[Kyt]

1939

On the Western Front... French forces have now advanced about 5 miles (8 km) into Germany on a 15-mile (24 km) frontage in the Saarland region. The French claim that the action has forced the Germans to withdraw 6 divisions from Poland, although British observers express doubts. The advance places the front within half a mile of the Siegfried Line and a frontal assault on this defensive system is considered to be out of the question. General Gamelin calls an end to the Saar offensive.

In Poland... Some of List's troops are fighting near Lvov while others are moving north from their bridgeheads over the San. The Polish army around Poznan, the one that was to have marched on Berlin, unexpectedly turns about and attempts to take the German 8th Army in the flank. This is the start of the violent battle of the Bzura River. Polish troops push the German forces 12 miles south of Kutno and recapture Lowicz. Gdynia is evacuated by the Poles. Luftwaffe planes bomb Krzemieniec (Kremenets) in eastern Poland, a declared open village where the diplomatic community from Warsaw has sought refuge.

In Bucharest... The German Foreign Minister, von Ribbentrop, demands that the Romanians not give asylum to Polish officials crossing the border and threatens military action in case of noncompliance.

In France... The Anglo-French Supreme War Council meets for the first time at Abbeville. Meanwhile, a Czech army-in-exile is formed.

In Britain... The home office opens an inquiry into blackout rules.

In the North Atlantic... The US Navy begins regular neutrality patrols along the entire length of the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean.

1940:

In Vichy France... Five schoolboys discover 10,000-year-old wall paintings of animals and hunters in Lascaux Cave (Dordogne).

Over Germany... British RAF Bomber Command aircraft raid the Hamm marshalling yards for the 60th time during the night (September 12-13).

In Occupied Poland... In Warsaw, a walled ghetto is to be constructed for the estimated 500,000 Jewish inhabitants of the city.

1941

On the Eastern Front... North of Kiev, the city of Chernigov, on the Desna River is evacuated in the face of the advancing German 2nd Army. The first snowfall of the year is reported on the Eastern Front.

In Norway... the Norwegian Government under the pro-German leadership of Quisling bans the Boys Scouts and other youth clubs. Boys are required to join youth sections of the Nasjonal Samling Party.

In North Africa... the relief operations begin for Tobruk. Approximately 6300 soldiers, from Scobie's 70th British Division, and supplies for them are transported into the city. 6000 of the Australian garrison are taken out.

1942

In the Solomon Islands... On Guadalcanal, major attacks by the Japanese units, from General Kawaguchi's 35th brigade, begin. Fighting is heavy especially around the aptly named "Bloody Ridge". Reinforcements of aircraft are flown to the Americans from the USS Wasp.

In the Atlantic... German U-boat U-156 sinks the passenger liner Laconia, just south of the equator, off the coast of Africa. The passengers, service men's wives and children and Italian prisoners of war are aided by the U-boat captain, Hartenstein, who surfaces and then radios in plain language to Allied authorities for help for them. Despite this conduct, an American plane attacks the U-boat.

From Berlin... In response to the attack by the American plane, Admiral Doenitz orders that no U-boat commander may again attempt the rescue of civilians survivors. He also orders rescue boats from Dakar for the rest of the survivors of the Laconia. Of note, the "Laconia Order" forms one of the indictments against Admiral Doenitz at Nuremberg after the war.

On the Eastern Front... At Stalingrad, the German encirclement of Stalingrad continues. Soviet perimeter is now only about 30 miles long.

From Moscow... Stalin appoints General Chiuikov to command of the 62nd Army which will soon be completely besieged in Stalingrad.

1943

In Italy... On the Salerno beachhead, German forces mount their first major counterattack. Forces of the British 5th Corps are pushed out of Battipaglia, again. To the north of the beachhead, Allied forces holding the Molina Pass are under pressure from the German "Hermann Goring" Panzer Division. To the south, the British 8th Army captures Crotone and continues to make progress. Meanwhile, in a daring raid by a German parachute detachment led by Otto Skorzeny, Mussolini is freed from Gran Sasso in the Abruzzi Mountains and flown to Germany.

On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces near Bryansk renew their attack. In the Donets basin Soviet forces capture Stary Kermenchik. In the Caucasus, the Germans begin evacuating the 17th Army from the Kuban Peninsula.

In New Guinea... Troops of the Australian 5th Division capture Salamaua. To the north, the Japanese forces at Lae are being isolated.

1944

On the Western Front... The German garrison of Le Harve, about 12,000 men, surrenders under pressure of attacks by British 1st Corps (part of Canadian 1st Army, British 21st Army Group). Forces of US 1st Army (part of US 12th Army Group) reach the German border between Aachen and Trier.

In the Mediterranean... The German garrison on Mytilene, in the Aegean Sea, is evacuated.

In Liberated Italy... The Greek government in exile arrives in Caserta in the south, from Cairo, in order to be closer to Greece in anticipation of returning.

In Moscow... The Romanian government signs the armistice with the Allies. The terms include reparations to the Soviet Union of $300,000,000 as well as cession of territory to the USSR.

In the Philippines... Three groups of US Task Force 38, with 12 carriers, conduct air strikes on Japanese positions on the Visayas or central Philippine islands.

In Canada... The Octagon Conference continues. Churchill and Roosevelt and their staffs meet in Quebec to discuss strategy.