that Napoleon has sent for the veterinarian at Willingdon to treat him. When the van arrives to take Boxer to the hospital, however, Benjamin reads its side and learns that Boxer is actually being taken to a knacker, or glue-boiler.

Clover screams to Boxer to escape, but the old horse is too weak to kick his way out of the van, which drives away. To calm down the animals, Squealer tells them that Boxer was not taken to a knacker but that the veterinarian had bought the knacker's truck and had not yet repainted the words on its side. The animals are relieved when they hear this. It ends with a grocer's van delivering a crate of whisky to the pigs, who drink it all and do not arise until after noon the following day

Years pass, and Animal Farm undergoes its final changes. Muriel, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher are all dead, and Jones dies in an inebriates' home. Clover is now 14 years old but has not retired. There are more animals on the farm, and the farm's boundaries have increased, thanks to the purchase of two of Pilkington's fields. The second windmill has been completed and is used for milling corn. All the animals continue their lives of hard work and little food — except, of course, for the pigs.

In the novel's final scene, a deputation of neighboring farmers are given a tour of the farm, after which they meet in the dining-room of the farmhouse with Napoleon and the other pigs. Mr. Pilkington makes a toast to Animal Farm and its efficiency. Napoleon then offers a speech in which he outlines his new policies: The word "comrade" will be suppressed, there will be no more Sunday meetings, the skull of old Major has been buried, and the farm flag will be changed to a simple field of green.

His greatest change in policy, however, is his announcement that Animal Farm will again be called Manor Farm. Soon after Napoleon's speech, the men and pigs begin playing cards, but a loud quarrel erupts when both Napoleon and Pilkington each try to play the ace of spades. As Clover and the other animals watch the arguments through the dining-room window, they are unable to discriminate between the humans and the pigs.