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History on the year of 1937

History
Date Text
01 Jan 1937 WW2 Battleship King George V was laid down. 
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01 Jan 1937 WW2 The United States began withholding taxes from payrolls per the Social Security Act legistration. 
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01 Jan 1937 WW2 François Darlan was made the chief of staff of the French Navy. 
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01 Jan 1937 WW2 Captain Clement Moody was named the commanding officer of HMS Eagle. 
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02 Jan 1937 WW2 Galeazzo Ciano secured British signatures on the Italo-British Gentlemen's Agreement in which both Italy and the United Kingdom stated respect for each other's spheres of influence. 
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03 Jan 1937 WW2 Spanish Nationalist forces captured a seven-mile stretch of the Corunna Road north of Madrid, Spain. For the following 12 days, Spanish Republican forces would attempt to counterattack to regain the road, with high casualties on both sides, ending in a stalemate. 
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07 Jan 1937 WW2 Erwin Rommel was briefly without a position in the German Army. 
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15 Jan 1937 WW2 USS Pollack was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Clarence E. Aldrich in command. 
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15 Jan 1937 WW2 Hermann Göring met Benito Mussolini; when Göring brought up the topic of the German wish to annex Austria, Mussolini showed disapproval. 
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17 Jan 1937 WW2 With the arrival in Spain of the Italian volunteers the Spanish Nationalists now felt confident to mount an offensive on the southern provinces of Republican Spain. Three Nationalist columns converged on Málaga; The Army of the South (General Gonzalo) advanced from the west, whilst from Grenada, to the north of the city, advanced Colonel Antonio Muñoz Jiménez. The third column, attacking from the north, consisted of the Italians of General Mario Roatta. Although large numbers of Republican troops were available to defend Málaga, they were badly organised and were steadily forced back over the course of the following two weeks. 
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17 Jan 1937 WW2 Upon his father's passing, Oliver Leese was made the Third Baronet of the Leese Baronetcy. 
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18 Jan 1937 WW2 The keel of repair ship Akashi was laid down at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan. 
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18 Jan 1937 WW2 Roderick Carr was named the commanding officer of Fleet Air Arm units aboard HMS Eagle. 
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20 Jan 1937 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated for second term as US President; in the inauguration speech, he spoke about taking care of the third of the American population who were "ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished". 
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23 Jan 1937 WW2 Heinrich Himmler disclosed that about 8,000 prisoners were in concentration camps across Germany for protective custody. 
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26 Jan 1937 WW2 Civilian Captain Nai Haremaro took command of the Japanese luxury ocean liner Hikawa Maru. 
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26 Jan 1937 WW2 Pickerel was commissioned into service. 
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26 Jan 1937 WW2 A second German Civil Service Law was introduced which extended the influence of the NSDAP over Reich State appointments. The new law permitted promotions to be afforded only to those with the correct political (i.e. Nazi) attitude. It afforded Nazi employees the right to refer work problems directly to the Party rather than through their employer, and also provided for the removal of any official who did not support the National Socialist cause (although by this time very few such officials continued to remain in office). 
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27 Jan 1937 WW2 The US Navy and US Marine Corps began Fleet Landing Exercise No. 3 in the San Clemente and San Pedro in and near Los Angeles, California, United States. A small US Army contingent also participated in the exercise. 
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29 Jan 1937 WW2 The British Air Ministry placed an order with Handley Page for 180 H.P.52 (later named Hampden) bombers under the specification B.30/36. 
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30 Jan 1937 WW2 Adolf Hitler proclaimed that Germany would continue to guarantee Dutch and Belgian neutrality. 
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30 Jan 1937 WW2 The Enabling Act of Mar 1933 was renewed by the German Reichstag even though Frick's Interior Ministry had wanted the government to have a larger say, and the Reichstag to give formal assent to new laws. The formal legal principle was retained that laws were, in theory, approved by "the Reich government as a collegium", and not by Hitler alone (this despite the fact that Hitler had long abandoned any pretence what the State was governed by a collective leadership, and instead issued decrees and directives on his own behalf). In a speech to the Reichstag upon the renewal, Hitler formally declared the German withdrawal from the Treaty of Versailles. 
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30 Jan 1937 WW2 The keel of submarine Scirè was laid down by Odero-Terni-Orlando in Muggiano, Lerici, La Spezia, Italy. 
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02 Feb 1937 WW2 Osami Nagano was named the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. 
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03 Feb 1937 WW2 Spanish Nationalist and Italian volunteer forces reached the outskirts of Malaga, Spain. 
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06 Feb 1937 WW2 Spanish Nationalist forces entered Malaga, Spain as Republican forces fled toward Almeria. At Madrid, the Nationalists under General Luis Orgaz renewed the attempts to capture the city; this time they concentrated their efforts on cutting the Valencia road where it ran through the Jarama valley to the southeast of the city. General Sebastian Pozas led the Republican forces at Madrid. 
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08 Feb 1937 WW2 Falangist troops captured the city of Málaga, Spain during the Spanish Civil War. 
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09 Feb 1937 WW2 Martin Bormann ordered that clergymen and theology students were not allowed to join the Nazi Party. 
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09 Feb 1937 WW2 The first flight of the Blackburn Type B-24 Skua prototype aircraft was made at Brough, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. A Dive bomber it became the British Fleet Air Arm’s first monoplane. 
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10 Feb 1937 WW2 Jean de Vienne was commissioned into service. 
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11 Feb 1937 WW2 General Luis Orgaz's Spanish Nationalist forces drove off General Sebastian Pozas' forces eastward across the River Jarama near Madrid, Spain. 
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15 Feb 1937 WW2 In order to restore the situation General Jose Miaja took over personal command of the dispirited Spanish Republican troops on the Jarama Front near Madrid, Spain. 
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18 Feb 1937 WW2 Jisaburo Ozawa was named the chief of staff of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. 
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19 Feb 1937 WW2 John Winant's second term as the Chairman of the United States Social Security Board ended. 
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19 Feb 1937 WW2 During a public ceremony in Addis Ababa, Abyssinia, two Eritrean nationalists attempted to kill Italian Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with grenades. Italian guards fired into the crowd indiscriminately. 
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21 Feb 1937 WW2 The League of Nations Non-Intervention Committee banned foreign nationals from fighting in the Spanish Civil War. 
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23 Feb 1937 WW2 Heinrich Himmler issued the directive to arrest about 2,000 "professional and habitual criminals" in Germany on 9 Mar 1937 in one swift strike; they were to be sent to concentration camps. 
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24 Feb 1937 WW2 When the fighting on the Jarama Front near Madrid, Spain finally came to an end, the Spanish Nationalists had driven a salient into the Republican front-line, but had failed to cut off Madrid. 
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24 Feb 1937 WW2 Vincennes was commissioned into service. 
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25 Feb 1937 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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25 Feb 1937 WW2 Erwin Rommel was posted as the War Ministry's liaison to Baldur von Schirach of the Hitler Youth. 
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28 Feb 1937 WW2 The Ki-30 aircraft took its first flight. 
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01 Mar 1937 WW2 Spencer was commissioned into service. 
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01 Mar 1937 WW2 Hideki Tojo was named the chief of staff of Kenkichi Ueda (Japanese Kwantung Army in northeastern China). 
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01 Mar 1937 WW2 Hubert Lanz was promoted to the rank of Oberstleutnant and was made the Chief of Staff of IX Armeekorps. 
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01 Mar 1937 WW2 Some time during this month, Japanese Rear Admiral Keijii Fukuda and his design team completed the blueprint for the largest class of battleships in the world. This design would later become the Yamato-class battleship. 
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01 Mar 1937 WW2 Crown Prince Yi Un became an instructor in the Japanese Army Academy. 
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01 Mar 1937 WW2 Major General Masataka Hata was named the chief of staff of the Taiwan Army. 
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05 Mar 1937 WW2 Imperial airways officially opened its new flying-boat base at Hythe on Southampton water in southern England, United Kingdom. This would become the centre for its Empire services. 
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05 Mar 1937 WW2 Newcastle was commissioned into service. 
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07 Mar 1937 WW2 Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts, now formed into two divisions and supported by 250 light tanks and 180 guns, their right flank supported by a mixed brigade of regulares, Requetés and Falangists began their advance aiming for Guadalajara, Spain to the northeast of Madrid, Spain on the main Madrid-Saragossa highway which was allotted as their main approach axis. 
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08 Mar 1937 WW2 Spanish Nationalist forces threatening Madrid, Spain were ordered to attack around the northeast of the city in an attempt to cut it off from the rest of the Republic. Two Nationalist armies advanced towards Guadalajara, which was 34 miles from Madrid, and pushed back the inexperienced Republican troops which faced them. 
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09 Mar 1937 WW2 The Armstrong Whitwotrth Whitley Mk I heavy bomber joined No. 10 Squadron RAF and went on to equip no fewer than 20 RAF Squadrons. 
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09 Mar 1937 WW2 In the "Fireside Chat" radio address broadcast on this date, US President Franklin Roosevelt attempted to persuade the American public in allowing him to change to change the law in order to appoint more Supreme Court Justices. The American public would generally voice opinions against Roosevelt. 
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10 Mar 1937 WW2 At Guadalajara, Spain, the Spanish Nationalist invasion force attacked in two columns. The right-hand (or western) army, which was commanded by General José Moscardó Ituarte, had little trouble in forcing the opposing Republican troops back, but the left-hand (or eastern) army, which was composed of Italian volunteers and led by General Mario Roatta, experienced stiffening resistance after their capture of Brihuega on this date. 
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10 Mar 1937 WW2 The US Navy and US Marine Corps' Fleet Landing Exercise No. 3 in the San Clemente and San Pedro areas, California, United States was completed. 
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10 Mar 1937 RELIGIOUS English historian Arnold J. Toynbee wrote: 'In this really very brief period of less than 2,000 years Christianity has, in fact, produced greater spiritual effects in the world than have been produced in a comparable space of time by any other spiritual movement that we know of in history.'
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12 Mar 1937 WW2 Georg von Küchler was named the commanding officer of 1st Military District with personal command over I Corps. 
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14 Mar 1937 WW2 HMS Bedouin (L67) was commissioned into British Royal Navy service with Commander J. A. McCoy in command. 
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14 Mar 1937 WW2 The Vatican City announced that Germany had broken various clauses of the agreement signed between the two countries on 20 Jul 1933. 
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14 Mar 1937 WW2 The 9th Extraordinary All-Azerbaijani Congress of Soviets approved the new constitution. 
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14 Mar 1937 RELIGIOUS English Bible expositor Arthur W. Pink wrote in a letter: 'Neither the nearness nor the remoteness of Christ's return is a rule to regulate us in the ordering of our temporal affairs. Spiritual preparedness is the great matter.'
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15 Mar 1937 WW2 Werner Mölders was named the squadron leader of the 1st Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 334. 
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15 Mar 1937 WW2 Italian General Mario Roatta halted his advance on Guadalajara, Spain to regroup. 
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17 Mar 1937 WW2 HMS Hermes departed Singapore. 
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17 Mar 1937 WW2 USS Permit was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Charles O. Humphreys in command. 
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18 Mar 1937 WW2 Benito Mussolini staged an event for propaganda in which he received a ceremonial sword from Arab leaders from Italian Libya, symbolizing him as the proector of Arab peoples. 
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18 Mar 1937 WW2 Spanish Republic forces under Colonel Enrique Jurado Barrio launched a counter-attack against Italian troops near Guadalajara, Spain. Two divisions, assisted by Russian tanks and aircraft, fell on the leading Italian units. The ferocity of the counterattack surprised the Italians and their retreat rapidly became a rout. General José Moscardó Ituarte's Nationalist troops, previously advancing steadily, was forced to fall back as the Italians lost Brihuega. Although the Nationalist attack on Guadalajara had gained some ground when the battle finally ended, it had failed to achieve the decisive result which had been hoped for. Also on this date, the Italian Blackshirt Division 'Dio lo vuole' in Spain was disbanded; later in the year, the remaining two divisions of Blackshirts were also disbanded and reorganized into three Italian-Spanish brigades. 
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19 Mar 1937 WW2 The second prototype of the Mitsubishi Ki-15 aircraft took flight. 
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19 Mar 1937 RELIGIOUS Pius XI declared in the encyclical "Divini redemptoris": 'There would be neither Socialism nor Communism today if the rulers of the nations had not scorned the teachings and material warnings of the Church.'
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21 Mar 1937 WW2 The Papacy's encyclical (Mit Brenneder Sorge) was commanded to be read out in all Catholic churches. Much of it expressed concern over breaches in the Concorat agreement on education and religious freedoms in Germany. The letter also called for a cessation of anti-Christian propaganda and rejected the Nazi position regarding Political mastery over the Catholic Church. 
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30 Mar 1937 WW2 Kichisaburo Nomura stepped down as a Naval Councilor on the Supreme War Council. 
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31 Mar 1937 WW2 Bombers of the German Condor Legion in Spain, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Freiherr von Richthofen, bombed the mountain strongholds of the Republicans, not easily reached by artillery, and battered the key village of Ochandiano before it was quickly taken by the Army of Navarre. In the same region, the Spanish Nationalist forces, commanded by General Emilio Mola y Vidal, began an offensive against Basque forces in Vizcaya with the intention of capturing the Basque stronghold of Bilbao. 
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31 Mar 1937 WW2 Georg von Küchler stepped down as the deputy president of the military court system. 
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01 Apr 1937 WW2 Hugo Sperrle was promoted to the rank of Generalleutnant. 
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01 Apr 1937 WW2 Air Vice Marshal John H. S. Tyssen became the commanding officer of the No. 12 Group RAF. 
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01 Apr 1937 WW2 Akagi was taken out of service and entered drydock for extensive modernization at Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan. Records showed the date of this event simply as "Apr 1937"; the exact date was not noted. 
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01 Apr 1937 WW2 Prince Naruhiko of Higashikuni, an aviation enthusiast, christened the Ki-15 aircraft that was about to make a record flight from Japan to Europe "Kamikaze". 
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05 Apr 1937 WW2 Submarine S-7 was launched at Gorky, Russia. 
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06 Apr 1937 WW2 Kichisaburo Nomura was named the principal of Gakushuin school. 
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09 Apr 1937 WW2 A Ki-15/Karigane aircraft, named "Kamikaze", landed in London. The flight from Tokyo to London broke the world record, while "Kamikaze" became the first Japanese aircraft to fly over Europe. 
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12 Apr 1937 WW2 British RAF engineer Frank Whittle successfully bench-tested his first turbojet engine which he had tried to get built since 1930. 
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15 Apr 1937 WW2 Viktor Abakumov was assigned to the 4th Department of the GUGB of the Soviet NKVD. 
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19 Apr 1937 WW2 In Spain, the Falange and Carlist Movement were united and became the FET (Falange Espanola Tradicionalista y de las Junta de Ofensive Nacional-Sindicalista). 
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20 Apr 1937 WW2 In Spain, two Anarchist battalions, who were dissatisfied with their movement's representation in the Republican Government, went on strike and pulled out, leaving a 15-mile gap in the front line in front of the little town of Marquina directly east of Guernica. Von Richthofen, commanding the German Condor Legion, quickly realised that if the gap was exploited, the Republican Forces in the area would be forced to withdraw and could be trapped if the single bridge at Guernica was destroyed by bombing. 
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20 Apr 1937 WW2 Georg von Küchler was promoted to the rank of General der Artillerie. 
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23 Apr 1937 WW2 In Spain, the Madrid Defence Junta was dissolved. 
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24 Apr 1937 WW2 Britain and France relieved Belgium of its Locarno Treaties responsibilities. 
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26 Apr 1937 WW2 Operation Rügen: German and Italian bombers attacked the Spanish city of Guernica, killing between 200 and 1,000 civilians. 
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28 Apr 1937 WW2 Basque forces, fighting on the side of the Spanish Republicans, surrendered at Durango and Guernica, Spain. 
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28 Apr 1937 WW2 The British Royal Navy issued the order for the future battleship HMS Howe. 
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29 Apr 1937 WW2 In a speech to local party district leaders Adolf Hitler explained that only one political party was needed in a society united with one will. 
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30 Apr 1937 WW2 Douglas MacArthur married Jean Faircloth in a civil ceremony. 
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30 Apr 1937 WW2 The Spanish Nationalist battleship Espana sank after hitting a mine off Cape Penas near Santander during the blockade of Bilbao, Spain. 
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30 Apr 1937 WW2 Seal was commissioned into service. 
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30 Apr 1937 WW2 Claire Chennault retired from the US Army Air Corps under the guise of poor health; in actuality, he had grown too frustrated with the USAAC leadership who did not share his vision for the future of air warfare. 
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01 May 1937 WW2 Remy Van Lierde began his training as a pilot. 
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01 May 1937 WW2 Dunkerque was commissioned into service. 
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01 May 1937 WW2 Adolf Hitler declared that all German children were to be raised as loyal Nazi Germans. 
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01 May 1937 WW2 Destroyer Kashi was transferred to the Manchukuo Navy and was renamed Haiwei and would serve as Manchukuo's flag ship. 
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02 May 1937 WW2 Prince Nagahisa's son Prince Michihisa was born. 
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03 May 1937 WW2 Zhang Jinghui, temporarily shedding his government title and acting only as a civilian, oversaw the funeral service and the re-internment of his sworn brother Zhang Zuolin, assassinated by the Japanese in 1928, in northeastern China. 
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03 May 1937 WW2 HMS Hermes arrived at Plymouth, England, United Kingdom. 
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06 May 1937 WW2 Lieutenant Colonel W. T. H. Galliford commanded a unit of US Marines for rescue and riot control duties at Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States after the crash of German airship Hindenburg. He would remain in this role until 8 May. 
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06 May 1937 WW2 The German airship LZ129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed with heavy loss of life whilst attempting to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States. 
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07 May 1937 WW2 The German Condor Legion Fighter Group, equipped with He 51 biplanes, arrived in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War. 
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08 May 1937 WW2 Stalin authorized the reintroduction of political officers in all military units above the size of a division. 
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08 May 1937 WW2 Street fighting broke out in Barcelona, Spain with the CNT (Confederacion Nacional de Trabaja ) and POUM battling with the Communists, who are supported by the Generalitat. The fighting would last until 8 May. 
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11 May 1937 WW2 Grom was commissioned into service. 
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12 May 1937 WW2 The coronation of King George VI took place at Westminster Abbey, London, England, United Kingdom. 
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14 May 1937 WW2 A purge began in the Soviet military. 
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15 May 1937 WW2 Largo Caballero resigned as Spanish Prime Minister. 
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17 May 1937 WW2 Dr. Juan Negrin became the new Spanish Prime Minister. His government would be dominated by Communists. 
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20 May 1937 WW2 Roger Backhouse was made Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. 
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20 May 1937 WW2 The Fairey Battle light bomber entered service with No. 63 Squadron at RAF Upwood near Upwood, England, United Kingdom. 
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20 May 1937 WW2 HMS Hermes participated at the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. 
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20 May 1937 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed San Francisco, California, United States for Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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20 May 1937 RELIGIOUS Following a lifelong call to establish a worldwide evangelistic ministry to children, missions pioneer Jesse Overholtzer, 59, founded Child Evangelism Fellowship, in Chicago.
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21 May 1937 WW2 As reprisal for the failed assassination of Italian Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani earlier this year, Italian troops massacred the entire community of Debre Libanos in Abyssinia, killing 320. 
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24 May 1937 WW2 The Soviet Central Committee decided to place the arrested Marshal Mikhail Nikolaievich Tukhachevsky (the former First Deputy Commissar of Defence) and seven other Military Commanders on trial, accused of plotting an army conspiracy to overthrow Stalin. 
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24 May 1937 WW2 Garland entered drydocks at Sheerness, England, United Kingdom for a scheduled overhaul. 
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25 May 1937 WW2 British Royal Air Force took ownership over prototype Hurricane fighter K5083 at Martelesham Heath airfield in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. 
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27 May 1937 WW2 The Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco, California, United States was formally opened. Over 200,000 people crossed on foot on the first day but motor traffic was not permitted until the following day. 
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28 May 1937 WW2 Neville Chamberlain became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. 
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28 May 1937 WW2 The forerunner to the modern Volkswagen car company, Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH, was established. 
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28 May 1937 WW2 Neville Chamberlain appointed the unpopular Jewish Liberal Leslie Hore-Belisha as Secretary of State for War. 
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29 May 1937 WW2 The German pocket battleship Deutschland was bombed by Spanish Republican aircraft off the Spanish coast. Thirty-one German sailors were killed and 101 were injured. 
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29 May 1937 WW2 Hurricane prototype fighter K5083 was revealed to the public during the Empire Air Day exhibitions at Felixstowe and Martlesham in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. 
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30 May 1937 WW2 1,500 Uyghurs led by Kichik Akhund captured the Old City district of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China. 
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31 May 1937 WW2 The Spanish Republicans began an offensive to capture Segovia, Spain. Three Republican Divisions, under the command of General Domingo Moriones, broke through the Spanish Nationalist front-line at San Ildefonso and captured La Granja. Nationalist troops, led by General José Varela, were detached from the Madrid front and used to mount a counter-attack which stopped any further Republican advance. 
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01 Jun 1937 WW2 Lieutenant Commander Isamu Fujita was named the commanding officer of destroyer Yuzuki. 
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01 Jun 1937 WW2 The keel of HMS Howe was laid down by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan, Scotland, United Kingdom. 
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02 Jun 1937 WW2 A S-43 aircraft operated by Linea Aerea Nacional de Chile disappeared over the Sea of Chile; all 9 aboard were never seen again. 
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02 Jun 1937 WW2 Nationalist Chinese 36th Division captured Kashgar, Xinjiang, China without opposition. 
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03 Jun 1937 WW2 Spanish Nationalist General Emilio Mola y Vidal was killed in an air crash and was replaced by General Fidel Dávila Arrondo. 
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04 Jun 1937 WW2 Prince Fumimaro Konoe became the 34th Prime Minister of Japan. 
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07 Jun 1937 WW2 USS Pollack departed Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, United States, starting her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea. 
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08 Jun 1937 WW2 The Tribal-class destroyer HMS Afridi was launched by Lady Foster at Vickers-Armstrong’s High Walker Yard on the Tyne in England, United Kingdom. 
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08 Jun 1937 WW2 Major General Ben H. Fuller, who had been the 15th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, passed away in Washington DC, United States. 
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11 Jun 1937 WW2 Basque forces withdrew behind the "Ring of Iron" defences around Bilbao, Spain as Nationalist forces pressed on with their attacks, but these proved to be less than effective when subjected to heavy artillery bombardment. Under cover of the bombardment, the Nationalists were able to breach the outer defences and the "Ring of Iron" collapsed. 
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11 Jun 1937 WW2 Do 18F "Zyklon" flying boat took its maiden flight. 
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11 Jun 1937 WW2 Spitfire fighter designer Reginald J. Mitchell died of cancer, aged 42. 
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11 Jun 1937 WW2 Soviet Marshal Mikhail Nikolaievich Tukhachevsky and seven other Soviet military leaders were shot after "confessing", under NKVD torture, to a plot to overthrow Joseph Stalin. 
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12 Jun 1937 WW2 Secret order by Reinhard Heydrich of the German SS organization: Jewish convicted criminals were to be placed into protective custody after completion of their sentence from the justice department. 
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13 Jun 1937 WW2 During the night, most of the civilian inhabitants of Bilbao, Spain were evacuated by the Basque forces. 
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14 Jun 1937 WW2 USS S-31 departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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16 Jun 1937 WW2 In Spain the POUM (Parttido Obrero de Unification Marxists) was outlawed and its leaders were arrested. 
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17 Jun 1937 WW2 The Spanish Republican battleship Jaime I blew up and sank at Cartagena, Spain. 
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17 Jun 1937 WW2 Red Army planner Valentin Trifonov wrote to Joseph Stalin, noting that Germany was the likely military enemy of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union should counter this by focusing on a defensive strategy rather than an offensive one (as the defensive strategy would be more cost-effective). 
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18 Jun 1937 WW2 General Mariano Gamir Ulibarri and his troops abandoned Bilbao, Spain. 
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19 Jun 1937 WW2 Spanish Nationalist forces entered Bilbao, Spain. 
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21 Jun 1937 WW2 Andres Nin, the leader of the Marxist POUM in Spain, was murdered by Soviet agents. 
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21 Jun 1937 WW2 Wolfgang Falck's son Klaus was born. 
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21 Jun 1937 WW2 Soviet official Valentin Trifonov, a former VCheKa member, was arrested and would be interrogated by members of the GUGB of the Soviet NKVD, including future Soviet counterintelligence chief Viktor Abakumov. 
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24 Jun 1937 WW2 Gridley was commissioned into service. 
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26 Jun 1937 WW2 Moscow City Party Committee secretary Semyon Korytny was arrested for having family ties to Joseph Stalin's perceived political enemy Iona Yakir. 
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27 Jun 1937 WW2 Pastor Martin Niemöller delivered an outspoken sermon in Berlin, Germany in which he made it clear that a Christian's obligation was to "obey God rather than man". Arrested for anti-state activity he was sentenced to seven months in prison in Mar 1938, after which Hitler had him committed to a Concentration Camp, from which he emerged alive in 1945. 
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30 Jun 1937 WW2 The active duty strength of the United States Marine Corps was reported to be 1,312 officers and 16,911 enlisted men for a total of 18,223. 
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01 Jul 1937 WW2 In compliance with an order of the Navy Department, all United States Marine Corps Reserve tactical squadrons were designated as scouting squadrons. 
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02 Jul 1937 WW2 Sunfish (S-class) was commissioned into service. 
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02 Jul 1937 WW2 The British Air Ministry reported Japanese activity on Spratly and Itu Aba in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. 
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05 Jul 1937 WW2 Garland exited drydocks at Sheerness, England, United Kingdom. 
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06 Jul 1937 WW2 After the failure of the Spanish Nationalist attack upon Guadalajara the Spanish Republican troops around Madrid went on to the offensive. General José Miaja ordered two Republican Corps (led by Generals Juan Modesto and Enrique Jurado) to advance southwards from the El Escorial-Madrid road towards Brunette. Their aim was to cut off those Nationalist forces besieging Madrid from the west. At the start of the 20-day battle that ensued, the initial thrust captured Brunette and drove a 5 mile salient into the Nationalist front-line. The Nationalist armies, under the command of General José Varela, then rallied and mounted a counter-attack which forced the republicans almost all the way back to their start line. 
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06 Jul 1937 WW2 Japanese troops conducted a night-time exercise near the border of China and the Japanese-sponsored puppet nation of Manchukuo in northeastern China. The Japanese authorities failed to give the Chinese notice, thus the Chinese guards regarded the Japanese troops as invaders and fired a number of rifle shots at them. At 2300 hours, the Japanese troops fired back, but would very soon pull back. Japanese Major Kiyonao Ichiki reported one of his men was missing after the brief fire fight, suspecting that he was captured by the Chinese. Before midnight, demands for the return of the missing soldiers were being sent to Chinese military headquarters. 
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07 Jul 1937 WW2 The USAAC placed an order for 210 Curtiss P-36A fighters, which was the largest US peacetime contract ever awarded for fighter aircraft up to that date. 
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07 Jul 1937 WW2 Even though the missing Japanese soldier suspected to have been captured by the Chinese near Beiping turned up, none of the Japanese officers at the regimental level were informed. 
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07 Jul 1937 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at San Francisco, California, United States. 
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08 Jul 1937 WW2 At 0330 hours, four Japanese mountain gun crews and a machine gun company were ordered to prepare for an invasion of China. At 0500 hours (still 7 Jul 1937 for the western world on the other side of the International Date Line), the Japanese opened fire, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe held a cabinet meeting in an attempt to find a solution to de-escalate the situation, but the Japanese Army was working in the opposite direction, planning to move the Japanese Chosen Army and Kwantung Army units to the contested region. 
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08 Jul 1937 WW2 The Chinese Communist Party urged its members over a radio announcement to cooperate with the Nationalist Party in the war against Japan. 
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11 Jul 1937 WW2 Units of the Japanese Chosen Army and Kwantung Army, previously ordered to march into China on the first day of the Second Sino-Japanese War, was recalled due to political reasons. 
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11 Jul 1937 WW2 Masafumi Arima was assigned to Cruiser Division 10. 
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15 Jul 1937 WW2 Alfredo Oriani was commissioned into service. 
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15 Jul 1937 WW2 The Chinese Communist Party issued the declaration of cooperation with the Nationalist Party in the war against Japan. 
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15 Jul 1937 WW2 In Germany, the construction of Buchenwald Concentration Camp began by the inmates of the Lichtenburg Concentration Camp. 
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16 Jul 1937 WW2 Light carrier Hosho arrived off Shanghai, China and began launching aircraft to support the invasion. 
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17 Jul 1937 WW2 The Soviet Union and the United Kingdom signed a naval agreement in which the USSR was allowed a Baltic Fleet equal in size to the German presence in the same region. This would lead to the independence of the Soviet Navy by Nov 1937; presently, the Soviet Navy was subservient to the Red Army. 
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18 Jul 1937 WW2 Hitler opened the Exhibition of German Art but was outraged at some of the paintings, submitted for his approval, which he declared to be too modernist for display. 
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18 Jul 1937 WW2 30 Soviet-built I-15 fighters were delivered to the Chinese Air Force at Lanzhou, Gansu, China. 
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19 Jul 1937 WW2 In Munich, Germany, the "Exhibition of Degenerate Art" opened, containing some 650 exhibits confiscated from museums, galleries and public buildings by a committee set up by Goebbels. The Exhibition, opened by Adolf Ziegler, was an instant success with over two million visitors in the first four months; after which it went on tour around Germany. 
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25 Jul 1937 WW2 Japanese 20th Division clashed with Chinese troops at the city of Langfang, China, major rail junction between Beiping and Tianjin. This was the first major battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. 
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25 Jul 1937 WW2 Light carrier Hosho's aircraft shot down a Chinese B-10 bobmer near Shanghai, China. 
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25 Jul 1937 WW2 Destroyer Squadron 29 of US Asiatic Fleet departed Yantai, Shandong Province, China and made rendezvous with USS Augusta at sea. 
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26 Jul 1937 WW2 A Japanese brigade, supported by aircraft, attacked the Guanghua Gate of the Beiping, China city wall. 
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26 Jul 1937 WW2 Japanese women and children began evacuating from Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. 
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27 Jul 1937 WW2 Japanese troops besieged the city of Tongzhou (Tungchow), China. 
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28 Jul 1937 WW2 The IRA attempted a bombing assassination against King George VI in Belfast. 
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28 Jul 1937 WW2 Troops of the Japanese 20th Division and three independent combined brigades, with air support, launched an offensive against Beiping, China. Discouraged, Chinese General Song Zheyuan, head of the Hebei-Chahar Political Council and the commanding officer of the 29th Route Army, announced defeat and withdrew from the city of Tianjin. 
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28 Jul 1937 WW2 Zhao Dengyu was killed in battle at Nanyuan near Beiping, China. 
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28 Jul 1937 WW2 USS Augusta and Destroyer Squadron 29 of US Asiatic Fleet arrived at Vladivostok, Russia. 
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29 Jul 1937 WW2 Troops of the Japanese Army 5th Division and Japanese naval troops separately attacked the Chinese city of Tianjin. In Tongzhou near Beiping, 5,000 Japanese-trained East Hebei Army soldiers mutinied against the Japanese. The rebellion soon became out of control. Japanese civilians were rounded up and massacred, and there were many incidences of rape committed against Japanese women. Much of the city was burned down by the time East Hebei Army officers regained control of their men. The militant factions in the Japanese government would use this incident as one of the justifications for starting the Second Sino-Japanese War. 
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30 Jul 1937 WW2 Do 18 flying boat "Aeolus" was damaged during an ocean landing and was lost. 
0
30 Jul 1937 WW2 Defending troops in Tianjin, China were ordered to withdraw from the city. 
0
31 Jul 1937 WW2 Zhao Dengyu was posthumously promoted to the rank of general second class. 
0
01 Aug 1937 WW2 Wilhelm Keitel was promoted to the rank of General der Artillerie. 
0
01 Aug 1937 WW2 Hideki Tojo led Japanese troops at Battle of Chahar in China. 
0
01 Aug 1937 WW2 Settsu was assigned to the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. 
0
01 Aug 1937 WW2 Destroyer Squadron 29 of US Asiatic Fleet departed Vladivostok, Russia for Yantai, Shandong Province, China while USS Augusta departed the same port for Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. 
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02 Aug 1937 WW2 Naka received a new commanding officer. 
0
02 Aug 1937 WW2 Crown Prince Yi Un was made the commandant of the Japanese Army Preparatory Academy. 
0
02 Aug 1937 WW2 Captain Koso Abe was named the commanding officer of Tenryu. 
0
02 Aug 1937 WW2 Lieutenant General Mikio Tsutsumi was named the commanding officer of the Taiwan Army. 
0
03 Aug 1937 WW2 A S-43 aircraft operated by Pan Am Grace Airways crashed into the sea 20 miles off Cristobal, Panama; all 14 aboard were killed. 
0
04 Aug 1937 WW2 The US Marine Corps League, officially formed in 1923, was finally chartered by US Congress. 
0
04 Aug 1937 WW2 The Chinese 29th Brigade under General Liu Ruzhen withdrew from Beiping, China. 
0
05 Aug 1937 WW2 The Soviet military purge that began in the previous month expanded to most establishments in the Soviet Union. 
0
05 Aug 1937 WW2 Emperor Showa ordered that Chinese prisoners of war would not receive the treatment demanded upon by international law. 
0
06 Aug 1937 WW2 Falangist artillery bombarded Madrid, Spain during the Spanish Civil War. 
0
06 Aug 1937 WW2 He Yingqin was made the commanding officer of the 4th War Area. 
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07 Aug 1937 WW2 Chinese Navy began planning for the blockade of the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangsu Province, China. 
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08 Aug 1937 WW2 Japan declared Chinese cities of Beiping and Tianjin secure. 
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08 Aug 1937 WW2 A S-43 aircraft operated by China National Aviation Corporation was ditched due to rough weather at Chilang Point, Daya Bay, Guangdong Province, China; 3 were killed, 8 survived. 
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09 Aug 1937 WW2 Chinese Peace Preservation Corps troops shot and killed Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces Lieutenant Isao Oyama as he attempted to enter Hongqiao Airport, Shanghai, China without authorization. 
0
09 Aug 1937 WW2 A special national assembly was called at Nanjing, China, with representatives of both Nationalist and Communist Parties present, to discuss the war with Japan. 
0
10 Aug 1937 WW2 In Spain, the Council of Aragon was dissolved by the Republican Government. 
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10 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese Consul General in China demanded the Chinese to withdraw the Peace Preservation Corps from Shanghai due to the death of Lieutenant Isao Oyama at Hongqiao Airport on the previous day. Meanwhile, additional Japanese troops began arriving in Shanghai. 
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11 Aug 1937 WW2 The first flight of the Boulton Paul Defiant aircraft was made at Wolverhampton, England, United Kingdom with Chief Test Pilot Cecil Feather at the controls. This first prototype was flown without the gun turret and with ballast added to compensate for the turret and its gunner. As such it achieved a satisfactory 302 mph, and the flying characteristics were pronounced as excellent. 
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11 Aug 1937 WW2 Chinese trawlers Ganlu, Aori, and Qingtian and gunboats Suining, and Weining destroyed lighthouses, buoys, and other navigation aids at the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangsu Province, China to disrupt an expected naval incursion. On the ground, additional Chinese troops began arriving in Shanghai. 
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11 Aug 1937 WW2 Tongji was scuttled in the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
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11 Aug 1937 WW2 Mutsu departed Sasebo, Japan to patrol the Chinese coast. 
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12 Aug 1937 WW2 Battle of Chahar in China ended with Japanese victory. 
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12 Aug 1937 WW2 USS Augusta delivered 50 Marines and 57 Navy personnel to reinforce the US 4th Marine Regiment stationed at Shanghai, China. 
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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. 
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12 Aug 1937 WW2 Haiqi was scuttled in the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China to block Japanese movement up the river. 
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12 Aug 1937 WW2 The Chinese government gave Chiang Kaishek special powers for the duration of the war. 
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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. 
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13 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese troops and men of Chinese Peace Preservation Corps exchanged small arms fire at the Zhabei, Wusong, and Jiangwan districts of Shanghai, China starting at 0900 hours, thus opening the Second Battle of Shanghai. At 1500 hours, Japanese troops crossed the Bazi Bridge in Zhabei district amidst mortar attacks by troops of Chinese 88th Division. At 1600 hours, warships of Japanese 3rd Fleet bombarded Chinese positions. 
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13 Aug 1937 WW2 USS Augusta departed Qingdao, Shandong Province, China with Admiral Harry Yarnell of US Asiatic Fleet aboard. 
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13 Aug 1937 WW2 Units of the US 4th Marine Regiment were assigned to reinforce the Municipal Police of the international zone in Shanghai, China. 
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14 Aug 1937 WW2 After capturing Bilbao the Spanish Nationalist forces in the north of Spain switched their offensive towards Santander. The Nationalists, who were led by General Fidel Dávila, advanced westward through the Cantabrian Mountains. Spanish Republican resistance was weak, despite the large number of troops General Mariano Gamir Ulibarri had under his command, because of poor training and a shortage of weapons. 
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14 Aug 1937 WW2 Henley was commissioned into service. 
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14 Aug 1937 WW2 18 Type 96 G3M bombers of the Japanese Kanoya Air Group took off from the Matsuyama Airfield in Taihoku (now Songshan Airport in Taipei), Taiwan to bomb Jianqiao Airfield at Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province and Guangde Airfield in Anhui Province in China. Fighters of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, led by Captain Gao Zhihang, rose to intercept from Jianqiao and shot down 3 bombers without any losses. Cheng Xiaoyu's 22nd Squadron, also of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, rose to meet the other group attacking Guangde Airfield, shooting down another. Anti-aircraft crews claimed a further two bombers destroyed. Gao's downing was the first Republic of China Air Force victory of WW2. In 1939, the Chinese Nationalist government would declare 14 Aug as a holiday, Air Force Day, as an instrument to raise morale. 
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14 Aug 1937 WW2 The Manchukuo Film Association Limited was established in the Japanese-sponsored puppet state of Manchukuo; it was a joint-venture between the government of Manchukuo and the South Manchurian Railway Company. 
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14 Aug 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, commanding officer of the 24th Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 5th Pursuit Group flying a Hawk III fighter, claimed the squadron's first victory, an E8N seaplane, near Shanghai, China; Japanese records showed no E8N aircraft lost on that date. 
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15 Aug 1937 WW2 A new political police force, the SIM (Servicio Investigacion Militar), was established in Republican Spain. It was controlled by the Communists and contained many Russian advisers. 
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15 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese Army General Iwane Matsui, en route from Tokyo, Japan for China where he would pick up his newly assigned command over the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, he noted to War Minister Hajime Sugiyama that "here is no solution exception to break the power of Chiang Kaishek by capturing Nanjing. That is what I must do." 
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15 Aug 1937 WW2 In the afternoon, 8 P-26 fighters, 5 Gladiator fighters, and 13 Hawk II and Hawk III fighters of Chinese 8th, 17th, 28th, and 34th Squadrons intercepted a group of 20 Japanese G3M bombers en route to attack Nanjing, China; 4 bombers were destroyed and 6 bombers were damaged. 
0
15 Aug 1937 WW2 The Japanese government announced its intention to eliminate anti-Japanese movements within Chinese borders; the utter disregard for Chinese sovereignty in this announcement made it an unofficial declaration of war to the Chinese. 
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15 Aug 1937 WW2 Rear Admiral Masakichi Okuma and his Japanese Navy Destroyer Squadron 5 were placed in charge of evacuating Japanese residents in Southern China to Taiwan. 
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15 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese bombers conducted a raid on the Chinese capital city of Nanjing; it was the very first time this city was subjected to aerial bombing. 
0
15 Aug 1937 WW2 Chiang Kaishek officially assumed the role of the commander-in-chief of the Chinese military for the duration of the Second Sino-Japanese War and issued orders to reorganize Chinese Communist forces under Nationalist command. 
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15 Aug 1937 WW2 Lieutenant Yue Yiqin of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, flying a Hawk III biplane fighter, shot down four Japanese carrier-based A5M fighters over Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China at dawn. 
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15 Aug 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang engaged in aerial combat over Shanghai, China flying a Hawk III fighter, claiming the downing of a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft. 
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15 Aug 1937 WW2 Iwane Matsui was recalled from the retirement list. 
0
16 Aug 1937 WW2 The American Adviser on Political Relations sent a memo to the US Secretary of State Cordell Hull requesting further reinforcements for the US 4th Marine Regiment in Shanghai, China. 
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16 Aug 1937 WW2 Mugford was commissioned into service. 
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16 Aug 1937 WW2 11 Japanese G3M bombers attacked a Chinese airfield near Nanjing, China. Fighters of Chinese 17th and 28th Pursuit Squadrons shot down 3 Japanese bombers; the Chinese lost 3 fighters in the engagement. 
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16 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft attacked Chinese positions at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
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16 Aug 1937 WW2 Yuan Baokang, flying a Hawk III fighter, claimed an E8N floatplane over Shanghai, China as his first victory. However, Japanese records showed no such loss on this date. 
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17 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese light tanks halted a Chinese counter attack at Shanghai, China. Meanwhile, the first group of American evacuees departed from the international zone of Shanghai. 
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17 Aug 1937 WW2 Chinese Hawk III fighters flew 17 sorties against incoming Japanese bombers targeting Chinese airfields in the Shanghai-Nanjing area; 1 Japanese bomber and 2 Chinese fighters were lost. 
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17 Aug 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang engaged in aerial combat over Shanghai, China flying a Hawk III fighter, claiming the downing of a Japanese bomber at 1940 hours. 
0
17 Aug 1937 WW2 The Japanese government officially abandoned its previous decision not to escalate the situation in China. 
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18 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese Army General Masakazu Kawabe entered Beiping, China and proclaimed himself the military governor of the city. 
0
19 Aug 1937 WW2 A rifle company of two officers and 102 enlisted men arrived in Shanghai, China from Cavite, Philippine Islands to reinforce the US 4th Marine Regiment. 
0
20 Aug 1937 WW2 Mutsu embarked 2,000 men of the Japanese Army 11th Division. 
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20 Aug 1937 WW2 China was divided into five war areas for the purpose of organizing defense. 
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20 Aug 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, shot down a Japanese fighter and an E8N seaplane from seaplane carrier Kamoi after he dropped a 500-pound bomb on a Japanese troop concentration in Shanghai, China. 
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20 Aug 1937 WW2 Nachi departed Nagoya, Japan with the headquarters company and 1st company of 6th Infantry Regiment of Japanese Army 3rd Division aboard. 
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21 Aug 1937 WW2 Patrolling Japanese E8N floatplanes intercepted six Chinese Gamma 2E light bombers over the suburbs of Shanghai, China. The Japanese succeeded in forcing the Chinese to abandon the planned attack on the Kunda Texile Factory, but failed to shoot down any aircraft (but the Japanese claimed two victories). Lieutenant Yue Yiqin of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, flying a Hawk III biplane fighter, shot down the Japanese floatplane flown by Petty Officer First Class Shigeru Yano, who survived the downing. Yano attempted to ram a Chinese aircraft as he went down; he failed to make contact as none of the Chinese fighters reported being rammed, but Yano believed he did. 
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21 Aug 1937 WW2 Yuan Baokang, flying a Hawk III fighter, shot down a prototype G3M bomber piloted by Hikosaburo Sato over Hai'an, Jiangsu Province, China. 
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21 Aug 1937 WW2 Nachi transferred the headquarters company and 1st company of 6th Infantry Regiment of Japanese Army 3rd Division to cruiser Jintsu and eight destroyers off Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China. 
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22 Aug 1937 WW2 In the morning, 12 Japanese Type 92 attack aircraft, escorted by 6 Type 95 fighters, attacked Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China, targeting light cruisers Pinghai and Ninghai. Pinghai suffered a hit in the forward half of the Pinghai the starboard side, causing light flooding and injuring commanding officer Captain Gao Xianshen in the waist; Ninghai also suffered one hit. At noon, another wave of Japanese bombers arrived from the west and dropped bombs from altitude, causing minor damage to Pinghai. In the afternoon, 7 carrier aircraft from Kaga attacked the Chinese fleet. At 1630 hours, 9 Japanese aircraft attacked Ninghai, causing no damage. At 1730 hours, 6 Type 92 attack aircraft and 3 Type 95 fighters of the Japanese 12th Air Fleet attacked Pinghai, causing further damage with four bomb hits and near misses. On this day, Pinghai suffered 5 killed, 23 wounded; she also claimed 5 aircraft shot down. Chiense training cruiser Yingrui was also damaged by Japanese aircraft on this day. 
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22 Aug 1937 WW2 The main force of the Chinese Communist Party was organized under the Chinese Army as the 8th Route Army. 
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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. 
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23 Aug 1937 WW2 Mutsu arrived at Shanghai, China and disembarked 2,000 troops of the Japanese Army 11th Division. 
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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. 
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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. 
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23 Aug 1937 WW2 Yuan Baokang, flying a Hawk III fighter, damaged an A4N biplane fighter from carrier Ryujo over Liuhe near Shanghai, China. 
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24 Aug 1937 WW2 Spanish General Sebastián Pozas’ Republican Army of the East commenced an offensive into Aragon from Catalonia with the object of capturing Saragossa. The Spanish Nationalist forces of General Miguel Ponte were pushed back in the north and south of the River Ebro over the course of the next month, but the Republicans were unable to dislodge them from the area around Saragossa, nor to capture Huesca (in the north) or Tereul (in the south). By the end of Sep 1937 the offensive had ceased to have any impetus and effectively grounded to a halt. 
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24 Aug 1937 WW2 Mutsu provided naval gunfire support off Shanghai, China. 
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24 Aug 1937 WW2 Three Chinese transports and eight captured Japanese transports were sunk at the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China, adding more obstacles to prevent Japanese navigation. 
0
25 Aug 1937 WW2 The Spanish Nationalists captured Santander, Spain almost unopposed. 
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25 Aug 1937 WW2 Chinese light cruisers Haiqi, Hairong, Haichen, and Haichou were sunk at the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China, adding more obstacles to prevent Japanese navigation. Later in the day, 16 Japanese carrier aircraft from Kaga attacked and sank Chinese light cruiser Yixian; two Japanese aircraft were lost in the attack. 
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25 Aug 1937 WW2 Hairong was scuttled in the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China to block Japanese movement up river. 
0
25 Aug 1937 WW2 Haichou was scuttled in the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China to block Japanese movement up river. 
0
25 Aug 1937 WW2 Haichen was scuttled in the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China to block Japanese movement up river. 
0
26 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft sank Chinese vessel Jiaori. 
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26 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft attacked a vehicle carrying the ambassador of United Kingdom during an air raid on Shanghai, China. 
0
26 Aug 1937 WW2 A second rifle company of two officers and 102 enlisted men arrived in Shanghai, China from Cavite, Philippine Islands to reinforce the US 4th Marine Regiment; the first company of identical strength had arrived 7 days prior. 
0
27 Aug 1937 WW2 USS S-31 arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. 
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28 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft damaged Chinese gunboat Chuyou at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
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28 Aug 1937 WW2 The US 2nd Marine Brigade headquarters and the US 6th Marine Regiment departed San Diego, California, United States for Shanghai, China. 
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29 Aug 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft damaged Chinese gunboat Chuyou at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
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29 Aug 1937 WW2 Settsu, which had ferried a battalion of Sasebo 4th Special Naval Landing Force from Japan, disembarked the troops onto light cruiser Natori and destroyer Yakaze off Shanghai, China. 
0
31 Aug 1937 WW2 Italian submarine Iride attacked British destroyer HMS Havock off Spain, and HMS Havock responded with depth charges; neither incurred any damage. 
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31 Aug 1937 WW2 The Japanese Navy Kanoya Air Group, based in Taiwan, launched 9 Type 96 G3M2 bombers to attack Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. 8 Hawk III fighters of Chinese 29th Independent Pursuit Squadron were scrambled to intercept; one G3M bomber was shot down, two Hawk III fighters were damaged. 
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31 Aug 1937 WW2 The last Japanese merchant ship departed Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, escorted by submarine tender Jingei. 
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01 Sep 1937 WW2 With the capture of Bilbao and Santander the only remaining Spanish Republican stronghold in the north of Spain was Gijón and its surrounding area. The Spanish Nationalists, led by Generals Antonio Aranda and José Solchaga, launched an offensive through the mountains of Leon and along the coast from the east to capture Gijón. General Aranda's forces, however, were unable to break through the mountain passes, which were strongly held by Asturian troops, until a Navarrese force, under General Solchaga's command, captured the village of Infiesto a month later, thus outflanked the mountain defences and forced the Asturians into a retreat. 
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01 Sep 1937 WW2 In China, under the command of Itagaki Seishiro, Japanese 5th Division and 11th Mixed Brigade marched from Beiping toward Chahar and Shanxi Provinces. 
0
01 Sep 1937 WW2 Light carrier Hosho departed Shanghai, China. 
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01 Sep 1937 WW2 Xinjiang provincial forces under Ma Shengkuei captured Kashgar, Xinjiang, China without opposition. 
0
01 Sep 1937 WW2 Capitaine de vaisseau Auphan was named the commanding officer of Jeanne d'Arc. 
0
01 Sep 1937 WW2 No. 5 Group, RAF Bomber Command was established under the command of Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Travis with its headquarters at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. 
0
02 Sep 1937 WW2 Craven was commissioned into service. 
0
02 Sep 1937 WW2 The F4F Wildcat fighter took its first flight. 
0
02 Sep 1937 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at San Francisco, California, United States; many of her passengers were refugees from Shanghai, China. 
0
03 Sep 1937 WW2 The first British-built Bren gun fired in testing. 
0
04 Sep 1937 WW2 USS Pollack arrived at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, United States, ending her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea. 
0
04 Sep 1937 WW2 Japanese diplomatic personnel previously stationed in Nanjing, China arrived in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China by train for evacuation to Japan. 
0
04 Sep 1937 WW2 Hiroshi Nemoto was attached to the headquarters of the Japanese North China Area Army. 
0
05 Sep 1937 WW2 Spanish Nationalist troops captured the city of Llanes, Spain. 
0
05 Sep 1937 WW2 Yubari and Destroyer Squadron 5 was ordered to blockade the coast of Guangdong, China. 
0
05 Sep 1937 WW2 Deng Xihou gave a patriotic speech in Chengdu, Sichuan, China before leading troops to eastern China to engage the Japanese. 
0
05 Sep 1937 WW2 Ryujo departed Sasebo, Japan. 
0
05 Sep 1937 WW2 Hosho departed Sasebo, Japan. 
0
06 Sep 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, attacked Japanese warships off Shanghai, China with 500-pound bombs. 
0
07 Sep 1937 WW2 Nationalist Chinese 36th Division commanding officer Ma Hushan deserted his troops in Xinjiang, China and fled to India. 
0
08 Sep 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, claimed to have destroyed two Japanese tanks in Shanghai, China with bombs and claimed a Japanese fighter shot down. 
0
08 Sep 1937 WW2 Tenryu entered Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan to receive additional Type 92 7.7-millimeter machine guns. 
0
09 Sep 1937 WW2 Xinjiang provincial troops captured Yarkand, Xinjiang, China with Soviet air support. 
0
09 Sep 1937 WW2 The 9,100-ton light cruiser, HMS Glasgow, built at Scotts (Greenock, Scotland, United Kingdom), was commissioned with Captain Francis N. Attwood in command. 
0
10 Sep 1937 WW2 Yuan Baokang claimed a Japanese aircraft over Nanjing, China. 
0
10 Sep 1937 WW2 Tenryu completed her upgrade at Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan. 
0
11 Sep 1937 WW2 Following the advice of German advisor to China Falkenhausen, Chinese troops dug in at Luodian near Shanghai to defend against a Japanese offensive. The 300,000 Chinese infantry troops would hold on to Luodian for four days against attacks by 100,000 Japanese troops with overwhelming firepower. 
0
12 Sep 1937 WW2 China requested League of Nations intervention with Japanese invasion. 
0
13 Sep 1937 WW2 Japanese troops captured Datong, Shanxi, China and its large supply of coal. Chinese troops fell back to Yanmenguan, Niangziguan, and Pingxingguan gates of the Great Wall. 
0
14 Sep 1937 WW2 Japanese cruiser Yubari and two destroyers engaged with Chinese cruiser Zhaohe and sloop Haizhou off the Pearl River Delta off Guangdong, China. Zhaohe and Haizhou were both damaged, and the captain of Zhaohe would later be shot for ordering a retreat from this engagement. 
0
15 Sep 1937 WW2 Japanese troops took the town of Luodian near Shanghai after four days of attacks. 
0
19 Sep 1937 WW2 The 2nd Marine Brigade headquarters and the US 6th Marine Regiment arrived in Shanghai, China. The US Marine Corps presence in Shanghai was now 2,536-strong. 
0
20 Sep 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, damaged a Japanese D1A1 dive bomber and shot down an E8N seaplane near Nanjing, China. Both Liu and his wingman Lieutenant Yuan Baokang each claimed an E8N shot down, but Japanese records showed only one lost. 
0
21 Sep 1937 WW2 Prince Naruhiko ordered the Japanese Army Air Service to begin a renewed air offensive against the Chinese capital of Nanjing. 
0
21 Sep 1937 WW2 Light carrier Hosho arrived off Guangzhou, Guangdong, China and launched aircraft to attack Tienho and Paiyun airfields, claiming 6 kills. 5 of the fighters launched ran out of fuel and were lost in the sea; all crew members were rescued. 
0
21 Sep 1937 WW2 Ryujo attacked Guangzhou, Guangdong, China with 9 aircraft in the afternoon; they claimed to have shot down five of the defending Chinese Hawk III fighters. 
0
21 Sep 1937 WW2 Lieutenant Yue Yiqin of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, flying Hawk III biplane fighter designated IV-1, with other Hawk III and P-26 fighters, intercepted a group of Japanese bombers en route toward Nanjing, China. While the P-26 fighters occupied the escorting A5M fighters, Yue got through to the bombers over Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China and heavily damaged a D1A1 biplane dive bomber from carrier Kaga. The Japanese dive bomber, which was able to land at Kunda Arifled at Shanghai, China, was crewed by pilot Lieutenant Yoshiyuki Kame and gunner Petty Officer First Class Kuroki; Kuroki was killed by Yue's attack. 
0
21 Sep 1937 WW2 Yuan Baokang claimed a Japanese bomber over Nanjing, China; his fighter's fuel tank was punctured during the engagement but he was able to return to base safely. 
0
22 Sep 1937 WW2 The Chinese Nationalist Party issued a declaration of cooperation with the Communist Party in the war against Japan. 
0
22 Sep 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, shot down a Japanese D1A2 dive bomber near Nanjing, China. His wingman Lieutenant Yuan Baokang also claimed a D1A2 shot down, but Japanese records showed only one lost (from 13th Kokutai). 
0
23 Sep 1937 WW2 Chiang Kaishek officially announced a united front between Nationalist Party and Communist Party forces against Japan. 
0
25 Sep 1937 WW2 Battle of Pingxingguan: Communist Chinese forces successfully ambushed Japanese forces at this gate of the Great Wall of China. 
0
25 Sep 1937 WW2 Japanese bombers flew 95 sorties over Nanjing, China between 0930 and 1630 hours, dropping 500 bombs which caused more than 600 mostly civilian casualties. The National Central Hospital, which had a large red cross painted on the roof, was also damaged by bombs. 
0
27 Sep 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, led a flight of six others to drop 110-pound bombs on Japanese tank concentrations reported near Luodian, Shanghai, China. Failing to find the tanks but seeing Japanese fighters, Liu ordered all bombs jettisoned in order to engage the fighters. Liu would claim one Japanese fighter shot down. 
0
28 Sep 1937 WW2 Zhaohe was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Guangdong Province, China. 
0
29 Sep 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft sank Chinese gunboat Chuyou. 
0
30 Sep 1937 WW2 Yorktown (Yorktown-class) was commissioned into service. 
0
30 Sep 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft bombarded Chinese coastal battery positions overlooking the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province, China. 
0
01 Oct 1937 WW2 Kapitän zur See Theodor Burchardi took command of cruiser Köln. 
0
01 Oct 1937 WW2 Erwin Rommel was promoted to the rank of Oberst. 
0
01 Oct 1937 WW2 Largo Caballero was removed from the leadership of the UGT (Union General de Trabajadores, or "Socialist Trades Union") in Spain. 
0
01 Oct 1937 WW2 Maximilian von Weichs was made the commanding officer of German 13th Corps. 
0
02 Oct 1937 WW2 Japanese 2nd Brigade of the Chahar Expeditionary Force attacked Gouxian, Shanxi, China, defended by Chinese 19th Army. 
0
02 Oct 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft sank Chinese gunboat Chuyou at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
0
02 Oct 1937 WW2 The PZInz 130 prototype amphibious tank was delivered to the Polish Army. 
0
03 Oct 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft sank Chinese torpedo boat Hue. 
0
03 Oct 1937 WW2 Light carrier Hosho arrived off Shanghai, China. 
0
03 Oct 1937 WW2 Japanese aircraft sank Chinese torpedo boat Hupeng at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
0
03 Oct 1937 WW2 Ryujo arrived at Shanghai, China. 
0
04 Oct 1937 WW2 After a 10-day rest period, the US 4th Marine Regiment returned to police duties in the international zone in Shanghai, China. 
0
04 Oct 1937 WW2 Jiang Dingwen was named the commanding officer of the Chinese 4th Army. 
0
04 Oct 1937 WW2 Hitler issued a comprehensive law for "the reconstruction of German cities", with priority being given to the rebuilding of Berlin. 
0
04 Oct 1937 WW2 Kaga departed Sasebo, Japan. 
0
05 Oct 1937 WW2 Korvettenkapitän Johannes Franz was named the commanding officer of U-27, replacing Korvettenkapitän Hans Ibbeken. 
0
05 Oct 1937 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt called for a "quarantine" of aggressor nations in a speech at Chicago, Illinois, United States. 
0
06 Oct 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, engaged in dogfights with Japanese A5M fighters, heavily damaging one A5M fighter (although he claimed it as a victory). Liu's fighter was then damaged by another A5M fighter; he was able to escape. 
0
07 Oct 1937 WW2 Kaga arrived off Guangdong Province, China. 
0
10 Oct 1937 WW2 Marseillaise was commissioned into service. 
0
12 Oct 1937 WW2 Japanese troops captured Gouxian, Shanxi, China. 
0
12 Oct 1937 WW2 Gao Zhihang, flying a stripped down Hawk III fighter, he shot down a Japanese E8N floatplane in the morning and an A5M fighter over Nanjing, China. Three other A5M fighters counterattacked him, but Gao was able to evade, with his returning fire fatally wounding the pilot of one of the three A5M fighters. The pilot would be able to land his aircraft before dying. Gao was denied the score of the third victory of the day as the captured A5M was secretly sent to the Soviet Union for study in a deal struck between Nanjing and Moscow. 
0
12 Oct 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, flying a modified Hawk III fighter, shared the downing of two E8N seaplanes from seaplane carrier Kamoi over Nanjing, China in the morning. In the afternoon, he engaged in a fierce dogfight with a Japanese A5M fighter, ultimately downing it over a busy city district, which bolstered civilian morale. 
0
12 Oct 1937 WW2 Yuan Baokang, flying a stripped-down Hawk III fighter, scored a victory on Lieutenant Nambu's E8N floatplane over Shanghai, China when the two aircraft collided with each other during the dogfight. The Japanese floatplane crashed and exploded, but Yuan was able to crash land near Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
0
12 Oct 1937 WW2 Hurricane prototype fighter K5083 took its final flight; on the same day, the first production Hurricane fighter took its first flight at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, England, United Kingdom. 
0
12 Oct 1937 WW2 Lieutenant-General Sir William Bartholomew was appointed General Officer Commanding, Northern Command with its Headquarters in York, England, United Kingdom. 
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13 Oct 1937 WW2 Germany, in a note to Brussels, guaranteed the inviolability and integrity of Belgium. 
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13 Oct 1937 WW2 50,000 Japanese troops marched for Xinkou, Shanxi, China, supported by 30 aircraft, 40 pieces of artillery, and 50 light tanks and tankettes. 
0
14 Oct 1937 WW2 Ralph Talbot was commissioned into service. 
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15 Oct 1937 WW2 Soviet aircraft bombed Khotan, Xinjiang, China, causing 2,000 Nationalist Chinese military and civilian casualties. 
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16 Oct 1937 WW2 Helm was commissioned into service. 
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16 Oct 1937 WW2 Chinese troops counterattacked the Japanese at Xinkou, Shanxi, China, slowing Japanese momentum. 
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16 Oct 1937 WW2 The first flight of the prototype Short Sunderland flying boat took place. 
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17 Oct 1937 WW2 Light carrier Hosho transferred all of her aircraft to carrier Ryujo and departed Chinese waters. 
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17 Oct 1937 WW2 The Guanxi Army arrived in Shanghai, China to reinforce the Chinese forces. 
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19 Oct 1937 WW2 769th Regiment of Chinese 120th Division attacked the Yangmingbao airfield in Shanxi, China, destroying 24 aircraft on the ground. 
0
19 Oct 1937 WW2 Elizabeth "Betty" Carver-Montgomery, wife of the future Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery and sister of Major-General Sir Percy Hobart, passed away. 
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20 Oct 1937 WW2 The Spanish Republican submarine C6 was scuttled at Gijón, Spain after suffering damage during a Spanish Nationalist air attack. 
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20 Oct 1937 WW2 Masafumi Arima was transferred from Cruiser Division 10 to Cruiser Division 14. 
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21 Oct 1937 WW2 Spanish Republican-held stronghold of Gijón surrendered, allowing the whole northern coast of Spain to pass into Nationalist control. In Gijón harbor, the Spanish Republican destroyer Ciscar was sunk Nationalist aircraft. 
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22 Oct 1937 WW2 Deng Xihou arrived in Xi'an, China. 
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23 Oct 1937 WW2 Yingrui was sunk by Japanese carrier aircraft from Kaga off Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China; 15 were killed, 40 were wounded. 
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23 Oct 1937 WW2 Submarine Skipjack was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Miss Frances Cuthbert Van Keuren. 
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24 Oct 1937 WW2 Kaga departed waters south of Guangdong Province, China. 
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25 Oct 1937 WW2 President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk of Turkey, looking for more liberal economic policies, appointed Cemal Bayar as Prime Minister. 
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26 Oct 1937 WW2 Japanese commando battalions broke through Chinese lines and pushed the defenders back along the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway in Shanxi, China. 
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26 Oct 1937 WW2 At 2200 hours, the Chinese 524th Regiment withdrew from Shanghai North Railway Station into the six-story Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, China. 
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26 Oct 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, led three others from Piaosui Airfield in Jiangsu Province, China to reinforce Communist guerrilla forces near Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China, taking off at 0700 hours. In the evening, they briefly stopped at Luoyang, Henan Province, China to refuel, taking off again at 2000 hours. As the sun began to set and in poor weather, he led the flight past Taiyuan into Japanese lines by mistake and was subjected by anti-aircraft fire. Failing to locate their destination airfield near Taiyuan, they turned back for Luoyang, but one of the fighters ran out of fuel. Liu swooped down to drop a flare for his comrade, who was descending via a parachute. Misjudging his altitude, Liu crashed into a pagoda southeast of Gaoping, Shanxi Province, killing him. 
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27 Oct 1937 WW2 Republican forces in Spain set fire to their fuel reserves in Gijon, Spain to avoid Nationalist capture. 
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27 Oct 1937 WW2 Vincenzo Gioberti was commissioned into service. 
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27 Oct 1937 WW2 After taking Shanghai North Railway Station in the morning, Japanese troops moved on to launched a small scale attack the Sihang Warehouse on the north bank of the Suzhou River in Shanghai to test Chinese defenses. The Japanese avoided using mortars and other weapons of greater firepower, including aerial bombardment, to avoid hitting the international zone just across the river. 
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27 Oct 1937 WW2 The keel of US battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) was laid down at New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States. 
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28 Oct 1937 WW2 Japanese troops attacked the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, China with light field guns. In the evening, trucks loaded with donated supplies from Shanghai residents reached the warehouse; Japanese snipers killed three Chinese soldiers while they were unloading the trucks. 
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29 Oct 1937 WW2 A 12-foot-wide Chinese flag was raised atop the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, China, which was a great morale booster for the defenders fortified inside the building. Meanwhile, western officials in the international zone in Shanghai appealed to Chiang Kaishek to order the defenders in the Sihang Warehouse to withdraw, while negotiating for a short ceasefire agreement from the Japanese so that the withdraw would be conducted in peace. 
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30 Oct 1937 WW2 The Chinese coastal battery at Wushan, Jiangsu Province, China sank two Japanese Navy vessels. 
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31 Oct 1937 WW2 Suzuya was commissioned into service. 
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31 Oct 1937 WW2 Kumano was commissioned into service. 
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31 Oct 1937 WW2 Oshio was commissioned into service. 
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31 Oct 1937 WW2 At midnight, the remaining 376 Chinese officers and men in the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, China withdrew from the building into the international zone. The evacuation was completed by 0200 hours on 1 Nov 1937. 
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01 Nov 1937 WW2 Hugo Sperrle was promoted to the rank of General der Flieger. 
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01 Nov 1937 WW2 Giosuè Carducci was commissioned into service. 
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01 Nov 1937 WW2 The Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, stubbornly defended by the Chinese for four days, was evacuated between 0000 and 0200 hours. The 376 Chinese officers and men were allowed to evacuate into the international zone across the southern shore of the Suzhou River but were kept imprisoned until the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941. 
0
04 Nov 1937 WW2 The keel of Battleship No. 1 was laid down at the Kure Naval Arsenal in Japan. 
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05 Nov 1937 WW2 35,000 Republican supporters were massacred in Piedrafita de Babia, Spain. 
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05 Nov 1937 WW2 Japanese 10th Army landed at Jinshanwei in the south of Shanghai, China in an attempt to surround the city. 
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05 Nov 1937 WW2 Adolf Hitler first announced his plans for European expansion at the Hossbach Conference in Germany. 
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06 Nov 1937 WW2 Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact. 
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07 Nov 1937 WW2 The Japanese Army combined the Shanghai Expeditionary Force and the Japanese 10th Army to form the new Central China Area Army. The new army was placed under the command of Iwane Matsui. 
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08 Nov 1937 WW2 Chinese troops began to retreat from Shanghai, China. 
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09 Nov 1937 WW2 Japanese troops began the occupation of Shanghai, China. 
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10 Nov 1937 WW2 A document sent from the German Foreign Office to Adolf Hitler revealed that German should test British sentiments toward Germany by demanding territory concessions. 
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10 Nov 1937 WW2 The Hossbach Memorandum was completed, which outlined Adolf Hitler's plans for German autarchy and future expansion. 
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11 Nov 1937 WW2 Chinese troops at Xinkou, Shanxi, China abandoned the city and fell back toward Taiyuan. 
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11 Nov 1937 WW2 The Japanese army began to advance on Nanjing, China. 
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15 Nov 1937 WW2 Chen Changjie was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. 
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15 Nov 1937 WW2 Chuichi Nagumo was named the commandant of the mine warfare school. 
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15 Nov 1937 WW2 Nobutake Kondo was promoted to the rank of vice admiral. 
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15 Nov 1937 WW2 Montcalm was commissioned into service. 
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15 Nov 1937 WW2 Cruiser Georges Leygues was commissioned into service. 
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16 Nov 1937 WW2 Chiang Kaishek ordered Chinese government ministries and agencies to depart from the capital city of Nanjing within the next three to four days. 
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16 Nov 1937 WW2 Liu Cuigang's remains were buried at the Air Force Martyrs Cemetery on Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China. 
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17 Nov 1937 WW2 Jiang Dingwen was named the director of the military commission of Xi'an, China. 
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18 Nov 1937 WW2 Birmingham was commissioned into service. 
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19 Nov 1937 WW2 Lord Halifax met Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden in southern Germany; he failed to achieve any official agreements with the German leader, and gave Hitler the confidence that the current British government would be likely to concede to future German demands. Upon his return, Halifax reported that Hitler did not appear to be pursuing war. 
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19 Nov 1937 WW2 The Wufu defensive line between Shanghai and Nanjing in China was overrun by Japanese troops. to the rear, Lieutenant General Shun Tada ordered Lieutenant General Heisuke Yanagawa to stop the Japanese 10th Army's advance toward Nanjing, but Yanagawa did not comply with the order. 
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19 Nov 1937 WW2 Japanese troops captured Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China; the civilians of the city suffered through days of massacre and rape. 
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20 Nov 1937 WW2 Flying the DH.88 aircraft "The Burberry", between Croydon and Cape Town, Flight Officer A. E. Clouston and Mrs. Betty Kirby-Green established a new record for the UK-South Africa return flight in a time of 5 days, 17 hours and 28 minutes. 
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20 Nov 1937 WW2 The order for Chinese government ministries to evacuate the capital city of Nanjing to Hankou, originally ordered by Chiang Kaishek on 16 Nov 1937, was publicly announced at 1200 hours. 
0
21 Nov 1937 WW2 Gao Zhihang, flying an I-16 fighter newly delivered by the Soviet Union to the Chinese Air Force, was shot down over Henan Province, China. 
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21 Nov 1937 WW2 Kaga departed Sasebo, Japan. 
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22 Nov 1937 WW2 The Japanese Central China Area Army requested Tokyo the permission to assault Nanjing, China. 
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24 Nov 1937 WW2 Kaga arrived off Guangdong Province, China and began launching aircraft against Chinese positions near Guangzhou. 
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24 Nov 1937 WW2 River gunboat USS Guam arrived at Hankou, Hubei Province, China to protect American interests in the temporary Chinese capital. 
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25 Nov 1937 WW2 Błyskawica was commissioned into service. 
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25 Nov 1937 WW2 From Nanjing, China, German businessman John Rabe sent a message to Adolf Hitler, appealing for the German leader to voice concern over the atrocities committed by the Japanese in China. 
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26 Nov 1937 WW2 The Xicheng defensive line between Shanghai and Nanjing in China was overrun by Japanese troops. 
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27 Nov 1937 WW2 During a press conference, Tang Shengzhi, the Commander-in-Chief of all forces in Nanjing, China, advised foreign residents in Nanjing to depart but stressed that his troops would defend the city against the impending Japanese attack. 
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27 Nov 1937 WW2 Dong Zhao was named the commander of anti-air defenses of the city of Xi'an, China. 
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28 Nov 1937 WW2 Gao Zhihang's remains reached Yichang, Hubei Province, China. 
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29 Nov 1937 WW2 USS Pollack departed Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, United States. 
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29 Nov 1937 WW2 Kaga departed waters south of Guangdong Province, China; some of her aircraft were left behind to operate from airfields in southern China. 
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29 Nov 1937 WW2 USS Permit departed Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States. 
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30 Nov 1937 WW2 The Spanish Republican government moved from Valencia to Barcelona. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Zengo Yoshida was named the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Hiroaki Abe became the commanding officer of battleship Fuso. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 The US 3rd Marine Regiment, a reserve unit, was disbanded. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Vittorio Alfieri was commissioned into service. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Light carrier Hosho was placed in reserve. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 The Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan ordered the Japanese Central China Area Army to advance toward Nanjing, China. On the same day, several top Chinese cabinet level advisers departed from the capital. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Vice Admiral Shintaro Hashimoto was named the chief of staff of Vice Admiral Masaichi Maeda (Ryojun Military Port, northeastern China). 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Japanese troops landed near Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Captain Chimaki Kono was named the commanding officer of Naka. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Masafumi Arima was promoted to the rank of captain and was named the commanding officer of converted seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Nachi completed her first reconstruction; an unknown officer assumed command of the cruiser. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Raizo Tanaka was named the commanding officer of light cruiser Jintsu. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Vice Admiral Jugoro Arichi was named the commanding officer of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea; Vice Admiral Sadaichi Matsunaga was named the chief of staff. 
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01 Dec 1937 WW2 Vice Admiral Shunzo Mito was named the commanding officer of the Mako naval port at Pescadores islands, Taiwan. 
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02 Dec 1937 WW2 Japanese troops captured Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
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02 Dec 1937 WW2 The officials of the Nanjing Branch of the Palace Museum of China ordered the treasures stored at the Taoist monastery Chaotian Gong, which had arrived from Beiping and Shanghai in Dec 1936, to be moved westward ahead of the Japanese attack. 
0
02 Dec 1937 WW2 Emperor Showa gave the command of Japanese troops attacking Nanjing, China to his uncle Prince Yasuhiko, the head of princely household Asaka-no-miya. 
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03 Dec 1937 WW2 Japanese 16th Division and 9th Division began an attack on Chinese 83rd Corps and 66th Corps east of Nanjing, China. 
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03 Dec 1937 WW2 Japanese troops captured the coastal battery near Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. 
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03 Dec 1937 WW2 Lieutenant Yue Yiqin of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, flying Hawk III biplane fighter designated IV-1, attempted to attack a group of Japanese Army bombers escorted by Japanese Navy A5M carrier fighters, but was in turn heavily damaged by one of the A5M fighters. He was killed when his parachute failed to open after bailing out near Nanjing, China. 
0
04 Dec 1937 WW2 Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory became the commanding officer of the No. 12 Group RAF. 
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05 Dec 1937 WW2 Japanese Prince Yasuhiko of Asaka departed Tokyo, Japan for the front lines in China. 
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06 Dec 1937 WW2 Lord Gort was made a general, appointed to the Army Council, and appointed the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. 
0
07 Dec 1937 WW2 USS S-31 was decommissioned from service and placed in reserve at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. 
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07 Dec 1937 WW2 Chiang Kaishek departed Nanjing, China by plane. The civilian administration of the city was left to an International Committee led by John Rabe. Outside the city, several villages were set ablaze by Chinese troops to prevent them from being used by the approaching Japanese troops. 
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07 Dec 1937 WW2 Iwane Matsui suffered a bout of tuberculosis while in China. Nevertheless, he ordered the siege of Nanjing, China. 
0
08 Dec 1937 WW2 Japan established the puppet nation of Mengjiang in the Inner Mongolia region of China. 
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08 Dec 1937 WW2 Prince Yasuhiko arrived outside of Nanjing, China. 
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08 Dec 1937 WW2 Chinese Air Force squadrons departed Nanjing, China for airfields to the west, leaving the capital city without fighter defense and with little modern communications equipment. 
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09 Dec 1937 WW2 In the morning, Japanese troops reached the outskirts of Nanjing, China. At 1200 hours, Japanese aircraft dropped leaflets into the walled city, urging surrender within 24 hours, with the offered terms expiring at 1200 hours on the following day. Chinese commanding officer Tang Shengzhi publicly rejected the demand, but in private he, urged on by the international community in Nanjing, considered negotiating for a ceasefire; such negotiation would be pending Chiang Kaishek's approval. 
0
09 Dec 1937 WW2 Kanichi Kashimura engaged in aerial combat over Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. Despite having a third of his port wing shot off by a Chinese fighter, he was able to nurse his aircraft 600 kilometers to the north to safely land at his base near Nanjing, China. 
0
09 Dec 1937 WW2 Koo Hsien-Jung passed away in Tokyo, Japan. 
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10 Dec 1937 WW2 Chiang Kaishek rejected Tang Shengzhi's request to negotiate with the Japanese for an evacuation of Nanjing, China. Having received no response to the ultimatum issued on the previous day that expired at noon, the Japanese began the assault at 1300 hours. General Iwane Matsui's order to attack included the wording "ou are to observe military regulations to the letter, to set an example for the future.... Anyone who loots or starts a fire, even accidentally, will be severely punished." 
0
10 Dec 1937 WW2 Kaga departed Sasebo, Japan. 
0
10 Dec 1937 WW2 Japanese transport Shinsho Maru disembarked troops of No. 1 Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force near Nagoya, Japan on an amphibious assault exercise. 
0
10 Dec 1937 WW2 USS Permit transited the Panama Canal. 
0
11 Dec 1937 WW2 Italy withdrew from the League of Nations. 
0
12 Dec 1937 WW2 National elections were held in the Soviet Union for the first Supreme Soviet under the recently ratified Stalin Constitution. The turnout reached 98.6% of the electorate. 
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12 Dec 1937 WW2 At 0300 hours, General Tang Shengzhi, commanding officer of Chinese forces in Nanjing, China, having learned that Japanese naval vessels were heading up the Yangtze River, ordered his officers to prepare a small group of men to retreat across the river while the bulk would gather for an offensive to break out of the Japanese line. During the day, troops of the Japanese 114th Division wooed 1,500 Chinese troops into surrendering at the southern side of the city wall, promising to spare them their lives; they were all executed by the end of the following day. In the afternoon, Japanese bombers sank the American gunboat USS Panay in Nanjing, China at 1554 hours. At 1700 hours, Tang met with his officers again (several of whom were absent, having fled the city without permission) and was told that the Japanese were advancing faster than anticipated. He decided to increase the size of the Yangtze River evacuation to 5 divisions of troops. Tang would depart via the Yijiang Gate on the northern side of the city at 2100 hours, crossing the river on a small launch. 
0
12 Dec 1937 WW2 Kaname Harada saw his first combat action in China. 
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12 Dec 1937 WW2 The Daiton National Park (now Yangmingshan National Park) and the Tsugitaka Taroko National Park were established in northern Taiwan and eastern Taiwan, respectively. 
0
13 Dec 1937 WW2 The Japanese Sabae Regiment occupied the Guanghua Gate in Nanjing, China after two days of heavy fighting. In the afternoon, Chinese forces twice attempted to attack the headquarters of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force at Tangshuizhen, but the Japanese was able to repulse the attacks. Later in the day, Zhongshan Gate and Taiping Gate were captured by the Japanese as well, while Japanese Navy warships began to arrive to provide support. By nightfall, the Chinese capital city was declared as captured. German businessman John Rabe, who was in Nanjing, noted the diary entry on this date "It is not until we tour the city that we learn the extent of destruction. We come across corpses every 100 to 200 yards. The bodies of civilians that I examined had bullet holes in their backs. These people had presumably been fleeing and were shot from behind. The Japanese march through the city in groups of ten to twenty soldiers and loot the shops.... I watched with my own eyes as they looted the café of our German baker Herr Kiessling. Hempel's hotel was broken into as well, as almost every shop on Chung Shang and Taiping Road." On this day, troops of the Japanese 16th Division massacred over 3,000 Chinese people, military and civilian, attempting to flee the combat near Guanjiangan and Jiangli areas of Nanjing. Troops of the Japanese 114th Division captured over 1,000 Chinese during its mop up operations, most of whom would be executed within days. Vessels operated by the 11th Task Force of the Japanese 3rd Fleet fired on Chinese refugees attempting to cross the Yangtze River. 
0
14 Dec 1937 WW2 German National Ministry of the Interior provided legal means for the police to commit criminals to concentration camps directly. 
0
14 Dec 1937 WW2 Japanese 9th Division began to conduct mop up operations in secured areas of Nanjing, China, occupying, among other buildings, the National Central Hospital. Nearby, at Xianhe Gate and Yaohua Gate of the city wall north of Zijin Mountain, 38th Company of the Japanese 16th Division killed 7,200 Chinese people, military and civilian, during mop up operations; those who were able to flee claimed that some sections of the moat were filled with dead bodies. Near Xuanwu Gate, troops of the Japanese 16th Division executed 500 Chinese civilians. Second Lieutenant Nakamura of the 6th Cavalry Company of the Japanese 6th Division executed 300 prisoners of war. As reported by the International Committee later, Japanese troops entered civilian homes in Nanjing and raped or took away women. 
0
14 Dec 1937 WW2 Kaga arrived off Guangdong Province, China. 
0
15 Dec 1937 WW2 In Spain, in order to pre-empt a Spanish Nationalist attack upon Catalonia, two Spanish Republican armies (led by Generals Hernández Sarabia and Leopoldo Menendez) launched an offensive to capture the city of Teruel, surrounding the city by nightfall. The city's garrison commander Colonel Rey d’Harcourt would hold out in the southern part of the city until early Jan 1938. 
0
15 Dec 1937 WW2 Troops of the 23rd Company of the Japanese 6th Division executed over 1,000 captured Chinese military and civilians and over 400 police personnel (all captured in the city legislature building area where a temporary refugee camp was located) outside of Hanzhong Gate of Nanjing, China; their 2,000 bodies were burned. At Yijiangmen at about 1400 hours, Japanese troops rounded up 300 residents of the Jiang estate, killing them by machine gun fire and buring. On the Yangtze River, gunboats Futami and Seta of the Japanese Navy 3rd Fleet fired on Chinese refugees attempting to cross the river; nearby, Japanese naval personnel began executing many of the 9,000 captives they held. As reported by the International Committee later, "a number Japanese soldiers entered the University of Nanking buildings at Tao Yuen and raped 30 women on the spot, some by six men." 
0
16 Dec 1937 WW2 Japanese 9th Division killed about 6,500 Chinese people, both military in civilian, in Nanjing, China during two days of mop up operations. 20th Company of the Japanese 16th Division massacred more than 7,000 Chinese east of Zijin Mountain. Chinese troops launched a failed counterattack at Qilin Gate of the city wall; 200 Chinese troops who were captured during the failed counterattack were executed by bayoneting by men of the 38th Company of the Japanese 16th Division. On the shore of the Yangtze River, the Japanese 13th Division began to execute large numbers of the 20,000 Chinese captives it held. As reported by the International Committee later, "seven girls (ages ranged from 16 to 21) were taken away from the Military College"; only five of them were able to return on 18 Dec; some of them reported being raped six or seven times daily by Japanese soldiers. 
0
17 Dec 1937 WW2 PB2Y Coronado flying boat took its first flight. 
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17 Dec 1937 WW2 At the Sancha Fangsheng Temple and the nearby orphanage in Nanjing, China, Japanese troops massacred 400 to 500 civilians. At a dock on the Yangtze River, Japanese troops massacred over 3,000 prisoners of war, civilian workers of the power plant, and other civilians. German businessman John Rabe, who was in the Chinese capital of Nanjing, noted the diary entry on this date "In one of the houses in the narrow street behind my garden wall, a woman was raped, and then wounded in the neck with a bayonet. I managed to get an ambulance so we can take her to Kulou Hospital.... You hear nothing but rape. If husbands or brothers intervene, they're shot. What you hear and see on all sides is the brutality and bestiality of the Japanese soldiers." 
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17 Dec 1937 WW2 Iwane Matsui entered Nanjing, China with a military parade. 
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18 Dec 1937 WW2 Japanese troops executed over 300 Chinese people, military and civilian, on a road outside of Nanjing, China by machine gun. As reported by the International Committee later, at 1600 hours on this date, "at No. 18 I Ho Lu, Japanese soldiers wanted a man's cigarette case and when he hesitated, one of the soldier crashed in the side of his head with a bayonet. The man is now at the University Hospital and is not expected to live." 
0
18 Dec 1937 WW2 USS Permit arrived at San Diego, California, United States and joined Submarine Squadron 6 of the US Navy. 
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19 Dec 1937 WW2 Men of the Japanese 13th Division, having executed tends of thousands of refugees and prisoners of war in Nanjing, China by machine gun, bayonet, and fire since 16 Dec 1937, began to burn the remains; the ashes were dumped into the Yangtze River. Reverend James M. McCallum, who was in Nanjing, noted in his diary "Never I have heard or read such brutality. Rape! Rape! Rape! We estimate at least 1,000 cases a night, and many by day.... Women are being carried off every morning, afternoon and evening. The whole Japanese army seems to be free to go and come as it pleases, and to do whatever it pleases." 
0
19 Dec 1937 WW2 USS Pollack arrived at San Diego, California, United States. 
0
20 Dec 1937 WW2 German Great War General Erich Ludendorff dies in Munich, Germany. 
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20 Dec 1937 WW2 Arashio was commissioned into service. 
0
20 Dec 1937 WW2 The Japanese Domei News Agency reported that life in Nanjing, China, which was recently captured by Japanese troops, was returning to normal, and refugees who had fled the city prior and during the battle were starting to return. 
0
20 Dec 1937 WW2 The British Royal Navy issued the order for the light cruiser to be named HMS Mauritius. 
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24 Dec 1937 WW2 The Maachi C.200 Saetta (Lightning) aircraft made its maiden flight in prototype form. Designed by Dr. Mario Castoldi, the C.200 Saetta was the first monoplane fighter with fully-retractable undercarriage and enclosed cockpit to enter service with the Italian Air Force. 
0
25 Dec 1937 WW2 The first production Hurricane fighters began to be delivered to No. 111 Squadron RAF at Northolt, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom. 
0
25 Dec 1937 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed San Francisco, California, United States for Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
26 Dec 1937 WW2 Chinese seaplane tender Zhenhai was sunk as a blockship in Qingdao harbor, Shandong Province, China. 
0
28 Dec 1937 WW2 The Japanese occupation forces in Nanjing, China began registering men. 
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28 Dec 1937 WW2 Hisao Tani was made the commanding officer of the Central Defense Army. 
0
29 Dec 1937 WW2 Spanish General Franco ordered Generals José Varela and Antonio Aranda to mount a counter-attack to relieve the defenders at Teruel, who were surrounded by Spanish Republican forces. Appalling winter weather, however, hampered their advance, although this move nearly placed the Republicans in a siege situation themselves. 
0
29 Dec 1937 WW2 Soryu was commissioned into service. 
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30 Dec 1937 RELIGIOUS Birth of No l Paul Stookey, American folk singer. Stookey was "Paul" of the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary. Converted in the late 1960s, Stookey is now a Christian recording artist, and prefers using his "born_again" name, No l.
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31 Dec 1937 WW2 Douglas MacArthur retired from the US Army, but remained Philippine President Manuel Quezon's advisor as a civilian. 
0
31 Dec 1937 WW2 Filipp Golikov was promoted to the rank of corps commander. 
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31 Dec 1937 WW2 The Japanese occupation forces in Nanjing, China began registering women. 
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