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History on the year of 1943

History
Date Text
01 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at Makassar, Celebes. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Guadalcanal with 15 tons of cargo; she was chased away by two patrol boats after only 60% of her cargo had been unloaded. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 German 1st Panzer Division withdrew from Terek area in southern Russia to prevent encirclement by the Soviet Salsk-Rostov and Mozdok-Stavropol Offensive Operations. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 In a letter to Chester Nimitz, Bill Halsey described Miles Browning as someone who "has an uncanny knack of sizing up a situation and coming out with an answer" in an attempt to save Browning's career as the temperamental Browning had made many political enemies. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Gar reported firing four torpedoes against two Japanese ships on this date, hitting one of them with one torpedo and causing damage. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 The US 2nd Marine Aviation Engineer Battalion and the US Army 27th Division arrived at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 HMS Activity began hosting deck landing training. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 Frustrated with the poor performance of the German Navy, Adolf Hitler angrily ordered the decommissioning of the entire German high seas fleet. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 Claus von Stauffenberg was promoted to lieutenant colonel. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 Wolfgang Falck was promoted to the rank of Oberstleutnant. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 Lord Gort was promoted to the rank of field marshal. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 Archibald Wavell was promoted to the rank of field marshal. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 Alexander Löhr was made the Commander-in-Chief of the South East, with personal command over Army Group E. 
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01 Jan 1943 WW2 A new marine railway for handling destroyers and submarines began construction at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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02 Jan 1943 WW2 US I Corps recaptured Buna on New Guinea. 
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02 Jan 1943 WW2 Lockwood replaced English as the commanding officer of US Navy submarines in the Pacific. 
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02 Jan 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps and US Army aircraft attacked 10 Japanese destroyer transports west of Rendova, Solomon Islands. 
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02 Jan 1943 WW2 Major General Alexander M. Patch Jr. was designated Commanding General XIV Corps with three divisions under his command. His corps headquarters numbered less than a score of officers and men, almost all of whom are taken from the Americal Division staff. Brigadier General Edmund B. Sebree replaced General Patch as commanding General of the Americal Division. 
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02 Jan 1943 WW2 Ion Antonescu of Romania met with Adolf Hitler to discuss the ensuing disaster in Stalingrad, Russia. 
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02 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Whale completed a period of repair at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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02 Jan 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki arrived at Sasebo, Japan for a scheduled overhaul. 
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02 Jan 1943 WW2 He 111 aircraft stationed at Morozovskaya Airfield, Rostov Oblast, Russia were evacuated. Since the aircraft could not take all the equipment and supplies with them, commanding officer of KG 55 Oberstleutnant Ernst Kühl remained behind with a small staff in the hopes that the ground troops would be able to blunt the Soviet offensive so that the aircraft could return. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 USS S-28 crossed the International Date Line. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Shortland Islands in the Soloman Islands. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Mozdok, Russia. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 Lieutenant R. T. G. Greenland RNVR and Leading Signalman A. Ferrier penetrated Palermo harbour in Sicily, Italy on a Chariot human torpedo and sink the Italian light cruiser Ulpio Traiano. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 The Japanese leadership in Rabaul, New Britain received the text of the Army-Navy Central Agreement on South Pacific Area Operations, which called for the strengthening of Solomon Islands and New Guinea footholds upon the completion of the evacuation of Guadalcanal. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed refitting light cruiser Sendai at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 USAAF heavy bombers attacked the docks and U-Boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, France, starting several fires. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Whale departed the Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Grayback sank Japanese submarine I-18 in the Coral Sea, hitting her with 1 of 2 torpedoes; she also fired six torpedoes at other Japanese warships four hours later, all of which missed. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 President Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz of the Polish government-in-exile in London, England, United Kingdom urged Pope Pius XII to denounce German atrocities against the Jews. 
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04 Jan 1943 WW2 I-168 departed Shortland Islands in the Soloman Islands. 
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04 Jan 1943 WW2 Polish resistance group ZOB attacked German occupation troops in the Jewish ghetto in Czestochowa, which resulted in failure. 251 were killed while a number of others were arrested and deported. 
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04 Jan 1943 WW2 For the delay in carrying out anti-Semitic policies ordered by Rome, mayors of Florence and Padua in Italy were fired by the Fascist Party. 
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04 Jan 1943 WW2 The US Army 161st Infantry, the US 6th Marine Regiment, and the headquarters of the US 2nd Marine Division arrived at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
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04 Jan 1943 WW2 American cruisers and destroyers bombarded the Japanese airfield at Munda Point, New Georgia in the Solomon Islands after sundown and into the next day. 
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04 Jan 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-51B arrived in the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. 
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04 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Morozovskaya Airfield, Rostov Oblast, Russia. Commanding officer of KG 55 Oberstleutnant Ernst Kühl and his small staff destroyed various equipment and supply dumps before evacuating. 
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05 Jan 1943 WW2 USS S-28 reached her assigned patrol area in the northern Kurile Islands. 
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05 Jan 1943 WW2 Germans began a 3-day operation in the Lvov ghetto in Ukraine which resulted in about 10,000 deaths and the disbanding of the Jewish Council. 
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05 Jan 1943 WW2 General Carl A. Spaatz relinquished his post as commander of the US 8th Air Force on his transfer to the Mediterranean Theatre. He was replaced by Major General Ira C. Eaker. 
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05 Jan 1943 WW2 Despite George Kenney's orders for an all-out attack on Rabaul, New Britain at dawn, Kenneth Walker launched a limited (without 63rd Bomb Squadron, whose commander William Benn disagreed with the timing of the attack) mid-day attack. Bad weather in Australia prevented some of the B-24 bombers from launching, thus ultimately only 6 B-24 bombers and 6 B-17 bombers took off for the attack. Two B-17 bombers attacked Lakunai and Vunakanau airfields near Rabaul between 0900 and 0930 hours. At 1200 hours, 6 B-24 bombers and 3 B-17 bombers (one of which carried Walker) attacked, sinking army transport Keifuku Maru, damaging two merchant ships, and damaging destroyer Tachikaze; 3 Ki-43 fighters were shot down during the raid. At 1317 hours, B-17 bomber San Antonio Rose was shot down; Walker and the entire crew were reported as missing, and none of them would be found. 
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05 Jan 1943 WW2 Lieutenant "Red" Cochrane and his crew of the aft 5-inch battery of USS Helena shot down a Japanese D3A dive bomber off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. This was the first use of proximity-fuse shells in combat. 
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05 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Grayback served as beacon ship for the US naval bombardment of Munda Point, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. While on this duty, after nightfall, she picked up six downed airmen from a beach at New Georgia. Commanding officer Edward Stephan would later be awarded a Navy Cross medal for the day's actions. 
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05 Jan 1943 WW2 The Italian Navy Forza Navale Speciale (FNS) was disbanded. 
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05 Jan 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan for her 9th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
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05 Jan 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Gabilan was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 Parkash Singh of Indian 14th Division daringly rescued wounded comrades on the Mayu Peninsula in Burma. For his, and similar deeds on 19 Jan 1943, he was to be awarded the Victoria Cross medal. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 Doherty was commissioned into service. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 Brigadier General Alphonse DeCarre assumed command of all US Marines on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands except for Marine aviation units. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 In a conference between Adolf Hitler and Erich Raeder, Hitler continued to express his anger in the German Navy's ineffectiveness. Raeder asked to be relieved of his duty. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 The US B-24 bomber piloted by Lieutenant George Rose, tasked with finding shot-down B-17 bomber San Antonio Rose between Rabaul, New Britain and Port Moresby, Australian Papua, was shot down over Wide Bay. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish departed Brisbane, Australia for her fourth war patrol. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 USAAF B-17 and B-24 bombers attacked Japanese shipping at Rabaul, New Britain. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 Jews in Opoczno, Poland were told that those with family in Palestine would be deported there. 500 Jews came out from hiding to register and were sent to Treblinka Concentration Camp where they were gassed. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 Captured French submarine Phoque departed Bizerte, Tunisia with an Italian crew. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 Captured French submarine Saphir departed Bizerte, Tunisia with an Italian crew. 
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06 Jan 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson departed New York, New York, United States for Britain aboard the Queen Elizabeth. 
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07 Jan 1943 WW2 A 3-day German operation in the Lvov ghetto in Ukraine ended with about 10,000 deaths and the disbanding of the Jewish Council. 
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07 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Marlin arrived at Casco Bay, Maine, United States and joined Task Group 27.1. 
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07 Jan 1943 WW2 HMS Jura was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-371 in the western Mediterranean Sea. 
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07 Jan 1943 WW2 The British assault on Japanese bunkers at Donbaik, Burma on the Bay of Bengal coast was halted with heavy losses. 
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07 Jan 1943 WW2 USAAF B-17, B-24, B-25, and A-20 bombers, escorted by USAAF P-38 fighters and RAF Catalina flying boats, attacked a Japanese convoy en route to Lae, New Guinea, sinking transport Nichiryu Maru off Gasmata, New Britain. 
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07 Jan 1943 WW2 44 Japanese bombers and 60 fighters took off from Rabaul, New Britain, intending to attack Port Moresby, Australian Papua; the attack was canceled after the aircraft ran into bad weather. 
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07 Jan 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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07 Jan 1943 WW2 British murderer Harry Dobkin is hanged at Wandsworth Prison in London, England, United Kingdom. Dobkin had murdered his wife whose mutilated body he had dumped in a badly damaged Baptist chapel near where he was a fire watcher, in the hope that she would appear to be another unidentified victim of the Blitz. He confessed to his crime after examination of the remains indicated death by strangulation. 
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08 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Makassar, Celebes. 
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08 Jan 1943 WW2 Axis convoys between Italy and Tripoli, Libya were suspended after a British force of two cruisers and four destroyers sank 14 ships trying to reinforce and supply Erwin Rommel's troops. 
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08 Jan 1943 WW2 General Rokossovsky issued a surrender ultimatum to German 6th Army, which guaranteed their lives and safety until their return to Germany after the war. Paulus refused the ultimatum. 
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08 Jan 1943 WW2 Japanese troops again halted a British assault at Donbaik, Burma. 
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08 Jan 1943 WW2 British submarine P311 (Commander R. D. Cayley) was reported missing and was believed sunk by a mine in the Mediterranean Sea. 
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08 Jan 1943 WW2 Allied aircraft sank Myoko Maru in Huon Gulf off Australian New Guinea. 
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08 Jan 1943 WW2 I-168 departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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08 Jan 1943 WW2 British RAF Bomber Command's No. 8 Group was reformed as No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group under the command of Air Vice-Marshal Donald Bennett. With specialist squadrons the group's primary task would be to accurately mark targets to be attacked by other Bomber Command aircraft. 
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09 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Gar reported hitting a Japanese ship with two of three torpedoes fired, causing damage. 
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09 Jan 1943 WW2 Douglas MacArthur arrived at Brisbane, Australia. 
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09 Jan 1943 WW2 George Kenney arrived at Brisbane, Australia. 
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09 Jan 1943 WW2 In the early afternoon, Czech prisoner Georg Zahradka or Zacharatka escaped from Auschwitz I concentration camp, but was captured by midnight near watchtower 26. He was executed on 14 Jan 1943. 
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09 Jan 1943 WW2 German SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler visited Warsaw, Poland, and ordered that 8,000 Jewish inhabitants be deported from the ghetto. 
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09 Jan 1943 WW2 Commandeered for USAAF service as the C-69, the Lockheed Model L-049 Constellation aircraft made its first flight from Burbank, California, United States to nearby Muroc Army Air Field. 
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09 Jan 1943 WW2 Submarine Seahorse was launched at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States, sponsored by the wife of Chester C. Smith. 
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10 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Argonaut attacked a Japanese convoy of five freighters and three destroyers southeast of New Britain, en route from Lae, New Guinea to Rabaul, New Britain. She hit one destroyer with a torpedo, but the other two closed in and sank her with depth charges and gunfire. 102 were killed, which was the worst submarine loss in WW2. 
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10 Jan 1943 WW2 The US Army 25th Division launched an offensive out of the Hill 66 area between the northwest and southwest forks of the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
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10 Jan 1943 WW2 Japanese troops again halted a British assault at Donbaik, Burma. 
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10 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Runner arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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10 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived in the Marshall Islands. 
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10 Jan 1943 WW2 Another Soviet offensive, Operation Ring, began at Stalingrad, Russia. 
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10 Jan 1943 WW2 The BI-2 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its first flight at Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia (the second flight of the design), reaching an altitude of 1,100 meters and reaching the speed of 400 kilometers per hour. 
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10 Jan 1943 WW2 The Fairey Barracuda torpedo and dive bomber began its operational service with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm with the delivery of twelve Barracuda II aircraft to the reformed No. 827 Squadron. 
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11 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at Singapore. 
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11 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops launched the Novorossiysk-Maikop Offensive Operation in the Caucasus region of southern Russia. 
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11 Jan 1943 WW2 Douglas MacArthur's headquarters officially declared Kenneth Walker missing after his aircraft was shot down by Japanese fighters on 5 Jan 1943; Walker personally participated on that mission against orders. 
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11 Jan 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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11 Jan 1943 WW2 A transport of 750 Dutch Jews departed from Westerbork Concentration Camp in the Netherlands for Sobibór Concentration Camp in Poland. 
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11 Jan 1943 WW2 Allied convoy RA-51 arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom. 
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11 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Alabama arrived at Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States from Casco Bay, Maine, United States. 
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11 Jan 1943 WW2 Chinese Ambassador Wei Daoming and US Secretary of State Cordell Hull signed the Treaty for Relinquishment of Extraterritorial Rights in China in Washington DC, United States. Through this treaty, the Americans gave up territorial claims in China and gave up the American portion of the Boxer Protocol. 
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12 Jan 1943 WW2 German troops withdrew from the Caucasus region in southern Russia to the Kuban bridgehead. 
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12 Jan 1943 WW2 Operation Spark: Soviets launched an offensive to restore communication and over-land supply route to Leningrad, Russia. 
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12 Jan 1943 WW2 US troops landed on Amchitka, Aleutian Islands unopposed. Destroyer Worden, covering the landing, ran aground and sank during the operation. 
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12 Jan 1943 WW2 On Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, the US 6th Marine Regiment and the artillery of the US 2nd Marine Division were re-assigned to a joint Army-Marine division which also included the US Army 82nd Infantry Regiment, US Army 147th Infantry Regiment, and artillery of the US Army Americal Division. 
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12 Jan 1943 WW2 The US 1st Marine Division arrived at Melbourne, Australia after months of fighting on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
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12 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
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12 Jan 1943 WW2 Irako transited the Bungo Strait between Shikoku and Kyushu, Japan. 
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12 Jan 1943 WW2 The BI-2 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its second flight at Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, reaching an altitude of 2,190 meters and reaching the speed of 675 kilometers per hour. 
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13 Jan 1943 WW2 The call-up age for unmarried British women was lowered to 19. 
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13 Jan 1943 WW2 Casablanca Conference between Roosevelt and Churchill began. 
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13 Jan 1943 WW2 The US 2nd Marine Division began a westward offensive on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
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13 Jan 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Ominato Guard District, Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan at 0715 hours. 
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13 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Whale sank Japanese freighter Iwashiro Maru in the waters between Kwajalein, Marshall Islands and Truk, Caroline Islands, hitting her with 3 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
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13 Jan 1943 WW2 Three transports arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp, each containing 1,210 German Jews from Berlin (1,083 of them were sent directly to the gas chambers), 750 Dutch Jews (88 men and 101 women were registered, and the remaining 561 were gassed), and 2,000 Jews of Zambrów ghetto in Poland (148 men and 50 women were registered, and the remaining 1,802 were gassed). 
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13 Jan 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson arrived at RAF Kings Cliffe, England, United Kingdom. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Singapore at 0900 hours. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Velikiye Luki 200 miles west of Moscow, Russia. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 Independence was commissioned into service. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 USS S-35 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska in the Aleutian Islands. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Naganami at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 Workers at Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii completed cutting underwater piles. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a Hurricane fighter over an area of India now part of Bangladesh, his 14th victory. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Kure, Japan. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 Georg Zahradka was executed at Auschwitz Concentration Camp for attempting to escape during the night of 9 Jan 1943. 
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14 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Tang was laid down. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 Konstantin Rokossovsky was promoted to the rank of colonel general. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 USAAF B-24 bombers attacked a Japanese convoy 200 miles south-southwest of Rangoon, Burma, sinking Nichimei Maru. Unknown to the American airmen, the transport was carrying Allied prisoners of war, 500 of whom would be lost in the sinking. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 The US 2nd Marine Regiment departed Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands for New Zealand. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 The keel for submarine Manta was laid down. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 Light carrier Hosho was assigned to the 3rd Force of the Mobile Force Training Force. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 2 companies of "Loreto" combat engineers battalion of the Italian Air Force were transferred by ship from Sicily, Italy to Tunis, Tunisia; the remaining two companies of the 1st Air Force Assault Regiment "Amedeo d'Aosta" would remain in Sicily to repair airfields. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 German aircraft raided Telepte Airfield in Tunisia three times and Youks-les-Bains Airfield in Algeria once. A total of 15 German aircraft were shot down during these attacks, four of which were claimed by Captain Carmon B. Boone of 59th Fighter Squadron of USAAF 33rd Fighter Group, flying a P-40 fighter. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 US Navy SBD Dauntless dive bombers from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal and USAAF B-17 bombers attacked a convoy of nine Japanese destroyers northeast of New Georgia, Solomon Islands; four Japanese destroyers were damaged. A lone B-17 bomber attacked the Japanese airfield on Ballale island, Solomon Islands. To the north in the Caroline Islands, three transports escorted by destroyers departed from Truk for Bougainville with Japanese Army troops transferred from China. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 P-40F fighters of US 68th Fighter Squadron intercepted a group of Japanese destroyers off Faisi in the Solomon Islands. In the subsequent engagement, the US fighters shot down nine Japanese F1M float biplanes, three of which by Lieutenant Lloyd G. Huff. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Grayback fired four torpedoes at a Japanese submarine in the Solomon Sea; all torpedoes missed. 
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15 Jan 1943 WW2 The Pentagon, the new building in Virginia, United States and the future home of the US Department of War, was dedicated. 
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16 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo conducted sonar tests in Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Australia. Later on the same day, she departed friendly waters for her third war patrol. 
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16 Jan 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a P-40 fighter over Yunnan Province, China, his 15th victory. 
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16 Jan 1943 WW2 British bombers attacked Berlin, Germany. 
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16 Jan 1943 WW2 Iraq declared war on the Axis powers. 
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16 Jan 1943 WW2 Shokaku's assignment was shifted from Main Unit, Mobile Force to the Maintenance Force, Mobile Force. 
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16 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Grayback fired six torpedoes at a Japanese transport in the Solomon Sea; all torpedoes missed. 
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16 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Pitomnik Airfield west of Stalingrad, Russia, denying the Germans the ability to fly in supplies and fly out wounded men. 
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16 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Marlin departed Casco Bay, Maine, United States. 
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17 Jan 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a Hurricane fighter over Burma, his 16th victory. 
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17 Jan 1943 WW2 A Japanese convoy carrying Japanese Army troops transferred from China departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands. 
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17 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing seaplane tender Sanyo Maru and destroyers Kagero and Oyashio at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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17 Jan 1943 WW2 Journalist Richard Dimbleby flew in a British No. 106 Squadron Lancaster bomber over Berlin, Germany during a raid to record a live report, which was broadcast by the BBC on the following day. 
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17 Jan 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
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17 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Finback sank a Japanese patrol boat south of Japan with her deck gun. 
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17 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Whale sank Japanese freighter Heiyo Maru between Truk, Caroline Islands and Japan, hitting her with 7 of 9 torpedoes fired. 
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17 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Grayback fired torpedoes at destroyer, which was escorting a freighter, in the Solomon Sea; the torpedoes missed, and Grayback was subjected to 19 depth charges, which caused a serious leak that would force her to cut her patrol short. 
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17 Jan 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-52 departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 Brigadier General Howard Ramey arrived in Australia to replace the recently missing Kenneth Walker. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 USAAF B-17 and P-39 aircraft sank Japanese cargo ship Yamafuku Maru off Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 Admiral Yamamoto came aboard battleship Musashi at Truk in the Caroline Islands, which would officially become his flagship on 11 Feb 1943. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed refitting light cruiser Agano at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Runner departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at Hong Kong. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Kure, Japan to escort carriers Zuikaku and Zuiho to Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 The first armed resistance against deportation began in Warsaw Ghetto in Poland. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 Cherkessk in the Caucasus region of southern Russia was liberated by Soviet troops. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 Operation Spark, which commenced 6 days earlier, successfully opened a corridor into Leningrad, Russia on this day. The Soviet government announced the end of the siege, although that state would still continue until 27 Jan 1943. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 Late in the day, three He 111 transport aircraft of German Luftwaffe unit III./KG 55 attempted to land at the small Gumrak Airfield at Stalingrad, Russia. The first landed but would not be able to takeoff again, the second made ten failed attempts at lining up with the wreck-strewn short runway but ultimately pushed its cargo of 20 sacks of bread out of the bomb bay doors without landing, and the third followed suit. 
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18 Jan 1943 WW2 US government banned the sale of sliced bread by commercial bakers; they must sell their bread in entire loaves in order to save wrapping material. The ban would be lifted on 8 Mar 1943 after officials realized the ban was ineffective. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Ranger launched USAAF P-40 aircraft off Accra, Gold Coast to reinforce Allied forces fighting in North Africa. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Gar ended her fifth war patrol. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 Filipp Golikov was promoted to the rank of colonel general. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Grampus completed her fifth war patrol. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 Bruce Fraser was made a Grand Officer of the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 Japanese troops landed at Wewak, New Guinea. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 Parkash Singh of Indian 14th Division daringly rescued wounded comrades on the Mayu Peninsula in Burma. For his, and similar deeds on 6 Jan 1943, he was to be awarded the Victoria Cross medal. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down two Hurricane fighters over Akyab (now Sittwe), Burma, his 17th and 18th victories. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Arashi at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Hong Kong at 1300 hours with 1,180 men aboard, including 663 Canadian prisoners of war from the Sham Sui Po prisoner of war camp. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Pollack sank a Japanese cargo ship off Honshu, Japan with one of two torpedoes fired. 
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19 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo transited Vitiaz Strait between New Guinea island and New Britain island. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 USS S-28 set a course for the Aleutian Islands. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 German Inspector of Concentration Camps advised camp commandants to reduce rate of death for camp prisoners; however, camp doctors were given orders to kill the sick and the debilitated. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Silversides attacked a Japanese convoy 286 miles from Truk, Caroline Islands en route to the Solomon Islands, sinking transport Meiu Maru and damaging Surabaya Maru. The latter would later be scuttled by destroyer Asagumo. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 Remy Van Lierde scored his first kill, a German Bf 109G fighter, over the southern coast of England, United Kingdom while flying a Typhoon Ib fighter. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 The US Army 25th Division began an offensive toward Kokumbona, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 Chile broke off relationships with Germany, Italy and Japan. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 A US B-24 bomber on a routine reconnaissance mission over Wewak on the island of New Guinea surprisingly found a large concentration of Japanese shipping and a newly arrived contingent of Zero fighters. Six of the fighters arose and shot down the bomber, killing 2; 6 of the crew survived. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 US 44th Fighter Squadron arrived at Fighter 2 airfield at Kukum, Guadalcanal; this squadron would later become the most successful P-40 squadron to operate on this island. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 Transports of Jews from Theresienstadt Ghetto in occupied Czechoslovakia departed for Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland; several more transports departed from Theresienstadt in the following 6 days. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 Captured French submarine Requin departed Bizerte, Tunisia with an Italian crew. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 Captured French submarine Espadon departed Bizerte, Tunisia with an Italian crew. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 German fighter-bombers made a surprise daylight attack on London, England, United Kingdom during which bombs were dropped on a school in Lewisham killing 39 children and five teachers. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 The German Luftwaffe was forced to abandon any further hit-and-run fighter-bomber raids on London, England, United Kingdom after five Fw 190 aircraft were lost within half an hour to the RAF Manston based Typhoon fighters of Wing Commander Roland Beamont's No. 609 Squadron. 
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20 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Brennan was commissioned into service at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States. 
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21 Jan 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul and departed later on the same day. 
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21 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Voroshilovsky and Stavropol in the Caucasus region of southern Russia, claiming 500,000 German dead and 200,000 Germans captured in the last two months of fighting. 
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21 Jan 1943 WW2 Allied leadership issued the directive to RAF and USAAF commanders "our primary objective will be the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system, and the undermining of the morale of the German people to a point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally wounded." 
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21 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Gato attacked a Japanese convoy east of Kieta, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, damaging one transport. 
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21 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Pollack attacked a Japanese cargo ship off Honshu, Japan with two torpedoes; both torpedoes missed. 
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21 Jan 1943 WW2 Allied aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain, sinking small freighter Tetsusan Maru. 
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21 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyers Uzuki and Suzukaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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21 Jan 1943 WW2 The United States Marine Corps established the Marine Fleet Air, West Coast at San Diego, California, United States to oversee all Fleet Marine Force aviation operations and to supply personnel and materiel to Marine Aircraft Wings, Pacific. 
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22 Jan 1943 WW2 Allied forces won the battle at Sanananda, New Guinea. 
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22 Jan 1943 WW2 Ludwig Beck and other anti-Hitler conspirators met at the home of Peter Yorck von Wartenburg. 
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22 Jan 1943 WW2 The RAF conducted its first combat operation using the new Mitchell Mk.II bombers. Six aircraft from No. 98 and No. 180 Squadrons were sent out to attack oil installations at Ghent in Belgium. One aircraft was shot down by flak over the target and two others were lost when attacked by Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. Following this disaster the RAF's Mitchell squadrons were stood down to concentrate on developing new tactics to fend off enemy fighters. 
0
22 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at Nagasaki, Japan at 0400 hours. The 663 Canadian prisoners of war aboard were disembarked where they would be sent to work in the mines as forced laborers. 
0
22 Jan 1943 WW2 German 6th Army engineers reported that the small Stalingradskaya Airfield close to the center of Stalingrad, Russia was ready to receive transport aircraft. Several He 111 aircraft arrived later on the same day with supplies, some of which would be fatally damaged when their landing gears became caught in bomb craters on the runway. 
0
22 Jan 1943 WW2 The "Bafile" Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy captured Djebel Bou Dabouss massif in Tunisia, capturing 200 prisoners of war at the cost of 24 killed and 65 wounded. 
0
23 Jan 1943 WW2 The British Eighth Army captured Tripoli, Libya. 
0
23 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Armavir, Russia. 
0
23 Jan 1943 WW2 The US Army 25th Division captured the high ground south of Kokumbona, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
23 Jan 1943 WW2 The US freighter City of Flint (the same vessel that had been involved in a major diplomatic incident in Oct 1939) was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by the German submarine U-575. 
0
23 Jan 1943 WW2 After sundown and into the following day, American cruisers and destroyers bombarded Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
0
23 Jan 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
23 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Nagasaki, Japan and arrived at Sasebo, Japan later on the same day. 
0
23 Jan 1943 WW2 Irako sailed south from off Mizunoko Lighthouse, Oita, Japan with torpedo boat Hato and submarine chaser CH-39 in escort. 
0
23 Jan 1943 WW2 The German-controlled Gumrak Airfield on the western side of Stalingrad, Russia was taken by Soviet troops. 
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23 Jan 1943 RELIGIOUS The New Tribes Mission was incorporated in Los Angeles by founder Paul W. Fleming. NTM works today primarily in missionary aviation, Bible translation, church planting and the production and distribution of Christian literature.
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 Tirpitz completed its refitting at Fættenfjord/Lofjord near Trondheim, Norway. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 The Casablanca Conference ended with the announcement of a requirement for unconditional surrender from Germany to end the war. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops liberated Starobelskiy, Ukraine. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 The Soviet Trans-Caucasian Front's offensive toward the Kuban bridgehead was halted near Krasnodar and Novorossiysk. A new offensive drive, named the Tikhoretsk-Eisk Offensive Operation, was launched on this date. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 British war expenditure was estimated to be running at £14 million a day. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 American destroyers bombarded Japanese fuel and munitions dumps in the Stanmore area, Kolombangara, Solomon Islands. Later on the same day, US Navy carrier aircraft attacked the same targets. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 12 German aircraft were launched to attack Allied convoy JW-52; only three of them found and attacked the convoy, and all three were shot down. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a Wellington bomber over Rangoon, Burma, his 19th victory. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 Nachi refueled from oiler Teiyo Maru at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo reconnoitered waters far north of Wewak, Australian New Guinea. Encountering Japanese destroyer Harusame with submarines nearby, she fired three bow torpedoes, a fourth bow torpedo as Harusame turned toward Wahoo. After all four had missed, Wahoo repositioned her self and fired two more torpedoes, this time hitting and seriously damaging Harusame. Harusame was able to beach herself to prevent sinking. 
0
24 Jan 1943 WW2 A transport from a psychiatric hospital at Apeldoornse Bosh with 921 Jews arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. After the selection, 16 men and 60 women were registered; the remaining were sent to the gas chambers. 
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24 Jan 1943 WW2 The Soviets once again demanded surrender from the encircled German forces in Stalingrad, Russia. Responding to Friedrich Paulus' message requesting permission to surrender as his men were now nearly out of ammunition and medical supplies, Adolf Hitler told Paulus to fight to the last man even if defeat was imminent. By the end of this day, the German forces in Stalingrad would be divided in two pockets and would have lost the use of the final airstrip available to them, Stalingradsaya Airfield. 
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24 Jan 1943 WW2 Glyndwr Michael, homeless and suffering from mental illness, was found dead in an abandoned warehouse in King's Cross, London, England, United Kingdom after consuming rat poison which contained phosphorus; it was unknown whether he had committed suicide or simply ate what he thought was thrown-away food laced with the poison for the purpose of pest control. The discovery of his remains was reported to MI5 per previous request for such a body. 
0
25 Jan 1943 WW2 Germans evacuated Voronezh and Armavir in southern Russia. 
0
25 Jan 1943 WW2 In his Order of the Day, Stalin claimed that Soviet troops had routed 102 enemy divisions in two month's fighting. 
0
25 Jan 1943 WW2 The US Composite Army-Marine Division made contact with the US Army 25th Army Division near Kokumbona, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
25 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing light cruiser Nagara at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
25 Jan 1943 WW2 Italian Air Force Assault Engineer Battalion's composition was defined as having one headquarters company and three companies each with two officers, three non-commissioned officers, and 24 enlisted men. 
0
25 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Sasebo, Japan. 
0
25 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Whale damaged Japanese tanker Syoyo Maru between Truk, Caroline Islands and Japan, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. She suffered light damage from the subsequent depth charging. 
0
25 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo departed waters near Wewak, Australian New Guinea for Palau Islands. 
0
25 Jan 1943 WW2 The remnants of the German 6.Armee were split in two pockets, north and south, in Stalingrad, Russia. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at Osaka, Japan. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Voronezh, southern Russia. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked a Japanese convoy 270 miles north of New Guinea, sinking transport Buyo Maru and three others. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Tunny stalked a Japanese trawler starting at about 0530 hours off the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, firing her deck gun to attack only in the afternoon. The trawler escaped her after sundown. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 The US Army-Marine joint division continued to attack westward along the northern coast of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands intending to envelope Japanese positions. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 Chiang Kaishek held a celebratory dinner for Joseph Stilwell for having recently earned the Distinguished Service Cross medal. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 US bombers conducted a night raid on Rabaul, New Britain; Zero fighters rose to intercept and shot down one B-17 bomber. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a B-24 bomber over Mingaladon, Burma, his 20th victory. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed refitting light cruiser Agano at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese freighter in Apra Harbor, Guam, Mariana Islands, hitting her with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Whale attacked a Japanese oiler between Truk, Caroline Islands and Japan; 1 of 3 torpedoes fired hit the target but failed to detonate. 
0
26 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked a Japanese convoy of four freighters in the Pacific Ocean, sinking transport Fukuei Maru, sinking transport Buyo Maru, and damaging another transport. 11 torpedoes were expended, 7 of which hit. She then surfaced to attack Japanese survivors in lifeboats; this last action would generate some controversy, especially that some of the survivors killed included Indian prisoners of war. Six hours later, she began a three-hour pursuit of the two remaining ships of the Japanese convoy, eventually sinking both (a tanker and a freighter), hitting them with 3 of 8 torpedoes. 
0
27 Jan 1943 WW2 The USAAF struck Germany proper for the first time as B-17 and B-24 bombers attacked Emden and Wilhelmshaven. 
0
27 Jan 1943 WW2 The headquarters of the US 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing was established at Efate, New Hebrides. 
0
27 Jan 1943 WW2 The Chenggong Airfield in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China began operations. 
0
27 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Whale sank Japanese ship Shoan Maru between Truk, Caroline Islands and Japan after a long chase, hitting her with 2 of 8 torpedoes fired (only 1 of which detonated). 
0
27 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked a Japanese convoy consisted of eight ships; as she was out of torpedoes, she attempted to attack with her deck guns, but she was chased away by a Japanese destroyer escort. 
0
27 Jan 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-52 arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. 
0
27 Jan 1943 WW2 The Camillus Cutlery Company of Camillus, New York, United States shipped the first production examples of the 1219C2 fighting knife design to the US military. 
0
27 Jan 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Golet was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States. 
0
28 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Osaka, Japan. 
0
28 Jan 1943 WW2 Germany finally mobilized her work force for total war, requiring registration of men aged 16 to 65 and women aged 17 to 50. 
0
28 Jan 1943 WW2 Filipp Golikov was awarded the Order of Suvorov. 
0
28 Jan 1943 WW2 Aleksandr Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class. 
0
28 Jan 1943 WW2 Vasily Chuikov was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class for the first time. 
0
28 Jan 1943 WW2 Hubert Lanz was promoted to the rank of General der Gebirgstruppe and was made the commanding officer of Armeeabteilung Lanz army detachment. 
0
28 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sighted Fais Island, Caroline Islands; she attempted to shell the Japanese phosphate refinery, but the appearance of a Japanese freighter forced her to abandon the attack. 
0
28 Jan 1943 WW2 As the German forces in Stalingrad, Russia were now divided into three pockets by Soviet attacks, Hermann Göring messaged Friedrich Paulus, noting that Paulus' stubborn defense, even if it led to self sacrifice, would go down in German history as one of the most heroic tales. 
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28 Jan 1943 WW2 Georgy Zhukov was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class for the first time; this was the very first Order of Suvorov given out by the Soviet Union. 22 more Suvorov 1st Class medals were given out on this date after Zhukov's award. 
0
28 Jan 1943 WW2 The US Army announced a plan to form a special Nisei combat team from Americans of Japanese parentage. Within days they receive over 10,000 volunteers for only 2,500 places. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 SS-Gruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the SS and Police Leader for the German territory of annexed Austria, was named the head of the RSHA, which encompassed the Gestapo and the Security Service, succeeding the assassinated Reinhard Heydrich. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 Six RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Berlin, Germany, purposely spoiling the party celebrating the Nazi Party's 10th Anniversary, interrupting speeches given by Göring and Goebbels. This celebration marked the first anniversary without a speech from Hitler. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 The Battle of Rennell Island began with land-based Japanese aircraft attacked US Navy TF 18 ships. USS Chicago was damaged and was taken under tow. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 US captured a Japanese 5-digit naval code book. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 German authorities ordered Roma and Sinti people across German-occupied Europe to be rounded up and sent to concentration camps. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 Ruth Cheney Streeter was commissioned a major in the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve and became its first Director. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Maikop, Russia. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 German submarine U-255 sank Soviet cargo ship Ufa south of Bear Island, Norway at 0622 hours. To the east, Allied convoy RA-52 departed the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 German officials in Prague dissolved the Jewish Religious Congregation, the supreme authority for Czechoslovakia's Jewish communities. This organization would be succeeded by the Council of Jewish Elders on 8 Feb 1943, which was deemed to be more compliant by the German officials. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 Benito Mussolini met with the Commando Supremo. Among the items discussed in this meeting was the plan to salvage, repair, and recommission French battleships Strasbourg and Dunkerque into the Italian Navy by the end of 1946. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 Kurt Prüfer of German engineering firm J. A. Topf und Söhne visited the Central Construction Office of Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland, inspecting the Crematoria II, III, IV, and V construction progress; he estimated the launch of Crematorium II to be around 15 Feb, Crematorium III around 17 Apr, Crematorium IV around 28 Feb, and Crematorium V's completion date depended largely on weather. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Tunny entered waters off Taiwan. 
0
29 Jan 1943 WW2 USS S-35 arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, United States. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 German troops defeated French troops and captured Faïd Pass, Tunisia. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 Battle of Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands ended with a Japanese victory and the sinking of USS Chicago. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 HMS Samphire (Lieutenant Commander F. T. Renny) was torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine Platino off Bougie, Algeria. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 Erich Raeder was officially relieved of his duty as the head of the German Navy. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 The repair work on light cruiser Voroshilov completed. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a B-25 bomber over Toungoo, Burma, his 21st victory. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 The British RAF's first daylight raid on Berlin, Germany was completed by No. 105 and No. 139 Squadrons' Mosquito aircraft. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 In Germany, Hermann Göring publicly noted that the defense and sacrifice at Stalingrad, Russia would go down in history as a heroic tale. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan and arrived at Yokohama, Japan later on the same day. 
0
30 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops reached Red Square in central Stalingrad, Russia. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 The Milice was created in Vichy France under Joseph Darnand to counter the Resistance. This organization became another force of the German occupation, reaching a strength of over 20,000 by the Allied invasion in 1944. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 The British RAF Bomber Command used the H2S radar system for the first time operationally. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps aircraft from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands sank Japanese transport Toa Maru between Vella Lavella and Kolombangara. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 The US 2nd Marine Regiment and 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment boarded ship to leave Guadalcanal. Some of the men were so debilitated by malaria they had to be carried on board. Observers noted that they looked like young men grown old "with their skins cracked and furrowed and wrinkled." The 2nd Marine Regiment, heading to Wellington, New Zealand for the first time, left behind on the island 263 dead. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for seaplane tender Sanyo, destroyers Arashi and Suzukaze, and light cruiser Nagara at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Yokohama, Japan and arrived at Yokosuka, Japan later on the same day. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 A transport with 2,834 Polish Jews from Pruzany arrived in Auschwitz Concentration Camp; it included 230 children under four and 520 children between four and ten. 313 men and 180 women were registered in the camp; the remaining 2,341, including all 750 children, were gassed. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 Out of food and ammunition, the southern half of the German 6.Armee in Stalingrad, Russia surrendered; the final radio message coming out of this pocket was made at 1945 hours, which closed with the Morse abbreviation "CL", short for "Clear (I am closing my station)". Shortly after, 110 German transport aircraft take off for the northern pocket with supplies; more than 90 of the aircraft found the illuminated triangular drop zone and released their loads. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 Light cruiser Voroshilov bombarded German troop positions near Novorossiysk, Russia. 
0
31 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Tunny detected a Japanese freighter off Takao, Taiwan at about 2230 hours. She fired two torpedoes, both of which missed the target, and survived a counterattack with two depth charges. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 The 1st Free French Division (later to become the 1st Motorised Division) was established. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese troops began to be evacuated from Guadalcanal by destroyers commanded by Rear Admiral Shintaro. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze evacuated troops from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Oyashio and began repair transport Nankai Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell departed Chongqing, China for India. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Cruiser Köln departed a German port for the Baltic Sea. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 As of this month, 1,622,000 prisoners of war and 4,121,000 foreigners were now serving as forced laborers in Germany. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Maximilian von Weichs was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler's special train Amerika was renamed Brandenburg. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Air Raid drill. Torpedo Squadron 11 (VT-11; model TBF) departed. Radio transmission facilities usably complete. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Tenryu was struck from the navy list. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Columbia arrived at Efate, New Hebrides. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny entered waters off China. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 The Fletcher-class destroyer USS De Haven was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Savo Island, Solomon Islands. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 At Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland, SS personnel selected 20 Jewish prisoners who were already working at the crematorium in Auschwitz I and readied them for work in the soon-to-be-ready new crematoriums in Birkenau. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Trapped in the ruins of a department store in Stalingrad, Russia, Friedrich Paulus surrendered the southern pocket along with 14 of his generals; Paulus became the first German field marshal to surrender to an enemy force. Fighting continued in the northern pocket, however, and 85 of the 108 transport aircraft dispatched to airdrop supplies to the northern pocket were able to do so. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 Germans fell back from Demyansk, Russia. 
0
01 Feb 1943 WW2 The keel of CV-14, originally destined to be USS Hancock, was laid down at Norfolk, Virginia, United States. 
0
02 Feb 1943 WW2 Ettore Bastico stepped down as the Governor-General of Italian Libya, succeeded by Giovanni Messe. 
0
02 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny made radar contact with a ship off Hong Kong at 2130 hours. 
0
02 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Runner attacked and claimed the sinking of a Japanese transport in the western Pacific; she reported 6 torpedoes expended and 4 hits. 
0
02 Feb 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for transport Sanyo Maru and began repairing destroyers Akizuki and Hatsukaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
02 Feb 1943 WW2 Irako supplied food to seaplane tender Sanyo Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
02 Feb 1943 WW2 Captain Shinzaburo Hase was named the commanding officer of Settsu. 
0
02 Feb 1943 WW2 The construction of Graf Zeppelin was stopped at Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland). 
0
02 Feb 1943 WW2 The last of the German Sixth Army surrendered in Stalingrad, Russia. On the same day, a German reconnaissance aircraft was dispatched to fly over Stalingrad, confirming that all fighting had ceased. 
0
02 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her second war patrol. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 British Colonial Secretary Stanley announced that 5,000 Jews, 4,500 of them children, would be allowed to migrate from Bulgaria to Palestine. Additionally, 30,000 immigration certificates were made available for use by any Jewish children in southeastern Europe for Palestine. Unfortunately, most of the 35,000 allotments were not used, as the Red Cross refused to accompany children on the ships in poor condition that were made available for the transportation to Palestine. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 While stalking a Japanese tanker at dawn, USS Tunny was discovered by the enemy but continued to pursue the target. Under gunfire, she fired multiple volleys of torpedoes at the tanker; one hit, but it failed to explode. After nightfall, she detected another ship at 2005 hours, fired 3 torpedoes, and claimed sinking it. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 BOAC began a high speed delivery service between Leuchars, Scotland, United Kingdom and Stockholm, Sweden using a fleet of ten Mosquito aircraft. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 Over lunch, Dwight Eisenhower informed George Patton that Patton had been chosen to help plan the invasion of Sicily, Italy. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 German submarine U-255 sank US freighter Greylock of Allied convoy RA-52; all 70 aboard survived. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Grayback arrived at Brisbane, Australia, ending her fifth war patrol. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 During the day, the German OKW issued an announcement to inform the German public of the defeat at Stalingrad, Russia. The message, read over the radio, was preceded by a solemn drum roll and was followed by the 2nd movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's 5th symphony. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 12 He 111 aircraft, with supplies on board, flew over the northern pocket of Stalingrad, Russia before dawn. Of the 11 aircraft that reached the intended drop zone, only 3 dropped some of their cargo, as they found no German activity. 
0
03 Feb 1943 WW2 The keel of Rochester was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Company at Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. 
0
04 Feb 1943 WW2 Soviet naval infantry thwarted a German attempt to land at Malaya Zemlya. Nearby, later on the same day, Soviet troops landed near Novorossiysk, southern Russia. 
0
04 Feb 1943 WW2 Rear Admiral Shintaro's destroyers extracted 3,921 Japanese soldiers from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands successfully, but four of his destroyers were damaged by air attack from Henderson Field. 
0
04 Feb 1943 WW2 British 8th Army entered Tunisia. 
0
04 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny's crew found a six feet long black and yellow striped snake aboard and disposed of it. Later on the same day, she detected a hospital ship and chose not to take any action. 
0
04 Feb 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze evacuated troops from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
04 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish began her second war patrol. 
0
04 Feb 1943 WW2 In Germany, three days of national mourning began over the disaster at Stalingrad, Russia. All theatres, cinemas and night clubs were closed. 
0
04 Feb 1943 WW2 Winston Churchill visited Tripoli, Libya and inspected British 8th Army. 
0
04 Feb 1943 WW2 A transport of 890 Jews from Westerbork Concentration Camp in the Netherlands arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. 48 of the 312 males and 52 of the females were registered; the remaining 790 were sent to the gas chambers. 
0
05 Feb 1943 WW2 Mussolini personally took over the Italian Foreign Ministry after firing his son-in-law Count Ciano. 
0
05 Feb 1943 WW2 HMS Stronsay was mined and sunk in the western Mediterranean Sea off Philippeville, French Algeria. 
0
05 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Permit began her seventh war patrol. 
0
05 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan for her 10th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
0
05 Feb 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Sasebo, Japan and began a period of refitting. 
0
05 Feb 1943 WW2 Air Marshal John. C. Slessor was appointed Air officer Commanding (AOC) of RAF Coastal Command. 
0
05 Feb 1943 WW2 Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, commanding officer of US 1st Marine Division, was decorated with the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony. 
0
06 Feb 1943 WW2 Wilkinson Sword Limited received renewed contracts to produce more Fairbairn-Sykes commando daggers; they would be the firm's final government contracts of the war. 
0
06 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny patrolled off Shantou, China. 
0
06 Feb 1943 WW2 The keel of escort carrier Wake Island was laid down in Vancouver, Washington, United States. 
0
06 Feb 1943 WW2 Brazil, which was already at war with Germany and Italy, now declared war upon Japan. 
0
06 Feb 1943 WW2 USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her fifth war patrol. 
0
06 Feb 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler met with Erich von Manstein at Rastenberg, East Prussia, Germany. The Field Marshal had been flown 900 miles from Donetsk, Ukraine to the Führer's Wolfsschanze headquarters in Hitler's personal Focke-Wulf Fw200 V3 "Immelmann III". At the four hour conference, only five days after the surrender at Stalingrad, Russia, the Army Group South commander persuaded Hitler to allow him to retreat to the River Mius. 
0
06 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol. 
0
06 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese transport in the Sunharon Roadstead off Tinian, Mariana Islands, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. After sundown, she attacked a destroyer in the same area; the 1 torpedo fired missed. 
0
06 Feb 1943 WW2 All female prisoners at Auschwitz Concentration Camp were gathered for a general roll call at 0330 hours then marched outside the camp. They were kept outdoors until 1700 hours, then were ordered to run back to the camp, prodded by swinging clubs. About 1,000 women died during this forced march. Those who were not able to keep up but survived were rounded up and sent to block 25 in the BIa sector of the camp, from which location they would later be transported to the gas chambers. 
0
07 Feb 1943 WW2 The Japanese Army completed Operation Ke, the evacuation of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, as the final 1,796 soldiers were evacuated by 18 ships. 
0
07 Feb 1943 WW2 The US Navy transferred two US submarine squadrons from Brisbane, Australia to Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
07 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny patrolled off Shantou, China. 
0
07 Feb 1943 WW2 Admiral William Halsey named Rear Admiral Richmond Turner the overall commander of the Russell Islands operation. 
0
07 Feb 1943 WW2 Chiang Kaishek messaged Franklin Roosevelt, agreeing with Chinese support for an offensive into Burma. 
0
07 Feb 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze evacuated troops from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
07 Feb 1943 WW2 He Yingqin departed Chongqing, China for India. 
0
07 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol. 
0
07 Feb 1943 WW2 Archibald Wavell visited Orde Wingate's Chindit headquarters 7 miles north of Imphal, India. Wingate was able to convince Wavell to continue the Chindit operations despite the fact that the offensive into Arakan, Burma was soon to be canceled. 
0
08 Feb 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Kursk, Russia. 
0
08 Feb 1943 WW2 With German permission, the Council of Jewish Elders was established in Czechoslovakia, succeeding the Jewish Religious Congregation which was dissolved on 29 Jan 1943. 
0
08 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny fired two torpedoes at Japanese freighter Kusayama Maru; both torpedoes missed, and the freighter returned fire. The second volley of two torpedoes also missed. The third volley of three torpedoes all scored, sinking the freighter 20 minutes later. This was Tunny's first confirmed kill. 
0
08 Feb 1943 WW2 Gefreiter (Private) Werner Wrangel of the German Panzerjager Battalion 183 became the only person to be awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class, Iron Cross 1st Class, and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross at the same time. 
0
08 Feb 1943 WW2 Subhash Chandra Bose departed Germany for Japan via submarine. 
0
08 Feb 1943 WW2 Operation Longcloth, the long range penetration operation by the Chindits, was launched. 
0
08 Feb 1943 WW2 Shokaku entered drydock and remained there through the month. 
0
08 Feb 1943 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan at 1600 hours, escorted by destroyer Yamagumo. At 2215 hours, at 42 miles east-southeast of Mikura Jima in the Izu Islands south of Tokyo, US submarine USS Tarpon sank her with about four torpedoes. Tatsuta Maru sank at 2237 hours, killing 1,223 passengers and 198 crew. Destroyer Yamagumo failed to find any survivors in the darkness and in the rough seas. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 Allied authorities declared Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands secure after Japan evacuated its remaining forces from the island. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 Soviet troops recaptured Belgorod, Russia. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 The first Chindit operation began. Brigadier Orde Wingate took a force of 3,000 troops into Burma to conduct a guerrilla-style campaign behind Japanese lines. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 On Ambon Island in eastern Indonesia, the Japanese beheaded 85 Australian and Dutch prisoners. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 Shoe rationing went into effect in the United States. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Gar began her sixth war patrol. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 HMS Erica (Lieutenant A. C. C. Charles Cuthbert Seligman) was mined and sunk whilst escorting a convoy from Benghazi, Libya to Alexandria, Egypt. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 Chinese leaders Song Ziwen and He Yingqin, British leaders Archibald Wavell and John Dill, and American leaders Henry Arnold, Joseph Stilwell, Clayton Bissell, and Brehon Somervell met in Delhi, India. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Runner attacked a Japanese transport and an escorting destroyer in the western Pacific; she claimed the sinking of a Japanese transport, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 George Kenney ordered a series of strong night attacks on Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 Irako supplied food to seaplane tender Sanyo Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Army 72nd Fighter Squadron, consisting of 21 aircraft (Model P-40K), with a compliment of 25 officers and 229 men, departed for Bellows Field. The 19th Fighter Squadron arrived on board, with 32 aircraft (Model P-40F), 26 officers and 238 men. Note: the 72nd Fighter Squadron and its successor, the 19th Fighter Squadron, were on a constant alert status. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 The first of seven Axis convoys left Italy with reinforcements bound for Tunisia but British aircraft from Malta, submarines, and minefields took a heavy toll. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny fired torpedoes on a Japanese convoy in the Taiwan Strait, damaging one transport with two torpedoes. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 Allied convoy RA-52 arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom. 
0
09 Feb 1943 WW2 The US Naval Dry Docks, Roosevelt Base was established near Los Angeles, California, United States. 
0
10 Feb 1943 WW2 The German Central Construction Office (Bauleitung) reported that it could not meet the deadline for the construction of Crematorium II at Auschwitz Concentration Camp due to the fact that, of the 500 masons requested, only 30 were available. 
0
10 Feb 1943 WW2 Yekaterina Budanova shot down a Fw 190 aircraft over Rostov on Don, Russia, sharing the credit with other pilots. 
0
10 Feb 1943 WW2 The US Liberty ship Starr King was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-21, 150 miles east of Sydney, Australia. By the time that the Australian destroyer HMAS Warramunga arrived in the early afternoon, Starr King was awash from her bridge aft and her crew had abandoned ship, but they re-boarded when Warramunga tried to take the 7,176-ton vessel in tow. 
0
10 Feb 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands to escort damaged destroyer Maikaze to Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
10 Feb 1943 WW2 The British Admiralty officially announced the loss of submarine HMS Utmost, sunk by Italian gunboat Groppo off Sicily, Italy on 25 Nov 1942. 
0
10 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Pollack arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fourth war patrol. 
0
10 Feb 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho completed her repairs and exited the drydock at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 Admiral Yamamoto transferred his flag from Yamato to Musashi at Truk. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 Amon Göth was assigned to oversee the construction of the Plaszów labor camp in Poland. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 General Dwight Eisenhower was selected to command the Allied forces in Europe. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 US Liberty ship Starr King, while in tow by Australian destroyer HMAS Warramunga after receiving damage from an attack by Japanese submarine I-21 on the previous day, sank at 0230 hours. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak shot down the German Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber piloted by Gerhard Weber and shared the credit for downing a Fw 190 fighter while flying a Yak-1 fighter. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Grampus departed Brisbane, Australia for her sixth war patrol. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 Admiral Yamamoto broke his flag aboard Musashi at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: The 243rd and 244th Marine Scouting/Bombing Squadrons (VMSB-243 & VMSB-244) arrived on board, aircraft based at Ewa. The officers and men departed for Ewa on the 26th of February. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese 6th Field Kempeitai departed Hiroshima, Japan aboard transport Aden Maru for Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny set sail for Midway Atoll. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 A transport from the Westerbork Concentration Camp in the Netherlands arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland with 476 men and 708 women; 113 men and 66 women were registered, and the remaining 1,005 were killed in the gas chambers. 
0
11 Feb 1943 WW2 Ryan Aeronautical received a US Navy contract to build three piston-jet mix-powered prototype fighters. 
0
12 Feb 1943 WW2 German engineering firm J. A. Topf und Söhne sent a letter to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland, confirming that it had received the order to build Crematoriums II and III at the camp. 
0
12 Feb 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Rostov, Russia. 
0
12 Feb 1943 WW2 German troops fell back from Krasnodar to the Kuban defensive positions in southern Russia. 
0
12 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Mingo was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander Ralph Lynch, Jr. in command. 
0
12 Feb 1943 WW2 Pogy was commissioned into service. 
0
12 Feb 1943 WW2 Maximilian von Weichs stepped down as the commanding officer of German Armeegruppe B. 
0
12 Feb 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Maikaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
12 Feb 1943 WW2 Jews from the Bialystok ghetto in Poland began to be deported to Treblinka Concentration Camp. 
0
13 Feb 1943 WW2 The Jews of Djerba, Tunisia were ordered to pay 10 million Francs to the local German occupation administration. 
0
13 Feb 1943 WW2 The Northern Group of the Chindits crossed the Indian-Burmese border at Tonhe. 
0
13 Feb 1943 WW2 Karl von Le Suire was named the commanding officer of German 46th Infantry Division. 
0
13 Feb 1943 WW2 F4U-1 Corsair aircraft of US Marines squadron VMF-124 made their first operational debut, escorting a US Navy Catalina aircraft on a Dumbo search and rescue mission, 200 miles north of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
13 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Alabama arrived at Casco Bay, Maine, United States. 
0
14 Feb 1943 WW2 German troops launched an offensive against American forces at and near Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. 
0
14 Feb 1943 WW2 The Northern Group of the Chindits crossed the Chindwin River in Burma. 
0
14 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Runner attacked and claimed the sinking of a Japanese transport in the western Pacific; she reported 3 torpedoes expended and 2 hits. 
0
14 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
14 Feb 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
14 Feb 1943 WW2 Commandant Rudolf Höss of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp issued Garrison Order No. 3 which instructed the SS guards to "maintain an appropriate distance from the prisoners" to order to prevent the spread of typhus which was rampant among the prisoners. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 American forces in Tunisia launched a counterattack at Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. Though achieving some results, the Americans suffered heavy casualties and lost 46 medium tanks. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 The US military established Commander, Aircraft, Solomons in the Solomon Islands with Rear Admiral Charles Mason as its head. It was to oversee all air operations in the region across Army, Navy, and Marine ground-based aircraft. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Colonel M. Z. Kiani took command of the Indian National Army. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 Starting at 0340 hours, a total of 34 US B-17 bombers in four waves attacked Rabaul, New Britain, dropping 98,000 pounds of various bombs including flares, 300-pound demolition bombs, 100-pound daisy cutter bombs, 20-pound fragmentation bombs, and incendiary bombs, damaging aircraft and destroying food stores, oil drums, and ammunition dumps; three bombs were lost on this mission. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing transport Nankai Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 Oberst Edgar Gläsche was relieved from his position as the commandant of the Oflag IV-C prisoners of war camp at Colditz Castle, Germany as he was transferred to Ukraine. He was to be replaced by Oberstleutnant Gerhard Prawitt. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 British prisoner of war Lieutenant Michael Alexander, who had conjured up a relationship with General Harold Alexander, was transferred to the Oflag IV-C camp at Colditz Castle in Germany; he was placed in the same cell with Giles Romilly, Winston Churchill's nephew. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Fighting Squadron 11 (VF-11; Model F4F) arrived. Departed 18 Feb 1943. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo completed her scheduled overhaul at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-53 departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. 
0
15 Feb 1943 WW2 Yolande Unternahrer joined the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland, and departed later on the same day. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Heinrich Himmler ordered the Warsaw ghetto in Poland to be liquidated. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Soviet forces recaptured Kharkov, Ukraine. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Dr. Mildred Harnack-Fish, a member of German resistance, was beheaded at Plotzensee Prison near Charlottenburg, Germany. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Norwegian commandos parachuted into Norway, meeting up with the reconnaissance party near Telemark. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Aleksandr Vasilevsky was promoted to the rank of the Marshal of the Soviet Union. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Grayback departed Brisbane, Australia for her sixth war patrol. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 17 US B-17 bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain before dawn. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyers Nowaki and Shiratsuyu at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 USAAF heavy bombers attacked the German U-Boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, France. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Robert von Greim was promoted to the rank of Generaloberst. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Captain Masafumi was relieved as the commanding officer of Shokaku; the successor was unknown. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 Masafumi Arima stepped down as the commanding officer of carrier Shokaku and was named the chief aviation training officer at the Navy Ministry. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese freighter in the Mariana Islands, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 The US submarine Amberjack was sunk by the Japanese torpedo boat Hiyodori off Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 German forces captured Sidi Bouzid and Sbeitla, Tunisia. The British 8th Army entered Tunisia, spearheaded by the 7th Armoured Division. 
0
16 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Whale completed her refitting at Midway Atoll. 
0
17 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul, New Britain and departed later on the same day. 
0
17 Feb 1943 WW2 American forces east of Kasserine Pass, Tunisia retreated into the pass. 
0
17 Feb 1943 WW2 Lexington (Essex-class) was commissioned into service. 
0
17 Feb 1943 WW2 Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder became AOC-in-C Mediterranean Air Command with responsibility for all air operations. 
0
17 Feb 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler arrived at the headquarters of German Army Group South. 
0
17 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo declared readiness for her next war patrol while at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
17 Feb 1943 WW2 Legendary Russian fighter pilot Lydia Litvak (The White Rose of Stalingrad) was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 At the Berlin Sport Palace, Goebbels announced the implementation of total war in Germany, bringing women into the industrial war effort. In the same speech, he also called Jews "the root of evil in the world". 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 The Gestapo arrested Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie, members of the White Rose, for opposing the Nazi German regime. They were tried for treason by Judge Roland Freisler, found guilty, and executed in Stadelheim Prison in Munich as traitors on 22 Feb 1943. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 1,220 Polish Jews, 860 of whom children, arrived at the British Palestine after traveling through Russia, Iran, and India. They had to travel to Palestine by sea via India due to Iraq's refusal to allow the group to enter its borders. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 Song Meiling addressed the House of Representatives of the United States Congress. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 Erwin Rommel submitted a plan to Albert Kesselring and the Italian High Command for attacking the Americans guarding the Tunisian-Algerian border. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands to escort transport Gokoku Maru to Gasmata, New Britain, Bismarck Islands. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 The Northwest African Air Forces (NWAAF) commanded by Major General Carl A. Spaatz came into existence under the Allied Mediterranean Air Command. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 Jean de Vienne was raised at Toulon, France and pressed into Italian Navy service under the new name FR.11. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Fighting Squadron 11 (VF-11; Model F4F) departed. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki departed Yokosuka, Japan for the Central Pacific. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 Down to only 13 flyable P-40 fighters, USAAF 33rd Fighter Group was withdrawn from Telepte Airfield in Tunisia. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 In the British House of Commons 121 Ministers of Parliament (97 Labour members and including former prime minister David Lloyd George in his last ever vote in the House) condemned the Government for its failure to back the Beveridge Report. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 The construction for a large electromagnetic separation plant for enriching uranium, codenamed Y-12, began construction at Manhattan Project's Oak Ridge site in Tennessee, United States. 
0
18 Feb 1943 WW2 During a test flight from Renton near Seattle, Washington, United States a serious engine fire developed in the second XB-29 prototype aircraft. Test pilot Eddie Allen tried desperately to get back to the airfield but the huge bomber crashed into a packing plant killing the entire crew and a number of civilian workers in the building. 
0
19 Feb 1943 WW2 Rommel launched a surprise counter-attack at Kasserine Pass, Tunisia, overwhelming the fresh but inexperienced Americans. 
0
19 Feb 1943 WW2 German Army Group South began a counteroffensive toward Kharkov, Ukraine and Belgorod, Russia. 
0
19 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Runner attacked a Japanese transport and an escorting destroyer in the western Pacific; she claimed the sinking of a Japanese transport, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired; four torpedoes were fired at the destroyer without any hits. 
0
19 Feb 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler departed the headquarters of German Army Group South. 
0
19 Feb 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Hamakaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 US carrier aircraft attacked the Japanese naval base at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 American movie studio executives agreed to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 German and Italian troops defeated American troops at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, but the force attacking Sbiba Pass was met with strong resistance. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 The US coastal minesweeper YMS-133 foundered and sank at Coos Bay, Oregon, United States. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 The Germans made the first use of their new 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launcher against the western allies at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 Hubert Lanz stepped down as the commanding officer of Armeeabteilung Lanz. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 A special section was established at the Hinzert Concentration Camp for Polish civilian workers who fraternized with German women. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol. 
0
20 Feb 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Commander Albert Burrows was named the commanding officer of USS Whale, relieving Lieutenant Commander John Azer. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 The Red Army of the Soviet Union celebrated its 25th Birthday. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 Axis troops pushed American troops back toward Thala, Tunisia and threatened to cross the Tunisian-Algerian border. By this date, the Americans had lost 100 tanks, 55 heavy guns, and 80 trucks. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 In the Russell Islands, US Marine Corps 3rd Raider Battalion landed at Pepesala Point, Pavavu while US Army 43rd Infantry Division landed on Banika. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Gasmata, New Britain, Bismarck Islands to escort transport Gokoku Maru to Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 The German submarine U-623 was sunk by a torpedo from RAF Coastal Command Liberator "T" aircraft of No. 120 Squadron flown by Squadron Leader Isted in the Atlantic Ocean. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Greenling departed Brisbane, Australia with Australians and New Britain natives on board; they were to serve on New Britain as coast watchers. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 USAAF 33rd Fighter Group and its remaining 13 flyable P-40 fighters arrived in the rear area at Agadir, Morocco. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 US Marine Aircraft Group 21 was transferred to USS Nassau at Ford island (with 54 Wildcat fighters) for further transfer to the South Pacific. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo was drydocked at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 The Red Army's 25th anniversary was celebrated in London, England, United Kingdom with a massed gathering at the Albert Hall. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden represented the government while other notable celebraties present included Dame Sybil Thorndike and Commander Ralph Richardson RNVR. 
0
21 Feb 1943 WW2 Submarine Bluefish was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by the wife of Robert Y. Menzie. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 German Armeegruppe Mitte launched an offensive between the Dneiper and Donets Rivers in southern Russia. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie, members of the White Rose, were executed in Stadelheim Prison in Munich, Germany. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 Air Marshall Sir Arthur Harris was appointed chief of RAF Bomber Command with a new remit: attempting to hit specific military and industrial targets was, in the main, to be abandoned in favour of the most densely built-up areas of German cities. The area bombing directive essentially said that if the RAF cannot destroyed the factories it should destroy the homes and the morale of the workforce. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 Norwegian Minister President Vidkun Quisling ordered the mobilization of 35,000 men for construction of roads, railways, and military-related facilities. Two Lutheran church leaders who protested were arrested and imprisoned in the Grini Concentration Camp. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 Bulgaria agreed to a German demand to deport 11,000 Jews from 23 communities in Thrace and Macedonia, occupied areas of Yugoslavia and Greece. They were sent to Treblinka Concentration Camp where many of them died subsequently. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 Winston Churchill was said to be "on the mend" after a severe fever. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 Allied troops pre-emptively struck the Axis attacking forces near Thala, Tunisia. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 The Northern Group of the Chindits reached Tonmakeng, Burma. Orde Wingate ordered an attack on a nearby Japanese garrison at Sinlamaung. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 German submarine U-606 sank British merchant ship Empire Redshank in the North Atlantic; 47 survivors were picked up by HMCS Trillium. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 The North American Mitchell II aircraft made its combat debut with the RAF when No. 98 and No. 180 Squadrons operating from Foulsham, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom attacked oil installations at Terneuzen in Belgium. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 I-168 departed Kure, Japan. 
0
22 Feb 1943 WW2 Iowa was commissioned into service at Brooklyn Naval Shipyard in New York, United States with Captain John L. McCrea in command. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 US carrier aircraft attacked Japanese installations in the Mariana Islands. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 Erwin Rommel ordered his forces in western Tunisia to move east to avoid being attacked on both sides. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 German U-boats using acoustic homing torpedoes sank seven tankers in a North Atlantic convoy. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 Yekaterina Budanova was awarded the Order of the Red Star. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 HMCS Trillium rescued 58 survivors of US merchant ship Chattanooga City and 53 survivors of US merchant ship Expositor, both of which were sunk by German submarine U-606 in the North Atlantic on the previous day. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 German submarine U-603 sank Norwegian merchant ship Glittre in the North Atlantic. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 HMS Dianthus rescued 34 survivors of Norwegian merchant ship Glittre in the Atlantic Ocean. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak was awarded the Order of the Red Star and was promoted to the rank of junior lieutenant. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese Navy Yokosuka 7th Special Naval Landing Force disembarked 1,807 men at Kolombangara, New Georgia. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Harusame at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Armory turned over to station. 
0
23 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for Midway Atoll. 
0
24 Feb 1943 WW2 The US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as "Merrill's Marauders", began their campaign in northern Burma. 
0
24 Feb 1943 WW2 On Ambon Island in Eastern Indonesia, the Japanese beheaded 132 Australian and Dutch prisoners. 
0
24 Feb 1943 WW2 Omar Bradley arrived in French Algeria. 
0
24 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Iowa began her shakedown cruise in Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States. 
0
24 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
24 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Tunny arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
24 Feb 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Paving of the original land plane runways completed. 
0
25 Feb 1943 WW2 Battle for Kasserine Pass in Tunisia closed with the Americans, inexperienced and poorly led, suffered a major defeat. Nevertheless, the Americans would regain the pass at the end of the battle as overall strategy dictated the Axis forces to withdraw back into northern Tunisia. 
0
25 Feb 1943 WW2 Princeton was commissioned into service. 
0
25 Feb 1943 WW2 Douglas MacArthur issued his campaign plan for the Southwest Pacific while arguing that a campaign through the Central Pacific would be "time consuming and expensive in our naval power and shipping." 
0
25 Feb 1943 WW2 After not being able to locate Sinlamaung, Burma in the past three days, the Chindit unit assigned to attack the Japanese garrison there finally found the village. They found the Japanese garrison had already departed, however. 
0
25 Feb 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
25 Feb 1943 WW2 Captain Yoshijiro Imaizumi was named the commanding officer of Naka while the ship was at Maizuru, Japan. 
0
25 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Permit fired five torpedoes at a Japanese transport off Japan; all four torpedoes missed. 
0
25 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Copahee departed San Diego, California, United States. 
0
25 Feb 1943 WW2 US 11th Airborne Division was activated at Camp Mackall, North Carolina, United States under the command of Major General Joseph M. Swing. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Saipan, departing later on the same day. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 The German government issued the order that Eastern European workers who were originally sent to concentration camps for a temporary basis were now to be held at the camps indefinitely. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Argonaut was struck from the US Naval Vessel Register. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 In Burma, Orde Wingate lectured his officers about the British practice of worshipping gallant losers, citing the celebration of those who succeeded in the Dunkirk evacuation without placing blame on the same leaders whose failures made such an evacuation necessary. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 George Kenney arrived at Port Moresby, Australian Papua to personally take charge of organizing an attack on Japanese convoy Operation 81; this intelligence was provided by cryptanalysis. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 USAAF heavy bombers made a daylight attack on Wilhelmshaven, Germany. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Officers and men of the 243rd and 244th Marine Scouting/Bombing Squadrons (VMSB-243 & VMSB-244) departed for Ewa. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 The first transport of Roma and Sinti arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland; they were assigned to the BIIe sector at Auschwitz II-Birkenau and housed in what was called the "Gypsy camp" (Zigeunerlager); this sector would eventually grow to house 23,000 Sinti and Roma people; 20,000 of them would not survive the Holocaust. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 The notorious SS Obergruppenfuhrer Theodor Eicke, formerly Inspector of Concentration Camps and now commanding the infamous Toenkopf Division, was killed when his aircraft was shot down about one kilometer southwest of Artelnoje in Ukraine. 
0
26 Feb 1943 WW2 The British government authorized the use of the new water-skipping "Upkeep" bomb against German dams. 
0
27 Feb 1943 WW2 Jews in Berlin, Germany who were previously allowed to remain there due to their positions in the armaments industry were deported to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Meanwhile, the Rosenstrasse protest began in Berlin by women who had married Jewish men. 
0
27 Feb 1943 WW2 Karl von Le Suire stepped down as the commanding officer of German 46th Infantry Division. 
0
27 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Finback departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fourth war patrol. 
0
27 Feb 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Sasebo, Japan. 
0
27 Feb 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-53 arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. 
0
27 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived at Midway Atoll, refueled, and then departed for her fourth war patrol. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Norwegian paratroopers sabotaged the Norsk Hydro heavy water production plant at Telemark, Norway, thereby depriving German scientists of vital raw materials in their atomic weapons research program. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Construction began on the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in the world at Hanford, Washington, United States. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Oyodo was commissioned into service. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Admiral Hipper was decommissioned from service. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Douglas MacArthur's staff completed a plan calling for a more deliberate advance in the Southwest Pacific. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Japanese convoy Operation 81 assembled at Rabaul, New Britain and readied for departure scheduled for the next day. The convoy was consisted of 6 transports (carrying 6,000 troops and supplies), 1 old navy supply ship (carrying 600 Special Naval Landing Force troops), and 1 small freighter (carrying 1,650 drums of aviation gas); it was escorted by 8 destroyers. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a Hurricane and a Blenheim aircraft over Akyab (now Sittwe), Burma, increasing his score to 23. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Werner Ehrhardt was named the commanding officer of German cruiser Prinz Eugen. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 712 RAF aircraft (457 Lancaster, 252 Halifax, and 3 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany; 20 aircraft were lost. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fourth war patrol. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 A mistake in record-keeping at Auschwitz Concentration Camp caused registration information of the women's camp in Birkenau to be in a state of confusion. All female prisoners of Birkenau camp were gathered for a prolonged roll call which lasted the entire day to re-confirm camp records; at the same time, a selection also took place among the women, which condemned some of them to the gas chambers. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Submarine Ray was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States, sponsored by the wife of S. C. Loomis. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 Henry Arnold suffered his first heart attack and was hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC, United States for several days. 
0
28 Feb 1943 WW2 USS Whale departed Midway Atoll for her third war patrol. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 U-530 was assigned to the 10. Unterseebootflottille (10th Submarine Flotilla). 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 Cruiser Köln was taken out of service and would remain so for one year. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 German troops began falling back from the Rzhev area in Russia. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 Heinz Guderian was appointed Inspector-General of Armoured Troops. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps established its first medium bomber squadron, Marine Bomber Squadron 413, at Cherry Point, North Carolina, United States. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 The Northern Group of the Chindits reached Zibyutaungdan, Burma and began to move into the Mu valley. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 Submarine ShCh-205 was awarded guard ship status. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Fw 190 fighter while flying a Yak-1 fighter. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 The Japanese convoy Operation 81 (consisted of 6 transports, 1 old navy supply ship, and 1 small freighter, carrying a total of 6,600 troops) departed Rabaul, New Britain. The convoy was discovered by Lieutenant Walt Higgins' B-24 patrol along the northern coast of New Britain at 1500 hours; 7 B-17 bombers were dispatched to attack, but they failed to locate the convoy. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Greenling dropped off Australian and New Britain natives at Cape Orford, New Britain. They were to serve as coast watchers. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 George Kenney and Richard Sutherland met with Chester Nimitz in Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215; Model F4U-1) on board. Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222; Model F4U-1) on board. Aviation Operations bldg. usably complete. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 Allied convoy RA-53 departed the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia; it was consisted of 30 freighters and was escorted by 31 warships. 
0
01 Mar 1943 WW2 The American Jewish Congress sponsored an event at the Madison Square Garden in New York City where 20,000 people gathered and called for Allied and neutral nations to provide sanctuaries for refugees and called for the United States and United Kingdom (ie. the British mandate of Palestine) to relax immigration restrictions. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 After nightfall, USS Greenling unloaded supplies off Cape Orford, New Britain for newly deployed coast watchers. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 The Northern Group of the Chindits marched 20 miles along a road northeast of Pinlebu, Burma. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", claimed a Hurricane fighter over Burma, but the downing was not confirmed. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Isokaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 Joseph Goebbels' diary entry on this date noted that "we are now definitely pushing the Jews out of Berlin" and expressing that many Jews were still in hiding in the city that needed to be found and deported. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan then sailed to Yokohama, Japan later on the same day. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 In Battle of the Bismarck Sea, US and Australian fighters and short range bombers attacked Lae, Australian Papua while US B-17 bombers located and attacked the Japanese convoy Operation 81 at 0930 hours. The first attack on the convoy sank Kyokusei Maru. In the afternoon, another wave of bombers attacked the convoy, damaging Teiyo Maru. After dark, a Catalina aircraft of Australian 11 Squadron maintained contact with the convoy. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze rescued survivors of transport Kyokusei Maru in the Bismarck Sea. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Permit sank a Japanese transport off Iwate, Japan, hitting her with 3 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 At 2140 hours, Auschwitz Concentration Camp commandant Rudolf Höss was informed that 15,000 Berlin Jews were being transported to the camp; he ordered that the prisoners must be kept in good health during the journey so that they could work at Auschwitz. 
0
02 Mar 1943 WW2 The Soviet 3rd Tank Army was destroyed near Kharkov, Ukraine which had only just been recaptured by the Soviets two weeks prior. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 Hitler survived an assassination attempt. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 Soviet troops recaptured Rzhev, Russia. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 The No. 4 Column of the Northern Group of the Chindits was ambushed and was nearly annihilated; Orde Wingate ordered the column to return to India. Meanwhile, the two columns of the Southern Group were ambushed by Japanese troops in the Mu valley after dark; both columns lost much equipment, while one of them was nearly wiped out. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze was attacked by US aircraft in the Bismarck Sea but sustained no damage. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 Battle of the Bismarck Sea: In the morning, 7 Australian 100 Squadron Beaufort aircraft took off from an airfield on the coast of Milne Bay, Australian Papua to attack the Japanese convoy Operation 81; only 2 of them would reach the convoy due to poor weather, and the attack would cause no damage. Shortly after, more than 100 aircraft took off from Port Moresby, Milne Bay area, and the new Dobodura airfield, assembled over Cape Ward Hunt, and attacked the convoy beginning at 0955 hours; 7 transports and 3 destroyers were sunk or damaged by a combination of strafing, bombing, and skip-bombing. Rear Admiral Yutaka Kimura and Lieutenant General Hatazo Adachi had to be rescued off of damaged destroyers Shikinami and Tokitsukaze, respectively. In the late morning, several waves of bombers attacked the convoy; when one US B-17 bomber, "Double Trouble" was fatally damaged, the crew parachuted, and Japanese fighters shot at the parachutes, which was observed by the other Americans. In the mid-afternoon, B-25 bombers and B-17 bombers attacked the convoy, fatally damaged destroyer Arashio; after expending their bombs, the Americans strafed many Japanese survivors floating in the water. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for transport Nankai Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 He Yingqin arrived in Chongqing, China. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Nassau arrived at Espiritu Santo in the morning with US Marine Aircraft Group 21 and its 54 F4F Wildcat fighters aboard. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 The 32nd transport from Berlin, Germany arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland in two trains, totaling 1,758 German Jews and 158 Norwegian Jews. 535 men and 145 women were registered into the camp from the first train, and 50 and 164 were registered from the second train. The remaining 1,022 were killed in gas chambers. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 British anti-aircraft gunners used a new rocket projectile for the first time during an air raid on London, England, United Kingdom. Civilians descending into a new tube station at Bethnal Green to take cover became panicked by the unfamiliar sound and, believing they were being bombed, stampeded down the stairs. In the crush someone stumbled causing others to fall. Those behind, not being able to see what was happening below continued to press forward, and soon 300 bodies were piled up. Tragically 173 people were crushed to death or suffocated. For the sake of public morale, news of the tragedy was suppressed for another two years. 
0
03 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Snook departed New London, Connecticut, United States. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 Richard Saul became the head of the British Air Headquarters Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 The Battle of the Bismarck Sea continued as US bombers sank already fatally damaged and abandoned destroyer Tokitsukaze and sank 6 landing barges that had arrived to rescue survivors of ships sunk on the previous day. After expending their bomb loads, American air crews strafed Japanese survivors floating in the sea. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 The Bulgarian government, in an attempt to protect Bulgarian Jews, fulfilled German pressure by deporting about 4,000 Greek Jews from the occupied territory of Thrace. These Greek Jews were eventually sent to concentration camps in Poland. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 Bell was commissioned into service. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 George Kenney departed Australia for Washington DC, United States. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Post Office turned over to station. British Fighter Squadrons 882, 896, and 898 from HMS Victorious ("USS Robin"), arrived on board. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Permit damaged a Japanese transport off Iwate, Japan, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish sanked a Japanese ships in the East China Sea, hitting her with 3 torpedoes. 
0
04 Mar 1943 WW2 Colonel William Scobey, executive to the US Assistant Secretary of War, visited Jerome War Relocation Center in Arkansas, United States to recruit volunteers among the Japanese-American internees for combat duty. Of 1,579 eligible men, only 31 volunteered. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 Tirpitz completed post-refitting trials. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 Awa Maru was commissioned into service. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 The USAAF 14th Air Force was established in China. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 US B-25 bombers machine gunned a cluster of life rafts occupied by Japanese survivors of ships sunken during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 German submarine U-255 sank freighter Executive (9 were killed, 51 survived) and damaged freighter Richard Bland of Allied convoy RA-53 at 0924 hours; shortly after, 12 German He 111 aircraft attacked the convoy, but none of them were able to break through the escort screen. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 British bombers attacked Krupp works at Essen, Germany; this was the Allies' first attack on this industrial region, which started what the Allies called the Battle of the Ruhr. This attack also saw the first successful use of Oboe, an aerial blind bombing targeting system. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Additional portions of British Fighter Squadrons 882, 896, and 898 arrived on board. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 I-168 departed Yokosuka, Japan for Paramushiro, Kurile Islands. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 Irako sailed south from Fukajima, Japan with torpedo boat Hato in escort. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 Nachi refueled from oiler Teiyo Maru at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 During a test run of Crematorium II at Auschwitz-Birkenau, it took 40 minutes to cremate 45 bodies. An observing commission, which included engineers from the firm J. A. Topf and Sons and SS officers, complained that the amount of time it took was too long. They instructed the prisoners who operated the crematorium to keep the generators running for several days to increase the temperature. 
0
05 Mar 1943 WW2 The first Gloster Meteor (DG206) aircraft made its maiden flight. The Meteor would go on to become the only turbojet powered Allied aircraft operational during the war. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 Axis forces launched a failed pre-emptive strike, Operation Capri, in southeastern Tunisia near Medenine. The operation was canceled by the evening as Rommel concluded that his forces did not have the initiative of battle. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels called off a round of deportation of Jews from Berlin because of public protests at a Jewish home for the aged. He secretly ordered the deportations to resume after a few weeks when public sentiments would have eased off a little. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 Croatian Catholic Archbishop Stepinac protested the killing of Jews married to Christians to little effect. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 George Patton was named the commanding officer of the US II Corps. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki rescued survivors of sunken Kiriha Maru and assisted Mitto Maru, which was damaged in the same attack. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 The German 71st Werfer Regiment went into action in support of Field Marshal Rommel's disastrous tank attack on the Eighth Army at Medenine in Tunisia. Personally brought forward by Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) Count Claus von Stauffenberg, later organizer of the 1944 bomb plot against Hitler, the regiment's three batteries were rapidly knocked out by Allied fighter bombers-the dust thrown up by the launching of the Nebelwerfer rockets having revealed their camouflaged positions. 
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06 Mar 1943 WW2 The Chindits reached Wuntho-Indaw railway in Burma near Nankan and Pinlebu. They fought off the Japanese units guarding key points of the railway and proceeded to destroy tracks, blasted cliffs to cause rocks to fall onto tracks, mined rail bridges, and destroyed other rail bridges. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 Light cruiser Astoria was launched. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 Joseph Stalin was created a Marshal of the Soviet Union. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 Kanichi Kashimura was shot down by a F4F fighter over the Russell Islands in the Solomon Islands. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 The headquarters of USAAF 49th Fighter Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese aircraft attacked American positions at the Russell Islands in the Solomon Islands for the first time; these positions were manned by the US Marine Corps 11th Defense Battalion. Meanwhile, US warship bombarded the Vila-Munda area in New Georgia. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyers Maikaze and Hamakaze and began repairing destroyer Kawakaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Pollack departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her sixth war patrol. 
0
06 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish hit a Japanese ship in the East China Sea with 3 of 7 torpedoes fired; she was lightly damaged by the subsequent depth charging.27,122.5 
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06 Mar 1943 WW2 Destroyer Luce was launched at Bethlehem Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York, United States. She was sponsored by the wife of Stephen B. Luce, Jr., who was the grandson of Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce, who in turn was the namesake of the ship. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 Douglas MacArthur issued a communiqué to USAAF squadrons in the South Pacific to congratulate them for the overwhelming success at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 US Liberty Ship J. L. M. Curry of Allied convoy RA-53 broke in two in a storm. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Runner arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her first war patrol. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Kashiwabara, Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands to escort a convoy to Attu, Aleutian Islands. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Permit sank a Japanese sampan off Hakkaido, Japan with her deck gun. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 Roma and Sinti people from occupied Poland and Soviet Union began arriving at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 Rearguard of the retreating Operation Capri forces engaged pursuing Allied forces in small-scale combat south of the Mareth Line in Tunisia. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 US Navy 10th Construction Battalion arrived at Canton, Phoenix Islands. 
0
07 Mar 1943 WW2 4,500 Croatian Jews were arrested; they would be deported to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland between 7 and 13 Mar 1943. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 American forces were attacked by Japanese troops on Hill 700 in Bougainville, Solomon Islands. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 The American ban on sliced bread, originally intended on saving wrapping paper but was found to be ineffective, was lifted. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 In Germany, over 1,000 non-Jewish wives of deported Jewish men continued to protest in Berlin. Propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels released 1,500 Jewish men to stabilize the situation. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 Allied forces pursuing the retreating Operation Capri forces gave up the chase due to poor weather in southeastern Tunisia. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 General Henry Arnold agreed to give Claire Chennault an air force independent from the USAAF, but maintained Chennault's position underneath Joseph Stilwell. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 A lone Catalina flying boat of the US 53rd Patrol Squadron returning from a patrol spotted the German submarine U-156 east of Barbados. The submarine was on the surface with her crew sunbathing and fishing on deck, and with hatches open. The lookouts failed to spot the aircraft as it delivered its attack at sea level. Three bombs straddled the submarine which could soon be seen to be sinking fast. A rubber dinghy was dropped but when rescuers arrived no trace could be found of survivors. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 US bombers escorted by RAF Spitfires attacked the U-Boat supply centre of Rennes and Rouen in France. The accompanying Spitfire fighters claimed the destruction of 25 enemy fighters. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Permit attacked a Japanese convoy between Honshu island and Hokkaido island consisted of nine merchant ships and two escort vessels, sinking merchant ship Hisashima Maru, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
08 Mar 1943 WW2 Henry Arnold arrived in Kansas, United States. 
0
09 Mar 1943 WW2 Erwin Rommel departed North Africa on account of health reasons. 
0
09 Mar 1943 WW2 Operation Boarding Party: SOE deployed the Calcutta Light Horse regiment to attack the German ship Ehrenfels in the neutral Portuguese port of Goa. This covert operation was not revealed to the public until 1978. 
0
09 Mar 1943 WW2 Yekaterina Budanova shot down a Bf 109 fighter, sharing the credit with other pilots. 
0
09 Mar 1943 WW2 German submarine U-586 sank US merchant ship Puerto Rican of Allied convoy RA-53 northeast of Iceland; 61 were killed, 1 survived. 
0
09 Mar 1943 WW2 SS Oberstumbannfuhrer Joachim Peiper, formerly Heinrich Himmler's adjutant, was awarded the Knights Cross for outstanding leadership and bravery on the Eastern Front. 
0
09 Mar 1943 WW2 The Japanese Navy Kure 6th Special Naval Landing Force landed between Bairoko and Enogai and near the Munda airfield on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. 
0
09 Mar 1943 WW2 Rear Admiral Minoru Ota, commanding officer of the Japanese Navy 8th Combined Special Landing Force, was given responsibility for the defense of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. 
0
09 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish damaged a Japanese transport in the East China Sea with 3 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
09 Mar 1943 WW2 40,000 people attended an event at Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States organized by Peter Bergson to raise awareness of the Nazi extermination of European Jews. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 The Japanese Navy removed Tatsuta Maru from the Navy List. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 Claire Chennault was promoted to the rank of major general and placed in command of the newly formed USAAF 14th Air Force in China. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 Axis forces participating in the failed Operation Capri attack in southeastern Tunisia fell back to the Mareth Line. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 The German Gestapo organization sent 11 Polish men and 11 Polish women from Bielsko, Poland to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 Captain Teruhiko Miyoshi was named the commanding officer of battleship Mutsu. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 Daly was commissioned into service. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 The No. 1 Column of the Northern Group of the Chindits destroyed the rail bridge at Kyaikthin, Burma and crossed the Irrawaddy River with the help of locals. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 German submarine U-255 sank freighter Richard Bland of Allied convoy RA-53; 61 were killed, 1 survived. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Attu, Aleutian Islands. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 Lin Sen was involved in an automobile accident in Chongqing, China. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived in waters off Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, Mariana Islands. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 Group Captain Sidney Bufton replaced Air Commodore J. W. Baker as the Director of Bomber Operations at the Air Ministry in London, England, United Kingdom. 
0
10 Mar 1943 WW2 George Kenney and Richard Sutherland arrived at Washington DC, United States. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 Tirpitz departed Trondheim, Norway. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 Erwin Rommel received Diamonds to his Knight's Cross medal. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 German RSHA organization ordered that all Jews in the criminal rehabilitation system were to be sent to Auschwitz or Majdanek concentration camps, where they would remain indefinitely, after they served their sentences. Meanwhile, Bulgarian troops arrested 7,100 Macedonian Jews and deported them to the new Skopje Concentration Camp in Yugoslavia. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 Joseph Goebbels ordered the SS and Security Police to round up the 4,000 Berlin Jews who had escaped Operation Factory at the end of Feb 1943. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 British Secretary of State for Air Sir Archibald Sinclair spoke at the House of Commons, noting that "he past 12 months have been marked by striking changes in the conduct and effectiveness of... the pulverising offensive of Bomber Command.... The monster raids saturating the enemy's active and passive systems of defence is one example. A second example is the success achieved in finding, marking and illuminating targets which has contributed enormously to the recent triumphs of Bomber Command.... Praise the men who are striking these hammer blows at German might... fearless young men flying through storm and cold and darkness higher than Mont Blanc, through the flak, hunted by the night fighters, but coolly and skillfully identifying and bombing these targets." Some Members of Parliament, such as Mr. Montague, representing West Islington, voiced concerns for the "wanton destruction" delivered by the Bomber Command. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 The British Admiralty officially announced the loss of submarine P311, suspected to have been lost to a mine in the Mediterranean Sea on 8 Jan 1943. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Akizuki and began repairing auxiliary aircraft transport Keiyo Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 USS S-31 departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her sixth war patrol. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived in waters between southern Japan and Taiwan. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 The BI-3 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its first flight at Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia (the fourth flight of the design), reaching the altitude of 4,000 meters. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 The royalist Yugoslavian government-in-exile in London, England, United Kingdom reported that German forces had executed 1,250 Serbians in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 The Pacific Military Conference began at the Munitions Building in Washington DC, United States. Henry Arnold, George Marshall, Ernest King, William Leahy, Geroge Kenney, and Richard Sutherland were among the attendees of the opening meeting. 
0
11 Mar 1943 WW2 The request for the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor for Brigadier General Kenneth Walker was approved. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokohoma for her 11th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 Tirpitz arrived at Bogen near Narvik, Norway. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 German troops evacuated Vyazma, Russia. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 German occupation authorities in the Netherlands ordered Jews residing in eight of the country's eleven provinces to be deported to the Vught (Hertogenbosch) Concentration Camp. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 Italian workers conducted a strike. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 German and Soviet troops engaged in heavy fighting at Kharkov, Ukraine. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 Manton Eddy gave George Patton the unofficial news of Patton's promotion to the temporary rank of lieutenant general. The promotion would be approved by the United States Senate within a few days. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 Lin Sen suffered a stroke during a meeting with the Canadian delegation to Chongqing, China. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 RAF bombers attacked Krupp steel plants in Essen, Germany, causing heavy damage. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 The company Ostindustrie GmbH established by the German SS organization; it was to act as the holding company for Jewish businesses in Lublin, Poland taken over by the SS. 
0
12 Mar 1943 WW2 Richard Sutherland presented the Elkton II plan for operations in the Pacific to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, United States. The plan was treated coldly by the JCS, as it did not wish to devote additional resources to the Pacific theater of war. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 I-168 departed Paramushiro, Kurile Islands for the Aleutian Islands. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 The Krakow Ghetto in Poland was liquidated. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 A celebration took place at the main rail station of Krakow, Poland, featuring the 2,000th transport of workers from Poland to Germany; the one-millionth forced laborer was "honored". 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 In Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Japanese troops ended their assault on American forces at Hill 700. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 Chinese troops pushed Japanese troops back across the Yangtze River. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 A plot to assassinate Hitler during a flight from Smolensk, Russia to Rastenburg, Germany failed. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 In Burma, the No. 3 Column of the Northern Group of the Chindits was attacked by Japanese forces whose conservative probing attacks failed to eliminate the numerically inferior Allied irregulars. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler visited Günther von Kluge's field headquarters. Anti-Hitler conspirators spoke to Kluge beforehand, but they could not convince Kluge to take action to arrest Hitler. Without Kluge's help, the conspirators acted on their own, sneaking fused bombs disguised as brandy bottles aboard Hitler's aircraft, which took off for Berlin, Germany after dinner. The bombs failed to explode, and the conspirators had to take the risk, successfully, to retrieve the bottles before they were discovered. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze made a troop transport run to Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 Pilots of US Marine Aircraft Group 21 arrived at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands by passenger aircraft. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish sank Japanese cargo ship Kosei Maru off Tokara Islands, Japan in the East China Sea, hitting her with 3 torpedoes. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Grayback fired six torpedoes at a Japanese transport and a destroyer in the South Pacific, sinking the transport with two hits. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked a Japanese ship in the East China Sea; the torpedo missed. 
0
13 Mar 1943 WW2 Richard Sutherland once again presented the Elkton II plan for operations in the Pacific to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, United States. The plan continued to be treated coldly by the JCS, as it did not wish to devote additional resources to the Pacific theater of war. 
0
14 Mar 1943 WW2 The advance echelon of US Marine Aircraft Group 21 arrived at Banika Island, Russell Islands, Solomon Islands. 
0
14 Mar 1943 WW2 F4F Wildcat fighters of US Marine Aircraft Group 21 arrived at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands one day after the arrival of their pilots; some aicraft were lost en route or during landing due to poor weather. 
0
14 Mar 1943 WW2 Aircraft of the US 8th Air Force bombed Kiel, Germany. 
0
14 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Grayback fired three torpedoes at a Japanese transport in the South Pacific; all torpedoes missed. 
0
14 Mar 1943 WW2 The BI-3 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its second flight at Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. 
0
14 Mar 1943 WW2 Germans recaptured Kharkov, Ukraine. 
0
14 Mar 1943 WW2 Allied convoy RA-53 arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom. 
0
14 Mar 1943 WW2 The first production Hurricane Mk. IV fighter, KX405, was completed. 
0
14 Mar 1943 WW2 George Kenney had lunch with publishers Henry and Clare Boothe Luce in Washington DC, United States. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 Greek Jews from Salonika and Thrace were deported to concentration camps. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 The British Royal Navy launched the first of the X-class midget submarines. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 Chindits under British Major Calvert and Major Fergusson crossed the Irrawaddy River in Burma. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 Germany and Finland signed a trade agreement. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sank Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Canada off of the coast of Sierra Leone. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 The US submarine Triton was sunk by Japanese destroyers whilst on patrol off the Admiralty Islands. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 The US 1st Marine Raider Regiment was organized for operations on Dragons Peninsula, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 The US Marine Corps 10th Defense Battalion began to arrive in the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands to relieve the 11th Defense Battalion. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 36 P-40L fighters of USAAF 33rd Fighter Group, while escorting a flight of B-25 bombers en route to Mezzouna, Tunisia, shot down 3 of a group of German fighters attempting to intercept. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 USS S-28 began conducting sound tests and anti-submarine warfare exercises with the Canadian Navy and Air Force at Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan issued the Joint Army-Navy Central Agreement on Southeast Asia Operation order, which was largely a defensive plan with the only offensive element being the re-establishment of air superiority over Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 Captain Keizaburo Okano was named the commanding officer of Irako. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 The keel of Shamrock Bay was laid down by the firm Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver, Washington, United States. 
0
15 Mar 1943 WW2 George Kenney had dinner with Arde Bulova, chairman of the watch making firm bearing his family name, in Washington DC, United States. Kenney convinced Bulova to donate 100 gold watches to award outstanding aircraft crew chiefs, who did not qualify for medals. Bulova would also give Kenney a watch of his own, with inscription "To Buccaneer, as a token of my admiration and respect, Arde Bulova". 
0
16 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Saipan, departing later on the same day. 
0
16 Mar 1943 WW2 27 Allied ships were destroyed in the Atlantic Ocean on this date, 8 of which were of Allied convoy HX-229. 
0
16 Mar 1943 WW2 Joseph Stalin demanded the western Allies to open a second front in Europe. 
0
16 Mar 1943 WW2 Operational trials of the 37-mm Flak gun-armed German Ju 87G anti-tank aircraft began on the Eastern Front. 
0
16 Mar 1943 WW2 HMS Campobello was abandoned and scuttled after suffering irreparable leaks whilst engaged in escorting convoy SC-122. 
0
16 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Permit completed her seventh war patrol. 
0
16 Mar 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing transport Noshiro Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 90 Luftwaffe bombers attacked Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 Bulgaria stated its opposition to the deportation of Bulgarian Jews. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 US troops captured Gafsa, Tunisia. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 Graffiti along the lines of "we are obliged to the Führer for this" was found among ruins of bombed German cities. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 The US Marine Corps 10th Defense Battalion completed taking over the duties of the 11th Defense Battalion in the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 US Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 243 arrived at Johnston Island from Ewa, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 The main body of the Northern Group of the Chindits arrived at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Shweli Rivers in Burma; they began to cross at nightfall. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Pompon was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander E. C. Hawk in command. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 Indian troops fell back from Japanese attacks along the Arakan front in Burma. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215) and Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) departed. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 Nachi refueled from oiler Teiyo Maru at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
17 Mar 1943 WW2 George Kenney and Richard Sutherland met with Franklin Roosevelt at the White House in Washington DC, United States. Later on the same day, Roosevelt called in Kenney for a second meeting, during which Kenney successfully lobbied for additional aircraft to be assigned to the USAAF in Australia. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 I-168 departed Kiska, Aleutian Islands and patrolled an area south of Amchitka. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 The Allies abandoned the attempt to drive Japanese from Donbaik, Burma. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 The main body of the Northern Group of the Chindits completed the crossing of the Irrawaddy River. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 Famed Polish Jewish violinist Henri Czaplinski (aka. Genrikh Maksimovich Chaplinsky in Soviet documents) joined the Donukalov Partisan Brigade near Minsk, Byelorussia. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 Vichy France repealed a number of anti-Semitic laws. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 Italians began to raise the wreck of Algérie in sections at Toulon, France. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 USAAF aircraft bombed the Vegesack district of Bremen, Germany. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 56 western missionaries and western civilians, 2 Chinese adult civilians, and 2 Chinese infants were executed by gunfire or drowning aboard Japanese destroyer Akikaze in the Pacific Ocean. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 Switzerland was warned of a seemingly impending German invasion. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 US 1st Ranger Battalion captured El Guettar, Tunisia. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 Oswald Mosley and Diana Mosley received Norah Elam and Dudley Elam while in imprisonment in London, England, United Kingdom. 
0
18 Mar 1943 WW2 The keel of destroyer USS Cassin Young was laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, United States. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 German Colonel Rudolf von Gersdorff's attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bombing was canceled at the last moment when Hitler decided to leave early from a show of captured weapons. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 The new radiolocation system ASV III was used over the Bay of Biscay off France by bombers of No. 172 Squadron RAF. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 The British launched Operation Pugilist in Tunisia against the Axis Mareth Line, penetrating the line near Zarat. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 The China Air Task Force was incorporated into the USAAF 14th Air Force. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 The largest air drop in support of Operation Longcloth in Burma was conducted, delivering 100 tons of supplies to the Chindits. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 Captain Lester Hudson was named the commanding officer of USS San Diego. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Yokosuka, Japan for Kure, Japan. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Yokosuka, Japan for the Oita, Japan region of the Inland Sea. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Whale spotted a Japanese convoy consisted of two large freighters and one armed escort off Saipan, Mariana Islands and began tracking the convoy. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank freighter Zogen Maru in the Yellow Sea, hitting her with a torpedo; all aboard were killed. Four hours later, she damaged freighter Kowa Maru, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes (only one of them detonated; the other failed to do so). 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 The Japanese passenger ship, Takachihi Maru, was torpedoed and sunk off Taiwan. More than 1,200 perish, mainly Japanese and Taiwanese civilians (Taiwan was a Japanese colony at the time). It remained Taiwan's worst sea disaster. 
0
19 Mar 1943 WW2 Henry Arnold was promoted to the rank of general. 
0
20 Mar 1943 WW2 The British Eighth Army broke through German Mareth Line in Tunisia. 
0
20 Mar 1943 WW2 Churchill's post war plans, broadcasted over radio, was criticized as very socialist. 
0
20 Mar 1943 WW2 The Japanese Navy was ordered to execute all Allied personnel captured at sea. 
0
20 Mar 1943 WW2 Major John Sapp of US Marine Torpedo-Bomber Squadron 143 led the first American aerial mine-laying mission in the South Pacific off the Solomon Islands. 
0
20 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Pollack damaged a Japanese freighter between Jaluit and Makin Atolls in the Gilbert Islands and Marshall Islands area, hitting her with one of four torpedoes fired. 
0
20 Mar 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived in the Inland Sea in Japanese waters. 
0
20 Mar 1943 WW2 Archibald Wavell ordered the offensive in Arakan Peninsula, Burma abandoned, falling back to the Maungdaw-Buthidaung line. 
0
20 Mar 1943 WW2 B-24 Liberator bombers of US 373rd Bombardment Squadron arrived at Yangkai Airfield in Yunnan Province, China. 
0
20 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Whale attacked a Japanese convoy off Saipan, Mariana Islands, damaging Mogamigawa Maru and Arizona Maru, hitting them with 4 of 6 torpedoes fired, but also suffered serious damage by depth charges and aerial bombs. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 The submarine Cod was launched, sponsored by Mrs. G. M. Mahoney. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 After 4 months of public silence, Hitler made a Hero's Day speech. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 Cornelia Fort was killed during an aircraft ferrying mission in Texas, United States. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 New Zealand troops under Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg bypassed the Mareth Line defenses in Tunisia by moving his forces through Wilder's Gap to the west. They engaged surprised German defenses at the Tebaga Gap. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Colonel Derek Seagram won a posthumous Victoria Cross for leading an attack on the Mareth Line in Tunisia. He inspired his men by being first across the scaling ladders over the German anti-tank ditches but was mortally wounded in the fighting. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Pollack continued to chase the Japanese freighter she had attacked between Jaluit and Makin Atolls in the Gilbert Islands and Marshall Islands area, further damaging the ship. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Finback damaged a Japanese cargo ship in the Southwestern Pacific, hitting her with two of three torpedoes fired. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 PBY Catalina aircraft delivered a group of US Marine Corps scouts at Segi Plantation, New Georgia for a reconnaissance mission; they would later report that Segi's beaches would not accommodate a large landing force. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyers Isokaze and Kawakaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, and Wilhelm Keitel attended a ceremony for a Heroes Memorial Ceremony in Berlin, Germany. An anti-Hitler conspirator wore an overcoat with explosives hidden inside, aiming to conduct a suicide mission to assassinate Hitler and perhaps take out some of his top command. A unexpected early departure, however, led to the abandonment of this mission. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank freighter Hozen Maru in the Yellow Sea near the coast of Korea, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes; about 33 survived. Four hours later, she sank freighter Nittsu Maru, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes; she encountered 3 survivors, all of whom refused to be rescued. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 The BI-3 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its third flight at Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. 
0
21 Mar 1943 WW2 No. 617 Squadron RAF was established at RAF Scampton, England, United Kingdom under the command of Wing Commander Guy Gibson for the purpose of launching an attack upon the Ruhr dams in Germany. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 Germans recaptured Belgorod, Russia. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 Khatyn Massacre: German SS men massacred civilians in the Byelorussian village of Khatyn, killing its entire population of 149, 75 of which children. The village was then burned to the ground. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 American troops captured Maknassy, Tunisia. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak shot down the German Bf 109G-4 fighter piloted by Leutnant Franz Müller and the Bf 109G-2 fighter piloted by Unteroffizier Karl-Otto Harloff while flying a Yak-1 fighter. She was wounded during this engagement. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 Captain William Wellclose Davis was named the commanding officer of HMS Mauritius. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 The Japanese Army and Navy staffs in Tokyo, Japan issued a new directive for operations in the Rabaul area, emphasizing the importance of the defense of New Guinea. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 Tirpitz departed for Kåfjord/Altafjord, Norway. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Whale spotted a Japanese convoy consisted of three freighters off Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, Mariana Islands and began tracking the convoy. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo set sail toward Lushunkou, Liaoning Province, China. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 Crematorium 4 began operation at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 German 15th Panzer Division neared Zarat, Tunisia, recapturing territory lost at the opening of the British Operation Pugilist. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 Two captured German generals spoke of plans for long range missiles in a room in Kensington Park Gardens, London, England, United Kingdom, not realizing that the room had been bugged. 
0
22 Mar 1943 WW2 George Kenney was featured on the cover of the Life magazine in the United States. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 In its heaviest bombing raid to date, the British RAF Bomber Command attacked Dortmund, Germany with 2,000 tons of explosives. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 German 10th Panzer Division counterattacked the advancing American troops in the El Guettar region in Tunisia; heavy American anti-tank fire repulsed the German attack. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 In a free election in occupied Denmark, the Government Party won 143 seats while the Danish Nazi Party only won 5 seats. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 German Luftwaffe aircraft sank HMS Windsor Castle off Algeria. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 Soviet troops surrounded the German headquarters at Ternopil, Ukraine. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 USS S-31 began patrolling in the Kwajalein area in the Marshall Islands. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 Bernard Montgomery released British 1st Armoured Division from reserve to reinforce the New Zealand troops' offensive near Zarat, Tunisia. Indian 4th Division attacked the western end of the Mareth Line in coordination. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 Heinrich Himmler's statistician reported to him that, thus far, 633,300 Russian Jews had been "resettled", with the latter word a likely euphemism for "exterminated". 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 9 US B-17 bombers attacked the Japanese base at Rabaul, New Britain, causing damage to the airfields. One of the bombers dropped large bombs in the Rabalanakaia volcano in an attempt to artificially cause an eruption, but the attempt was successful; the Americans did not realize that the volcano was actually dormant. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Whale attacked a Japanese convoy off Saipan, Mariana Islands, hitting them with 4 of 6 torpedoes fired, sinking Kenyo Maru and damaging another freighter. A 7th torpedo was fired at the general direction of the convoy as she disengaged to discourage escorts from chasing her, but the torpedo circled back and almost struck USS Whale. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank collier Katyosan Maru in the Laotieshan Channel between Liaoning Province and Shandong Province, China, hitting her with 1 of 1 torpedo. 
0
23 Mar 1943 WW2 A group of Greek Jews were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. 
0
24 Mar 1943 WW2 The British RAF Bomber Command had by this date dropped 100,000 tons of explosives on Germany. 
0
24 Mar 1943 WW2 British General Orde Wingate was ordered by his superiors to withdraw his Chindits from Burma. 
0
24 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Finback spotted a Japanese convoy and began to shadow it. 
0
24 Mar 1943 WW2 Oberleutnant Eitel-Albert Barth, Oberleutnant Werner Oberländer, Feldwebel Walter Pilz, and Oberleutnant Horst Rudat of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
24 Mar 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a B-25 bomber over Meiktila, Burma, his 24th victory. 
0
24 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
24 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fifth war patrol. 
0
24 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank tanker Takaosan Maru in Korea Bay of the Yellow Sea at 1949 hours after a 7-hour pursuit, hitting her with 1 of 7 torpedoes. 
0
24 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Tunny departed Midway Atoll after a brief stay to replace her periscope. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 Greek partisans captured Samos Island from the Italian garrison, albeit only temporarily. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 The Spanish foreign ministry announced the closure of its border with France and stopped with refugee from cross into Spain without transit papers. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 Indian 4th Division overran the Mareth Line in Tunisia. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 Russian fighter Ace Grigori Rechkalov received his first (of two) award of Hero of the Soviet Union while serving as a senior lieutenant with the 16th GvIAP. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 The Japanese offensive at Bougainville in the Solomon Islands was halted. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 The No. 5 Column of the Chindits, under Bernard Fergusson, made rendezvous with Orde Wingate's main body at Shaukpin Chaung river bed in Burma. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Ralph Marcus Wallace was named the commanding officer of HMCS Trillium. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 A Japanese reconnaissance flight over Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands discovered about 300 Allied aircraft at the base. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 US bombers attacked Nauru for the first time. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Whale spotted a Japanese ship and began tracking her off Saipan, Mariana Islands. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank freighter Satsuki Maru in the Yellow Sea with two torpedoes (both of which missed) and her deck gun. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Barbero was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
25 Mar 1943 WW2 George Kenney attended the posthumous Medal of Honor award ceremony for Brigadier General Kenneth Walker at the White House in Washington DC, United States. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Buin, Bougainville departing later on the same day. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 In the Aleutian Islands, American warships intercepted Japanese troops attempting to reinforce Kiska, engaging in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 All remaining British and American citizens in Germany were arrested; all remaining British and American citizens in occupied Europe were deported to Germany. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 British General Wingate ordered his Chindits in Burma to withdraw. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 In the afternoon, British launched Operation Supercharge II to exploit Axis defenses in Tunisia near the Tebaga Gap. At 2300 hours, as the moon rose to provide some light, British tanks pushed through the gap and approached on El Hamma to the north. Tanks of the German 15th Panzer Division were released from reserve to counter the offensive. Axis troops began retreating from the Mareth Line in Tunisia toward Wadi Akarit. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 Remy Van Lierde shot down a German Ju 52 transport aircraft over Belgium, which was his second kill. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Finback attacked the Japanese convoy which she initially intercepted on 24 Mar 1943 north of New Guinea, Dutch East Indies. She damged two transports with 3 of 6 torpedoes fired and was counterattacked with depth charges. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 US B-17 bomber "Pluto", with US General Howard Ramey aboard, disappeared 20 minutes after having taken off from Port Moresby, Australian Papua. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler informed Benito Mussolini that the Battle of Stalingrad had weakened the Soviet Union so much that the city would surely fall and the war would be won. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Whale attacked the Japanese ship she had been pursuing since the previous day east of Saipan, Mariana Islands; all 7 torpedoes missed. 
0
26 Mar 1943 WW2 During the Battle of the Komandorski Islands, Nachi was forced to push one of her floatplanes overboard (concussion damage from her own guns), fired several Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes at the US forces (none of which hit), and received five hits (killing 14). 
0
27 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul, New Britain departing later on the same day. 
0
27 Mar 1943 WW2 German tanks stopped the British offensive at El Hamma, Tunisia, but New Zealand troops had successfully secured territory south of the town. 
0
27 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Tunny reached Wake Island waters. 
0
27 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese 6th Field Kempeitai arrived at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
27 Mar 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Additions to Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) arrived on board. 
0
27 Mar 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Kure, Japan after layovers at Tokuyama, Iwaishima, Beppu, and Tokuyama again en route. 
0
27 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank a small Japanese patrol vessel with her deck gun in the Yellow Sea, then sank a small fishing trawler with improvised Molotov cocktail bombs. 
0
27 Mar 1943 WW2 The BI-3 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its fourth flight at Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, reaching the speed of more than 800 kilometers per hour. The aircraft would lose control during flight, crashing to the ground and killing test pilot Grigory Bakhchivandzhi. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland departing later on the same day. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 Most Axis troops were evacuated from the Mareth Line in Tunisia to form a new line to the north. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Tunny attacked a Japanese cargo ship off Wake Island at dawn with two torpedoes, blowing off the ship's stern. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 The US Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a directive canceling the orders issued on 2 Jul 1942. Replacing it, the Offensive Operations in the South and Southwest Pacific Areas During 1943 aimed to establish airfields on Kiriwina and Woodlark Islands, to capture northern coast of New Guinea island, to capture western New Britain, and to capture key locations in the Solomon Islands. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 The main body of Chindit forces reached Inywa, Burma at 1600 hours. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 US 15th Air Force bombed the oil refinery at Livorno, Italy. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Whale attacked a Japanese freighter between Saipan in Mariana Islands and Truk in Caroline Islands; all 3 torpedoes missed. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank two small fishing vessels with her deck gun in the East China Sea. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 Wing Commander Guy Gibson flew a Lancaster bomber down Derwent reservoir near Sheffield in central England, United Kingdom to try out flying very accurately at low level. 
0
28 Mar 1943 WW2 Richard Sutherland once again presented the Elkton II plan for operations in the Pacific to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, United States, this time without any mention of plans to invade the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul, New Britain. The JCS finally gave Sutherland permission to proceed with the plan. 
0
29 Mar 1943 WW2 New Zealand troops captured Gabès, Tunisia while Axis troops were evacuated out of El Hamma. 
0
29 Mar 1943 WW2 Hitler ordered the construction of large missile launch sites on French coast. 
0
29 Mar 1943 WW2 USS S-31 completed her patrol in the Kwajalein area in the Marshall Islands. 
0
29 Mar 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", claimed a Hurricane fighter over Mindon, Burma, but the downing was not confirmed. 
0
29 Mar 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi performed repair work for seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
29 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank freighter Yamabato Maru in the East China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 2 torpedoes. She then transited the Collnett Strait (Tokara Kaiky) between Yakushima island and Kuchinoshima island in southern Japan, eastward into the Pacific Ocean. 
0
29 Mar 1943 WW2 Guy Gibson was summoned to Group Headquarters where he was given a more detailed briefing by Ralph Cochrane, including details of the proposed targets of the Möhne and Sorpe Dams in Germany. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 RAF bombed the Philips factory in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 British General Montgomery's troops breached the Mareth Line in North Africa. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 US 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions attacked Italian positions at Hill 369 near El Guettar, Tunisia to little success. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 The British super-gun "Bruce" (named after Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser-the recently appointed C-in-C Home Fleet) was fired for the first time from the RM Siege Battery area behind St. Margarets at Cliffe, Kent, England, United Kingdom. It achieved a range of 62.5 miles vindicating the predictions of the ballistics experts. Unfortunately after 30 shots the rifling on the inside of the barrel was worn so that the ribbed shells failed to "catch" in the grooves. The result was that "Bruce" was unable to make any further contribution to the war effort. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 British light cruiser HMS Glasgow intercepted German blockade runner Regensburg, whose crew scuttled the ship. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down two Hurricane fighters over Mindon, Burma, increasing his score to 26. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Parts of Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215) departed. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 Irako transited the Bungo Strait between Shikoku and Kyushu, Japan with patrol boat PB-46 in escort. 
0
30 Mar 1943 WW2 A transport of 2,501 Jews from Thessaloniki, Greece arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. 312 men and 141 women were registered, while the remaining 2,048 were gassed. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 British troops occupied Cap Serrat on the Tunisian coast. Operation Supercharge II was concluded with success in Tunisia, forcing the Axis defenses to move north to Wadi Akarit. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 USAAF bombers attacked the Italian airfield at Cagliari, Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 German Luftwaffe Major General Peltz was placed in charge of bombing raids against Britain. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 American troops under Colonel Archibald MacKechnie landed at the mouth of Waria River in New Guinea. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 US leadership gave the order to invade Attu in the Aleutian Islands on 7 May 1943. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 US 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions again attacked Italian positions at Hill 369 near El Guettar, Tunisia to little success. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 Gusztáv Jány was awarded the German Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 Belleau Wood was commissioned into service. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 The US 2nd Marine Brigade was disbanded in Pago Pago, American Samoa. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 British corvette HMS Milfoil was recommissioned into the United States Navy as USS Intensity. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 Vice Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka launched a 2-wave fighter sweep (32 fighters and 25 fighters, respectively) down the Slot in the Solomon Islands to draw out Allied fighters. About 30 Guadalcanal-based US F4F fighters, 8 P-38 fighters, and a few F4U fighters engaged them over the Russell Islands. 9 Japanese Zero fighters, 5 US F4F Wildcat fighters, and 1 US F4U Corsair fighter were shot down in the action. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Tunny reached the Caroline Islands region. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler met Bulgarian King Boris III at his headquarters at Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down three Hurricane fighters over Patenga, India (now Bangladesh), increasing his score to 29. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Whale set sail toward Midway Atoll. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 Crematorium 2 began operation at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 Soviet troops defeated the German 17th Army in the Kuban Peninsula and captured Anastasyevsk north of Novorossiysk, near the coast of the Black Sea in southern Russia. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 The Soviet GKO meeting at 2330 hours on this date, also joined by Vsevolod Merkulov and Viktor Abakumov, discussed the establishment of a counterintelligence branch. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 Replying to a question from Member of Parliament Richard Stokes, the Air Minister, Sir Archibald Sinclair, told the British House of Commons that Bomber Command's targets were always of a military nature, but that bombing of military targets would necessarily involve bombing areas in which they were situated. 
0
31 Mar 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse was commissioned into service with Commander Donald McGregor in command. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 Submarine Croaker was laid down. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Kiska, Aleutian Islands from Paramushiro, Kurile Islands; she took on sick personnel of the Kiska garrison and departed. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 12 British Mosquito aircraft destroyed a power station and a railways yard at Trier, Germany without any losses; local reports recorded 21 deaths. On the same date, RAF Squadron Leader C. O'Donoghue of 103 Squadron commanded a lone Lancaster bomber on a bombing attack on Emmerich, Germany; the aircraft was shot down, killing the entire crew. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 US 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions attacked Italian positions at Hill 369 near El Guettar, Tunisia for the third consecutive day to little success. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki was assigned to the 2nd Surface Escort Division. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 Thorn was commissioned into service. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps established Marine Aircraft Group S3 at Cherry Point, North Carolina, United States under Lieutenant Colonel Frank H. Schwable; it was the first USMC night fighter group. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 The US Marine Corps activated the 4th Base Depot at Nouméa, New Caledonia. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 George Patton's aide Captain Richard Jenson was killed during a German air attack; Patton shed tears over Jenson's body and cut a lock of hair, keeping some of himself and sending the remaining to Jenson's family. Patton would blame the British Royal Air Force for allowing German aircraft to operate with impunity; this accusation would create controversial at top levels of Allied command. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 Captain Frank E. Beatty, Jr. was named the commanding officer of USS Columbia, relieving Captain William A. Heard. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny patrolled off North Pass Island and Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 US Navy Construction Battalions in US Territory of Hawaii took over construction projects previously worked on by civilian contractors. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Runner departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Dispensary (150 beds) usably complete. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 The "P" (parachute) battalion of "San Marco" naval infantry regiment merged with "N" (swimmer) battalion to form the new Grupo Battaglioni "NP". 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 Naka was assigned to Japanese 14th Cruiser Division while the ship was at Maizuru, Japan. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 The Mako Guard District at Pescadores islands, Taiwan was transferred to Takao in southern Taiwan, and it was renamed the Takao Guard District. Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi remained the guard district's commanding officer. 
0
01 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Mingo departed Long Island, New York, United States area for Newport, Rhode Island, United States. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 HMS Black Swan and HMS Stonecrop sank German submarine U-124 in the Atlantic Ocean. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 The Italian Semovente 105/25 tank destroyer design entered production. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 USS S-31 crossed the equator in the Pacific Ocean. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Gar ended her sixth war patrol. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 Near El Guettar, Tunisia, US 9th Infantry Division was moved to attack Hill 772; its original objective of Hill 369 was now left to US 1st Infantry Division to capture. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze made a troop transport run to Rekata, Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 Hauptmann Philipp Müller of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 In the later afternoon, USS Tunny made radar contact with Japanese transport Toyo Maru Number 2 off Alet Island, Caroline Islands. She fired three torpedoes at the distance of 880 meters and observed a hit on the transport before diving to avoid attack by the escorting Momo-class destroyer; depth charges caused minor damage. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 Robert von Greim was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 Allied bombers conducted raids across Italy, hitting Messina, Crotone, Villa San Giovanni, Naples, Augusta, and Palermo. Some of the missions were aborted due to cloud cover. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 The Tamazato Prisoners of War Camp in eastern Taiwan was opened for the purpose of showing Red Cross representatives a model camp. 
0
02 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Alabama departed the United States for Britain. 
0
03 Apr 1943 WW2 German Fw 190 fighters strafed Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom. 
0
03 Apr 1943 WW2 US 1st Infantry Division captured Hill 369 near El Guettar, Tunisia. 
0
03 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny set sail for Namonuito, Caroline Islands. 
0
03 Apr 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki rescued the survivors of sunken tanker Arima Maru. 
0
03 Apr 1943 WW2 The US submarine Pickerel was depth charged and sunk by Japanese warships north of Honshu, Japan. 
0
03 Apr 1943 WW2 The Indian Army Medical Corps was formed by amalgamating the Indian Medical Services, the Indian Medical Department and the Indian Hospital Corps. 
0
03 Apr 1943 WW2 Oberleutnant Josef Luxenburger, Hauptmann Wilhelm Mylius, and Oberfeldwebel Fraz Placzek of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
03 Apr 1943 WW2 Admiral Yamamoto and his staff departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Rabaul, New Britain on two Kawanishi H8K flying boats to supervise Operation I-GO from 7 to 14 Apr 1943, expecting to return to flagship Musashi on 19 Apr 1943. They arrived at Rabaul at 1340 hours. 
0
03 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 I-168 transferred men from Kiska to Attu in the Aleutian Islands. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 RAF bombers conducted a raid on Kiel, Germany during the night. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 Soviet troops launched the Taman Offensive Operation in an attempt to push the Germans out of the Taman Peninsula in the Caucasus region of southern Russia. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny set sail for McLaughlin Bank, Caroline Islands. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 No. 254 Squadron of Coastal Command achieved its first success against enemy shipping using torpedo carrying Beaufighter aircraft. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 The final elements of US Marine Aircraft Group 21 arrived at Banika Island, Russell Islands. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Pollack damaged a Japanese freighter in the Marshall Islands and Gilbert Islands area with two of two torpedoes fired. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 Unable to do it himself, George Patton ordered Omar Bradley to fire Orlando Ward for Ward's failures at Kasserine Pass, Tunisia. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Grayback arrived at Brisbane, Australia, ending her sixth war patrol. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 Isoroku Yamamoto and Ryunosuke Kusaka met at Rabaul, New Britain to discuss the details of the I-Go offensive. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down two Hurricane fighters over Dohazari, India (now Bangladesh), increasing his score to 31. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 The German SS Central Construction Office reported to Auschwitz Concentration Camp that Crematorium V had been completed in Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and its administration was now turned over to the camp administration. According to the firm that built the crematorium, J. A. Topf und Söhne, it had the capacity to cremate 768 bodies each day. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 Submarine Cero was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Mrs. D. E. Barbey. 
0
04 Apr 1943 WW2 US Navy 50th Construction Battalion arrived at Midway Atoll to relieve the 5th Construction Battalion. It was to continue the work to lengthen the airstrips and to build oil storage tanks on Sand Island. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 Theo Osterkemp was appointed the commanding officer of Jagdfliegerführer Sizilien and charged with safeguarding Axis flights between Sicily, Italy and Tunisia, Italian North Africa. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 Allies launched Operation Flax, a concentrated effort to destroy Axis capability to supply Tunisia by air. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 William Slim and Noel Irwin met in Calcutta, India. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine U-869 was laid down. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Finback hit a damaged and beached Japanese merchant ship off Wake Island with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Pompon began her journey down the Mississippi River in a floating drydock toward New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 USAAF 325th Fighter Group received orders to move two of its P-40 squadrons to the airfield at Montesquien, Algeria. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Theater turned over to station (1200 capacity). 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Kure, Japan for a series of round trips between Iwaishima and Tokuyama (3 times), Oita, and Beppu. 
0
05 Apr 1943 WW2 Naka completed her repairs at Maizuru, Japan and departed the port. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested for being part of an attempt on Hitler's life. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 Axis forces fell back from Wadi Akarit towards Enfidaville, Tunisia as the British Eighth Army began linking up with US II Corps. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 British pressure in southeastern Tunisia caused Axis forces to begin falling back from the El Guettar region. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 Captured French torpedo boats Bombarde, La Pomone, and L'Iphigénie, been in Italian service since Dec 1942, were transferred on loan to the German Navy. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 George Kenney arrived at Brisbane, Australia. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: British Torpedo Squadrons commenced night flying. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Hashirajima, Japan. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her third war patrol. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Permit departed Midway Atoll, starting her eighth war patrol. 
0
06 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her fourth war patrol. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 Hitler and Mussolini began a four-day meeting near Salzburg, Austria trying to keep Italy in the war. This led off a month of meetings with Axis allies for pep talks to keep them active against the Allies. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 British and American troops linked up on the El Guettar-Gabès road in Tunisia, ending the Battle of El Guettar. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 The British government announced equal war compensation for men and women. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 Bolivia declared war on the Axis powers. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 German Luftwaffe assigned 148 fighters to Jagdfliegerführer Sizilien. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny attacked transport Kosei Maru, hitting her with two torpedoes. An Akatsuki-class destroyer counterattacked with depth charges, causing no damage. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate and his small group of Chindits began to march for the Irrawaddy River in Burma en route back to India. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Guitarro was laid down. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 Claus von Stauffenberg was seriously injured when his car was strafed by Allied aircraft in North Africa. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 In the morning, at Lakunai field at Rabaul, New Britain, Isoroku Yamamoto personally observed the launch of some of the aircraft that was to form a large aerial offensive (to be consisted of 157 Zero fighters and 67 D3A dive bombers). At Tulagi in the Solomon Islands, this Japanese attack force sank 1 US destroyer, 1 New Zealand corvette, and 1 tanker, while also damaged the oiler that was fueling the New Zealand corvette at the time of the attack. The Japanese aircraft were engaged by US Marine Corps F4F fighters; during the combat, 12 Zero fighters, 9 D3A dive bombers, and 7 F4F fighters were shot down. 3 D3A dive bombers were lost en route back to their bases. Under the cover of the air attack, a reinforcement convoy arrived at Kolombangara, New Georgia. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 USAAF 325th Fighter Group saw its first combat mission as 36 of its P-40 fighters escorted a group of B-25 bombers to attack Mateur in Tunisia; one P-40 fighter was lost during this mission. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Whale departed Midway Atoll. 
0
07 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo began a period of refitting at Midway Atoll. 
0
08 Apr 1943 WW2 US President Roosevelt froze wages and prices of utilities in order to prevent inflation. He also banned workers from changing jobs unless the switch would further the war effort. 
0
08 Apr 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Baya was laid down. 
0
08 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny patrolled north of West Fayu Island, Caroline Islands. Toward the end of the day she received orders to sail for waters southwest of Truk to intercept a Japanese fleet of unknown composition. 
0
08 Apr 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Hatsukaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
08 Apr 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
08 Apr 1943 WW2 The first modified Lancaster ED765/G ("G" for "Guard" denoting the special security arrangements required) bomber was delivered to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom for planned attacks against German dams. 
0
08 Apr 1943 WW2 XSB2D-1 prototype aircraft took its first flight. 
0
09 Apr 1943 WW2 British troops captured Mahares, Tunisia. 
0
09 Apr 1943 WW2 USS S-31 arrived at Nouméa, New Caledonia where she would be refitted and would serve as a target for training exercises. 
0
09 Apr 1943 WW2 Ivan Bagramyan was awarded the Order of Kutuzov 1st Class. 
0
09 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny made contact with a Japanese fleet off Truk, Caroline Islands at 2228 hours. She fired four torpedoes at the fleet, which now she realized was an aircraft carrier force, observing multiple hits. She then fired an additional six torpedoes before diving; the subsequent depth charge counterattack caused little damage. Later study of Japanese records revealed that the attacks caused only minor damage on the Japanese force as the torpedoes were detonated prematurely. 
0
09 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Parts of British Fighter Squadrons 882, 896, and 898 departed. 
0
09 Apr 1943 WW2 The German government re-designated Majdanek from a labor camp to a concentration camp. 
0
09 Apr 1943 WW2 The Chelmno Concentration Camp in Reichsgau Wartheland, Germany (occupied Poland) temporarily ceased its extermination operations. 
0
09 Apr 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Parche was laid down at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, United States. 
0
09 Apr 1943 WW2 The modified P-38G aircraft which Benjamin Kelsey was test flying failed to pull out of a dive; Kelsey parachuted to safety, albeit suffering a broken ankle on landing, but the aircraft would crash near Calabasas, California, United States. 
0
10 Apr 1943 WW2 The Allied continued Operation Flax offensives over the waters between Sicily, Italy and Tunisia, Italian North Africa, destroying many Axis transport aircraft and fighters. On the ground, British troops captured Sfax, Tunisia. 
0
10 Apr 1943 WW2 84 American B-24 bombers attacked Sardinia, Italy, sinking one cruiser and damaging another. 
0
10 Apr 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze made a troop transport run to Finschhafen, New Guinea, Dutch East Indies; the mission was aborted due to US air attacks. 
0
10 Apr 1943 WW2 8th Bomb Squadron (flying A-20 aircraft) of USAAF 3rd Bombardment Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
10 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More portions of British Fighter Squadrons 882, 896, and 898 departed. Link Trainer building turned over to station. 
0
10 Apr 1943 WW2 Italian Air Force Assault Engineer Battalion was made independent of 1st Air Force Assault Regiment. 
0
10 Apr 1943 WW2 The first modified Lancaster bomber was moved to RAF Manston, England, United Kingdom to conduct dropping trials for attacks on German dams. 
0
10 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Copahee departed San Diego, California, United States. 
0
11 Apr 1943 WW2 SS doctors at concentration camps were given orders to select prisoners to be sent to Hartheim Castle in Austria to be euthanized. 
0
11 Apr 1943 WW2 The Germans lost several transport aircraft flying between Sicily, Italy and Tunisia, Italian North Africa. On the ground, Allied troops captured Kairouan, Tunisia. 
0
11 Apr 1943 WW2 Destroyer HMS Beverley (Lieutenant Commander R. A. Price) was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-188 (Kapitänleutnant Siegfried Lüdden) while escorting Atlantic convoy ON-176. Her loss would be officially announced by the Admiralty on 2 May 1943. 
0
11 Apr 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler issued orders that the best armies, the best leaders and the best weapons were to be made available for employment in the "Encirclement of the enemy forces deployed in the Kursk area". 
0
11 Apr 1943 WW2 73 Zero fighters and 27 D3A carrier dive bombers attacked Oro Bay near Dobodura, Australian Papua, sinking 1 US cargo ship, sinking 1 US destroyer, damaging 1 transport, and damaging 1 Australian minesweeper. 
0
11 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny was observed by a Japanese ship 40 kilometers off of Truk, Caroline Islands, but there was no subsequent attack. Early in the afternoon, she intercepted Japanese submarine I-9; she fired three forward torpedoes, and the Japanese submarines fired two; all torpedoes missed. Japanese aircraft arrived to hunt USS Tunny, but the bombs dropped caused no damage. USS Tunny would remain submerged until sundown. After dark, while on the surface, she made radar contact with a Japanese destroyer; as she moved to attack, the destroyer also detected her, attacking with nine depth charges; Tunny would remain submerged for hours to escape the attack. 
0
11 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Snook departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
11 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 British War Office circulated the "German Long-Range Rocket Development" report, which warned of potential danger from these potential new weapons. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 Germans announced the discovery of over 4,000 bodies of Polish officers, reportedly deported by the Soviets in 1940, in a mass grave near Smolensk, Russia. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler named Martin Bormann his secretary. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 Joseph Stalin informed Winston Churchill his delight to see German industry in shambles. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 British RAF Desert Air Force assumed leadership roles in Operation Flax in North Africa. On the same day, troops of British 8th Army captured Sousse, Tunisia. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 Isherwood was commissioned into service. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 Matome Ugaki became sick with dengue fever and was ordered to remain in bed at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 Isoroku Yamamoto personally observed the launch of a strike at Vunakanau field near Rabaul, New Britain, which ultimately consisted of 17 G4M bombers of 751 Air Group and 26 G4M bombers of 705 Air Group with 130 fighters in escort. At 0945 hours, the attack was detected by the radar station at Dona on the coast of Australian Papua. The attack destroyed 3 B-25 bombers and 1 Beaufighter at Schwimmer Airfield near Port Moresby, Australian Papua; nearby Berry Airfield suffered destroyed buildings and Ward's Airfield suffered 5,000 drums of gasoline destroyed. The Japanese lost 6 bombers and 2 fighters in combat; 2 additional bombers were lost after making crash landings. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 B-17 bombers took off from Jackson Field (previously known as Seven Mile airdrome) near Port Moresby, Australian Papua. Pilot Kenneth McCullar's B-17 "Blues in the Nite" caught fire on takeoff, veered off, and crashed, killing all aboard. Those that took off successfully attacked the Japanese base at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Amagiri at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Portions of Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215) departed. Eight tennis courts for enlisted personnel completed. 
0
12 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese freighter off the coast of Honshu, Japan, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 A RAF pilot accidentally killed 25 spectators during a ground attack tactics demonstration flight in Imber, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 The first operational sortie of the new Republic P-47B Thunderbolt aircraft was undertaken by the US 8th Air Force based in the United Kingdom. US 8th Air Force would provide high altitude escorts and would engage in fighter sweeps. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 US bombers attacked Italian airfields at Castelvetrano and Trapani, Sicily, Italy, destroying 11 Italian and 8 German aircraft and damaging 16 Italian and 40 German aircraft, at the cost of only 2 B-17 bombers. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate and his small group of Chindits crossed the Irrawaddy River in Burma by rafts built with locals' help. The final group of men were left behind on the east bank of the river as rearguard as the Japanese attack on this group intensified. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze made a troop transport run to Cape Gloucester (Tuluvu), New Britain, Bismarck Islands, then departed New Britain for Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 Cruiser Georges Leygues intercepted German blockade runner Portland in the Atlantic Ocean; Portland's crew scuttled the ship to prevent capture. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 Matome Ugaki, still recovering from dengue fever at Rabaul, New Britain, was given permission by the doctor to leave his bed. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 At Rabaul, New Britain, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto played a game of Shogi with Vice Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, discussing Pacific War strategy meanwhile. When Yamamoto spoke of his intention to personally inspect forward bases to raise morale, Rear Admiral Takatsugu Jojima and Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa protested but failed to dissuade Yamamoto. Yamamoto's lieutenants were particularly worried about the fact that Yamamoto's detailed travel itinerary were sent over radio. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fourth war patrol. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 Mutsu arrived at Kure, Japan and took on a full load of ammunition and supplies destined for the Aleutian Islands, but that mission would soon to be canceled. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese freighter off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 Captain Katsuya Sato was named the commanding officer of Settsu. 
0
13 Apr 1943 WW2 The Soviet GKO meeting at 2205 hours on this date was also joined by Soviet counterintelligence leaders Vsevolod Merkulov, Viktor Abakumov, Lavrentiy Tsanava, Nikolai Selivanovsky, Nikolai Korolev, Nikolai Khannikov, Isai Babich, Nikolai Mel'nikov, Filipp Golikov, and Aleksandr Shcherbakov. Most of them would leave at 2330 hours, leaving Joseph Stalin, Lavrentiy Beria, Vyacheslav Molotov, and Georgy Malenkov to continue the discussion on reorganization of Soviet counterintelligence efforts. 
0
14 Apr 1943 WW2 US President Roosevelt's office turned down a request from US Jewish community leaders to meet with the president in preparation to the forthcoming conference in Bermuda regarding the situation of refugees in Europe. 
0
14 Apr 1943 WW2 Stalin's son Yakov Dzhugashvili died in German captivity. 
0
14 Apr 1943 WW2 Soviet 14th Army pushed back a German thrust southeast of Leningrad, Russia. 
0
14 Apr 1943 WW2 The No. 3 Column of the Chindits crossed the Chindwin River in Burma and soon became the first column to return to India. 
0
14 Apr 1943 WW2 23 Japanese dive bombers, 44 medium bombers, and 129 fighters attacked Milne Bay, Australian Papua; 44 Allied fighters rose in response. In the air, 1 Australian P-40 fighter was shot down and another was damaged, and additional Australian P-38 aircraft was destroyed on landing. Three Allied ships were damaged. For the Japanese 5 G4M bombers, 3 D3A dive bombers, and 1 Zero fighter were lost in combat. 
0
14 Apr 1943 WW2 US Navy Fleet Radio Unit Pacific Fleet decoded a intercepted Japanese Navy message, which allowed the US to learn that Yamamoto was planning on an inspection of three front-line bases near Bougainville Island. The decrypted message was immediately forwarded to Admiral Chester Nimitz at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
14 Apr 1943 WW2 The remnants of "Tobruch" Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy began to arrive in Italy from Tunisia. 
0
14 Apr 1943 WW2 Irako transited the Bungo Strait between Shikoku and Kyushu, Japan with minelayer Yurijima in escort. 
0
14 Apr 1943 WW2 The Soviet State Defense Committee divided the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs Main Directorate for State Security (GUGB/NKVD) into three organizations: People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD; under Lavrentiy Beria; political repression, slave labor camps, prisoners of war camps, and NKVD troops), People's Commissariat for State Security (NKGB; under Vsevolod Merkulov; foreign intelligence and domestic counterintelligence), and State Directorate of Counter-Intelligence (GUKR-NKO or SMERSH; later assigned under Viktor Abakumov; counterintelligence). 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 Major General Hastings Ismay reported to Prime Minister Winston Churchill on German experiments with rockets. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 RAF bombers conducted a raid on La Spezia, Italy. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny set sail for Saipan, Mariana Islands. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 Baltimore was commissioned into service. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 The American airfield on Banika Island of Russell Islands, Solomon Islands became operational. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 William Halsey traveled to Brisbane, Australia aboard a PB2Y Coronado aircraft. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 7th Fighter Squadron and 8th Fighter Squadron (both flying P-40 aircraft) of USAAF 49th Fighter Group were transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 USS S-28 departed Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada for the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States for overhaul. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215) departed. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese freighter off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired; the Japanese ship beached to prevent sinking. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 Viktor Abakumov was summoned to meet with Joseph Stalin. 
0
15 Apr 1943 WW2 US 17th Airborne Division was activated at Camp Mackall, North Carolina, United States under the command of the newly-promoted Major General William M. Miley. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 13 British Spitfire fighters intercepted a large Axis air convoy off Tunisia, shooting down 7 SM.82 and 1 Bf 109 aircraft at the cost of only 2 Spitfire fighters. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 William Halsey met with Douglas MacArthur at the latter's headquarters in Brisbane, Australia. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 A scheduled fighter sweep from Rabaul, New Britain was cancelled as a reconnaissance aircraft failed to return from northeastern New Guinea island region. Despite of this cancellation, Isoroku Yamamoto announced the successful conclusion of the I-Go air offensive. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 Japanese troops began preparing for a new offensive in the region between Wuhan and Yichang in China. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 Italians raised the wreck of Foch at Toulon, France for repair. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) on board. Part of British Squadrons 882, 896, and 898 arrived on board. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 The first night fighter attack on London, England, United Kingdom, carried out by thirty Focke-Wulf 190 aircraft, turned into a farce. Only two bombs hit the city, and four German pilots got lost, thought that they were over France and landed at West Malling RAF fighter base in Kent where three were taken prisoner and one was killed crash-landing. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 The first release of a non-explosive "Upkeep" bouncing bomb took place at Reculver, off the North Kent coast in Britain, but the device broke up on hitting the water. 
0
16 Apr 1943 WW2 The Sino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization, or SACO for short, was officially signed by Captain Milton Miles and General William Donovan for the United States and by Foreign Minister Song Ziwen (also known as T. V. Soong) and Colonel Xiao Bo for China. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 I-168 departed Attu, Aleutian Islands with a cargo of ammunition and mail for Kiska. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler met with Hungarian regent Miklós Horthy in an attempt to persuade him to further the attempt to deport Jews, who were "pure parasites" and compared to "tuberculosis bacilli" per Hitler, out of Hungary. Horthy would continue to meet this deportation request as little as possible. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 In response to the German discovery of a mass grave near Smolensk, Russia, the Soviet Union insisted that the massacre was committed by the Germans. The Polish government-in-exile in London, England, United Kingdom requested the International Red Cross to investigate the matter. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 US bombers attacked Palermo, Sicily, Italy. German pilots who scrambled to meet the attackers claimed shooting down 5 bombers and 1 fighter. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 Gilmore was commissioned into service. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 Matome Ugaki chaired a conference at the 8th Base Force Headquarters at Rabaul, New Britain. Among other topics, the admirals discussed the lack of armor on Japanese aircraft and the concern that Isoroku Yamamoto was soon to personally visit the front lines. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese freighter off Japan, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 Jürgen Stroop was transferred to Warsaw, Poland by Heinrich Himmler to suppress the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 The demanding training of dropping the new "Upkeep" bombs at low altitudes had proven too much for some British pilots. Pilot Officer Bill Divall replaced Sergeant Ray Lovell followed soon after by Flight Sergeant Lanchester and his crew being withdrawn. This brought 617 Squadron's stenghth down to 21 crews. 
0
17 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Cero departed New London, Connecticut, United States. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 German 17.Armee attempted to eliminate the Soviet bridgehead at Novorossiysk in southern Russia. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 The Soviet Union claimed that the German Gestapo was responsible for the Katyn Massacre. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 47 P-40 and 12 Spitfire fighters intercepted a large Axis air convoy off Tunisia, shooting down 24 German transport aircraft, 10 German fighters, and some Italian fighters. So many lives were lost that the Germans dubbed the action Palm Sunday Massacre. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Philip Cabell Evans was named the commanding officer of HMCS Trillium. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 Admiral William Halsey and General Douglas MacArthur met at Brisbane, Australia. They agreed that the tentative date for the New Georgia invasion was to be 15 May, and that a US Marine Corps defense battalion, a US Navy construction battalion, and a US Army regimental combat team should be transferred to the theater to support the invasion. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 The two aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki took off from Rabaul, New Britain at 0600 hours. Over the island of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, they were shot down by American fighters over Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, killing Yamamoto. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan for her 12th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson flew his first combat mission over the Dutch coast but saw no action. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 A transport of 2501 Jews from the ghetto in Thessaloniki, Greece arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. Only 605 were registered into the camp; the remaining 1,896 were sent to the gas chambers. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 Viktor Abakumov was summoned to meet with Joseph Stalin. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 No. 619 Squadron RAF was formed at RAF Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 Submarine Dragonet was launched at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by Mrs. J. E. Gingrich. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 Submarine Escolar was launched at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by Mrs. J. Bilisoly Hudgins. 
0
18 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Pollack arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her sixth war patrol. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Kiska, Aleutian Islands with a cargo of ammunition and mail. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 Waffen-SS used tanks and other heavy weapons to counter the uprising at the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland, killing and deporting at least 50,000 during the following 27 days. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 At the Bermuda Conference, US and UK representatives discussed Jewish refugee issues in occupied Europe with little result. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 Belgian and Jewish underground movements attacked a transport of Jews from the Mechelen transit camp in Belgium. 150 Jews were rescued, but 220 died in the process. It was the only resistance effort during the Holocaust that had attacked a transport train. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Hoe departed for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion arrived off Nakaminato, eastern Honshu, Japan; after sundown, she deployed naval mines. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 HMS Seraph departed Holy Loch, Scotland, United Kingdom with the body of Glyndwr Michael, dressed as Major William Martin and planted with false documents intended to mislead the Germans. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 A search party found the remains of Isoroku Yamamoto on Bougainville, Solomon Islands. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 Viktor Abakumov was named the head of the newly formed Soviet Main Directorate of Counterintelligence (GUKR) SMERSH; he reported directly to Joseph Stalin. 
0
19 Apr 1943 WW2 Joseph Stalin ordered NKVD's UOO to be split into three separate military counterintelligence directorates and to be placed under the NKO, the Navy Commissariat, and the NKVD. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 The British government announced a limited recruitment for women for the Home Guard. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 World Jewish Congress representative in Geneva Gerhart Riegner outlined a plan to borrow local currency in Romania and France for efforts to rescue Jews in those countries. The loans were to be backed by US Dollars in Swiss bank accounts. This scheme was devised to provide funding in those countries without actually sending dollars into Axis-held territories, which would risk the funding being captured by the enemy, which would place the World Jewish Congress in a legal bind per United States wartime law. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 British troops captured the Enfidaville Airfield in Tunisia. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 USAAF aircraft attacked Japanese positions at Nauru. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 Company Sergeant Major Chhelu Ram was wounded rescuing his commanding officer in Tunisia. Taking command he then led a successful hand-to-hand assault in which he was wounded again, this time mortally. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 Yekaterina Budanova was featured on the cover of the young adult political publication Ogonek. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion sank the Japanese converted gunboat Meiji Maru No. 1, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 US Army B-24 bombers based at Funafuti, Ellice Islands attacked Tarawa, Gilbert Islands. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 Japanese troops under Koga attacked the British Maungdaw-Buthidaung line in Burma. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell was invited to join in on the meeting already arranged between Franklin Roosevelt and Claire Chennault. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 A medical examination was conducted on Isoroku Yamamoto's remains. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) departed. Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215) departed. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", claimed a Hurricane fighter and a P-36 fighter over Imphal, India, but only the P-36 downing was confirmed, increasing his score to 32. 
0
20 Apr 1943 WW2 Naka departed Hashirajima, Japan. 
0
20 Apr 1943 RELIGIOUS In Poland, Germans Nazi troops massacred the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 US President Roosevelt made the official announcement regarding the Japanese execution of downed American airmen who had participated in the Doolittle Raid. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 New Zealand troops of Maori ethnicity captured Takrouna, Tunisia. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 Allied convoy ONS 5 consisted of 42 ships departed from Liverpool, England, United Kingdom for a 3-week journey to Halifax, Nova, Scotia, Canada; it was escorted by 7 warships (2 destroyers, 1 frigate, and 4 corvettes) and supported by 2 trawlers and 1 tanker. The convoy was under the command of J. Kenneth Brook of the British Royal Navy Reserve; he was aboard Norwegian freighter Rena. The convoy was to grow in size from mid-journey rendezvous with other ships departing from other ports. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion sank a sampan before 0100 hours with her deck gun. In the afternoon, she patrolled off Shioyasaki, eastern Honshu, Japan. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Runner attacked a Japanese transport in the South China Sea; all 5 torpedoes fired missed. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 Isoroku Yamamoto's remains were cremated at Buin, Bougainville, Solomon Islands. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Amagiri at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell and Claire Chennault departed Chongqing, China. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down two P-36 fighters over Imphal, India, increasing his score to 34. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo conducted training off Midway Atoll. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 Joseph Stalin officially signed the order to create GUKR SMERSH, the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence "Smert'shpionam" ("Death of Spies") and the naval UKR SMERSH. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 Troops of 48th Battalion of British Royal Tank Regiment captured German Tiger I heavy tank "131" near Medjez-el-Bab, Tunisia. 
0
21 Apr 1943 WW2 An attempt was made to assassinate General Charles de Gaulle when the Wellington bomber flying him to Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom was sabotaged at RAF Hendon. The pilot detected the elevator controls had been cut just before take-off and aborted the flight. At the time, the incident was hushed up and blamed on German intelligence but de Gaulle never flew by plane in Britain again. 
0
22 Apr 1943 WW2 The US Submarine Grenadier was scuttled by her crew after suffering severe damage from Japanese air attack off Penang, British Malaya. 
0
22 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion sank three sampans with gunfire off Honshu, Japan. 
0
22 Apr 1943 WW2 A transport of Jews from Westerbork Concentration Camp arrived at Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in Sudetenland in southern Germany (occupied Czechoslovakia). 
0
22 Apr 1943 WW2 British Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft photographed a German rocket at Peenemünde, Germany but intelligence analysts could not be certain of the object photographed. 
0
22 Apr 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Fire station and Public Works garage turned over to station. 
0
22 Apr 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
22 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo conducted training off Midway Atoll. 
0
22 Apr 1943 WW2 South African and British fighters intercepted an Italian air convoy off Tunisia, Italian North Africa and claimed to have shot down 12 transport aircraft and 7 escorts. On the ground, the final Allied assault began against the remaining Axis forces in North Africa with armoured thrusts from Sidi Nsir, Medjez, and Pont du Fahs. Only at Enfidaville was there a halt. Resistance remained fierce, however, and was professionally handled by the Germans and Italians, allowing units of the Luftwaffe to be evacuated from the shrinking perimeter. 
0
23 Apr 1943 WW2 German 17.Armee abandoned the attempt to dislodge the Soviet bridgehead at Novorossisk in southern Russia. 
0
23 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Gar began her seventh war patrol. 
0
23 Apr 1943 WW2 In Tunisia, Lieutenant Wilwood Sandys-Clarke was left as the only officer still alive after his company was almost wiped out in a counter-attack. Despite head wounds, he rallied him men and captured three German strong-points before being cut down whilst single handedly tackling two sniper posts. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Another Tunisian campaign Victoria Cross was awarded to Major John Anderson who was the first man into three enemy machine-gun positions, capturing 200 prisoners. 
0
23 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion damaged a Japanese cargo ship off Honshu, Japan with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
23 Apr 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate and his small group of Chindits spotted the Chindwin River in Burma from a high spot; they were about 30 miles away from the river. 
0
23 Apr 1943 WW2 Walter Stettner von Grabenhofen was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
23 Apr 1943 WW2 In the evening, a flying boat arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands with ashes of Yamamoto and six of his staff officers, who had been shot down in a flying boat over Bougainville five days earlier. Senior staff officer Captain Kameto Kuroshima secretly transferred Yamamoto's ashes to the admiral's sea cabin. 
0
23 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her second war patrol. 
0
24 Apr 1943 WW2 After repeated failures, Admiral Nimitz discontinued the use of magnetic exploders on torpedoes for his theater of operation. Submarines under General MacArthur's command, however, continued to use them. 
0
24 Apr 1943 WW2 In the North Atlantic, Escorts of Allied convoy ONS 5 spotted and sank German submarine U-710 10 miles ahead of the convoy. 
0
24 Apr 1943 WW2 The German submarine U-710 was sunk by an aircraft of British No. 206 Squadron Coastal Command. 
0
24 Apr 1943 WW2 The No. 5 Column of the Chindits reached the Chindwin River in Burma. 
0
24 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Runner damaged a Japanese transport in the South China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
24 Apr 1943 WW2 In the Mediterranean Sea, British submarine HMS Sahib (Lieutenant J. H. Bromage) was scuttled and abandoned by her crew to avoid capture after being seriously damaged by the Italian torpedo boat Climene. Her loss would be officially announced by the Admiralty on 6 May 1943. 
0
24 Apr 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
24 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese cargo ship in the Tsugaru Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido, Japan, hitting her with 3 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
25 Apr 1943 WW2 Admiral Mineichi Koga arrived aboard Yamato for an inspection tour; he arrived to become the new Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, but that fact would be kept secret until the news of Yamamoto's death was to be made public next month. 
0
25 Apr 1943 WW2 Commanding officer of the Chinese 5th Army defected to the Japanese. 
0
25 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Snook sank a Japanese or Chinese sampan with her deck gun off China. 
0
25 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Grayback departed Brisbane, Australia for her seventh war patrol. 
0
25 Apr 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing cruiser Aoba at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
25 Apr 1943 WW2 Naka departed Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
25 Apr 1943 WW2 Jürgen Stroop reported that 27,464 Jews had been captured in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw, Poland. 
0
25 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo declared her readiness for a war patrol while at Midway Atoll. 
0
25 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo departed Midway Atoll for her fifth war patrol. 
0
26 Apr 1943 WW2 RAF bombers conducted a raid against Duisburg, Germany. 
0
26 Apr 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for transport Noshiro Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
26 Apr 1943 WW2 The No. 5 Column of the Chindits arrived in Imphal, India. Only 95 men of the original force of 318 returned. 
0
26 Apr 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Kure, Japan. 
0
26 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo reconnoitered Matsuwa (now Matua), Kurile Islands, taking photographs of the Japanese airfield and other facilities. 
0
26 Apr 1943 WW2 Jürgen Stroop reported that, in the effort to liquidate the Warsaw ghetto in Poland, 1,330 Jews had been pulled out of their strongholds and killed, 662 were killed in combat, and 30 were captured and sent to concentration camps. 
0
27 Apr 1943 WW2 The German Inspector of Concentration Camps ordered that only the mentally ill prisoners could be gassed via the Aktion T-4 Euthaniasia Program. 
0
27 Apr 1943 WW2 Radar jamming devices began operations in eastern England, United Kingdom. 
0
27 Apr 1943 WW2 Captain Lord Charles Lyell was killed in Tunisia whilst knocking out a 88mm gun position and two machine gun posts. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. 
0
27 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion fired six torpedoes at a Japanese convoy, sinking the merchant ship Yuzan Maru with four hits; she was depth charged by an escorting destroying and suffered minor damage. 
0
27 Apr 1943 WW2 Admiral Dönitz issued a new order to his submarine commanders, instructing that they were to cross the Bay of Biscay submerged during the night and to resurface during the day only long enough to recharge their batteries. This proved something of a mistake for the Germans as it permitted some 12 RAF Squadrons to contribute to daylight anti-submarine operations. 
0
27 Apr 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate and his small group of Chindits reached the Chindwin River in Burma. They were able to cross it later in the day with the help of Gurkha Rifles men from the western bank of the river. 
0
27 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Puffer was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander M. J. Jensen in command. 
0
27 Apr 1943 WW2 George Kenney departed Port Moresby, Australian Papua for Brisbane, Australia. 
0
27 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny departed Midway Atoll for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 Sweden protested the mining her territorial waters by Germany. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 Konstantin Rokossovsky was promoted to the rank of general. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 Lance Corporal John Patrick Kenneally ignored his wounds to make a one-man assault at Djebel Bou Azoukaz, Tunisia which caused the enemy line to break. Despite being wounded again, Kenneally survived to collect his Victoria Cross. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 German submarine U-650 sighted Allied convoy ONS 5 in the North Atlantic at 0800 hours. During the day U-375, U-386, U-528, and U-537 sailed toward U-650 and began planning the attack. Radio chatter between these submarines alerted commander of ONS 5 escorts Captain Peter Gretton. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny was promoted to the rank of Hauptsturmführer and was given command of the commandos of the Oranienburg Special Training Unit. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion was ordered to return to her home port. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 Irako departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Iwo Jima, Japan with destroyer Tanikaze in escort. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a P-40 fighter over Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, his 35th victory. 
0
28 Apr 1943 WW2 Viktor Abakumov personally arrested Major General Boris Teplinsky, the head of the Operational Department of the Air Force of the Siberian Military District on false charges of treason, conspiracy, and spreading anti-Soviet propaganda. 
0
29 Apr 1943 WW2 Starting at midnight, German submarines U-650, U-375, U-386, U-528, and U-532 attacked Allied convoy ONS 5 in the North Atlantic. They scored no hits until around 1200 hours when US freighter McKeesport sunk by a torpedo from U-528; three attacking submarines were damaged during the attacks and were forced to return to base to receive repairs. Upon learning the attacks, the British Admiralty dispatched additional destroyers to reinforce the escort force. 
0
29 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion sank a Japanese patrol vessel by gunfire. 
0
29 Apr 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Becuna was laid down. 
0
29 Apr 1943 WW2 Nobutake Kondo was promoted to the rank of admiral. 
0
29 Apr 1943 WW2 Soviet counterintelligence agency GUKR SMERSH named its chiefs in each military front, with A. A. Avseevich to the Northwestern Front, G. S. Bolotin-Balyasny to the Volkhov Front, I. P. Konovalov to the Southern Front, S. F. Kozhevnikov to the Leningrad Front, N. G. Kravchenko to the Bryansk Front, A. P. Misyurev to the Kalinin Front, F. G. Petrov to the Southwestern Front, K. L. Prokhorenko to the Voronezh Front, V. P. Rogov to the Western Front, and I. T. Rusak to the Karelian Front. 
0
29 Apr 1943 WW2 Viktor Abakumov was summoned to Joseph Stalin's office to consider GUKR SMERSH deputies; at the same meeting, Abakumov was named the deputy commissar of the NKO, reporting directly to Stalin. 
0
29 Apr 1943 WW2 German troops fell back to Lake Garaet Anchkel west of Bizerte, Tunisia; "Grado" Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy served as rearguard. 
0
29 Apr 1943 WW2 After much experimentation an "Upkeep" bomb drop was successfully carried out at Reculver in southeastern Britain. By this time several of the new Lancaster bombers modified for dam attacks had been delivered to the squadron's base, RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire. 
0
29 Apr 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell and Claire Chennault arrived in Washington DC, United States. 
0
30 Apr 1943 WW2 The Bermuda Conference ended without any concrete conclusion. 
0
30 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion sank the Japanese patrol ship Ebisu Maru No. 5 with a torpedo; during the surface action, Lieutenant Commander R. M. Raymond was killed, the submarine's first casualty. As a Japanese aircraft responded with depth charges, Scorpion dove and survived the attack. 
0
30 Apr 1943 WW2 The body of Glyndwr Michael was put into the sea from British submarine HMS Seraph off Huelva, Spain; posed as Major William Martin, the body carried false documents intended to mislead the Germans. 
0
30 Apr 1943 WW2 The keel of trawler Gulland was laid down. 
0
30 Apr 1943 WW2 In Australian Papua, US 90th Squadron moved from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield to the northeast. 
0
30 Apr 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
30 Apr 1943 WW2 The construction for the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in northwestern Germany began. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 The International Medical Commission completed its investigation on the Katyn Massacre, concluding that the Soviet Union was responsible for the atrocity. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 US troops captured Hill 609 in Tunisia. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 The Personnel Department was established to replace the Adjutant and Inspector's Department of the US Marine Corps headquarters. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 Karl von Le Suire was named the commanding officer of German 117th Jäger Division. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 The 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division and the 3rd Algerian Infantry Division (converted from the Constantine temporary Division), the first two formations of Charles de Gaulle's revitalised French Army, were created. They would be committed to Italy at the end of November and December respectively. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 From Brisbane, Australia, George Kenney cabled Henry Arnold, noting that very few aircraft were being sent to the Southwest Pacific. Arnold would promise him enough fighters to form a new fighter group, but he could spare no additional personnel. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Command Center - bombproof - usably complete. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 Commander Junio Valerio Borghese took over command of 10th MAS Flotilla at Muggiano, Italy, which was in actuality a special forces unit for the Italian Navy. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 Irako arrived at Iwo Jima, Japan. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese freighter off Japan, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired; she survived a heavy depth charge counterattack. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 Masafumi Arima was promoted to the rank of rear admiral. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 Basil Brooke (later 1st Viscount Brookeborough) became Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. 
0
01 May 1943 WW2 CV-14 was renamed USS Ticonderoga. 
0
02 May 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
02 May 1943 WW2 Viktor Lutze, head of the SA, was killed by partisans; he was succeeded by Wilhelm Scheppmann. The cause of death was officially stated as an automobile accident. 
0
02 May 1943 WW2 Japanese aircraft conducted a raid on Darwin, Australia. 
0
02 May 1943 WW2 The RAF Bomber Command reported to the British Air Ministry that it currently had 725 ready crews for operations; the number included 129 crews of Wellington bombers and 250 crews for Lancaster bombers. 
0
02 May 1943 WW2 USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese ship in daylight with her deck gun. 
0
02 May 1943 WW2 The Japanese Southeast Detached Force was established for the defense of the Solomon Islands, with its base in Rabaul. 
0
02 May 1943 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt informed George Marshall that he was going to approve the supplies Chiang Kaishek requested without any caveats, which included 500 planes and 10,000 tons of supplies to be delivered over the Hump. 
0
02 May 1943 WW2 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese transport in the Pacific Ocean; all four torpedoes missed. 
0
02 May 1943 WW2 The British Admiralty was officially announced the loss of destroyer HMS Beverley, sunk on 11 Apr 1943 while escorting Allied convoy ON-176. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland departing later on the same day. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 487 Squadron of the New Zealand air force attacked a power station in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. All 10 bombers dispatched were lost to German fighters. Squadron Leader Leonard Trent won the Victoria Cross for his leadership in this attack. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 Royal Navy began bombarding Pantelleria Island near Sicily, Italy. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 US troops captured Mateur, Tunisia. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 The British 6th Airborne Division was established with Major General Richard Gale in command. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort carrier Zuikaku and Zuiho to Japan. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 The headquarters of the Japanese 11th Army was moved to Shashi, Jingzhou, Hubei Province, China in preparation for a planned offensive. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Yokosuka, Japan for repairs. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 Soviet NKVD/NKGB official Viktor Il'in was arrested in Vsevolod Merkulov's office on false charges of treason, conspiracy, and spreading anti-Soviet propaganda. 
0
03 May 1943 WW2 USS Sable was commissioned into service with Captain Warren K. Berner in command. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 Hitler postponed Operation Citadel, which ultimately would give the Soviets more time to prepare their defenses. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 RAF bombers conducted a raid on Dortmund, Germany late in the night and into the next day, killing almost 700. Log book of pilot J. H. Searby noted there were "considerable flak" and that he "took ciné (35mm) film hoping to get pictures to convince the 'public' that we do bomb Germany." 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 The German Luftwaffe evacuation from Tunisia, Italian North Africa completed. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 A posthumous award of a Victoria Cross was made to Commander John Linton of HMS Turbulent after the submarine was declared lost. Turbulent had sunk one cruiser, a U-boat and 28 supply ships as well as destroying three trains with gunfire. She had been attacked 13 times and survived 250 depth charges. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 German submarine U-625 spotted Allied convoy ONS 5 in the North Atlantic at about 1200 hours local time. Several German submarines gathered and began attacking at dusk and lasted through the night into the next date, sinking 7 ships (British freighters L'Orient, North Britain, Harbury, Harpurley, Bristol City, and Wentworth; US freighter West Maximus). U-630 was lost during the attacks. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 The body of Glyndwr Michael was buried at the Cemetery of Solitude in Huelva, Spain as Major William Martin of the British Royal Marines. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish departed for her third war patrol. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of 72nd Construction Battalion (72nd SeaBees) arrived on board. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down a Hurricane fighter over Cox's Bazar, India (now Bangladesh), his 36th victory. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo reconnoitered the northeastern tip of Etorofu, Japan (now Iturup, Russia), then damaged seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 The Soviet Directorate of NKVD Troops for Guarding the Rear of the Red Army was elevated to form its own main directorate. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 The "Grado" Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy was relocated to the regimental headquarters at Bizerte. Tunisia. 
0
04 May 1943 WW2 The Vatican Secretary of State reminded the Apostolic Delegate in London, England, United Kingdom that the Vatican opposed establishing a Jewish homeland in British Palestine due to the area's sacred status to Christianity as the birthplace of Jesus Christ. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 Lieutenant General F. M. Andrews, Commander of US Forces in Europe, was killed in a plane crash in Iceland. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Krymsk in southern Russia. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 German submarines continued to attack Allied convoy ONS 5 in the North Atlantic, sinking British freighter Dolius and US freighter West Makadet during the day; German submarine U-358 was damaged during the attacks. After dark, German submarines lost contact with the convoy, sinking British freighters Selvistan and Gharinda and Norwegian freighter Bonde, but the radar-equipped Allied escorts continued to fight back, sinking U-638, U-125, and U-531. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 In the afternoon, USS Snook began stalking two Japanese freighters Kinko Maru (hitting with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired) and Daifuku Maru (hitting with 1 of 5 torpedoes fired) departing Dalian, China. She sank them with torpedoes after dark. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Bf 109 fighter while flying a Yak-1 fighter. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 The Japanese launched an attack into the region between Wuhan and Yichang in China, aiming gain control of this section of the Yangtze River. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 USS Whale departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) arrived on board. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 I-174 departed Kure, Japan. 
0
05 May 1943 WW2 USS Permit damaged a Japanese transport in the Mariana Islands, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
06 May 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler made an unusual public appearance at Viktor Lutze's funeral. 
0
06 May 1943 WW2 In Tunisia, British troops captured Tunis and American troops captured Bizerte. The German 15th Panzer Division was effectively wiped out. 
0
06 May 1943 WW2 USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese schooner in daylight with her deck gun. 
0
06 May 1943 WW2 British corvette HMS Loosestrife sank German submarine U-638 with depth charges, which was attempting to attack Allied convoy ONS 5 in the North Atlantic; two other submarines were also destroyed on this date. Realizing the convoy was now well escorted, Admiral Karl Dönitz ordered the attacks on this convoy to cease. 
0
06 May 1943 WW2 U-977 was commissioned into service. 
0
06 May 1943 WW2 The British Admiralty officially announced the loss of submarine HMS Sahib, which was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea after being damaged by Italian torpedo boat Climene. 
0
06 May 1943 WW2 At dawn, Chinese 77th Division and 15th Division launched a counterattack against the Japanese in the border region between Hubei and Hunan Provinces, China. At 2100 hours, Chiang Kaishek ordered that the region must be held against the Japanese offensive at all costs. 
0
06 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) departed. Part of British Fighter Squadrons 882, 896, and 898 departed. Officers' Club turned over to station. 
0
06 May 1943 WW2 USS Runner arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her second war patrol. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 Hitler announced in a speech to Reichsleiters and Gauleiters that submarine warfare was to be stepped up as the surest way to cut enemy supply lines, even as the German submarine fleet was being pounded in the Atlantic Ocean. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 Allied naval forces began the Operation Retribution blockade, sealing off Tunisia, Italian North Africa from the sea. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 Japanese troops captured Buthidaung, Burma. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese sampan in daylight with her deck gun. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 USS Snook attacked a Japanese convoy off China and sank Hosei Maru, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Pintado was laid down. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Bf 109 fighter while flying a Yak-1 fighter. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 Japanese troops captured Anxiang, Hunan Province, China. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 German television began broadcasting from studios in Paris, France. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Parts of British Fighter Squadrons 882, 896, and 898 departed. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank freighter Tamon Maru No. 5 off Iwate Prefecture, Japan, hitting her with 1 of 6 torpedoes. Later on the same day, she attacked a military convoy consisted of two escort vessels and a naval auxiliary in the same region, Japan; all 3 torpedoes missed. 
0
07 May 1943 WW2 Italians scuttled captured French minelayer Castor at Bizerte, Tunisia. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 German government issued the order that deaths of Eastern European workers in the concentration camps only need to be reported to labor offices. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 Admiral Bruce Fraser replaced Admiral John Tovey as the head of the Royal Navy Home Fleet. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese ship in daylight with her deck gun. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 Japanese troops captured Maungdaw, Burma despite being outnumbered and being surrounded throughout most of the offensive. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 Yamato departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 In Operation BG 6, Italian auxiliary ship Olterra launched three manned torpedoes against Gibraltar, sinking three cargo ships. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her first war patrol. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) departed. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Kure, Japan. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked a Japanese transport off Iwate Prefecture, Japan; all 3 torpedo missed. 
0
08 May 1943 WW2 Guy Gibson, together with Harold Martin and John Hopgood, made a number of successful practice drops of "Upkeep" bombs at Reculver off southeastern England, United Kingdom. Low level training, which had now been consolidated at the Uppingham reservoir and a dam on the Colchester reservoir, was reduced from 150 feet to just 60 feet. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Saipan, departing later on the same day. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 The entire community at Skalat, Ukraine was wiped out by the Germans. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 The German occupation government in the Netherlands declared martial law. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 USS Gar sank Japanese freighter Aso Maru south of the Negros, Philippine Islands in daylight with two of four torpedoes fired. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 89th Bomb Squadron (flying A-20 aircraft) of USAAF 3rd Bombardment Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 In Hunan Province, China, Japanese troops captured Nan County and advanced toward Zhijiang and Yangxi. On the same day, also in Hunan Province, the Japanese began a three-day massacre of civilians in Changjiao; 30,000 were estimated to be killed. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Yokosuka, Japan and was transferred to Submarine Squadron 3. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank Japanese transport Takao Maru and transport Jinmu Maru east of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, hitting them with 2 of 6 torpedoes. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 The "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy surrendered at Bizerte, Tunisia. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 Oberleutnant Heinrich Schmitt of 10/NJG3 defected to the United Kingdom in the new Junkers Ju 88R nightfighter to the delight of Professor Reginald V. Jones, the British electronics expert, whose team is now able to examine the German FuG 202 Lichtenstein BC radar equipment. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 USS Corvina was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Mrs. R. W. Christie. 
0
09 May 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived at Midway Atoll and received repairs to her hydraulic system and her air search radar. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 The British 6th Armoured Division cut off German troops at Cape Bon, Tunisia. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 Shimakaze was commissioned into service. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 Japanese aircraft from Rabaul attacked American positions in the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands, but the attack was largely turned back by American fighters. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 USS Cisco was commissioned into service, Commander James W. Coe in command. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 59 Zero fighters, 7 J1N reconnaissance aircraft, and 47 G4M bombers arrived at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 An experimental J1N1 aircraft arrived at Lakunaia Airfield, Rabaul, New Britain. It was armed with aerial burst bomb launchers, a weapon designed against US bombers. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 Heinz Guderian told Adolf Hitler of his misgivings about the Zitadelle plan. Uncharacteristically Hitler responded that, he too, had concerns about an offensive at Kursk, Russia. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 USS Pollack departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her seventh war patrol. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 USS ABSD-1 was commissioned into service at Everett, Washington, United States with Captain Andrew R. Mack in command. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 Henry Arnold suffered his second heart attck and was hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC, United States for several days. 
0
10 May 1943 WW2 USS Whale departed Midway Atoll for her fourth war patrol. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 US 7th Infantry Division landed on Attu, Aleutian Islands. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 26 girls were killed in an Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) hostel in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom during a German bombing raid. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 Allied convoy SC 130 (37 ships) departed Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 The United Kingdom to Lisbon, Portugal air service, previously operated by the Dutch airline KLM, was taken over by the British airline BOAC using Douglas DC-3 aircraft on the route. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 US B-17 and B-24 bombers attacked Lakunai Airfield and Vunakanau Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Planes of Air Group 12 on board. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 Subhash Chandra Bose arrived in Tokyo, Japan. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 USS Permit attacked a Japanese convoy east of the Mariana Islands, sinking two transports with 4 torpedo hits and damaging a third with 1 hit; a total of 6 torpedoes was expended. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 USS Grayback attacked a six-freighter Japanese convoy escorted by three armed vessels after dark in the South Pacific, sinking freighter Yodogawa Maru with 1 of 6 torpedoes. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 Winston Churchill arrived in Washington DC, United States for the Trident Conference scheduled to start on the next day. 
0
11 May 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her fifth war patrol. 
0
12 May 1943 WW2 The Trident Conference began in Washington, DC, United States. 
0
12 May 1943 WW2 At his headquarters in Brisbane, Australia, George Kenney received a report noting that the morale of US 43rd Bomb Group was sharply declining. 
0
12 May 1943 WW2 Modified B-25 bombers of 13th Squadron of US 38th Bomb Group, based in Port Moresby, Australian Papua, began conducting strafing missions. 
0
12 May 1943 WW2 Japanese troops crossed the Yangtze River near Baiyang, Hunan Province, China and attacked Chinese positions on the opposite shore. 
0
12 May 1943 WW2 USS Finback departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fifth war patrol. 
0
12 May 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked a convoy of two Japanese ships east of Japan; both torpedoes missed. 
0
12 May 1943 WW2 105 survivors of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy were evacuated from La Galite Island by motored torpedo boats. 
0
12 May 1943 WW2 Polish Jewish leader Samuel Zygelbojm committed suicide in London, England, United Kingdom as an expression of solidarity with the Jewish resistance fighters in Warsaw. "By my death I wish to make my final protest against the passivity with which the world is looking on and permitting the extermination of the Jewish people", he wrote in his suicide note. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 The remaining Axis troops surrendered in Tunisia. For the first time in the war, the British claimed more German prisoners than the number of British captives in Germany. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 British Royal Navy warships bombarded Pantelleria Island near Sicily, Italy. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 Danish resistance damaged a railway installation at Tønder, Denmark. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 USS Snook sank a Japanese freighter with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 The false documents found on the body of Glyndwr Michael/William Martin was returned by the Spanish to the British, apparently unopened but actually shared with and copied by the Germans. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 B-17 bomber 'Hell's Angels' of US 303rd Bomb Group became the first aircraft to complete 25 combat missions. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 Italian torpedo boats stationed at Yalta, Ukraine conducted their last sortie from this base. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 Yamato departed Yokosuka, Japan for Kure, Japan. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo damaged a Japanese transport east of Japan, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 Squadron X of the No. 5 Group of the British Royal Air Force, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, received water-skipping "Upkeep" bombs for the upcoming mission against German dams in the Ruhr region. 
0
13 May 1943 WW2 The keel of Bergall was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 The Australian hospital ship Centaur was sunk by a Japanese submarine. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 Remy Van Lierde became the first pilot to drop bombs on an enemy target from a Typhoon fighter; en route back to base, he shot down a German He 111 bomber, which was his third kill. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 US 475th Fighter Group was established in Australia. Lieutenant Colonel George Prentiss would arrive one week later to take command of this new formation. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson saw action in flight for the first time while escorting B-17 bombers over Belgium, damaging two German Fw 190 aircraft. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 Japanese 3rd Division captured Gong'an, Hunan Province, China. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 British Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft photographed a German rocket at Peenemünde, Germany; it was estimated to be 38 feet in length and 2 feet in diameter. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Kure, Japan for another series of trips to Oita, Iwasihima, and Tokuyama. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 The Martin B-26 Marauder made its operational debut in northern Europe with a partially successful attack by US 322nd Bomb Group on the Velsen power station at Ijmuiden in the Netherlands. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 In Britain, following more "Upkeep" bomb dropping training at the Wainfleet Bombing Range on the Wash (where a wooden mock up of the dam's towers had been constructed) at full night dress rehearsal was conducted on the Uppingham and Colchester reservoirs. 
0
14 May 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell arrived in Washington DC, United States to attend the Trident Conference. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 Stalin dissolved the Comintern. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 USS Gar attacked a Japanese convoy in the Philippine Islands, sinking cargo ships Moikai Maru and Indus Maru, hitting them with four of the twelve torpedoes fired. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 British Admiral Andrew Cunningham announced that "the passage through the Mediterranean was clear", and convoys from Gibraltar to Alexandria, Egypt resumed. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 An American reconnaissance aircraft detected German submarine U-176 off Havana, Cuba. Nearby Cuban submarine chaser CS-13, escorting two freighters, was notified and closed in, attacking with depth charges and sinking U-176, killing the entire crew. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 Famed Polish Jewish violinist Henri Czaplinski (aka. Genrikh Maksimovich Chaplinsky in Soviet documents) who had fought with Byelorussian partisans but now in Soviet captivity, was reported by Panteleimon Ponomarenko and Lavrentiy Tsanava to be a possible German spy. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 432nd Fighter Squadron (flying P-38 aicraft) of USAAF 475th Fighter Group was transferred to Dobodura No. 15 airstrip of Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 Naka departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 Japanese troops surrounded Chinese troops near Baiyang, Hunan Province, China, inflicting heavy casualties. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down four P-40 fighters over Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, increasing his score to 40. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 The C6N Saiun carrier reconnaissance aircraft took its first flight. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 Pilots of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 were transferred to Efate, New Hebrides for rest after serving 8 weeks in combat capacity. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived off Wake Atoll. 
0
15 May 1943 WW2 German Luftwaffe I./KG 55, flying He 111 bombers, departed from Sarabuz Russkiy Airfield in Krym, Russia for Stalino (now Donetsk), Ukraine. The transfer was in response to the Soviet counter-offensive toward Kharkov, Ukraine. 
0
15 May 1943 RELIGIOUS German Lutheran theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison: 'I read the Psalms every day, as I have done for years; I know them and love them more than any other book.'
0
16 May 1943 WW2 USS Snook sank a Japanese trawler with her deck gun. 
0
16 May 1943 WW2 Joseph Goebbels noted in his diary that Kiel, Germany was heavily damaged in an Allied bombing. 
0
16 May 1943 WW2 Japanese 3rd Division attacked Songzi, Hubei Province, China. 
0
16 May 1943 WW2 Nachi refueled from oiler Teiyo Maru in Kataoka Bay, Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
16 May 1943 WW2 USS Whale took station 56 kilometers east of Wake Atoll and guided US Army B-24 bombers toward Wake. She was spotted by a Japanese aircraft, but sustained no damaged in the subsequent attack. 
0
16 May 1943 WW2 USS Grayback damaged a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific, hitting her with 2 of 6 torpedoes. 
0
16 May 1943 WW2 The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ended in Poland with the destruction of the Warsaw synagogue at 2015 hours. In Jürgen Stroop's final daily report, he noted that 180 Jewish fighters were killed on this final day. 
0
16 May 1943 WW2 Wing Commander Guy Gibson's Dambusters took off from Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom for an attack on the Ruhr River dams in Germany. 
0
16 May 1943 WW2 USS Mingo departed New London, Connecticut, United States for the Panama Canal. 
0
17 May 1943 WW2 The fifth Axis air offensive against Yugoslav partisans began. 
0
17 May 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Colonel Robert M. Stillman led the 322nd Bomb Group on a disastrous low level mission to Haalem and Ijmuiden in the Netherlands. Light flak and Messerchmitt Bf 109G fighters accounted for the loss of ten out of the eleven American B-26 bombers that had set out. The only survivors were one crew that had turned back to its base early because of technical difficulties. 
0
17 May 1943 WW2 Japanese 3rd Division surrounded Songzi, Hubei Province, China. 
0
17 May 1943 WW2 René-Émile Godfroy successfully lobbied for the rearmament of the interned French warships at Alexandria, Egypt. 
0
17 May 1943 WW2 Two of the Ruhr region dams in Germany were breached by British bombers; the resulting flooding killed over 1,000, many of whom were Ukrainian prisoners of war, and most of the rest were German civilians. The nearby industrial facilities suffered little direct harm. 
0
17 May 1943 WW2 USS Grayback sank freighter England Maru and damaged two others in the South Pacific with four torpedo hits; eight torpedoes were expended in this attack. 
0
18 May 1943 WW2 The Papal Nuncio in Romania asked the Romanian foreign minister to allow the immigration of 8,000 Jewish orphans in Transnistria to Palestine. 
0
18 May 1943 WW2 After sundown, German submarine U-304 spotted Allied convoy SC 130 in the North Atlantic. 
0
18 May 1943 WW2 The Japanese Navy formed the 12th Air Fleet on paper with Vice Admiral Michitaro Tozuka in command and Rear Admiral Yoshiyuki Ichimiya as the chief of staff. 
0
18 May 1943 WW2 USS Pollack sank Japanese ship Terushima Maru in the Marshall Islands with two of three torpedoes fired. 
0
18 May 1943 WW2 Japanese 3rd Division captured Songzi, Hubei Province, China. 
0
18 May 1943 WW2 At 0730 hours, a Spitfire aircraft of No. 542 Squadron RAF flew across the Ruhr region in Germany and photographed the extent of the damage from the Dambuster Raid. 
0
18 May 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
18 May 1943 WW2 Joseph Rochefort was detached from the Western Sea Frontier based in San Fracisco, California, United States. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 German propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels declared Berlin Judenfrei ("Free of Jews"). In truth, about 2,000 to 3,000 Jews were in hiding in Berlin, while another 18,000 Germans of mixed Jewish heritage were living in Berlin legally. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese sampan in daylight with her deck gun. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 In the North Atlantic, as German submarines began to form an attack formation against Allied convoy SC 130, Liberator bombers of No. 120 Squadron RAF pre-emptively struck them, breaking up the attack. The convoy was met by additional 3 frigates and 1 sloop as reinforcement. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 Sproston was commissioned into service. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 30 TBF Avenger aircraft of US Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 143 and US Navy Tropedo Squadron 11 mined waters off Buin, Bougainville, Solomon Islands. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 USS Pollack sank Japanese ship Bangkok Maru in the Gilbert Islands with three of four torpedoes fired. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson engaged in combat with German fighters over Europe. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 Japanese 3rd Corps gathered at Chayuansi, Hunan Province, China, preparing for a planned offensive. On the Chinese side, Chen Cheng, commanding officer of the Chinese 6th War Area, returned to the region and reassumed command. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 US B-17F bomber 'Memphis Belle' became the second aircraft to complete 25 combat missions after attacking Kiel, Germany. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 Fanni Luukkonen was awarded Order of the German Eagle by Adolf Hitler. 
0
19 May 1943 WW2 USS Alabama arrived at Scapa Flow, Scotland, United Kingdom. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese sampan in daylight with her deck gun. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 The US Marine Corps transferred the responsibility of the office of the Assistant Commandant (Air) to the Director of Aviation. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 In a press conference, Orde Wingate noted the achievement by Operation Longcloth in the areas of propaganda and morale. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 The Italian Navy withdrew all its personnel from Yalta, Ukraine; all of the Italian torpedo boats were given to the German Navy in the region. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 Esterwegen Concentration Camp established a special camp named "Süd" (South) to hold prisoners transferred under the Nacht und Nebel program. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 12 US heavy bombers attacked Vunakanau Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain between 0300 and 0430 hours, causing limited damage to the facilities, but greatly affected Japanese morale. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 The headquarters of USAAF 3rd Bombardment Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Harusame at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 Workers at Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii completed concrete work. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Tokuyama, Japan for the Yokosuka region to prepare for the counter offensive at the Aleutian Islands. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived in waters between Japan and Mariana Islands and Caroline Islands. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 The women's camp in Auschwitz II-Birkenau in Poland reported that it had 20,635 female prisoners (9,337 with working assignments, 4,510 without working assignments, and 6,788 unable to work). 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 USS S-35 began post-repair trials off Bremerton, Washington, United States. 
0
20 May 1943 WW2 Henry Arnold was released by Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC, United States. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 Mineichi Koga replaced Isoroku Yamamoto as the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 The Royal Navy submarine HMS Sickle "torpedoed" the world famous Monte Carlo Casino. While attacking shipping in the harbour one of the torpedoes ran up the beach and exploded, blowing out the windows of the casino which was being occupied, at the time, by German officers. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 4 US B-17 bombers attacked Vunakanau Airfield and Rapopo Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. Pilot Senior Flight Petty Officer Shigetoshi Kudo and observer Lieutenant (jg) Akira Sugawara, in the J1N reconnaissance aircraft equipped with experimental aerial burst bomb launchers, shot down B-17E bomber "Honi Kuu Okole" (Major Paul Williams) and a unnamed B-17F bomber (Captain Joseph Geddes); it was this particular J1N aircraft's first combat. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 90th Bomb Squadron (flying B-25 aircraft) of USAAF 3rd Bombardment Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 Japanese 39th Division began to cross the Yangtze River near Pianyan, Hubei Province, China. In Hunan Province, the Japanese 3rd Corps attacked at dawn from Chayuansi, advancing northward toward Changyang in Hubei Province. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fifth war patrol. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Yokosuka, Japan with Cruiser Division 7 from Tokuyama, Japan. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 Yamato was drydocked at Yokosuka, Japan for inspection and repairs. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 One month after the death of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who had been killed when the aircraft in which he was travelling on a tour of inspection was shot down by US fighters over Bougainville Island, the news was finally revealed to the Japanese public. At Yokosuka, Japan, senior Japanese naval officers led by the Emperor, in person, trooped aboard the battleship Musashi to pay their last respects to Yamamato. Along with the late Admiral's ashes, contained in a small white box, was a poem by the Admiral that had been found in his sea-cabin on the battleship Yamato. It began: "So many are dead, I cannot face the Emperor... soon I shall join the young dead soldiers." 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 RAF Hal Far was bombed by the Axis for the last time. 
0
21 May 1943 WW2 The Soviet GKO issued a secret order for the construction of a railroad from Komsomolsk, Khabarovsk Krai, eastern Russia to Sovetskaya Gavan 200 kilometers to the southeast, in preparation for a war against Japan. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 Shokaku joined a large fleet for the Aleutian Islands, but the sortie was canceled as Attu was reclaimed by US forces. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 Shigeru Fukudome was named the chief of staff of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 Kimberly was commissioned into service. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 American TBF aircraft from the 14,000-ton USS Bogue attacked the German submarine U-569, forcing her to surface and surrender. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 Japanese troops launched an attack toward the region west of Yidu, Hubei Province, China. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 The Italian flag was hoisted aboard captured French cruiser Jean de Vienne at Toulon, France. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 The Italian flag was hoisted aboard captured French cruiser La Galissonnière at Toulon, France. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler, Erhard Milch, Adolf Galland, Willy Messerschmitt and others previewed the Me 262 jet fighter at Lechfeld, München-Oberbayern, Germany. Hitler liked the jet and demanded it to be used as a bomber. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 Admiral Chester Nimitz boarded USS Wahoo at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii to present awards. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down two Hurricane fighters over Chittagong, India (now Bangladesh), increasing his score to 42. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 Carrier Langley was launched at Camden, New Jersey, United States. 
0
22 May 1943 WW2 USS Sable departed Buffalo, New York, United States. 
0
23 May 1943 WW2 New Jersey was commissioned into service. 
0
23 May 1943 WW2 The US 22nd Marine Regiment was detached from the 3rd Marine Brigade and was moved to Tutuila, Samoa. 
0
23 May 1943 WW2 A British Fleet Air Arm Swordfish launched from the escort carrier HMS Archer sank the German submarine U-572 with a rocket attack. 
0
23 May 1943 WW2 13th Bomb Squadron (flying B-25 aircraft) of USAAF 3rd Bombardment Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
23 May 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish conducted a reonnaissance mission at Anguar, Palau Islands. 
0
23 May 1943 WW2 Pang Bingxun was installed as the commander of the 24th Army Group of the Japanese puppet government in Nanjing, China. 
0
23 May 1943 WW2 Battleship Musashi arrived at Kisarazu, Chiba, Japan, disembarking Isoroku Yamamoto's ashes. 
0
23 May 1943 WW2 Submarine Dorado was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by the wife of Ezra G. Allen. 
0
23 May 1943 WW2 USS Snook arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 US troops mopped up the final Japanese opposition groups in the Aleutian Islands. Overall in this campaign, the 2,600 Japanese men were wiped out at a cost of 550 American lives. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 British bombers attacked East Frisian Islands (Ostfriesische Inseln) in northwestern Germany. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 After suffering many submarine sinkings during May 1943, German Admiral Karl Dönitz ordered a temporary halt to submarine operations in the North Atlantic to regroup and re-evaluate tactics. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 Bunker Hill was commissioned into service. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 The United States Marine Corps abolished its glider program. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 USS Cabrilla was commissioned into service with Commander Douglas Thompson Hammond in command. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 Five B-17 and six B-24 bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain with 17 tons of bombs between 0030 and 0145 hours, hitting Lakunai, Rapopo, and Vunakanau airfields. One B-24D bomber crashed at Port Moresby, Australian Papua upon its return at 0530 hours, killing all aboard. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 From Port Moresby, Australian Papua, Ennis Whitehead sent George Kenney a request for setting up regular reconnaissance flights over Rabaul, New Britain using F-5 (P-38) aircraft. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 Japanese 39th Division completed the crossing of the Yangtze River near Pianyan, Hubei Province, China. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Torpedo Squadron 12 (VT-12) on board. (F4U-1)  
0
24 May 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 Irako departed Kure, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands with armed merchant cruiser Aikoku Maru in escort. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 USS Whale conducted a reconnaissance mission on Rota, Mariana Islands between Tinian and Guam. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 SS-Hauptsturmfuehrer Dr. Josef Mengele arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. He was soon to begin experiments on prisoners. 
0
24 May 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish was commissioned into service with Commander George E. Porter in command. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 Chinese 86th Corps, having held the Japanese 39th Division attack at the shore of the Yangtze River since the previous day, fell back toward Pianyan, Hubei Province, China. Earlier in the afternoon, Chiang Kaishek had personally telephoned area commander Wu Qiwei, stressing the importance of holding Pianyan. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 Joseph Goebbels noted in his diary that the industrial and residential districts in Dortmund, Germany were heavily damaged by Allied bombing. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 In a conference in Berlin, Germany, Albert Speer recommended that the funding for military research be focused on the V-2 rocket program rather than being spread around a wide range of projects that included jets, heat-seeking missiles, sound-seeking torpedoes, and others. Ultimately this recommendation would be ignored. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 USS Permit arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her eighth war patrol. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Bachelor Officer Quarters (BOQ) "C" turned over to station. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 507 men and 528 women of the Gypsy camp in Birkenau of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp system, most of whom were from Poland and Austria, were gassed. At least several hundred of them were sick, many of whom with typhus, thus giving the camp authorities to write off their deaths as natural. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 A Victoria Cross award was gazetted for John Linton, who had recently been lost when the submarine HMS Turbulent which he commanded became missing in action in mid-Mar 1943, for the sustained period of leadership during the war. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived off Apra, Guam, Mariana Islands and observed Japanese activities inside the harbor. 
0
25 May 1943 WW2 The first British mission to coordinate with local partisans parachuted into Yugoslavia. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 The German government issued the order to stop assigning concentration camp victims sequantial identification numbers in order to hide the true number of deaths. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 759 British heavy bombers attacked Düsseldurf, Germany starting at about 0200 hours. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 Allied convoy SC 130 arrived in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom without losses despite German submarine attacks en route. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 At dawn, a 4,500-strong Japanese force attacked toward Pianyan, Hubei Province, China, but the force was quickly attacked and surrounded by elements of Chinese 5th and 18th Divisions; by the time the Japanese were able to extract themselves after dark, the force had suffered 3,000 casualties. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 At Peenemünde, Germany, before Hermann Göring, Erhard Milch, and other top German leaders, an A-4 rocket and a flying bomb were tested. The A-4 rocket flew perfectly, while the flying bomb crashed only after a mile or two of flight. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 USS Whale sank Japanese freighter Shoei Maru in the Mariana Islands, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedo fired. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 Soviet troops began an offensive against the German units isolated between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea in the Kuban area of southern Russia. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 V. T. Shirmanov was named the Soviet counterintelligence agency GUKR SMERSH's chief within the Central Front. 
0
26 May 1943 WW2 USS Sable arrived at Chicago, Illinois, United States. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 Allied forces landed on Biak Island, New Guinea. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 The first unified meeting of French resistance groups took place, chaired by Jean Moulin; it recognized de Gaulle as the leader of the movement. Moulin would be betrayed to the Gestapo a month later, dying en route to a concentration camp. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 USS Gar ended her seventh war patrol. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt ordered that all defense contracts to be free of racial discrimination. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 USS Tunny refueled at Johnston Island, United States. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 In Samoa, the US 22nd Marine Regiment was reorganized as the Garrison Force, Defense Force, Samoan Group. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 USS Finback sank a Japanese cargo ship east of Philippine Islands, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 Japanese troops launched a major attack against Chinese troops in the Hubei-Hunan border region while 53 vessels ran the gauntlet on the Yangtze River, successfully sailing from Yichang to Wuhan. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 USS Hoe departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Torpedo Squadron 12 (VT-12) departed (Model TBF). Part of British Torpedo Squadron 832 departed. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 Mutsu arrived at Kure, Japan and entered dry dock No. 4 for hull scraping and re-painting. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 While on a search and rescue mission in the Pacific Ocean, the B-24 bomber "The Green Hornet" developed mechanical trouble and crashed 850 miles west of Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii, killing 8 of the 11 crew members. Louis Zamperini, Russell Phillips, and Francis McNamara survived the crash. 
0
27 May 1943 WW2 USS Runner departed Midway Atoll for her third war patrol. 
0
28 May 1943 WW2 Cowpens was commissioned into service. 
0
28 May 1943 WW2 USS Gunnel started her second war patrol. 
0
28 May 1943 WW2 B-17 bomber "Old 666" conducted a camera mapping mission over southeastern New Ireland. 
0
28 May 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish shelled a Japanese oil refinery at Fais, Caroline Islands. 
0
28 May 1943 WW2 Japanese and Chinese troops clashed in Hubei and Hunan Provinces, China, with the Chinese moving behind the Japanese 13th Division, threatening to cut its supply lines. 
0
28 May 1943 WW2 A British military mission led by Captains Frederick W. D. Deakin and William F. Stuart made the long delayed arrival at the headquarters of Yugoslav National Liberation Army's leader Josip Broz (Tito). 
0
29 May 1943 WW2 RAF bombers attacked Wuppertal, Germany with 1,900 tons of explosives. The Ruhr region city housed an I. G. Farben chemical plant and a G. & J. Jaeger ball-bearing factory. 
0
29 May 1943 WW2 The issue of the American magazine The Saturday Evening Post published on this date featured with Norman Rockwell's "Rosie the Riveter" illustration. 
0
29 May 1943 WW2 Irako arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
29 May 1943 WW2 Japanese and Chinese troops clashed in Hubei and Hunan Provinces, China. 
0
29 May 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol. 
0
29 May 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down two British fighters over Chittagong, India (now Bangladesh), increasing his score to 44. 
0
29 May 1943 WW2 417th Bombardment Squadron of 25th Bombardment Group of US Army Air Forces, operating B-18 Bolo bombers, was assigned to Losey Field in Puerto Rico. 
0
29 May 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, United States for a scheduled overhaul. 
0
30 May 1943 WW2 Yekaterina Budanova shot down a Bf 109 fighter, sharing the credit with other pilots. 
0
30 May 1943 WW2 Duguay-Trouin joined the Allied fleet; she would be re-armed in Jul 1943. 
0
30 May 1943 WW2 General Charles de Gaulle arrived in Algeria to become, with Henri Giraud, co-Presidents of the French Committee of National Liberation (FCNL) but soon used his superior political skills to become sole leader of the organization. 
0
30 May 1943 WW2 Japanese and Chinese troops clashed at Gaojialing in the Hubei-Hunan border region in China; the Japanese used chemical weapons during this engagement. On the same day, Chinese 6th War Area commander Chen Cheng ordered a full scale counter offensive to be launched. 
0
30 May 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Army 19th Fighter Squadron departed. 
0
30 May 1943 WW2 USS Grayback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her seventh war patrol. 
0
30 May 1943 WW2 Yamato undocked from the drydocks at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
30 May 1943 WW2 SS-Hauptsturmführer Josef Mengele became the doctor for the Gypsy Family Camp (Sector BIIe) of Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp in occupied Poland. 
0
30 May 1943 WW2 Submarine Hackleback was launched at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by the wife of W. L. Wright. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 US troops completed their occupation of Attu in the Aleutian Islands. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 USS Tunny was attacked by a Japanese aircraft, incurring minor damage that was repaired at sea later in the day. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler expressed extreme dismay at the withdrawal of German submarines from the American coast. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld was named the commanding officer of the 3rd Group of the Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 wing. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak shot down a German observation balloon. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 George Kenney arrived at Port Moresby, Australian Papua to temporarily relieve Ennis Whitehead, who was sent to Australia for treatment for a badly infected toe. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 Japanese Army Major General Noboru Sasaki arrived at Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands as the new commanding officer of the joint Army-Navy Southwest Detachment. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 Japanese forward positions in the Hubei-Hunan border region in China fell back in multiple places as the result of a large scale Chinese counterattack launched on the previous day. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 US 15th Air Force bombed Foggia airfield in Italy, destroying a number of German and Italian planes on the ground. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Yokosuka, Japan for the Inland Sea. 
0
31 May 1943 WW2 USS S-35 completed post-repair trials off Bremerton, Washington, United States. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 Air Vice Marshal Roderic M. Hill became the commanding officer of the No. 12 Group RAF. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 US submarines began active operations against Japanese shipping. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 The Allies formed the 2nd Tactical Air Force in England, United Kingdom. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 Bryansk, Orel, and Smolensk in Russia were attacked by Soviet aircraft. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 Anthony Eden announced that British casualties in first three years of war were 92,089 killed, 226,719 missing, 88,294 wounded, and 107,891 captured. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 The 4th Moroccan Mountain Division was raised from the 3rd Moroccan Infantry Division, but was not committed to Italy as a part of the French Expeditionary Force until Feb 1944. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 The actor Leslie Howard, who had played the Spitfire designer Reginald Mitchell in the propaganda film "The First of the Few", was killed when the KLM DC3 airliner in which he was travelling from Lisbon, Portugal was shot down in flames by German Luftwaffe fighters over the Bay of Biscay. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 B-17E bomber "Texas #6" was shot down over Waterfall Bay, New Britain by A6M Zero fighters. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 US aircraft attacked Japanese troop transports near Yichang, Hubei Province, China, sinking several vessels and drowning a number of Japanese troops in the Yangtze River. 
0
01 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Fighting Squadron 9 (VF-9; Model F6F-3) on board. Part of Torpedo Squadron 9 (VT-9; Model TBF-1) on board. Bombing Squadron 9 (VB-9; Model SBD-4) on board. Part of Fleet Air Base Unit 1 departed. Part of Bombing Sq 137 (VB-137; Model PV-1) departed. 
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01 Jun 1943 WW2 Throughout this month, Shokaku was in and around the Kure-Tokuyama area, Japan. 
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01 Jun 1943 WW2 Abdul Hossein Aziz became the first Afghan ambassador to the United States. 
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01 Jun 1943 WW2 The USAAF's 58th Very Heavy Bombardment Wing was activated at Marietta, Georgia, United States in preparation for the delivery of B-29 Superfortress bombers to be employed on strategic attacks on targets in Japan. 
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02 Jun 1943 WW2 Soviet aircraft attacked Kiev, Ukraine and Roslavl, Russia; their counterparts, Luftwaffe bombers, attacked Kursk, Russia. 
0
02 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Finback damaged a Japanese ship east of Philippine Islands, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
02 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish departed for her sixth war patrol with a new commanding officer, Captain Frank Watkins. 
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02 Jun 1943 WW2 Five B-17 bombers were launched from Port Moresby, Australian Papua at 2330 hours to attack Rabaul, New Britain. All bombers would abandon their missions due to poor weather. 
0
02 Jun 1943 WW2 B-17 bomber "Old 666" conducted a camera mapping mission over the Buka Passage between Buka and Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. 
0
02 Jun 1943 WW2 Elements of the Chinese 23rd, 55th, 98th, and 121st Division surrounded the rearguard forces of the Japanese 13th Division in the Hubei-Hunan border region in China, inflicting heavy casualties before the Japanese could break out of the envelopment. 
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02 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Air Group 9 on board. 
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02 Jun 1943 WW2 USAAF 99th Fighter Squadron made its combat debut with its P-40L fighters, strafing Italian positions on Pantelleria island southwest of Sicily, Italy. 
0
02 Jun 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Kure, Japan. 
0
02 Jun 1943 WW2 Captain Kanzo Miura was named the commanding officer of Settsu. 
0
02 Jun 1943 WW2 Bruce Fraser was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. 
0
02 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion refueled at Midway Atoll. 
0
03 Jun 1943 WW2 The first fruits of victory reached British shops in the form of Algerian wine. 
0
03 Jun 1943 WW2 German forces discovered 150 Jews hiding in a bunker in the Warsaw ghetto in Poland. They went on to destroy the bunker and killed all people within. 
0
03 Jun 1943 WW2 Operation Cottbus: German forces attacked partisans in Barysaw (Borisov), Byelorussia. 
0
03 Jun 1943 WW2 French Resistance saboteurs destroyed 300 tons of tires in the Michelin factory at Clermont-Ferrant. 
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03 Jun 1943 WW2 The US South Pacific command published Operation Plan 14-43 for the capture of Japanese-held islands in the central Solomon Islands. US Navy Rear Admiral Richmond Turner was named the overall commanding officer, and the largest contingent under his command would be the US Army 43rd Division. 
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03 Jun 1943 WW2 All Japanese resistance on Attu, Aleutian Islands ceased. 
0
03 Jun 1943 WW2 Operation Toenails: The Allies invaded New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
0
03 Jun 1943 WW2 USS S-35 departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, United States. 
0
04 Jun 1943 WW2 Luftwaffe bombed the tank factory in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), Russia. 
0
04 Jun 1943 WW2 The British House of Commons refused to lift the economic blockade against occupied Europe. 
0
04 Jun 1943 WW2 Three American submarines entered the Sea of Japan. 
0
04 Jun 1943 WW2 The Times newspaper in Britain reported the death of the fictitious Royal Marines temporary captain and acting major W. Martin. 
0
04 Jun 1943 WW2 James Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order medal. 
0
04 Jun 1943 WW2 Chinese 79th Corps launched a frontal attack against Japanese troops in the Hubei-Hunan border region in China, on the southern side of the Yangtze River; Japanese positions were pushed back, but the Chinese suffered very heavy casualties. 
0
04 Jun 1943 WW2 A Luxembourg national working at Peenemünde, Germany reported to the United Kingdom the presence of a 10-meter-long rocket with 150- to 250-kilometer range which was fueled by "bottles containing gas". 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Bachelor Officer Quarters (BOQ) "D" turned over to station. 
0
04 Jun 1943 WW2 In Tokyo, Japan, Emperor Showa made a rare address about an individual regarding the loss of Isoroku Yamamoto. 
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05 Jun 1943 WW2 German submarine U-217 was attacked and sunk by a TBF Avenger torpedo bomber assisted by a Wildcat fighter from escort carrier USS Bogue. 
0
05 Jun 1943 WW2 F-5A reconnaissance aircraft "Eager Beaver" flown by pilot Lieutenant Frederic Hargesheimer detected a new Japanese aircraft under construction at Ubili, New Britain. His aircraft was in turn spotted by the Japanese and was shot down; Hargesheimer survived the attack and would spend the next eight months in the jungle. 
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05 Jun 1943 WW2 A full state funeral was given for Isoroku Yamamoto. The funeral procession slowly moved from Tokyo, Japan to Hibiya Park in nearby city of Chiyoda. At 1050 hours, many Japanese citizens across the entire country bowed their heads toward Tokyo in honor of Yamamoto. During the ceremony, Hideki Tojo made an address regarding Yamamoto's contributions to Japan, while Yamamoto was posthumously promoted to the rank of fleet admiral (or, literally, naval marshal) and was given the Order of the Chrysanthemum 1st Class and the German Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. 
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05 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Whale damaged a Japanese seaplane tender in the Mariana Islands, hitting her with 3 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
05 Jun 1943 WW2 77 American B-29 bombers attacked Bangkok, Thailand; it was the first USAAF B-29 bombing mission. 
0
06 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Tunny arrived off Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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06 Jun 1943 WW2 8 Japanese light bombers escorted by 14 fighters attacked Liangshan Airfield in Chongqing, China, destroying 12 P-40 fighters and 1 other aircraft on the ground. Captain Chow Chin-kai, who had just landed in a P-40 fighters, commandeered a P-66 Vanguard fighter parked nearby and shot down 3 bombers. Chow was later awarded the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun for this action. 
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06 Jun 1943 WW2 Fresh troops of the Chinese 74th Corps arrived in the Hubei-Hunan border region in China, wiping out two brigades of the Japanese 17th Independent Mixed Regiment. 
0
06 Jun 1943 WW2 The Shirakawa Prisoners of War Camp in southern Taiwan was opened at the site of a former Japanese Army base. 
0
07 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Tunny was attacked by a Japanese float biplane and later by a destroyer; none caused any damage. 
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07 Jun 1943 WW2 The Japanese began a renewed air offensive against Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
07 Jun 1943 WW2 Chinese 3rd Division wiped out the headquarters element of the Japanese 13th Division in the Hubei-Hunan border region in China. 
0
07 Jun 1943 WW2 Dutch prisoners of war were transferred out of the Oflag IV-C camp at Colditz Castle in Germany for the camp at Stanislau in Ukraine; it had been decided in the previous month at Oflag IV-C was to house US and British prisoners only. 
0
07 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Harder departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
07 Jun 1943 WW2 Joseph Rochefort was ordered to travel from San Francisco, California, United States to Washington DC, United States for a new assignment. 
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08 Jun 1943 WW2 Mutsu suffered an explosion due to unknown cause at 1213 hours about three kilometers north of Oshima Island in Japan. 1,121 men were killed; several hundred survivors were treated at military hospitals in Japan and then shipped off to various garrisons in order to maintain secrecy of this accidental explosion. 
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08 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Finback attacked a Japanese convoy east of Philippine Islands and claimed two transports sunk and another ship damaged, hitting them with 4 of 8 torpedoes fired. 
0
08 Jun 1943 WW2 Brigadier General Paul Wursmith of US V Fighter Command landed a P-40 fighter at Marilinan, about 40 kilometers west of Lae, Australian Papua, to evaluate the general area for the possible construction of a new fighter airstrip. 
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08 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Photographic Squadron 3 (VD-3) on board. Brig turned over to station. 
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09 Jun 1943 WW2 Tito was wounded by a German air attack. 
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09 Jun 1943 WW2 Omar Bradley was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant general. 
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09 Jun 1943 WW2 Mutsu sank at 0200 hours from damage suffered during the explosion on the previous day. 
0
09 Jun 1943 WW2 George Bush was commissioned as an ensign in the US Naval Reserve at Corpus Christi, Texas, United States. 
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09 Jun 1943 WW2 21 B-17 bombers attacked Lakunai, Vunakanau, and Rapopo airfields at Rabaul, New Britain with 73,000 pounds of bombs between 0215 and 0520 hours. A J1N1 nightfighter (pilot Chief Flight Officer Satoru Ono, observer Lieutenant (jg) Kisaku Hamano) damaged two of the US bombers. 
0
09 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Whale attacked a Japanese convoy in the Mariana Islands, damaging (possibly sinking) two freighters, hitting them with 5 of 9 torpedoes fired. 
0
09 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Snook departed from Midway Atoll for her second war patrol. 
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10 Jun 1943 WW2 The keel of what would become USS Blackfin was laid down. 
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10 Jun 1943 WW2 USAAF and RAF began a coordinated air offensive with the RAF over Europe, conducting area bombing at night and the USAAF flying precision bombing raids by day. The British Assistant Chief of the Air Staff noted that the primary objective of bombing campaign was "the destruction of German air-frame, engine and component factories and the ball-bearing industry on which the strength of the German fighter force depend" and the secondary objective was "the general disorganization of those industrial areas associated with the above industries". 
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10 Jun 1943 WW2 Doneff was commissioned into service. 
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10 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Air Group 9 departed for USS Essex. 
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10 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese transport off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
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10 Jun 1943 WW2 Vice Admiral Masakuni Yamagata was named the commanding officer of Takao Guard District in southern Taiwan. 
0
10 Jun 1943 WW2 The work to extend HMCS Trillium's forecastle at Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, United States was completed. 
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10 Jun 1943 WW2 While under construction, Shamrock Bay's hull number changed from ACV-84 to CVE-84. 
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11 Jun 1943 WW2 German Major Werner Streib of 1./NJG 1 flying a Heinkel He 219 Uho night fighter shot down five Avro Lancaster bombers in a single sortie. 
0
11 Jun 1943 WW2 The final liquidation of all Jewish ghettos in Poland was ordered by Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler. 
0
11 Jun 1943 WW2 The invasion of Pantelleria, Operation Corkscrew, was deemed successful. 
0
11 Jun 1943 WW2 In Germany, 200 B-17 bombers of US 8th Air Force bomb Wilhelmshaven, while RAF aircraft bombed Münster and Düsseldorf. 
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11 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Finback sank a Japanese cargo ship east of Philippine Islands, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
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11 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Runner sank Japanese cargo ship Seinan Maru in Tsugaru Strait off Hokkaido, Japan. 
0
11 Jun 1943 WW2 USS S-35 arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska. 
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11 Jun 1943 WW2 10 B-24 bombers of US 43rd Bomb Group attacked Vunakanau airfield at Rabaul, New Britain with 39,000 pounds of bombs between 0000 and 0500 hours, destroying some Japanese aircraft on the ground. 
0
11 Jun 1943 WW2 George Kenney returned tactical control of the bombers at Port Moresby, Australian Papua to Ennis Whitehead, who had returned from Australia after receiving medical treatment for a badly infected toe. Kenney departed Port Moresby for Brisbane, Australia later in the day. 
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11 Jun 1943 WW2 In China, Chinese troops regained all territory in the Hubei and Hunan Provinces lost to the Japanese offensive launched on 5 May 1943. 
0
11 Jun 1943 WW2 The unwatering of the nearly-completed Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii began. 
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11 Jun 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan for her 13th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
0
11 Jun 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Hashirajima, Japan for Yokosuka, Japan to embark the air group of carrier Hiyo, which was damaged in action on the previous day. 
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11 Jun 1943 WW2 Roberts Dunstan flew his first mission as a rear gunner aboard a Lancaster bomber out of RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom, attacking Düsseldorf, Germany. 
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12 Jun 1943 WW2 RAF aircraft bombed Bochum, Germany. 
0
12 Jun 1943 WW2 Luftwaffe aircraft conducted a night raid on Plymouth, England, United Kingdom. 
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12 Jun 1943 WW2 The German submarine U-441 which sailed from Brest, France on 8 Jun 1943, obeying Admiral Doenitz's order that U-boat crews should fight Allied aircraft on the surface using improved anti-aircraft guns, encountered not a slow patrol aircraft but three Beaufighter Mk VIC of No. 248 squadron and was severely straffed and forced to put back to Brest for repairs. 
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12 Jun 1943 WW2 Aircraft of Japanese 11th Air Fleet from Rabaul were launched to attack American positions in the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands, but this force was turned back by Allied fighters. 
0
12 Jun 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho was transferred from the 3rd Force of the Mobile Force Training Force to Carrier Division 2 of the 3rd Fleet. 
0
12 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Photographic Squadron 3 (VD-3) on board. Aircraft storehouse, paint and oil storehouse, and Public Works and Maintenance building, turned over to station. 
0
12 Jun 1943 WW2 Germans liquidated the Jewish Ghetto in Berezhany in western Ukraine. 1,180 Jews were led to the city's old Jewish graveyard and killed. 
0
13 Jun 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak was made the commanding officer of 3rd Aviation Squadron of Soviet 73rd Guard Fighter Aviation Regiment. 
0
13 Jun 1943 WW2 21 B-17 bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain with 87,000 pounds of bombs before dawn; a J1N1 nightfighter (pilot Senior Flight Petty Officer Shigetoshi Kudo, observer Lieutenant (jg) Akira Sugawara) shot down B-17 bomber "Georgia Peach" at 0326 hours. 
0
13 Jun 1943 WW2 A contingent of US Army, US Navy, and US Marine Corps officers were landed at Segi, New Georgia to evaluate possible landing locations for an invasion. 
0
13 Jun 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson scored his first kill, a German Fw 190 aircraft of 10 Staffel of JG 26, over Bergues, France. 
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13 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Composite Squadron 12 (VC-12) arrived on board. 
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13 Jun 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
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13 Jun 1943 WW2 The keel of Preston was laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding at San Pedro, California, United States. 
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14 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Tunny attacked a Japanese convoy east of Murilo Island, Marshall Islands. As she moved into position to attack the three transports, the two escorting destroyers detected her and attacked with 4-inch shells. She dove but maintain her course into attack position, firing four torpedoes at a range of 3,100 meters and claiming three hits. 
0
14 Jun 1943 WW2 Admiral John Newton relieved Admiral William Halsey as the commanding officer of the South Pacific area. Combined with this personnel change was the transfer of the Solomon Islands region to the Southwest Pacific command. 
0
14 Jun 1943 WW2 The RAF's 2nd Tactical Air Force was formed to train close support aircraft squadrons for tactical operations during Operation Overlord. 
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14 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Bowling Alley turned over to station. 
0
15 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Hoe made a night time underwater torpedo attack, damaging a Japanese freighter with 1 out of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
15 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Finback fired three torpedoes at a Japanese ship east of Philippine Islands; all torpedoes missed. 
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15 Jun 1943 WW2 More than 20 B-17 and B-24 bombers attacked Lakunai airfield at Rabaul, New Britain before dawn. A J1N1 nightfighter (pilot Chief Flight Officer Satoru Ono, observer Lieutenant (jg) Kisaku Hamano) shot down one bomber, while two B-24 bombers fired on each other over Rabaul in confusion. 
0
15 Jun 1943 WW2 B-17 bomber "R. F. D. Tojo" conducted a photographic reconnaissance mission over Buka in the Solomon Islands. It successfully made two passes over the Japanese base, but all film would turn out to be bad upon its return. 
0
15 Jun 1943 WW2 The world's first turbojet reconnaissance bomber, the Arado Ar 234V-1 Blitz (GK-IV), made its maiden flight at Rheine, Germany with Flugkapitän Selle in the cockpit. 
0
15 Jun 1943 WW2 Naka departed Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
15 Jun 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 returned to the front lines from a month of rest at Efate, New Hebrides, transferring to Turtle Bay fighter strip on Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. 
0
15 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Gunnel sank Japanese cargo ship Kayo Maru in the East China Sea, hitting her with 2 of 7 torpedoes fired. 
0
15 Jun 1943 WW2 HMS Cumberland arrived at Thurso, Scotland, United Kingdom. 
0
16 Jun 1943 WW2 Major General John Hester announced the date for the New Georgia invasion to be 30 Jun 1943. On the same day, a group of Japanese dive bombers and fighters unsuccessfully attacked American positions in the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands; a large number of the aircraft were destroyed. 
0
16 Jun 1943 WW2 B-17 bomber "Old 666", piloted by Captain Jay Zeamer, conducted a camera mapping mission over Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. It was attacked and heavily damaged by fighters of the squadron led by Warrant Officer Yoshio Oki. Zeamer, wounded, would be able to fly the bomber back home; this later won him a Medal of Honor. 
0
16 Jun 1943 WW2 Werner Haase was promoted to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. 
0
16 Jun 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Yokosuka, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
16 Jun 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Yokosuka, Japan to escort a task force to Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
16 Jun 1943 WW2 Noor Inayat Khan boarded a Lysander aircraft in Britain for France. 
0
17 Jun 1943 WW2 In the last major air battle over Guadalcanal, Captain William D. Wells (US 8th Fighter Group) led his flight of P-39 Airacobra fighters into a formation of 30-35 Japanese Aichi Type 99 naval bombers and shot down four of them. 
0
17 Jun 1943 WW2 Captain Teruhiko Miyoshi's body was recovered from the wreck of battleship Mutsu. 
0
17 Jun 1943 WW2 Monterey was commissioned into service. 
0
17 Jun 1943 WW2 In a letter written to Winston Churchill, President Franklin Roosevelt expressed his conviction that General Charles de Gaulle was injuring the Allied war efforts and was "a very dangerous threat to us". 
0
17 Jun 1943 WW2 USS S-35 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her sixth war patrol. 
0
17 Jun 1943 WW2 The US Marine Corps 9th Defense Battalion was relieved of its responsibility in the defense of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands and was ordered to begin training for the upcoming New Georgia invasion. 
0
17 Jun 1943 WW2 Noor Inayat Khan landed in France via a Lysander aircraft before dawn. 
0
17 Jun 1943 WW2 The Royal Navy battleships HMS Nelson (flying the flag of Vice-Admiral Algernon Willis) and HMS Rodney plus a large squadron sailed from Scapa Flow to join the largest invasion fleet yet mustered in World War II - 280 warships, 320 merchantmen, 2,125 landing craft and smaller vessels - for Operation Husky, the Sicilian landings. 
0
17 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her fourth war patrol. 
0
18 Jun 1943 WW2 The word RADAR, from Radio Detection and Ranging, was made the official British name for the technology. 
0
18 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Gar began her eighth war patrol. 
0
18 Jun 1943 WW2 Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller was awarded the German Cross in Gold. 
0
18 Jun 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
18 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Photographic Squadron 3 (VD-3) on board. 
0
18 Jun 1943 WW2 Two men of Italian Air Force Assault Engineer Battalion penetrated into Benina airfield in Libya and destroyed two B-24 and two Wellington aircraft; both men were captured after the mission. 
0
18 Jun 1943 WW2 Jürgen Stroop was awarded Iron Cross 1st Class at Lazienki Park, Warsaw, Poland. 
0
18 Jun 1943 WW2 Aircraft designer Clarence Johnson met with Lockheed President Robert Gross and chief engineer Hal Hibbard at the company's headquarters in Burbank, California, United States. Johnson informed the two that US Army Air Force representatives from Wright Field had requested Lockheed to design a jet fighter. 
0
19 Jun 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul, New Britain and departed later on the same day. 
0
19 Jun 1943 WW2 RAF bombers attacked the Schneider armaments factory at Le Creusot, France. 
0
19 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Gunnel sank Japanese cargo ship Tokiwa Maru in the East China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired She also claimed 1 torpedo hit (of 2 fired) on a Japanese destroyer, but the sinking was not confirmed. 
0
20 Jun 1943 WW2 The RAF initiated shuttle bombing, where planes departed home fields to bomb Germany, re-armed in Africa, then bomb Italian targets en route back to Britain. The first of these raids targeted Friedrichshafen, Germany. 
0
20 Jun 1943 WW2 5,550 Dutch Jews in Amsterdam were rounded up for deportation to the east. 
0
20 Jun 1943 WW2 Submarine Rock was launched, sponsored by Mrs. B. O. Wells. 
0
20 Jun 1943 WW2 Lord Gort received the field marshal's baton from King George VI at Malta. 
0
20 Jun 1943 WW2 Captain Arthur Post of US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron was shot down near Wide Bay, New Britain. He survived the ordeal and was taken in by natives, who later brought him to coast watchers. 
0
20 Jun 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Uzuki at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
20 Jun 1943 WW2 A fist fight between two men, one white and one African-American, at Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan, United States escalated the already-strained racial tension into a riot. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Cod was commissioned into service. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 Himmler ordered the liquidation of all Jewish ghettos in all Soviet territories controlled by Germany. On the same day, the Lvov Ghetto in Poland was liquidated; 10,000 to 20,000 Jews were massacred. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 RAF bombers attacked Krefeld in the Ruhr region of Germany. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Hoe sank a Japanese ship, hitting her with 3 out of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 Engstrom was commissioned into service. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion arrived off Takarajima, Tokara Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate arrived in Delhi, India and met with various British officers. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 Takeo Takagi was named the commanding officer of the Japanese Navy 6th Fleet, which was centered around submarines. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 Chuichi Nagumo was named the commanding officer of the Kure Naval District. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 In Operation Toenails, US 4th Marine Raider Battalion was dispatched to Segi, New Georgia to assist coast watchers in the area who were threatened by a Japanese advance. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 Gabriel Puaux was made the Resident-General of French Morocco, replacing Charles Hippolyte Noguès. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
21 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Luce was commissioned into service with Commander Donald C. Varian in command. 
0
22 Jun 1943 WW2 Stutthof Concentration Camp conducted its first gassing, killing many Polish and and Byelorussian prisoners. 
0
22 Jun 1943 WW2 60 British Lancaster bombers attacked factories at Friedrichshafen in southern Germany. Planners of the attack though they were conducting a strike on a factory producing radar parts, but in actuality it was manufacturing parts for V-2 rockets. 
0
22 Jun 1943 WW2 British RAF Coastal Command commenced anti-shipping missions with strike aircraft armed with rockets. 
0
22 Jun 1943 WW2 US Army troops invaded Japanese-held Woodlark Island, Trobriand Islands. 
0
22 Jun 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
22 Jun 1943 WW2 Naka departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
22 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Harder attacked a Japanese convoy off Japan, damaging seaplane transport Sagara Maru with 3 of 4 torpedoes. 
0
22 Jun 1943 WW2 Roza Shanina was accepted into the Vsevobuch program for universal military training. 
0
22 Jun 1943 WW2 The riot fueled by racial tension was finally under control in Detroit, Michigan, United States after three days of violence committed by both whites and African-Americans. During this period, 34 were killed (9 whites, 25 African-Americans), about 500 were wounded (about 75% African-Americans), more than 1,800 were arrested (about 80% African-Americans), and US$2,000,000 worth of damage were done to property. 
0
23 Jun 1943 WW2 All Jewish ghettos in the Galicia region of Poland and Ukraine were liquidated; 430,329 Jews were deported from this region. 
0
23 Jun 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort cruiser Nagara to Nauru. 
0
23 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Harder attacked a Japanese transport south of Japan, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes. 
0
24 Jun 1943 WW2 RAF bombers attacked Elberfeld in the Ruhr region of Germany. 
0
24 Jun 1943 WW2 American submarine USS Tinosa fired 12 torpedoes at an enemy target. 11 of them failed to explode. 
0
24 Jun 1943 WW2 At dawn, USS Snook attacked a six-ship Japanese convoy in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, damaging one tanker with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
24 Jun 1943 WW2 Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein flew the Bf 110 nightfighter for the first time, discovered technical issues, and returned to flying his usual Ju 88 aircraft, in which he shot down four British Lancaster bombers. His victories now stood at 35. 
0
24 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish ended her third war patrol. 
0
24 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Harder damaged a Japanese transport off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 7 torpedoes. 
0
24 Jun 1943 WW2 The Tamazato Prisoners of War Camp in eastern Taiwan was closed after less than three months in operation; on the same day, Taihoku Prisoners of War Camp No. 5 near Taihoku (now Taipei), Taiwan was opened. 
0
24 Jun 1943 WW2 Submarine Caiman was laid down by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 The minesweeper USS Advocate was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Nauru and disembarked 412 troops of No. 2 Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force; she departed later in the day. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 Hubert Lanz was given command of XXXXIX Gebirgskorps. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Mingo departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Pollack arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her seventh war patrol. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 The first Italian "M" armored division was formed near Rome, Italy as Mussolini's bodyguard unit. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 As part of the preparation for the invasion of Sicily, Italy (Operation Husky) some 130 American B-17 bombers from the Northwest African Tactical Air Force dropped over 300 tons of bombs on Messina, Italy. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 USS S-35 arrived in the Kurile Islands. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Harder sank a Japanese transport and damaged another off Japan, hitting each with 1 torpedo, expending 7 torpedoes in this attack. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 Rear Admiral Katsuya Sato was named the chief of staff of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 The German Foreign Ministry representative in the Netherlands reported that 102,000 of the 140,000 Dutch Jews had been deported. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 Jews in the ghetto of Czestochowa, Poland revolted; German authorities destroyed the ghetto in response. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 Crematorium III began operation at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The camp now had the capacity of cremating 4,756 bodies per day. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 The Karenko Prisoners of War Camp in Karenko (now Hualien) in eastern Taiwan was closed. 
0
25 Jun 1943 WW2 The keel for the future submarine Trepang was laid down at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California, United States. 
0
26 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Tunny performed photographic reconnaissance at Saipan Harbor and Tinian Channel in the Mariana Islands. 
0
26 Jun 1943 WW2 The US submarine Runner failed to report in whilst on patrol off Northern Japan and would soon be presumed lost. Post-war records showed that she sank Japanese passenger-cargo ship Shinryu Maru off Kurile Islands, Japan on this date. 
0
26 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Finback arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fifth war patrol. 
0
26 Jun 1943 WW2 11 B-17 bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain before dawn. A J1N nightfighter (pilot Senior Flight Petty Officer Shigetoshi Kudo, observer Warrant Officer Michitaro Ichikawa) shot down B-17F bomber "Taxpayer's Pride" and B-17E bomber "Naughty But Nice", which made Shigetoshi Kudo the first Japanese nightfighter ace. 
0
26 Jun 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson's P-47 aircraft was badly damaged by German aircraft while flying patrol over France, but was able to return to base in Britain. 
0
26 Jun 1943 WW2 USS S-35 transited Onekotan Strait in the Kurile Islands. 
0
27 Jun 1943 WW2 USS S-28 departed the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States for the Aleutian Islands. 
0
27 Jun 1943 WW2 British Chiefs of Staff circulated the "German Long-Range Rocket: Evidence Received from All Sources" report with details of German rockets potentially capable of carrying 2 to 8 tons of high explosives. 
0
27 Jun 1943 WW2 Heinrich Himmler ordered a new procedure for testing the children born of Eastern European forced laborers; those tested racially inferior were to be left in inadequately-supplied centers for foreign children, where many of whom would die from malnutrition and lack of care. 
0
27 Jun 1943 WW2 Companies Q and P of the US Marine Corps 4th Raider Battalion arrived at Segi, New Georgia to join the remainder of the battalion which had already landed six days prior. They were immediately deployed to attack the small naval base at Viru Harbor. 
0
27 Jun 1943 WW2 The dams in the Ruhr region of Germany damaged by the 17 May 1943 British raid returned to full capacity. 
0
27 Jun 1943 WW2 USS S-35 detected a Japanese freighter in the Kurile Islands but failed to close in on the ship due to the submarine's slow speed. 
0
28 Jun 1943 WW2 Köln, Germany was bombed by British aircraft, heavily damaging the cathedral. About 4,000 were killed and 1,500 were wounded. 
0
28 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Tunny fired three torpedoes at a Japanese gunboat and dove to escape depth charge attacks from a nearby anti-submarine trawler. She observed two explosions. 
0
28 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion was ordered to sail for the Yellow Sea. 
0
28 Jun 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
28 Jun 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
28 Jun 1943 WW2 A Royal Air Force reconnaissance aircraft conclusively identified German long-range rocket launch sites on Peenemünde, Germany. 
0
28 Jun 1943 WW2 Irako departed Yokosuka, Japan at 1730 hours with convoy No. 3628 with transport Hakusan Maru, escorted by destroyer Ikazuchi. 
0
29 Jun 1943 WW2 The US 158th Regimental Combat Team and the US 6th Engineer Combat Company landed unopposed at Kiriwini Island, Trobriand Islands. 
0
29 Jun 1943 WW2 USS S-35's starboard engine was repaired while at sea in the Kurile Islands. 
0
29 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Harder sank a Japanese transport and damaged an oiler off Japan, hitting them with 2 of 2 torpedoes. 
0
30 Jun 1943 WW2 The German Nazi organization Gestapo was given the right to decide for itself whether a criminal or political case should go to trial or proceed directly to confinement, although by this stage such legal niceties were rather irrelevant in the face of the unlimited power already enjoyed by the State Security Services. 
0
30 Jun 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion arrived in the Yellow Sea off Shantung Peninsula, China. 
0
30 Jun 1943 WW2 The United States Marine Corps reported the active duty strength of 21,384 officers and 287,139 enlisted, for a total of 308,523 personnel. 
0
30 Jun 1943 WW2 The German army authorised the issue of the 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42 rocket launcher. 
0
30 Jun 1943 WW2 Senior Flight Petty Officer Shigetoshi Kudo shot down B-17F bomber "Pluto" over Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
30 Jun 1943 WW2 In Operation Chronicle, US Army troops and the US Navy 12th Defense Battalion secured Woodlark Island of the Trobriand Islands, while other troops landed on Woodlark Island to the west. Meanwhile, the 1st Battalion of the US Army 162nd Infantry Regiment, supported by other US and Australian units, landed at Nassau Bay, Australian Papua. 
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30 Jun 1943 WW2 US occupation troops arrived early at Nono, New Georgia, Solomon Islands and would join the US Marine Corps 4th Raider Battalion on the planned attack on Viru Harbor; nearby on the island of Vangunu, Companies N and Q of the US Marine Corps 4th Raider Battalion and 2nd Battalion of US Army 103rd Infantry Regiment landed unopposed near Oloana Bay; they would capture Wickham Anchorage by the end of the day. On Rendova Island, elements of the US Army 172nd Infantry Regiment, US Army 103nd Infantry Regiment, US Navy 24th Naval Construction Battalion, and US Navy 9th Defense Battalion landed against light resistance; Japanese aircraft attempted to disrupt landing operations, but they were intercepted by aircraft of US Marine Fighter Squadrons 121, 122, 213, and 221. 
0
30 Jun 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort cruiser Chokai to Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands. 
0
30 Jun 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Kawakaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
30 Jun 1943 WW2 USS S-35 set sail toward the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. 
0
01 Jul 1943 WW2 Hitler addressed the generals slated to command Operation Citadel. 
0
01 Jul 1943 WW2 The US Navy launched the V-12 program to recruit and train college students for future military service. 
0
01 Jul 1943 WW2 The US Marine Corps established the Administrative Division at its headquarters to control the civilian personnel program and to place enlisted Marines. 
0
01 Jul 1943 WW2 Chester Nimitz submitted a tentative plan for operations against the Marshall Islands. 
0
01 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-35 sank Japanese fishing tender Banshu Maru No. 7 off the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia at 1821 hours, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired. She escaped the area at 1825 hours after detecting a potential counterattack on the submarine. 
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01 Jul 1943 WW2 Two platoons from Company P, US Marine Corps 4th Raider Battalion overran the Japanese detachment at the village of Tombe on New Georgia near the Viru Harbor, while the remainder of Company P and Company Q occupied Tetemara on the west side of the harbor. On the same day, just to the south of New Georgia, the US Marine Corps 9th Defense Battalion arrived at Rendova with men, supplies, and 90mm and 150mm guns. Southeast of New Georgia, the US Marine Corps 4th Raider Battalion and Company F of the US Army 103rd Regiment fell back to Vura on the island of Vangunu in preparation of a counterattack to be launched against Kaeruka and Cheke Point in the next few days. 
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01 Jul 1943 WW2 1st Lieutenant Mel Wheadon of US 44th Fighter Squadron, flying a P-40 fighter, became an "ace in a day" by shooting down five Japanese D3A dive bombers while defending the invasion fleet at Rendova, New Georgia Islands, Solomon Islands. 
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01 Jul 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Gasoline storage and distribution (1,167,000 gallons) usably complete. 
0
01 Jul 1943 WW2 In England, United Kingdom, Robert Johnson recovered from wounds sustained in combat on 13 Jun 1943 and resumed flight duties. 
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02 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese physicist Yoshio Nishina met his with army liaison officer Major General Nobuji and reported that he expected to be successful with the nuclear research project. He noted that 10 kilograms of uranium-235 of at least 50% purity to create an atomic bomb, but he needed a large cyclotron to conduct experiments to confirm this theory. Nobuji promised further funding. 
0
02 Jul 1943 WW2 Greek guerrillas were placed under direct operational control of Allied Middle Eastern Command. 
0
02 Jul 1943 WW2 Subhash Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore. 
0
02 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese cargo ship off Taiwan, hitting her with 3 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
02 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-35 was ordered to sail to waters off Paramushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. 
0
02 Jul 1943 WW2 Major General Noboru Sasaki assumed sole command of all Japanese garrisons on New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
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02 Jul 1943 WW2 Troops of US Army 43rd Division began to move from Rendova to New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, covered by gunfire from US Marines 9th Defense Battalion and US Army 192nd Field Artillery aimed at Munda Airfield; Japanese bombers attempted to interfere by attacking supply dumps on Rendova, causing heavy casualties. 
0
02 Jul 1943 WW2 The Italian 1st Air Force Assault Regiment "Amedeo d'Aosta" was effectively disbanded; after this date it would be consisted only with a small number of officers. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 Germans launched Operation Citadel, aimed at encircling and destroying Soviet forces in the Orel-Belgorod salient in Russia. Soviet air activity had delayed the launch by one day. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 Köln, Germany suffered a heavy air raid. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 Ann Baumgartner graduated from the Women Airforce Service Pilots training program. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 The prototype aircraft XP-47K was completed. This aircraft incorporated the all-round-vision bubble-type canopy of a Hawker Typhoon, which was soon adopted as standard on all later production models of the P-47D. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Snook began stalking a Japanese convoy off the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion fired six torpedoes at a 5-ship Japanese convoy, sinking cargo ships Anzan Maru and Kokuryu Maru with five hits; she suffered serious damage during the subsequent depth charging. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Gunnel ended her second war patrol. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese bombers attacked supply dumps on Rendova, Solomon Islands, but failed to cause significant damage. To the north, on New Georgia, troops of the 172nd Infantry Regiment of the US Army 43rd Division were landed on Zanana beach. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 Lorraine departed Suez, Egypt. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 Duquesne departed Alexandria, Egypt. 
0
03 Jul 1943 WW2 Italians raised destroyed French cruiser Dupleix at Toulon, France. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 General Sikorski and other members of Polish government-in-exile were killed in a plane crash in Gibraltar. Sabotage was suspected but it was never proven. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 The Battle of Kursk, what would become the largest tank battle in history, began. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Tunny, while off Guam, Mariana Islands, received orders to sail to Johnston Island, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Snook attacked a Japanese convoy with 16 torpedoes, 6 of which hit, sinking cargo ships Koki Maru and Liverpool Maru and damaging Atlantic Maru. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Pompano sank Japanese seaplane carrier Sagara Maru. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 Subhash Chandra Bose took command of the Indian National Army and assumed the leadership position of the Indian Independence League. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 US Marines and US Army troops secured Kaeruka and Cheke Point on Vangunu Island, just southeast of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. On New Georgia, a 52-man special weapons unit of the US Marine Corps 9th Defense Battalion arrived with four 40mm anti-aircraft guns. To the south of New Georgia, the Japanese attempted attempted the last large daylight air raid on Rendova; 16 bombers were able to break through to drop bombs on the island, but 12 of them would be shot down. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Helena escorted invasion transports to Kula Gulf west of New Georgia. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 The Sino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization, or SACO for short, already officially signed into effect in Apr 1943, was signed by Chinese Army General Dai Li in China; Dai had not been able to travel to the United States for the official signing. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 The first of Chinese 30th Division began to arrive at Ramgarh Training Center in India. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-35 arrived off Paramushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 Journalist John Steinbeck of the newspaper New York Herald Tribune spent a day with British airmen at an airfield in England, United Kingdom. His experiences on this day would later be found in his work "Once There Was a War" in a chapter titled "Waiting". 
0
04 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Cero was commissioned into service. 
0
05 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-31 departed Nouméa, New Caledonia for her seventh war patrol. 
0
05 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-759 sank American ship Maltran of Allied convoy GTMO-134 70 miles west of Port Salut, Haiti. The entire crew survived. 
0
05 Jul 1943 WW2 The torpedoed Fletcher-class destroyer USS Strong was sunk by a Japanese shore batteries in Rice Anchorage, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. 
0
05 Jul 1943 WW2 The Indian National Army held a military parade in Padang, Sumatra, Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies. 
0
05 Jul 1943 WW2 Captain Takeo Taizuka was named the commanding officer of light carrier Hosho. 
0
05 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands. 
0
05 Jul 1943 WW2 The US Northern Landing Group under Colonel Harry Liversedge landed at Rice Anchorage on the northern coast of New Georgia, Solomon Islands. On the same day, US cruisers and destroyers bombarded Japanese positions at Vila, Kolombangara, and Bairoko Harbor. 
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05 Jul 1943 WW2 Before dawn, USS Helena commenced pre-invasion bombardment of New Georgia from Kula Gulf. In the afternoon, she received the order to intercept a Japanese troop convoy would arrive some time after dark. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland departing later on the same day. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 American and Japanese ships engaged in the Battle of Kula Gulf. The Americans lost one light cruiser and the Japanese two destroyers. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 Troops of German 1st Mountain Division massacred 107 people of the village of Borova in Albania. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Frederic Hargesheimer of US 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, who had survived the shot down of his aircraft over New Britain, was found by natives after spending a month in the jungle. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 During Battle of Kula Gulf northwest of New Georgia, USS Helena ambushed an incoming Japanese convoy at 0157 hours, but the many gun flashes in turn made her an attractive target for Japanese gunners. She was struck by a Japanese Type 93 torpedo at 0203 hours, followed by two more at 0205 hours. She would sink at 0225 hours. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 Irako arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 French and Belgian prisoners of war began to be transferred out of the Oflag IV-C camp at Colditz Castle in Germany for the Oflag X-C camp in Lübeck; the transfer would continue until 12 Jul when the last French and Belgian prisoners were transferred out. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 Captain Franco Lucchini, Italian fighter ace with 26 victories, was shot down and killed by a Spitfire fighter over Sicily, Italy. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 Dwight Eisenhower arrived at Malta by B-17 aircraft. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Permit sank a Japanese transport off Hokkaido, Japan, hitting her with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired. 
0
06 Jul 1943 WW2 In Russia, in the north of the Kursk salient, on Central Front, Konstantin Rokossovsky launched a counter-attack, throwing in three tank corps. But it foundered on former Soviet minefields which the Germans had reinforced, and the Soviets instead took up fixed positions to act as a breakwater against a renewed German assault. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul and then Kavieng, departing later in the same day. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 At Wolf's Lair, German rocket research team leader Walter Dornberger presented his research to Hitler and successfully convinced him to give rocket research and production a high priority. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-759 sank Dutch cargo ship Poelau Roebiah of Allied convoy TAG-70 east of Jamaica; 2 were killed and 68 survived. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell presented Chiang Kaishek and He Yingqin the Legion of Merit medals. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 The broken-off bow of USS Helena sank in Kula Gulf northwest of New Georgia. A US Navy PB4Y-1 Liberator aircraft dropped lifejackets and four rubber lifeboats to survivors in the area of the bow. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 At the Wolfsschanze headquarters in Rastenburg, Germany, Werhner von Braun and Walter Dornberger presented Adolf Hitler a film of a V-2 rocket launch. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Second commanding officer, Capt DS MacMahan USN, assumed command. Five splinter-proof shelters on beach completed. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Permit sank Banshu Maru No. 33 off Hokkaido, Japan, hitting her with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired; another transport was damaged with 2 of 2 torpdoes fired. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 Soviet Il-2M aircraft, attacking in huge numbers, destroyed some seventy tanks of the German 9th Panzer Division in just twenty minutes during the Battle of Kursk. German aircraft also saw much action, with He 111 tactical bombers alone flew 178 sorties. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 General Henri Giraud arrived in Washington DC, United States for conferences with President Franklin Roosevelt. 
0
07 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Harder arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol. 
0
08 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Blenny was laid down. 
0
08 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-759 was reportedly to be lost, though later records show she might had not been destroyed until 23 Jul 1943. 
0
08 Jul 1943 WW2 Casablanca was commissioned into service. 
0
08 Jul 1943 WW2 In the Kursk salient Walter Model's armour made three thrusts into the centre of the Soviet defences along the Central Front, the villages of Teploye, Olkhovatka and Ponyri in Russia. At Teploye, the main objective was Hill 272. Time and again the Germans assaulted it, after attacks by swarms of Stuka dive bombers which dropped 550-pound bombs on the anti-tank positions. But the Soviets were well dug in and camouflaged. They preferred to fight the Germans at close range, where their anti-tank rifles and dug in T-34 tanks took a devastating toll. The Germans took the hill three times, but the Soviets continued to recapture it. 
0
08 Jul 1943 WW2 Companies N and Q of USMC 4th Raider Battalion were dispatched on a patrol on Gatukai Island in New Georgia, Solomon Islands after reports on the possible presence of a 50-100 men Japanese garrison on the island. 
0
08 Jul 1943 WW2 Richard Heppner arrived in India. 
0
08 Jul 1943 WW2 The 400-mph Macchi C.205V Veltro fighter made its combat debut when fifteen machines escorted a force of Italian Regia Aeronautica torpedo-bombers tasked to attack Allied warships bombarding the island of Pantelleria southwest of Sicily. 
0
08 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Permit sank Japanese merchant ship Showa Maru and Soviet oceanographic vessel No. 20 off Hokkaido, Japan, hitting them with 3 of 10 torpedoes fired. 
0
08 Jul 1943 WW2 Eight US Army B-24 bombers from Midway made the first land-based air strike against Wake Atoll. 
0
09 Jul 1943 WW2 In the Solomon Islands, the US New Georgia Occupation Force advanced westward in the Munda-Barike region, toward the airfield at Munda. Nearby, 1st Raider Battalion attacked the island of Enogai. To reinforce New Georgia, the Japanese 13th Regiment began transferring 3,700 men from Kolombangara to Bairoko on the northwestern shore of New Georgia; this reinforcement would be conducted over the following 3 days. 
0
09 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze escorted a troop transport run to Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
0
09 Jul 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Kure, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands where she was to join her sister ship Zuikaku. 
0
09 Jul 1943 WW2 A. A. Avseevich stepped down as GUKR SMERSH's chief in the Northwestern Front. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 The Allies began Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, Italy, with an airborne assault before dawn; amphibious elements of Operation Husky landed to join the fight later in the day. Out at sea, hospital ship Tampala and LST-313 were sunk by German air attack. Picket ship USS Sentinel was sunk by a SC250 bomb delivered by a Fw 190 aircraft off Molla. Destroyer USS Maddox was also lost after being attacked by dive bombers and sunk within two minutes. The US Navy would subsequently suffer severe accusations for failing to supply adequate air cover. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 The minesweeper USS Agent was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho was assigned to the Main Unit of the Mobile Force of Carrier Division 2 of the Third Fleet. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Pompon departed Brisbane, Australia for her first war patrol in the Truk, Caroline Islands area. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 The new airfield at Tsili-Tsili, Australian Papua was ready to receive C-47 transport aircraft. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 Companies N and Q of USMC 4th Raider Battalion completed their patrol of Gatukai Island in New Georgia, Solomon Islands and concluded that there were no Japanese on the island. Also on New Georgia, the US Marine Corps reported that the airfield at Segi was now ready for limited operations, while Companies O and P of the 4th Raider Battalion were slated to be relieved at Viru for transfer to Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Nearby, Marines of the 1st Raider Battalion captured the island of Enogai. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Steelhead damaged Japanese escort carrier Unyo near Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands to cover the Japanese withdraw from Kiska, Aleutian Islands. 
0
10 Jul 1943 WW2 The US Marine Corps established Marine Corps Air Station, El Centro, California, United States; Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. McQuade was placed in command. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 German forces in Operation Citadel ran out of momentum, even though there had been some objectives reached. Hitler refused to call off the operation, which could have saved many of the units. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Tunny refueled at Johnston Island, United States. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire in the Western Pacific. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 19th Bomb Squadron (flying B-25 and B-26 aircraft) of USAAF 22nd Bomb Group was transferred to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 Admiral William Halsey issued a directive for an attack in the Bougainville area in the Solomon Islands; Lieutenant General Alexander Vandegrift was to be the head of the invasion force. Elsewhere, the 1st Marine War Dog Platoon arrived in the theater in preparation of the Bougainville operations with the 2nd Marine Raider Regiment. At New Georgia, the US airfield at Segi Point was now fully operational. After sundown, US cruisers and destroyers bombarded Japanese positions at Munda, New Georgia. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi performed repair work for armed merchant cruiser Aikoku at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her first war patrol. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 British 8th Army captured Syracuse, Sicily, Italy and its useful harbour. Also on Sicily, General Paul Conrath's Hermann Göring Panzer Division overran the American outposts at Ponte Dirillo and were only prevented from breaking through the Allied lines by an attack by James Gavin's paratroopers from the rear. Elsewhere, Conrath personally led a column which assaulted the weakly held Piano Lupo, to get within 2,000 yards of the beach before being stopped by the defenders. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 Omar Bradley arrived at Sicily, Italy while recovering from a recent hemorrhoidectomy. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 HMS Howe bombarded Trapani and Favignana, Sicily, Italy. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 Submarine Flier was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States. sponsored by the wife of A. S. Pierce. 
0
11 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo began a period of trials and training off California, United States. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 Soviet forces launched a massive offensive along their Bryansk, Central, and West Fronts in Russia, toward Bryansk, Kursk, and Orel. Prokhorovka, Russia became the site of what would be hailed as the largest armor battle in history. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Mingo damaged a Japanese freighter with torpedoes. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 Wing Commander John Nettleton, who won the Victoria Cross for leading the ill-fated Augsburg, Germany raid from RAF Waddington in Apr 1942, failed to return from mission to Turin, probably shot down by a night fighter over the English Channel. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 HMS King George V bombarded Trapani, Sicily, Italy. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 Chiang Kaishek committed, in writing, to a Chinese offensive into Burma. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 British 8th Army captured Augusta, Sicily, Italy, adding yet another useful harbour for the Allied invasion forces. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze led an attack on an US cruiser-destroyer group in the Battle of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 432nd Fighter Squadron (flying P-38 aicraft) of USAAF 475th Fighter Group was out of Dobodura No. 15 airstrip of Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 Companies N and Q of the USMC 4th Raider Battalion departed New Georgia, returning to join the rest of the battalion at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. After dark, a Japanese force consisted of light cruiser Jintsu and destroyer-transports ran into a group of Allied light cruisers; the ensuing Battle of Kolombangara, which lasted into the next morning, saw the sinking of Jintsu and USS Gwin; the Japanese were able to land 1,200 men on New Georgia. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 HMS Howe bombarded Trapani and Favignana, Sicily, Italy. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 Yamato was drydocked at Kure, Japan for upgrades. A Type 21, Mod 3, air and surface search radar was to be installed. Twelve (4x3) new 25-mm AA guns were to be fitted on the weather deck. Yamato's total 25-mm AA suite would be 36 guns. Her 155-mm wing mount guns were to be provided with coaming armor and their barbettes with 28-mm of additional armor. Yamato's fuel storage would be reduced and her main and auxiliary rudder controls were to be improved. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 I-168 departed Kure, Japan. 
0
12 Jul 1943 WW2 The National Committee for a Free Germany was formed in Krasnograd, Ukraine, made up of a number of captured German officers as well as exiled German communists. This group called for an uprising against Hitler and an end to the fighting between Germany and the Soviet Union. 
0
13 Jul 1943 WW2 Hitler called off the Kursk offensive but the decision had already been taken from him by the Soviets who pounded the retreating German forces both north and south of the salient with tanks, artillery, and tank-busting aircraft. Apart from the Soviet Army, the victory at Kursk was as much a triumph for the Soviet workforce which has endured long shifts in appalling conditions to arm, clothe, and feed their fighting men. 
0
13 Jul 1943 WW2 Operation Fustian: After sun down, 1,900 men from the UK 1st Airborne Division set out to capture the Primosole Bridge over the Simeto River in Sicily, Italy by parachute and glider. Less than 200 men with three anti-tank guns reached the bridge. They overpowered the guards and removed demolition charges placed by Italian engineers. However, unbeknown to the Allies, the machine gun battalion of a German parachute division had just been dropped on to that very area. The two parachute forces were immediately locked into battle, but the tiny British unit, though heavily outnumbered, would remain at the bridge awaiting arrival of reinforcements. Elsewhere, British troops captured Augusta and Ragusa in Sicily, Italy. 
0
13 Jul 1943 WW2 British Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst moved his Western Desert Air Force Headquarters to Pachino, Sicily, Italy with three squadrons of Spitfire VC fighters under command. Over the next week Luftwaffe operations would be reduced from 275-300 sorties per day to less than 150. 
0
13 Jul 1943 WW2 Pierre Charles Cournarie was named the Governor-General of French West Africa. 
0
13 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her sixth war patrol. 
0
13 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
13 Jul 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler told Erich von Manstein that the forces to repel the Allied thrust through Italy and the Balkans would have to be found from the Eastern Front. 
0
13 Jul 1943 WW2 On the 47th day of drifting at sea in teh Pacific Ocean, Louis Zamperini and Russell Phillips were found and captured by the Japanese Navy in the Marshall Islands. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Before dawn, Allied Northwest African Strategic Air Force Wellington bombers attacked Palermo and Messina in Sicily, Italy while C-47 Skytrain transports dropped British airborne troops at the Simeto River at Primosole Bridge; the paratroopers attempted to establish a bridgehead, but they faced stiff opposition. During the day, British and American aircraft attacked Messina, Marsala, Enna, Palermo, Randazzo, Licata, and Lentini; in indirect support, American aircraft struck Naples on mainland Italy. Elsewhere in Sicily, US troops captured Niscemi and Biscari airfield while other British troops captured Vizzini. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 The Soviet Voronezh Front joined in the offensive against German 4.Panzer Armee and Armeeabteilung Kempf south of Kursk, Russia. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Gar reported damaging a Japanese ship in daylight with her deck gun. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of British frigate Redmill was laid down. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 British frigate Anguilla was launched. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 British frigate HMS Usk and destroyer HMS Scourge were commissioned into service. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 The keels of German submarines U-1209 and U-1210 were laid down. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-429 was commissioned into service. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-549 was commissioned into service. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-675 was commissioned into service. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 At Krasnodar in southern Russia, the Soviets began a trial of 11 Germans accused of the murder of 7,000 civilians by gas vans, shootings, and hangings. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-178 attacked transport ship Robert Bacon with torpedoes in the Indian Ocean 35 miles off the Mozambique Light at 0236 hours. After the initial damage was brought under control, 52 survivors began a relatively orderly evacuation of the ship with the 3 surviving lifeboats and 3 surviving rafts. At 0314 and then again at 0443, U-178 fired additional torpedoes at the burning wreck, sinking her. U-178 would surface to point to the survivors toward land before departing. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 American troops occupied the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu) and prepared for the contruction of airfields. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Pomfret was laid down. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Plaice was laid down. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer escort USS Frederick C. Davis was commissioned into service. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated US$30,000 for the George Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, Missouri, United States. This future monument would be the first national monument dedicated to an African-American and the first to a non-president. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Corvette Cobourg was launched at Midland, Ontario, Canada. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Frigate Stormont was launched at Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Aircraft from carrier USS Santee sank German submarine U-160 south of the Azores islands. Off Venezuela, German submarine U-572 sank sailing ship Harvard. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell departed China for India. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 The Marine Corps Glider Base at Edenton, North Carolina, United States, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Zebulon C. Hopkins, was redesignated a USMC air station. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 The US-controlled Woodlark Airfield in the Trobriand Islands east of New Guinea was declared operational. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson relieved Rear Admiral Richmond R. Turner as the commanding officer of the III Amphibious Force. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer USS Monaghan bombarded Japanese positions at Gertrude Cove, Kiska, US Territory of Alaska unopposed, firing 100 127mm rounds. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 US Army Major General Oscar W. Griswold became the commanding officer of the command of the New Georgia Occupation Force, relieving US Army Major General John H. Hester. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 US Marine tanks, units of US Army 9th Defense Battalion, and units of US Army 103rd Infantry Battalion arrived at Laiana Beach, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Takuichi Ohmura stepped down as the President of the South Manchuria Railway; he was succeeded by Naoto Kohiyama. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 USAAF Eighth Bomber Command attacked three targets in France, with 111 B-17 bombers and 5 YB-40 bombers launched against aircraft factories at Villacoublay (3 B-17 bombers lost), 64 B-17 bombers launched against Glisy Airfield at Amiens (1 B-17 bomber lost), and 84 B-17 bombers launched against LeBourget Airfield at Paris (4 B-17 bombers lost). 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Tunny arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Air Group 9 on board. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of Sterlet was laid down at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, United States. 
0
14 Jul 1943 WW2 Two of the ten sections of USS ABSD-1 began to be towed from Morgan City, Louisiana, United States for the South Pacific. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Allied leadership completed the plans for the invasion and occupation of New Britain, which was scheduled for 15 Nov 1943. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Copahee was reclassified an escort carrier with hull number CVE-12. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Erwin Rommel was made the commander of Heeresgruppe B. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Before dawn, Allied Northwest African Tactical Air Force bombers attacked Palermo, Sicily, Italy. During the day, US Ninth Air Force B-25 bombers attacked Palermo, Cape Gallo, Salina Island, and Cape Zifferano while the Northwest African Tactical Air Force attacked Vibo Valentia. Meanwhile, airborne troops of the UK 1st Airborne Division were relieved after fighting a larger German airborne force at Primosole Bridge over the Simeto River in Sicily, Italy for the past two days, ending Operation Fustian. Finally, US 7th Army captured the ports of Agrigento and Porto Empedocle. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of Canadian frigate Loch Morlich was laid down at Wallsend-on-Tyne, England, United Kingdom. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Frigate HMS Calder was commissioned into service. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 British frigate Musk was launched. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 British destroyer Zephyr was launched. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 British minesweeping trawler Steepholm and and minesweeper Welfare were launched. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 British escort carrier Thane was launched. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-988 was commissioned into service. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 George Patton formed a provisional corps in western in Sicily, Italy. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 British submarine HMS United sank Italian submarine Remo in the Gulf of Taranto, Italy. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The Soviet Central Front began an offensive toward Orel, Russia. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Submarine USS Narwhal shelled a Japanese airfield on Matsuwa Island, Kurile Islands, the first time the Kurile Islands were attacked by an American vessel in the war. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of Australian frigate HMAS Culgoa was laid down. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 A B-24 Liberator bomber and two P-39 Airacobra fighters of USAAF Eleventh Air Force flew a reconnaissance mission over Kiska and Segula Islands in the Aleutian Islands, while 9 B-24 bombers and 14 B-25 bombers attacked Kiska in the same archipelago. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The under-construction Canadian corvette Sea Cliff was renamed Guelph. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 US President Roosevelt created he Office of Economic Warfare, which was to be led by Leo Crowley. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of American minesweeper Graylag was laid down. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of American submarine Blower was laid down. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of American destroyer escort Day was laid down. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of American destroyer escort Rudderow was laid down. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 American destroyer escort George was launched. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 American destroyer escort Savage was launched. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 American destroyer escort Spangler was launched. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 American minesweeper Gadwall was launched. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 American frigates Covington and Shreveport were launched. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 US Navy Patrol Squadron 32 PBM-3C Mariner aircraft sank German submarine U-759 in the Caribbean Sea south of Haiti with depth charges (all 47 killed). 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 British sloop HMS Rochester, corvette HMS Mignonette, and corvette HMS Balsam, with the help from a US Navy PBY Catalina aircraft, sank German submarine U-135 in the Atlantic Ocean; 5 German crew were killed, 41 survived. Off the Portuguese island of Madeira, US Navy Composite Squadron 29 TBF Avenger torpedo bomber sank German submarine U-509; all 54 aboard were killed. Also off Madeira, German submarine U-135 damaged transport Twickenham. U-572 sank sailing ship Gilbert B. Walters off Venezuela. In the South Atlantic, 620 miles east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, U-172 sank transport Harmonic at 2116 hours; 1 was killed, 38 survived. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-181 sank British ship Empire Lake 240 miles east of Madagascar at 1801 hours; 30 were killed, 7 survived. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 All Allied airborne operations were suspended pending an analysis of recent poor performance and high casualty rates. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The Japanese Navy launched 24 G4M bombers, escorted by about 40 to 50 A6M Zero fighters, to attack various targets in the central Solomon Islands; the bulk of the attack force was intercepted by US Army and US Navy fighters in the Rendova Island, New Georgia, Solomon Islands area, and 15 G5M bombers and 30 A6M fighters were shot down at a loss of only 3 American fighters. On land at New Georgia, men of the US Army and US Marine Corps launched an offensive at Laiana Beach. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Before dawn, Allied Northwest African Strategic Air Force Wellington bombers attacked airfields and docks at Naples, Italy. During the day, Villa San Giovanni and Foggia were attacked by Allied aircraft. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico was commissioned as an operations base. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 The US Navy established a new scheme for the designation of aircraft carriers. Large fleet carriers would retain the designation of CV. 10,000-ton carriers built on light cruiser hulls were from CV to CVL (light carriers). Auxiliary aircraft carriers, previuosly ACV, were now redesignated as CVE (escort carriers). Finally, the new designation of CVB (large carriers) was established for the Midway-class carriers. 
0
15 Jul 1943 WW2 Carrier Langley was reclassified as a light carrier. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Yamato was visited by the German Naval Attaché to Tokyo Konteradmiral Paul Wenneker, who wore a Japanese naval uniform. His tour of Yamato did not include the main turrets, and he was told that the primary armament of Yamato consisted of 40-cm guns rather than the actual 46-cm. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 In Sicily, Italy, Canadian troops captured Caltagirone, American troops captured Agrigento, while British troops secured the Primosole Bridge and marched for Catania. On the same day, Allied aircraft attacked Valguarnera, Vibo Valentia, Randazzo, and other targets in Sicily. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Apogon was commissioned into service. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 British President of Edution R. A. Butler announced a plan to remodel secondary schools (for children between the ages of 11 and 15) in the United Kingdom, dividing the existing schools into grammar, modern, and technical tiers. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 14 B-26B bombers of USAAF VIII Air Support Command attacked the rail marshalling yard at Abbeville, France at 2000 hours. This was VIII Air Support Command's first combat operation. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 British patrol vessel HMS Kilbernie was commissioned into service. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 British sloop Lapwing and corvette Rushen Castle were launched. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Theophil Wurm, the bishop of Württemberg, Germany, wrote to Adolf Hitler in protest of the deaths that were occurring in concentration camps. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-366 was commissioned into service. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-1192 was launched. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt jointly issued an announcement to the Italian people, urging them to remove Benito Mussolini from power and to seek surrender. On the same day, Allied aircraft dropped leaflets containing the same message over Italian cities. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Before dawn, British Wellington bombers of the Allied Northwest African Strategic Air Force attacked Crotone, Reggio di Calabria, and Villa San Giovanni in southern Italy. During the day, American B-24 Liberator bombers of the USAAF Ninth Air Force Bari in southern Italy; 3 American bombers and 11 German fighters were shot down during the aerial battle. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Generaloberst Walter Model, already the commanding officer of the German Ninth Army, assumed a second role as the commander of the Second Panzer Army upon the arrest of Generaloberst Rudolf Schmidt by the Gestapo. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Italian submarine Dandolo damaged British light cruiser HMS Cleopatra with a torpedo; Cleopatra would receive temporary repairs at Malta. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-181 sank transport Fort Franklin southwest of Réunion island in the Indian Ocean at 1558 hours; 2 were killed, 53 survived. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of Canadian frigate Beacon Hill was laid down Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer USS Stembel was commissioned into service. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer escort USS Dionne was commissioned into service. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 American destroyer escort Vance was launched. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 American frigate El Paso was launched. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-306 attacked Allied convoy SL-133 in the Atlantic Ocean, damaging Kaipara at 0352 hours; she would attack again at 0801 hours with two spreads of two torpedoes, but none would cause any damage. Several hours later, TBF Avenger aircraft of US Navy Composite Squadron 13 from escort carrier USS Core sank German submarine U-67 with depth charges in the Atlantic Ocean; 48 were killed, 3 survived. At 2115 hours, German submarine U-513 sank transport Richard Caswell 150 miles southeast of Florianopolis, Brazil with two torpedoes; 9 were killed, 60 survived in 3 lifeboats and 2 rafts. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak shot down the German Bf 109G fighter pilot by Oberfeldwebel Hans Grünberg and another Bf 109G fighter while flying a Yak-1b fighter. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 More than 30 B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the US Thirteenth Air Force attacked Kahili Airfield on Bougainville, Solomon Islands. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Four new barracks turned over to station. 
0
16 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-35 and a Japanese destroyer gave chase to each other off Paramushiro, Hokkaido, Japan; no hits were scored by either side when night fell and they lost sight of each other. 
0
17 Jul 1943 WW2 From before dawn into the day, aircraft of the Allied Northwest African Tactical Air Force attacked Catania, Paterno, and other targets on Sicily, Italy. Meanwhile, the Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories was formed for Sicily with General Sir Harold Alexander at its helm. On the front lines, American troops captured Agrigento and Porto Empedocle. 
0
17 Jul 1943 WW2 The US Army-Marine Corps joint offensive at Laiana Beach, New Georgia, Solomon Islands successfully penetrated the Japanese defensive line near Laiana Beach; Japanese troops of the 13th and the 229th Regiments attempted a counterattack; behind the front lines, 161st Infantry Regiment of the US Army 25th Division arrived as reinforcements. At Bougainville, 192 US aircraft struck the Japanese airfield at Buin. 
0
17 Jul 1943 WW2 Yamato was undocked at Kure, Japan. 
0
17 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-35 set sail for the Aleutian Islands. 
0
17 Jul 1943 WW2 Four British Royal Navy Motor Torpedo Boats made a seemingly suicidal night attack on the Italian cruiser Scipione Africano off Messina, Sicily, Italy. During the action MTB 316 was hit by intense gunfire and was blown up. MTBs 260 and 313 suffered superficial damage before turning away. The British torpedoes failed to achieve an effective result. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 The keels of British frigates Loring and Pasley were laid down. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 In Sicily, Italy, before dawn, British Wellington bombers of the Allied Northwest African Strategic Air Force bombed Montecorvino on Sicily and Pomigliano in mainland Italy. After daybreak, American A-36 aircraft of the Allied Northwest African Tactical Air Force attacked Santa Caterina, Adrano, Lercara, and Termini Imerese. On the ground, Canadian troops captured Valguarnerna, US Seventh Army troops captured Caltanisetta, and British Eighth Army troops move slowly along the east coast of Sicily near Catania. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 6 American B-24 bombers attacked Japanese shipping between Paramushiru Island and Shimushu Island in the Kurile Islands and the Kataoka Airfield on Paramushiru; this was the first heavy bomber attack against Japan. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 6 B-24 bombers of the US Seventh Air Force based on Funafuti Island, Ellice Islands bombed Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese bombers were dispatched to attack Canton Island, Phoenix Islands, but they were forced to abandon their mission due to heavy American anti-aircraft and fighter defense; the bomb loads were dropped in the ocean. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 2 B-24 and 6 B-25 bombers of the US Eleventh Air Force B-24 attacked Japanese positions at Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 US Navy airship K-74 detected an enemy submarine in the Straits of Florida between the United States and Cuba at 2340 hours by radar and commenced the attack on German submarine U-134 10 minutes later. The anti-aircraft guns of U-134 hit the airship, and she crashed at 2355 hours. K-74 was the only American blimp to be shot down during the war. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 American destroyer escort Hilbert was launched. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 American destroyer escort USS Chase was commissioned into service. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-508 attacked passenger ship Incomati with a torpedo 200 miles south of Lagos, British West Africa at 0756 hours. At 0818 hours, U-508 shelled Incomati with her deck gun, eventually sinking her. 1 was killed, 222 survived. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Finback completed refitting at Fremantle, Australia and departed for her sixth war patrol. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 21 USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 bombers escorted by 20 fighters, together with 35 US Navy and US Marine Corps dive bombers escorted by 134 fighters, attacked the Kahili Airfield and surrounding areas on Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands. The Americans claimed destroying or damaging two destroyers, a light vessel, and 12 fighters. 10 American aircraft were lost. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Snook arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 After sundown, RAF Wellington bombers dropped over 800,000 propaganda leaflets on Rome, Italy. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 Ambra launched frogmen against Allied shipping in Syracuse harbor, Sicily, Italy; they failed to cause any damage. 
0
18 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-513 was sunk by depth charges from a PBM-3C Mariner aircraft of US Navy Patrol Squadron 74 south east of São Francisco do Sul, Brazil; 46 were killed, 7 survived. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 HMCS Huron (G24) was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander H. S. Rayner in command. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Yekaterina Budanova shot down a Bf 109 fighter near Antracit, Luhansk, Russia, but her Yak-1 fighter also sustained damage and caught on fire. She landed safely, but when farmers rushed to help, they found her already dead. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Canadian destroyer HMCS Huron was commissioned into service. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Crew of Canadian destroyer HMCS Iroquois staged a brief mutiny by refusing to obey orders from Commander William Boyd Love Holms, for what they perceived as harsh treatment by the commanding officer. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer escort USS Acree was commissioned into service. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer escort USS Keith was commissioned into service. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Bf 109G-6 fighter while flying a Yak-1b fighter. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 The US 633rd, 634th, and 635th Bombardment Squadrons (Dive) and the US 407th Bombardment Group (Dive) began operating from Amchitka, Aleutian Islands. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Australian and American troops defended against repeated Japanese counterattacks at Mount Tambu, Australian New Guinea. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze escorted a troop transport run to Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 During the day, in the Solomon Islands, B-17 and B-25 aircraft attacked Ballale Airfield on Ballale, while B-25, SBD, and TBF aircraft attacked Japanese positions at Bairoko, New Georgia. After sundown, US PBY and TBF aircraft attacked a Japanese task force near Choiseul Island east of Bougainville, sinking a destroyer and damaging a cruiser, but also losing several aircraft. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 US B-17 aircraft bombed Kahili Airfield on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of British minesweeper HMS Serene was laid down at Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of Canadian frigate HMCS Joliette was laid down at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Kure, Japan. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 The German-sponsored French military formation Légion des Volontaires Français held a parade in Paris, France. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-854 was commissioned into service. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of German submarine U-825 was laid down. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese G3M bombers attacked the US airfield on Funafuti, Ellice Islands. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii was ready for emergency use. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 The Italian capital of Rome experienced its first air raid by the USAAF, which resulted in 1,500 civilian deaths; 157 B-17 and 112 B-24 aircraft embarked on this attack, 5 of which were lost. Most of the bombers focused on rail marshalling yards in or around the city. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 At Feltre, Italy, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met for the 13th and last time before Mussolini was ousted from power. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 US 7th Army and British 8th Army continued to make advances in Sicily, Italy; encountering resistance along the coast, Bernard Montgomery ordered his British 8th Army to take an alternate route, inland, toward Messina in the north. The Allied Northwest African Tactical Air Force launched B-25 bombers to attack Catania and Randazzo while US 9th Air Force P-40 aircraft bombed railroads and railcars at Alcamo to support the ground troops on Sicily. After sundown, Allied bombers struck Aquino and Nicosia. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 12 Polish prisoners of Auschwitz I camp were executed by hanging in front of the kitchen during roll call for helping three fellow prisoners escape. The men were Stanislaw Stawinski (No. 6569), Czeslaw Marcisz (No. 26891), Janusz Skrzetuski-Pogonowski (No. 253), Edmund Sikorski (No. 25419), Jerzy Wozniak (No. 35650), Józef Wojtyga (No. 24740), Zbigniew Foltanski (No. 41664), Boguslaw Ohrt (No. 367), Leon Rajzer (No. 399), Tadeusz Rapacz (No. 36043), Józef Gancarz (No. 24538), and Mieczyslaw Kulikowski (No. 25404). 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Soviet troops began to threaten German positions at Bolkhov, Russia. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Winston Churchill suggested using icebergs as floating airfields. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 British minesweeping trawler HMS Gillstone was launched. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 British destroyer HMS Undaunted was launched. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Greek submarine Pipinos was launched in Britain. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 British submarine HMS Unswerving was launched. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 British frigate HMS Inver was commissioned into service. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 The US Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States was authorized to embark on the project codenamed Gorgon to develop air-to-air turbojet-powered remotely-controlled missiles. 
0
19 Jul 1943 WW2 Pope Pius XII allowed citizens of Rome, Italy to take shelter in Vatican City. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Enterprise made port call at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Ameer was commissioned into service. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 The US Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered Chester Nimitz to begin planning operations in the Ellice and Gilbert Islands. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 The National Committee for a Free Germany made a broadcast of its manifesto to Germany from the Soviet Union. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 British and US bombers sank German submarine U-558 in the Bay of Biscay northwest of Cape Ortegal, Spain with depth charges; 45 were killed, 5 survived. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Allied aircraft attacked German submarine U-195 in the Bay of Biscay, killing 1. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 US destroyers USS Aylwin and USS Monaghan bombarded Kiska, Aleutian Islands. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 In the Solomon Islands, US 13th Air Force launched 18 B-24 bombers against Kahili Airfield, Bougainville Island and other targets on Ballale Island. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 US Marine and US Navy aircraft sank two Japanese destroyers south of Choiseul Island in the Solomon Islands. On New Georgia, the Northern Landing Group (1st Marine Raider Regiment, 4th Raider Battalion, and 3rd Battalion of the US Marine Corps and the 148th Division of the US Army) attacked Bairoko Harbor. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of Canadian frigate HMCS Prestonian was laid down at Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of Canadian frigate HMCS Sea Cliff was laid down at Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of Canadian corvette HMCS Asbestos was laid down at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of Canadian corvette HMCS Hawkesbury was laid down at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Canadian tug HMCS Glenlea was launched at Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 German government reports dated this date indicated that, since 2 Mar 1943, there had been 20 transports of Jews from the Netherlands to Sobibór Concentration Camp, totaling over 34,000 persons; only 19 of these deportees survived the Holocaust. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-242 was launched. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-292 was launched. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-1165 was launched. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Pollack departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her eighth war patrol. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 The underground oil storage facility at Red Hill, Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii was completed. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) arrived on board. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Italian troops surrendered en masse to US troops in Sicily, Italy as US 82nd Airborne Division captured Sciacca and Menfi, US 9th Infantry Division captured Santo Stefano Quisquina and the heights north of Mussomeli, US 2nd Armored Division with British troops in support captured Enna, Canadian 1st Division reached Leonforte, and British 51st Division attacked the Sferro airfield. In the air, Allied Northwest African Strategic Air Force fighter-bombers attacked various targets in western Sicily while medium bombers struck Montecorvino Airfield. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 About 150 aircraft of Allied Northwest African Strategic Air Force and over 100 aircraft US 9th Air Force attacked Rome, Italy for a second day in a row, targeting rail marshalling yards and the Ciampino Airfield. When the US 9th Air Force returned from Rome, they dropped their remaining bombs on targets at Anzio and Sicily. The city of Naples was also bombed by US bombers on this day. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Crown Prince Yi Un was made the commanding officer of Japanese 1st Air Army. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Mili Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Permit entered the Sea of Japan. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 German troops evacuated Mtensk, Russia. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 The Soviet STAVKA ordered all partisans in German-occupied Europe to attack German rail traffic. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down seven Soviet aircraft in one single night mission near Oryol, Russia, increasing his victories to 41. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Vsevolod Merkulov was named the People's Commissar of State Security of the Soviet Union. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 British submarines HMS Spirit was launched. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 British submarines HMS Vampire was launched. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of US escort carrier Nehenta Bay was laid down. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 US escort carrier Natoma Bay was launched. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt ordered that information regarding atomic research was to be shared with the British. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Minesweeper USS Sway was commissioned into service. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 US frigate Sausalito was launched. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer escort USS Burke was commissioned into service. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer escort USS Scott was commissioned into service. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 Lockheed and USAAF began a three day evaluation of a full scale mock up of a XP-80 jet fighter. 
0
20 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo completed a period of trials and training off California, United States. After returning to Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, California, United States, squadron commander Captain John B. Griggs, Jr. came aboard to present awards. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 The German authorities in Belgrade, Yugoslavia offered a massive reward for the betrayal and capture of Yugoslav partisan leader, Tito. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of British frigate HMS Retalick was laid down. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of German submarine U-779 was laid down. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-1225 was launched. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Canadian corvette HMCS The Pas collided with transport Medina while escorting Allied convoy ON 192 off the New England region of the United States; two men were killed. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer escort USS Herbert C. Jones was commissioned into service. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Minesweeper USS Revenge was commissioned into service. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of destroyer escort Currier was laid down. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 The keel of destroyer escort McClelland was laid down. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Bf 109 fighter while flying a Yak-1b fighter. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-35 arrived at Attu, Aleutian Islands. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 9 B-24 bombers of US 11th Air Force bombed Kiska, Aleutian Islands while two US Navy destroyers bombarded the Gertrude Cove area of the same island. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 A PBY-5A Catalina aircraft of the VP-94 squadron of the US Navy sank German submarine U-662 with depth charges in the estuary of the Amazon River, Brazil; 44 were killed, 3 survived. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 A large number of US Army and US Navy aircraft attacked Japanese positions at Bairoko, New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. Despite the powerful air strikes, the Northern Landing Group's attack on Bairoko Harbor was repulsed and the Americans fell back to Enogai; the Northern Landing Group was consisted of 1st Marine Raider Regiment, 4th Raider Battalion, and 3rd Battalion of the US Marine Corps and the 148th Division of the US Army. Nearby, a very small contingent of US Army, US Navy, and US Marine Corps officers landed at Barakoma, Vella Lavella to scout the area for a possible landing site. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 arrived at Banika Island, Russell Islands. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Canadian trawler HMCS Anticosti completed her refit at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese G3M bombers attacked the US airfield at Funafuti, Gilbert Islands. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Erwin Rommel inspected German defenses in Greece. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Before dawn, Allied Northwest African Tactical Air Force attacked Italian ships in waters near Randazzo, Sicily, Italy. On land on this day, US 1st Infantry Division captured Alimena, US 3rd Infantry Division captured Corleone, US 45th Infantry Division captured Valledolmo, US 82nd Airborne Division captured San Margherita, US Rangers captured Castelvetrano, and Canadian 1st Division captured Leonforte. After dark, US 9th Air Force B-25 bombers attacked the Randazzo area again. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Before dawn, British Wellington bombers of the Allied Northwest African Strategic Air Force attacked the airfield at Crotone and the rail marshalling yard at Naples in southern Italy. During hte day, US B-17 bombers also of the Allied Northwest African Strategic Air Force attacked the airfield at Grosseto on the western coast of central Italy. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Wotje Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish departed New London, Connecticut, United States. 
0
21 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo departed Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, United States. 
0
22 Jul 1943 WW2 US 2nd Armored Division captured Palermo, Sicily. 
0
22 Jul 1943 WW2 Canfield was commissioned into service. 
0
22 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Skipjack damaged a Japanese transport south of Japan, hitting her with one of four torpedoes fired. 
0
22 Jul 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
22 Jul 1943 WW2 Lockheed and USAAF completed a three day evaluation of a full scale mock up of a XP-80 jet fighter. 
0
23 Jul 1943 WW2 German leader Fritz Sauckel ordered improvements in the living conditions for Eastern European workers in Germany who performed their functions well. 
0
23 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Gar arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her eighth war patrol. 
0
23 Jul 1943 WW2 US Navy PBM Mariner aircraft attacked a German submarine in the Caribbean Sea, possibly U-759. 
0
23 Jul 1943 WW2 Charles J. Badger was commissioned into service. 
0
23 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze led a troop transport run to Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
0
23 Jul 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Parachute building turned over to station. 
0
23 Jul 1943 WW2 Italian Air Force established plans to re-establish the 1st Air Force Assault Regiment "Amedeo d'Aosta" for possible use as guerrilla fighters in Sicily, Italy, but the plans would not come to fruition. 
0
23 Jul 1943 WW2 Soviet forces launched the Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation toward Belgorod, Russia. 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 The first of almost 1,000 Allied personnel were interned in Sweden when their USAAF B-17 bomber crash landed. 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 Cabot was commissioned into service. 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 Cotten was commissioned into service. 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 Winston Churchill said "There is no doubt that in the welter of inefficiency and lassitude which has characterised our own operations on the Indian front, this man," referring to Orde Wingate, "his force and his achievements stand out; and no question of seniority must obstruct the advance of real personalities in their proper station in war." 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands for Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-703 was ordered to go to Hopen island, Norway to pick up stranded Russian sailors (from Russian freighter Dekabrist which was sunk many months prior). 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 The first operational use of "Window" radar jamming took place during Operation Gomorrah when 746 RAF planes drop 2,300 tons of explosive on Hamburg, Germany, losing 12 aircraft. Hamburg burned in a major firestorm that killed a significant number of civilians. 
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24 Jul 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Fighting Squadron 5 (VF-5; Model F6F-3) on board. Part of Torpedo Squadron 5 (VT-5; Model TBF-1) on board. Part of Bombing Squadron 5 (VB-5; Model SBD-5) on board. 
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24 Jul 1943 WW2 The Fascist Grand Council in Rome, Italy voted 19 to 7 for King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy to retake command of Italian military from Mussolini; Count Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law, also voted against him. Upon relieving his duties, King Vittorio Emanuele III ordered Mussolini arrested. 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Kure, Japan and was assigned to the Maintenance Force of the Mobile Force of Carrier Division 2 of the Third Fleet. 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 Polish political prisoner Heinz Radomski was executed in the washroom of Block 11 at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. 
0
24 Jul 1943 WW2 Submarine Parche was launched at Kittery, Maine, United States, sponsored by Miss Betty Russell, daughter of US District Judge and former US Navy Judge Advocate General Robert Lee Russell. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 Mussolini was arrested. Upon learning the news of the change in government, German troops were prepared to disarm the Italian military. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 The RAF commenced dropping small strips of metal foil (codename "Window") to confuse frequencies of the efficient German precision radars. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate was recalled to Britain. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Pompon sank Japanese cargo ship Thames Maru in the Dutch East Indies and damaged two other ships; she expended 8 torpedoes and observed 5 hits. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 US Army Major General Nathan Twining replaced US Navy Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher as Commander, Aircraft, Solomons. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-35 arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, ending her sixth war patrol. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 The Americans launched what would be the final offensive against Japanese positions on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 I-168 departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Rabaul. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for cruiser Aoba at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 Irako departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Kure, Japan with cruiser Aoba, with destroyers Amatsukaze and Urakaze in escort. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 109 USAAF bombers attacked Hamburg, Germany in the afternoon as a follow up to the night raid by British bombers on the previous day; 15 bombers were lost. Elsewhere, Essen was also targeted with 2,000 tons of bombs. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 Troops of German 1st Mountain Division massacred 153 people of the village of Mousiotitsa in Greece. 
0
25 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-703 arrived at Hopen island, Norway and picked up four survivors of Russian freighter Dekabrist, including the skipper Beliaev. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 Marshal Badoglio replaced the Fascist government in Italy and began negotiations with the Allies in secret. Upon his first actions as the head of state was to dissolve the Fascist Party. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler ordered an operation to be commenced to rescue Mussolini from his arrest. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 USS S-31 arrived at Nouméa, New Caledonia, ending her seventh war patrol. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Mingo fired four torpedoes at a Japanese tanker; all torpedoes missed. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 Hubert Lanz stepped down as the commanding officer of XXXXIX Gebirgskorps. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 Rear Admiral Frederick Sherman of Task Force 36 broke his flag aboard USS Saratoga. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 Fighters of US 35th Fighter Group began to arrive at Tsili-Tsili Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler called for Otto Skorzeny to discuss the rescue of Benito Mussolini, but Skorzeny missed the initial call as he was drinking with a friend at Hotel Eden on the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, Germany. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 Joseph Goebbels traveled to Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany to coordinate some news regarding the capture of Benito Mussolini. In the evening, he noted in his diary the details of the devastation of Hamburg, Germany by Allied bombing. 
0
26 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 I-168 sent a regular situation report while in the Isabel Strait; this would be the last message from the submarine. At 1754 hours, at dusk, she observed an enemy submarine in the Steffen Strait between New Ireland and New Hanover. She fired a torpedo at what turned out to be USS Scamp, which crash dove and evaded the attack. At 1812, USS Scamp returned fire with a spread of four torpedoes at periscope depth, hitting her with the loss of all hands. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 Heavy fighting in Sicily, Italy led to Feldmarschall Kesselring's decision to plan a possible evacuation of his forces to the mainland. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 In Italy, Mussolini was moved from Rome to Ponza Island. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler held a conference with Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, Erwin Rommel, and Karl Dönitz. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Permit arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, ending her ninth war patrol. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 After nightfall, a repeated bombing of Hamburg, Germany by 787 RAF aircraft created a fire storm in which an estimated 42,000 people perished, most of them by carbon monoxide poisoning when all the air was drawn out of their basement shelters. The fire storm, in which the heat and humidity of the summer night was a contributory factor, raged for three hours until there was nothing left to burn. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her sixth war patrol. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 223 (VMF-223) on board. Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) departed. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 German submarine U-255 sank Soviet survey ship Akademik Shokalski off Novaya Zemlya archipelago in northern Russia. 
0
27 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Ray was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander B. J. Harral in command. 
0
28 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish began her fourth war patrol. 
0
28 Jul 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) departed. 
0
28 Jul 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny arrived in Rome, Italy and visited Albert Kesselring at the Tusculum II villa outside of the city. 
0
28 Jul 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan for her 14th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
0
28 Jul 1943 WW2 Georgy Zhukov was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class for the second time. 
0
29 Jul 1943 WW2 The Italian submarine, Pietro Micca, was torpedoed and sunk by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Trooper in the Mediterranean Sea. Eighteen men were rescued but 54 went down with the boat. An Italian rescue vessel later lowered listening gear to the submarine to detect signs of life but heard only the sound of gunshots. It was believed that the survivors took their own lives rather than endure a terrible, lingering death. 
0
29 Jul 1943 WW2 German Armeegruppe A attacked to improve its positions on the Mius River in Ukraine. 
0
29 Jul 1943 WW2 The US ambassador in Madrid, Spain demanded that the Spanish government withdrew the division of Spanish volunteers fighting on the Eastern Front; Franco would largely comply with this demand by the end of Sep 1943, although still leaving behind a regiment-sized unit in Russia. 
0
29 Jul 1943 WW2 Joseph Goebbels' diary entry of this date noted that Hamburg, Germany had been devastated and about 800,000 were made homeless. 
0
30 Jul 1943 WW2 German Armeegruppe A's attack along the Mius River in Ukraine came to a unsuccessful conclusion. 
0
30 Jul 1943 WW2 The Swedish SAAB 21A aircraft made its maiden flight powered by a 1,475hp Daimler-Benz DB605B 12-cylinder inverted-vee engine connected to a pusher propeller. Deliveries commenced to the Flygvapnet in Jul 1945. The SAAB 21 was the world's second aircraft to be fitted with an ejector seat as standard operational equipment (the first was the Heinkel He-219). The J-51A suffered from heavy control forces and engine overheating which affected its speed and rate of climb, thus its role was soon changed from that of an interceptor to ground strike with provisions for various ordnance loads. 
0
30 Jul 1943 WW2 Remy Van Lierde shot down a German Bf 109 fighter, which was his fourth kill. 
0
30 Jul 1943 WW2 Fitted with new drop-tanks which enable the P-47 aircraft of US VIII Fighter Command to reach the Dutch-German border, eight squadrons of P-47 aircraft were despatched to escort home 186 B-17 bombers returning from a raid on Kassel, Germany. 
0
30 Jul 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate departed Delhi, India. 
0
30 Jul 1943 WW2 USS Finback sank a Japanese freighter in the South China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
30 Jul 1943 WW2 Hamburg, Germany was bombed again before dawn by 777 RAF bombers. 
0
30 Jul 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny's SS men arrived in Rome, Italy. 
0
30 Jul 1943 WW2 In frantic air battles off Sardinia, Italy, American P-40 and P-38 aircraft claimed the destruction of 21 enemy transport aircraft and five fighters of German Luftwaffe's III/JG77 group. 
0
31 Jul 1943 WW2 Young was commissioned into service. 
0
31 Jul 1943 WW2 After studying the findings of a small joint US Army, US Navy, and US Marine Corps reconnaissance mission to Vella Lavella between 21 and 22 Jul 1943, it was concluded that a landing in the Barakoma area was feasible. 
0
31 Jul 1943 WW2 Oberleutnant Erich Baumgartl of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
31 Jul 1943 WW2 A Brazilian Air Force Lockheed A-28A aircraft caught a surfaced German submarine, U-199, in the Atlantic Ocean. Though damaged by anti-aircraft fire the Brazilian crew managed to keep the U-Boat on the surface until a Brazilian Air Force Catalina aircraft arrived and sank the submarine. 
0
31 Jul 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing cruiser Kumano at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
31 Jul 1943 WW2 The Air Force of the Republic of China formed the 1st Bomb Group (Provisional) and the 3rd Fighter Group (Provisional); these two groups would form the foundation of the Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional) in two months. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Amon Göth was promoted to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Hitler ordered the Orel, Russia salient evacuated. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 USAAF bombed the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania; 30% of the raid force was lost. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Finback damaged a Japanese transport in the South China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down three Soviet aircraft, increasing his victories to 46. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Americans captured the Munda airfield on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 The puppet Burmese government declared war on Britain and the United States. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Shokaku remained at Truk, Caroline Islands throughout the month of Aug 1943, except for two short sorties on 3 Aug and 25 Aug. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Lin Sen passed away in Chongqing, China. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Chiang Kaishek was made the Chairman of the Nationalist Government, making him the head of state and head of government of the Republic of China. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 223 (VMF-223) departed. A & R building usably complete. Telephone system usably complete. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Irako transited the Bungo Strait between Shikoku and Kyushu, Japan and arrived at Kure, Japan. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Over Ukraine, the Red Air Force's leading female pilot Lydia Litvyak shot down the German Bf 109G-6 fighter piloted by Feldwebel Hans-Jörg Merkle and another Bf 109G-6 fighter while flying a Yak-1b fighter. She was in turn shot down in this engagement. Her body was never found, and the Soviet Union presumed her to have been killed. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Alabama was detached from the British Royal Navy Home Fleet and departed Scapa Flow, Scotland, United Kingdom. 
0
01 Aug 1943 WW2 Submarine Golet was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States, sponsored by the wife of Senator Alexander Wiley. 
0
02 Aug 1943 WW2 In spite of Hitler's "stand fast" order, Manstein implemented a flexible defense, which allowed the Germans to repel heavy Soviet attacks near Izyum and along the Mius River in Ukraine. 
0
02 Aug 1943 WW2 US Navy torpedo boat PT-109, commanded by Lieutenant (jg) John F. Kennedy, was rammed by a Japanese destroyer Amagiri in the Blackett Strait between Kolombangara and Arundel in the Solomon Islands. 
0
02 Aug 1943 WW2 Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
02 Aug 1943 WW2 Overnight, Hamburg, Germany suffered its ninth and final raid in eight days as 740 RAF bombers attacked; 30 of the bombers were shot down. By this time Hamburg had lost as many civilians as Britain had in the entire air war. 
0
02 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
02 Aug 1943 WW2 The P.119 prototype fighter was damaged in a landing accident. 
0
02 Aug 1943 WW2 Auschwitz Concentration Camp's special camp for Roma people was liquidated; 2,897 prisoners were gassed. 
0
02 Aug 1943 WW2 200 Jews revolted in Treblinka concentration camp in Poland, burning down several buildings, and attempted to escape; camp guards found and killed most of them. 
0
02 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Gunnel began a period of overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 Shokaku sortied from Truk. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 Italian troops begin evacuation of Sicily, Italy. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 In southern Russia, the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts drove into German Armeegruppe Süd's flank, causing a retreat. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 George Patton visited a field hospital in Sicily, Italy and slapped Charles Kuhl for what he claimed as cowardice as Kuhl suffered no physical wounds. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Finback sank a Japanese cargo ship in the South China Sea, hitting her with 2 of 5 torpedoes fired. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down three Soviet aircraft, increasing his victories to 50. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 Tanks of the US Marine Corps 9th Battalion joined the American offensive on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 Troops of Soviet Voronezh Front and Steppe Front crossed the Vorskla River and penetrated German lines near Belgorod, Russia. 
0
03 Aug 1943 WW2 Nikolai Melnikov was made the deputy of the Soviet NKVD Directorate for Prisoners of War and Interned Persons (UPVI) with personal command over its 2nd (Operational) Department. 
0
04 Aug 1943 WW2 German 9.Armee retreated, allowing Red Army to move into Orel, Russia. 
0
04 Aug 1943 WW2 The US advance in Sicily, Italy was halted at Troina and the Furiano River. 
0
04 Aug 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214, flying Corsair fighters, provided top cover for another squadron's strafing mission against the Japanese anchorage at Faisi, Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands. VMF-214 pilots claimed 3 Japanese aircraft shot down plus 2 probables. 
0
04 Aug 1943 WW2 In Operation BG 7, Italian auxiliary ship Olterra launched three manned torpedoes against Gibraltar, sinking three cargo ships. 
0
04 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Sewage treatment plant turned over to station. 
0
04 Aug 1943 WW2 Allied bombers attacked Naples, Italy, killing many civilians. 
0
04 Aug 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny learned from the German Police Attaché that Benito Mussolini had been transported in an ambulance from the Royal Palace in Rome, Italy to one of the carabinieri barracks in Rome back on 25 Jul 1943. 
0
04 Aug 1943 WW2 Captain Shinshiro Soma was named the commanding officer of Settsu. 
0
04 Aug 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate arrived in London, England, United Kingdom and was told that he would accompany Winston Churchill to Canada. 
0
05 Aug 1943 WW2 In Sicily, Italy, German forces withdrew from Troina, while British Eighth Army captured Catania. 
0
05 Aug 1943 WW2 British trawler Gulland was launched. 
0
05 Aug 1943 WW2 The Japanese Navy transferred the 12th Air Fleet from the Combined Fleet to the Northeast Area Fleet; it now had three air flotillas, one communication unit, and one weather observation unit. 
0
05 Aug 1943 WW2 Minesweeper USS Alarm was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act. 
0
05 Aug 1943 WW2 US Navy Admiral Raymond Spruance, formerly the chief of staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Ocean Area, was named the commanding officer of the Central Pacific Area and the commanding officer of the Fifth Fleet. 
0
05 Aug 1943 WW2 Gusztáv Jány stepped down as the commanding officer of Hungarian 2nd Army. 
0
05 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fourth war patrol. 
0
05 Aug 1943 WW2 Soviet troops nearly the German garrison at Belgorod, Russia; German troops began evacuating the city after sundown. 
0
05 Aug 1943 WW2 Konstantin Rokossovsky's Central Front liberated Orel, Russia and the Germans withdrew to the partly prepared Hagen line position at the base of the salient. 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Corvina was commissioned into service with Commander Roderick S. Rooney in command. 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 In the Battle of Vella Gulf in the Solomon Islands, three Japanese destroyers were destroyed, killing 600 sailors and 900 Japanese Army passengers. 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Mingo damaged a Japanese freighter, hitting her with one out of four torpedoes fired. 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 After capturing the important town of Troina at Sicily, Italy, Lieutenant General Patton fired both the divisional commander (Major General Allen) and his deputy (Brigadier General Roosevelt) of the US 1st Infantry Division who were responsible for the victory. 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Pollack attacked a Japanese convoy off Kyushu, Japan, damaging one ship with one of six torpedoes fired. 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 USS S-35 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her seventh war patrol. 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 The 10,000-strong Japanese 4th Air Army under Lieutenant General Kumaichi Teramoto arrived at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 Two divisions of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 and two divisions of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-221 escorted a P-38 reconnaissance aircraft over the Shortland Islands. The 16 Corsair fighters shot down five Japanese aircraft, losing one (Bill Blakeslee). 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 German SS-Hauptsturmführer Hans Aumeier gave his subordinates time off from 1300 hours on 7 Aug 1945 to end of the day of 8 Aug 1945 to recognize the work his men accomplished during the liquidation of the Jewish ghettos in Bedzin and Sosnowiec in the Silesia region of Germany (occupied Poland). 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 Soviet troops engaged the German 4th Panzerarmee headquarters unit at Bogodukhov, Russia. 
0
06 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived at Midway Atoll, refueled, and then departed for her sixth war patrol. 
0
07 Aug 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny thought Benito Mussolini was being kept in La Spezia, Italy, and was about to launch a rescue attempt when he learned that he was moved hours prior, and canceled the operation at the last moment. In fact, his intelligence was flawed as Mussolini was never transferred to La Spezia; on this date, Mussolini was being transferred out of the island of Ponza, Italy via a destroyer. 
0
07 Aug 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Hawkbill was laid down. 
0
07 Aug 1943 WW2 Oberstleutnant Ernst Kühl stepped down as the commanding officer of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing. 
0
07 Aug 1943 WW2 The Munda airfield on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, captured by the Americans from the Japanese on 1 Aug 1943, was declared operational for emergencies. 
0
07 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Whale patrolled waters between Japan and Caroline Islands. 
0
07 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Cisco departed the Panama Canal Zone. 
0
07 Aug 1943 WW2 Soviet troops reached the area northeast of Poltava and Akhtyrka, Russia. 
0
08 Aug 1943 WW2 The imprisoned Mussolini was transferred to the island of La Maddalena off Sardinia, Italy. 
0
08 Aug 1943 WW2 King Vittorio Emanuele III decreed that Italy was under a state of siege. 
0
08 Aug 1943 WW2 US troops landed at St. Agata, Sicily, Italy. 
0
08 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Gar departed Fremantle, Australia for her ninth war patrol. 
0
08 Aug 1943 WW2 Oberstleutnant Wilhelm Antrup was named the commanding officer of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing. 
0
08 Aug 1943 WW2 Battery B of the US Marine Corps 9th Defense Battalion was deployed at Kindu Point on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands to defend the southern coast of the island near Munda airfield. 
0
08 Aug 1943 WW2 The commanding officer of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 Bill Pace was killed when his Corsair fighter overheated and crashed in the Solomon Islands. 
0
08 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Whale sank Japanese aircraft transport Naruto Maru between Japan and Mariana Islands, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
09 Aug 1943 WW2 Winston Churchill arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada aboard the passenger liner Queen Mary. 
0
09 Aug 1943 WW2 German officer Georg Jantschi voluntarily surrendered to the Soviets. 
0
09 Aug 1943 WW2 A party of German officers departed Rabaul, New Britain. They had inspected Japanese facilities and spoke to American prisoners of war prior to their departure. 
0
09 Aug 1943 WW2 The main body of the Japanese Southeast Detached Force was moved to Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. Elsewhere on New Georgia, the two groups of the American New Georgia Occupation Force (Northern Landing Group and Southern Landing Group) made contact at a roadblock southwest of Triri. Also on New Georgia, a light anti-aircraft artillery battery of the US Marine Corps 11th Defense Battalion arrived at Enogai. 
0
09 Aug 1943 WW2 Dong Zhao was named the Deputy Commander of the Border Region of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Suiyuan under General Deng Baoshan. 
0
09 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Fighting Squadron 23 (VF-23; Model F6F-3) on board. SBD-5's and TBF-1's of Air Group 23 on board. 
0
09 Aug 1943 WW2 Nobutake Kondo was appointed to the Japanese Supreme War Council. 
0
09 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Alabama arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, United States. 
0
09 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Tunny arrived at Midway Atoll. 
0
10 Aug 1943 WW2 George Patton visited the 93rd Evacuation Hospital in Sicily, Italy and berated Private Paul Bennett for cowardice. 
0
10 Aug 1943 WW2 Bernard Montgomery was awarded the title of Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit of the United States. 
0
10 Aug 1943 WW2 Winston Churchill arrived at Hyde Park, New York, United States to visit Franklin Roosevelt. 
0
10 Aug 1943 WW2 Operational control of the US Northern Landing Group on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands was passed to the US Army 25th Division, while the US lst Marine Raider Regiment was detached from the Northern Landing Group to join other Marine Corps units at Enogai. 
0
10 Aug 1943 WW2 A transport of about 3,000 arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp from the liquidated ghetto in Sosnowiec, Poland. 110 men and 195 were registered into the camp; the remainder were killed in the gas chambers. On the same day, Auschwitz received 754 sewing machines from the liquidated ghetto of Bedzin, Poland. 
0
10 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Tunny departed Midway Atoll. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 South African bomber pilot Flying Officer Lloyd Trigg attacked the German submarine U-468 in the South Atlantic off Senegal. On the first pass the submarine's anti-aircraft weapons seriously damaged the bomber. Instead of attempting a water landing, Trigg conducted a second attack run. As the bomber released depth charges, the Liberator aircraft was hit again and crashed into the sea 300 yards from the stricken submarine which also went down. Trigg and his entire crew all perished and only seven German sailors were rescued. Based on German survivor accounts, a report would later be filed detailing the gallant pilot's courage which led to the award of a posthumous Victoria Cross. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 The minesweeper USS Alchemy was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 Following the crushing defeat at Kursk, Russia, the German forces at Kharkov became in danger of being encircled. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Finback damaged a Japanese ship in the South China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 7 torpedoes fired. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 The construction of Akashi-class repair ships Mihara and Momotori at the Mitsubishi Yokohama Shipyard, Japan were canceled. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 USS S-35 sighted a Japanese ship in the Pacific Ocean but failed to close in for attack. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron detected a Japanese airfield at Wewak, Australian New Guinea. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 US Army Air Forces ground personnel began to arrive at Tsili-Tsili Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 Admiral William Halsey received operational orders for the New Georgia region of the Solomon Islands, including the seizure of Vella Lavella island and the elimination of Japanese positions on Kolombangara island. Meanwhile, US Army and US Marine Corps forces continued to engage Japanese troops on New Georgia. 
0
11 Aug 1943 WW2 Jews from Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in occupied Czechoslovakia began to be transported to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 During a raid on Turin, Italy, Flight Sergeant Arthur Aaron's Stirling bomber was accidentally machine gunned by another 218 Squadron aircraft. Although badly wounded, with half of his face shot away rendering him unable to speak, Aaron instructed his crew on how to fly the badly damaged aircraft by writing notes. Taking control he eventually made a successful forced landing in Tunisia. His crew survived but Aaron would die shortly after from his wounds. Aaron was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his selfless actions. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 German forces evacuated Sicily, Italy. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 Milan, Italy received 1,000 tons of explosives from the RAF. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 24 B-24 bombers attacked Buin, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, destroying 13 A6M fighters, 10 D3A dive bombers, and 1 reconnaissance aircraft on the ground. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 Georg von Küchler was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler ordered the southern portion of the defensive Panther Line to be set up along the Dneiper River in Ukraine, and that the city of Kharkov in Ukraine was to be held at all costs. 
0
12 Aug 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Boarfish was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
13 Aug 1943 WW2 US 9th Air Force bombed the Messerschmitt factory at Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Planners of the attack thought they were conducting a strike on a factory producing fighter aircraft, but in actuality it was manufacturing parts for V-2 rockets. 
0
13 Aug 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate shared his plans for an offensive into Burma; Claude Auchinleck, however, argued for Winston Churchill's alternate plan which focused on the Andaman Islands and then Sumatra instead. 
0
13 Aug 1943 WW2 A F-4 and a F-5 aircraft of US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron detected 199 Japanese aircraft and 4 air strips at Wewak, Australian New Guinea. 
0
13 Aug 1943 WW2 US Army 43rd Division landed on Vela Cela (and discovered no Japanese positions) and Baanga just off western New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the Imperial General Headquarters issued Directive No. 267 authorizing the abandonment of the central Solomon Islands region. 
0
13 Aug 1943 WW2 The US IX Bomber Command attacked the Lorenzo marshaling yards near Rome, Italy with 106 B-17 bombers, 66 B-25 bombers, and 102 B-26 bombers, escorted by 140 P-38G Lightning fighters. Heavy damage was inflicted on the yards and although two B-26Cs were downed the Italians lost five modern fighters in combat with the P-38 fighters. 
0
13 Aug 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Ominato Guard District, Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan for a refitting; she would receive a Type 21 air search radar. 
0
13 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish sanked Japanese converted gunboat Edo Maru and damaged another ship off Taiwan, hitting them with 6 of 10 torpedoes fired. 
0
13 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo transited the Etorofu Strait and entered the Sea of Okhotsk. 
0
13 Aug 1943 WW2 US 13th Airborne Division was activated on at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States under the command of Major General George W. Griner, Jr. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 USS S-28 set a course for the Aleutian Islands. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 A Japanese reconnaissance aircraft discovered the new US airfield at Tsili-Tsili, Australian Papua. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 433rd Fighter Squadron (flying P-38 aicraft) and the headquarters unit of USAAF 475th Fighter Group was transferred to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps Brigadier General Francis Mulcahy moved the headquarters of Aircraft, New Georgia from Rendova island to the Munda Point airfield on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps fighters at Munda, New Georgia were deemed operational. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 The Italian government declared Rome an open city. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked three medium freighters in the Sea of Japan; the torpedo missed. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 The German troops at Belgorod, Russia broke out of the region after suffering 20,000 killed. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 Erich von Manstein placed General Otto Wöhler in charge of the defense of Kharkov, Ukraine. 
0
14 Aug 1943 WW2 Joseph Rochefort received orders to go to Eureka, California, United States for the commissioning of the 5th section of floating drydock ABSD-2. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 The Swedish government rescinded the previously given permission for German transports to cross Sweden. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 The German Luftwaffe mounted the heaviest raid on Plymouth, England, United Kingdom in two years with 91 aircraft. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 Supported by a massive bombardment from three battleships, cruisers and destroyers and under a protective umbrella of 170 aircraft, 35,000 American and Canadian troops stormed ashore on Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands only to discover that the Japanese had fled nearly three weeks earlier. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten met with Winston Churchill; to Mountbatten's surprise, Churchill rejected his request for a sea-going command, and instead appointed him the Allied supreme commander of Southeast Asia. Mountbatten was promoted to the rank of acting admiral to serve in this position. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 The 151st Airborne Tank Company was established by the US Army with the responsibility to operate M22 Locust air-portable tanks. The US Staff, however, saw little purpose in air-lifting tanks to the battlefield and the unit would remain in the United States for the duration. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was named the commanding officer of the 2nd Group of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria visited Adolf Hitler; during the visit, Boris refused to change Bulgaria's neutral stance toward the Soviet Union. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 7 Ki-48 bombers and 34 Ki-43 fighters attacked the new US airfield at Tsili-Tsili, Australian Papua; the Americans did not detect the incoming aircraft until 0700 hours when the Japanese were only one mile away. A Japanese bomb hit the base chapel, killing the chaplain and 6 or 7 worshipers. The Japanese lost all 7 bombers while the Americans lost 4 P-39 fighters (1 killed) and 2 C-47 transport aircraft (17 killed). The Japanese failed to damage the airstrips. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 The US Northern Landing Force attacked Japanese positions on Vella Lavella island in the Barakoma airfield region near New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 8 Corsair fighters of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 strafed Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island in the Solomon Islands just before sunset. The Americans claimed 3 Japanese aircraft shot down and several more damaged on the ground. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked a freighter in the Sea of Japan; all four torpedoes missed. 
0
15 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Ray completed its training in Lake Michigan in northern United States. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 Starting this date and continuing for the next seven days, revolt and destruction took place in the Bialystok Ghetto in Poland. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 US troops entered Messina, Sicily, Italy. Meanwhile, the Axis forces successfully evacuated 100,000 troops from Sicily to the mainland. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 Intrepid was commissioned into service. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 USS S-28 arrived at Massacre Bay, Attu, US Territory of Alaska. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 The French I Corps was reconstituted at Ain-Taya, Algeria, under the command of Lieutenant-General Henry Jules Jean Martin, with American supplied uniforms and weapons as part of the rearmament of the French Army of Africa. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 15 Japanese bombers escorted by 33 fighters attacked Tsili-Tsili airfield, Australian Papua. 3 US fighter squadrons rose for defense. The Japanese lost 3 aircraft, while the Americans lost 1 aircraft (Lieutenant Leonard Leighton). 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 2,200 Russian troops of the German 1st Russian National SS Detachment fighting in Byelorussia switched sides and eventually formed the 1st Anti-Fascist Partisan Brigade under Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Gil, who was also known as I. G. Rodionov. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 The 317 inhabitants of the village of Kommeno in western Greece were rounded up by occupation troops and executed for the suspicion of partisan support. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 Oberstleutnant Josef Salminger of GebirgsJäger Regiment 98 of German 1st Mountain Division ordered the massacre of 317 people of the village of Kommeno in Greece. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 US Navy awarded a contract to build a new military hospital at Aiea, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 Yamato, loaded with troops and supplies, departed Kure, Japan with Fuso, Nagato, and Destroyer Division 16's Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze. Stopped at Yashima anchorage that night. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 The Soviets launched an attack toward Stalino (now Donetsk), Ukraine. 
0
16 Aug 1943 WW2 The US 4th Marine Division was activated at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, California, United States under the command of Major General Harry Schmidt. It was the only US Marine Division during WW2 to be mounted and staged into combat directly from the continental United States. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 Allied artillery began shelling Italian mainland from Messina, Sicily. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 The Germans made the first operational use of the Hs 293A-1 radio controlled bomb. It was launched from a Do 217E5s of II/KG100 against British shipping in the Bay of Biscay. Ten days later, an Hs 293 would claim the corvette HMS Egret. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 During the Quadrant Conference in Quebec, Canada, Orde Wingate shared with the Americans his plans for an offensive into Burma; the US Army showed interest in this plan. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 Minesweeper USS Apex was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 As a build up to the landings at Lae, Australian Papua the US 5th Air Force commenced a two-week blitz on the Japanese airfield in the Wewak area in Australian New Guinea. 12 B-17 and 26 B-24 bombers from Jackson Field and Ward's Strip at Port Moresby, Australian Papua hit the two Japanese airfields at Wewak starting at about 0000 hours; the Americans lost 3 B-24 bombers while the Japanese suffered 13 aircraft destroyed, 20 heavily damaged, 34 slightly damaged, and 70 men killed. At 0600 hours, 61 modified B-25 bombers, with fighter escort, were launched from Port Moresby; although 21 aircraft turned back due to poor weather, the remainder hit Wewak between 0750 and 0845 hours, destroying about 30 aircraft that were parked in rows in preparation of the arrival of a high ranking Japanese officer. The series of blitz paved the way for the autumn invasion that resulted in the capture of the western flank of Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 The US 8th Army Air Force lost 59 heavy bombers during daylight raids upon Regenburg and Schweinfurt, Germany, which was about 25% of the attacking force. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 British bombers launched to attack German rocket research site at Peenemünde at 2100 hours London time. At 2230 hours London time or 2330 hours Berlin time, air raid sirens went off at Peenemünde, but many ignored it, thinking it was to be yet another false warning as Allied bombers flew over the region to bomb German cities further inland. At 2317 hours London time or 0017 hours Berlin time on the next day, the first of the British bombers struck Peenemünde. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 Yamato departed Yashima, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked a freighter in the Sea of Japan at 0200 hours; the torpedo missed. At 2200 hours, she attacked another ship, again missing with one torpedo. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 Submarine Tang was launched at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States; she was sponsored by Mrs. Antonio S. Pitre. 
0
17 Aug 1943 WW2 Wasp was launched at Bethlehem Steel Company's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States, sponsored by Miss Julia M. Walsh, the sister of US Senator David I. Walsh. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 Referencing an alliance from 1373 with Britain, Portugal allowed the Allies to use the Azore Islands for air and naval bases. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Tunny sighted Pagan and Alamagan in the Mariana Islands. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny conducted an aerial reconnaissance mission over La Maddalena, Italy. His He 111 aircraft was shot down by British fighters. Skorzeny survived the crash, but suffered three broken ribs. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate met Franklin Roosevelt at Quebec, Canada, introduced by Winston Churchill. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 US bombers attacked the four Japanese airfields at Wewak, Australian New Guinea (Boram, Wewak, But, and Dagna). The Americans lost two B-25 bombers and one P-38 fighter; the Japanese lost 30 aircraft and suffered damage to the airstrips. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 Shigure arrived at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 At Wewak, New Guinea, Major Ralph Cheli leading his B-25 squadron of the 38th Group was attacked by a Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 aircraft while making his run-up to the target, which shot up the starboard engine and set it on fire. With the flames spreading rapidly to the wings he held his course aiming for a line of parked Zero fighters on the airfield. Only when he had pressed home his attack did Major Cheli call his wing man to take over command of the squadron. Then, within moments, the doomed aircraft rolled over and, before the horrified eyes of his fellow airmen, crashed into the sea and exploded. For his heroic sacrifice Major Cheli would ultimately be awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 Duquesne arrived at Dakar, French West Africa. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 Between 0017 and 0043 hours, three waves of British bombers (227, 113, and 180 bombers, respectively) struck the German rocket research site at Peenemünde, dropping a total of 1,600 tons of high explosive bombs and 250 tons of incendiary bombs. Initially the damage appeared to be extensive, but the site returned to operation within four to six weeks. Many buildings would remain unrepaired and craters unfilled in order to trick the British into thinking that the site was abandoned after the raid. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Snook departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo attacked several freighters on separate occasions in the Sea of Okhotsk; all 3 torpedo missed. Several hours later, she sank a small fishing vessel with her deck gun. 
0
18 Aug 1943 WW2 The US Marine Corps Division of Aviation was transferred from the US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 As discussed in the Quebec Conference between US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, British scientists, including Klaus Fuchs, were to join the Manhattan Project. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 German defenses along the Mius River were breached near Stalino (now Donetsk), Ukraine. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 German Luftwaffe Chief of Staff Oberstgeneral Hans Jeschonnek committed suicide. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 From Britain, Claude Auchinleck cabled Winston Churchill in Canada, attempting to convince the British Prime Minister to decrease the number of brigades to be assigned to Orde Wingate to only three; Wingate had requested eight. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Finback attacked several Japanese surface ships with gunfire east of Borneo, sinking one small patrol vessel. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 USS S-35 suffered mechanical issues in the port engine crankshaft and couplings and set sail for Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska to receive repairs. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 was transferred to US Marine Aircraft Group 11 based in Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. The pilots would not leave for Espiritu Santo until 3 Sep 1943. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 The headquarters of USAAF 375th Troop Carrier Group was transferred to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson scored his second kill over Woensdrecht, the Netherlands, shooting down a German Bf 109G fighter. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sighted a Soviet ship in the Sea of Okhotsk; she took no action. 
0
19 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Alabama completed a scheduled overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia, United States. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 USS S-31 completed training services at Nouméa, New Caledonia. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Gar sank a Japanese ship in daylight with one of three torpedoes fired. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny returned to mainland Italy after being shot down by British fighters two days prior. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 German Admiral Canaris' sources informed him that Benito Mussolini might be held prisoner on the island of Elba, Italy. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 Admiral Chester Nimitz submitted a general plan for the invasion of the Marshall Islands. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 Baanga island, located just off western New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, was secured by elements of the US Army 43rd Division. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 German Army formed XXII Gebirgskorps in Greece; Hubert Lanz would soon be named its commanding officer. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Air Group 9 departed. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Whale suffered some damage in the East China Sea during a typhoon. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank a small vessel with her deck guns in the Sea of Okhotsk; six nearby fishermen surrendered and were taken prisoner. Two hours later, she destroyed another small vessels. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 Soviet and German tanks engaged in combat in the fields near Kharkov, Ukraine; the Soviets were defeated after losing 184 T-34 tanks. 
0
20 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Alabama departed Norfolk, Virginia, United States. 
0
21 Aug 1943 WW2 The I. G. Farben factory in Oppau, Germany increased the minimum requirement of work for forced laborers to 67 hours per week. 
0
21 Aug 1943 WW2 Claude Auchinleck compromised in regards to Orde Wingate's demands, offering to provide him with five brigades (Wingate had wanted eight) for operations in Burma. 
0
21 Aug 1943 WW2 German submarine U-354 pursued an Allied convoy off northern Russia to no success. 
0
21 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish arrived at Brisbane, Australia. 
0
21 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Hoe departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol. 
0
21 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Air Group 9 departed. Part of Air Group 5 departed. Part of Air Group 23 departed. 
0
21 Aug 1943 WW2 George Patton apologized to Private Paul Bennett whom he slapped at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital for accused cowardice. 
0
21 Aug 1943 WW2 The authorities at the Birkenau women's camp at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland selected 498 Jewish women considered unable to work for the gas chamber; 438 of them were Greeks. 
0
21 Aug 1943 WW2 Erich von Manstein authorized the retreat from Kharkov, Ukraine. 
0
22 Aug 1943 WW2 USS S-31 departed Nouméa, New Caledonia for her eighth war patrol. 
0
22 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Tunny reached Palau Islands. 
0
22 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Pompon arrived at Brisbane, Australia, ending her first war patrol. 
0
22 Aug 1943 WW2 Elements of the US 2nd Marine Airdrome Battalion landed on Nukufetau, Ellice Islands. 
0
22 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Air Group 9 departed. More of Air Group 5 departed. More of Air Group 23 departed. 
0
22 Aug 1943 WW2 George Patton apologized to doctors and nurses who witnessed him slapping enlisted men for accused cowardice. Later in the day, Patton met entertainer Bob Hope and asked Hope to announced on the radio that Patton loved and cared for his men. 
0
22 Aug 1943 WW2 German troops in Kharkov, Ukraine began evacuating after sundown. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 Iro Ilk was awarded with the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe goblet. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 The US submarine chasers SC-694 and SC-696 were sunk by German Ju-88 dive bombers off the coast of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 The British Joint Planning Staff authorized the transfer of six brigades under Orde Wingate's command for operations in Burma; Wingate had originally wanted eight brigades. The units were to be drawn from the UK 70th Division and the UK 81st African Division. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Permit began her tenth war patrol. 
1
23 Aug 1943 WW2 Yamato arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 21 Japanese bombers escorted by 17 fighters took off from Hankou, Hubei, China to attack Chongqing in Sichuan Province, China; the formation was met with an additional 14 fighters en route. 10 P-40, 8 P-43, and 11 P-66 fighters of the Chinese Air Force rose to intercept. The Chinese lost one P-40 fighter, one P-43 fighter, and two P-66 fighters in the engagement while the Japanese lost one bomber and several damaged. This would become the final major aerial attack on Chongqing. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 727 RAF bombers dropped 1,700 tons of explosives on Berlin, Germany. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Air Group 16 on board. TBF-1's, SBD-5's, and F6F-3's of Air Group 16 arrived on board. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 George Patton apologized to Charles Kuhl whom he slapped at a field hospital for accused cowardice. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish damaged a Japanese transport in the South China Sea, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
23 Aug 1943 WW2 The Soviet Steppe Front captured Kharkov, Ukraine, ending the Fourth Battle of Kharkov; a German counterattack was attempted but repulsed by the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 Wilhelm Frick was named Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 Heinrich Himmler was appointed as Minister of the Interior of Germany. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 In Denmark, bomb incidents and strikes marked growing resistance. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Tunny detected a 6-ship Japanese convoy near the Toagel Mlungui Pass in the Palau Islands early in the morning and stalked the convoy for the remainder of the day. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 The 1st (French) Motorised Infantry Division was created from the 1st Free French Division and was sent to Italy as a part of the French Expeditionary Force in Apr 1944. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps Colonel William Brice moved the headquarters of his Fighter Command to the Munda Point airfield on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. On this date, the responsibility of Commander, Aircraft, New Georgia was also merged under his command. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 1,260 Polish Jewish children from the liquidated Bialystok ghetto in Poland arrived at Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in occupied Czechoslovakia. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 Ilse Koch was arrested by the SS for corruption. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Harder departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Whale damaged an oiler and a freighter in a Japanese convoy 37 kilometers west of Kusagaki Islands, Japan in the East China Sea, hitting them with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
24 Aug 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Spot was laid down at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 Shokaku sortied from Truk. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Tunny attacked a 6-ship Japanese convoy with five torpedoes at 0140 hours and another six torpedoes at dawn; the subsequent depth charge attack caused no damage. She surfaced at noon and found that the convoy had already departed the area. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Finback fired two torpedoes at a Japanese transport in the Dutch East Indies; all torpedoes missed. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 The V Amphibious Corps (VAC) under the command of Major General Holland Smith was formed at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii out of the earlier Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet (PhibCorpsPacFlt) that had been in existence since Apr 1942. VAC was formed to be the amphibious landing force for Fifth Fleet to support Central Pacific operations and its first mission was to seize the Gilbert Islands, including the controversial assault on Tarawa. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten was officially named the Supreme Allied Commander, Southeast Asia. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 From his headquarters in Brisbane, Australia, George Kenney cabled Henry Arnold, noting that 10% of his parafrag bombs had been depleted and requesting Arnold to intervene with the logistics sections located in the US. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 Americans captured Bairoko Harbor on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 The Foggia airfield in Italy was attacked by Allied fighters and bombers. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Alabama transited the Panama Canal. 
0
25 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived at Midway Atoll. 
0
26 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Tunny attacked two Japanese transports with five torpedoes near Toagel Mlungui Pass in the Palau Islands at mid-morning. The subsequent depth charge attack caused a fire in the maneuvering room, causing a momentary loss of power and later causing the submarine to dive uncontrollably. In the early evening she surfaced for repairs, which would last for two days. 
0
26 Aug 1943 WW2 The minesweeper USS Arcade was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act. 
0
26 Aug 1943 WW2 Maximilian von Weichs was made the commanding officer of German Armeegruppe F with headquarters in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. 
0
26 Aug 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny arrived at La Maddalena, Italy via E-boats. Later that day, he learned that Mussolini had just been transported away. 
0
26 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Whale attacked a Japanese destroyer south of Japan; all 4 torpedoes missed. 
0
26 Aug 1943 WW2 The French Committee of National Liberation headed by General de Gaulle, which was based in Britain, was recognised by Britain, the United States and Russia. 
0
26 Aug 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Charr was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 British Minister of Information Brenden Bracken announced that Rudolf Heß, "a Nazi of very low mentality", arrived in Britain in May 1941 to "find British Quislings to overthrow Churchill". 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 Anzio was commissioned into service. 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Pollack attacked a Japanese convoy off Kyushu, Japan, sinking passenger-cargo ship Taifuku Maru with one of four torpedoes fired. She also fired two torpedoes at an escorting destroyer; both torpedoes missed. 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler met with Erich von Manstein at the Wehrwolf headquarters in Ukraine. This was his final visit to this headquarters site. 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Iowa departed for Argentia, Newfoundland. 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 Ivan Bagramyan was awarded the Order of Suvorov for the first time. 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 Arthur Coningham was made Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit of the United States. 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 The US Army 172nd Infantry Regiment crossed Hathorn Sound from New Geogia to Arundel Island in the Solomon Islands and captured Japanese artillery positions which had been shelling American positions at Munda Point, New Georgia. 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 Elements of the US 2nd Marine Airdrome Battalion and US Navy Construction Battalion units arrived at Nukufetau Atoll in the Ellice Islands. 
0
27 Aug 1943 WW2 Eleanor Roosevelt arrived at Auckland, New Zealand on the personal invitation of New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser. She took an overnight train for Wellington, New Zealand. 
0
28 Aug 1943 WW2 Two US Corsair fighter squadrons attacked Kahili Airfield in Buin, Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. Lieutenant Al Jensen of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214, flying a Corsair fighter, was credited with destroying 24 Japanese planes on the ground during this mission. 
0
28 Aug 1943 WW2 King Boris III of Bulgaria passed away mysteriously. 
0
28 Aug 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort carrier Taiyo to Japan. 
0
28 Aug 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for cruiser Kumano at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
28 Aug 1943 WW2 The imprisoned Mussolini was moved from the island of Maddalena off Sardinia to Lake Bracciano by seaplane, then by car to the Hotel Campo Imperatore (aka. Albergo Refugio) at Gran Sasso. 
0
28 Aug 1943 WW2 Eleanor Roosevelt arrived at Wellington, New Zealand. 
0
28 Aug 1943 WW2 Eight of the ten sections USS ABSD-1 began to be towed from San Francisco, California, United States for the South Pacific. 
0
28 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Dorado was commissioned into service, Lieutenant Commander Earle Caffrey Schneider in command. 
0
29 Aug 1943 WW2 The Danish Royal Family was "isolated for their protection" by the Germans as martial law was declared in Denmark. 
0
29 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Hoe fired 4 torpedoes at a Japanese destroyer escort; all torpedoes missed. 
0
29 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Tunny completed temporary repairs at sea in the Palau Islands and set sail for home. 
0
29 Aug 1943 WW2 Submarine Guitarro was launched, sponsored by the wife of chief of the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Ross T. McIntire. 
0
29 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse attempted to attack a Japanese convoy in the Pacific Ocean, but was counterattacked prior to the launching of torpedoes. She suffered minor damage from depth charges. 
0
29 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her sixth war patrol. 
0
30 Aug 1943 WW2 Danish Prime Minister Erik Scavenius refused to work for the German occupation. 
0
30 Aug 1943 WW2 Germans evacuated Taganrog, Russia. 
0
30 Aug 1943 WW2 HMCS Haida (G63) was commissioned into service with Commander H. C. DeWolf in command. 
0
30 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Snook arrived in the Marcus Island area and a conducted photograph reconnaissance mission. 
0
30 Aug 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho disembarked the air group originally from carrier Hiyo as Hiyo's repairs were completed. 
0
30 Aug 1943 WW2 8th Fighter Squadron (both flying P-40 aircraft) of USAAF 49th Fighter Group was transferred out of Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
30 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Cabrilla arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
30 Aug 1943 WW2 A massive air battle took place over Aversa, Italy when 44 US P-38 fighters escorting a B-26 bombing raid on the rail marshaling yards engaged 75 Luftwaffe fighters. While no bombers were shot down, 13 US and 9 German fighters fell. 
0
30 Aug 1943 WW2 Bernard Montgomery hosted a victory celebration at Catania, Sicily, Italy. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 Hitler authorized limited withdrawals in Ukraine. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 USS S-31 made a daylight attack on a Japanese submarine; three torpedoes were fired, but none hit the target. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 The first combat mission of the US Navy's latest fighter aircraft occurred when F6F-3 Hellcat fighters of VF-5 operating from the carrier USS Yorktown assisted in an attack on Japanese installations on Marcus Island. This was a mere eighteen months after the prototype's first flight. Altogether some 2,545 examples of the F6F-3 aircraft were delivered during 1943. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Langley was commissioned into service. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 Velite was commissioned into service. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Commander Bernard Bowick was named the commanding officer of HMS Dianthus. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 British RAF aircraft attacked Berlin, Germany. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: F6F-3's of Fighting Squadron 1 (VF-1) on board. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 Eleanor Roosevelt arrived at Rotorua, New Zealand and visited Whakarewarewa with the famous guide Rangitiria Dennan. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 German submarine U-703 arrived at Narvik, Norway and dropped off four survivors of Russian freighter Dekabrist. 
0
31 Aug 1943 WW2 USS Ray arrived at the submarine base of Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Snook performed lifeguard duty for carrier aircraft airmen. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 Chinese General He Yingqin tentatively planned to organize 45 divisions stationed in southern China into a cohesive force, Zebra Force, which Joseph Stilwell wished to establish. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 Rudolf von Schmettow was made the military governor of the Channel Islands for the second time, succeeding Erich Müller. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Cisco arrived at Brisbane, Australia. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Hangars A & R (main hangars) usably complete. Addition to land plane runways usably complete. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 Students gathered to protest at Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples, Italy. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 German and Estonian police surrounded the Vilna ghetto in Lithuania and began deporting Jews to forced labor camps in Estonia. The underground United Partisan Organization (FPO) issued a manifesto urging the ghetto residents to resist. After an abortive clash between the FPO and German forces, the Judenrat Chairman Jacob Gens reached an agreement with the Germans to fill the required deportee quota, 5,000 Jews,in exchange for the withdraw of German forces from the ghetto. A small number of Jews were able to escape the ghetto during the failed clash; some of them joined nearby resistance groups. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese 21st Air Flotilla at Saipan, Mariana Islands was disbanded. Its two air groups, Air Group 253 (fighters) and Air Group 751 (medium bombers) were reassigned to Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 Eleanor Roosevelt arrived at Auckland, New Zealand. 
0
01 Sep 1943 WW2 Pope Pius XII, in a broadcast to the world, made an appeal for peace. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 After enduring months of torture at the hands of the Gestapo, Josef Mahler, an emigré Communist Jew, expelled from the Netherlands in 1940, was executed in prison in Düsseldorf, Germany. The Gestapo had failed to obtain from him any confession of a conspiratorial nature. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 The British Royal Navy battleships HMS Warspite and HMS Valiant bombarded Reggio Calabria at the southern tip of Italy, eliminating a six gun battery. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho was assigned to the Standby Force of the Mobile Force of Carrier Division 2 of the Third Fleet. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi performed repair work for cable layer Osei Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 Captured French submarine Henri Poincaré departed Toulon, France with an Italian crew. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Photographic Squadron 3 (VD-3) departed. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 Unescorted B-17 bombers of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) raided the rail marshalling yards at Bolzano, Trento, and Bologna and Italy. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Kure, Japan where she would be drydocked for repairs and refitting. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 Viktor Abakumov suggested trying some of the German officers captured at Stalingrad, Russia as war criminals as they were responsible for Soviet deaths at a prisoner of war camp at the village of Alekseevka near Stalingrad. Some of these German officers include camp commandant Rudolf Körpert, Werner von Kunowski, Wilhelm Langheld, and Otto Mäder. 
0
02 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her fifth war patrol. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 The Jewish ghetto at Tarnów, Poland was closed and its residents deported; Amon Göth was placed in charge of the deportation. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 John Basilone arrived in New York, New York, United States. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Pollack sank Japanese cargo ship Tagonoura Maru off Japan with two of four toropedoes fired. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 Hauptmann Heinrich Höfer of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 Nine RAAF Catalina aircraft based at Cairns, Queensland, Australia attacked Vunakanau Airfield, Lakunai Airfield, and Rapopo Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain, causing no damage and suffering no damage. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 Robert von Greim was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht radio report. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 The new Italian government signed a secret armistice with the Allies. Immediately after, Operation Baytown, the invasion of the Italian mainland, was launched across the Strait of Messina, with British and Canadian troops of British XIII Corps landing at Reggio Calabria without opposition. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 The personnel of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 were transported to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 Eleanor Roosevelt departed Auckland, New Zealand for Australia. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese aircraft spotted USS Permit and attacked with bombs off Kwajalein, Marshall Islands; USS Permit escaped unscathed. 
0
03 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Whale departed Midway Atoll. 
0
04 Sep 1943 WW2 Lae-Salamaua on New Guinea was recaptured by Allied forces. 
0
04 Sep 1943 WW2 First Lieutenant Jay T. Robbins, a P-38 fighter pilot with US 8th Fighter Group's 80th Squadron based at Port Moresby, New Guinea who had already gained a number of victories, whilst on patrol over the invasion beachhead on northern New Guinea shot down four Japanese Zero fighters during the course of a single sortie. Then with no ammunition left, damaged controls and one engine failing he broke off the engagement with three more Japanese fighters in hot pursuit. Flying low over the sea he led the enemy over some American cruisers and destroyers that were supporting the landing operations. Anti-aircraft fire from the ships drove off the Japanese planes allowing Lieutenant Robbins' crippled aircraft to limp back to base. Robbins went on to become the fourth-ranking US ace of the Pacific war with 22 victories to his credit. 
0
04 Sep 1943 WW2 A group of British prisoners of war at Oflag IV-C camp at Colditz Castle in Germany attempted to escape by having Lieutenant Mike Sinclair dress up as the respected WW1 veteran and now camp guard Stabsfeldwebel Fritz Rothenberger. The plan nearly succeeded before one of the guards grew suspicious and asked to see the pass from "Rothenberger". As the plan fell apart, Sinclair was shot in the chest by a pistol, though he would recover from the wound. 
0
04 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Air Group 16 departed. More of Fighting Squadron 5 (VF-5; Model F6F-3) arrived on board. More of Bombing Squadron 5 (VB-5; Model SBD-5) arrived on board. More of Torpedo Squadron 5 (VT-5; TBF-1) arrived on board. 
0
04 Sep 1943 WW2 Major General Matthew Ridgway and his staff, having worked all night, issued their plans for the US 82nd Airborne Division to descend on the Rome airports on the night of the Italian armistice (Operation Giant 2). This satisfied General Giuseppe Castellano, Pietro Badoglio's emissary to the Allies, that a joint Allied-Italian military co-operation against Germany could lead to the Allies giving really generous peace terms as had been promised by Dwight Eisenhower at the lengthy held conference at Cassibile on 3 September 1943. Castellano's adjutant flew to Rome in the General's private plane on the following day but, alas, General Vittorio Ambrosio, the Italian Chief of Staff of the armed forces, and his War Office Staff sat on the plans and took no action. And by the time they were passed to Badoglio for approval the Allies had already begun landing at Salerno, Italy. 
0
04 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish sank Japanese ship Kozon Maru off Taiwan, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
05 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Columbia set sail for Sydney, Australia. 
0
05 Sep 1943 WW2 British Eighth Army captured San Stefano, Italy. 
0
05 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Luce departed New York, New York, United States. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 Operation Sizilien: Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, and 9 destroyers departed Kåfjord, Norway for an attack on the Allied base on Spitzbergen. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 Operation Sizilien: Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, and 9 destroyers departed Kåfjord, Norway for an attack on the Allied base on Spitzbergen. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 Red Army succeeded in rupturing the line between German Armeegruppe Mitte and German Armeegruppe Süd. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 Major Egon Mayer of the German Geschwaderkommodore of JG2 "Richthofen" shot down three B-17 bombers in the space of just 19 minutes. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 The minesweeper USS Arch was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 John Basilone began a bond tour in the New York City region of the United States. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse sank a Japanese transport in the Palau Islands, hitting her with three of four torpedoes fired. The subsequent depth charge counterattack caused severe leaks. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 German units in the southwestern tip of Italy began falling back toward Castrovillari. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Ominato Guard District, Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. After dark, about 50 miles northeast of Ominato, she was detected by US submarine USS Halibut (which mis-identified Nachi as a destroyer) and was struck by one of Halibut's spread of four torpedoes; the torpedo failed to detonate. 
0
06 Sep 1943 WW2 Reginald McKenna passed away in London, England, United Kingdom. He had been Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith's Home Secretary, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, during the early part of the Great War, before becoming the Chairman of the Midland Bank in 1918. 
0
07 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese Navy Captain Takeji Ono relieved Rear Admiral Chiaki Matsuda as the commanding officer of battleship Yamato; Matsuda was reassigned to the Imperial General Staff. 
0
07 Sep 1943 WW2 German 17.Armee began evacuating the Kuban bridgehead in southern Russia, while other non-Army organizations began removing their rear echelon units. 
0
07 Sep 1943 WW2 RAF aircraft bombed V-1 rocket launch sites on the French coast. 
0
07 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Puffer departed Fremantle, Australia for her first war patrol in the Makassar Strait-Celebes Sea area in the Dutch East Indies. 
0
07 Sep 1943 WW2 Willy Messerschmitt met with Adolf Hitler. During the meeting, Messerschmitt pushed for further support for the Me 209 fighter project at the expense of the Me 262 fighter project. Furthermore, he agreed with Hitler's notion that Me 262 jet aircraft should be redesigned to carry bombs, thus making it a high speed bomber. 
0
07 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Whale arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
07 Sep 1943 WW2 British and Canadian troops engaged with troops of German Krüger Battle Group in southwestern Italy. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 Operation Sizilien: Tirpitz attacked the Allied base at Spitzbergen. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 Operation Sizilien: Scharnhorst attacked the Allied base at Spitzbergen. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 USS S-28 departed for her seventh war patrol. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny conducted a reconnaissance flight in a He 111 aircraft over Campo Imperatore at Gran Sasso in central Italy and spotted a meadow which could be used as a glider landing field. On the return flight, he narrowly escaped from an Allied air attack. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 British HMS Aurora, HMS Penelope, HMS Dido, and HMS Sirius departed Bizerte, Tunisia at 1700 hours with troops of British 1st Airborne Division. In western Italy, Allied troops landed at Pizo; the landings were attacked by troops of German Krüger Battle Group. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 Garland completed her refitting and returned to service. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 Philipp was arrested by the Nazi Party. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 Jürgen Stroop was made the Higher SS and Police Leader in Greece. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Tunny arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fourth war patrol. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Air Group 5 on board. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 The Italians formally announced their unconditional surrender to the Allies, leading to German reserve forces crossing the border into Italy. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 Italian Navy Xa Flottiglia MAS based at La Spezia, Italy under Commander Junio Valerio Borghese reported the strength of 400 men. 
0
08 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 Tirpitz arrived at Kåfjord, Norway. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 The British Ventura bombers flew their last bombing mission; they would soon be replaced by Mosquito aircraft. This last mission was flown by crews of the No. 21 Squadron RAF. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 The US submarine Grayling was missing, presumed rammed and sunk by a Japanese vessel, whilst on patrol off Manila, Philippine Islands. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish departed Brisbane, Australia for her first war patrol. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 Hubert Lanz was given command of XXII Gebirgskorps in Greece. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Air Group 5 on board. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 US B-26 Marauder bomber attacked Scanzano Jonico, Italy, 50 kilometers southwest of Taranto. At Taranto, four British cruisers disembarked troops of British 1st Airborne Division, taking the port city with Italian cooperation; the British troops began marching inland after sundown. To the west, the main Allied assault on Italy, Operation Avalanche, began with the landing of two British divisions and one American division at Salerno; the British troops pushed 8 to 11 kilometers inland, which the Americans held on to a precarious beachhead. To the north, German troops disarmed their former Italian allies and classified them as prisoners of war while a new Fascist Anti-Badoglio government was formed. Italian leaders King Vittorio Emanuele III, the queen, Pietro Badoglio, Vittorio Ambrosio, and others fled Rome eastward, then turned south toward Brindisi. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 Small scale clashes took place between Italian civilians and policemen and German troops. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan for her 15th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Harder sank cargo ship Koyo Maru off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Taroa, Maloelap Atoll, Marshall Islands and disembarked troops. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Permit damaged a Japanese transport between Kwajalein Atoll and Wotje Atoll, Marshall Islands, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. A Japanese aircraft spotted USS Permit and attacked with depth charges; USS Permit escaped unscathed. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 5,006 Jews from the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia arrived at the newly created Familienlager-Theresienstadt family camp in sector BIIb of Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration Camp in Poland. 
0
09 Sep 1943 WW2 John Basilone participated in a bond tour event in Newark, New Jersey, United States. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 After no report since 27 Jul 1943, the Japanese Navy presumed I-168 lost. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 Soviet troops launched the Second Taman Offensive Operation in the Caucasus region of southern Russia, penetrating the defensive Blue Line. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 Joseph Goebbels visited Adolf Hitler at Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany, noting that he and Adolf Hitler had a conversation about the possibility of negotiating peace with either the Western Allies or with the Soviet Union in order to focus on the other. At the urging of Goebbels, in order to prevent the damaged morale from fermenting subversive activities, Hitler gave a radio address to motivate the German people. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 Elisabeth von Thadden hosted a birthday tea party in Heidelberg, Germany for members of the anti-Hitler Solf Circle. Unbeknownst to the party attenders, one of the guests, Paul Reckzeh, was a spy for the Gestapo. Almost all members were arrested and killed as the direct result of the intelligence Reckzeh gathered at this party. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 Douglas MacArthur met with Rear Admiral Robert Carney and Colonel William Riley at Brisbane, Australia regarding attacks on Rabaul in New Britain, Bougainville in Solomon Islands, and Treasury Islands near Bougainville. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Cold storage building and equipment turned over to station. More of Air Group 16 on board. Part of Torpedo Squadron 16 (VT-16) departed. Part of Bombing Squadron 16 (VB-16) departed. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 By dawn, British 4th Parachute Brigade had reached Massafra, Italy 20 kilometers northwest of Taranto. Just outside of Taranto harbor, HMS Abdiel struck a mine and sank; 168 were killed. Further north, German troops captured Rome; the Germans suffered 619 casualties, and the Italians 1,295. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 A group of civilians blocked a German military vehicular column in Naples, Italy; in the subsequent clash, six German servicemen were killed. German troops fired on a group of civilians at the Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III (Vittorio Emanuele III National Library) in retaliation. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 Captain Shiro Shibuya was named the commanding officer of Nachi while the ship was at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
10 Sep 1943 WW2 John Basilone participated in a bond tour event in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 Operation Source: British midget submarines X5, X6, and X7 attacked German battleship Tirpitz in Norway. All three were destroyed, but X6 and X7 were able to place mines below the ship. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 Pierre Le Gloan passed away. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 Italian forces in various Aegean islands surrendered to the Germans, including those at the island of Rhodes. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 The anti-Hitler group Bund Deutscher Offiziere was formed in Moscow, Russia by a number of German officers captured by Soviet forces since the beginning of the war. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 At 1500 hours, Kurt Student ordered Major Harald Mors to have a plan for the rescue of Benito Mussolini ready at his desk as soon as possible, with the plan to be executed on the following day at 0730 hours. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 Jewish ghettos in Byelorussian cities of Minsk and Lida were liquidated over the next 3 days. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 German authorities raided Jews in Nice, France. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 US and French troops landed on the French island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Torpedo Squadron 16 (VT-16) departed. Part of Bombing Squadron 16 (VB-16) departed. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 British 1st Airborne Division captured Brindisi and Bari, Italy without resistance; in the opposite direction, the British paratroopers also linked up with Canadian troops of British XIII Corps which had landed at Reggio Calabria eight days prior. Further north, German troops declared Rome secure. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 Inigo Campioni was captured by the Germans on Rhodes, Italian Dodecanese. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Harder attacked a Japanese convoy south of Japan, sinking cargo ship Yoko Maru, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes. 
0
11 Sep 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate departed the United Kingdom for Lisbon, Portugal. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Cassin Young was launched. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler missed a chance to end the war in the Soviet Union when he refused to allow Ribbentrop to travel to Stockholm to meet with Soviet Minister Vladimir Dekanov who was willing to negotiate. On the same day, the last of the German armies which took part in the drive to the Caucasus retreated to the Crimea. In total 240,000 troops, 16,000 wounded and 27,000 civilians were evacuated along with 75,000 horses and vast numbers of vehicles and supplies. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Snook fired 6 torpedoes at a Japanese transport; all torpedoes missed. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Pompon departed Brisbane, Australia for her second war patrol. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 The United States Marine Corps established the 2nd Raider Regiment (Provisional) to control the 2nd and 3rd Raider Battalions during the Bougainville operation in the Solomon Islands. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 Irako departed Truk, Caroline Islands with minelayer Tsugaru and destroyer Hamakaze in escort. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka departed Truk, Caroline Islands, escorting oiler Shiretoko and damaged aircraft transport Fujikawa Maru. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Cabrilla departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her sixth war patrol. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Grayback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 German Luftwaffe and SS personnel rescued Mussolini from Gran Sasso, Italy. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 British X Corps near Salerno, Italy shifted into a defensive stance. Elsewhere in Italy, Bernard Montgomery's British XIII Corps reached Castrovillari and Belvedere, 130 kilometers south of Salerno. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 Several German troops were killed by resistance fighters in Naples, Italy while 4,000 Italians were deported from the Naples region (many of whom would become forced laborers). On the same day, Colonel Walter Schöll took command of the military occupation of Naples. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 Junio Valerio Borghese successfully negotiated with local German authority to avoid arrest; his Italian 10th MAS Flotilla was to be attached to the German Navy. Half of the flotilla, about 200 men, dissented and were sent on leave. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Permit attacked a Japanese convoy west of the Marshall Islands, sinking 2 transports and damaging an oiler; 10 torpedoes were expended during the attack. The pursuit would continue into the next day. 
0
12 Sep 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate departed Lisbon, Portugal for Cairo, Egypt. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 USS S-28 entered her patrol area in the northern Kurile Islands. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 Allied aircraft bombed Rhodes, a Greek island recently under Italian occupation, now garrisoned by German troops. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Snook sank Japanese transport Yamato Maru in the East China Sea with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 Private Richard Kelliher won the Victoria Cross in New Guinea for knocking out Japanese positions to rescue his pinned down Australian comrades. Only six months before, Irish-born Kelliher had been court martialled for cowardice under fire, although the conviction had been quickly quashed. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate departed Cairo, Egypt for Karachi, India. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 Chiang Kaishek reluctantly agreed to stop the fighting against communist forces in China and turn his full attention to the Japanese. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 Elements of the French I Corps supported by the Royal Navy launch Operation Vésuve to link up with Corsica Partisans with the aim of cutting off the retreating German troops evacuating from Sardinia (90th Panzergrenadier Division and Reichsführer-SS assault infantry brigade) transiting via Corsica. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Gar arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her ninth war patrol. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 German troops near Salerno, Italy launched a counter offensive against the recent Allied landings, striking at the region near Battipaglia, pushing US units back toward the beach, and re-capturing Altavilla 14 kilometers northeast of Paestum by nightfall. Allied leadership began to prepare, but did not execute, evacuation plans. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Harder attacked a Japanese convoy off Japan (both torpedoes missed) and was detected by Japanese aircraft, which led to a two-hour depth charge attack. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Permit continued to attack the Japanese convoy she had been attacking since the previous date west of the Marshall Islands, damaging a light cruiser and sinking an oiler; 5 torpedoes were expended during the attack. 
0
13 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo departed Midway Atoll, starting her seventh war patrol. 
0
14 Sep 1943 WW2 French commandos infiltrated Corsica to aid partisans against the Germans. 
0
14 Sep 1943 WW2 Kos Island, Greece was occupied by British Royal Navy Special Boat Service troops. 
0
14 Sep 1943 WW2 German troops evacuated Bryansk, Russia. 
0
14 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse attacked a Japanese tanker in the Palau Islands; all eight torpedoes missed. 
0
14 Sep 1943 WW2 HMS Howe escorted Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto and Italia to Alexandria, Egypt. 
0
14 Sep 1943 WW2 Corsair fighters of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 attacked Kahili Airfield on Bougainville, meeting no opposition. 
0
14 Sep 1943 WW2 US 180th Infantry Regiment arrived at Paestum in Italy, relieving two battalions of paratroopers of US 82nd Airborne Division; meanwhile, a US airborne battalion was dropped behind German lines nearby in an attempt to take pressure off the Salerno invasion beach. German forces continued the assaults the Allied beachheads, with main pressure placed upon the American sector, but naval gunfire and aerial bombardment gave the defenders enough firepower to hold the lines. 
0
14 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Alabama arrived at Havannah Harbor, Efate Island, New Hebrides Islands. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 USS S-28 suffered severe smoking and sparking from her port main motor, which took 14 hours to repair. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 Benito Mussolini arrived at Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany after his rescue. While there, he announced the establishment of a new Italian republic to continue the fight against the Allies. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny flew from Munich, Germany to East Prussia, Germany; on the same flight were Ambassador Dörnberg and Ernst Kaltenbrunner. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 Escort carrier Wake Island was launched, sponsored by the wife of Rear Admiral Frederick Sherman. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 Submarine Pintado was launched, sponsored by Mrs. Antonio Prince. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 The veteran pilots of the German Luftwaffe's JG 51 "Mölders" fighter unit record their 7,000th combat kill. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 The Japanese abandoned Lae, Australian New Guinea. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 B-24 bombers, escorted by Corsair fighters of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214, flew a photographic reconnaissance mission over Choiseul, Solomon Islands. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 To combat the growing strength of Allied bombing attacks the Luftwaffe reorganised its air defences into two territorial fighter commands; one in then Reich and the other in western occupied territories. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 A new marine railway for handling destroyers and submarines at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii was completed. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 US airborne troops (325th Glider Infantry Regiment and 3rd Battalion of 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment) arrived near Paestum, Italy by sea. Elsewhere, the German occupation administration of Italy announced the death penalty for any Italians seen with firearms. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Harder attacked a Japanese patrol craft in the Izu Islands, Japan; both torpedoes missed. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
15 Sep 1943 WW2 The keel of Kanalku Bay was laid down by Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver, Washington, United States. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 USS S-28 transited Mushiru Kaikyo in the Kurile Islands. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Leros Island in the Aegean Sea was captured by British troops. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Yugoslavian partisans captured Split, Dalmatia, Yugoslavia. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Soviet naval infantry captured Novorossiysk, Russia. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny was awarded the Gold Flying Badge by Hermann Göring at Wolf's Lair, East Prussia, Germany. Upon receiving the award, he requested the Knight's Cross to be awarded to his men Captain Gerlach and Lieutenant Meyer. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler, Otto Skorzeny, Ambassador Hewel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, and Hitler's secretaries Fräulein Wolf and Frau Traudl Jung had midnight tea between 0000 and 0100 hours. Hitler said during tea that "Germany must be cleaned up after the war. We will draw our coming men from the fighting soldiers, but traitors must be rooted out now. Don't forget how Clemenceau dealt with the enemy within in 1914. he ruthlessly rounded them up and had them shot, thereby saving France. We must get rid of deserters and mutineers behind the front. Traitors always work on the same lines - to let the enemy in by the back door." 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Minesweeper USS Armada was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Gregory Boyington led 24 Corsair fighters of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 from Banika, Russell Islands to join 80 other aircraft of other squadrons to attack Ballale fighter base southeast of Bougainville island. 40 A6M fighters rose to defend the base. The Americans were credited with 17 Japanese aircraft shot down and 9 probables (VMF-214 alone was awarded 11 (5 of which were Boyington's) and 8, respectively), but lost pilot Bob Ewing in the action. Post-war Japanese records would reveal that only 6 aircraft were shot down in battle that day, with a further 1 aircraft written off due to heavy damage. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi performed repair work for cable layer Osei Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Julius Ritter, aide to the Labor Minister Fritz Sauckel, was shot in Paris, France; 50 French would be executed in reprisal. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Pollack arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her seventh war patrol. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 Bernard Montgomery's British 5th Infantry Division reached Sapri, less than 100 kilometers from Salerno, Italy. Heinrich von Vietinghoff recommended Albert Kesselring to break off the offensive in the Salerno area, fall back, and form a defensive line, but meanwhile the German troops attempted to attack positions held by troops of British X Corps near Salerno, making little progress. At Salerno, about 600 men of the British X Corps mutinied when informed that they were to be assigned to new units as replacements. To the north, after sundown, British 10th Parachute Battalion and 156th Parachute Battalion captured Gioia. 
0
16 Sep 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Chub was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
17 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Puffer attacked a Japanese convoy in the Dutch East Indies, damaging a transport and sinking another; she expended 6 torpedoes and observed 3 hits. 
0
17 Sep 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 moved from the Russell Islands to Munda Airfield on New Georgia. 
0
17 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Black top on landing mat completed. Part of Fighting Squadron 25 (VF-25; Model F6F-3); Torpedo Squadron 25 (VT-25; Model TBF-1), on board. Part of Bombing Squadron 25 (VB-25; Model SBD-5) on board. 
0
17 Sep 1943 WW2 British Eighth Army linked up with US troops near Salerno in Italy; Albert Kesselring issued the order to break off the counteroffensive at Salerno and form a defensive line. 
0
17 Sep 1943 WW2 Yolande Beekman departed Britain in a Lysander aircraft. 
0
17 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Tunny arrived at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, California, United States. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Manila, Philippine Islands. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 Mussolini declared the Repubblica Sociale Italiana in Northern Italy. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 John Basilone participated in a bond tour event in Scanton, Pennsylvania, United States. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Cisco arrived at Darwin, Australia. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 attacked a Japanese convoy destined for Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands. Pilot Chris Magee shot down 2 Japanese D3A aircraft (with a further 1 probable) during this attack. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 Shokaku sortied from Truk, Caroline Islands to Brown Island (Eniwetok), Marshall Islands with Combined Fleet under Vice Admiral Ozawa's tactical command in response to the US Task Force 15 carrier raids on Tarawa and Makin. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 Yamato sortied from Truk to Brown Atoll, Eniwetok in response to raids by US Navy Task Force 15 on Tarawa, Makin, and Abemama Atolls. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 Yolande Beekman was delivered into German-occupied France via a Lysander aircraft before dawn. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 U-537 departed Kiel, Germany for her first war patrol. She carried Wetter-Funkgerät Land-26 weather station equipment along with meteorology expert Dr. Kurt Sommermeyer and his assistant Walter Hildebrant on board. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 Headquarters of British V Corps arrived at Taranto, Italy. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 Italian Navy Xa Flottiglia MAS based at Pola, Italy (occupied Pula, Yugoslavia) under Lieutenant Commander Umberto Bardelli reported the strength of 350 men. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 Irako arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish sank small Japanese ship with her deck gun in the Dutch East Indies. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish damaged a Japanese transport in the Pacific Ocean, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 German submarine U-711 shelled the Soviet wireless telegraph station at Pravdy in northern Russia. 
0
18 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Corvina departed Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 USS S-28 fired a torpedo, and missed, at what was believed to be an unescorted freighter. The freighter turned out to be a Japanese warship, which attacked with depth charges for 10 minutes without causing any damage. The warship departed after one hour of unsuccessful detection. At 1916 hours, she detected the coverted gunboat Katsura Maru Number Two; she attacked the Japanese ship at 1943, registering two hits, and sank the ship at 1946 hours. S-28 dove in anticipationg of a depth charge attack which did not take place. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 Italian resistance forced German troops off the island of Sardinia, Italy. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate arrived in Delhi, India. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 Oberleutnant Franz Schmidt of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 The Australian 7th Infantry Division opened an offensive in the Ramu valley, Australian New Guinea. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 47 Polish prisoners of war attempted to escape from the Oflag IV-B camp at Dössel-Warburg, Germnay; 9 would make it to neutral territory, but the remaining 38 would be captured and sent to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp for execution. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Air Group 25 on board. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 In Italy, British and American troops of US Fifth Army marched from Salerno toward Naples. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Harder sank cargo ship Kachisan Maru off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka departed Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 John Basilone participated in a bond tour event in his home town of Raritan and the neighboring town of Somerville in New Jersey, United States. 
0
19 Sep 1943 WW2 Submarine Gabilan was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by the wife of Rear Admiral Jules James. 
0
19 Sep 1943 RELIGIOUS The first Baptist church was organized in Anchorage. (Prior to this date, there had been no Baptist church in Anchorage, and only one Baptist church in all the rest of the state of Alaska.)
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 HMS Polyanthus (Lieutenant J. G. Aitken) was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-952, whilst on escort duties southwest of Iceland. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 The Japanese Navy formed the 13th Air Fleet on paper with Vice Admiral Shiro Takasu in command and Rear Admiral Takeo Tada as the chief of staff. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 De Havilland Vampire jet fighter took its first flight. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Cisco departed Darwin, Australia for her first and only war patrol. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 Two Ki-49 aircraft of Japanese 7th Flying Regiment attacked Port Moresby, Australian Papua. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing tanker Notoro at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 The Japanese Autumn Mop-up Operation began in Hebei, Shandong, and Henan Provinces in China; 30,000 men were deployed to wipe out Chinese Communist guerrilla forces. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 British Eighth Army captured Bari, Italy. Meanwhile, Venice was bombed by Allied planes. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Eniwetok, Marshall Islands. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Mili Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
20 Sep 1943 WW2 German Armeegruppe Süd began withdrawing to a new line running from Melitopol to Zaporozhe in Ukraine. 
0
21 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Davao, Philippine Islands. 
0
21 Sep 1943 WW2 The southern portion of the German defensive Panther Line was breached when Red Army units crossed the Dneiper River near Dnepropetrovsk in Ukraine. 
0
21 Sep 1943 WW2 Picking was commissioned into service. 
0
21 Sep 1943 WW2 German troops attacked and killed thousands of troops of Italian Acqui Division, which had refused to surrender, on Cephalonia, Greece. 
0
21 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Wotje Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
21 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish attacked a Japanese ship in the Celebes Sea; all four torpedoes missed. 
0
21 Sep 1943 WW2 British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Kingsley Wood, suddenly died (age 62) at his London Home on the morning he was due to announce his new Pay As You Earn taxation scheme to Parliament. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Davao, Philippine Islands. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 Operation Source: The first of the charges placed by British midget submarines below German battleship Tirpitz in Norway exploded at 0812 hours. The second explosion took place shortly afterwards. The explosions caused damage to the hull and disabled the turbines, propeller shafts, and the rudder. One sailor was killed and 40 were wounded. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Hoe damaged a Japanese tanker after hitting her with 2 out of 6 torpedoes fired. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Snook sank Japanese cargo ship Katsurahama Maru off Dalian, China with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired. She fired another 8 torpedoes at another ship, but all of them missed. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 Three Australian battalions landed at Finschhafen, Australian New Guinea. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was presented Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross by Adolf Hitler at Wolfsschanze near Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 To outwit the German Luftwaffe's fighter reaction, British RAF Bomber Command launched its first "spoof raid"; the main force attacked Hannover, while a feint heads for Osnabrück. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 British 78th Infantry Division began to arrive at Bari, Italy. Elsewhere in Italy, US 3rd Infantry Division captured Acerno. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 German occupation administration in Naples, Italy announced that all men between 18 and 33 years of age were to be sent to labor camps in northern Italy and in Germany. On the same day, Italian resistance fighters captured a stock of weapons and ammunition from a military warehouse in the Vomero district of Naples. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho entered the drydocks at Kure, Japan. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Harder attacked a Japanese oiler off Japan; all 3 torpedoes missed. 
0
22 Sep 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Sasebo, Japan for refitting; she would receive a new Type 21 air search radar. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 Red Army captured Poltava, Ukraine. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 Joseph Goebbels visited Adolf Hitler at Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany. The two had dinner together, during which Adolf Hitler shared his belief that Winston Churchill would not be willing to consider peace offers coming from Germany. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 Indian 8th Infantry Division began to arrive at Taranto, Italy. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 Colonel Walter Schöll issued the complete evacuation of the coast near Naples, Italy within a day; the area had a population of over 200,000. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Harder sank freighter Kowa Maru and tanker Daishin Maru off Nagoya Bay, Japan, hitting each with one torpedo; six torpedoes were expended in this attack. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 The Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania was liquidated. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Eniwetok, Marshall Islands for Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 Colonel Pyotr P. Timofeev was named the Soviet counterintelligence agency GUKR SMERSH's chief within the Steppe Front. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Gar entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul. 
0
23 Sep 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Brill was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Ambon, Molucca Islands and departed later on the same day. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Cabrilla attacked a Japanese escort carrier with six torpedoes in the Western Pacific, causing some damage. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 James Johnson was awarded Bar to his Distinguished Service Order medal. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 Two of the ten sections of USS ABSD-1 arrived at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Columbia arrived at Vella LaVella, Solomon Islands. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Permit arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her tenth war patrol. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Portions of Air Group 1 arrived on board. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 German submarine U-711 shelled the Soviet wireless telegraph station at Blagopoluchiya in northern Russia. 
0
24 Sep 1943 WW2 Following the untimely death of Sir Kingsley Wood, Sir John Anderson was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Roslavl and Smolensk, Russia. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 All Jewish ghettos in Byelorussia were liquidated. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 The last report of the US submarine Pompano was received while she was on patrol off Honshu, Japan; she was presumed to have been sunk by newly laid Japanese mines. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish ended her fourth war patrol. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 Yamato arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands after failing to make contact with US Navy Task Force 15. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 General Otto Fretter-Pico was named the commanding officer of German 148th Infantry Division in Italy. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 Italian resistance fighters captured a stock of 250 rifles which had been previously confiscated by German authorities in Naples, Italy. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 Unryu was launched at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka departed Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish sank a Japanese ship south of Celebes, Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 3 of 10 torpedoes fired. 
0
25 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank freighter Taiko Maru in the Sea of Japan. 
0
26 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kupang, Timor and departed later on the same day. 
0
26 Sep 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny presented three Knight's Cross medals at the Harvest Thanksgiving festival at the Berlin Sportpalast in Germany. In the early afternoon, he had lunch with Joseph Goebbels and his family. 
0
26 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Cero departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. 
0
26 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Grayback departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her eighth war patrol. 
0
26 Sep 1943 WW2 Large scale riots began taking place on the streets of Naples, Italy. 
0
26 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
26 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish sank a Japanese patrol ship and damaged a transport south of Celebes, Dutch East Indies, hitting the patrol ship with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired and the transport with 1 of 5 torpedose fired. 
0
27 Sep 1943 WW2 One of the Nazi officials in Rome demanded that the Jewish community pay one hundred pounds of gold within thirty-six hours or three hundred Jews would be taken prisoner. The Vatican would open its treasury to help the Jews reach the required amount. 
0
27 Sep 1943 WW2 German troops started to withdraw all forces out of Ukraine to defensive positions on the west side of the Dnieper River. 
0
27 Sep 1943 WW2 British 78th Infantry Division captured the major airfield complex near Foggia, Italy. 
0
27 Sep 1943 WW2 German occupation administration arrested thousands of rioters in Naples, Italy; Italian resistance fighters took the opportunity to begin an armed uprising, capturing Castel Sant'Elmo by the end of the day. 
0
27 Sep 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho exited the drydocks at Kure, Japan. 
0
27 Sep 1943 WW2 The last German-held port on the Black Sea, Temryuk, Russia, was captured by the Red Army. 
0
27 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol. 
0
28 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Makassar, Celebes and departed later on the same day. 
0
28 Sep 1943 WW2 Germans recaptured Split, Dalmatia, Yugoslavia from the partisans. 
0
28 Sep 1943 WW2 The US submarine Cisco was sunk by Japanese aircraft west of Mindanao, Philippine Islands. 
0
28 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Grouper unloaded supplies for coast watchers on New Britain. She also picked up downed airman Captain Arthur Post of US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, who had been shot down three months prior. 
0
28 Sep 1943 WW2 Edmund Herring and his staff officers R. B. Sutherland and R. Bierwirth boarded a USAAF B-25 bomber at Dobodura Airfield on New Guinea island for transport to Milne Bay. The undercarriage of the aircraft collapsed during takeoff, causing the propeller to break pieces off of the Marston Mat; Sutherland was struck and killed by one such piece. 
0
28 Sep 1943 WW2 US 3rd Infantry Division captured Avellino, Italy. 
0
28 Sep 1943 WW2 Italian resistance fighters and German occupation troops clashed in the Materdei district, the Vomero district, the Porta Capuana city gate, the Castel Nuovo fortress, the Sant'Anna dei Lombardi church, and other locations in Naples, Italy. 
0
28 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Harder attacked a Japanese transport off Japan; both torpedoes missed. Later in the day, she set sail for the Hawaiian Islands. 
0
28 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish sank a Japanese transport in the Banda Sea, hitting her with 2 of 2 torpedoes fired., 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Snook damaged a Japanese craft with her deck gun. 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 Lord Gort participated in the Italian surrender ceremony in Valetta harbor in Italy. 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 The minesweeper USS Aspire was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act. 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Balikpapan, Dutch Borneo. 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Mingo departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol. 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 Allied troops captured Pompeii, Italy. Meanwhile, Marshal Badoglio met with General Eisenhower aboard HMS Nelson to sign the armistice and to discuss further plans for the war. 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 Italian resistance fighters and German occupation troops clashed in the Giuseppe Mazzini Square (where a German tank fired on the Italians), the Ponticelli district, the Capodichino military airfield, the Piazza Ottocalli square, and other locations in Naples, Italy. As the scale of the uprising continued to grow, Colonel Walter Schöll began negotiating with some of the Italian leaders, using captured resistance fighters as collateral. 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 The keel of I-403 was laid down by Kawasaki Heavy Industries at Kobe, Japan; the project would soon be canceled, however. 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Harder damaged a Japanese armed trawler off Japan with her deck gun. 
0
29 Sep 1943 WW2 Naka departed Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
30 Sep 1943 WW2 The Soviet Dneiper bridgehead in southern Ukraine expanded to a 300-mile frontage. 
0
30 Sep 1943 WW2 On the eve of the Jewish New Year, the Gestapo and Danish Nazi members began rounding up Danish Jews. A Danish businessman passed the news of the operation and passed the information to the Danish resistance, which then arranged fishing boats to ferry a large number of Danish Jews to Sweden. 
0
30 Sep 1943 WW2 USS Hoe fired 4 torpedoes at a Japanese freighter; all torpedoes missed. 
0
30 Sep 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Composite Squadron 24 (VC-24) on board. 
0
30 Sep 1943 WW2 German troops began evacuating Naples, Italy amidst continued fighting, leaving behind a burning city historical archive and many booby traps. 
0
30 Sep 1943 WW2 A wolfpack consisted of German submarines U-703, U-601, and U-960 attacked Soviet convoy VA-18 near the Sergey Kirov Islands in the eastern Kara Sea and sank freighter Arhangelsk. 
0
30 Sep 1943 WW2 Carrier Colossus was launched. 
0
30 Sep 1943 RELIGIOUS Pius XII issued the encyclical "Divino Afflante Spiritu," which encouraged Catholic scholars to devote more attention to biblical exegesis in their teachings and writings. One of the long-term effects of this encyclical was the publication in 1970 of the New American Bible.
-1
01 Oct 1943 WW2 American submarine USS Halibut tested a torpedo equipped with newly designed contact exploder. 
0
01 Oct 1943 WW2 The US Navy Pacific Fleet deployed its first submarine wolfpack. 
0
01 Oct 1943 WW2 U-52 was decommissioned from service. 
0
01 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Pompon attacked a Japanese transport in the South China Sea; all 4 torpedoes missed. 
0
01 Oct 1943 WW2 220 Danish Jews were arrested by the Gestapo. 
0
01 Oct 1943 WW2 Troops of German 1st Mountain Division massacred 87 people in the village of Lingiades, Greece in reliation of the assassination of Oberstleutnant Josef Salminger by Greek partisan fighters. 
0
01 Oct 1943 WW2 A Chinese heavy mortar regiment arrived at Ramgarh Training Center in India for training. Additionally, Chinese 1st Provisional Tank Group was formed at Ramgarh under the command of US Army Colonel Rothwell Brown; it consisted of 1,800 Chinese officers and men and 231 US officers and men, operating between 100 to 125 US-built M3A3 Stuart light tanks. 
0
01 Oct 1943 WW2 Allied troops reached Naples, Italy at 0930 hours, which had already been taken over by Italian resistance fighters. The arriving troops found the port facilities were destroyed by the Germans. 
0
01 Oct 1943 WW2 In the Kara Sea off northern Russia, German submarine U-703 sank freighter Sergei Kirov of Soviet convoy VA-18 and U-960 sank escort vessel T-42. 
0
02 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Cod arrived at Brisbane, Australia. 
0
02 Oct 1943 WW2 Orders were given by the German government to deport Danish Jews to concentration camps. 
0
02 Oct 1943 WW2 RAF aircraft bombed München, Germany. 
0
02 Oct 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten departed Northolt, England, United Kingdom. 
0
02 Oct 1943 WW2 Eight of the ten sections of USS ABSD-1 arrived at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. 
0
02 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Balikpapan, Dutch Borneo. 
0
02 Oct 1943 WW2 Ar 234V-2 jet bomber suffered a fire in its wing and crashed at Rheine Airfield north of Munster, Germany, killing test pilot Flugkapitän Selle. 
0
02 Oct 1943 WW2 British commandos landed near Termoli, Italy. 
0
03 Oct 1943 WW2 Germans invaded Kos Island under a heavy air umbrella. 
0
03 Oct 1943 WW2 433rd Fighter Squadron (flying P-38 aicraft) of USAAF 475th Fighter Group was out of Dobodura No. 11 airstrip of Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
03 Oct 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
03 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Surabaya, Java. Upon arrival, she was damaged by a mine. 
0
03 Oct 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Officers and men of ACORN-14 arrived on board. 
0
03 Oct 1943 WW2 Troops of 11th Brigade of British 78th Infantry Division crossed the Biferno River near Termoli, Italy, linking up with British Commandos that had already landed by sea. 
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 Construction began for the first nuclear reactor at the Hanford Site of the Manhattan Project in Washington, United States. 
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 German forces captured Kos in the Dodecanese Islands. 
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 The French occupation of Corsica was completed. 
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 Heinrich Himmler talked openly about the Final Solution at a meeting in Posen, Reichsgau Wartheland, Germany (now Poznan, Poland), noting that he cared little about the livelihood of Czechoslovakians, Russians, and other peoples in occupied Eastern Europe since the conquered people were mere slaves to Germany. He warned his lieutenant, however, that this task would not be written in history despite its importance in German history. 
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 Gregory Boyington led 8 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 F4U fighters to escort USAAF bombers over Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island; US Army Air Forces also launched P-38 fighters for escort duty. Boyington claimed 3 Japanese shot down while the USAAF claimed 4 more. Japanese records would later reveal that only 1 fighter was shot down and 2 were written off from heavy damage. 
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her seventh war patrol with Lieutenant Commander Glynn Donaho in command.  
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Officers and men of ACORN-14 arrived on board. Ten men of ARGUS-12 arrived on board. 
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 German 16th Panzer Division attacked the newly gained bridgehead on the Biferno River near Termoli, Italy on the eastern end of the Volturno Line. 
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 Irako departed Yokosuka, Japan as a part of convoy No. 3002 with Tokyo Maru, escorted by destroyer Shiratsuyu. 
0
04 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Harder arrived at Midway Atoll. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 USS S-28 traveled through the Onekotan Strait in the northern Kurile Islands. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 Germans completed their evacuation of Corsica, France. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 American aircraft bombed Wake Island. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 Remy Van Lierde shot down a German Ju 88 heavy fighter (his fifth kill) and destroyed another aircraft on the ground. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 Manila Bay was commissioned into service. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 Submarine U-869 was launched. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell ordered Sun Liren to launch an offensive in northern Burma, but Sun hesitated. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 Minesweeper USS Assail was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 Ensign Robert W. Duncan of US Navy Squadron VF-5 became the first F6F Hellcat fighter pilot to shoot down two Japanese Zero fighters in a single engagement. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Fifteen officers and 78 men of ARGUS-10 on board. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 German 16th Panzer Division nearly wiped out the British bridgehead on the Biferno River near Termoli, Italy; the British bridgehead was saved by the arrival of Canadian and British tanks. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo sank freighter Konron Maru in the Sea of Japan off Tsushima, Japan, killing 544. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Ray departed the Panama Canal Zone. 
0
05 Oct 1943 WW2 1,196 Polish Jewish children originally from the liquidated Bialystok ghetto in Poland were transferred from Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in occupied Czechoslovakia to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland. 
0
06 Oct 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Nevel, Russia, which was on the boundary shared by German Armeegruppe North and German Armeegruppe Mitte. 
0
06 Oct 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten arrived in Delhi, India. 
0
06 Oct 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Kay Klages successfully conducted a photographic reconnaissance mission over Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
06 Oct 1943 WW2 The first docking at the newly completed Dry Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii took place. 
0
06 Oct 1943 WW2 US Fifth Army captured Capua and Caserta, Italy. The counterattack by German 16th Panzer Division near Termoli, Italy was repulsed by Canadian and British troops. 
0
06 Oct 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Kure, Japan. 
0
06 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Dorado departed New London, Connecticut, United States. 
0
07 Oct 1943 WW2 98 captured Americans were executed on Wake Island on the orders of Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara as reprisal to a 5 Oct air raid. 
0
07 Oct 1943 WW2 RAF aircraft bombed Stuttgart, Germany. 
0
07 Oct 1943 WW2 The Fletcher-class destroyer USS Chevalier was sunk by a torpedo fired from the USS La Vallette following severe damage inflicted during an engagement with Japanese destroyers fought on the previous day off Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands. 
0
07 Oct 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell met with the newly arrived Louis Mountbatten in Delhi, India. 
0
07 Oct 1943 WW2 German submarine U-703 rescued survivors of sunken Russian freighter Dekabrist. 
0
07 Oct 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Nine officers and 108 men of ACORN-16 on board. Eight officers and 131 men of ACORN-16 on board. 
0
07 Oct 1943 WW2 German defenses halted US Fifth Army on the Volturno River, Italy. 
0
07 Oct 1943 WW2 Air Commodore Andrew James Wray Geddes, a First World War RFC pilot who was now in command of the three airfields in 12 Base, made the first Lancaster bomber landing at the newly built RAF Kelstern in Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom. A week later No. 625 Squadron (formed from C-flight of No. 100 Squadron) relocated from nearby RAF Grimsby. 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Hoe searched for down American airmen in the Wake Island area. 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 17 US bombers attacked Vegesack, Bremen, Germany. Two B-24 bombers were lost, with pilot William Clifford's crew lost entirely and pilot John Buschman's crew mostly captured. 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 Major General Charles Barrett died in the US military hospital at Nouméa, New Caledonia just three weeks after taking command of I Amphibious Corps. His predecessor, Major General Alexander Vandegrift, was hastily recalled to take over until a new corps commander could be appointed. 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Kimikaze", shot down a P-38 fighters and three B-24 bombers over Rangoon, Burma, increasing his score to 48. He was seriously wounded in combat. 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson shot down a German Fw 190 aircraft over Lingen, Germany. 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Snook arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol. 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Harder arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Kure, Japan to escort carrier Ryuho to Singapore. 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 British merchant ship Ocean Strength arrived at Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom with a supply of iron ore and captured German Tiger I heavy tank "131". 
0
08 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Texas began escorting an Allied convoy from New York, New York, United States to Britain. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 US bombers attacked Mariensburg, Germany. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Hoe searched for down American airmen in the Wake Island area. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 The American destroyer USS Buck was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-616 off Salerno, Italy. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Puffer damaged a Japanese transport east of Borneo, Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 Oberfeldwebel Johann Boos and Oberleutnant Robert Seib of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron successfully took photos of Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese aircraft attacked the Dobodura Airfield in Australian Papua, setting oil dumps on fire. On the same day, 2nd Bomb Squadron (flying B-25 and B-26 aircraft) of USAAF 22nd Bomb Group was transferred to Dobodura. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 German submarine U-703 arrived at Harstad, Norway and dropped off two survivors of Russian freighter Dekabrist. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 Kuban, Russia was under complete Soviet control as the last German and Romanian units had evacuated to Crimea. 
0
09 Oct 1943 WW2 Semyon Timoshenko was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class for the first time. 
0
10 Oct 1943 WW2 One of the crewman aboard USS S-28 developed severe appendicitis, causing the submarine to turn toward the Aleutian Islands one day ahead of schedule. 
0
10 Oct 1943 WW2 Franco ordered the 250th Spanish "Blue" Division back to Spain from Wehrmacht service. A few thousand disobeyed this order and remain behind attached to either the 121.Infanterie Division or the Waffen-SS. 
0
10 Oct 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Saeki, Japan. 
0
10 Oct 1943 WW2 US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron successfully took photos of Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
10 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Surabaya, Java. 
0
10 Oct 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson shot down a German Bf 110 aircraft and a Fw 190 aircraft over Münster, Germany. 
0
10 Oct 1943 WW2 Prince Morihiro married Shigeko, the Princess Teru, the oldest daughter of Emperor Showa. 
0
10 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Grayback damaged a Japanese transport in the Pacific Ocean, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes. 
0
10 Oct 1943 WW2 N. A. Rozanov was named the Soviet counterintelligence agency GUKR SMERSH's chief within the 2nd Byelorussian Front. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Saeki, Japan for Singapore. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese transport in the North Pacific; all four torpedoes missed. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 Neel Kearby led a fighter sweep over Wewak, Australian New Guinea; his flight shot down several Japanese aircraft, including one carrying Lieutenant Colonel Tamiji Teranishi, commanding officer of 14th Flying Brigade. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron successfully took photos of Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 13 Beaufighter aircraft of 30 Squadron RAAF from Goodenough Island and 2 squadrons of US 38th Bomb Group arrived at Dobodura Airfield in Australian Squadron in preparation of a planned strike on Rabaul, New Britain on the next day. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 Naka departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Jakarta, Java. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 Dudley Morton was killed in the sinking of USS Wahoo by Japanese anti-submarine aircraft in La Pérouse Strait between Hokkaido and Karafuto (Sakhalin), Japan. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 The US submarine Wahoo was bombed and sunk by Japanese anti-submarine aircraft in La Pérouse Strait between Hokkaido and Karafuto (Sakhalin), Japan. All aboard were killed. 
0
11 Oct 1943 WW2 Vern Skjonsby was killed aboard USS Wahoo when the submarine was sunk by Japanese aircraft in the La Pérouse Strait north of Hokkaido, Japan. 
0
12 Oct 1943 WW2 German 250th Infantry Division of Spanish volunteers began to be pulled from the front lines two days after Franco ordered their return. 
0
12 Oct 1943 WW2 An Allied convoy sailing through the planned path of USS Dorado reported no submarine contacts. 
0
12 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Cero attacked a Japanese convoy consisted of three freighters escorted by two destroyers, damaging one freighter; nine torpedoes were expended. 
0
12 Oct 1943 WW2 8 squadrons of bombers launched from Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua, with escorting US and Australian fighters, attacked Rapopo Airfield, Vunakanau Airfield, and Tobera Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. The Allies lost 3 B-24, 1 B-25, and 1 Beaufighter aircraft. The Japanese suffered eight damaged ships (transport Tsukushi, oiler Naruto, destroyer Mochizuki, destroyer Minazuki, destroyer Tachikaze, submarine I-7, submarine I-80, and submarine RO-105), six transports sunk, 4 A6M aircraft destroyed, 9 A6M aicraft damaged, and some fuel dumps destroyed. 
0
12 Oct 1943 WW2 Irako arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands at 0500 hours. 
0
12 Oct 1943 WW2 Lorraine arrived at Dakar, French West Africa. 
0
12 Oct 1943 WW2 US Fifth Army launched a second offensive on the Volturno River, Italy. Albert Kesselring ordered German troops on the Volturno Line to fall back to the Barbara Line. 
0
13 Oct 1943 WW2 USS S-28 arrived at Attu, US Territory of Alaska, ending her seventh war patrol. 
0
13 Oct 1943 WW2 About 270 Allied aircraft were launched from bases in Australian Papua to attack the Japanese base at Rabaul, New Britain. Poor weather would cause the raid to be canceled. 
0
13 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Jakarta, Java. 
0
13 Oct 1943 WW2 Noor Inayat Khan was captured by agents of the German Sicherheitsdienst (SD) organization in Paris, France. 
0
13 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol. 
0
13 Oct 1943 WW2 Marshal Pietro Badoglio's new Italian government announced a declaration of war against Germany. Meanwhile, US Fifth Army crossed the Volturno River in Italy. 
0
13 Oct 1943 WW2 120,000 Soviet troops moved into the Chechen–Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in southern Russia ostensibly to repair roads and bridges but in actuality in preparation to control the local Chechen and Ingush (Ghalghai) population. 
0
13 Oct 1943 WW2 Red Army units reached Melitopol, Ukraine. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 German troops cleared the Zaporozhe bridgehead, retreating across the Dneiper River in southern Ukraine. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 Submarine Segundo was laid down. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 Natoma Bay was commissioned into service. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 Canberra (Baltimore-class) was commissioned into service. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Dorado failed to arrive at the Panama Canal Zone, and aircraft were launched to search, without success, for the submarine. Early suggestions that she was sunk in error by a US Mariner aircraft was later concluded as incorrect, and it seemed likely that her loss was attributable to an unknown accident on board or to a German naval mine. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Pompon attacked a Japanese oiler in the Gulf of Siam; all 4 torpedoes missed. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 Oberleutnant Walter Nowotny, Commanding officer of the I/JG54 group, became the first pilot in the world to achieve 250 kills, for which feat he would receive Germany's second highest award, Diamonds to his Knight's Cross medal, awarded to him by Adolf Hitler. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 US 8th Air Force launched 291 B-17 bombers and 60 B-24 bombers to attack the Schweinfurt ball bearing plants in Germany; the 60 B-24 bombers were diverted to another target. 77 American bombers and 1 escorting fighter were lost, while 38 Luftwaffe fighters were shot down the defense. 122 American bombers returned to base in bad condition but they were able to be repaired. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Corvina arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Four officers and 267 men of Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 552 (CBMU-552) on board. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Grayback sank a Japanese passenger-cargo ship in the East China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 Japan declared the independence of the Philippines. As with other territories however the independence was nominal and civil freedoms muted. 
0
14 Oct 1943 WW2 Prisoners of Sobibór Concentration Camp in Poland destroyed extermination facilities and escaped en masse; 300 disappeared into the woods and 50 joined partisan units. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Singapore. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 I-168 was struck from the Navy List. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Tang was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander Richard O'Kane in command. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 The keel of future escort carrier Petrof Bay was laid down. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Sama (now Sanya), Hainan, China. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 15 D3A dive bombers of Air Group 582 escorted by 39 A6M fighters attacked Oro Bay just south of Dobodura, Australian Papua. 54 P-38 and 8 P-40 fighters rose of defend. The Japanese lost 14 D3A dive bombers and 5 A6M fighters, and caused only light damage to Allied shipping. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 33rd Bomb Squadron and 408th Bomb Squadron (both flying B-25 aircraft) of USAAF 22nd Bomb Group were transferred from Australia to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 Originally given the task of escorting US Army Air Force bombers to attack Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island, the US Marine Corps F4U fighters arrived earlier than the bombers, thus the mission became a fighter sweep of the Japanese airfield. 22 Japanese A6M fighters rose to defend. USMC pilot Bill Case claimed 2 victories, Tom Emrich 2, Burney Tucker 1, and Gregory Boyington 1. Japanese records would later reveal that only 1 fighter was destroyed on this day. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 French General de Lattre de Tassigny escaped from Vichy France, eventually joining the Free French. 
0
15 Oct 1943 WW2 Britain-based US 55th Fighter Group became the first group to conduct operations in P-38 fighters over continental Europe. 
0
16 Oct 1943 WW2 More than 1,000 Italian Jews from Rome were sent to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. 
0
16 Oct 1943 WW2 As General Nikolai Vatutin started his attack to break out of the Bukrin bridgehead near Kiev, Ukraine, Marshal Ivan Konev attacked to cut off the German 1.Panzer Division on the Dneiper River. 
0
16 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Mingo fired a spread of six torpedoes at a Japanese carrier, claiming two hits. 
0
16 Oct 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten named William Slim the commanding officer of the new 14th Army. 
0
16 Oct 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Sama (now Sanya), Hainan, China. 
0
16 Oct 1943 WW2 The Americans conducted a heavy attack by air against the Japanese base at Wewak, Australian New Guinea. 
0
16 Oct 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
16 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fifth war patrol. 
0
16 Oct 1943 WW2 The US Ninth Air Force was reformed with its headquarters at RAF Bushey Hall in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. It was charged with gaining air superiority and destroying the German Army forces in their front lines as well as their lines of communications. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Puffer arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her first war patrol. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 US Army Colonel Lewis Pick assumed command of the Allied road building effort in India and Burma. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 The F-5 aircraft flown by Lieutenant William Southard, escorted by two P-38 fighters, conducted a photographic reconnaissance mission over Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 56 A6M fighters attacked Dobodura Airfield and Oro Bay in Australian Papua; 43 P-38 and 3 P-40 fighters rose to defend. The Japanese lost 8 A6M fighters and the Americans lost 4 P-38 and 1 P-40 fighters. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadrons VMF-214 and VMF-221 conducted a fighter sweep over Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island in the morning. More than 30 A6M fighters of Japanese Navy Air Group 201 rose to defend. VMF-214 pilots would claim 9 Japanese aircraft shot down, while VMF-221 claimed 2; Japanese records would later reveal that only 2 aircraft were lost on this day. The Japanese pilots claimed 3 US aircraft shot down, but the Americans only suffered 2 aircraft lightly damaged and 1 aircraft heavily damaged and written off after its return. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 The two sections of the infamous Burma railway met south of the Three Pagodas Pass. Most of the Allied prisoners of war were then transferred to Japan. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 Shokaku sortied from Truk, Caroline Islands to Eniwetok, Marshall Islands with Combined Fleet under Admiral Koga's command in response to US Task Force 16 carrier raids on Wake Island. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 Yamato sortied from Truk to Brown Atoll, Eniwetok in response to radio traffic that suggested a potential American strike on Wake Island. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: About 0010, a small float-type monoplane was picked up by the searchlight of NAS, Barber's Point. The plane, presumably a Japanese reconnaissance plane, attempted to dodge the searchlights, and sped out to sea at a low altitude . One staff officer of Task Group 19.13 on board. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 The British 42nd Armoured Division was disbanded; its infantry formations being assigned to the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division and its armoured formations to the 79th Armoured Division. 
0
17 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion refueld at Midway Atoll. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Singapore. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 Italian Jews from Rome began to be deported to concentration camps. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten met with Chiang Kaishek for the first time. Chiang was 15 minutes late to the meeting; in retaliation, Mountbatten purposefully spent a long time shifting through his attaché case for various documents during the meeting. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese escort carrier in the Western Pacific, hitting her with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 77 B-24 bombers from Port Moresby, Australian Papua made rendezvous with 55 P-38 fighters over Kiriwina, Trobriand Islands for a raid on Rabaul, New Britain; a separate group of 54 B-25 bombers, modified for strafing, flew for Rabaul separately. Poor weather would force the first group to cancel its mission, but the B-25 bombers proceeded without fighter escort. They heavily damaged Japanese submarine chaser CH-23, lightly damaged transport Johore Maru, and shot down 8 Japanese fighters (3 additional fighters were lost on landings); the Japanese shot down many B-25 bombers. Subsequent investigation on why the B-25 bombers proceeded despite having no escorts would find no faults. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 3 divisions of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214, led by Gregory Boyington, attacked Ballale Airfield in the Shortland Islands. Later in the day, the same 3 divisions joined VMF-221 in the attack of Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island. 22 Japanese fighters rose to defend Kahili. US airmen claimed 14 Japanese aircraft shot down with 6 probables. Japanese records later revealed the loss of 4 aircraft in combat, 1 heavily damaged and written off, and 3 lightly damaged. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 USAAF B-29 bombers attacked Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Shanghai, China. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. 
0
18 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Flier was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander John D. Crowley in command. 
0
19 Oct 1943 WW2 US Navy communiqué revealed that, since 7 Dec 1941, American submarines had sunk 319 Japanese vessels and damaged at least 81. 
0
19 Oct 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten met with Chiang Kaishek for the second day in a row. Mountbatten offered Chiang 10,000 tons of supplies to be flown over the Hump to China each month, while Chiang allowed Mountbatten to launch guerrilla operations into northern Burma. 
0
19 Oct 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Seletar, Singapore. 
0
19 Oct 1943 WW2 F-5 aircraft of US 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron detected more than 200 Japanese aircraft gathered at the four airfields in and near Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
19 Oct 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 strafed Kara Airfield (Bougainville), Kahili Airfield (Bougainville), and Ballale Airfield (Shortland Islands) in the Solomon Islands. They caused only minor damage. 
0
19 Oct 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
19 Oct 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Twenty-two officers and 500 men of CASU-17; 12 officers and 175 men of ACORN-14; 22 officers and 132 men of ARGUS-12; 2 officers and 190 men of CASU-18; 19 officers and 139 men of ARGUS-15; 5 officers and 383 men of ACORN-16; and one staff officer of Task Group 19.14 arrived on board. 
0
19 Oct 1943 WW2 US Fifth Army's Volturno River offensive in Italy was stalled by resistance and weather. 
0
19 Oct 1943 WW2 Yamato arrived at Brown Atoll, Eniwetok, Marshall Islands. 
0
20 Oct 1943 WW2 The United Nations War Crimes Commission was established. 
0
20 Oct 1943 WW2 Vatutin's attacked out of Bukrin, Ukraine were rebuffed with heavy Soviet casualties. 
0
20 Oct 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Commander Shohei Matsumoto relieved Lieutenant Commander Shoichi Oyamada as the commanding officer of destroyer Yuzuki. 
0
20 Oct 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten departed China for India. On the same day, Chiang Kaishek sent a message to King George VI, complimenting the new supreme commander. 
0
20 Oct 1943 WW2 Chuichi Nagumo stepped down as the commanding officer of Kure Naval District, Japan and was given command of the First Fleet. 
0
20 Oct 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 was officially relieved from front line duty in the Solomon Islands. 
0
20 Oct 1943 WW2 The keel of I-402 was laid down at Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan. 
0
20 Oct 1943 WW2 Captured German Tiger I heavy tank "131" arrived at the village of Chobham, Surrey, England, United Kingdom via a Scammell 100-ton truck. 
0
20 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse departed Midway Atoll for her second war patrol. 
0
21 Oct 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Bugara was laid down. 
0
21 Oct 1943 WW2 Captain Minegoro Kameyama was named the commanding officer of repair ship Akashi. 
0
21 Oct 1943 WW2 The personnel of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 was moved to the Russell Islands. 
0
21 Oct 1943 WW2 Naka departed Shanghai, China with 485 troops of Japanese 17th Division. 
0
21 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Saigon, Indochina. 
0
21 Oct 1943 WW2 1,007 Jews from the Westerbork camp in the Netherlands arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. There were 87 children, 407 men and women under the age of 50 and 207 older people. After the selection 347 men and 170 women were registered. The other 409 were killed in the gas chambers. 
0
21 Oct 1943 WW2 Dudley Pound passed away from brain tumor at the Royal Masonic Hospital in London, England, United Kingdom. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Cod arrived departed Brisbane, Australia on her first war patrol. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 During an RAF raid on Kassel, Germany, the RAF began Operation Corona to jam German night-fighter communications. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 HMS Orfasy was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-68 off Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten met with William Slim for the first time at Barrackpore in eastern India. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Saigon, Indochina. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 Over Kassel, Germany, the Lancaster bomber aboard which Roberts Dunstan was a crew member was damaged by two incendiary bombs dropped by a friendly Lancaster bomber flying higher above; although the bomber was further damaged by German nightfighters, it was able to return to Britain, crash landing at Bisham, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 U-537 arrived in Martin Bay, Labrador, Newfoundland and began establishing Weather Station Kurt under the direction of meteorologist Kurt Sommermeyer. Meanwhile, crew members of the submarine repaired damage caused by a storm days earlier. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Grayback sank converted light cruiser Awata Maru in the East China Sea, hitting her with 4 of 6 torpedoes. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 Block 11 of Auschwitz I concentration camp held a trial that sentenced 76 men and 19 women to death; they had been transferred from the prison in Myslowitz. The trial was presided by the new head of the Kattowitz Gestapo, SS-Obersturbanfuehrer Johannes Thümmler, who was never punished after the war and passed away in old age in May 2002. 
0
22 Oct 1943 WW2 British Brigadier R. E. Laycock, DSO was appointed Chief of Combined Operations in succession to Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten. 
0
23 Oct 1943 WW2 Lieutenant General Brehon Somervell visited India and offered US Army railway troops to support the British Bengal and Assam Railway. 
0
23 Oct 1943 WW2 British elements of US 5th Army capture Sparanise, Italy. 
0
23 Oct 1943 WW2 Yamato departed Brown Atoll, Eniwetok, Marshall Islands and sortied to a position 250 miles south of Wake Island. 
0
23 Oct 1943 WW2 U-537 departed Martin Bay, Labrador, Newfoundland after installing Weather Station Kurt and repairing the submarine's storm damage. 
0
23 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Grayback fired her deck gun at a small boat in the East China Sea, causing no damage. 
0
23 Oct 1943 WW2 A transport of prisoners from Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp arrived at Gas Chamber II of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. In the undressing room, one of the Jewish women seized SS man Josef Schillinger's pistol and shot Schillinger and another guard, Wilhelm Emmerich. Other prisoners joined in to attack other guards, but the SS eventually took control of the situation. Schillinger died on the way to the hospital; Emmerich survived the wound, but became permanently disabled. 
0
23 Oct 1943 WW2 Soviet forces captured Melitopol, Ukraine after 10 days of combat; meanwhile, Malinovsky's forces captured Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. 
0
23 Oct 1943 WW2 Two years after the death of his first wife, Margaret, former British Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George (aged 80) married his secretary and mistress, Francis Stevenson, much to the disapproval of his children. 
0
24 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Sanya, Hainan, China. 
0
24 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Cabrilla attacked a Japanese oiler with six torpedoes in the Dutch East Indies; all torpedoes missed. 
0
24 Oct 1943 WW2 Leonard Siffleet was executed by beheading at the hands of Yasuno Chikao at Aitape, New Guinea. 
0
24 Oct 1943 WW2 62 B-25 bombers (modified for ground attack) from Dobodura, Australian Papua made rendezvous with 54 P-38 fighters from Kiriwina of Trobriand Islands, and the group attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Americans lost 2 B-25 and 1 P-38 aircraft. The Japanese suffered 8 A6M fighters lost, 6 A6M fighters damaged, 2 G4M bombers lost, 5 G4M bombers heavily damaged, 27 G4M bombers lightly damaged. 
0
24 Oct 1943 WW2 A Japanese patrol found a group of Australian and native coast watchers about 100 miles from Cape Orford on New Britain. Lieutenant Francis Barrett was killed in the engagement; Captain John Murphy, Sergeant Lambert Carlson, and others escaped. 
0
24 Oct 1943 WW2 Afghanistan and the Republic of China signed a friendly treaty in Ankara, Turkey. 
0
25 Oct 1943 WW2 Submarine Kete was laid down. 
0
25 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion began a reconnaissance mission of Agrihan and Pagan islands in the Mariana Islands. 
0
25 Oct 1943 WW2 Wang Zhi departed Perth, Australia for Chongqing, China via Ceylon. 
0
25 Oct 1943 WW2 61 B-24 bombers, escorted by 81 P-38 fighters from Kiriwina of Trobriand Islands, attacked Lakunai Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. The Americans suffered 1 B-24 bomber lost and several damaged. The Japanese suffered 20 aircraft lost or heavily damaged, 18 aircraft slightly damaged, the airstrip of Lakunai temporarily out of commission, and 8 ships damaged in the harbor. 
0
25 Oct 1943 WW2 Typhoon fighter-bombers of No. 181 Squadron RAF used rockets for the first time during an attack on a power station at Caen, France. Although the target was hit, three of the Typhoon aircraft were shot down by anti-aircraft weapons, including that of the squadron commander Squadron Leader Frank Jensen. 
0
25 Oct 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. 
0
25 Oct 1943 WW2 The personnel of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 was moved to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. They would soon prepare to be transferred to Turtle Bay fighter strip on Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. 
0
25 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Sanya, Hainan, China and arrived at Takao, Taiwan; she would depart again later on the same day. 
0
25 Oct 1943 WW2 Liberty Ship Sidney Lanier departed Port Chicago, California, United States at 1320 hours. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 RAF bombers attacked Stuttgart, Germany before dawn; during the day, USAAF bombers bombed Bremen, Germany. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Rock was commissioned into service with Commander John Jay Flachsenhar in command. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion completed a reconnaissance mission of Agrihan and Pagan islands in the Mariana Islands. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 The human collection at the University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France was destroyed, as reported by the scientists who performed research on them for the Nazi regime. In actuality, there was not enough time to destroy the entire collection, and a few cadavers were hidden, to be found later. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Singapore. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 Vasily Chuikov was awarded the Order of Lenin for the first time. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 82 B-25 bombers were launched from Port Moresby, Australian Papua; their mission to attack Rabaul, New Britain was canceled mid-flight due to poor weather. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 Yamato arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi performed repair work for submarine I-180 at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
26 Oct 1943 WW2 USAAF 14th Air Force deployed naval mines at the entrance of Haiphong harbor in northern French Indochina. US Navy Sino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization (SACO) intelligence officers Raymond Kotrla, Ralph DuBois, and Duncan McCann were aboard to provide naval expertise. As they departed, the lead ship of a Japanese convoy struck a mine, blocking the harbor entrance for the rest of the war. The remainder of the convoy fled toward Hainan island, China to the east, but they would be discovered by a second wave of B-24 bombers, which sank six of the ships. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 After suffering severe injuries in a car crash, Feldmarschall von Kluge was invalided home. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 Johnston was commissioned into service. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank two Japanese transports east of the Philippine Islands in two separate attacks, hitting them with 3 of 10 torpedoes fired. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 From Rabaul in New Britain, Jinichi Kusaka reported to his superiors at the Combined Fleet headquarters at Truk, Caroline Islands that only 10 D3Y dive bombers, 70 A6M fighters, and 36 G3M bombers were left at Rabaul. He requested four divisions of fighters and three divisions of dive bombers to be sent to reinforce the base. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 New Zealand 8th Brigade captured Mono Island and Stirling Island of Treasury Islands of the Solomon Islands. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 Bernard Montgomery restarted the British offensive on the eastern shore of Italy. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 Italian Navy formed the "NP" battalion under Commander Junio Valerio Borghese for saboteur work. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Akkeshi Bay, Hokkaido, Japan. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Grayback fired six torpedoes at a Japanese convoy in the East China Sea, sharing credit for one transport sinking. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 4th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of 13th Composite Wing of 72nd Observation Group of US Army Air Forces was assigned to Borinquen Field in Puerto Rico. 
0
27 Oct 1943 WW2 Sterlet was launched at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, United States, sponsored by the wife of Charles A. Plumley. 
0
28 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese transport east of the Philippine Islands, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired; she attacked another transport of the same convoy four hours later in failure, with all 3 torpedoes fired missing. 
0
28 Oct 1943 WW2 US 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion landed by sea at Voza on Choiseul Island in Operation Blissful. 
0
28 Oct 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
28 Oct 1943 WW2 Italian destroyers FR 23 and FR 31, which were captured French destroyers previously named Tigre and Trombe, were returned to the French Navy at Bizerte, Tunisia. The high tension between Italian and French sailors led to a brawl, which was broken up by American military policemen. 
0
28 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Luce arrived at Bremerton, Washington, United States. 
0
29 Oct 1943 WW2 Spanish volunteers from the recently disbanded German 250th Infantry Division began to arrive in Spain. 
0
29 Oct 1943 WW2 Colonel General Hans-Valentin Hube replaced Eberhard von Mackensen as the commander of the German 1.Panzerarmee. 
0
29 Oct 1943 WW2 Merrill's Marauders, or officially US Army 5307th Composite Unit (provisional), began to arrive in Bombay, India; the unit was being transferred to the Allied South East Asia Command. 
0
29 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse sank a small Japanese vessel with her deck gun south of Japan. 
0
29 Oct 1943 WW2 US Task Force 38 sortied from Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides in support of the Bouganville, Solomon Islands invasion. 
0
29 Oct 1943 WW2 B-24 bombers, escorted by P-38 fighters, attacked Vunakanau Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. 72 A6M fighters rose to defend. The Japanese lost at least 7 fighters in combat. 
0
29 Oct 1943 WW2 63rd Bomb Sauadron (flying B-24 aircraft) of USAAF 43rd Bomb Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
29 Oct 1943 WW2 Lieutenant General Shinpachi Kondo was named the chief of staff of the Taiwan Army. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Sea Cat was laid down at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, United States. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 HMT Gulland was commissioned into service. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Sama (now Sanya), Hainan, China. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 Submarine Runner was struck from the US Naval Register. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse sank a small Japanese vessel with her deck gun south of Japan. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 A report from German Commander-in-Chief, West Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt appeared on Aold Hitler's desk. It described the shabby situation on the English Channel coast in France. Consequently Field Marshal Erwin Rommel would be despached by the German High Command to insect the Atlantic Wall defences and to submit a report. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Ray arrived at Brisbane, Australia. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Rabaul, New Britain to reinforce Rabaul. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Harder departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol, this time as a member of a wolfpack. 
0
30 Oct 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Springer was laid down at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States. 
0
31 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse sank a small Japanese vessel with her deck gun south of Japan. 
0
31 Oct 1943 WW2 The US Navy scored its first radar aided aerial victory when an F4U-2 Corsair fighter destroyed a Japanese aircraft it had intercepted over New Georgia. 
0
31 Oct 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: 76th Construction Battalion (76th SeaBees) arrived on board. 
0
31 Oct 1943 WW2 US Fifth Army resumed the stalled offensive north of the Volturno River in Italy. 
0
31 Oct 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Sasebo, Japan. 
0
31 Oct 1943 WW2 An American reconnaissance flight from Suichuan Airfield, Jianxi Province, China detected a Japanese shipping concentration in the Sasebo-Nagasaki area. Claire Chennault requested for permission to attack, but Henry Arnold rejected the request, noting that he did not wish to alert the Japanese of American air strength in China while he worked on a plan for concerted B-29 strikes from China. 
0
31 Oct 1943 WW2 Tomokazu Kasai completed advanced flight school in Japan. 
0
31 Oct 1943 WW2 USS Gunnel completed a period of overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 The US 15th Air Force was formed commanded by Major General J. H. Doolittle with its headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 The town of Ota in Gunma Prefecture, Japan absorbed the nearby town of Shimanogo. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion began a reconnaissance mission of Farallon de Pajoras island, Mariana Islands. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 Lieutenant General Brehon Somervell received a report from front line engineers in Burma which requested more men and machinery but warned of unforeseen obstacles could significantly delay the project. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 Chinese troops mounted a small offensive in northern Burma, but this attack would achieve little. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Sama (now Sanya), Hainan, China. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 Per Admiral Mineichi Koga's orders, Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa transferred 150 aircraft of Carrier Division 1 temporarily to the airfields at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 A Japanese patrol found a group of Australian and native coast watchers on New Britain. Sergeant Lambert Carlson was killed, Captain John Murphy was captured, and the others escaped. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 Men of the US 3rd Marine Division landed at Torokina Point on the northern coast of Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, Solomon Islands; the beach was defended only by a small 300-strong garrison, but the effective Japanese defense surprised the attackers. In response of the invasion, Japanese aircraft from Rabaul, New Britain, attacked the US fleet, damaging destroyer USS Wadsworth (killing 2), but at the heavy cost of 16 A6M fighters lost. The Japanese dispatched a counter-invasion force consisted of Cruiser Division 4 (Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita) and transports carrying thousands of troops; the fleet was en route to Rabaul when it was detected by a B-24 Liberator bomber (Lieutenant Robert Sylvernale) while heading toward the western approach of Saint George's Channel between New Britain and New Ireland. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Saratoga launched two sorties against Japanese positions on Bougainville, Solomon Islands in support of the landings. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Princeton launched two sorties against Japanese positions on Bougainville, Solomon Islands in support of the landings. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 Lieutenant-General Philip Christison's XV (Indian) Corps comprising 5th and 7th Indian Divisions and the 81st (West African) Division, which had arrived in India in Aug 1943, assumed responsibility for the operational control of Arakan, Burma. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 The pro-Allied government in southern Italy established Brigata Marina naval infantry unit, drawing men from both the army and the navy. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 Nachi arrived at Ominato Guard District, Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 German troops in the Crimea were cut off by land as Soviet troops made a landing across the Strait of Kerch in Russia. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 Allied convoy RA-54A departed the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 At a dinner at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Joseph Stalin told Cordell Hull that the Soviet Union would be willing to engage Japan in a war after Germany was defeated. 
0
01 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Luce departed Bremerton, Washington, United States. 
0
02 Nov 1943 WW2 Japanese troops occupied the undefended Chinese city of Changde. 
0
02 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion completed a reconnaissance mission of Farallon de Pajoras island, Mariana Islands. 
0
02 Nov 1943 WW2 One of the ten sections of USS ABSD-1 sank at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides during assembly, killing 13. 
0
02 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse sank Japanese cargo ships Chihaya Maru and Ume Maru south of Japan; nine torpedoes were expended during this attack, seven of which hit. 
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02 Nov 1943 WW2 The US 15th Air Force made its operational debut when 139 B-17 and B-24 bombers operating from Tunisian bases (and escorted on part of the route by P-38 Lightning aircraft) attacked the Messerschmitt subsidiary at Wiener-Neustadt in occupied Austria. The attack caused heavy damage to the plant and deprived the Luftwaffe of an estimated 250 Bf 109G-6 deliveries over the next two months. 
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02 Nov 1943 WW2 Four Japanese cruisers and six destroyers sortied out of Rabaul, New Britain to attack the US Marine invasion of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. 75 B-25 bombers escorted by 80 P-38 fighters attacked this fleet just out of Rabaul, damaging cruiser Hajuro, damaging cruiser Myoko, sinking one submarine chaser, destroying 18 aircraft, damaging destroyer Shirasuyu, and damaging a number of smaller vessels; the Americans lost 8 B-25 and 9 P-38 aircraft in combat, plus more to be written off due to battle damage. The Japanese fleet, sailing at a reduced speed, engaged American warships at 0230 hours in Empress Augusta Bay. The Americans struck first, scattering the Japanese formation, but the Japanese were able to regroup and forced the American ships to withdraw. Though the action was inconclusive, the Japanese failed to disrupt American operations on Bougainville. 
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02 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Saratoga launched two sorties against Japanese positions on Bougainville, Solomon Islands in support of the landings. 
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02 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Princeton launched two sorties against Japanese positions on Bougainville, Solomon Islands in support of the landings. 
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02 Nov 1943 WW2 Allied troops reached the German defensive Barbara Line in Italy. 
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02 Nov 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Sasebo, Japan. 
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02 Nov 1943 WW2 1,870 Jews from labor camp in Szopienice, Katowice, Poland arrived at Auschwitz. 463 men and 28 women were registered into the camp; the rest were sent to the gas chambers. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 B. Coy, US 100th Infantry Battalion, securing the left flank of 34th Division, conducted the first recorded bayonet charge by American forces in Italy. The attack was a complete success with all the German positions being overrun. The 100th Battalion was unique in being made up from men from two Hawaii Infantry Regiments already in uniform at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, including many Nisei who had been serving in the Hawaii National Guard. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 Overnight, 400 US bombers, escorted by 600 fighters, bombed Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Later in the same night, the RAF bombed Düsseldorf, Germany. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 Soviet troops launched a massive breakout attack from their bridgehead north of Kiev, Ukraine. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion arrived off Maug Islands of the Mariana Islands. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 British Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris wrote a treatise addressed to Winston Churchill in which he outlined British RAF Bomber Command's past achievements and its future objectives; Berlin, Germany would become the priority target with Leipzig, Chemnitz, Dresden, Bremen and other cities listed as secondary targets. He remarked disparagingly of recent American lack of co-ordination, their disastrous diversions such as the Ploiesti raid in Romania, and the siting of the recently formed US 15th Air Force in Southern Italy, far from the centres of German war production. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka was slightly damaged by near misses by B-24 Liberator bombers 111 kilometers north of Kavieng, New Ireland at 1129 hours; 7 were killed, 20 were wounded. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 During the German Aktion Erntefest, Jewish prisoners were beginning to be massacred at Trawniki, Poniatowa, and Majdanek Concentration Camps; when the aktion was completed on the following day, 42,000 would be dead. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 Captured Australian coast watcher Captain John Murphy was delivered to Rabaul, New Britain. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 US Task Force 38 refueled in the Indispensable Reefs anchorage south of Rennell Island, Solomon Islands from the 21,000-ton tanker Kankakee. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 The Japanese Autumn Mop-up Operation in Hebei, Shandong, and Henan Provinces in China was completed; many Chinese Communist guerrillas were killed. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 Günther Altenburg stepped down as the Reich Plenipotentiary for Greece. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 British 78th Infantry Division reached San Salvo north of the Trigno River in Italy. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 Tomokazu Kasai was assigned to a training fighter squadron in Japan. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 Jewish ghettos at Riga, Latvia were liquidated. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson shot down a German Bf 109G fighter over Ameland, the Netherlands. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 A transport of 1,203 Jews arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp from a slave camp from Szopienice in southern Poland. 284 men and 23 women were registered into the camp; the remaining 896 were sent to a gas chamber. 
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03 Nov 1943 WW2 USS S-31 completed training services at San Diego, California, United States. 
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04 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka received 166 troops and anti-tank guns from transport Kiyosumi Maru and then disembarked them at Kavieng, New Ireland at 1700 hours. 
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04 Nov 1943 WW2 Chokai departed Rabaul, New Britain. 
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04 Nov 1943 WW2 William Halsey ordered US Task Force 38, currently refueling in the Indispensable Reefs anchorage south of Rennell Island of the Solomon Islands from the 21,000-ton tanker Kankakee, to attack Japanese Cruiser Division 4, which was approaching Rabaul, New Britain. 
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04 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Corvina departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first and only war patrol. 
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04 Nov 1943 WW2 In Italy, US Fifth Army captured Isernia and joined with British Eighth Army moving up from Foggia. 
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04 Nov 1943 WW2 Commander Junio Valerio Borghese was named the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff of the Italian Navy, in charge of operations. 
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04 Nov 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
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04 Nov 1943 WW2 The ground echelon of USAAF 354th Fighter Group arrived in England, United Kingdom; their P-51B Mustang fighters were still in transit. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 Captain and Surgeon Mamoru Nomura became the new commanding officer of hospital ship Hikawa Maru. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 Soviet troops began entering Kiev, Ukraine. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion spotted a Japanese heavy cruiser, but failed to gain a good position to attack due to poor weather. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Pompon arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her second war patrol. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Cero damaged two Japanese transports south of Japan, hitting them with 3 of 9 torpedoes fired. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Essex arrived at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Bunker Hill arrived at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Independence arrived at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 US Task Force 38, with carriers USS Saratoga and USS Princeton, launched aircraft 60 miles southwest of Cape Torokina, Bougainville, Solomon Islands against Japanese Cruiser Division 4 anchored at Rabaul, New Britain; the Japanese detected the arrival of Task Force 38 but had mistakenly identified the carriers as transports, thus there was no immediate response. USS Saratoga launched 33 F6F, 16 TBF, and 22 SBD aircraft; USS Princeton launched 19 F6F and 7 TBF aircraft. Facing up to 70 Japanese fighters, the dive bombers attacked first, damaging several cruisers and two destroyers. The torpedo bombers attacked next, making only two hits, and both torpedoes were duds. The US suffered 9 aircraft lost and 14 airmen killed. In addition to the damage to Cruiser Division 4, the Japanese lost 1 D4Y1, 3 A6M, and 1 twin-engine transport aircraft. After the raid by carrier aircraft, US Army B-24 bombers conducted a follow-up attack, killing hundreds but causing minimal damage to shipping and facilities. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Rabaul, New Britain; later that day, she was slightly damaged by near misses by US carrier aircraft. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 During the US raid on Rabaul, New Britain, Chikuma was damaged by a near miss from a dive bomber piloted by Lieutenant (jg) John Lucas. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 During the US raid on Rabaul, New Britain, Maya was damaged by a hit on the port side scout plane deck, resulting in a fire that would raise the total death toll to 70 when all battle damage came under control. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 During the US raid on Rabaul, New Britain, Takao was hit on the main deck near No. 2 turret, killing 23. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 During the US raid on Rabaul, New Britain, Atago was damaged by three near misses, killing 22, including commanding officer Captain Nobuki Nakaoka. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 During the US raid on Rabaul, New Britain, Mogami was hit on the main deck between No. 1 and No. 2 turrets, killing 19; skilled flooding of the forward magazine prevented detonation. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 During the US raid on Rabaul, New Britain, Agano was damaged by a near miss, killing one. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 During the US raid on Rabaul, New Britain, Noshiro suffered punctured hull by strafing of dive bombers and a dent in the hull by a torpedo dud hit. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 During the US raid on Rabaul, New Britain, Amagiri was damaged by a near miss. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 After aircraft of US Task Force 38 attacked Rabaul in New Britain, the Japanese launched a counterattack against the carrier fleet. The 18 B5N2 aircraft failed to find the main fleet off Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, and instead attacked a convoy of three vessels (one LCI, one LCT, and one PT boat) nearby. They made two torpedo hits, both of which were duds, killing one. One B5N2 aircraft was shot down. Japanese propaganda claimed that this attack resulted in the sinking of 1 US carrier, 2 cruisers, and 2 destroyers. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 The RAF mounted its first raid on the V1 launch sites (codename "Noball") when B-25 Mitchell bombers from No. 2 Group attacked a facility at Mimoyecques near Calais, France. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 US Fifth Army reached the Sangro River in Italy. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 In Italy, Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery's British X Corps reached Monte Camino, a 3,000-foot pinnacle overlooking the River Garigliano and the entrance to the Liri valley. Here, and in the surrounding hills, the Germans had laid extensive minefields and set booby-traps as well as blasting artillery, mortar and machine gun positions out of the solid rock. After several days of savage fighting in the cold and wet, Harold Alexander called off further action in order that the front-line divisions may be rested before trying again. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Kure, Japan. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Kure, Japan. 
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05 Nov 1943 WW2 An unidentified aircraft dropped five bombs (only four would detonate) on Vatican City; Benito Mussolini claimed this was an attack by US aircraft, while Allied headquarters disclaimed any knowledge of the unwarranted attack. It would not be until 2010 before it was discovered that Italian Fascist politician Roberto Farinacci was behind the attack. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 Quintin Brand retired from the Royal Air Force. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Corvina received fuel at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 German 4.Panzerarmee was split into smaller groups near Kiev, Ukraine, but it prevented Soviet troops from breaking the rail link with Army Group Center. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 The colonial government of India officially accepted US help with railway defense and operations. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka departed Rabaul, New Britain. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 Atago departed Rabaul, New Britain for Truk, Caroline Islands to receive temporary repairs. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 Mogami departed Rabaul, New Britain for Truk, Caroline Islands to receive temporary repairs. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 Takao departed Rabaul, New Britain for Truk, Caroline Islands to receive temporary repairs. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 Louis Mountbatten met with Chiang Kaishek in Chongqing, China. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 Escort carrier Kanalku Bay, still under construction at Vancouver, Washington, United States, was renamed Marcus Island. 
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06 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her seventh war patrol. 
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07 Nov 1943 WW2 Soviet troops recaptured Kiev, Ukraine. 
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07 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion arrived off Agrihan Island, Mariana Islands. 
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07 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Wake Island was commissioned into service with Captain Hames R. Tague in command. 
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07 Nov 1943 WW2 Alfred Jodl met with Nazi party Gauleiters in Munich, Germany; he noted that the Allied terror raids on German cities must be stopped, otherwise morale of the German people would be overly damaged, and it would be fertile grounds for subversive activities. 
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07 Nov 1943 WW2 Submarine Manta was launched, sponsored by the wife of Michael J. Bradley. 
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07 Nov 1943 WW2 26 B-24 bombers with P-38 fighters in escort attacked Rapopo Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain; 58 Japanese fighters rose in defense. The Americans lost 5 P-38 fighters. 
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07 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Alabama arrived at Fiji. 
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08 Nov 1943 WW2 The British began an inquiry to see if intelligence collected really suggested the existence of German rockets. 
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08 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion unsuccessfully attacked a Japanese Q-ship with three torpedoes in the Mariana Islands. 
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08 Nov 1943 WW2 Lebanon gained independence from France. 
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08 Nov 1943 WW2 Aichi held the first test flight of the submarine-borne attack aircraft M6A1 Seiran over Ise Bay. Lieutenant Commander Tadashi Funada was the chief test pilot. The test was a failure due to a non-responsive horizontal tail stabilizer, but it nevertheless generated much interest with the Japanese naval leadership. 
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08 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish attacked a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, sinking two tankers and damaging several other ships; she expended 18 torpedoes in this series of attacks, 13 of which made hits. 
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09 Nov 1943 WW2 Major General Roy Geiger became the commanding general of I Amphibious Corps following the death of Major General Charles Barrett in the previous month. 
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09 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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09 Nov 1943 WW2 While in China, Milton Miles received a cable from William Donovan informing him that Miles was to be removed from his position in the OSS. 
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09 Nov 1943 WW2 Jürgen Stroop was made the commander of SS-Oberabschnitt Rhein-Westmark in Wiesbaden, Germany. 
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10 Nov 1943 WW2 Soviet troops broke through German lines near Gomel, Byelorussia. 
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10 Nov 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell's command in the China-Burma-India theater reported to the US War Department that railway experts and troops had been sent to India to assist in defense and operations. 
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10 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Grayback arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her eighth war patrol. 
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11 Nov 1943 WW2 US warships bombarded of Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands. 
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11 Nov 1943 WW2 SB2C Helldiver aircraft saw combat for the first time in the Solomon Islands. 
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11 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Cero damaged a small Japanese boat southeast of Japan with her deck gun. 
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11 Nov 1943 WW2 In the morning, 276 US Navy carrier aircraft (78 from USS Saratoga, 29 from USS Princeton, 69 from USS Bunker Hill, 75 from USS Essex, and 25 from USS Independence), 23 land-based US Navy F4U-1 fighters, 1 squadron of land-based US Navy F6F fighters, and 23 US Army Air Forces B-24 bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain. While the USAAF bombers did minimal damage on Lakunai airfield, the US Navy aircraft were able to sink destroyer Suzunami (148 killed including commanding officer Captain Masao Kamiyama), damage destroyer Naganami, and damage two other destroyers. 11 Japanese aircraft were lost in this engagement. The Americans lost 4 TBF and 5 F6F aircraft in combat; 1 TBF, 2 SB2C, and 4 F6F written off due to extensive damage; and 30 aircraft lightly damaged. In response to the attack, the Japanese launched 23 D3A, 14 B5N, 4 D4Y, and 33 A6M aircraft (32 Japanese Army fighters were also launched but they lost their way) to attack the American carrier fleet; they shot down 6 US aircraft at the cost of 33 aircraft lost (including famed pilot Lieutenant Masao Sato). 
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11 Nov 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Yokosuka, Japan. 
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11 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Alabama departed Fiji in support of the Gilbert Islands operation. 
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11 Nov 1943 WW2 Martial law was proclaimed in Lebanon following the arrest of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and two other Ministers. 
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11 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish sank a Japanese patrol boat with her deck gun in the Sulu Sea. 
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11 Nov 1943 WW2 Liebehenschel became the new commandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp as his predecessor, Höss, was promoted to become the chief inspector of concentration camps. A report dated on this date noted that the total number of prisoners in Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration Camps and all subcamps was 54,673 men and 33,179 women, for the total of 87,852 prisoners. 
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12 Nov 1943 WW2 A combined German sea and airborne attack began on the British-held Greek island of Leros. 
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12 Nov 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Zhytomyr, Ukraine. 
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12 Nov 1943 WW2 Karl Dönitz complained in his diary that Allied air superiority and radar was severely restricting his ability to conduct campaigns. 
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12 Nov 1943 WW2 Admiral Mineichi Koga ordered the remaining Carrier Division 1 aircraft at Rabaul, New Britain to be withdrawn to Truk, Caroline Islands. After the departure of Carrier Division 1, Vice Admiral Jinichi Kusaka noted that 11th Air Fleet had the strength of only 202 aircraft, only 110 of which were combat-ready. 
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12 Nov 1943 WW2 At 0400 hours, 9 G4M and 5 B5N aircraft attacked a convoy of LST and converted destroyer-transport vessels in the Solomon Islands, sinking destroyer-transport USS McKean but also losing 4 B5N aircraft in combat. 1 G4M and 1 B5N aircraft suffered heavy damage but were able to return to Rabaul, New Britain. In the late morning, 10 D3A and 55 A6M aircraft, also from Rabaul, attacked an American convoy in the Solomon Islands. 10 Japanese aircraft were shot down; minimal damage was inflicted to the American vessels. 
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12 Nov 1943 WW2 Patrick Hurley met with Chiang Kaishek. 
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12 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Harder sank damaged a Japanese armed trawler (hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes) and then sank it with gunfire in the Pacific Ocean. 
0
13 Nov 1943 WW2 Ugo Cavallero passed away. 
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13 Nov 1943 WW2 Omar Bradley was promoted to the permanent rank of colonel. 
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13 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion attacked a Japanese convoy in the Mariana Islands with four torpedoes, damaging oiler Shiretoko with one hit. 
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13 Nov 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler officially upheld Kaiser Wilhelm II's previous decree and bestowed upon Alfried von Bohlen und Halbach the name Krupp, making him the official head of the Krupp family conglomerate Friedrich Krupp AG. 
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13 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Ray departed Milne Bay, British Territory of Papua for her first war patrol. 
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13 Nov 1943 WW2 Shokaku returned to Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
14 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Iowa conducted an anti-aircraft and anti-torpedo exercise. A torpedo from destroyer USS William D. Porter nearly hit the battleship by mistake while US President Franklin Roosevelt was on board. 
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14 Nov 1943 WW2 After dark, 32 Australian Beaufort aircraft from Goodenough Island off the tip of Australian Papua attacked Rabaul, New Britain in three waves; they caused little damage. 
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14 Nov 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing cruiser Maya and destroyers Samidare and Fumizuki at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
14 Nov 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Kure, Japan to escort transport Irako to Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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14 Nov 1943 WW2 Irako departed Yokosuka, Japan at 1400 hours in convoy No. 3115. 
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14 Nov 1943 WW2 Allied convoy RA-54A arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom. 
0
15 Nov 1943 WW2 The British attempt to retake Leros, Greece failed. 
0
15 Nov 1943 WW2 The Allied Expeditionary Air Force was formed in preparation for the eventual invasion of northern Europe. 
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15 Nov 1943 WW2 Shinyo was commissioned into service. 
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15 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion patrolled off Saipan, Mariana Islands. 
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15 Nov 1943 WW2 Raymond Wheeler was named the principal administrative officer of the Allied South East Command. 
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15 Nov 1943 WW2 Pierre Barjot was promoted to the rank of captain in the Free French Navy. 
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15 Nov 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing light cruiser Agano at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
15 Nov 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell departed Chongqing, China. 
0
15 Nov 1943 WW2 US Fifth Army's offensive was halted in southern Italy. Far to the north, a state of emergency was declared in Milan due to civil unrest. 
0
15 Nov 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
15 Nov 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-54A departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. 
0
16 Nov 1943 WW2 Greek island Leros again surrendered to the Germans; Germans carried out severe reprisals against the Italians who cooperated with British forces. 
0
16 Nov 1943 WW2 British bombers attacked the Telemark heavy water plant in Norway, which was in the process of being rebuilt by the Germans. 
0
16 Nov 1943 WW2 US 705th Railway Grand Division, the 758th Railway Shop Battalion, and the 721st, 725th, 726th, 745th, and 748th Railway Operating Battalions were transferred to British India to assist in the expansion of railway systems from India to Burma. 
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16 Nov 1943 WW2 7th Fighter Squadron (both flying P-40 aircraft) of USAAF 49th Fighter Group was transferred out of Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
16 Nov 1943 WW2 The US submarine Corvina was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese submarine I-176 off Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
16 Nov 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan for her 16th voyage with the Japanese Navy. 
0
16 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Cero arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol. 
0
17 Nov 1943 WW2 Shokaku's commanding officer Captain Hiroshi Matsubara was relieved; the successor was unknown. 
0
17 Nov 1943 WW2 Koichi Shiozawa passed away from an acute pancreas ailment. 
0
17 Nov 1943 WW2 Australian 9th Division launched an offensive to take Sattelberg, New Guinea. 
0
17 Nov 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Korosten, Ukraine. 
0
17 Nov 1943 WW2 Bataan (Independence-class) was commissioned into service. 
0
17 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Gunnel started her third war patrol. 
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17 Nov 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 began training missions in the South Pacific. 
0
17 Nov 1943 WW2 Japanese submarine I-176 fired three torpedoes at an un-identified enemy submarine south of Truk in the Caroline Islands, claiming two hits. The target might be USS Corvina. 
0
17 Nov 1943 WW2 Foch's wreck was captured by the Germans at Toulon, France. 
0
17 Nov 1943 WW2 The British government announced that Sir Oswald Mosley, well-known British fascist, was to be released from imprisonment due to health reasons, to public protest. 
0
18 Nov 1943 WW2 Chinese 57th Division attacked and recaptured the city of Changde. 
0
18 Nov 1943 WW2 German troops captured Zhytomyr, Ukraine. 
0
18 Nov 1943 WW2 Viktor Abakumov made the suggestion to Joseph Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov that German officers responsible for war crimes committed at Kharkov, Ukraine and Smolensk, Russia should be placed on trial. 
0
18 Nov 1943 WW2 Vasilios Sachinis was executed by Albanian communists. 
0
18 Nov 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Colonel Joe Smoak dismissed Gregory Boyington as the commanding officer of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214. Fellow squadron mate Frank Walton advised Boyington to see the chief of staff of the wing Brigadier General James Moore; Moore would reinstate Boyington immediately. 
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18 Nov 1943 WW2 12 American and 80 Chinese agents of the Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO) departed their headquarters in Chongqing, China to set up Camp Four, a weather station in Xamba, Suiyuan Province, China. 
0
18 Nov 1943 WW2 RAF Bomber Command launched a concerted series of attacks on the Berlin, Germany dubbed "Operation Berlin". During the first attack, more than 700 tons of bombs were dropped. Over a five-month period, Berlin is attacked 32 times and hit by 25,000 tons of bombs, killing more than 6,000 and leaving 1.5 million homeless; RAF lost 1,047 aircraft during the five-month bombing campaign. 
0
18 Nov 1943 WW2 Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. 
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18 Nov 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of 95th Construction Battalion (95th SeaBees) departed. 
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18 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish sank Japanese destroyer Sanae and damaged an oiler in the Celebes Sea, hitting Sanae with 3 of 3 torpedoes fired and the oil with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
19 Nov 1943 WW2 At 2159 hours near Tarawa, submarine USS Nautilus was mistaken for Japanese ship and was fired upon by destroyer USS Ringgold, blasting a hole in the conning tower. 
0
19 Nov 1943 WW2 Senior Lieutenant Koratevitch and Lieutenant Bykov rammed their Ilyuashin Il-2 attack aircraft into a German ship in the Baltic Sea. For this extreme act of bravery both airmen would be awarded the Gold Star. 
0
19 Nov 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Colonel Joe Smoak placed US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 commander Gregory Boyington under arrest for 10 days for speaking to the staff of the wing commander without Smoak's explicit authorization. 
0
19 Nov 1943 WW2 The US submarine Sculpin was scuttled by her crew after being severely damaged by Japanese destroyers off Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
19 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Harder detected a convoy of three Japanese transports in the Pacific Ocean and called in two wolfpack mates via radio. She would sink transport Udo Maru, sink transport Hokko Maru, and damage transport Nikko Maru (which would only sink on the next day from rough seas); of the 17 torpedoes fired, 9 scored hits. 
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19 Nov 1943 WW2 En route to a gas chamber at Auschwitz II in Poland, Bina Braun and Rosa Theberger attempted to escape but was caught and shot, and the rest were gassed. The list of 394 prisoners killed on this day was stolen and smuggled to the resistance leader in Auschwitz I camp, who sent the list on to Krakow, Poland on 21 Nov and then to London, England, United Kingdom. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 US Marines invaded Makin and Tarawa atolls in the Gilbert Islands. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 On Samos Island, Greece, nearly 5,000 British prisoners were taken by the Germans. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 The Soviet Army began an advance on Kirovograd, Ukraine after breaking through German lines near Kremenchug. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 Hitler refused permission for the German Armeegruppe Nord to withdraw to the Panther-Wotan Line. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 Jews in northern Italy were ordered to be sent to concentration camps. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell arrived at Cairo, Egypt and checked into the Mena House hotel. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 The headquarters of USAAF 49th Fighter Group was transferred out of Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps Major General Ralph Mitchell was named Commander Air Solomons and was placed in charge of all US naval and Marine aviation units in the Solomon Islands region. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Fumizuki at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Alabama provided naval gunfire support for the US landing at Betio, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Mingo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 British Eighth Army crossed the Sangro River in Italy. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 Nachi departed Ominato Guard District, Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 British Fascist Sir Oswald Mosley and Lady Diana Mosley were released from imprisonment. They would stay with Lady Diana's sister Pamela Mitford after their release, followed shortly after by a stay at the Shaven Crown Hotel in Shipton-under-Wychwood. He then purchased Crux Easton, near Newbury, England, United Kingdom, with Diana. He and his wife became the subject of much media attention, but the war had ended what remained of his political reputation. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 The FIDO (Fog Intensive Dispersal Operation) scheme was first instigated to effect the safe landing of RAF bombers. 
0
20 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Parche was commissioned into service with Commander Lawson Ramage in command. 
0
21 Nov 1943 WW2 Feldmarschall Kesselring was appointed commander of all German forces in Italy. 
0
21 Nov 1943 WW2 Feldmarschall Rommel was placed in command of Atlantikwall defenses in France. 
0
21 Nov 1943 WW2 Journalist Drew Pearson publicized George Patton's "slapping incident" of 3 Aug 1943, stirring controversy. 
0
21 Nov 1943 WW2 Winston Churchill met with Chiang Kaishek for the first time in Cairo, Egypt. In the evening, he dined with Alan Brooke, Charles Portal, John Dill, Sholto Douglas, and Louis Mountbatten. 
0
21 Nov 1943 WW2 The French Committee of National Liberty decided to release the President of Lebanon and the other arrested ministers. 
0
21 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
21 Nov 1943 RELIGIOUS German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter: 'A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes...and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.'
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 Air Vice Marshal M. Henderson became the commanding officer of the No. 12 Group RAF. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 The German occupation of the Dodecanese Islands was completed. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kaishek met at Cairo, Egypt. In the evening, Anglo-American leaders including Churchill, Roosevelt, Harry Hopkins, Louis Mountbatten, Joseph Stilwell, and Claire Chennault dined together. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion observed a Japanese convoy in the Mariana Islands but was unable to attack. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse sank Japanese cargo ship Daishu Maru south of Japan, hitting her with two of four torpedoes fired. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 Commander Hinton A. Owens relieved Commander Donald C. Varian as the commanding officer of USS Luce. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 418th Night Fighter Squadron (flying P-61 aircraft) of USAAF V Fighter Command was transferred from Milne Bay to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Ponape, Caroline Islands and embarked about 700 troops intended for Tarawa, Gilbert Islands. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 Berlin, Germany was heavily bombed by 764 RAF aircraft (469 Lancaster, 234 Halifax, 50 Stirling, and 11 Mosquito), dropping over 2,300 tons of explosives; 26 bombers were lost. 175,000 Germans were made homeless and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was destroyed. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-54B departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. 
0
22 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Gar completed overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 Japanese resistance ended on Tarawa and Makin atolls in the Gilbert Islands. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 USAAF fighter pilot Chuck Yeager departed for Britain. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 Kaiyo was commissioned into service. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 In a meeting between Chinese and American leadership in Cairo, Egypt, Chiang Kaishek demanded American supplies for the Chinese war effort; believing that the demands were unreasonable and observing that Chiang would not budge, George Marshall simply stormed out of the meeting. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 Irako arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands at 1550 hours. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka departed Ponape, Caroline Islands. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 FR.11 was damaged by Allied bombing at Toulon, France and sank to the bottom. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 383 RAF aircraft (365 Lancaster, 10 Halifax, and 8 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 Allied troops attacked across the Sangro River, Italy in strength. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 Tomokazu Kasai was assigned to a front line fighter squadron based at Matsuyama airfield, Shikoku, Japan. 
0
23 Nov 1943 WW2 The USAAF commenced operations with the new P-51A fighter in Asia when eight P-51 fighters from Claire Chennault's 23rd Fighter Group escorted B-25 Mitchell bombers in an attack on the Japanese airfield in Shinchiku Prefecture (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 Doris Miller passed away. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 British Army Sergeant Thomas Derrick won the Victoria Cross in New Guinea after volunteering to go out alone to tackle Japanese gun positions. He destroyed 10 with grenades, enabling the Australian advance to continue. Derrick did not live to receive the medal, dying from wounds sustained in a later action in Borneo in May 1945. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 Albert W. Grant was commissioned into service. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Puffer departed Fremantle, Australia for her second war patrol in the Sulu Sea area off the Philippine Islands. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 US Army aviation engineering units arrived in India to expand airfields in the Calcutta area. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 The still under construction Torokina Airfield at Bougainville, Solomon Islands saw its first unscheduled landing, an emergency landing by a US Navy SBD aircraft. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 6 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Berlin, Germany; one aircraft was lost. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 Before dawn, while on display at a museum in Berlin, Germany, the Do X aircraft was destroyed by British bombing. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Luce departed Hawaiian Islands waters. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-54A arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. 
0
24 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Wasp was commissioned into service with Captain Clifton A. F. Sprague in command. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 The Battle of Cape St. George took place near Buka Island north of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands; three Japanese destroyers were sunk at the end of what was to be the final surface battle of the Solomon Islands campaign. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 At Cairo, Egypt, Chiang Kaishek decided to pull his support for a Chinese invasion of northern Burma due to his perception that the British and the Americans were not putting in their full effort in the theater. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed the Inland Sea in Japanese Wars for Tairajima, Bonin Islands. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 George Patton sent Dwight Eisenhower a cable apologizing for the public relations row that he had caused. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 Father Joseph Lamarre witnessed two Australian and ten American captives, blindfolded and bounded at the wrists, being loaded onto trucks. While the Japanese said that they were being transported to Japan, Lamarre noted that the trucks did not stop by the wharves. Instead, they were taken to a field of volcanic ash near Tavurvur for their execution. US Lieutenant Marcus Mangett, Jr. and US Staff Sergeant Kenneth Vetter, who were wounded and could not stand, were executed by rifle fire. The remaining ten prisoners of war were executed by beheading at the hands of newly arrived junior officers as a test of their courage; the ten victims included Australian Warrant Officer John Bailey, Australian Flight Officer Charles Vincent, US Lieutenant John Rippy, US Lieutenant Philip Bek, US First Lieutenant Ernest Naumann, US Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Harlan Burrus, US Lieutenant Leslie Neuman, US Staff Sergeant Ernest Burnside, US Corporal John Mulligan, and US Private Robert George. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 commanding officer Gregory Boyington was released from his arrest three days early. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 Noor Inayat Khan attempted a failed escape attempt from her imprisonment at Sicherheitsdienst (SD) headquarters in Paris, France along with fellow Special Operations Executive agents John Renshaw Starr and Leon Faye. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 RAF bombers attacked Frankfurt, Germany; 3 Mosquito aircraft attacked Berlin, Germany as diversion. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Two officers of ACORN-20; 11 officers of ACORN-21; 2 officers of CASU-30; 1 officer of ARGUS-18; 1 officer of ARGUS-21; and 1 officer of ARGUS-22 arrived on board. Parts of ACORN-17 and CASU-16 departed. Part of ARGUS-16 departed. Two officers of ACORN-22 and 1 officer of CASU-30 arrived on board. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki arrived at Yokosuka, Japan for a scheduled overhaul. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 6 B-25 bombers of 2nd Bomber Squadron of the Chinese-American Composite Wing and 8 B-25 bombers of US 11th Bomber Squadron, escorted by 8 P-51A and 8 P-38 fighters of US 23rd Fighter Group, attacked Japanese airfields in Taiwan, destroying 32 aircraft without any losses. 
0
25 Nov 1943 WW2 Aircraft of US Army 14th Air Force (14 B-25 bombers, 16 P-38 and P-51 fighters) attacked Shinchiku Airfield in Shinchiku (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. US claimed 50 Japanese aircraft destroyed, but Japanese records showed only 4 shot down and 13 destroyed on the ground. 25 Japanese servicemen were killed, and a further 20 were wounded. 2 US aircraft were damaged. US journalist Theodore Harold White observed this attack in one of the bombers. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 Kiyoto Kagawa passed away. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 German troops withdrew from Gomel, Byelorussia. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 The British troopship, Rohna, sailing from Algiers with 2,000 American soldiers and a crew of 200, was sunk by a glider bomb dropped from a German aircraft. 1,015 troops and 102 crew were killed. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson became a flight leader with the USAAF 61st Fighter Squadron. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Ray sank a Japanese transport north of New Guinea, hitting her with 3 of 4 torpedoes fired. Several hours later, she struck again, sinking another ship with 4 of 6 torpedoes fired. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse sank Japanese tanker San Ramon Maru south of Japan, hitting her with two of three torpedoes fired. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 USS S-35 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, continuing her seventh war patrol. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 The Cairo Conference ended with Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kaishek agreeing that Japanese-occupied northeastern China (Manchuria), Taiwan, and the Pescadores islands were to be returned to the Republic of China. The Anglo-Americans were, however, unable to persuade Chiang to re-instate his pledge to send Chinese troops in an invasion into northern Burma. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 USAAF launched its heaviest raid on Bremen, Germany, while the RAF hit Berlin, Germany for the fifth night in a row with 443 Lancaster and 7 Mosquito aircraft. Stuttgart, Germany was attacked in diversion by 84 aircraft. 34 RAF aircraft were lost during this night. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 The turbojet powered Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter was demonstrated at Insterburg, Ostpreußen, Germany (now Chernyakhovsk, Russia) before Adolf Hitler, who, to everyone's surprise, insisted that it should be developed as a bomber. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Yokosuka, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 During the night, USS Alabama fired anti-aircraft guns against incoming Japanese raids. 
0
26 Nov 1943 WW2 Allied convoy RA-54B departed Arkhangelsk, Russia. 
0
27 Nov 1943 WW2 The first British Seafire F III carrier fighters reached the 894 Naval Air Squadron. 
0
27 Nov 1943 WW2 US Navy fighter Ace "Butch" O'Hare disappeared during a night fighter combat test involving a radar equipped TBF Avenger aircraft leading three Hellcat fighters into an interception position. It was suspected that he might have been shot down by a TBF gunner. 
0
27 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Wake Island departed Astoria, Oregon, United States. 
0
27 Nov 1943 WW2 Chiang Kaishek asked Joseph Stilwell to secure 10,000 tons of supplies to be flown over the Hump into China per month, while China would not make commitment on any American demands. 
0
27 Nov 1943 WW2 US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 was transferred to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. They would soon be moved to Vella Lavella. 
0
27 Nov 1943 WW2 Noor Inayat Khan was transferred to Karlsruhe, Germany. 
0
27 Nov 1943 WW2 British Eighth Army launched an offensive across the Sangro River, Italy. 
0
27 Nov 1943 WW2 Carrier Glory was launched at Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, sponsored by Lady Cynthia Brookes, wife of Prime Minister Basil Brookes of Northern Ireland. 
0
28 Nov 1943 WW2 The Teheran Conference began between Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill. 
0
28 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Wake Island anchored at Bremerton, Washington, United States to take on supplies. 
0
28 Nov 1943 WW2 Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, commanding officer of US Sixth Army, established on Fergusson Island, Australian Papua the Alamo Scouts, an all volunteer elite unit consisting of small teams which could operate deep behind enemy lines to gather intelligence for the Sixth U.S. Army. 
0
28 Nov 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for cruiser Maya at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
28 Nov 1943 WW2 10 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Essen, Germany. 
0
28 Nov 1943 WW2 British Eighth Army forced a second bridgehead across the Sangro River in Italy; German Generalmajor G. H. von Ziehlberg was seriously wounded in the action. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Cod attacked Japanese merchant ships but was not able to observe the results. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 The second session of AVNOJ, the Anti-fascist council of national liberation of Yugoslavia, was held in Jajce to determine the post-war ordering of the country. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 21 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Bochum, Cologne, and Düsseldorf in Germany. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 The Japanese ship, Suez Maru, carrying troops as well as 200 Japanese, 422 British, and 127 Dutch sick and wounded, was torpedoed by submarine USS Bonefish in the Java sea. Many were trapped in the holds and drowned, but others take to the water. A Japanese minesweeper in escort picked up nearly 300 of its own nationals but left between 200 and 250 Allied prisoners threshing in the sea. The minesweeper then began shooting the defenceless swimmers. Of the 549 British and Dutch prisoners, there was only one survivor, Kenneth Thomas, who was picked up twenty-four hours later by an Australian ship. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Rock completed a journey down the Mississippi River and arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Snook fired a total of 26 torpedoes at a Japanese convoy over a three hour period; 9 torpedoes hit, sinking Japanese passenger ship Yamafuku Maru and cargo ship Shiganoura Maru and damaging one escort vessel off the Mariana Islands. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 Hornet (Essex-class) was commissioned into service. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 Rear Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka was named the chief of staff of the Japanese Navy 11th Air Fleet. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Pompon departed Fremantle, Australia for her third war patrol. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Two men of CASU-34 arrived on board. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 British troops captured Mezzagrogna and Santa Maria in Italy. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 American B-29 bombers attacked the Nakajima factory outside Tokyo, Japan. 
0
29 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Mingo entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Tang was delivered to the US Navy. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki was assigned to Destroyer Division 30 of Destroyer Squadron 3 of the Eighth Fleet. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 Remy Van Lierde shot down a German Bf 110 fighter, which was his sixth and final kill. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish departed for her eighth war patrol with Lieutenant Commander R. D. Risser in command. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Luce began a period of anti-submarine patrol off Attu in the Aleutian Islands. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 After dark, Australian Beaufort aircraft from Goodenough Island off the tip of Australian Papua attacked Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 In the early morning, a US Navy PBY aircraft sank Japanese passenger ship Himalaya Maru 10 miles south of New Hanover Island in the Bismarck Islands. Many of the 2,400 passengers were killed, while the rest were rescued by other ships in the convoy. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 4 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Essen, Germany. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Gar arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 USS Harder arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 British troops captured Fossacesia, Italy. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 Naka departed Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 Rudolf Höss served his final day as the commandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 Vice Admiral Ryozo Fukuda was named the commanding officer of Takao Guard District in southern Taiwan. 
0
30 Nov 1943 WW2 Submarine Golet was commissioned into service at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States with Lieutenant Commander James M. Clement in command. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 B-24 bombers of the 7th Bombardment Group (H) attacked Rangoon harbour and railway yards in Burma. During the course of the raid the bombers had to fight off countless Japanese fighter attacks for 70 minutes (a theatre record). Six American bombers failed to return. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 Rudolf Höss was assigned to the SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 German government reported dated this month noted that there were now 1,160,000 Western European, 1,800,000 Eastern European, and 600,000 Italian forced laborers in Germany. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was named the commanding officer of the 2nd Group of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Ray attacked a Japanese ship with her deck gun north of New Guinea, causing no damage. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 Nobutake Kondo was named the commanding officer of the Japanese China Area Fleet. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse damaged a Japanese transport south of Japan, hitting her with two of four torpedoes fired. She ran out of torpedoes and set sail for Hawaii Islands. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 US IX Fighter Command aircraft began operations from the United Kingdom when 28 P-51B fighters flew a sweep over north-western France. The mission also marked the debut of the Merlin-powered Mustang fighter in USAAF service. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 319th, 320th, 321st, and 400th Bomb Squadrons (all flying B-24 aircraft) of USAAF 90th Bomb Group were transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of ACORN-20, ARGUS-18, ACORN-21, CASU-30, ACORN-22, CASU-34, ARGUS-21, ARGUS-22, and 4 officers and 99 men of GROPAC-4; plus 1 officer of GROPAC-2 arrived on board. More of ACORN-20, CASU-20, CASU-30, GROPAC-2, and 2 officers and 38 men of GROPAC-5 arrived on board, plus 1 officer and 17 men of Task Group 19.18. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 US Fifth Army launched an offensive on the Garigliano River in Italy, led by British X Corps. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 Naka arrived at Mili Atoll, Marshall Islands, disembaked troops, and departed. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 Arthur Liebehenschel became the second commandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. 
0
01 Dec 1943 WW2 German troops in the Crimea in Russia were completely isolated, as Soviet troops completed their control of the northern end of the Dneiper River bend. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 Germans mounted operations against Yugoslav partisans. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler ordered the conscription of youth for service. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 British Minister of Labor Ernest Bevin announced that the government would soon conscript men to work in coal mines. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 The US submarine Capelin was reported missing, presumed lost, whilst on patrol north of Celebes, Sunda Islands, Dutch East Indies. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 Production for the Ki-67 Hiryu bomber design began. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 Four War Correspondents were given permission by Arthur Harris to go on the Berlin raid over Germany scheduled for the night. Two, Nordahl Greig of the Daily Mail and Norman Stocton of the Australian Associated News were among 30 men who died that night. The other two were Americans, Edward Murrow and Lowell Bennett who both flew with No. 50 Squadron. The badly shaken Murrow was the only one to return alive. His pilot had been Jock Abercrombie, notorious among the aircrews of No. 50 squadron for always fearlessly flying straight and level to the target area. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny, who had been stationed in Paris, France due to the threat of Marshal Philippe Pétain leaving for North Africa, was ordered to leave the city as that threat was proven to be false. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 Lorraine departed Dakar, French West Africa for Oran, French Algeria. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 458 RAF aircraft (425 Lancaster, 15 Halifax, and 18 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany, dropping 1,500 tons of bombs; 40 bombers were lost (37 Lancaster, 2 Halifax, and 1 Mosquito). Two Siemens factories, a ball-bearing factory, and several railway installations were damaged. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Grayback departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her ninth war patrol. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 The Luftwaffe raided the harbor at Bari, Italy. A hit on an ammunition ship caused a massive explosion that did more damage than the actual raid. The American Liberty Ship John Harvey was carrying a classified cargo of mustard gas, to be used if the Germans initiated chemical warfare. The clouds from this caused extensive casualties, as no one knew it was there, much less had anything to treat it with. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 German 26th Panzer Division fortified Orsogna, Italy on the Gustav Line. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 The British 56th (London) Division, which had already been badly mauled in earlier fighting for Monte Camino, Italy, launched a new attack and reached the summit under cover of darkness, but it would take another four days of hard fighting before the position could be secured completely. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 Naka departed Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Gunnel attacked a Japanese carrier in the Pacific Ocean; all 4 torpedoes missed. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 The first transport of Jews from Vienna arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 The US Navy expanded the piston-jet mix-powered fighter contract with Ryan Aeronautical to 100 examples. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Capitaine was laid down by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, United States. 
0
02 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo was declared overdue. 
0
03 Dec 1943 WW2 527 RAF aircraft (307 Lancaster and 220 Halifax) attacked Leipzig, Germany. 
0
03 Dec 1943 WW2 General Shunroku Hata, commander-in-chief of the Japanese formation China Expeditionary Army, received a message from the Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan that the Japanese leadership was disturbed by the American air strike on Taiwan on 25 Nov 1943. 
0
03 Dec 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Singapore. 
0
03 Dec 1943 WW2 New Zealand troops attacked Orsogna, Italy on the Gustav Line. 
0
03 Dec 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-54B arrived at Arkhangelsk, Russia. 
0
04 Dec 1943 WW2 9 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Duisburg, Germany. 
0
04 Dec 1943 WW2 Squadron Leader Noel Quinn, commanding officer of No. 8 Squadron RAAF, hit an unidentified object while flying his Beaufort aircraft at the altitude of 150 feet. The entire crew of four survived the crash in Saint George's Channel between New Britain and New Ireland, but only Quinn and Flying Officer Ross O'Loghlen would survive the wounds. Both captured by the Japanese, Quinn would later be sent to Japan, while O'Loghlen would remain at the prisoner of war compound in Rabaul, New Britain until the end of the war. 
0
04 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: One officer and 16 men of Task Group 19.19 arrived. 
0
04 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Gunnel sank Japanese passenger-cargo ship Hiyoshi Maru in the Pacific Ocean, hitting her with 4 of 4 torpedoes. 
0
04 Dec 1943 WW2 German 11.Armee attempted to crush the Soviet bridgehead at Kerch, Russia, but the attack was halted after it suffered 10,000 killed and 3,000 captured. 
0
05 Dec 1943 WW2 Operation Buccaneer, which planned to assault a large number of Japanese targets in the Burma region, was canceled during the Second Cairo Conference. 
0
05 Dec 1943 WW2 Irako departed Truk, Caroline Islands as a part of convoy No. 4205A. 
0
05 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of GROPAC-4 arrived on board. Planes of Composite Squadron 41 (VC-41) and Composite Squadron 33 (VC-33) on board. 
0
05 Dec 1943 WW2 Canadian 1st Infantry Division and Indian 8th Infantry Division attacked across the Moro River, capturing Villa Rogatti before dawn, but a subsequent German counterattack forced the Canadians to abandon the town and withdraw back across the river. Later in the day, Canadian troops attacked San Leonardo. 
0
05 Dec 1943 WW2 German forces began a week-long operation to deport Jews from Bialystok, Poland. While about 10,000 were deported, unknown thousands of Jews were able to hide. 700 were killed while resisting. Most of those deported were sent to Treblinka, Majdanek, or Auschwitz Concentration Camps. 
0
05 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Rock departed New Orleans, Louisiana, United States for the Panama Canal Zone. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 The Italian royal government in Southern Italy disbanded the Milizia Volontaria Sicurezza Nazionale (National Security Volunteer Militia), an organization formed by the previous government under Mussolini. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 Soviet troops reached Yeysk in southern Russia on the Sea of Rostov, cutting off German Armeegruppe A. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 John Basilone arrived in New York, New York, United States and prepared for the bond drive event that was to take place on the following day, which was the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Wake Island departed waters off Bremerton, Washington, United States. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell met with Franklin Roosevelt in Cairo, Egypt and discussed the war in China. Stilwell noted that he was growing sick of Roosevelt's politicking. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 Major-General George Philip Bradley Roberts assumed command of British 11th Armoured Division, superseding Major-General Brocas Burrows who had moved to General Officer West Africa Command. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 Milton Miles was fired from the OSS by William Donovan in person in Chongqing, China. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 William Donovan arrived in Chongqing, China and met with Dai Li, informing Dai that OSS agents would operate in China with or without Dai's cooperation. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 US Fifth Army captured Monte Carnino, Italy. Canadian troops attacked San Leonardo and San Donato, Italy, but would fail to take the town. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 The last of the German operatives working with Chechen rebels was captured by Soviet troops. 
0
06 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo was struck from the US Navy Register. 
0
07 Dec 1943 WW2 The planned escort carrier Woodcliff Bay was renamed Makin Island. 
0
07 Dec 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort carrier Chitose and transport Irako to Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
07 Dec 1943 WW2 William Donovan met with Chiang Kaishek at Chiang's home in Chongqing, China. Chiang, who had been told by Dai Li that Donovan wanted to send OSS intelligence agents into China even without Chinese authorization, told Donovan he would not tolerate such challenge to Chinese sovereignty. 
0
07 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Whale completed a scheduled overhaul at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
07 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of ACORN-22 and GROPAC-2 arrived on board. 
0
07 Dec 1943 WW2 After sundown, 21st Infantry Brigade of Indian 8th Infantry Division formed a defensive line near Canadian 1st Infantry Division to allow the Canadians to launch a new offensive in the Moro River region in Italy on the following day. New Zealand troops attacked Orsogna in failure. 
0
07 Dec 1943 WW2 Italy set up a parachute school at Tradate, Lombardia, Italy. 
0
07 Dec 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yuzuki was refitted at the Ishikawa Shipyard and the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan. 
0
07 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Snook arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her fourth war patrol. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 US Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz was appointed Chief of US Strategic Air Forces in Europe. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 Mussolini's Repubblica Sociale Italiana in Northern Italy established the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 HMS Rysa was mined and sunk off La Maddalena, Italy. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell departed Cairo, Egypt. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 The still under construction Torokina Airfield at Bougainville, Solomon Islands saw its second unscheduled landing, three F4U aircraft of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 which were running low on fuel. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 U-537 arrived at Lorient, France, ending her first war patrol. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Four officers and 99 men of GROPAC-4 departed. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 Franklin Roosevelt arrived in Sicily, Italy. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 In Sicily, Italy, George Patton was told by US President Franklin Roosevelt in person that Patton was to hold army-level command in the upcoming invasion of France. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 Canadian 1st Infantry Division gained a bridgehead along the Moro River near San Leonardo, Italy; after sundown, troops of Royal Canadian Engineers built a bridge over the river for tanks to move north to reinforce the bridgehead. To the west, US troops attacked Monte Sambúcaro and the Mignano Gap, Italy. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 USS S-35 reached Kurile Islands waters. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Alabama bombarded Nauru, expending 535 410-millimeter rounds. During the bombardment, destroyer USS Boyd received a hit from a Japanese coastal gun; the medical staff aboard USS Alabama treated three wounded sailors from USS Boyd. 
0
08 Dec 1943 WW2 A transport of 55 Berlin Jews arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. After the selection, 14 were registered and 31 were gassed. 
0
09 Dec 1943 WW2 The British government announced the establishment of the Council of Freedom in Denmark. 
0
09 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Three officers and 23 men of GROPAC-5 departed. More of ARGUS-15 arrived on board. Air Group 6 arrived on board. 
0
09 Dec 1943 WW2 Canadian troops captured San Leonardo, Italy. US and British troops captured the surroundings of Monte Camino to the west. 
0
09 Dec 1943 WW2 Allied convoy RA-54B arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom. 
0
10 Dec 1943 WW2 25 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Leverkusen, Germany. 
0
10 Dec 1943 WW2 Lieutenant Commander Masamichi Terauchi was named the commanding officer of destroyer Yukikaze. 
0
10 Dec 1943 WW2 64th Bomb Squadron (flying B-24 aircraft) of USAAF 43rd Bomb Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
10 Dec 1943 WW2 Torokina Airfield at Bougainville, Solomon Islands was declared fully operational after a short 40-day construction. 17 F4U aircraft of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-216 became the first to officially arrive at the airfield, although the airfield had already received two unscheduled emergency landings on 24 Nov 1943 and 8 Dec 1943. 
0
10 Dec 1943 WW2 René-Émile Godfroy was forced into retirement. 
0
10 Dec 1943 WW2 Karl von Le Suire issued the order to destroy the town of Kalavryta, Greece as retribution for the killing of 78 German soldiers by Greek ELAS partisan fighters. This would result in the Massacre of Kalavryta thre days later, which saw the death of about 700 Greek civilians. 
0
10 Dec 1943 WW2 British Eighth Army, with Canadian elements, crossed the Moro River in Italy and entered "The Gully", capturing Vino Ridge. To the west, US troops captured the heights surrounding the Mignano Gap in Italy. 
0
10 Dec 1943 WW2 Irako arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands. 
0
10 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Wake Island arrived at San Francisco, California, United States. 
0
11 Dec 1943 WW2 The USAAF bombed Emden, Germany, while 18 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Duisburg, Germany. 
0
11 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Pompon sank two small Japanese boats in the South China Sea with her deck gun. 
0
11 Dec 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Singapore. 
0
11 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Ray departed Fremantle, Australia for her second war patrol. 
0
11 Dec 1943 WW2 65th Bomb Squadron (flying B-24 aircraft) of USAAF 43rd Bomb Group and 80th Fighter Squadron (flying P-38 aircraft) of USAAF 8th Fighter Group were transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
11 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Fourteen men of GROPAC-5 departed. 
0
11 Dec 1943 WW2 The Canadian attack in "The Gully" region in Italy was met with resistance, suffering heavy casualties. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Yamato departed Truk to cover for troop transport operation BO-1. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Feldmarschall Rommel was appointed the head of Armeegruppe B based in France. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 In Moscow, Russia, a treaty of friendship was signed between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 A treaty of amity, mutual aid and collaboration after the war was concluded by the Soviet Union with Czechoslovakia. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Shokaku departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing light cruiser Nagara at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell arrived in Chongqing, China. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 18 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Essen, Germany while 9 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Düsseldorf, Germany. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Seahorse arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of ACORN-21 arrived on board. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 The Canadian attack in "The Gully" region in Italy was met with resistance, suffering heavy casualties. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Alabama arrived at Efate Island, New Hebrides Islands. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-55A departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Wake Island departed San Francisco, California, United States. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Submarine Barbero was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Mrs. Katherine R. Keating. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Harder arrived at Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, California, United States for a scheduled overhaul. 
0
12 Dec 1943 WW2 Preston was launched at San Pedro, California, United States, sponsored by sponsored by Mrs. R. F. Gross. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 American code breakers learned that battleship Yamato was scheduled to arrive at Truk, Caroline Islands on 25 Dec 1943 ferrying men and supplies. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 One of the first war crimes trials was held in Kharkov, where 4 Germans are accused of using death vans to murder thousands of civilians. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 German Armeegruppe Mitte was heavily engaged in defensive combat in and around Vitebsk, Byelorussia. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Puffer sank Japanese freight Teiko Maru west of the Philippine Islands, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 403rd Bomb Squadron (flying B-24 aircraft) of USAAF 43rd Bomb Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Samidare at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 The Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO) team in transit to Xamba, Suiyuan Province, China reached the Yellow River in Ninxia Province. As the river was partially frozen, thus no ferry service was available, they waited several weeks for the ice to thicken before attempting to drive their vehicles across. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 Troops of German 117th Jäger Division, under the orders of Karl von Le Suire, burned 200 women and children in a schoolhouse and machine gunned 500 males aged 12 or older in the town of Kalavryta, Greece. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of CASU-30 arrived. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 The Canadian attack in "The Gully" region in Italy was met with resistance, suffering heavy casualties, but it also began to wear down the strength of the defending German 90th Panzergrenadier Division, which began to fall back and was replaced by troops of German 1st Parachute Division. Nearby, after sundown, Indian troops launched an attack toward Caldari. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 The US 359th Fighter Group became operational in England, United Kingdom. 
0
13 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Cero departed Midway Atoll for her second war patrol. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Tarakan, Dutch Borneo. Later on the same day, she departed for the Palau Islands. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 George Giffard was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta of Poland. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 Colonel John Coughlin arrived in China as the new head of OSS in the region, replacing Milton Miles. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 Troops of German 117th Jäger Division, under the orders of Karl von Le Suire, burned down the Greek War of Independence landmark Agia Lavra monastery in Kalavryta, Greece. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Sunfish arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fifth war patrol. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of ARGUS-18 arrived. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 Canadian troops captured Casa Berardi, Italy in an attempt to outflank German defenses at "The Gully". Nearby, Indian troops captured roads between Ortona and Orsogna. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 Irako arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
14 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Wake Island arrived at San Diego, California, United States. 
0
15 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. 
0
15 Dec 1943 WW2 The four Germans on trial for war crimes in Kharkov, Ukraine all pled guilty, with admissions that over 30,000 victims died. 
0
15 Dec 1943 WW2 16 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Düsseldorf, Germany. 
0
15 Dec 1943 WW2 San Jacinto was commissioned into service. 
0
15 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Finback completed overhaul at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii and departed for her seventh war patrol. 
0
15 Dec 1943 WW2 The Guilin Infantry Training Center in China graduated its first class of infantry troops. 
0
15 Dec 1943 WW2 The Allied Troop Carrier Command was established incorporating 443rd Group USAAF and 177 Transport Wing RAF under the command of US Brigadier General William D. Old. 
0
15 Dec 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Amagiri at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
15 Dec 1943 WW2 Indian troops secured positions between Ortona and Orsogna in Italy, while New Zealand troops advanced toward Orsogna. Nearby, German troops mounted a counterattack on Casa Berardi, which was repulsed by Canadian troops. To the west, Units of US VI Corps and French Expeditionary Corps attacked German positions on the Bernhardt Line. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Kwajalein, then arrived at Roi; she would depart later in the same day. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Cod arrived at Fremantle, Australia for refit, ending her first war patrol. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 In retaliation for a partisan attack in which two German officials were killed, 150 Polish civilians were executed. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Gar began her tenth war patrol. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 Nine Avro Lancater bombers of No. 617 Squadron RAF, using the stablized automatic bomb sight, attacked a V-weapon launching site at Abbeville, France and achieved an astounding ninety-four yard target error. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Carbonero was laid down. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Iowa disembarked US President Franklin Roosevelt. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese cargo ship off Luzon, Philippine Islands, hitting her with 3 of 3 torpedoes fired. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 The 9th Fighter Squadron (flying P-47 aircraft) of USAAF 49th Fighter Group was transferred out of Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 US naval leadership in the Solomon Islands decided to embark on a fighter sweep campaign against Rabaul, New Britain with US Navy, US Marine Corps, and Royal New Zealand Air Force fighters. The first mission would be launched on the following day. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell met with Chiang Kaishek in Chongqing, China. Chiang told Stilwell that he would only allow a major Chinese offensive into Burma if the Allies could achieve a three-to-one numerical superiority against the Japanese. He also turned over full command of the two Chinese divisions training in Ramgarh, India to Stilwell, who immediately prepared them for operations in northern Burma. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 498 RAF aircraft (483 Lancaster and 15 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany; 25 Lancaster bombers were lost in combat and 29 more were lost while landing in bad weather. Berlin rail system was disrupted heavily, while the National Theater and the national archives buildings were destroyed. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 German troops counterattacked positions held by New Zealand troops outside of Orsogna, Italy before dawn; the Germans failed to gain ground, but the attack also exhausted New Zealand strength in the region. To the west, US troops captured San Pietro, Italy. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 Benito Mussolini gave Commander Ferrucio Ferrini the authorization to form a new naval infantry corps. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 The chief surgeon at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland reported that 106 castration operations had been performed on prisoners. 
0
16 Dec 1943 WW2 Marcus Island was launched at Vancouver, Washington, United States, sponsored by Mrs. S. L. La Hache. 
0
17 Dec 1943 WW2 78 Allied fighters (US Marine Corps F4U fighters, US Navy F6F fighters, RNZAF Kittyhawk fighters) took off from Torokina Airfield on Bougainville, Solomon Islands for a fighter sweep over Rabaul, New Britain. 70 Japanese fighters rose to defend. RNZAF pilots claimed 5 Japanese shot down while suffering 2 losses, while the Americans claimed 4; Japanese records would later show that only 2 A6M aircraft were lost on this day (with only 1 pilot killed). Gregory Boyington, who participated in the sweep, thought the Japanese only launched a limited number of aircraft in defense because the Allies sent too many fighters, and it made more sense for the Japanese to rely more on anti-aircraft guns rather than risking fighters. 
0
17 Dec 1943 WW2 US Fifth Army captured San Pietro Infine, Italy after a 10-day battle. 
0
17 Dec 1943 WW2 Shokaku arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
17 Dec 1943 WW2 Yamato arrived at Yokosuka, Japan and took on elements of Japanese Army 1st Independent Mixed Regiment and supplies. 
0
17 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Wotje, Marshall Islands. 
0
17 Dec 1943 RELIGIOUS German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison: 'The consciousness of being borne up by a spiritual tradition that goes back for centuries gives one a feeling of confidence and security in the face of all passing strains and stresses.'
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 The four defendants in the Kharkov, Ukraine war crime trial were sentenced to death by hanging, to be carried out on the next day. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 Joseph Stillwell became the first foreigner to command Chinese troops without any conditions. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at the Palau Islands. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 Captain Yoshi Matsuura was named the commanding officer of light carrier Hosho. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 Ernst Kühl was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 The plan to land several divisions at Anzio, Italy was briefly canceled. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 The scheduled fighter sweep to be launched from Torokina Airfield, Bougainville, Solomon Islands against Rabaul, New Britain was canceled due to poor weather. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 The Allied 3rd Tactical Air Force (TAF) was formed incorporating 5320th Air Defence Wing USAAF at Dinjan with 221 and 224 Wings RAF at Imphal, India and Chittagong, India (now Bangladesh). 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 A Canadian-Indian attack across the Ortona-Orsogna road in Italy was repulsed by German troops with heavy losses. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Wotje, then arrived at Taroa, in the Marshall Islands; she would depart later in the same day. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Grayback attacked a four-freighter Japanese convoy escorted by three armed vessels in the Philippine Sea after nightfall and into the next date, sinking freighter Gyokurei Maru, sinking escort vessel Numakaze, and damaging several other ships; 6 torpedoes were expended in this attack, 4 of which hit. 
0
18 Dec 1943 WW2 US Chief of Naval Operations Ernest King decreed that helicopter training would be carried out at Floyd Bennett Field, New York, United States by the US Coast Guard. 
0
18 Dec 1943 RELIGIOUS German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison: 'The man who finds God in his earthly happiness...does not lack reminder that earthly things are transient...and...there will be times when he can say in all sincerity, "I wish I were home."'
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 50,000 people gathered in the square in Kharkov, Ukraine to witness the hanging of four Germans found guilty of killing 30,000 civilians in Ukraine. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 French Résistants engaged in heavy fighting with Germans in Bernex, France. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 RAF bombers delivered propaganda leaflets over France. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 Submarine Croaker was launched, sponsored by the wife of Admiral William H. P. Blandy. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Palau Islands. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 In an order published by Lord Louis Mountbatten the air forces of the RAF and USAAF in the South East Asia Command were combined into a single force under the command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 16 B-24 bombers with an escort of 50 P-38, F4U, and Kittyhawk fighters attacked Rabaul, New Britain. 49 Japanese fighters rose to defend. The Americans lost 2 aircraft in combat and a further 8 aircraft were written off after the mission; the Japanese lost 5 A6M fighters in combat. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 18 A6M3 fighters arrived at Rabaul, New Britain. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 2nd Bomb Squadron (flying B-25 and B-26 aircraft) of USAAF 22nd Bomb Group and the headquarters of USAAF 375th Troop Carrier Group were transferred out of Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 USS S-35 set sail toward Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Grayback sank a Japanese patrol vessel in the Philippine Sea, hitting her with 3 of 4 torpedoes. 
0
19 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Golet departed Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 A spy ring working for the Germans, led by a 19-year old Italian, was broken in Sicily. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 The Falangist Militia was dissolved in Spain. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 RAF made the heaviest raid of the war on Frankfurt, Germany, with 650 aircraft (390 Lancaster, 257 Halifax, and 3 Mosquito) dropping over 2,000 tons of explosives; less than an hour later, RAF Mosquito aircraft followed up in order to hamper firefighting efforts. 14 Lancaster and 27 Halifax bombers were lost. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-55B departed Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom for Murmansk, Russia. It was consisted of 19 freighters escorted by 2 destroyers and 3 smaller warships. Further away, eight British destroyers provided distant support. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Puffer sank Japanese destroyer Fuyo west of the Philippine Islands, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. She also fired 5 torpedoes at the convoy Fuyo was escorting, claiming two hits and the sinking of a freighter. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler ordered Wehrmacht officers to devote utmost effort to the production of Me 262 jet fighters. He stressed that these jets could serve as an anti-invasion weapon, dropping bombs on Allied beachheads. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Amagiri at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell departed Chongqing, China for Burma. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Flier arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 Canadian troops assaulted "The Gully" in Italy, only to find that the German troops had already fallen back to Ortona. The Canadians attempted to advance to Ortona, but was driven back by heavy machine gun fire. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 Yamato departed Yokosuka, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands escorted by Yamagumo and Tanikaze of Destroyer Division 4. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Grayback attacked a six-freighter Japanese convoy after nightfall, sinking a total of one freighter and damaging another; nine or more torpedoes were expended in this attack. 
0
20 Dec 1943 WW2 The Rapportführer of the quarantine camp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration camp (Sector BIIa) gave an order to flog the whole first row of prisoners for too little springy posture at the roll call, which took place during the cold wind and falling snow. Four prisoners were then transferred to the camp hospital due to the flogging. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Kwajalein, then arrived at Roi. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 The radio in the German embassy in Ireland was seized in response to Allied pressure to limit German espionage efforts. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 The German bridgehead across the Dneiper River at Kherson, Ukraine was destroyed. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 9 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked the Mannesmann factory at Düsseldorf, Germany. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 Joseph Stilwell arrived in his field headquarters in Burma. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 The 112th Regiment of the Chinese 38th Division was surrounded by elements of the Japanese 18th Division at Yubang Ga, Burma, but by the end of the year the Japanese envelopment would be broken. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 A heavy bomber raid originally scheduled for Rabaul, New Britain was canceled due to poor weather. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 Canadian 1st Division attacked Ortona, Italy, beginning a period of tough street fighting in the town. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 Richard O'Connor, having escaped imprisonment, arrived at Bari, Italy and met with Harold Alexander. 
0
21 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Grayback attacked a Japanese convoy off southwestern Japan, claiming the sinking of four vessels; 14 torpedoes were expended in this attack. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Roi. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 Allies designated Tito as the Allied commander in Yugoslavia. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 Germany threatened punishment of Allied prisoners of war in retaliation for the Soviet war crimes trial in Kharkov, Ukraine. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 51 RAF aircraft attacked 2 flying-bomb sites between Abbeville and Amiens in France. One of them was destroyed, but the other was spared as the air crews failed to locate it at night. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 A small number of RAF Mosquito bombers attacked Frankfurt and Bonn in Germany. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 A German aircraft sighted Allied convoy JW-55B sailing north from Britain toward Murmansk, Russia. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 Remy Van Lierde was assigned to the Central Gunnery School at RAF Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 Hitler instituted a National Socialist Leadership Staff at Supreme Headquarters under General Hermann Reinecke with the role of training Political Officers (Commissars) to all major military units. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 Indian 19th Brigade attacked Villa Grande, Italy. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson shot down a German Bf 109G fighter over Almelo, the Netherlands. 
0
22 Dec 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-55A arrived at Arkhangelsk, Russia and convoy RA-55A departed Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. 
0
23 Dec 1943 WW2 British Home Fleet Admiral Bruce Fraser dispatched battleship HMS Duke of York, cruiser HMS Jamaica, and 4 destroyers (3 British and 1 Norwegian) north in anticipation of German interception of Allied convoy JW-55B, which was sailing toward Murmansk, Russia. 
0
23 Dec 1943 WW2 Guavina was commissioned into service. 
0
23 Dec 1943 WW2 Galeazzo Ciano made his final diary entry at the prison at Verona, Italy. 
0
23 Dec 1943 WW2 24 US Army Air Force bombers conducted an attack on Lakunai Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain, escorted by 48 US Navy F6F and US Marine Corps F4U fighters; 1 F6F and 2 F4U aircraft were shot down by ground fire during the bombing mission. Shortly after, 48 USMC F4U fighters and a number of USAAF P-38 fighters conducted a fighter sweep over Rabaul. 99 Japanese A6M fighters rose to defend against the sweep. USMC airmen claimed 21 Japanese shot down, and USAAF 8; Gregory Boyington of USMC squadron VMF-214 alone claimed 4; Japanese records would later reveal that only 6 aircraft were lost during the fighter sweep. 
0
23 Dec 1943 WW2 501st Bomb Squadron of USAAF 345th Bomb Group was transferred out of Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
23 Dec 1943 WW2 379 RAF aircraft (364 Lancaster, 7 Halifax, and 8 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany; 16 Lancaster bombers were lost. 
0
23 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of CASU-20 arrived. 
0
23 Dec 1943 WW2 In Italy, Candian troops attacked Villa Grande while Indian troops captured Vezzano and British troops attacked toward Orsogna. 
0
24 Dec 1943 WW2 Sir Henry Maitland was designated Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean, with General Harold Alexander as the Commander-in-Chief of Allied Armies in Italy under him. 
0
24 Dec 1943 WW2 50 Allied aircraft (Australian Kittyhawk fighters and US F6F fighters) conducted a fighters sweep over Rabaul, New Britain. A raid by heavy bombers followed the fighter sweep. 
0
24 Dec 1943 WW2 New Zealand 5th Infantry Brigade engaged in combat along the Gustav Line in Italy. In Ortona, Italy, German troops counterattacked against Canadian positions and caused heavy casualties. 
0
24 Dec 1943 WW2 General Nikolai Vatutin launched another winter offensive, starting with the capture of Berdychiv, Ukraine. 
0
24 Dec 1943 WW2 US Army General Dwight Eisenhower was named the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. 
0
24 Dec 1943 WW2 While in Britain, Oliver Leese received orders to take command of British Eighth Army in Italy. 
0
24 Dec 1943 RELIGIOUS German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison: 'Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.'
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 American submarine USS Skate ambushed Yamato 180 miles northeast of Truk. Skate detected Yamato at 27,300 yards and dove. Skate passed down the starboard beam of Yamato, turned, and at 0518 hours fired four stern torpedoes at 2,200 yards. Crew of Skate heard one explosion and a muffled explosion as one or two torpedoes hit Yamato on the starboard side near turret No. 3, ripping a hole that extended some 15 feet downwards from the top of the blister and longitudinally some 75 feet between frames 151 and 173. The upper turret magazines flooded through a small hole punched in the longitudinal bulkhead; the hole was caused by failure of the armor belt joint between the upper and lower side protection belts. The upper magazine for No. 3 turret flooded. Yamato took on about 3,000-tons of water, far more than anticipated by the designers of the side protective system. The transport mission was aborted. The follow-up depth charge attack by Yamagumo, Tanikaze, or both failed to hit Skate, which made its escape three hours later. Later, Yamamto arrived at Truk and received emergency repairs by repair ship Akashi which also prepared a damage assessment report. US Navy intercepted a message from Yamato that read "Hull damage summary resulting from torpedo attack. Details affecting armament and machinery will be submitted later. 1. Hole from frame 163 to 170. 11 meters in diameter above the 'bilge' and 5 1/2 meters below penetrating outer plates of 'bilge' ." 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 Otto Skorzeny and his family vacationed at Zurs on the Arlberg, Austria. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 USS S-35 arrived at Attu, Aleutian Islands. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 15 B-24 bombers escorted by about 50 fighters (P-38, F4U, F6F, and Kittyhawk fighters) attacked Rabaul, New Britain. 88 Japanese fighters rose to defend. The Americans lost 1 F4U and 2 P-38 aircraft; the Japanese lost 3 aircraft. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for light cruiser Agano and began repairing battleship Yamato at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of GROPAC-4 arrived. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 The British moved 3rd Battalion of 8th Punjab Regiment to the front lines at Villa Grande, Italy. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 Kurt Student ordered the formation of a 2,200-strong Italian parachute regiment, to be placed within German 4.Fallschirmjäger Division. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 Responding to the 22 Dec sighting of an Allied convoy, Scharnhorst and destroyers Z29, Z30, Z33, Z34, and Z38 departed from Altafjord in northern Norway to intercept it. The force was under the command of Konteradmiral Erich Bey. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 By this date in 1943, there were a total of 86,919 prisoners in the Auschwitz camp system in occupied Poland, 56,595 of whom were men and 30,324 were women. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 Dwight Eisenhower met with Henry Wilson, who would replace him as the Allied command in the Mediterranean Theater, at Tunis, Tunisia. 
0
25 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Whale departed Midway Atoll for her sixth war patrol. 
0
26 Dec 1943 WW2 A Soviet offensive began in Ukraine. 
0
26 Dec 1943 WW2 British cruiser HMS Belfast detected German battlecruiser Scharnhorst by radar 30 miles east of Allied convoy JW-55B at 0900 hours. Three British cruiser attacked, disabling Scharnhorst's fire control radar. Scharnhorst turned north to escape, and British Vice Admiral Robert Burnett chose not to give pursuit until 1200 hours, this time damaging Scharnhorst and receiving damage on HMS Norfolk. As Scharnhorst fled southward, she was intercepted by HMS Duke of York and other British warships at 1650 hours. Scharnhorst was surrounded by 1725 hours, overwhelmed and hit repeatedly. She was subsequently abandoned and sank at 1948 hours; 1,927 were killed during the combat and her sinking in what was later named Battle of North Cape. The British picked up only 36 survivors before fleeing the scene due to submarine threat. 
0
26 Dec 1943 WW2 Claus von Stauffenberg made an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb, but the mission was aborted when Hitler left early to return to Berchtesgaden in southern Germany to celebrate the holidays. 
0
26 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Ray sank Japanese tanker Kyoko Maru in the Tioro Strait in the Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 5 of 6 torpedoes fired. 
0
26 Dec 1943 WW2 The Allied assault on New Britain expanded with US 1st Marine Division landing near Cape Gloucester. 
0
26 Dec 1943 WW2 Journalist Fred Hampton interviewed US Marine Corps fighter pilot Gregory Boyington at Barakoma Airfield on Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands. 
0
26 Dec 1943 WW2 Indian troops captured Villa Grande, Italy. Canadian troops captured Ortona, Italy after repulsing a German counterattack. To the west, US troops captured Morello Hill, overlooking San Vittore. 
0
26 Dec 1943 WW2 The Fletcher-class destroyer USS Brownson was sunk by a Japanese dive bomber off Cape Gloucester, New Britain, Bismarck Islands. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 Manteuffel was made the commanding officer of the elite Panzer Grenadier Großdeutschland division. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 John Basilone departed for Camp Pendleton, California, United States. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 As of this date, the Ledo Road was 103 miles long from Ledo, India into the Patka Mountains in northern Burma. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Flying Fish pursued a Japanese tanker west of Luzon, Philippine Islands for about 10 hours, finally sinking her after scoring a total of 6 torpedo hits; a total of 10 torpedoes were expended. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander under General Dwight Eisenhower. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 General Sir Bernard Paget became Commander-in-Chief Middle East under General Sir H. Maitland Wilson. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 64 F4U and F6F fighters conducted a fighter sweeper over Rabaul, New Britain. 50 Japanese fighters rose to defend. The Americans lost 1 F4U fighter while claiming 4 Japanese shot down. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 15 Japanese bombers, escorted by 78 fighters, were launched from Rabaul, New Britain to attack US positions in the Cape Gloucester area, also on New Britain. 7 fighters were lost on this mission. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 Shokaku entered drydock at Yokosuka, Japan. 
0
27 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Grayback sank a fishing boat with her deck gun off southwestern Japan. 
0
27 Dec 1943 RELIGIOUS The film "The Song of Bernadette" was released by 20th Century Fox. It told the true story of 14_year_old French Catholic peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous, who experienced 18 visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France in 1858.
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 I-52 was commissioned into service. 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 Adolf Hitler ordered the demolition of the Wehrwolf headquarters north of Vinnytsia, Ukraine. "There must be a special detachment at Vinnitsa to burn the whole headquarters down and blow it up", he ordered. "It is important there should be no furniture left, otherwise the Russians will send it to Moscow and put it on display. Burn the lot." 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Gabilan was commissioned into service, Commander K. R. Wheland in command. 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 British cruisers HMS Glasgow and HMS Enterprise intercepted a force of German destroyers off France; the German ships were responding to the Allied sinking of German merchant ships. By 1600 hours, German destroyers T25, T26, and Z27 were sunk. 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 64 F4U Corsair fighters of US Marine Corps squadrons VMF-214 and VMF-216 conducted a fighter sweep over Rabaul, New Britain. 72 Japanese fighters rose to defend. The Americans claimed 30 Japanese shot down, but Japanese records would later revealed that only 3 fighters were actually lost. 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 69th, 310th, and 311th Fighter Squadrons (all flying P-47 aircraft) of USAAF 58th Fighter Group were transferred from Brisbane, Australia to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 Canadian 1st Division succeeded in taking Ortona, Italy after a heavy battle with German airborne troops; the Germans fell back across the Moro River. 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 F. G. Petrov stepped down as GUKR SMERSH's chief in the 3rd Ukrainian Front. 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Golet arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. 
0
28 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Miami was commissioned into service with Captain John G. Crawford in command. 
0
29 Dec 1943 WW2 Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean were nominally returned under Indian control, though the Japanese retained heavy influence. 
0
29 Dec 1943 WW2 Yahagi was commissioned into service. 
0
29 Dec 1943 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands. Later on the same day she departed for Japan. 
0
29 Dec 1943 WW2 British RAF dropped 2,000 tons of bombs on Berlin, Germany. 
0
29 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Scorpion departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fourth war patrol. 
0
29 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of CASU-20 arrived. 19 aircraft (Model F4U), 19 officers and 25 men of Night Fighting Squadron 101 (VF(N)-101) arrived on board. 
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30 Dec 1943 WW2 Subhas Chandra Bose declared an independent India at Port Blair, Andaman Islands; his Azad Hind government was heavily reliant on Japan. 
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30 Dec 1943 WW2 10 Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron RAF and 6 Mosquito aircraft attacked a German V-1 rocket launch site but failed to destroy it. 
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30 Dec 1943 WW2 USS S-35 arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, ending her seventh and final war patrol. 
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30 Dec 1943 WW2 Two missions were planned against Rabaul, New Britain. The fighter sweep mission was canceled due to poor weather, but the bombing raids proceeded as planned. 20 B-24 bombers escorted by 20 F4U and 20 F6F fighters dropped 70 1,000-pound bombs. At least one B-24 bomber was shot down by the Japanese. 
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30 Dec 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson shot down a German Fw 190D aircraft over Soissons, France. 
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30 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Bluefish sank a Japanese oiler southwest of Borneo, Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 5 of 5 torpedoes fired. 
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30 Dec 1943 WW2 Allied convoy JW-55B arrived at Arkhangelsk, Russia. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Palau. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 USS Cassin Young was commissioned into service under the command of Commander E. T. Schrieber. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 General Montgomery left his beloved British 8th Army in Italy to take up his role in the planning of the summer invasion of Europe in which he would command all land forces. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 Soviet troops again recaptured Zhytomyr, Ukraine. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 Arbiter was commissioned into service. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 Lieutenant General Oliver Leese assumed command of the British 8th Army. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 The Danish-Icelandic Act of Union of 1918 expired. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 Robert Johnson shot down two German Fw 190D aircraft over Savenay, France. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Eight officers and 107 men of D-2, Unit 2, on board. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 As of this date, Auschwitz Concentration Camp had a population of 85,298 prisoners (55,785 men and 29,513 women). In the month of Dec 1943, 5,748 male and 8,931 female registered prisoners died at Auschwitz; these numbers did not include those killed in gas chambers immediately after arriving without being registered. 
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31 Dec 1943 WW2 Allied convoy RA-55B departed the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. 
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