Search examples: Microsoft | 2015 | 2014/10 | 4.12 | 04/20 | 05/26/1980 | Galileo Galilei

History on the 12th of August

History
Date Text
12 Aug 1838 RELIGIOUS Birth of Joseph Barnby, English organist and choirmaster. He composed nearly 250 hymn tunes during his life. Of these the most enduring include LAUDES DOMINI ("When Morning Gilds the Skies"), LONGWOOD ("Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart"), MERRIAL ("Now the Day is Over") and ST. ANDREW ("We Give Thee But Thine Own").
0
12 Aug 1859 RELIGIOUS Birth of Katherine Lee Bates, American English teacher. She published over 20 books, but is best remembered today for writing the patriotic hymn, "America, the Beautiful" (a.k.a. "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies").
0
12 Aug 1914 WW2 The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) consisting of four Infantry Divisions and a Cavalry Division under the command of Sir John French began to cross the English Channel into France. 
0
12 Aug 1914 WW1 Begin of Battle of Haelen
0
12 Aug 1915 WW2 British Flight Commander C. H. K. Edmonds RNAS became the first pilot to attack a ship with an air-launched torpedo. 
0
12 Aug 1918 WW2 Future Dambuster leader, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, was born at Simia, India. 
0
12 Aug 1921 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt lost the use of his legs. 
0
12 Aug 1936 WW2 U-27 was commissioned into service with Korvettenkapitän Hans Ibbeken in command; the submarine was assigned to 2nd Flotilla. 
0
12 Aug 1937 WW2 Battle of Chahar in China ended with Japanese victory. 
0
12 Aug 1937 WW2 USS Augusta delivered 50 Marines and 57 Navy personnel to reinforce the US 4th Marine Regiment stationed at Shanghai, China. 
0
12 Aug 1937 WW2 Chinese light cruisers Hairong, Pinghai, Ninghai, Haichou, and Yixian and training cruiser Yingrui arrived at the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China in anticipation of a Japanese attack. On the same day, 8 older naval vessels, 20 civilian transports, and 8 civilian barges were sunk in the river to block Japanese warships from entering. 
0
12 Aug 1937 WW2 Haiqi was scuttled in the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China to block Japanese movement up the river. 
0
12 Aug 1937 WW2 The Chinese government gave Chiang Kaishek special powers for the duration of the war. 
0
12 Aug 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang flew his first combat mission of the Second Sino-Japanese War, attacking Japanese warships at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the Shanghai area in eastern China in a Hawk III fighter. The mission was called off due to weather. 
0
12 Aug 1938 WW2 The German military was mobilized. 
0
12 Aug 1939 WW2 Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano met with German leader Adolf Hitler and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. During the meeting, upon hearing Hitler's hypothesis that Britain and France could not go into a war for Poland, Ciano expressed doubts and that it was his belief that Europe would be engulf in a general war should German and Poland become entangled in a war. As he realized Hitler was set on going to war with Poland, Ciano expressed Italian unpreparedness for conflict. Ribbentrop responded by saying Germany did not need Italy's military assistance. Ciano, skeptical, noted that time would tell whether that was true. 
0
12 Aug 1939 WW2 The Soviet Union expressed to Germany that it was willing to host a visit by a high-level German diplomat in Moscow, Russia for talks. 
0
12 Aug 1939 WW2 Light carrier Hosho was designated a training carrier. 
0
12 Aug 1939 WW2 HMS Eagle began her refitting work at Singapore. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 It officially became illegal to waste food in the United Kingdom. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 Italian troops renewed the attack at Tug Argan, British Somaliland, capturing the hill defended by the Northern Rhodesian Regiment as well as two of the four 3.7-inch howitzers. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 Italian submarine Malaspina sank British tanker British Fame with 6 torpedoes near the Azores, killing 3. Malaspina spent the remainder of the day towing a lifeboat full of survivors to safety. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 Flight Lieutenant Rod Learoyd of 49 Squadron based at RAF Scampton won a Victoria Cross for pressing home an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal despite his Hampden bomber being badly shot up. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 Gunboat USS Erie, with Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt aboard, arrived at Guayaquil, Ecuador for a goodwill visit. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 The Military Collegium of the Soviet NKVD sentenced Red Army divisional commanding officer Grigoriy Fyodorovich to death for deserting his unit in combat during the Winter War. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 Iride departed La Spezia, Italy for Libya with four manned torpedoes on board. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 20 German Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters, especially converted as fighter-bombers, raided British radar stations along the coast. As the radar station operations were disrupted, almost 100 Ju 88 bombers escorted by 145 Bf 110 fighters attacked Portsmouth and the Ventnor radar station on the Isle of Wight, while Do 17 bombers attacked RAF airfields of Manston, Lympne, and Hawkinge in southern England, United Kingdom. Most of the radar stations would be repaired by the end of the day, but the Ventnor radar station would be out of commission for two weeks. Portsmouth was also bombed, killing 100 civilians. Minesweeping trawler HMT Pyrope was sunk (killing 6), so was HMT Tamarisk (killing 7), by German aircraft during this day. 55 German aircraft were shot down during aerial combat at the cost of 6 British Spitfire fighters and 9 British Hurricane fighters. British anti-aircraft guns claimed 7 bombers. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 James Lacey was shot down over Britain. 
0
12 Aug 1940 WW2 US President Roosevelt departed Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, United States aboard presidential yacht Potomac, escorted by destroyer USS Mayrant, for Newport, Rhode Island, United States to inspect the Torpedo Station and the Naval Training Station with Secretary of the Navy Knox, Senator David I. Walsh and Rear Admiral Edward C. Kalbfus. He then sailed for the Submarine Base at New London, Connecticut, United States, inspecting submarine operations en route and visiting Electric Boat Company facilities in New London. Finally, he set sail for Washington Navy Yard, Washington DC, United States, arriving at night. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party ordered the security forces to deport the entire population of the Volga German Autonomous Republic to destinations in Central Asia and Siberia. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 The US Army-US Marine Corps 1st Joint Training Force under Major General Holland M. Smith was redesignated the Atlantic Amphibious Force. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 Before dawn, British bombers attacked railway yards at Hanover, Germany. After sundown, 78 British bombers, escorted by 485 fighters, conducted the heaviest daylight attack against Germany to date, targeting the powerplants near Köln (Fortuna Power Station in Knapsack and Goldenburg Power Station in Quadrath) and other targets in a wide area. The Germans were only able to scramble few fighters, but anti-aircraft fire was heavy. The Germans suffered four fighters shot down (plus five likely shot down) and heavy damage to both powerplants; the British suffered 12 British Blenheim bombers shot down and 10 British fighters shot down. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 HMS Picotee (Lieutenant R. A. Harrison) was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-568 in the North Atlantic. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 Zhao Chengshou signed a secret armistice with the Japanese. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 Light carrier Hosho became the flagship of Carrier Division 3. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 Crown Prince Yi Un was assigned to Jinzhou, Liaoning Province, China. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 French Marshal Philippe Pétain appointed Admiral François Darlan as Minister for War, the Navy, the Air and the Colonies. General Maxime Weygand was thus placed under Darlan's orders. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 Battleship No. 1 departed Kure, Japan for trials. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 The Soviet Politburo granted thousands of Polish prisoners of war amnesty for the formation of a Polish unit under General Wladislaw Anders to fight against Germany. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 Semyon Timoshenko drafted an order calling for the execution of deserters; it would be revised by Joseph Stalin and issued as Order No. 270 four days later. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 No. 489 (NZ) Squadron RAF was formed at RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom from New Zealand personnel under the command of Wing Commander J. A. S. Brown. The squadron would see extensive service on anti-shipping strikes in the North Sea and protection of the North Cape convoys. 
0
12 Aug 1941 WW2 The United States Congress passed a modification to the Selective Service Act, which extended the service period of draftees as requested by Franklin Roosevelt, by a single vote. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 The responsibility for maintaining law and order in German-occupied Belgium, Denmark, Holland, and Norway was given to Himmler and the SS organization. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 A Catalina PBY aircraft made a trial landing on the future Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. To the west, US Marine Lieutenant Colonel Frank Goettge's 25-man reconnaissance patrol was attacked by Japanese troops west of Matanikau River; only 3 survived. Meanwhile, Admiral Ghormley ordered US Navy Task Force 63 to devote full effort to transport supplies and personnel to Guadalcanal. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Cleveland performed a test with 5-inch anti-aircraft shells equipped with new proximity fuses in the Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki bombarded Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 In India, Joseph Stilwell departed Delhi for Karachi. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 British carrier HMS Indomitable was disabled south of Sardinia, Italy. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Erich von Manstein was transferred from the Caucasus area of southern Russia to the Leningrad area of northern Russia. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 British submarine HMS Sturgeon sank German merchant ship Boltenhagen 20 miles off southern Norway. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 British submarine HMS Unshaken sank German merchant ship Georg L. M. Russ 20 miles off southern Norway. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Italian submarine Dagabur attempted to attack British carrier HMS Furious in the eastern Mediterranean Sea 50 miles northwest of Algier, French Algeria, but was detected by escorting British destroyer HMS Wolverine, which rammed and sank Dagabur. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Major General John D'Arcy assumed command of the British 9th Armoured Division in place of Major General Brian Burrows who had been moved to command British XIII Corps in North Africa. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Hans-Joachim Marseille was awarded the Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Finback arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, ending her first war patrol. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 8 US B-17 Flying Fortress bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain, damaging transport Matsumoto Maru in Simpson Harbor. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Japanese troops marched along the Kokoda Track in Australian Papua toward the Australian base at Deniki. Behind the front lines, three Japanese transports arrived after dark and disembarked troops at Buna. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery arrived in Cairo, Egypt. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 138 British bombers attacked Mainz, Germany, hitting the rail station, industrial areas (at least 40 were killed), and the nearby villages of Kempten (130 houses were damaged) and Gaulsheim (97 houses were damaged); 5 bombers were lost on this mission. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kure, Japan. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Kure, Japan. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Nachi departed Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 In Yokosuka, Japan, Saburo Sakai underwent surgery for the wound sustained during combat over Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands on 8 Aug 1942. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 British submarine HMS Porpoise laid mines just off Tobruk, Libya. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 At 1200 hours, British carrier HMS Indomitable of Allied Pedestal convoy was hit by two 500-pound bombs, rendering the flight deck unusable. 10 miles off Bizerte, Tunisia, British destroyers HMS Ithuriel and HMS Pathfinder, escorting the convoy, forced Italian submarine Cobalto to the surface with depth charges, and Ithuriel proceeded to ram and sink Colbalto (2 Italians and 2 British were killed; 41 Italians captured). At 2000 hours, Italian submarine Axum attacked the convoy, sinking British cruiser HMS Cairo (24 were killed, 320 survived), damaging cruiser HMS Nigeria (52 were killed), and damaging tanker Ohio. At 2130 hours, Italian torpedo bombers sank destroyer HMS Foresight (4 were killed). During the night, the Pedestal convoy rounded Cape Bon in confusion; as the Italians continued to attack, three merchant ships were sunk and merchant ship Brisbane Star was heavily damaged. Earlier in the day, 6 Italian cruisers and 17 destroyers set sail from Messina, Sicily, Italy to intercept the convoy. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Grayback fired three torpedoes at a Japanese transport in the South China Sea; all torpedoes missed. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Winston Churchill arrived at Moscow, Russia at 1700 hours. At 1900 hours, he met with Joseph Stalin for the first time at the Kremlin, among other things convincing him there would be no second front at least until 1943 as the Western Allies would soon be invading French North Africa. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 Troops of the German Armeegruppe A captured Elista, the capital of Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in southern Russia. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 The Heito Prisoners of War Camp, also known as Taiwan Prisoners of War Camp No. 3, was opened in southern Taiwan. Within weeks it would be populated with captured American and Filipino troops. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 German submarine U-508 sank Cuban freighters Santiago de Cuba (10 were killed, 19 survived) and Manzanillo (23 were killed) 10 miles south of Key West, Florida, United States at 1355 hours. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Wolverine was commissioned into service with Commander George Richardson Fairlamb, Jr. in command. 
0
12 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Wahoo departed Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, United States. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 During a raid on Turin, Italy, Flight Sergeant Arthur Aaron's Stirling bomber was accidentally machine gunned by another 218 Squadron aircraft. Although badly wounded, with half of his face shot away rendering him unable to speak, Aaron instructed his crew on how to fly the badly damaged aircraft by writing notes. Taking control he eventually made a successful forced landing in Tunisia. His crew survived but Aaron would die shortly after from his wounds. Aaron was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his selfless actions. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 German forces evacuated Sicily, Italy. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 Milan, Italy received 1,000 tons of explosives from the RAF. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 24 B-24 bombers attacked Buin, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, destroying 13 A6M fighters, 10 D3A dive bombers, and 1 reconnaissance aircraft on the ground. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 Georg von Küchler was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler ordered the southern portion of the defensive Panther Line to be set up along the Dneiper River in Ukraine, and that the city of Kharkov in Ukraine was to be held at all costs. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Boarfish was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
12 Aug 1944 WW2 The Soviet minesweeper T.118 (formerly the USS Armada) was sunk by the German submarine U-365 in the Kara Sea. 
0
12 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Pompon attacked a Japanese convoy off Sakhalin island during the night, damaging a tanker and sinking transport Mikage Maru No. 20; she expended 14 torpedoes and observed 4 hits. During the attack, one of her own torpedoes circled back and nearly struck her. 
0
12 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Puffer attacked an escorted Japanese convoy of ten freighters and tankers off the Philippine Islands, sinking tanker Teikon Maru and a freighter, and damaging another tanker; she expended 6 torpedoes and observed 5 hits. 
0
12 Aug 1944 WW2 German submarine U-365 sank Russian freighter Marina Raskova and Soviet trawler T-114 of Soviet convoy BD-5 in western Kara Sea off northern Russia; a total of 362 were killed and 256 survived. 
0
12 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Whale completed refitting at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
12 Aug 1944 WW2 Irako collided with Teia Maru off Ryukyu Islands, Japan, suffering superficial damage. 
0
12 Aug 1944 WW2 The first transport of civilians arrested in Warsaw, Poland after the start of Warsaw Uprising reached Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camp via Pruszków transit camp. 1,984 males and over 3,800 females were in this transport. 
0
12 Aug 1944 WW2 German Luftwaffe wing KG 55 flew its final eastern front bombing mission as its He 111 bombers attacked bridges on the Vistula River near Warsaw, Poland. The wing would later be converted into a fighter unit under the new designation of KG(J) 55. 
0
12 Aug 1944 WW2 Joseph Kennedy, Jr., the older brother of future US President John F. Kennedy, was killed in a flying accident over East Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. 
0
12 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Tirante departed Guam, Mariana Islands for her third war patrol. 
0
12 Aug 1945 WW2 Soviet forces in the Manchuria region of northeastern China had advanced 200 miles in four days. Meanwhile, Soviet Pacific Fleet attacked northern Korea, seizing the Japanese naval base at Rashin and the port of Yuki. 
0
12 Aug 1945 WW2 Emperor Showa ordered his government to surrender. 
0
12 Aug 1945 WW2 The Smyth Report, written by American physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth, with the history of the development of the atomic weapons, was released to the public. 
0
12 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Carbonero sank a junk with her deck gun in the Gulf of Siam-South China Sea area. 
0
12 Aug 1945 WW2 The Ohka Model 22 variant design's second test flight was launched but canceled mid-flight due to an immature ignition of the jet engine. 
0
12 Aug 1945 WW2 He Yingqin arrived in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. 
0
12 Aug 1945 WW2 US B-24 bombers from Okinawa, Japan attacked Matsuyama Airfield in Taihoku (now Taipei), Taiwan. 
0
12 Aug 1946 WW2 Harry Truman declared the second Monday of August the Victory Day holiday; today only US state of RI still celebrates it. 
0
12 Aug 1946 WW2 USS Sea Cat began a simulated war patrol across the Pacific Ocean from United States to China. 
0
12 Aug 1946 WW2 He Yingqin was made a member of the committee overseeing the care of Sun Yatsen's tomb in Nanjing, China. 
0
12 Aug 1947 WW2 Formidable was decommissioned from service. 
0
12 Aug 1949 WW2 USS Baya was redesignated AGSS-318. 
0
12 Aug 1952 RELIGIOUS American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'I must come to be aware of Satan. He may never get me into hell, but he may cause God shame in defeating me. Preserve me from the lion, Lord. Let him not swallow me up.'
0
12 Aug 1978 RELIGIOUS In Rome, the first papal funeral ever held outdoors was conducted for Pope Paul VI in St. Peter's Square.
0
12 Aug 1988 RELIGIOUS In Hollywood, the controversial religious movie "The Last Temptation of Christ" was released, sparking protests from evangelical church groups across the nation.
0
11th August 13th August
© 2016 OnThisDay.net All rights reserved.
Loaded in 0.0386s.