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

History on the 23rd of August

History
Date Text
23 Aug 1572 RELIGIOUS In France, late this night, Catholic conspirators began massacring thousands of Huguenots (French Protestants), under orders of Catherine de Medici, advisor to her son, Charles IX, King of France.
0
23 Aug 1823 RELIGIOUS Karl F. A. G
0
23 Aug 1882 RELIGIOUS Death of Charles W. Fry, 45, English Salvation Army worker. It was Fry who penned the words to the lyric hymn, "I Have Found a Friend in Jesus" (a.k.a. "Lily of the Valley").
2
23 Aug 1914 WW2 The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British army attempted to hold the line of the Mons-Condé Canal against the advancingGerman First Army. Although the British fought well and inflicted disproportionate casualties on the numerically-superior Germans, they were eventually forced to retreat due both to the greater strength of the Germans and the sudden retreat of the French Fifth Army, which exposed the British right flank. 
0
23 Aug 1914 WW1 Begin of Battle of Mons
1
23 Aug 1914 WW1 Begin of Capture of Dinant
0
23 Aug 1915 WW2 British Captain A. J. Liddell RFC was awarded the Victoria Cross for valour while flying a RE- 5 aircraft. 
0
23 Aug 1916 WW2 Masafumi Arima was assigned to Shikishima. 
0
23 Aug 1920 WW2 USS Arizona was named the flagship of US Navy Battleship Division 7. 
0
23 Aug 1923 WW2 Settsu was made an accommodations ship by the Kure Sailor Corps at Kure, Japan. 
0
23 Aug 1935 WW2 John Winant became the first Chairman of the United States Social Security Board. 
0
23 Aug 1937 WW2 Near Santander, the Basque forces in the Spanish Republican army surrendered to General Ettore Bastico, and seeing that further resistance was impossible, Ulibarri abandoned his remaining troops and flew to safety in France. This left Santander, the objective of the Spanish Nationalist offensive, nearly defenseless. 
0
23 Aug 1937 WW2 Mutsu arrived at Shanghai, China and disembarked 2,000 troops of the Japanese Army 11th Division. 
0
23 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese reconnaissance aircraft scouted Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China at 1100 hours. At 1400 hours, 9 Type 92 attack aircraft and 3 Type 95 fighters of the Japanese 12th Air Fleet attacked Jiangyin with the purpose of drawing fire from the defenses; shortly after, 12 Type 94 bombers, 14 Type 96 bombers, and 8 carrier aircraft from Kaga attacked the primary target Chinese light cruiser Pinghai, scoring three bomb hits and sinking the ship in shallow waters. At 1400 hours, 38 Japanese aircraft attacked Ninghai from three directions, hitting the light cruiser three times, wounding Captain Chen Hongtai in the legs. Chen attempted to move Ninghai up river away from the action, but she gave in to her wounds near Bawei harbor, sinking by the stern in shallow waters. Ninghai suffered 62 casualties on this day, but claimed 4 Japanese aircraft shot down. 
0
23 Aug 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang claimed a Japanese A4N biplane fighter from carrier Ryujo over eastern Shanghai, China at 0730 hours; the heavily damaged A4N fighter would return to Ryujo successfully, however. 
0
23 Aug 1937 WW2 Yuan Baokang, flying a Hawk III fighter, damaged an A4N biplane fighter from carrier Ryujo over Liuhe near Shanghai, China. 
0
23 Aug 1938 WW2 Adolf Hitler hosted Hungarian Regent Miklós Horthy at Kiel, Germany in an attempt to recruit him to assist in the aggression against Czechoslovakia; Hitler offered him Czechoslovakian territory for his help. 
0
23 Aug 1939 WW2 Albert Forster became the State President of the Free City of Danzig. 
0
23 Aug 1939 WW2 Joachim von Ribbentrop and the German delegation arrived aboard two Condor aircraft at Moscow, Russia and met Joseph Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov in two sessions, with the second session going late into the night and resulting in the signing of the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. It eliminated the possibility of Soviet Union allying with the western powers; in addition, a secret clause effectively set the plans for a partition of Poland. 
0
23 Aug 1939 WW2 Italy sent a message to Germany noting that when the two nations negotiated the Pact of Steel, article 3, which obliged one nation to go to join in any war the other nation engaged in, the two had the understanding that Italy would not be ready for war until 1943. Should Germany invade Poland before 1942, Italy would not be ready. 
0
23 Aug 1939 WW2 France partially mobilized its military to bolster its border defenses. 
0
23 Aug 1939 WW2 Albert Forster was appointed by the German government as the State President of the Free City of Danzig. 
0
23 Aug 1939 WW2 Erwin Rommel was promoted to the rank of major general and was posted to the Staff of the Adolf Hitler's Headquarters, to be responsible again for Hitler's safety. 
0
23 Aug 1939 WW2 U-27 departed Wilhelmshaven, Germany for her first and only war patrol. 
1
23 Aug 1939 WW2 Captain F. E. P. Hutton was named the commanding officer of HMS Hermes, relieving Captain G. Fraser. 
1
23 Aug 1940 WW2 German propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels launched a new campaign that stressed the British fighting spirit in an attempt to rally Germany behind the war effort. 
0
23 Aug 1940 WW2 British destroyer HMS Hostile hit a mine 18 miles off Cape Bon, Tunisia at 0317 hours, killing 5 and wounding 3. After the survivors were taken aboard by destroyers HMS Hero and HMS Mohawk, HMS Hero scuttled Hostile with torpedoes. 
0
23 Aug 1940 WW2 Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, Australian destroyer HMAS Stuart, and British destroyers HMS Diamond, HMS Ilex, HMS Juno bombarded the Italian seaplane base at Bomba, Libya. 
0
23 Aug 1940 WW2 German submarine U-37 torpedoed Norwegian ship Keret in the Atlantic Ocean 500 miles west of Ireland at 0222 hours, killing 13; 7 survivors in a lifeboat and a raft were rescued by British ship Trident. In the general area, at 1250 hours, U-37 sank British ship Severn Leigh, killing 32 crew and 1 gunner; 10 survivors would make it to Outer Hebrides, Scotland on 5 Sep. 
0
23 Aug 1940 WW2 Heavy cruisers USS Wichita (with chief of Cruiser Division 7 Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens on board) and USS Quincy arrived at Montevideo, Uruguay. 
0
23 Aug 1940 WW2 Destroyers USS Walke and USS Wainwright departed Pará, Brazil for the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. 
0
23 Aug 1940 WW2 James Lacey was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. 
0
23 Aug 1940 WW2 The British RAF flew a retaliation strike against Berlin, Germany. 
0
23 Aug 1940 WW2 Rain and clouds prevented the Germans from mounting large raids against Britain, giving the British airmen a chance to rest and crews a chance to repair airfields. Single-aircraft raids were, however, mounted against southern and central England, as were raids against shipping; two merchant ships were sunk and one was damaged by He 115 torpedo bombers. Overnight, German bombers raided British cities; British fighters shot down two of the night raiders with no losses of their own, while anti-aircraft gunners claimed a third. 
0
23 Aug 1941 WW2 Adolf Hitler rejected Heinz Guderian's advice to attack Moscow, Russia; instead, he moved troops to the south. 
0
23 Aug 1941 WW2 Orion arrived at Gironde, Bordeaux, France. 
0
23 Aug 1941 WW2 HMS Zinnia was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-564 off the coast of Portugal. 
0
23 Aug 1941 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Ariake, Tokyo, Japan and became the flagship of 1st Air Fleet of Carrier Division 5. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 In what amounted to little more than a publicity stunt, the German 1.Gebirgsjäger Division soldiers hoisted the Reichskriegsfahne flag on Mount Elbrus, which was the highest point in the Caucasus Mountains. 
1
23 Aug 1942 WW2 Dwight Eisenhower submitted an appraisal of the current situation to the Combined Chiefs stating that in his opinion an invasion of northwestern Africa would not be possible before 10 Nov 1942. A full month later than the date proposed by the Combined Chiefs. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Long Island arrived at Efate, New Hebrides. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Skipjack damaged a Japanese oiler in the Dutch East Indies, hitting her with one of four torpedoes fired. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 Soviet submarine M-36 sank German tug Ankara 40 miles off the Danube Delta, Romania. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 German submarine U-506 sank British ship Hamla 150 miles southwest of Freetown, British West Africa at 2337 hours; all 40 aboard were killed. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 The remainder of Japanese 28th Infantry Regiment (1,411 troops) and several hundred Japanese Special Naval Landing Force troops departed Truk, Caroline Islands aboard 3 transports for Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; they were escorted by a powerful fleet of cruisers and destroyers up close and an even larger force, including fleet carriers and battleships, from a distance; at 0950 hours, the convoy was spotted by a US PBY Catalina aircraft north of Guadalcanal, but the resulting carrier strike launched at 1410 hours failed to locate the convoy. After dark, Japanese destroyer Kagero bombarded Henderson Field from nearby Savo Sound, causing little damage. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 Japanese and American aircraft engaged in combat over Darwin, Australia between 1200 and 1245 hours; 7 Japanese bombers, 8 Japanese Zero fighters were shot down by P-40 Warhawk fighters of US 49th Fighter Group. This was to be the last Japanese attempt to raid Darwin. 
-1
23 Aug 1942 WW2 Repair ship Akashi arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
-1
23 Aug 1942 WW2 Hans-Joachim Marseille returned to his unit at Sanyet El Qutaifiya, Egypt. 
1
23 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Wahoo departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 The attack on Stalingrad in southern Russia opened with massive air raid lasting 48 hours involving more than 4,000 sorties while German ground units continued to reach the Volga River north and south of the city. At Chebotarevskiy 115 miles to the northeast, 700 Italian horse-mounted cavalry troops overran a Soviet artillery position by surprise, capturing 500 troops, 4 guns, 10 mortars, and 50 machine guns. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 USS Tuscaloosa, USS Rodman, USS Emmons, and HMS Onslaught arrived at Vaenga Bay near Murmansk, Russia; they disembarked personnel of two RAF Bomber Command squadrons, torpedoes, ammunition, and medical supplies. 
0
23 Aug 1942 WW2 Soviet ice breaker Alexander Sibiryakov departed a port in northern Russia with 350 tons of supplies for the weather station in the Severnaya Zemlya islands on the eastern edge of the Kara Sea. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 Iro Ilk was awarded with the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe goblet. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 The US submarine chasers SC-694 and SC-696 were sunk by German Ju-88 dive bombers off the coast of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 The British Joint Planning Staff authorized the transfer of six brigades under Orde Wingate's command for operations in Burma; Wingate had originally wanted eight brigades. The units were to be drawn from the UK 70th Division and the UK 81st African Division. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Permit began her tenth war patrol. 
1
23 Aug 1943 WW2 Yamato arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 21 Japanese bombers escorted by 17 fighters took off from Hankou, Hubei, China to attack Chongqing in Sichuan Province, China; the formation was met with an additional 14 fighters en route. 10 P-40, 8 P-43, and 11 P-66 fighters of the Chinese Air Force rose to intercept. The Chinese lost one P-40 fighter, one P-43 fighter, and two P-66 fighters in the engagement while the Japanese lost one bomber and several damaged. This would become the final major aerial attack on Chongqing. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 727 RAF bombers dropped 1,700 tons of explosives on Berlin, Germany. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Air Group 16 on board. TBF-1's, SBD-5's, and F6F-3's of Air Group 16 arrived on board. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 George Patton apologized to Charles Kuhl whom he slapped at a field hospital for accused cowardice. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish damaged a Japanese transport in the South China Sea, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 The Soviet Steppe Front captured Kharkov, Ukraine, ending the Fourth Battle of Kharkov; a German counterattack was attempted but repulsed by the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Tang sank Japanese transport Tsukushi Maru, hitting her with two of three torpedoes fired. 
1
23 Aug 1944 WW2 US troops from the north and French troops from the south met near Bordeaux, France. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 German V-1 rocket killed 211 people in East Barnet, Hertfordshire in southeastern England, United Kingdom. 
1
23 Aug 1944 WW2 A B-24 bomber crashed into a school at Freckleton, Lancashire in northwestern England, United Kingdom, killing 57, 35 of whom were children. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Hoe arrved at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fifth war patrol. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 Vasily Chuikov was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class for the second time. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 Ferdinand Catlos failed to secure Soviet backing for his plan to overthrow the pro-German Slovak government. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 In Paris, France, the Drancy Concentration Camp, a transit camp for French Jews used during German occupation, was liberated by Allied troops. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 Allied troops reached the Seine River near Paris, France. Adolf Hitler ordered all bridges in the Paris area to be destroyed, even those viewed as cultural treasures; Hans Speidel would refuse to carry out this order. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Baya departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. Initially ordered to patrol between the Philippine Islands and the Palau Islands, her patrol area was later shifted to the South China Sea. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Becuna departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 USS Hawkbill departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
2
23 Aug 1944 WW2 In Bucharest, Romania, King Mihai I removed Marshal Ion Antonescu from power and began to publicly engage the Soviet Union diplomatically. To the northeast, Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front and 3rd Ukrainian Front encircled German 6th Army. 
0
23 Aug 1944 WW2 A US B-24 Liberator bomber crashed into the village of Freckleton in Lancashire County, England, United Kingdom at about 1047 hours, destroying the Holy Trinity Church of England School (6 adults and 38 children were killed), three houses (2 were killed), and the Sad Sack Snack Bar (7 American servicemen, 4 British servicemen, and 3 civilians were killed). All 3 members of crew aboard the B-24 bomber were killed. 
-1
23 Aug 1944 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt rejected Chiang Kaishek's counteroffer of 23 Jul 1944 regarding the American wish for Chiang to include communists in the war against Japan. 
0
23 Aug 1945 WW2 Douglas MacArthur ordered 5,000 Filipino internees in Manila, Philippine Islands freed. 
0
23 Aug 1945 WW2 A new British colonial administration departed Colombo, Ceylon for Singapore. 
0
23 Aug 1945 WW2 The United Kingdom ratified the United Nations Charter. 
0
23 Aug 1945 WW2 The Soviet Union announced that all Japanese resistance in the Manchuria region of northeastern China had ceased. Meanwhile, Soviet troops received the surrender of the Japanese garrison at Paramushiro, Kurile Islands. 
1
23 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Sterlet arrived at Midway, ending her fifth war patrol. 
0
23 Aug 1945 WW2 USS Tirante arrived at Midway Atoll. 
0
23 Aug 1948 RELIGIOUS During its Amsterdam Assembly (Aug 22 Sept 4), the newly-formed World Council of Churches officially ratified its Constitution.
0
23 Aug 1952 RELIGIOUS Death of Frederick George Kenyon, 89, British archaeologist and language scholar. Kenyon devoted his life to discovering biblical parallels in ancient Greek papyri, convincing critics that science does not disprove the Bible.
0
22nd August 24th August
© 2016 OnThisDay.net All rights reserved.
Loaded in 0.0328s.