It Happened Today During WW2

[Kyt]

September 21
1939

In Bucharest... The Romanian Prime Minister, Armand Calinescu, is murdered by members of the Iron Guard, a fascist organization. Assassins blocked the path of his car with a wooden cart and fired pistol shots into him and his bodyguards. The assailants then forcibly enter a radio station and broadcast that "the death sentence on Calinescu has been executed." They are later overpowered and shot to death at the location of their murder of the prime minister. A large crowd is present. Their bodies are left to lie there for the next 24 hours. The assassination is in apparent retaliation for the tolerant, even sympathetic, attitude of the Romanian government toward Poland, exemplified by the acceptance of Polish military and civilian refugees.

In Poland... German forces intensify the artillery bombardment of key points in Warsaw.

In Occupied Poland... Nazi occupation authorities initiate "The Heydrich Plan" which involves the deportation of 600,000 Jews from Danzig and western Poland to central Poland to be concentrated in urban ghettoes.

In Luxemburg... Radio Luxemburg closes down.

In London... The British government publishes its Blue Book of prewar diplomatic documents.

In Washington... President Roosevelt addresses a special joint session of Congress and urges the repeal of the Neutrality Act provisions embargoing arms sales to belligerent countries. "Our acts must be guided by one single hard-headed thought -- keeping America out of this war," the president said. Allowing arms to be sold on a cash-and-carry basis would be "better calculated than any other means to keep us out of war."

In the United States... Newspapers allege that senior Nazis, including Goebbels and Hess, have foreign investments worth over $12 million

1940

Over Britain... As the night attacks on London continue, the government officially allows the subway stations to be used as air-raid shelters. This has been happening for some time.

In Australia... The election results are declared. Menzies remains prime minister. Labor is the largest party in both the House and the Senate but has no overall majority. Also, it is announced that the 9th Australian Division will be raised.

1941

On the Eastern Front... Near Leningrad, the German Luftwaffe begins repeated attacks on the Soviet Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt harbor.

From Britain... The British Mosquito bomber makes its first operational reconnaissance flight.

1942

From Stockholm... In the Swedish national elections, pro-Nazi candidates fair badly.

1943

On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces capture Demidov, north of Smolensk. Forces of the Soviet Central Front take Chernigov and Sinelnikovo. Soviet forces also take Dnepropetrovsk, further east.

In Italy... The US 5th Army reorients to the left as the British 8th Army moves to east side of the front. German forces are withdrawing all along the front with the exception of the passes leading to Naples.

In the Mediterranean... Several transports engaged in the evacuation of the German garrison on the island of Corsica are sunk by Allied air and submarine attacks.

In Occupied Greece... At Cephalonia, the Italian "Acqui" Division resists German forces seeking to disarm it.

In the Solomon Islands... American forces on Arundel discover that the Japanese forces have been evacuated.


1944

On the Eastern Front... The Polish 1st Army is forced to withdraw from its bridgeheads in Warsaw.

On the Western Front... Operation Market Garden continues. The British 30th Corps attacks northward from Nijmegen but makes limited progress due to German counterattacks and the exposed terrain. In Arnhem, forces of the British 1st Airborne Division are forced out of the town but remain north of the Rhine. A Polish Parachute Brigade is dropped two miles south of the British position, on the opposite side of the river.

In Italy... Elements of British 8th Army reach Rimini. Canadian and Greek forces capture the town.

In the Philippines... US Task Force 38 conducts air strikes on Japanese targets on Luzon, particularly Manila and Manila Bay. Twelve American carriers are involved.

In Occupied Denmark... The general strike protesting recent deportations by German authorities comes to an end.

[spidge]

Originally Posted by Kyt

1941

From Britain... The British Mosquito bomber makes its first operational reconnaissance flight.

See the Mosquito that was made with wood here:deHavilland Mosquito

Read all about this most versatile of aircraft at A Short History of the DH98 Mosquito.

http://www.flexi.net.au/~bfillery/mossie01.htm

Mosquito. The timber terror. Light, fast, deadly.

Photo-recon, bomber, fighter-bomber, night-fighter, intruder, trainer, pathfinder, target marking, torpedo-bomber, U-boat killer, day ranger, mine layer, and target tug.

[spidge]

[quote=Kyt;888]September 21[quote]

1940

In Australia... The election results are declared. Menzies remains prime minister. Labor is the largest party in both the House and the Senate but has no overall majority.

Read about Sir Robert Menzies here:

http://ww2chat.com/forums/showthread.php?p=897#post897

Also, it is announced that the 9th Australian Division will be raised.

Read about them here:


http://ww2chat.com/forums/showthread.php?p=891#post891

[Kyt]

1939

In Poland... Rapidly advancing Soviet troops capture Lvov and Bialystok. In Brest-Litovsk Soviet and German forces conduct a joint victory parade. Meanwhile, Colonel General von Fritsch, former German Army Commander in Chief and an outspoken opponent of the Nazis government, is killed by a Polish sniper outside Warsaw. Hitler visits the front, observing the shelling of the Warsaw suburb of Praga.

In Sussex... The second meeting of the Allied Supreme War Council takes place. Although the meeting is supposed to be secret, a large crowd gathers outside the building in which the Allied leaders meet. British Prime Minister Chamberlain, with Lord Halifax, the foreign secretary, and Lord Chatfield, the minister for coordination of defense meet French Primier Daladier, with General Gamelin, the Commander in Chief on the Western Front, Admiral Darlan, the Chief of the French Naval Staff, and M Dautry. A communique issued later states that the Allied leaders discussed supplies of munitions and

In Britain... Gasoline is rationed. Meanwhile, a report by the Metropolitan Police Commission in London indicates that road accidents have tripled in the three weeks since the blackout began. Also, courts are packed with cases of blackout violations.

1940

In French Indochina... The Japanese enter Indochina after concluding a long period of negotiation with the Vichy government. The Japanese aim is to prevent aid reaching the Chinese through Indochina. There are to be 6000 troops stationed in the country and they are to have transit rights.

In Helsinki... Finland agrees to allow transit rights to German troops en route to north Norway in return for arms supplies.

1942

In Berlin... Reichsfuhrer SS Himmler orders that "experiments on warming through body heat" must be conducted

In Occupied Poland... Most of the Jews in Opoczno were forcibly taken by cattle car from Opoczno to their deaths in Treblinka.

From Washington... The Communications Branch of the OSS is formed by General Donovan.

1943

n the Occupied Norway... The German battleship Tirpitz, in Altenfiord, is attacked by a force of British midget submarines. Two of the six midget submarines succeed in attaching charges to the ship. Repairs to the battleship will take until March 1944 to complete.

On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces capture Anapa in the Kuban Peninsula (the Caucasus). North of Dnepropetrovsk, Soviet forces take Novomoskovosk. Heavy fighting is reported at Poltava as German forces begin to a withdrawal.

In Italy... The British 8th Army is reinforced by the 78th Division and the 8th Indian Division. The reinforcements land at Bari and Brindisi. The US 5th Army is preparing to advance. The British 10th Corps is to clear a route to Naples and US 6th Corps will initially move toward Benevento.

In New Guinea... The Australian 20th Brigade lands at Katika, north of Finschafen. The landing is supported by a naval bombardment (Admiral Barbey is in command) and cover is provided by an air group.

In Occupied Greece... At Cephalonia, the Italian "Acqui" Division surrenders to German forces seeking to disarm it. About 1500 Italians have died in the fighting and another 5000 are killed now and the remainder are sent to labor camps.

On the Eastern Front... Elements of the Soviet Leningrad Front (Govorov) capture Tallin, capital of Estonia, in the Baltics. In Romania, Soviet forces reach Arad.

1944

On the Western Front... Operation Market Garden continues. The Polish paratroops, later joined by British 43rd Division (part of British 30th Corps), attempt reach the Rhine in order to make contact with elements of the British 1st Airborne Division to trapped on the north bank. Other elements of British 30th Corps, advancing toward Arnhem, meet heavy resistance by German forces. Elst, 5 miles north of Nijmegen, is captured. Meanwhile, the Canadian 3rd Division (an element of 1st Canadian Army) captures Boulogne.

In the Palau Islands... On Peleliu, US 3rd Amphibious Corps (Geiger) deploys a regiment of US 81st Infantry Division to replace depleted elements of the US 1st Marine Division. The marines have suffered heavy casualties in attacks on Mount Umurbrogol.

In the Philippines... US Task Force 38 conducts air strikes on Japanese targets on Luzon, particularly Manila and Manila Bay. Twelve American carriers are involved.

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1942 : Germany conducts first successful V-2 rocket test


On this day in 1942, German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun's brainchild, the V-2 missile, is fired successfully from Peenemunde, as island off Germany's Baltic coast. It traveled 118 miles. It proved extraordinarily deadly in the war and was the precursor to the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) of the postwar era.
German scientists, led by von Braun, had been working on the development of these long-range missiles since the 1930s. Three trial launches had already failed; the fourth in the series, known as A-4, finally saw the V-2, a 12-ton rocket capable of carrying a one-ton warhead, successfully launched.
The V-2 was unique in several ways. First, it was virtually impossible to intercept. Upon launching, the missile rises six miles vertically; it then proceeds on an arced course, cutting off its own fuel according to the range desired. The missile then tips over and falls on its target-at a speed of almost 4,000 mph. It hits with such force that the missile burrows itself into the ground several feet before exploding. It had the potential of flying a distance of 200 miles, and the launch pads were portable, making them impossible to detect before firing.
The first launches as part of an offensive did not occur until September 6, 1944 when two missiles were fired at Paris. On September 8, two more were fired at England, which would be followed by more than 1,100 more during the next six months. More than 2,700 Brits died because of the rocket attacks.
After the war, both the United States and the Soviet Union captured samples of the rockets for reproduction--they also captured the scientists responsible for their creation.

[spidge]

1944 RAF bombs West Kapelse

1943 British 8th army lands at Termoli, East Italy

1943 Operations begin at PETA Java, defending (Japanese) fatherland

1942 Franklin D. Roosevelt forms Office of Economic Stabilization

1942 Launch of 1st A-4/V-2 rocket to altitude of 53 miles (85 km)


1941 Adolf Hitler says Russia is "broken" and would "never rise again"

1941 All elderly Jewish men of Kerenchug Ukraine, are killed by SS

1941 Nazi's blow up 6 synagoges in Paris

1940 France Vichy government proclaims end to Jewish status

1940 U.S. forms parachute troops

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October 30th
1940 - British destroyers Harvester and Highlander sink German submarine U32.

1940 - British Bomber Command is given its first directive sanctioning area-bombing.

1941 - A German submarine torpedoes American fleet oiler Salinas off the American east coast. The ship is able to limp to a port.

1944 - 110 British bombers attack German gun and troop positions on Walcheren island.

1944 - (evening) 905 British bombers attack Cologne, Germany.

1945 - In Crete, the court at Heraklion sentences one woman to death, one woman to life in prison, lighter penalties on another man and woman, and acquits another man, all on charges of collaboration and responsibility for deaths of 35 Cretans. Following announcement of the sentences, 2000 storm the building, killing all five.

[spidge]

October 31st

From: http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/today/1030.htm

1940 - British destroyers Harvester and Highlander sink German submarine U32.

1940 - British Bomber Command is given its first directive sanctioning area-bombing.

1941 - A German submarine torpedoes American fleet oiler Salinas off the American east coast. The ship is able to limp to a port.

1944 - 110 British bombers attack German gun and troop positions on Walcheren island.

1944 - (evening) 905 British bombers attack Cologne, Germany

1945 - In Crete, the court at Heraklion sentences one woman to death, one woman to life in prison, lighter penalties on another man and woman, and acquits another man, all on charges of collaboration and responsibility for deaths of 35 Cretans. Following announcement of the sentences, 2000 storm the building, killing all five.2000 - Grenada issues 14 postage stamps marking the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.2000 - Grenada / Carriacou & Petit Martinique issues 18 postage stamps marking the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

[spidge]

December 26th.

Battle of Bastogne-US Gen Patton's 4th Pantzers repulse Germans

Budapest surrounded by soviet army

British sink German battle cruiser Scharnhorst
Ordered to sail to the Barents Sea and destroy the allied convoy JW-55B bound for the Soviet port of Murmansk, the German battle-cruiser Scharnhorst encounters a protective force of the British Home Fleet consisting of the cruisers HMS Belfast, Duke of York, Jamaica and Norfolk. After a fierce action, Scharnhorst is sunk, with only 36 of her crew of 1,839 surviving.

Earl Claus von Stauffenberg vain with bomb to Hitlers headquarters

Winston Churchill becomes 1st British Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of Congress, warning that Axis would "stop at nothing"

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1943 US Marines make further landings on New Britain, either side of Cape Gloucester.