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1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
1 Jan 1943
- Tatsuta Maru arrived at Makassar, Celebes.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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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» Tabular Record of Movement
- German 1st Panzer Division withdrew from Terek area in southern Russia to prevent encirclement by the Soviet Salsk-Rostov and Mozdok-Stavropol Offensive Operations.
» In-depth article
- 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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- 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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- The US 2nd Marine Aviation Engineer Battalion and the US Army 27th Division arrived at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
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- HMS Activity began hosting deck landing training.
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- 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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- Claus von Stauffenberg was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
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- Wolfgang Falck was promoted to the rank of Oberstleutnant.
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- Lord Gort was promoted to the rank of field marshal.
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- Archibald Wavell was promoted to the rank of field marshal.
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Hawaii
- A new marine railway for handling destroyers and submarines began construction at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, US Territory of Hawaii.
Photo(s) dated 1 Jan 1943
2 Jan 1943
- US I Corps recaptured Buna on New Guinea.
» In-depth article
- Lockwood replaced English as the commanding officer of US Navy submarines in the Pacific.
- Ion Antonescu of Romania met with Adolf Hitler to discuss the ensuing disaster in Stalingrad, Russia.
» In-depth article
- US Marine Corps and US Army aircraft attacked 10 Japanese destroyer transports west of Rendova, Solomon Islands.
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Japan
- Destroyer Yuzuki arrived at Sasebo, Japan for a scheduled overhaul.
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Photo(s) dated 2 Jan 1943
3 Jan 1943
- USS S-28 crossed the International Date Line.
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- I-168 arrived at Shortland Islands in the Soloman Islands.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- Soviet troops captured Mozdok, Russia.
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- 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.
Australian New Guinea
- 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.
Caroline Islands
France
- USAAF heavy bombers attacked the docks and U-Boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, France, starting several fires.
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United Kingdom
- 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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4 Jan 1943
- I-168 departed Shortland Islands in the Soloman Islands.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
- 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.
- The US Army 161st Infantry, the US 6th Marine Regiment, and the headquarters of the US 2nd Marine Division arrived at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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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Russia
- Allied convoy JW-51B arrived in the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
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Photo(s) dated 4 Jan 1943
5 Jan 1943
- USS S-28 reached her assigned patrol area in the northern Kurile Islands.
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- 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.
- USS Helena made the first use of proximity-fuse shells in combat and shot down a Japanese D3A carrier bomber.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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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Italy
- The Italian Navy Forza Navale Speciale (FNS) was disbanded.
Japan
United States
- The keel of submarine Gabilan was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States.
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6 Jan 1943
- 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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- USAAF B-17 and B-24 bombers attacked Japanese shipping at Rabaul, New Britain.
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- 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.
- Doherty was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Brigadier General Alphonse DeCarre assumed command of all US Marines on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands except for Marine aviation units.
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- 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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- 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.
Australia
- USS Flying Fish departed Brisbane, Australia for her fourth war patrol.
» In-depth article
United States
- Robert Johnson departed New York, New York, United States for Britain aboard the Queen Elizabeth.
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Photo(s) dated 6 Jan 1943
7 Jan 1943
- A 3-day German operation in the Lvov ghetto in Ukraine ended with about 10,000 deaths and the disbanding of the Jewish Council.
- USS Marlin arrived at Casco Bay, Maine, United States and joined Task Group 27.1.
» In-depth article
- HMS Jura was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-371 in the western Mediterranean Sea.
- The British assault on Japanese bunkers at Donbaik, Burma on the Bay of Bengal coast was halted with heavy losses.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 7 Jan 1943
8 Jan 1943
- Tatsuta Maru departed Makassar, Celebes.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Japanese troops again halted a British assault at Donbaik, Burma.
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- British submarine P311 (Commander R. D. Cayley) was reported missing and was believed sunk by a mine in the Mediterranean Sea.
Australian Papua
- Allied aircraft sank Myoko Maru in Huon Gulf off Australian Papua.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 8 Jan 1943
9 Jan 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- British and Indian troops captured Maungdaw, Burma, but the attack on Donbaik was halted by the Japanese.
- German SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler visited Warsaw, Poland, and ordered that 8,000 Jewish inhabitants be deported from the ghetto.
- USS Gar reported hitting a Japanese ship with two of three torpedoes fired, causing damage.
» In-depth article
Australia
United States
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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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Photo(s) dated 9 Jan 1943
10 Jan 1943
- Another Soviet offensive, Operation Ring, began at Stalingrad, Russia.
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- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Japanese troops again halted a British assault at Donbaik, Burma.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
Russia
- The BI-2 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its first flight at 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 10 Jan 1943
11 Jan 1943
- Tatsuta Maru arrived at Singapore.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- A transport of 750 Dutch Jews departed from Westerbork Concentration Camp in the Netherlands for Sobibor Concentration Camp in Poland.
» In-depth article
- Soviet troops launched the Novorossiysk-Maikop Offensive Operation in the Caucasus region of southern Russia.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Caroline Islands
United Kingdom
- Allied convoy RA-51 arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Alabama arrived at Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States from Casco Bay, Maine, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 11 Jan 1943
12 Jan 1943
- German troops withdrew from the Caucasus region in southern Russia to the Kuban bridgehead.
» In-depth article
- US troops landed on Amchitka, Aleutian Islands unopposed. Destroyer Worden, covering the landing, ran aground and sank during the operation.
- USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The US 1st Marine Division arrived at Melbourne, Australia after months of fighting on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
Japan
Russia
- The BI-2 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its second flight at Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, reaching an altitude of 2,190 meters and reaching the speed of 675 kilometers per hour.
» In-depth article
13 Jan 1943
- The call-up age for unmarried British women was lowered to 19.
- 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).
» In-depth article
- Casablanca Conference between Roosevelt and Churchill began.
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- The US 2nd Marine Division began a westward offensive on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
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United Kingdom
- Robert Johnson arrived at RAF Kings Cliffe, England, United Kingdom.
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- Historical document written: Letters between Alleta Sullivan and Franklin Roosevelt
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14 Jan 1943
Alaska
- USS S-35 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska in the Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Hawaii
- Workers at Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, US Territory of Hawaii completed cutting underwater piles.
Japan
Photo(s) dated 14 Jan 1943
See all photos dated 14 Jan 1943
15 Jan 1943
- The keel of submarine Tang was laid down.
» In-depth article
- Konstantin Rokossovsky was promoted to the rank of colonel general.
» In-depth article
- The Pentagon, the new building in Virginia, United States and the future home of the US Department of War, was dedicated.
- 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.
- The US 2nd Marine Regiment departed Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands for New Zealand.
- The keel for submarine Manta was laid down.
» In-depth article
- Light carrier Hosho was assigned to the 3rd Force of the Mobile Force Training Force.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 15 Jan 1943
16 Jan 1943
Germany
Iraq
- Iraq declared war on the Axis powers.
Japan
United States
Photo(s) dated 16 Jan 1943
17 Jan 1943
Caroline Islands
- A Japanese convoy carrying Japanese Army troops transferred from China departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- Repair ship Akashi began repairing seaplane tender Sanyo Maru and destroyers Kagero and Oyashio at Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Pacific Ocean
- USS Finback sank a Japanese patrol boat south of Japan with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- Allied convoy JW-52 departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
18 Jan 1943
Australia
- Brigadier General Howard Ramey arrived in Australia to replace the recently missing Kenneth Walker.
British Western Pacific Territories
- USAAF B-17 and P-39 aircraft sank Japanese cargo ship Yamafuku Maru off Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Hawaii
- USS Runner departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
Hong Kong
Japan
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Kure, Japan to escort carriers Zuikaku and Zuiho to Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
Poland
- The first armed resistance against deportation began in Warsaw Ghetto in Poland.
Russia
- Cherkessk in the Caucasus region of southern Russia was liberated by Soviet troops.
» In-depth article
- The Soviet government announced that the German siege at Leningrad, Russia had been broken.
» In-depth article
United States
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 18 Jan 1943
19 Jan 1943
- USS Ranger launched USAAF P-40 aircraft off Accra, Gold Coast to reinforce Allied forces fighting in North Africa.
» In-depth article
- USS Gar ended her fifth war patrol.
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- Filipp Golikov was promoted to the rank of colonel general.
» In-depth article
- USS Grampus completed her fifth war patrol.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
Burma
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Hong Kong
Pacific Ocean
- USS Pollack sank a Japanese cargo ship off Honshu, Japan with one of two torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
20 Jan 1943
- USS S-28 set a course for the Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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. Also on this date, transports of Jews from Theresienstadt Ghetto departed for Auschwitz Concentration Camp; several more transports departed from Theresienstadt in the following 6 days.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The US Army 25th Division began an offensive toward Kokumbona, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- Chile broke off relationships with Germany, Italy and Japan.
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Brennan was commissioned into service at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States.
Photo(s) dated 20 Jan 1943
21 Jan 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul and departed later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Allied leadership issued the directive to RAF and USAAF commanders "[y]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."
» In-depth article
- USS Gato attacked a Japanese convoy east of Kieta, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, damaging one transport.
» In-depth article
- USS Pollack attacked a Japanese cargo ship off Honshu, Japan with two torpedoes; both torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
- Allied aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain, sinking small freighter Tetsusan Maru.
Caroline Islands
United States
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 21 Jan 1943
22 Jan 1943
- Allied forces won the battle at Sanananda, New Guinea.
» In-depth article
- Ludwig Beck and other anti-Hitler conspirators met at the home of Peter Yorck von Wartenburg.
» In-depth article
Belgium
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Tunisia
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 22 Jan 1943
23 Jan 1943
- The British Eighth Army captured Tripoli, Libya.
- The last German airfield in the Stalingrad pocket was taken by Soviet troops.
» In-depth article
- Soviet troops captured Armavir, Russia.
» In-depth article
- 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 by the German submarine U-575.
- The US Army 25th Division captured the high ground south of Kokumbona, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- After sundown and into the following day, American cruisers and destroyers bombarded Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Japan
24 Jan 1943
- Tirpitz completed its refitting at Fættenfjord/Lofjord near Trondheim, Norway.
» In-depth article
- The Casablanca Conference ended with the announcement of a requirement for unconditional surrender from Germany to end the war.
» In-depth article
- Soviet troops liberated Starobelskiy, Ukraine.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- British war expenditure was estimated to be running at £14 million a day.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
25 Jan 1943
- The remnants of the German 6.Armee were split in two pockets, north and south, in Stalingrad, Russia.
» In-depth article
- Germans evacuated Voronezh and Armavir in southern Russia.
» In-depth article
- In his Order of the Day, Stalin claimed that Soviet troops had routed 102 enemy divisions in two month's fighting.
» In-depth article
- The US Composite Army-Marine Division made contact with the US Army 25th Army Division near Kokumbona, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Italy
- 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.
Japan
26 Jan 1943
- Tatsuta Maru arrived at Osaka, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Soviet troops captured Voronezh, southern Russia.
- USS Wahoo attacked a Japanese convoy 270 miles north of New Guinea, sinking transport Buyo Maru and three others.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The US Army-Marine joint division continued to attack westward along the northern coast of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands intending to envelope Japanese positions.
» In-depth article
- Chiang Kaishek held a celebratory dinner for Joseph Stilwell for having recently earned the Distinguished Service Cross medal.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
- US bombers conducted a night raid on Rabaul, New Britain; Zero fighters rose to intercept and shot down one B-17 bomber.
Caroline Islands
Guam
- USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese freighter in Apra Harbor, Guam, Mariana Islands, hitting her with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 26 Jan 1943
27 Jan 1943
- The USAAF struck Germany proper for the first time as B-17 and B-24 bombers attacked Emden and Wilhelmshaven.
» In-depth article
- The headquarters of the US 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing was established at Efate, New Hebrides.
Russia
- Allied convoy JW-52 arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
» In-depth article
United States
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Golet was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 27 Jan 1943
28 Jan 1943
- Tatsuta Maru departed Osaka, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Germany finally mobilized her work force for total war, requiring registration of men aged 16 to 65 and women aged 17 to 50.
- Filipp Golikov was awarded the Order of Suvorov.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Aleksandr Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class.
» In-depth article
- Vasily Chuikov was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class for the first time.
» In-depth article
Russia
- George 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.
» In-depth article
29 Jan 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- German authorities ordered Roma and Sinti people across German-occupied Europe to be rounded up and sent to concentration camps. Meanwhile, Kurt Prüfer of German engineering firm J. A. Topf und Söhne visited the Central Construction Office of Auschwitz Concentration Camp, 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.
» In-depth article
- US captured a Japanese 5-digit naval code book.
- Ruth Cheney Streeter was commissioned a major in the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve and became its first Director.
- Soviet troops captured Maikop, Russia.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Taiwan
United States
- USS S-35 arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 29 Jan 1943
30 Jan 1943
- German troops defeated French troops and captured Faïd Pass, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- Battle of Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands ended with a Japanese victory and the sinking of USS Chicago.
» In-depth article
- HMS Samphire (Lieutenant Commander F. T. Renny) was torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine Platino off Bougie, Algeria.
- Hermann Göring publicly noted that the defense and sacrifice at Stalingrad, Russia would go down in history as a heroic tale.
» In-depth article
- Erich Raeder was officially relieved of his duty as the head of the German Navy.
» In-depth article
- The repair work on light cruiser Voroshilov completed.
» In-depth article
Germany
- The British RAF's first daylight raid on Berlin, Germany was completed by No. 105 and No. 139 Squadrons' Mosquito aircraft.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 30 Jan 1943
31 Jan 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The British RAF Bomber Command used the H2S radar system for the first time operationally.
- 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)".
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- US Marine Corps aircraft from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands sank Japanese transport Toa Maru between Vella Lavella and Kolombangara.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Japan
Taiwan
- 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.
» In-depth article
Ukraine
- Light cruiser Voroshilov bombarded German troop positions near Novorossiysk, Ukraine.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 31 Jan 1943
See all photos dated 31 Jan 1943
1 Feb 1943
- Cruiser Köln departed for the Baltic Sea.
» In-depth article
- Japanese troops began to be evacuated from Guadalcanal by destroyers commanded by Rear Admiral Shintaro.
» In-depth article
- As of this month, 1,622,000 prisoners of war and 4,121,000 foreigners were now serving as forced laborers in Germany.
- Trapped in the ruins of a department store in Stalingrad, Russia, Paulus surrendered along with 16 of his generals; Paulus became the first German field marshal to surrender to an enemy force. The battle for the city had cost the Germans 110,000 dead and 107,000 taken prisoner. The Soviets had lost an estimated 250,000 men and 250,000 civilians.
» In-depth article
- At Auschwitz Concentration Camp, 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny entered waters off China.
» In-depth article
- The Fletcher-class destroyer USS De Haven was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Savo Island, Solomon Islands.
- Destroyer Yukikaze evacuated troops from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
China
Russia
- Germans fell back from Demyansk, Russia.
United States
- The keel of CV-14, originally destined to be USS Hancock, was laid down at Norfolk, Virginia, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 1 Feb 1943
See all photos dated 1 Feb 1943
2 Feb 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Ettore Bastico stepped down as the Governor-General of Italian Libya, succeeded by Giovanni Messe.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny made radar contact with a ship off Hong Kong at 2130 hours.
» In-depth article
- USS Runner attacked and claimed the sinking of a Japanese transport in the western Pacific; she reported 6 torpedoes expended and 4 hits.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Poland
- The construction of Graf Zeppelin was stopped at Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland).
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 2 Feb 1943
See all photos dated 2 Feb 1943
3 Feb 1943
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- BOAC began a high speed delivery service between Leuchars, Scotland, United Kingdom and Stockholm, Sweden using a fleet of ten Mosquito aircraft.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Over lunch, Dwight Eisenhower informed George Patton that Patton had been chosen to help plan the invasion of Sicily, Italy.
» In-depth article
- German submarine U-255 sank US freighter Greylock of Allied convoy RA-52; all 70 aboard survived.
» In-depth article
United States
- The keel of Rochester was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Company at Quincy, Massachusetts, United States.
» In-depth article
4 Feb 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- A transport of 890 Jews from Westerbork Concentration Camp in the Netherlands arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. 48 of the 312 males and 52 of the females were registered; the remaining 790 were sent to the gas chambers.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- British 8th Army entered Tunisia.
- In Germany, three days of national mourning began over the disaster at Stalingrad, Russia. All theatres, cinemas and night clubs were closed.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze evacuated troops from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Libya
- Winston Churchill visited Tripoli, Libya and inspected British 8th Army.
» In-depth article
5 Feb 1943
- Mussolini personally took over the Italian Foreign Ministry after firing his son-in-law Count Ciano.
» In-depth article
- HMS Stronsay was mined and sunk in the western Mediterranean Sea off Philippeville, French Algeria.
Japan
6 Feb 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny patrolled off Shantou, China.
» In-depth article
- The keel of escort carrier Wake Island was laid down in Vancouver, Washington, United States.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol.
» In-depth article
- Brazil, which was already at war with Germany and Italy, now declared war upon Japan.
Alaska
- USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her fifth war patrol.
» In-depth article
Mariana Islands
- 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.
» In-depth article
7 Feb 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The US Navy transferred two US submarine squadrons from Brisbane, Australia to Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
- USS Tunny patrolled off Shantou, China.
» In-depth article
- Admiral William Halsey named Rear Admiral Richmond Turner the overall commander of the Russell Islands operation.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Chiang Kaishek messaged Franklin Roosevelt, agreeing with Chinese support for an offensive into Burma.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze evacuated troops from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
China
Photo(s) dated 7 Feb 1943
8 Feb 1943
- Shokaku entered drydock and remained there through the month.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Soviet troops captured Kursk, Russia.
- With German permission, the Council of Jewish Elders was established in Czechoslovakia, succeeding the Jewish Religious Congregation which was dissolved on 29 Jan 1943.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Subhash Chandra Bose departed Germany for Japan via submarine.
» In-depth article
- Operation Longcloth, the long range penetration operation by the Chindits, was launched.
» In-depth article
Japan
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Photo(s) dated 8 Feb 1943
9 Feb 1943
- Allied authorities declared Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands secure after Japan evacuated its remaining forces from the island.
» In-depth article
- Soviet troops recaptured Belgorod, Russia.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- On Ambon Island in eastern Indonesia, the Japanese beheaded 85 Australian and Dutch prisoners.
- Shoe rationing went into effect in the United States.
- USS Gar began her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- HMS Erica (Lieutenant A. C. C. Charles Cuthbert Seligman) was mined and sunk whilst escorting a convoy from Benghazi, Libya to Alexandria, Egypt.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- George Kenney ordered a series of strong night attacks on Rabaul, New Britain.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Taiwan
- USS Tunny fired torpedoes on a Japanese convoy in the Taiwan Strait, damaging one transport with two torpedoes.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- Allied convoy RA-52 arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
United States
- The US Naval Dry Docks, Roosevelt Base was established near Los Angeles, California, United States.
Photo(s) dated 9 Feb 1943
10 Feb 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Yekaterina Budanova shot down a Fw 190 aircraft over Rostov on Don, Russia, sharing the credit with other pilots.
» In-depth article
- USS Pollack arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fourth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands to escort damaged destroyer Maikaze to Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
- The British Admiralty officially announced the loss of submarine HMS Utmost, sunk by Italian gunboat Groppo off Sicily, Italy on 25 Nov 1942.
Japan
Photo(s) dated 10 Feb 1943
11 Feb 1943
- Admiral Yamamoto transferred his flag from Yamato to Musashi at Truk.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Amon Göth was assigned to oversee the construction of the Plaszów labor camp in Poland.
» In-depth article
- General Dwight Eisenhower was selected to command the Allied forces in Europe.
» In-depth article
- A transport from the Westerbork Concentration Camp in the Netherlands arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp with 476 men and 708 women; 113 men and 66 women were registered, and the remaining 1,005 were killed in the gas chambers.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny set sail for Midway Atoll.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
Australia
- USS Grampus departed Brisbane, Australia for her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
United States
- Ryan Aeronautical received a US Navy contract to build three piston-jet mix-powered prototype fighters.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 11 Feb 1943
12 Feb 1943
- Jews from the Bialystok Ghetto in Poland began to be deported to Treblinka Concentration Camp. Meanwhile, 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.
» In-depth article
- Soviet troops captured Rostov, Russia.
- German troops fell back from Krasnodar to the Kuban defensive positions in southern Russia.
» In-depth article
- USS Mingo was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander Ralph Lynch, Jr. in command.
» In-depth article
- Pogy was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 12 Feb 1943
13 Feb 1943
- The Jews of Djerba, Tunisia were ordered to pay 10 million Francs to the local German occupation administration.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The Northern Group of the Chindits crossed the Indian-Burmese border at Tonhe.
» In-depth article
United States
14 Feb 1943
- German troops launched an offensive against American forces at and near Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The Northern Group of the Chindits crossed the Chindwin River in Burma.
» In-depth article
- USS Runner attacked and claimed the sinking of a Japanese transport in the western Pacific; she reported 3 torpedoes expended and 2 hits.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
15 Feb 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Lieutenant Colonel M. Z. Kiani took command of the Indian National Army.
Australian New Guinea
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Germany
- 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.
- 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.
United Kingdom
- Allied convoy JW-53 departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 15 Feb 1943
16 Feb 1943
- Captain Masafumi was relieved as the commanding officer of Shokaku; the successor was unknown.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland, and departed later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Heinrich Himmler ordered the Warsaw ghetto in Poland to be liquidated.
» In-depth article
- Soviet forces recaptured Kharkov, Ukraine.
» In-depth article
- Dr. Mildred Harnack-Fish, a member of German resistance, was beheaded at Plotzensee Prison near Charlottenburg, Germany.
- Norwegian commandos parachuted into Norway, meeting up with the reconnaissance party near Telemark.
- German forces captured Sidi Bouzid and Sbeitla, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- The US submarine Amberjack was sunk by the Japanese torpedo boat Hiyodori off Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck, Islands.
» In-depth article
- Aleksandr Vasilevsky was promoted to the rank of the Marshal of the Soviet Union.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
- 17 US B-17 bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain before dawn.
Caroline Islands
France
- USAAF heavy bombers attacked the German U-Boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, France.
» In-depth article
Germany
Mariana Islands
- USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese freighter in the Mariana Islands, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 16 Feb 1943
17 Feb 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul, New Britain and departed later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- American forces east of Kasserine Pass, Tunisia retreated into the pass.
» In-depth article
- Lexington (Essex-class) was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Legendary Russian fighter pilot Lydia Litvak (The White Rose of Stalingrad) was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
» In-depth article
- Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder became AOC-in-C Mediterranean Air Command with responsibility for all air operations.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 17 Feb 1943
18 Feb 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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".
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
- Song Meiling addressed the House of Representatives of the United States Congress.
» In-depth article
- Erwin Rommel submitted a plan to Albert Kesselring and the Italian High Command for attacking the Americans guarding the Tunisian-Algerian border.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands to escort transport Gokoku Maru to Gasmata, New Britain, Bismarck Islands.
» In-depth article
- The Northwest African Air Forces (NWAAF) commanded by Major General Carl A. Spaatz came into existence under the Allied Mediterranean Air Command.
» In-depth article
France
- Jean de Vienne was raised at Toulon, France and pressed into Italian Navy service under the new name FR.11.
» In-depth article
Japan
- Destroyer Yuzuki departed Yokosuka, Japan for the Central Pacific.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 18 Feb 1943
19 Feb 1943
- Rommel launched a surprise counter-attack at Kasserine Pass, Tunisia, overwhelming the fresh but inexperienced Americans.
» In-depth article
- German Army Group South began a counteroffensive toward Kharkov, Ukraine and Belgorod, Russia.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 19 Feb 1943
20 Feb 1943
- US carrier aircraft attacked the Japanese naval base at Rabaul, New Britain.
- A special section was established at the Hinzert Concentration Camp for Polish civilian workers who fraternized with German women.
» In-depth article
- American movie studio executives agreed to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
- German and Italian troops defeated American troops at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, but the force attacking Sbiba Pass was met with strong resistance.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- The US coastal minesweeper YMS-133 foundered and sank at Coos Bay, Oregon, United States.
- The Germans made the first use of their new 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launcher against the western allies at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 20 Feb 1943
21 Feb 1943
- The Red Army of the Soviet Union celebrated its 25th Birthday.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- In the Russell Islands, US Marine Corps 3rd Raider Battalion landed at Pepesala Point, Pavavu while US Army 43rd Infantry Division landed on Banika.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Gasmata, New Britain, Bismarck Islands to escort transport Gokoku Maru to Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands.
» In-depth article
United States
- Submarine Bluefish was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by the wife of Robert Y. Menzie.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 21 Feb 1943
22 Feb 1943
- German Armeegruppe Mitte launched an offensive between the Dneiper and Donets Rivers in southern Russia.
- Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie, members of the White Rose, were executed in Stadelheim Prison in Munich, Germany.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Winston Churchill was said to be "on the mend" after a severe fever.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Allied troops pre-emptively struck the Axis attacking forces near Thala, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- The Northern Group of the Chindits reached Tonmakeng, Burma. Orde Wingate ordered an attack on a nearby Japanese garrison at Sinlamaung.
» In-depth article
- German submarine U-606 sank British merchant ship Empire Redshank in the North Atlantic; 47 survivors were picked up by HMCS Trillium.
» In-depth article
Japan
United States
- Iowa was commissioned into service at Brooklyn Naval Shipyard in New York, United States with Captain John L. McCrea in command.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 22 Feb 1943
23 Feb 1943
- US carrier aircraft attacked Japanese installations in the Mariana Islands.
- Erwin Rommel ordered his forces in western Tunisia to move east to avoid being attacked on both sides.
» In-depth article
- German U-boats using acoustic homing torpedoes sank seven tankers in a North Atlantic convoy.
- Yekaterina Budanova was awarded the Order of the Red Star.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- German submarine U-603 sank Norwegian merchant ship Glittre in the North Atlantic.
- HMS Dianthus rescued 34 survivors of Norwegian merchant ship Glittre in the Atlantic Ocean.
» In-depth article
- Lydia Litvyak was awarded the Order of the Red Star and was promoted to the rank of junior lieutenant.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- Japanese Navy Yokosuka 7th Special Naval Landing Force disembarked 1,807 men at Kolombangara, New Georgia.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
24 Feb 1943
- The US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as "Merrill's Marauders", began their campaign in northern Burma.
- On Ambon Island in Eastern Indonesia, the Japanese beheaded 132 Australian and Dutch prisoners.
- Omar Bradley arrived in French Algeria.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
- USS Iowa began her shakedown cruise in Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 24 Feb 1943
25 Feb 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Princeton was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 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."
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
United States
Photo(s) dated 25 Feb 1943
26 Feb 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Saipan, departing later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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. Meanwhile, 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Argonaut was struck from the US Naval Vessel Register.
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- 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.
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Australian Papua
- 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 crytanalysis.
» In-depth article
Germany
- USAAF heavy bombers made a daylight attack on Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- The British government authorized the use of the new water-skipping "Upkeep" bomb against German dams.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 26 Feb 1943
27 Feb 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fourth war patrol.
» In-depth article
Russia
- Allied convoy JW-53 arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 27 Feb 1943
28 Feb 1943
- 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.
- Construction began on the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in the world at Hanford, Washington, United States.
» In-depth article
- 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 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.
» In-depth article
- Oyodo was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Admiral Hipper was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article
- Douglas MacArthur's staff completed a plan calling for a more deliberate advance in the Southwest Pacific.
Australian New Guinea
- 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- Werner Ehrhardt was named the commanding officer of German cruiser Prinz Eugen.
» In-depth article
- 712 RAF aircraft (457 Lancaster, 252 Halifax, and 3 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany; 20 aircraft were lost.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- USS Flying Fish arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fourth war patrol.
» In-depth article
United States
- Submarine Ray was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States, sponsored by the wife of S. C. Loomis.
» In-depth article
- Henry Arnold suffered his first heart attack and was hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC, United States for several days.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 28 Feb 1943
1 Mar 1943
- U-530 was assigned to the 10. Unterseebootflottille (10th Submarine Flotilla).
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- Cruiser Köln was taken out of service and would remain so for one year.
» In-depth article
- German troops began falling back from the Rzhev area in Russia.
- Heinz Guderian was appointed Inspector-General of Armoured Troops.
» In-depth article
- US Marine Corps established its first medium bomber squadron, Marine Bomber Squadron 413, at Cherry Point, North Carolina, United States.
- The Northern Group of the Chindits reached Zibyutaungdan, Burma and began to move into the Mu valley.
» In-depth article
- Submarine ShCh-205 was awarded guard ship status.
» In-depth article
- Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Fw 190 fighter while flying a Yak-1 fighter.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
- 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.
» In-depth article
Russia
- Allied convoy RA-53 departed the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia; it was consisted of 30 freighters and was escorted by 31 warships.
» In-depth article
United States
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 1 Mar 1943
2 Mar 1943
Burma
- The Northern Group of the Chindits marched 20 miles along a road northeast of Pinlebu, Burma.
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Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Pacific Ocean
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze rescued survivors of transport Kyokusei Maru in the Bismarck Sea.
» In-depth article
Poland
- 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.
» In-depth article
Ukraine
- The Soviet 3rd Tank Army was destroyed near Kharkov, Ukraine which had only just been recaptured by the Soviets two weeks prior.
» In-depth article
3 Mar 1943
- Hitler survived an assassination attempt.
» In-depth article
- Soviet troops recaptured Rzhev, Russia.
- The 32nd transport from Berlin arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze was attacked by US aircraft in the Bismarck Sea but sustained no damage.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
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China
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
4 Mar 1943
- Richard Saul became the head of the British Air Headquarters Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Bell was commissioned into service.
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- George Kenney departed Australia for Washington DC, United States.
» In-depth article
Alaska
- USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 4 Mar 1943
See all photos dated 4 Mar 1943
5 Mar 1943
- Tirpitz completed post-refitting trials.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Awa Maru was commissioned into service.
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- The USAAF 14th Air Force was established in China.
- Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
6 Mar 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Croatian Catholic Archbishop Stepinac protested the killing of Jews married to Christians to little effect.
- George Patton was named the commanding officer of the US II Corps.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yuzuki rescued survivors of sunken Kiriha Maru and assisted Mitto Maru, which was damaged in the same attack.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Pollack departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Light cruiser Astoria was launched.
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- Joseph Stalin was created a Marshal of the Soviet Union.
» In-depth article
- Kanichi Kashimura was shot down by a F4F fighter over the Russell Islands in the Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 6 Mar 1943
7 Mar 1943
- Roma and Sinti people from occupied Poland and Soviet Union began arriving at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. On the same date, 4,500 Croatian Jews were arrested; they would be deported to Auschwitz between 7 and 13 Mar 1943.
» In-depth article
- Rearguard of the retreating Operation Capri forces engaged pursuing Allied forces in small-scale combat south of the Mareth Line in Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- US Liberty Ship J. L. M. Curry of Allied convoy RA-53 broke in two in a storm.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- USS Runner arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
US Pacific Islands
- US Navy 10th Construction Battalion arrived at Canton, Phoenix Islands.
Photo(s) dated 7 Mar 1943
8 Mar 1943
- American forces were attacked by Japanese troops on Hill 700 in Bougainville, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- The American ban on sliced bread, originally intended on saving wrapping paper but was found to be ineffective, was lifted.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Allied forces pursuing the retreating Operation Capri forces gave up the chase due to poor weather in southeastern Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- General Henry Arnold agreed to give Claire Chennault an air force independent from the USAAF, but maintained Chennault's position underneath Joseph Stilwell.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
France
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
Photo(s) dated 8 Mar 1943
9 Mar 1943
- Erwin Rommel departed North Africa on account of health reasons.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Yekaterina Budanova shot down a Bf 109 fighter, sharing the credit with other pilots.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- German submarine U-586 sank US merchant ship Puerto Rican of Allied convoy RA-53 northeast of Iceland; 61 were killed, 1 survived.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 9 Mar 1943
10 Mar 1943
- The Japanese Navy removed Tatsuta Maru from the Navy List.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Claire Chennault was promoted to the rank of major general and placed in command of the newly formed USAAF 14th Air Force in China.
» In-depth article
- Axis forces participating in the failed Operation Capri attack in southeastern Tunisia fell back to the Mareth Line.
» In-depth article
- The German Gestapo organization sent 11 Polish men and 11 Polish women from Bielsko, Poland to Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
- Captain Teruhiko Miyoshi was named the commanding officer of battleship Mutsu.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Daly was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- German submarine U-255 sank freighter Richard Bland of Allied convoy RA-53; 61 were killed, 1 survived.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 10 Mar 1943
11 Mar 1943
- Tirpitz departed Trondheim, Norway.
» In-depth article
- Erwin Rommel received Diamonds to his Knight's Cross medal.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- British Secretary of State for Air Sir Archibald Sinclair spoke at the House of Commons, noting that "[t]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.
» In-depth article
- USS S-31 departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
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Russia
- The BI-3 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its first flight at Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia (the fourth flight of the design), reaching the altitude of 4,000 meters.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- The royalist Yugoslavian government-in-exile in London, England, United Kingdom reported that German forces had executed 1,250 Serbians in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
Photo(s) dated 11 Mar 1943
12 Mar 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokohoma for her 11th voyage with the Japanese Navy.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Tirpitz arrived at Bogen near Narvik, Norway.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- German troops evacuated Vyazma, Russia.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Italian workers conducted a strike.
- German and Soviet troops engaged in heavy fighting at Kharkov, Ukraine.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- RAF bombers attacked Krupp steel plants in Essen, Germany, causing heavy damage.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 12 Mar 1943
13 Mar 1943
- I-168 departed Paramushiro, Kurile Islands for the Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- The Krakow Ghetto in Poland was liquidated.
- 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".
- In Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Japanese troops ended their assault on American forces at Hill 700.
» In-depth article
- Chinese troops pushed Japanese troops back across the Yangtze River.
- A plot to assassinate Hitler during a flight from Smolensk, Russia to Rastenburg, Germany failed.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze made a troop transport run to Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
14 Mar 1943
- Aircraft of the US 8th Air Force bombed Kiel, Germany.
» In-depth article
- Germans recaptured Kharkov, Ukraine.
» In-depth article
- The advance echelon of US Marine Aircraft Group 21 arrived at Banika Island, Russell Islands, Solomon Islands.
Russia
- The BI-3 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its second flight at Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- Allied convoy RA-53 arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- The first production Hurricane Mk. IV fighter, KX405, was completed.
» In-depth article
15 Mar 1943
- USS S-28 began conducting sound tests and anti-submarine warfare exercises with the Canadian Navy and Air Force at Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada.
» In-depth article
- Greek Jews from Salonika and Thrace deported to concentration camps.
» In-depth article
- The British Royal Navy launched the first of the X-class midget submarines.
- Chindits under British Major Calvert and Major Fergusson crossed the Irrawaddy River in Burma.
» In-depth article
- Germany and Finland signed a trade agreement.
- Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sank Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Canada off of the coast of Sierra Leone.
- The US submarine Triton was sunk by Japanese destroyers whilst on patrol off the Admiralty Islands.
» In-depth article
- The US 1st Marine Raider Regiment was organized for operations on Dragons Peninsula, New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
- The US Marine Corps 10th Defense Battalion began to arrive in the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands to relieve the 11th Defense Battalion.
Japan
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Captain Keizaburo Okano was named the commanding officer of Irako.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Photo(s) dated 15 Mar 1943
16 Mar 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Saipan, departing later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 27 Allied ships were destroyed in the Atlantic Ocean on this date, 8 of which were of Allied convoy HX-229.
- Joseph Stalin demanded the western Allies to open a second front in Europe.
» In-depth article
- Operational trials of the 37-mm Flak gun-armed German Ju-87G anti-tank aircraft began on the Eastern Front.
» In-depth article
- HMS Campobello was abandoned and scuttled after suffering irreparable leaks whilst engaged in escorting convoy SC-122.
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 16 Mar 1943
17 Mar 1943
- 90 Luftwaffe bombers attacked Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- Bulgaria stated its opposition to the deportation of Bulgarian Jews.
- US troops captured Gafsa, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- Indian troops fell back from Japanese attacks along the Arakan front in Burma.
» In-depth article
- Graffiti along the lines of "we are obliged to the Führer for this" was found among ruins of bombed German cities.
- The US Marine Corps 10th Defense Battalion completed taking over the duties of the 11th Defense Battalion in the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands.
- US Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 243 arrived at Johnston Island from Ewa, US Territory of Hawaii.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Pompon was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander E. C. Hawk in command.
» In-depth article
18 Mar 1943
- I-168 departed Kiska, Aleutian Islands and patrolled an area south of Amchitka.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Switzerland was warned of a seemingly impending German invasion.
- US 1st Ranger Battalion captured El Guettar, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- The Allies abandoned the attempt to drive Japanese from Donbaik, Burma.
» In-depth article
- USAAF aircraft bombed the Vegesack district of Bremen, Germany.
» In-depth article
- Vichy France repealed a number of anti-Semitic laws.
- USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- The main body of the Northern Group of the Chindits completed the crossing of the Irrawaddy River.
» In-depth article
Byelorussia
- Famed Polish Jewish violinist Henri Czaplinski (aka. Genrikh Maksimovich Chaplinsky in Soviet documents) joined the Donukalov Partisan Brigade near Minsk, Byelorussia.
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United Kingdom
- Oswald Mosley and Diana Mosley received Norah Elam and Dudley Elam while in imprisonment in London, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
United States
- The keel of destroyer USS Cassin Young was laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 18 Mar 1943
19 Mar 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The new radiolocation system ASV III was used over the Bay of Biscay off France by bombers of No. 172 Squadron RAF.
- The British launched Operation Pugilist in Tunisia against the Axis Mareth Line, penetrating the line near Zarat.
» In-depth article
- The China Air Task Force was incorporated into the USAAF 14th Air Force.
- The largest air drop in support of Operation Longcloth in Burma was conducted, delivering 100 tons of supplies to the Chindits.
» In-depth article
- Captain Lester Hudson was named the commanding officer of USS San Diego.
» In-depth article
Japan
Taiwan
- 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.
United States
Photo(s) dated 19 Mar 1943
20 Mar 1943
- The British Eighth Army broke through German Mareth Line in Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- Churchill's post war plans, broadcasted over radio, was criticized as very socialist.
» In-depth article
- The Japanese Navy was ordered to execute all Allied personnel captured at sea.
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Archibald Wavell ordered the offensive in Arakan Peninsula, Burma abandoned, falling back to the Maungdaw-Buthidaung line.
» In-depth article
- Light carrier Ryuho arrived in the Inland Sea in Japanese waters.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Photo(s) dated 20 Mar 1943
21 Mar 1943
- The submarine Cod was launched, sponsored by Mrs. G. M. Mahoney.
» In-depth article
- After 4 months of public silence, Hitler made a Hero's Day speech.
» In-depth article
- Cornelia Fort was killed during an aircraft ferrying mission in Texas, United States.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback damaged a Japanese cargo ship in the Southwestern Pacific, hitting her with two of three torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Russia
- The BI-3 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its third flight at Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 21 Mar 1943
22 Mar 1943
- Germans recaptured Belgorod, Russia.
- Crematorium 4 began operation at Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- American troops captured Maknassy, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- German 15th Panzer Division near Zarat, Tunisia, recapturing territory lost at the opening of the British Operation Pugilist.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
- 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.
» In-depth article
Norway
United Kingdom
- 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.
United States
- George Kenney was featured on the cover of the Life magazine in the United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 22 Mar 1943
23 Mar 1943
- In its heaviest bombing raid to date, the British RAF Bomber Command attacked Dortmund, Germany with 2,000 tons of explosives.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- In a free election in occupied Denmark, the Government Party won 143 seats while the Danish Nazi Party only won 5 seats.
- German Luftwaffe aircraft sank HMS Windsor Castle off Algeria.
- Soviet troops surrounded the German headquarters at Ternopil, Ukraine.
- A group of Greek Jews were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
» In-depth article
- USS S-31 began patrolling in the Kwajalein area in the Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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".
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 23 Mar 1943
24 Mar 1943
- The British RAF Bomber Command had by this date dropped 100,000 tons of explosives on Germany.
» In-depth article
- British General Wingate was ordered by his superiors to withdraw his Chindits from Burma.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny departed Midway Atoll after a brief stay to replace her periscope.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback spotted a Japanese convoy and began to shadow it.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Hawaii
- USS Flying Fish departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fifth war patrol.
» In-depth article
25 Mar 1943
- Greek partisans captured Samos Island from the Italian garrison, albeit only temporarily.
- The Spanish foreign ministry announced the closure of its border with France and stopped with refugee from cross into Spain without transit papers.
- Indian 4th Division overran the Mareth Line in Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- The Japanese offensive at Bougainville in the Solomon Islands was halted.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Lieutenant Ralph Marcus Wallace was named the commanding officer of HMCS Trillium.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- A Japanese reconnaissance flight over Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands discovered about 300 Allied aircraft at the base.
» In-depth article
United States
- The keel of submarine Barbero was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 25 Mar 1943
26 Mar 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Buin, Bougainville departing later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- In the Aleutian Islands, American warships intercepted Japanese troops attempting to reinforce Kiska, engaging in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands.
» In-depth article
- All remaining British and American citizens in Germany were arrested; all remaining British and American citizens in occupied Europe were deported to Germany.
- British General Wingate ordered his Chindits in Burma to withdraw.
» In-depth article
- Hitler informed 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Remy Van Lierde shot down a German Ju 52 transport aircraft over Belgium, which was his second kill.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 26 Mar 1943
27 Mar 1943
Japan
Russia
- The BI-3 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its fourth flight at 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 27 Mar 1943
28 Mar 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland departing later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- US 15th Air Force bombed the oil refinery at Livorno, Italy.
- Most Axis troops were evacuated from the Mareth Line in Tunisia to form a new line to the north.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny attacked a Japanese cargo ship off Wake Island at dawn with two torpedoes, blowing off the ship's stern.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The main body of Chindit forces reached Inywa, Burma at 1600 hours.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 28 Mar 1943
29 Mar 1943
- New Zealand troops captured Gabès, Tunisia while Axis troops were evacuated out of El Hamma.
» In-depth article
- Hitler ordered the construction of large missile launch sites on French coast.
- USS S-31 completed her patrol in the Kwajalein area in the Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 29 Mar 1943
30 Mar 1943
- RAF bombed the Philips factory in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
- British light cruiser HMS Glasgow intercepted German blockade runner Regensburg, whose crew scuttled the ship.
- British General Montgomery's troops breached the Mareth Line in North Africa.
» In-depth article
- A transport of 2,501 Jews from Thessaloniki, Greece arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. 312 men and 141 women were registered, while the remaining 2,048 were gassed.
» In-depth article
- US 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions attacked Italian positions at Hill 369 near El Guettar, Tunisia to little success.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Japan
Photo(s) dated 30 Mar 1943
31 Mar 1943
- Crematorium 2 began operation at Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USAAF bombers attacked the Italian airfield at Cagliari, Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea.
- German Luftwaffe Major General Peltz was placed in charge of bombing raids against Britain.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- American troops under Colonel Archibald MacKechnie landed at the mouth of Waria River in New Guinea.
» In-depth article
- US leadership gave the order to invade Attu in the Aleutian Islands on 7 May 1943.
» In-depth article
- US 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions again attacked Italian positions at Hill 369 near El Guettar, Tunisia to little success.
» In-depth article
- Belleau Wood was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- The US 2nd Marine Brigade was disbanded in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
- British corvette HMS Milfoil was recommissioned into the United States Navy as USS Intensity.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Germany
- Adolf Hitler met Bulgarian King Boris III at his headquarters at Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany.
» In-depth article
Russia
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Seahorse was commissioned into service with Commander Donald McGregor in command.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 31 Mar 1943
1 Apr 1943
- Submarine Croaker was laid down.
» In-depth article
- I-168 arrived at Kiska, Aleutian Islands from Paramushiro, Kurile Islands; she took on sick personnel of the Kiska garrison and departed.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- US 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions attacked Italian positions at Hill 369 near El Guettar, Tunisia for the third consecutive day to little success.
» In-depth article
- USS Mingo departed Long Island, New York, United States area for Newport, Rhode Island, United States.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yuzuki was assigned to the 2nd Surface Escort Division.
» In-depth article
- Thorn was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- The US Marine Corps activated the 4th Base Depot at Nouméa, New Caledonia.
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Hawaii
- US Navy Construction Battalions in US Territory of Hawaii to take over construction projects previously worked on by civilian contractors.
- USS Runner departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
Italy
- The "P" (parachute) battalion of "San Marco" naval infantry regiment merged with "N" (swimmer) battalion to form the new Grupo Battaglioni "NP".
Japan
Taiwan
- 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.
» In-depth article
2 Apr 1943
- 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.
- HMS Black Swan and HMS Stonecrop sank German submarine U-124 in the Atlantic Ocean.
- The Italian Semovente 105/25 tank destroyer design entered production.
» In-depth article
- USS S-31 crossed the equator in the Pacific Ocean.
» In-depth article
- USS Gar ended her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze made a troop transport run to Rekata, Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- Hauptmann Philipp Müller of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Caroline Islands
- 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- Robert von Greim was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal.
» In-depth article
Taiwan
- The Tamazato Prisoners of War Camp in eastern Taiwan was opened for the purpose of showing Red Cross representatives a model camp.
United States
3 Apr 1943
- German Fw 190 fighters strafed Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- US 1st Infantry Division captured Hill 369 near El Guettar, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny set sail for Namonuito, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yuzuki rescued the survivors of sunken tanker Arima Maru.
» In-depth article
- The US submarine Pickerel was depth charged and sunk by Japanese warships north of Honshu, Japan.
» In-depth article
- The Indian Army Medical Corps was formed by amalgamating the Indian Medical Services, the Indian Medical Department and the Indian Hospital Corps.
- 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.
Australian New Guinea
- 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.
» In-depth article
4 Apr 1943
- I-168 transferred men from Kiska to Attu in the Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- RAF bombers conducted a raid on Kiel, Germany during the night.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny set sail for McLaughlin Bank, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
- No. 254 Squadron of Coastal Command achieved its first success against enemy shipping using torpedo carrying Beaufighter aircraft.
» In-depth article
- The final elements of US Marine Aircraft Group 21 arrived at Banika Island, Russell Islands.
- USS Pollack damaged a Japanese freighter in the Marshall Islands and Gilbert Islands area with two of two torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- Unable to do it himself, George Patton ordered Omar Bradley to fire Orlando Ward for Ward's failures at Kasserine Pass, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
- Isoroku Yamamoto and Ryunosuke Kusaka met at Rabaul, New Britain to discuss the details of the I-Go offensive.
» In-depth article
United States
- Submarine Cero was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Mrs. D. E. Barbey.
» In-depth article
US Pacific Islands
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 4 Apr 1943
5 Apr 1943
- Theo Osterkemp was appointed the commanding officer of Jagdfliegerführer Sizilien and charged with safeguarding Axis flights between Sicily, Italy and Tunisia, Italian North Africa.
» In-depth article
- Allies launched Operation Flax, a concentrated effort to destroy Axis capability to supply Tunisia by air.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- William Slim and Noel Irwin met in Calcutta, India.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine U-869 was laid down.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback hit a damaged and beached Japanese merchant ship off Wake Island with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- USS Pompon began her journey down the Mississippi River in a floating drydock toward New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
» In-depth article
Japan
6 Apr 1943
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested for being part of an attempt on Hitler's life.
» In-depth article
- Axis forces fell back from Wadi Akarit towards Enfidaville, Tunisia as the British Eighth Army began linking up with US II Corps.
» In-depth article
- British pressure in southeastern Tunisia caused Axis forces to begin falling back from the El Guettar region.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 6 Apr 1943
7 Apr 1943
- 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.
- British and American troops linked up on the El Guettar-Gabès road in Tunisia, ending the Battle of El Guettar.
» In-depth article
- The British government announced equal war compensation for men and women.
- Bolivia declared war on the Axis powers.
- German Luftwaffe assigned 148 fighters to Jagdfliegerführer Sizilien.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny attacked transport Kosei Maru, hitting her with two torpedoes. An Akatsuki-class destroyer counterattacked with depth charges, causing no damage.
» In-depth article
- Orde Wingate and his small group of Chindits began to march for the Irrawaddy River in Burma en route back to India.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Guitarro was laid down.
» In-depth article
- Claus von Stauffenberg was seriously injured when his car was strafed by Allied aircraft in North Africa.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- In the morning, at Lakunai field near 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, the Japanese 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 hte 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 7 Apr 1943
8 Apr 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Baya was laid down.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Hatsukaze at Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Japan
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
9 Apr 1943
- The German government re-designated Majdanek from a labor camp to a concentration camp. Meanwhile, the Chelmno Concentration Camp in Reichsgau Wartheland, Germany (occupied Poland) temporarily ceased its extermination operations.
» In-depth article
- British troops captured Mahares, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- USS S-31 arrived at Nouméa, New Caledonia where she would be refitted and would serve as a target for training exercises.
» In-depth article
- Ivan Bagramyan was awarded the Order of Kutuzov 1st Class.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
- The keel of submarine Parche was laid down at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, United States.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 9 Apr 1943
10 Apr 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 84 American B-24 bombers attacked Sardinia, Italy, sinking one cruiser and damaging another.
- Destroyer Yukikaze made a troop transport run to Finschhafen, New Guinea, Dutch East Indies; the mission was aborted due to US air attacks.
» In-depth article
Italy
- Italian Air Force Assault Engineer Battalion was made independent of 1st Air Force Assault Regiment.
United Kingdom
- The first modified Lancaster bomber was moved to RAF Manston, England, United Kingdom to conduct dropping trials for attacks on German dams.
» In-depth article
United States
11 Apr 1943
- SS doctors at concentration camps were given orders to select prisoners to be sent to Hartheim Castle in Austria to be euthanized.
» In-depth article
- The Germans lost several transport aircraft flying between Sicily, Italy and Tunisia, Italian North Africa. On the ground, Allied troops captured Kairouan, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- USS Snook departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Australian Papua
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 11 Apr 1943
12 Apr 1943
- British War Office circulated the "German Long-Range Rocket Development" report, which warned of potential danger from these potential new weapons.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Adolf Hitler named Martin Bormann his secretary.
- Joseph Stalin informed Winston Churchill his delight to see German industry in shambles.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Isherwood was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
- Matome Ugaki became sick with dengue fever and was ordered to remain in bed at Rabaul, New Britain.
» In-depth article
Australian Papua
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Japan
- USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese freighter off the coast of Honshu, Japan, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 12 Apr 1943
13 Apr 1943
- A RAF pilot accidentally killed 25 spectators during a ground attack tactics demonstration flight in Imber, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom.
- The first operational sortie of the new Republic P-40B 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fourth war patrol.
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- Destroyer Yukikaze made a troop transport run to Cape Gloucester (Tuluvu), New Britain, Bismarck Islands, then departed New Britain for Truk, Caroline Islands.
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Australian New Guinea
- Matome Ugaki, still recovering from dengue fever at Rabaul, New Britain, was given permission by the doctor to leave his bed.
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- 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.
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Japan
- 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.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese freighter off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired.
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Russia
- 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.
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14 Apr 1943
- 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.
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- Stalin's son Yakov Dzhugashvili died in German captivity.
- Soviet 14th Army pushed back a German thrust southeast of Leningrad, Russia.
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- The No. 3 Column of the Chindits crossed the Chindwin River in Burma and soon became the first column to return to India.
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Australian Papua
- 23 Japanese dive bombers, 44 medium bombers, and 129 fighters attacked Milne Bay, Australian Papua, damaging 3 ships; in the air, 1 Australian P-40 fighter was shot down and another was damaged, while 8 Japanese aircraft were shot down. An additional Australian P-38 aircraft was destroyed on landing.
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Hawaii
- 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.
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Italy
- The remnants of "Tobruch" Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy began to arrive in Italy from Tunisia.
Japan
Russia
- 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).
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 14 Apr 1943
15 Apr 1943
- USS S-28 departed Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada for the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States for overhaul.
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- Major General Hastings Ismay reported to Prime Minister Winston Churchill on German experiments with rockets.
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- RAF bombers conducted a raid on La Spezia, Italy.
- USS Tunny set sail for Saipan, Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
- Baltimore was commissioned into service.
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- The American airfield on Banika Island of Russell Islands, Solomon Islands became operational.
Japan
- USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese freighter off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired; the Japanese ship beached to prevent sinking.
» In-depth article
Russia
Photo(s) dated 15 Apr 1943
16 Apr 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
China
- Japanese troops began preparing for a new offensive in the region between Wuhan and Yichang in China.
» In-depth article
France
- Italians raised the wreck of Foch at Toulon, France for repair.
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United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
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17 Apr 1943
- I-168 departed Attu, Aleutian Islands with a cargo of ammunition and mail for Kiska.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- US bombers attacked Palermo, Sicily, Italy. German pilots who scrambled to meet the attackers claimed shooting down 5 bombers and 1 fighter.
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- Gilmore was commissioned into service.
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Australian New Guinea
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
- USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese freighter off Japan, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired.
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United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
Photo(s) dated 17 Apr 1943
See all photos dated 17 Apr 1943
18 Apr 1943
- A transport of 2501 Jews from the ghetto in Thessaloniki, Greece arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Only 605 were registered into the camp; the remaining 1,896 were sent to the gas chambers.
» In-depth article
- German 17.Armee attempted to eliminate the Soviet bridgehead at Novorossiysk in southern Russia.
» In-depth article
- The Soviet Union claimed that the German Gestapo was responsible for the Katyn Massacre.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Admiral Halsey and General 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Pollack arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her sixth war patrol.
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- Lieutenant Philip Cabell Evans was named the commanding officer of HMCS Trillium.
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British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Netherlands
- Robert Johnson flew his first combat mission over the Dutch coast but saw no action.
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Russia
United States
- Submarine Dragonet was launched at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by Mrs. J. E. Gingrich.
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- Submarine Escolar was launched at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by Mrs. J. Bilisoly Hudgins.
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Photo(s) dated 18 Apr 1943
See all photos dated 18 Apr 1943
19 Apr 1943
- I-168 arrived at Kiska, Aleutian Islands with a cargo of ammunition and mail.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- At the Bermuda Conference, US and UK representatives discussed Jewish refugee issues in occupied Europe with little result.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- USS Hoe departed for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion arrived off Nakaminato, eastern Honshu, Japan; after sundown, she deployed naval mines.
» In-depth article
- 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.
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British Western Pacific Territories
- A search party found the remains of Isoroku Yamamoto on Bougainville, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Russia
- Viktor Abakumov was named the head of the newly formed Soviet Main Directorate of Counterintelligence (GUKR) SMERSH; he reported directly to Joseph Stalin.
» In-depth article
- 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.
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Photo(s) dated 19 Apr 1943
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20 Apr 1943
- The British government announced a limited recruitment for women for the Home Guard.
- 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.
- British troops captured the Enfidaville Airfield in Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- USAAF aircraft attacked Japanese positions at Nauru.
- 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.
- Yekaterina Budanova was featured on the cover of the young adult political publication Ogonek.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion sank the Japanese converted gunboat Meiji Maru No. 1, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- US Army B-24 bombers based at Funafuti, Ellice Islands attacked Tarawa, Gilbert Islands.
- Japanese troops under Koga attacked the British Maungdaw-Buthidaung line in Burma.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stilwell was invited to join in on the meeting already arranged between Franklin Roosevelt and Claire Chennault.
» In-depth article
- A medical examination was conducted on Isoroku Yamamoto's remains.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 20 Apr 1943
21 Apr 1943
- US President Roosevelt made the official announcement regarding the Japanese execution of downed American airmen who had participated in the Doolittle Raid.
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- New Zealand troops of Maori ethnicity captured Takrouna, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion sank a sampan before 0100 hours with her deck gun. In the afternoon, she patrolled off Shioyasaki, eastern Honshu, Japan.
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- USS Runner attacked a Japanese transport in the South China Sea; all 5 torpedoes fired missed.
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British Western Pacific Territories
- Isoroku Yamamoto's remains were cremated at Buin, Bougainville, Solomon Islands.
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Caroline Islands
China
- Joseph Stilwell and Claire Chennault departed Chongqing, China.
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Russia
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 21 Apr 1943
22 Apr 1943
- A transport of Jews from Westerbork Concentration Camp arrived at Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in Sudetenland in southern Germany, formerly of Czechoslovakia.
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- The US Submarine Grenadier was scuttled by her crew after suffering severe damage from Japanese air attack off Penang, British Malaya.
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- USS Scorpion sank three sampans with gunfire off Honshu, Japan.
» In-depth article
Germany
- British Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft photographed a German rocket at Peenemünde, Germany but intelligence analysts could not be certain of the object photographed.
Japan
Tunisia
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 22 Apr 1943
23 Apr 1943
- German 17.Armee abandoned the attempt to dislodge the Soviet bridgehead at Novorossisk in southern Russia.
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- USS Gar began her seventh war patrol.
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- 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.
- USS Tunny arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion damaged a Japanese cargo ship off Honshu, Japan with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 23 Apr 1943
24 Apr 1943
- 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.
- In the North Atlantic, Escorts of Allied convoy ONS 5 spotted and sank German submarine U-710 10 miles ahead of the convoy.
» In-depth article
- The German submarine U-710 was sunk by an aircraft of British No. 206 Squadron Coastal Command.
- The No. 5 Column of the Chindits reached the Chindwin River in Burma.
» In-depth article
- USS Runner damaged a Japanese transport in the South China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Japan
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 24 Apr 1943
25 Apr 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Commanding officer of the Chinese 5th Army defected to the Japanese.
- USS Snook sank a Japanese or Chinese sampan with her deck gun off China.
» In-depth article
- Jürgen Stroop reported that 27,464 Jews had been captured in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw, Poland.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Japan
Photo(s) dated 25 Apr 1943
26 Apr 1943
- RAF bombers conducted a raid against Duisburg, Germany.
» In-depth article
- The No. 5 Column of the Chindits arrived in Imphal, India. Only 95 men of the original force of 318 returned.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Japan
27 Apr 1943
- The German Inspector of Concentration Camps ordered that only the mentally ill prisoners could be gassed via the Aktion T-4 Euthaniasia Program.
» In-depth article
- Radar jamming devices began operations in eastern England, United Kingdom.
- 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.
- USS Tunny departed Midway Atoll for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Puffer was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander M. J. Jensen in command.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 27 Apr 1943
28 Apr 1943
- Sweden protested the mining her territorial waters by Germany.
- Konstantin Rokossovsky was promoted to the rank of general.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Otto Skorzeny was promoted to the rank of Hauptsturmführer and was given command of the commandos of the Oranienburg Special Training Unit.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion was ordered to return to her home port.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Russia
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 28 Apr 1943
29 Apr 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion sank a Japanese patrol vessel by gunfire.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Becuna was laid down.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stilwell and Claire Chennault arrived in Washington DC, United States.
» In-depth article
- Nobutake Kondo was promoted to the rank of admiral.
» In-depth article
Russia
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
Tunisia
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
30 Apr 1943
- The construction for the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in northwestern Germany began.
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- The Bermuda Conference ended without any concrete conclusion.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The keel of trawler Gulland was laid down.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 30 Apr 1943
1 May 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul, New Britain.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- The International Medical Commission completed its investigation on the Katyn Massacre, concluding that the Soviet Union was responsible for the atrocity.
» In-depth article
- US troops captured Hill 609 in Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- The Personnel Department was established to replace the Adjutant and Inspector's Department of the US Marine Corps headquarters.
Italy
- 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.
Japan
United Kingdom
- Basil Brooke (later 1st Viscount Brookeborough) became Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
United States
Photo(s) dated 1 May 1943
See all photos dated 1 May 1943
2 May 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Rabaul, New Britain.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
- Japanese aircraft conducted a raid on Darwin, Australia.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese ship in daylight with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
- The Japanese Southeast Detached Force was established for the defense of the Solomon Islands, with its base in Rabaul.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese transport in the Pacific Ocean; all four torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
- The British Admiralty was officially announced the loss of destroyer HMS Beverley, sunk on 11 Apr 1943 while escorting Allied convoy ON-176.
Photo(s) dated 2 May 1943
3 May 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland departing later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Royal Navy began bombarding Pantelleria Island near Sicily, Italy.
» In-depth article
- US troops captured Mateur, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- The British 6th Airborne Division was established with Major General Richard Gale in command.
Caroline Islands
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort carrier Zuikaku and Zuiho to Japan.
» In-depth article
China
- The headquarters of the Japanese 11th Army was moved to Shashi, Jingzhou, Hubei Province, China in preparation for a planned offensive.
» In-depth article
Russia
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 3 May 1943
4 May 1943
- Hitler postponed Operation Citadel, which ultimately would give the Soviets more time to prepare their defenses.
» In-depth article
- 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."
» In-depth article
- The German Luftwaffe evacuation from Tunisia, Italian North Africa completed.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The body of Glyndwr Michael was buried at the Cemetery of Solitude in Huelva, Spain as Major William Martin of the British Royal Marines.
» In-depth article
Russia
- The Soviet Directorate of NKVD Troops for Guarding the Rear of the Red Army was elevated to form its own main directorate.
Tunisia
- The "Grado" Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy was relocated to the regimental headquarters at Bizerte. Tunisia.
Vatican City
- 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.
5 May 1943
- Lieutenant General F. M. Andrews, Commander of US Forces in Europe, was killed in a plane crash in Iceland.
- Soviet troops captured Krymsk in southern Russia.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Bf 109 fighter while flying a Yak-1 fighter.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
China
- The Japanese launched an attack into the region between Wuhan and Yichang in China, aiming gain control of this section of the Yangtze River.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 5 May 1943
6 May 1943
- Adolf Hitler made an unusual public appearance at Viktor Lutze's funeral.
» In-depth article
- In Tunisia, British troops captured Tunis and American troops captured Bizerte. The German 15th Panzer Division was effectively wiped out.
» In-depth article
- USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese schooner in daylight with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- U-977 was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 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.
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
US Pacific Islands
- USS Runner arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
7 May 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Allied naval forces began the Operation Retribution blockade, sealing off Tunisia, Italian North Africa from the sea.
» In-depth article
- Japanese troops captured Buthidaung, Burma.
- USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese sampan in daylight with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
- USS Snook attacked a Japanese convoy off China and sank Hosei Maru, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Pintado was laid down.
» In-depth article
- Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Bf 109 fighter while flying a Yak-1 fighter.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
China
France
- German television began broadcasting from studios in Paris, France.
Photo(s) dated 7 May 1943
8 May 1943
- German government issued the order that deaths of Eastern European workers in the concentration camps only need to be reported to labor offices.
» In-depth article
- Admiral Bruce Fraser replaced Admiral John Tovey as the head of the Royal Navy Home Fleet.
- USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese ship in daylight with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- Japanese troops captured Maungdaw, Burma despite being outnumbered and being surrounded throughout most of the offensive.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Gibraltar
- In Operation BG 6, Italian auxiliary ship Olterra launched three manned torpedoes against Gibraltar, sinking three cargo ships.
Japan
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 8 May 1943
9 May 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Saipan, departing later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- The entire community at Skalat, Ukraine was wiped out by the Germans.
- The German occupation government in the Netherlands declared martial law.
- British forces captured a Ju 88R night fighter aircraft containing working FuG 202 Lichtenstein radar interception equipment.
- USS Gar sank Japanese freighter Aso Maru south of the Negros, Philippine Islands in daylight with two of four torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Tunisia
- The "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy surrendered at Bizerte, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Corvina was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Mrs. R. W. Christie.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 9 May 1943
See all photos dated 9 May 1943
10 May 1943
- The British 6th Armoured Division cut off German troops at Cape Bon, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
- Shimakaze was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Japanese aircraft from Rabaul attacked American positions in the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands, but the attack was largely turned back by American fighters.
» In-depth article
- USS Pollack departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her seventh war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Cisco was commissioned into service, Commander James W. Coe in command.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS ABSD-1 was commissioned into service at Everett, Washington, United States with Captain Andrew R. Mack in command.
» In-depth article
- Henry Arnold suffered his second heart attck and was hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC, United States for several days.
» In-depth article
11 May 1943
- US 7th Infantry Division landed on Attu, Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
- Winston Churchill arrived in Washington DC, United States for the Trident Conference scheduled to start on the next day.
» In-depth article
- 26 girls were killed in an Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) hostel in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom during a German bombing raid.
- Allied convoy SC 130 (37 ships) departed Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for Liverpool, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Japan
US Pacific Islands
- USS Flying Fish arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her fifth war patrol.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 11 May 1943
12 May 1943
- The Trident Conference began in Washington, DC, United States.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fifth war patrol.
» In-depth article
China
- Japanese troops crossed the Yangtze River near Baiyang, Hunan Province, China and attacked Chinese positions on the opposite shore.
» In-depth article
Tunisia
- 105 survivors of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy were evacuated from La Galite Island by motored torpedo boats.
United Kingdom
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 12 May 1943
13 May 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- British Royal Navy warships bombarded Pantelleria Island near Sicily, Italy.
» In-depth article
- Danish resistance damaged a railway installation at Tønder, Denmark.
- USS Snook sank a Japanese freighter with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- B-17 bomber 'Hell's Angels' of US 303rd Bomb Group became the first aircraft to complete 25 combat missions.
» In-depth article
- Italian torpedo boats stationed at Yalta, Ukraine conducted their last sortie from this base.
Japan
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 13 May 1943
14 May 1943
- The Australian hospital ship Centaur was sunk by a Japanese submarine.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stilwell arrived in Washington DC, United States to attend the Trident Conference.
» In-depth article
Belgium
- Robert Johnson saw action in flight for the first time while escorting B-17 bombers over Belgium, damaging two German Fw 190 aircraft.
» In-depth article
China
- Japanese 3rd Division captured Gong'an, Hunan Province, China.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 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.
Japan
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 14 May 1943
15 May 1943
- Stalin dissolved the Comintern.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- British Admiral Andrew Cunningham announced that "the passage through the Mediterranean was clear", and convoys from Gibraltar to Alexandria, Egypt resumed.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Caroline Islands
China
- Japanese troops surrounded Chinese troops near Baiyang, Hunan Province, China, inflicting heavy casualties.
» In-depth article
Japan
- The C6N Saiun carrier reconnaissance aircraft took its first flight.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 15 May 1943
16 May 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Snook sank a Japanese trawler with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Goebbels noted in his diary that Kiel, Germany was heavily damaged in an Allied bombing.
» In-depth article
China
- Japanese 3rd Division attacked Songzi, Hubei Province, China.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- Wing Commander Guy Gibson's Dambusters took off from Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom for an attack on the Ruhr River dams in Germany.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Mingo departed New London, Connecticut, United States for the Panama Canal.
» In-depth article
17 May 1943
- The fifth Axis air offensive against Yugoslav partisans began.
- 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.
China
- Japanese 3rd Division surrounded Songzi, Hubei Province, China.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 17 May 1943
18 May 1943
- The Papal Nuncio in Romania asked the Romanian foreign minister to allow the immigration of 8,000 Jewish orphans in Transnistria to Palestine.
- After sundown, German submarine U-304 spotted Allied convoy SC 130 in the North Atlantic.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- USS Pollack sank Japanese ship Terushima Maru in the Marshall Islands with two of three torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
China
- Japanese 3rd Division captured Songzi, Hubei Province, China.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
United States
- Joseph Rochefort was detached from the Western Sea Frontier based in San Fracisco, California, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 18 May 1943
19 May 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese sampan in daylight with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Sproston was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 30 TBF Avenger aircraft of US Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 143 and US Navy Tropedo Squadron 11 mined waters off Buin, Bougainville, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- USS Pollack sank Japanese ship Bangkok Maru in the Gilbert Islands with three of four torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- Robert Johnson engaged in combat with German fighters over Europe.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- US B-17F bomber 'Memphis Belle' became the second aircraft to complete 25 combat missions after attacking Kiel, Germany.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
Photo(s) dated 19 May 1943
20 May 1943
- Esterwegen Concentration Camp established a special camp named "Süd" (South) to hold prisoners transferred under the Nacht und Nebel program. Elsewhere, the women's camp in Auschwitz II-Birkenau reported that it had 20,635 female prisoners (9,337 with working assignments, 4,510 without working assignments, and 6,788 unable to work).
» In-depth article
- USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese sampan in daylight with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
- The US Marine Corps transferred the responsibility of the office of the Assistant Commandant (Air) to the Director of Aviation.
- In a press conference, Orde Wingate noted the achievement by Operation Longcloth in the areas of propaganda and morale.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Hawaii
- Workers at Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, US Territory of Hawaii completed concrete work.
Japan
United States
- USS S-35 began post-repair trials off Bremerton, Washington, United States.
» In-depth article
- Henry Arnold was released by Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 20 May 1943
21 May 1943
- One month after the death of Isoroku Yamamoto, the news was finally revealed to the Japanese public.
» In-depth article
- Mineichi Koga replaced Isoroku Yamamoto as the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet.
» In-depth article
- Luftwaffe fighter-bombers attacked Malta.
» In-depth article
- 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.
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Russia
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 21 May 1943
22 May 1943
- Shokaku joined a large fleet for the Aleutian Islands, but the sortie was canceled as Attu was reclaimed by US forces.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Shigeru Fukudome was named the chief of staff of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet.
» In-depth article
- Kimberly was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- American TBF aircraft from the 14,000-ton USS Bogue attacked the German submarine U-569, forcing her to surface and surrender.
China
- Japanese troops launched an attack toward the region west of Yidu, Hubei Province, China.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
- Carrier Langley was launched at Camden, New Jersey, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 22 May 1943
23 May 1943
- USS Snook arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- New Jersey was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Pang Bingxun was installed as the commander of the 24th Army Group of the Japanese puppet government in Nanjing, China.
» In-depth article
- The US 22nd Marine Regiment was detached from the 3rd Marine Brigade and was moved to Tutuila, Samoa.
- A British Fleet Air Arm Swordfish launched from the escort carrier HMS Archer sank the German submarine U-572 with a rocket attack.
» In-depth article
Japan
- Battleship Musashi arrived at Kisarazu, Chiba, Japan, disembarking Isoroku Yamamoto's ashes.
» In-depth article
United States
- Submarine Dorado was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by the wife of Ezra G. Allen.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 23 May 1943
24 May 1943
- SS-Hauptsturmfuehrer Dr. Josef Mengele arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. He was soon to begin experiments on prisoners.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- British bombers attacked East Frisian Islands (Ostfriesische Inseln) in northwestern Germany.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Bunker Hill was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- The United States Marine Corps abolished its glider program.
- USS Cabrilla was commissioned into service with Commander Douglas Thompson Hammond in command.
» In-depth article
China
- Japanese 39th Division completed the crossing of the Yangtze River near Pianyan, Hubei Province, China.
» In-depth article
Japan
United States
- USS Bluefish was commissioned into service with Commander George E. Porter in command.
» In-depth article
25 May 1943
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- Joseph Goebbels noted in his diary that the industrial and residential districts in Dortmund, Germany were heavily damaged by Allied bombing.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol.
» In-depth article
Poland
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- 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.
Yugoslavia
- The first British mission to coordinate with local partisans parachuted into Yugoslavia.
26 May 1943
- At Peenemünde, Germany, before Göring, 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The German government issued the order to stop assigning concentration camp victims sequantial identification numbers in order to hide the true number of deaths.
» In-depth article
- 759 British heavy bombers attacked Düsseldurf, Germany starting at about 0200 hours.
» In-depth article
- King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- Allied convoy SC 130 arrived in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom without losses despite German submarine attacks en route.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Russia
- V. T. Shirmanov was named the Soviet counterintelligence agency GUKR SMERSH's chief within the Central Front.
27 May 1943
- Allied forces landed on Biak Island, New Guinea.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Gar ended her seventh war patrol.
» In-depth article
- Franklin Roosevelt ordered that all defense contracts to be free of racial discrimination.
» In-depth article
- USS Hoe departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny refueled at Johnston Island, United States.
» In-depth article
- In Samoa, the US 22nd Marine Regiment was reorganized as the Garrison Force, Defense Force, Samoan Group.
- USS Finback sank a Japanese cargo ship east of Philippine Islands, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
US Pacific Islands
Photo(s) dated 27 May 1943
28 May 1943
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
29 May 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The issue of the American magazine The Saturday Evening Post published on this date featured with Norman Rockwell's "Rosie the Riveter" illustration.
- USS Scorpion departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
China
- Japanese and Chinese troops clashed in Hubei and Hunan Provinces, China.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 29 May 1943
30 May 1943
- Yekaterina Budanova shot down a Bf 109 fighter, sharing the credit with other pilots.
» In-depth article
- Duguay-Trouin joined the Allied fleet; she would be re-armed in Jul 1943.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
United States
- Submarine Hackleback was launched at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by the wife of W. L. Wright.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 30 May 1943
31 May 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- US troops completed their occupation of Attu in the Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
- US 15th Air Force bombed Foggia airfield in Italy, destroying a number of German and Italian planes on the ground.
- USS Tunny was attacked by a Japanese aircraft, incurring minor damage that was repaired at sea later in the day.
» In-depth article
- Adolf Hitler expressed extreme dismay at the withdrawal of German submarines from the American coast.
» In-depth article
- Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld was named the commanding officer of the 3rd Group of the Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 wing.
» In-depth article
- Lydia Litvyak shot down a German observation balloon.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
United States
- USS S-35 completed post-repair trials off Bremerton, Washington, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 31 May 1943
1 Jun 1943
- Air Vice Marshal Roderic M. Hill became the commanding officer of the No. 12 Group RAF.
- US submarines began active operations against Japanese shipping.
- The Allies formed the 2nd Tactical Air Force in England, United Kingdom.
- Bryansk, Orel, and Smolensk in Russia were attacked by Soviet aircraft.
- 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.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 1 Jun 1943
2 Jun 1943
- Soviet aircraft attacked Kiev, Ukraine and Roslavl, Russia; their counterparts, Luftwaffe bombers, attacked Kursk, Russia.
- USS Scorpion refueled at Midway Atoll.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback damaged a Japanese ship east of Philippine Islands, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- USS Flying Fish departed for her sixth war patrol with a new commanding officer, Captain Frank Watkins.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
3 Jun 1943
- The first fruits of victory reached British shops in the form of Algerian wine.
- 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.
- Operation Cottbus: German forces attacked partisans in Barysaw (Borisov), Byelorussia.
- French Resistance saboteurs destroyed 300 tons of tires in the Michelin factory at Clermont-Ferrant.
» In-depth article
- Operation Toenails: The Allies invaded New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- All Japanese resistance on Attu, Aleutian Islands ceased.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS S-35 departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 3 Jun 1943
4 Jun 1943
- Luftwaffe bombed the tank factory in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), Russia.
- 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".
- The British House of Commons refused to lift the economic blockade against occupied Europe.
- Three American submarines entered the Sea of Japan.
- The Times newspaper in Britain reported the death of the fictitious Royal Marines temporary captain and acting major W. Martin.
» In-depth article
- James Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order medal.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
- In Tokyo, Japan, Emperor Showa made a rare address about an individual regarding the loss of Isoroku Yamamoto.
» In-depth article
5 Jun 1943
Japan
- 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.
» In-depth article
Thailand
- 77 American B-29 bombers attacked Bangkok, Thailand; it was the first USAAF B-29 bombing mission.
Photo(s) dated 5 Jun 1943
6 Jun 1943
- 8 Japanese light bombers escorted by 14 fighters attacked Liangshan, Sichuan, 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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Caroline Islands
China
- 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.
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Taiwan
- The Shirakawa Prisoners of War Camp in southern Taiwan was opened at the site of a former Japanese Army base.
Photo(s) dated 6 Jun 1943
7 Jun 1943
- USS Tunny was attacked by a Japanese float biplane and later by a destroyer; none caused any damage.
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- The Japanese began a renewed air offensive against Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
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China
- Chinese 3rd Division wiped out the headquarters element of the Japanese 13th Division in the Hubei-Hunan border region in China.
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Germany
- 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.
United States
- Joseph Rochefort was ordered to travel from San Francisco, California, United States to Washington DC, United States for a new assignment.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 7 Jun 1943
8 Jun 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 8 Jun 1943
9 Jun 1943
Photo(s) dated 9 Jun 1943
10 Jun 1943
- The keel of what would become USS Blackfin was laid down.
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- 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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- Doneff was commissioned into service.
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- The work to extend HMCS Trillium's forecastle at Boston Naval Shipyard, Massachusetts, United States was completed.
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Japan
- USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese transport off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired.
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Photo(s) dated 10 Jun 1943
11 Jun 1943
- 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.
- The final liquidation of all Jewish ghettos in Poland was ordered by Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler.
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- The invasion of Pantelleria, Operation Corkscrew, was deemed successful.
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- In Germany, 200 B-17 bombers of US 8th Air Force bomb Wilhelmshaven, while RAF aircraft bombed Münster and Düsseldorf.
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- USS Finback sank a Japanese cargo ship east of Philippine Islands, hitting her with 2 of 3 torpedoes fired.
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- USS Runner sank Japanese cargo ship Seinan Maru in Tsugaru Strait off Hokkaido, Japan.
» In-depth article
Alaska
China
- In China, Chinese troops regained all territory in the Hubei and Hunan Provinces lost to the Japanese offensive launched on 5 May 1943.
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Hawaii
- The unwatering of the nearly-completed Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, US Territory of Hawaii began.
Japan
Photo(s) dated 11 Jun 1943
12 Jun 1943
- RAF aircraft bombed Bochum, Germany.
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- Luftwaffe aircraft conducted a night raid on Plymouth, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Light carrier Ryuho was transferred from the 3rd Force of the Mobile Force Training Force to Carrier Division 2 of the 3rd Fleet.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Ukraine
- Germans liquidated the Jewish Ghetto in Berezhany in western Ukraine. 1,180 Jews were led to the city's old Jewish graveyard and killed.
» In-depth article
13 Jun 1943
- Germans launched a V-1 Flying Bomb attack on England, United Kingdom; only four of the eleven bombs actually hit their targets.
- A contingent of US Army, US Navy, and US Marine Corps officers were landed at Segi, New Georgia, Solomon Islands to evaluate possible landing locations for an invasion.
» In-depth article
- Lydia Litvyak was made the commanding officer of 3rd Aviation Squadron of Soviet 73rd Guard Fighter Aviation Regiment.
» In-depth article
France
- Robert Johnson scored his first kill, a German Fw 190 aircraft of 10 Staffel of JG 26, over Bergues, France.
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Japan
14 Jun 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
15 Jun 1943
- USS Hoe made a night time underwater torpedo attack, damaging a Japanese freighter with 1 out of 3 torpedoes fired.
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- The world's first turbojet reconnaissance bomber, the Arado Ar 234V-1 Blitz (GK-IV), made its maiden flight at Rheine, Germany.
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- USS Finback fired three torpedoes at a Japanese ship east of Philippine Islands; all torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Pacific Ocean
- USS Gunnel sank Japanese cargo ship Kayo Maru in the East China Sea, hitting her with 2 of 7 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
Photo(s) dated 15 Jun 1943
16 Jun 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
17 Jun 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Captain Teruhiko Miyoshi's body was recovered from the wreck of battleship Mutsu.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Monterey was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Alaska
- USS S-35 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her sixth war patrol.
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Photo(s) dated 17 Jun 1943
18 Jun 1943
- The word RADAR, from Radio Detection and Ranging, was made the official British name for the technology.
- USS Gar began her eighth war patrol.
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Caroline Islands
Libya
- 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.
19 Jun 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul, New Britain and departed later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- RAF bombers attacked the Schneider armaments factory at Le Creusot, France.
Pacific Ocean
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 19 Jun 1943
See all photos dated 19 Jun 1943
20 Jun 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 5,550 Dutch Jews in Amsterdam were rounded up for deportation to the east.
- Submarine Rock was launched, sponsored by Mrs. B. O. Wells.
» In-depth article
- Lord Gort received the field marshal's baton from King George VI at Malta.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
United States
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 20 Jun 1943
21 Jun 1943
- USS Cod was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- The 4th Marine Raider Battalion was dispatched to Segi, New Georgia, Solomon Islands to assist coastwatchers in the area who were threatened by a Japanese advance.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- RAF bombers attacked Krefeld in the Ruhr region of Germany.
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- USS Hoe sank a Japanese ship, hitting her with 3 out of 4 torpedoes fired.
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- Engstrom was commissioned into service.
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- Luce was commissioned into service.
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- USS Scorpion arrived off Takarajima, Tokara Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
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- Orde Wingate arrived in Delhi, India and met with various British officers.
» In-depth article
- Takeo Takagi was named the commanding officer of the Japanese Navy 6th Fleet, which was centered around submarines.
» In-depth article
- Chuichi Nagumo was named the commanding officer of the Kure Naval District.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 21 Jun 1943
See all photos dated 21 Jun 1943
22 Jun 1943
- Stutthof Concentration Camp conducted its first gassing, killing many Polish and and Byelorussian prisoners.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- British RAF Coastal Command commenced anti-shipping missions with strike aircraft armed with rockets.
- US Army troops invaded Japanese-held Woodlark Island, Trobriand Islands.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
United States
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 22 Jun 1943
23 Jun 1943
- All Jewish ghettos in the Galicia region of Poland and Ukraine were liquidated; 430,329 Jews were deported from this region.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort cruiser Nagara to Nauru.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 23 Jun 1943
24 Jun 1943
- RAF bombers attacked Elberfeld in the Ruhr region of Germany.
» In-depth article
- American submarine USS Tinosa fired 12 torpedoes at an enemy target. 11 of them failed to explode.
» In-depth article
- At dawn, USS Snook attacked a six-ship Japanese convoy in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, damaging one tanker with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Taiwan
- 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.
United States
- Submarine Caiman was laid down by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 24 Jun 1943
25 Jun 1943
- Jews in the ghetto of Czestochowa, Poland revolted; German authorities destroyed the ghetto in response.
- Crematorium III began operation at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The camp now had the capacity of cremating 4,756 bodies per day.
» In-depth article
- The German Foreign Ministry representative in the Netherlands reported that 102,000 of the 140,000 Dutch Jews had been deported.
- USS Mingo departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
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- The minesweeper USS Advocate was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act.
- USS Pollack arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her seventh war patrol.
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- Naka arrived at Nauru and disembarked 412 troops of No. 2 Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force; she departed later in the day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Italy
- The first Italian "M" armored division was formed near Rome, Italy as Mussolini's bodyguard unit.
Japan
Taiwan
- The Karenko Prisoners of War Camp near Hualien in eastern Taiwan was closed.
United States
- The keel for the future submarine Trepang was laid down at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 25 Jun 1943
26 Jun 1943
- USS Tunny performed photographic reconnaissance at Saipan Harbor and Tinian Channel in the Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fifth war patrol.
» In-depth article
France
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
27 Jun 1943
- USS S-28 departed the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States for the Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Companies Q and P of the US Marine Corps 4th Raider Battalion arrived at Segi, New Georgia, Solomon Islands 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- The dams in the Ruhr region of Germany damaged by the 17 May 1943 British raid returned to full capacity.
» In-depth article
Japan
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 27 Jun 1943
28 Jun 1943
- Köln, Germany was bombed by British aircraft, heavily damaging the cathedral. About 4,000 were killed and 1,500 were wounded.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion was ordered to sail for the Yellow Sea.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Germany
- A Royal Air Force reconnaissance aircraft conclusively identified German long-range rocket launch sites on Peenemünde, Germany.
Japan
Photo(s) dated 28 Jun 1943
29 Jun 1943
- The US 158th Regimental Combat Team and the US 6th Engineer Combat Company landed unopposed at Kiriwini Island, Trobriand Islands.
» In-depth article
Japan
- USS S-35's starboard engine was repaired while at sea in the Kurile Islands.
» In-depth article
30 Jun 1943
- 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.
- USS Scorpion arrived in the Yellow Sea off Shantung Peninsula, China.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Off eastern New Guinea, US Army troops and the US Navy 12th Defense Battalion secured Woodlark Island, Trobriand Islands. Meanwhile, the 1st Battalion of the US Army 162nd Infantry Regiment, supported by other US and Australian units, landed at Nassau Bay, New Guinea.
» In-depth article
- The German army authorised the issue of the 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42 rocket launcher.
Caroline Islands
Japan
Photo(s) dated 30 Jun 1943
1 Jul 1943
- Hitler addressed the generals slated to command Operation Citadel.
» In-depth article
- The US Navy launched the V-12 program to recruit and train college students for future military service.
- The US Marine Corps established the Administrative Division at its headquarters to control the civilian personnel program and to place enlisted Marines.
- Chester Nimitz submitted a tentative plan for operations against the Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- In England, United Kingdom, Robert Johnson recovered from wounds sustained in combat on 13 Jun 1943 and resumed flight duties.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 1 Jul 1943
2 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Greek guerrillas were placed under direct operational control of Allied Middle Eastern Command.
- Major General Noboru Sasaki assumed sole command of all Japanese garrisons on New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Subhash Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore.
» In-depth article
- USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese cargo ship off Taiwan, hitting her with 3 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- USS S-35 was ordered to sail to waters off Paramushiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 2 Jul 1943
3 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Köln, Germany suffered a heavy air raid.
» In-depth article
- Ann Baumgartner graduated from the Women Airforce Service Pilots training program.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Snook began stalking a Japanese convoy off the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Gunnel ended her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
France
- Italians raised destroyed French cruiser Dupleix at Toulon, France.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 3 Jul 1943
4 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The Battle of Kursk, what would become the largest tank battle in history, began.
» In-depth article
- 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".
- USS Tunny, while off Guam, Mariana Islands, received orders to sail to Johnston Island, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Pompano sank Japanese seaplane carrier Sagara Maru.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Subhash Chandra Bose took command of the Indian National Army and assumed the leadership position of the Indian Independence League.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Japan
United States
Photo(s) dated 4 Jul 1943
5 Jul 1943
- USS S-31 departed Nouméa, New Caledonia for her seventh war patrol.
» In-depth article
- German submarine U-759 sank American ship Maltran of Allied convoy GTMO-134 70 miles west of Port Salut, Haiti. The entire crew survived.
» In-depth article
- The torpedoed Fletcher-class destroyer USS Strong was sunk by a Japanese shore batteries in Rice Anchorage, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The Indian National Army held a military parade in Padang, Sumatra, Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies.
- Captain Takeo Taizuka was named the commanding officer of light carrier Hosho.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 5 Jul 1943
6 Jul 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland departing later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Captain Franco Lucchini, Italian fighter ace with 26 victories, was shot down and killed by a Spitfire fighter over Sicily, Italy.
- American and Japanese ships engaged in the Battle of Kula Gulf. The Americans lost one light cruiser and the Japanese two destroyers.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Germany
- 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.
Malta
Photo(s) dated 6 Jul 1943
7 Jul 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul and then Kavieng, departing later in the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
- German submarine U-759 sank Dutch cargo ship Poelau Roebiah of Allied convoy TAG-70 east of Jamaica; 2 were killed and 68 survived.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stilwell presented Chiang Kaishek and He Yingqin the Legion of Merit medals.
» In-depth article
Russia
- Soviet Il-2M aircraft, attacking in huge numbers, destroy some seventy tanks of the German 9th Panzer Division in just twenty minutes during the Battle of Kursk.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 7 Jul 1943
8 Jul 1943
- The keel of submarine Blenny was laid down.
» In-depth article
- Eight US Army B-24 bombers from Midway made the first land-based air strike against Wake Atoll.
- German submarine U-759 was reportedly to be lost, though later records show she might had not been destroyed until 23 Jul 1943.
» In-depth article
- Casablanca was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
9 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze escorted a troop transport run to Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Japan
Russia
- A. A. Avseevich stepped down as GUKR SMERSH's chief in the Northwestern Front.
Photo(s) dated 9 Jul 1943
See all photos dated 9 Jul 1943
10 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The minesweeper USS Agent was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Light carrier Ryuho was assigned to the Main Unit of the Mobile Force of Carrier Division 2 of the Third Fleet.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Australia
- USS Pompon departed Brisbane, Australia for her first war patrol in the Truk, Caroline Islands area.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
United States
- The US Marine Corps established Marine Corps Air Station, El Centro, California, United States; Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. McQuade was placed in command.
Photo(s) dated 10 Jul 1943
See all photos dated 10 Jul 1943
11 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny refueled at Johnston Island, United States.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- British 8th Army captured Syracuse, Sicily, Italy and its useful harbour.
» In-depth article
- USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire in the Western Pacific.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Italy
- Omar Bradley arrived at Sicily, Italy while recovering from a recent hemorrhoidectomy.
» In-depth article
United States
- Submarine Flier was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States. sponsored by the wife of A. S. Pierce.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 11 Jul 1943
12 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Mingo damaged a Japanese freighter with torpedoes.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- HMS King George V bombarded Trapani, Sicily, Italy.
» In-depth article
- Chiang Kaishek committed, in writing, to a Chinese offensive into Burma.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- British 8th Army captured Augusta, Sicily, Italy, adding yet another useful harbour for the Allied invasion forces.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze led an attack on an US cruiser-destroyer group in the Battle of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Japan
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- I-168 departed Kure, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Ukraine
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 12 Jul 1943
See all photos dated 12 Jul 1943
13 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Pierre Charles Cournarie was named the Governor-General of French West Africa.
Alaska
- USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 13 Jul 1943
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14 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The Soviet Voronezh Front joined in the offensive against German 4.Panzer Armee and Armeeabteilung Kempf south of Kursk, Russia.
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- USS Gar reported damaging a Japanese ship in daylight with her deck gun.
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- USS Tunny arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol.
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- The keel of British frigate Redmill was laid down.
- British frigate Anguilla was launched.
- British frigate HMS Usk and destroyer HMS Scourge were commissioned into service.
- The keels of German submarines U-1209 and U-1210 were laid down.
- German submarine U-429 was commissioned into service.
- German submarine U-549 was commissioned into service.
- German submarine U-675 was commissioned into service.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- American troops occupied the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu) and prepared for the contruction of airfields.
- The keel of submarine Sterlet was laid down.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Pomfret was laid down.
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- The keel of submarine Plaice was laid down.
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- Destroyer escort USS Frederick C. Davis was commissioned into service.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Corvette Cobourg was launched at Midland, Ontario, Canada.
- Frigate Stormont was launched at Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- 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.
- Joseph Stilwell departed China for India.
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- 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.
- The US-controlled Woodlark Airfield in the Trobriand Islands east of New Guinea was declared operational.
- 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.
- Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson relieved Rear Admiral Richmond R. Turner as the commanding officer of the III Amphibious Force.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Alaska
- Destroyer USS Monaghan bombarded Japanese positions at Gertrude Cove, Kiska, US Territory of Alaska unopposed, firing 100 127mm rounds.
» In-depth article
China
- Takuichi Ohmura stepped down as the President of the South Manchuria Railway; he was succeeded by Naoto Kohiyama.
France
- 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).
» In-depth article
United States
- Two of the ten sections of USS ABSD-1 began to be towed from Morgan City, Louisiana, United States for the South Pacific.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 14 Jul 1943
15 Jul 1943
- USS Copahee was reclassified an escort carrier with hull number CVE-12.
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- Erwin Rommel was made the commander of Heeresgruppe B.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The keel of Canadian frigate Loch Morlich was laid down at Wallsend-on-Tyne, England, United Kingdom.
- Frigate HMS Calder was commissioned into service.
- British frigate Musk was launched.
- British destroyer Zephyr was launched.
- British minesweeping trawler Steepholm and and minesweeper Welfare were launched.
- British escort carrier Thane was launched.
- German submarine U-988 was commissioned into service.
- George Patton formed a provisional corps in western in Sicily, Italy.
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- British submarine HMS United sank Italian submarine Remo in the Gulf of Taranto, Italy.
- 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.
- The Soviet Central Front began an offensive toward Orel, Russia.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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. Also on this date, Allied leadership completed the plans for the invasion and occupation of New Britain, which was scheduled for 15 Nov 1943.
» In-depth article
- The keel of Australian frigate HMAS Culgoa was laid down.
- 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.
- The under-construction Canadian corvette Sea Cliff was renamed Guelph.
- US President Roosevelt created he Office of Economic Warfare, which was to be led by Leo Crowley.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- The keel of American minesweeper Graylag was laid down.
- The keel of American submarine Blower was laid down.
» In-depth article
- The keel of American destroyer escort Day was laid down.
- The keel of American destroyer escort Rudderow was laid down.
- American destroyer escort George was launched.
- American destroyer escort Savage was launched.
- American destroyer escort Spangler was launched.
- American minesweeper Gadwall was launched.
- American frigates Covington and Shreveport were launched.
- 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).
» In-depth article
- 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.
- German submarine U-181 sank British ship Empire Lake 240 miles east of Madagascar at 1801 hours; 30 were killed, 7 survived.
Caroline Islands
United States
Photo(s) dated 15 Jul 1943
See all photos dated 15 Jul 1943
16 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Apogon was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
- British patrol vessel HMS Kilbernie was commissioned into service.
- British sloop Lapwing and corvette Rushen Castle were launched.
- Theophil Wurm, the bishop of Württemberg, Germany, wrote to Adolf Hitler in protest of the deaths that were occurring in concentration camps.
- German submarine U-366 was commissioned into service.
- German submarine U-1192 was launched.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Italian submarine Dandolo damaged British light cruiser HMS Cleopatra with a torpedo; Cleopatra would receive temporary repairs at Malta.
- German submarine U-181 sank transport Fort Franklin southwest of Réunion island in the Indian Ocean at 1558 hours; 2 were killed, 53 survived.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The keel of Canadian frigate Beacon Hill was laid down Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada.
- Destroyer USS Stembel was commissioned into service.
- Destroyer escort USS Dionne was commissioned into service.
- American destroyer escort Vance was launched.
- American frigate El Paso was launched.
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 16 Jul 1943
17 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 17 Jul 1943
18 Jul 1943
- USS Snook arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- The keels of British frigates Loring and Pasley were laid down.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 6 B-24 bombers of the US Seventh Air Force based on Funafuti Island, Ellice Islands bombed Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands.
- 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.
- 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 area on Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands. The Americans claimed destroying or damaging two destroyers, a light vessel, and 12 fighters. 10 American aircraft were lost.
» In-depth article
- 2 B-24 and 6 B-25 bombers of the US Eleventh Air Force B-24 attacked Japanese positions at Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- American destroyer escort Hilbert was launched.
- American destroyer escort USS Chase was commissioned into service.
- 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.
- USS Finback completed refitting at Fremantle, Australia and departed for her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
Italy
- Ambra launched frogmen against Allied shipping in Syracuse harbor, Sicily, Italy; they failed to cause any damage.
» In-depth article
Japan
19 Jul 1943
- 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.
- 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).
- HMCS Huron (G24) was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander H. S. Rayner in command.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze escorted a troop transport run to Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- Canadian destroyer HMCS Huron was commissioned into service.
- 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.
- Destroyer escort USS Acree was commissioned into service.
- Destroyer escort USS Keith was commissioned into service.
- Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Bf 109G-6 fighter while flying a Yak-1b fighter.
» In-depth article
Alaska
- The US 633rd, 634th, and 635th Bombardment Squadrons (Dive) and the US 407th Bombardment Group (Dive) began operating from Amchitka, Aleutian Islands.
Australian New Guinea
- Australian and American troops defended against repeated Japanese counterattacks at Mount Tambu, Australian New Guinea.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- During the day, in the Solomon Islands, US B-17 aircraft bombed Kahili Airfield on Bougainville, 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.
» In-depth article
Canada
- The keel of British minesweeper HMS Serene was laid down at Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- The keel of Canadian frigate HMCS Joliette was laid down at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
Caroline Islands
France
- The German-sponsored French military formation Légion des Volontaires Français held a parade in Paris, France.
Germany
- German submarine U-854 was commissioned into service.
- The keel of German submarine U-825 was laid down.
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
- Japanese G3M bombers attacked the US airfield on Funafuti, Ellice Islands.
Hawaii
- Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, US Territory of Hawaii was ready for emergency use.
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
- At Feltre, Italy, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met for the 13th and last time before Mussolini was ousted from power.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Russia
- Soviet troops began to threaten German positions at Bolkhov, Russia.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- Winston Churchill suggested using icebergs as floating airfields.
» In-depth article
- British minesweeping trawler HMS Gillstone was launched.
- British destroyer HMS Undaunted was launched.
- Greek submarine Pipinos was launched in Britain.
- British submarine HMS Unswerving was launched.
- British frigate HMS Inver was commissioned into service.
United States
- 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.
Vatican City
- Pope Pius XII allowed citizens of Rome, Italy to take shelter in Vatican City.
Photo(s) dated 19 Jul 1943
20 Jul 1943
- USS Enterprise made port call at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul.
» In-depth article
- German government reports dated this date indicated that, since 2 Mar 1943, there had been 20 transports of Jews from the Netherlands to Sobibor Concentration Camp, totalling over 34,000 persons; only 19 of these deportees survived the Holocaust.
» In-depth article
- Ameer was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- USS Pollack departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her eighth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- The US Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered Chester Nimitz to begin planning operations in the Ellice and Gilbert Islands.
» In-depth article
- The National Committee for a Free Germany made a broadcast of its manifesto to Germany from the Soviet Union.
- 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.
- Allied aircraft attacked German submarine U-195 in the Bay of Biscay, killing 1.
Alaska
- US destroyers USS Aylwin and USS Monaghan bombarded Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- In the Solomon Islands, US 13th Air Force launched 18 B-24 bombers against Kahili airfield, Bougainville Island and other targets on Ballale Island while US Marine and US Navy aircraft sank two Japanese destroyers south of Choiseul Island. 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.
» In-depth article
Canada
- The keel of Canadian frigate HMCS Prestonian was laid down at Lauzon, Quebec, Canada.
- The keel of Canadian frigate HMCS Sea Cliff was laid down at Lauzon, Quebec, Canada.
- The keel of Canadian corvette HMCS Asbestos was laid down at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
- The keel of Canadian corvette HMCS Hawkesbury was laid down at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
- Canadian tug HMCS Glenlea was launched at Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada.
Germany
- German submarine U-242 was launched.
- German submarine U-292 was launched.
- German submarine U-1165 was launched.
Hawaii
- The underground oil storage facility at Red Hill, Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii was completed.
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
- Crown Prince Euimin was made the commanding officer of Japanese 1st Air Army.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Russia
- German troops evacuated Mtensk, Russia.
» In-depth article
- The Soviet STAVKA ordered all partisans in German-occupied Europe to attack German rail traffic.
- Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down seven Soviet aircraft in one single night mission near Oryol, Russia, increasing his victories to 41.
» In-depth article
- Vsevolod Merkulov was named the People's Commissar of State Security of the Soviet Union.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- British submarines HMS Spirit was launched.
- British submarines HMS Vampire was launched.
United States
- The keel of US escort carrier Nehenta Bay was laid down.
» In-depth article
- US escort carrier Natoma Bay was launched.
» In-depth article
- Franklin Roosevelt ordered that information regarding atomic research was to be shared with the British.
» In-depth article
- Minesweeper USS Sway was commissioned into service.
- US frigate Sausalito was launched.
- Destroyer escort USS Burke was commissioned into service.
- Destroyer escort USS Scott was commissioned into service.
Photo(s) dated 20 Jul 1943
See all photos dated 20 Jul 1943
21 Jul 1943
- The German authorities in Belgrade, Yugoslavia offered a massive reward for the betrayal and capture of Yugoslav partisan leader, Tito.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The keel of British frigate HMS Retalick was laid down.
- The keel of German submarine U-779 was laid down.
- German submarine U-1225 was launched.
- 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.
- Destroyer escort USS Herbert C. Jones was commissioned into service.
- Minesweeper USS Revenge was commissioned into service.
- The keel of destroyer escort Currier was laid down.
- The keel of destroyer escort McClelland was laid down.
- Lydia Litvyak shot down a German Bf 109 fighter while flying a Yak-1b fighter.
» In-depth article
Alaska
- USS S-35 arrived at Attu, Aleutian Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
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Brazil
- 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.
Canada
- Canadian trawler HMCS Anticosti completed her refit at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada.
» In-depth article
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
- Japanese G3M bombers attacked the US airfield at Funafuti, Gilbert Islands.
Greece
Italy
- 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.
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- 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.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
United States
- USS Bluefish departed New London, Connecticut, United States.
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Photo(s) dated 21 Jul 1943
22 Jul 1943
- US 2nd Armored Division captured Palermo, Sicily.
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- Canfield was commissioned into service.
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- USS Skipjack damaged a Japanese transport south of Japan, hitting her with one of four torpedoes fired.
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Caroline Islands
23 Jul 1943
- German leader Fritz Sauckel ordered improvements in the living conditions for Eastern European workers in Germany who performed their functions well.
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- USS Gar arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her eighth war patrol.
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- US Navy PBM Mariner aircraft attacked a German submarine in the Caribbean Sea, possibly U-759.
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- Charles J. Badger was commissioned into service.
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- Destroyer Yukikaze led a troop transport run to Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
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Italy
- 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.
Russia
- Soviet forces launched the Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation toward Belgorod, Russia.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 23 Jul 1943
24 Jul 1943
- Polish political prisoner Heinz Radomski was executed in the washroom of Block 11 at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
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- The first of almost 1,000 Allied personnel were interned in Sweden when their USAAF B-17 bomber crash landed.
- Cabot was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Cotten was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 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."
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands for Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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).
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Caroline Islands
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
United States
- 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.
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Photo(s) dated 24 Jul 1943
See all photos dated 24 Jul 1943
25 Jul 1943
- Mussolini was arrested. Upon learning the news of the change in government, German troops were prepared to disarm the Italian military.
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- The RAF commenced dropping small strips of metal foil (codename "Window") to confuse frequencies of the efficient German precision radars.
- Orde Wingate was recalled to Britain.
» In-depth article
- 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.
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- US Army Major General Nathan Twining replaced US Navy Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher as Commander, Aircraft, Solomons.
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- The Americans launched what would be the final offensive against Japanese positions on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands.
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Alaska
- USS S-35 arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, ending her sixth war patrol.
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Caroline Islands
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Norway
- German submarine U-703 arrived at Hopen island, Norway and picked up four survivors of Russian freighter Dekabrist, including the skipper Beliaev.
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26 Jul 1943
- 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.
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- Adolf Hitler ordered an operation to be commenced to rescue Mussolini from his arrest.
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- USS S-31 arrived at Nouméa, New Caledonia, ending her seventh war patrol.
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- USS Mingo fired four torpedoes at a Japanese tanker; all torpedoes missed.
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- USS Scorpion arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol.
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Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 26 Jul 1943
27 Jul 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Heavy fighting in Sicily, Italy led to Feldmarschall Kesselring's decision to plan a possible evacuation of his forces to the mainland.
» In-depth article
- In Italy, Mussolini was moved from Rome to Ponza Island.
» In-depth article
- Adolf Hitler held a conference with Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, Erwin Rommel, and Karl Dönitz.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- USS Flying Fish arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
Russia
- German submarine U-255 sank Soviet survey ship Akademik Shokalski off Novaya Zemlya archipelago in northern Russia.
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United States
- USS Ray was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander B. J. Harral in command.
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28 Jul 1943
Italy
- Otto Skorzeny arrived in Rome, Italy and visited Albert Kesselring at the Tusculum II villa outside of the city.
» In-depth article
Japan
Russia
- George Zhukov was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class for the second time.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 28 Jul 1943
29 Jul 1943
- 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.
- German Armeegruppe A attacked to improve its positions on the Mius River in Ukraine.
- 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.
Germany
- Joseph Goebbels' diary entry of this date noted that Hamburg, Germany had been devastated and about 800,000 were made homeless.
» In-depth article
30 Jul 1943
- German Armeegruppe A's attack along the Mius River in Ukraine came to a unsuccessful conclusion.
- 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.
- Remy Van Lierde shot down a German Bf 109 fighter, which was his fourth kill.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Orde Wingate departed Delhi, India.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback sank a Japanese freighter in the South China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Germany
- Hamburg, Germany was bombed again before dawn by 777 RAF bombers.
» In-depth article
Italy
Mediterranean Sea
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 30 Jul 1943
31 Jul 1943
- Young was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- The Chinese-American Composite Wing of the USAAF 14th Air Force was established.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Oberleutnant Erich Baumgartl of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Caroline Islands
China
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 31 Jul 1943
1 Aug 1943
- Amon Göth was promoted to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer.
» In-depth article
- The puppet Burmese government declared war on Britain and the Untied States.
- Hitler ordered the Orel, Russia salient evacuated.
- USAAF bombed the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania; 30% of the raid force was lost.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback damaged a Japanese transport in the South China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down three Soviet aircraft, increasing his victories to 46.
» In-depth article
- Americans captured the Munda airfield on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Japan
Ukraine
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- USS Alabama was detached from the British Royal Navy Home Fleet and departed Scapa Flow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
United States
- Submarine Golet was launched at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States, sponsored by the wife of Senator Alexander Wiley.
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Photo(s) dated 1 Aug 1943
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2 Aug 1943
- Auschwitz Concentration Camp's special camp for Roma people was liquidated; 2,897 prisoners were gassed. Meanwhile, 200 Jews revolted in Treblinka concentration camp, burning down several buildings, and attempted to escape; camp guards found and killed most of them.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- The P.119 prototype fighter was damaged in a landing accident.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Gunnel began a period of overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
» In-depth article
3 Aug 1943
- Shokaku sortied from Truk.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Italian troops begin evacuation of Sicily, Italy.
» In-depth article
- In southern Russia, the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts drove into German Armeegruppe Süd's flank, causing a retreat.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback sank a Japanese cargo ship in the South China Sea, hitting her with 2 of 5 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down three Soviet aircraft, increasing his victories to 50.
» In-depth article
- Tanks of the US Marine Corps 9th Battalion joined the American offensive on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- USS Seahorse departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
Russia
- Troops of Soviet Voronezh Front and Steppe Front crossed the Vorskla River and penetrated German lines near Belgorod, Russia.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 3 Aug 1943
4 Aug 1943
- German 9.Armee retreated, allowing Red Army to move into Orel, Russia.
- The US advance in Sicily, Italy was halted at Troina and the Furiano River.
» In-depth article
Gibraltar
- In Operation BG 7, Italian auxiliary ship Olterra launched three manned torpedoes against Gibraltar, sinking three cargo ships.
Italy
- Allied bombers attacked Naples, Italy, killing many civilians.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- Orde Wingate arrived in London, England, United Kingdom and was told that he would accompany Winston Churchill to Canada.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 4 Aug 1943
5 Aug 1943
- In Sicily, Italy, German forces withdrew from Troina, while British Eighth Army captured Catania.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fourth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- British trawler Gulland was launched.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Minesweeper USS Alarm was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act.
- 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.
» In-depth article
Russia
- Soviet troops nearly the German garrison at Belgorod, Russia; German troops began evacuating the city after sundown.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 5 Aug 1943
6 Aug 1943
- USS Corvina was commissioned into service with Commander Roderick S. Rooney in command.
» In-depth article
- In the Battle of Vella Gulf in the Solomon Islands, three Japanese destroyers were destroyed, killing 600 sailors and 900 Japanese Army passengers.
» In-depth article
- USS Mingo damaged a Japanese freighter, hitting her with one out of four torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Pollack attacked a Japanese convoy off Kyushu, Japan, damaging one ship with one of six torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Alaska
- USS S-35 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her seventh war patrol.
» In-depth article
Russia
- Soviet troops engaged the German 4th Panzerarmee headquarters unit at Bogodukhov, Russia.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 6 Aug 1943
7 Aug 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Hawkbill was laid down.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Oberstleutnant Ernst K¸hl stepped down as the commanding officer of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing.
Panama Canal Zone
Russia
- Soviet troops reached the area northeast of Poltava and Akhtyrka, Russia.
» In-depth article
8 Aug 1943
- The imprisoned Mussolini was transferred to the island of La Maddalena off Sardinia, Italy.
» In-depth article
- King Vittorio Emanuele III decreed that Italy was under a state of siege.
» In-depth article
- US troops landed at St. Agata, Sicily, Italy.
» In-depth article
- USS Gar departed Fremantle, Australia for her ninth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Oberstleutnant Wilhelm Antrup was named the commanding officer of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing.
9 Aug 1943
- USS Tunny arrived at Midway Atoll.
» In-depth article
- Winston Churchill arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada aboard the passenger liner Queen Mary.
» In-depth article
- The main body of the Japanese Southeast Detached Force was moved to Kolombangara in the 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.
» In-depth article
- German officer Georg Jantschi voluntarily surrendered to the Soviets.
China
- Dong Zhao was named the Deputy Commander of the Border Region of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Suiyuan under General Deng Baoshan.
» In-depth article
Japan
- Nobutake Kondo was appointed to the Japanese Supreme War Council.
» In-depth article
United States
Photo(s) dated 9 Aug 1943
10 Aug 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- George Patton visited the 93rd Evacuation Hospital in Sicily, Italy and berated Private Paul Bennett for cowardice.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny departed Midway Atoll.
» In-depth article
- Bernard Montgomery was awarded the title of Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit of the United States.
» In-depth article
- Winston Churchill arrived at Hyde Park, New York, United States to visit Franklin Roosevelt.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 10 Aug 1943
11 Aug 1943
- Jews from Theresienstadt Concentration Camp began to be transported to Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- The minesweeper USS Alchemy was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act.
- Following the crushing defeat at Kursk, Russia, the German forces at Kharkov became in danger of being encircled.
- USS Finback damaged a Japanese ship in the South China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 7 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- The construction of Akashi-class repair ships Mihara and Momotori at the Mitsubishi Yokohama Shipyard, Japan were canceled.
- USS S-35 sighted a Japanese ship in the Pacific Ocean but failed to close in for attack.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 11 Aug 1943
12 Aug 1943
- 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.
- German forces evacuated Sicily, Italy.
» In-depth article
- Milan, Italy received 1,000 tons of explosives from the RAF.
Ukraine
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 12 Aug 1943
13 Aug 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 13 Aug 1943
14 Aug 1943
British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
Russia
- The German troops at Belgorod, Russia broke out of the region after suffering 20,000 killed.
» In-depth article
Ukraine
- Erich von Manstein placed General Otto Wöhler in charge of the defense of Kharkov, Ukraine.
» In-depth article
United States
- Joseph Rochefort received orders to go to Eureka, California, United States for the commissioning of the 5th section of floating drydock ABSD-2.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 14 Aug 1943
15 Aug 1943
- The Swedish government rescinded the previously given permission for German transports to cross Sweden.
- The German Luftwaffe mounted the heaviest raid on Plymouth, England, United Kingdom in two years with 91 aircraft.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was named the commanding officer of the 2nd Group of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3.
» In-depth article
- Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria visited Adolf Hitler; during the visit, Boris refused to change Bulgaria's neutral stance toward the Soviet Union.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- The US Northern Landing Force attacked Japanese positions on Vella Lavella island in the Barakoma airfield region near New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Ray completed its training in Lake Michigan in northern United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 15 Aug 1943
16 Aug 1943
- Starting this date and continuing for the next seven days, revolt and destruction took place in the Bialystok Ghetto in Poland.
- US troops entered Messina, Sicily, Italy. Meanwhile, the Axis forces successfully evacuated 100,000 troops from Sicily to the mainland.
» In-depth article
- Intrepid was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
Alaska
- USS S-28 arrived at Massacre Bay, Attu, US Territory of Alaska.
» In-depth article
Byelorussia
- 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.
Hawaii
- US Navy awarded a contract to build a new military hospital at Aiea, US Territory of Hawaii.
Japan
- 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.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
Ukraine
- The Soviets launched an attack toward Stalino (now Donetsk), Ukraine.
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United States
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 16 Aug 1943
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17 Aug 1943
- Allied artillery began shelling Italian mainland from Messina, Sicily.
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- 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.
- 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.
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- Minesweeper USS Apex was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act.
Germany
- 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. Meanwhile, British bombers took off to bomb 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.
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Japan
United States
- Submarine Tang was launched at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States; she was sponsored by Mrs. Antonio S. Pitre.
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Photo(s) dated 17 Aug 1943
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18 Aug 1943
- Referencing an alliance from 1373 with Britain, Portugal allowed the Allies to use the Azore Islands for air and naval bases.
- 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.
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- USS Tunny sighted Pagan and Alamagan in the Mariana Islands.
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- USS Snook departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol.
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- 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.
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- Orde Wingate met Franklin Roosevelt at Quebec, Canada, introduced by Winston Churchill.
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United States
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 18 Aug 1943
19 Aug 1943
- 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.
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- German defenses along the Mius River were breached near Stalino (now Donetsk), Ukraine.
- German Luftwaffe Chief of Staff Oberstgeneral Hans Jeschonnek committed suicide.
- 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.
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- USS Finback attacked several Japanese surface ships with gunfire east of Borneo, sinking one small patrol vessel.
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- 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.
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Germany
- Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report.
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Netherlands
- Robert Johnson scored his second kill over Woensdrecht, the Netherlands, shooting down a German Bf 109G fighter.
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United States
- USS Alabama completed a scheduled overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia, United States.
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Photo(s) dated 19 Aug 1943
20 Aug 1943
- USS S-31 completed training services at Nouméa, New Caledonia.
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- USS Gar sank a Japanese ship in daylight with one of three torpedoes fired.
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- Otto Skorzeny returned to mainland Italy after being shot down by British fighters two days prior.
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- German Admiral Canaris' sources informed him that Benito Mussolini might be held prisoner on the island of Elba, Italy.
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- Admiral Chester Nimitz submitted a general plan for the invasion of the Marshall Islands.
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British Western Pacific Territories
- Baanga island, located just off western New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, was secured by elements of the US Army 43rd Division.
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Ukraine
- Soviet and German tanks engaged in combat in the fields near Kharkov, Ukraine; the Soviets were defeated after losing 184 T-34 tanks.
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United States
Photo(s) dated 20 Aug 1943
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21 Aug 1943
- The I. G. Farben factory in Oppau, Germany increased the minimum requirement of work for forced laborers to 67 hours per week.
- USS Hoe departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- German submarine U-354 pursued an Allied convoy off northern Russia to no success.
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Australia
Italy
- George Patton apologized to Private Paul Bennett whom he slapped at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital for accused cowardice.
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Ukraine
- Erich von Manstein authorized the retreat from Kharkov, Ukraine.
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22 Aug 1943
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
- Elements of the US 2nd Marine Airdrome Battalion landed on Nukufetau, Ellice Islands.
Italy
- 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.
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Ukraine
- German troops in Kharkov, Ukraine began evacuating after sundown.
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23 Aug 1943
- Iro Ilk was awarded with the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe goblet.
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- The US submarine chasers SC-694 and SC-696 were sunk by German Ju-88 dive bombers off the coast of Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
- 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.
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Caroline Islands
China
- 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.
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Germany
- 727 RAF bombers dropped 1,700 tons of explosives on Berlin, Germany.
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Italy
- George Patton apologized to Charles Kuhl whom he slapped at a field hospital for accused cowardice.
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Ukraine
- 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.
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24 Aug 1943
- Wilhelm Frick was named Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.
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- Heinrich Himmler was appointed as Minister of the Interior of Germany.
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- 1,260 Polish Jewish children from the liquidated Bialystok ghetto arrived at Theresienstadt Concentration Camp.
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- In Denmark, bomb incidents and strikes marked growing resistance.
- 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.
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British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
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United States
- The keel of submarine Spot was laid down at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
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Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1943
25 Aug 1943
- Shokaku sortied from Truk.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- Americans captured Bairoko Harbor on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands.
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- 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.
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- USS Finback fired two torpedoes at a Japanese transport in the Dutch East Indies; all torpedoes missed.
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- 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.
- Louis Mountbatten was officially named the Supreme Allied Commander, Southeast Asia.
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Italy
- The Foggia airfield in Italy was attacked by Allied fighters and bombers.
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Panama Canal Zone
Photo(s) dated 25 Aug 1943
26 Aug 1943
- The French Committee of National Liberation headed by General de Gaulle was recognised by Britain, the United States and Russia.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The minesweeper USS Arcade was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act.
Italy
- Otto Skorzeny arrived at La Maddalena, Italy via E-boats. Later that day, he learned that Mussolini had just been transported away.
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United States
- The keel of submarine Charr was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States.
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27 Aug 1943
- 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".
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- Anzio was commissioned into service.
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- 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.
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- Adolf Hitler met with Erich von Manstein at the Wehrwolf headquarters in Ukraine. This was his final visit to this headquarters site.
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- USS Iowa departed for Argentia, Newfoundland.
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- Ivan Bagramyan was awarded the Order of Suvorov for the first time.
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- Arthur Coningham was made Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit of the United States.
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British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
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Gilbert and Ellice Islands
- Elements of the US 2nd Marine Airdrome Battalion and US Navy Construction Battalion units arrived at Nukufetau Atoll in the Ellice Islands.
28 Aug 1943
Caroline Islands
Italy
- 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.
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United States
- Eight of the ten sections USS ABSD-1 began to be towed from San Francisco, California, United States for the South Pacific.
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- USS Dorado was commissioned into service, Lieutenant Commander Earle Caffrey Schneider in command.
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29 Aug 1943
- The Danish Royal Family was "isolated for their protection" by the Germans as martial law was declared in Denmark.
- USS Hoe fired 4 torpedoes at a Japanese destroyer escort; all torpedoes missed.
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- USS Tunny completed temporary repairs at sea in the Palau Islands and set sail for home.
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- Submarine Guitarro was launched, sponsored by the wife of chief of the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Ross T. McIntire.
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- 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.
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30 Aug 1943
- Danish Prime Minister Erik Scavenius refused to work for the German occupation.
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- Germans evacuated Taganrog, Russia.
- HMCS Haida (G63) was commissioned into service with Commander H. C. DeWolf in command.
- USS Snook arrived in the Marcus Island area and a conducted photograph reconnaissance mission.
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- USS Cabrilla arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
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- Light carrier Ryuho disembarked the air group originally from carrier Hiyo as Hiyo's repairs were completed.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
Italy
- 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.
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- Bernard Montgomery hosted a victory celebration at Catania, Sicily, Italy.
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Photo(s) dated 30 Aug 1943
31 Aug 1943
- Hitler authorized limited withdrawals in Ukraine.
- USS S-31 made a daylight attack on a Japanese submarine; three torpedoes were fired, but none hit the target.
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- 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.
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- USS Langley was commissioned into service.
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- Velite was commissioned into service.
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- Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross.
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- Lieutenant Commander Bernard Bowick was named the commanding officer of HMS Dianthus.
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Germany
Norway
- German submarine U-703 arrived at Narvik, Norway and dropped off four survivors of Russian freighter Dekabrist.
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Panama Canal Zone
- USS Ray arrived at the submarine base of Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone.
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Photo(s) dated 31 Aug 1943
1 Sep 1943
- 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.
- USS Snook performed lifeguard duty for carrier aircraft airmen.
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- 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.
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Australia
Italy
- Students gathered to protest at Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples, Italy.
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Japan
Photo(s) dated 1 Sep 1943
2 Sep 1943
- 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.
- The British Royal Navy battleships HMS Warspite and HMS Valiant bombarded Reggio Calabria at the southern tip of Italy, eliminating a six gun battery.
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- Light carrier Ryuho was assigned to the Standby Force of the Mobile Force of Carrier Division 2 of the Third Fleet.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Japan
- Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Kure, Japan where she would be drydocked for repairs and refitting.
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3 Sep 1943
- The Jewish ghetto at Tarnów, Poland was closed and its residents deported; Amon Göth was placed in charge of the deportation.
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- John Basilone arrived in New York, New York, United States.
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- USS Pollack sank Japanese cargo ship Tagonoura Maru off Japan with two of four toropedoes fired.
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- Hauptmann Heinrich Höfer of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Caroline Islands
Germany
- Robert von Greim was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht radio report.
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Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Historical document written: Armistice with Italy
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- Historical document written: Armistice with Italy
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Photo(s) dated 3 Sep 1943
4 Sep 1943
Germany
- 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.
- Historical document written: No. 143: Message from Loraine to Halifax
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 4 Sep 1943
5 Sep 1943
Italy
Photo(s) dated 5 Sep 1943
6 Sep 1943
- Operation Sizilien: Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, and 9 destroyers departed Kåfjord, Norway for an attack on the Allied base on Spitzbergen.
» In-depth article
- Operation Sizilien: Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, and 9 destroyers departed Kåfjord, Norway for an attack on the Allied base on Spitzbergen.
» In-depth article
- Red Army succeeded in rupturing the line between German Armeegruppe Mitte and German Armeegruppe Süd.
- Major Egon Mayer of the German Geschwaderkommodore of JG2 "Richthofen" shot down three B-17 bombers in the space of just 19 minutes.
- The minesweeper USS Arch was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act.
- John Basilone began a bond tour in the New York City region of the United States.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- German units in the southwestern tip of Italy began falling back toward Castrovillari.
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Photo(s) dated 6 Sep 1943
7 Sep 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- German 17.Armee began evacuating the Kuban bridgehead in southern Russia, while other non-Army organizations began removing their rear echelon units.
» In-depth article
- RAF aircraft bombed V-1 rocket launch sites on the French coast.
- USS Puffer departed Fremantle, Australia for her first war patrol in the Makassar Strait-Celebes Sea area in the Dutch East Indies.
» In-depth article
Italy
- British and Canadian troops engaged with troops of German Krüger Battle Group in southwestern Italy.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 7 Sep 1943
8 Sep 1943
- Operation Sizilien: Tirpitz attacked the Allied base at Spitzbergen.
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- Operation Sizilien: Scharnhorst attacked the Allied base at Spitzbergen.
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- USS S-28 departed for her seventh war patrol.
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- USS Tunny arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fourth war patrol.
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- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- The Italians formally announced their unconditional surrender to the Allies, leading to German reserve forces crossing the border into Italy.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Photo(s) dated 8 Sep 1943
9 Sep 1943
- Tirpitz arrived at Kåfjord, Norway.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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-depth article
- The US submarine Grayling was missing, presumed rammed and sunk by a Japanese vessel, whilst on patrol off Manila, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
Australia
- USS Bluefish departed Brisbane, Australia for her first war patrol.
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Australian New Guinea
- Small scale clashes took place between Italian civilians and policemen and German troops.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Marshall Islands
United States
- John Basilone participated in a bond tour event in Newark, New Jersey, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 9 Sep 1943
See all photos dated 9 Sep 1943
10 Sep 1943
- After no report since 27 Jul 1943, the Japanese Navy presumed I-168 lost.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Soviet troops launched the Second Taman Offensive Operation in the Caucasus region of southern Russia, penetrating the defensive Blue Line.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
- John Basilone participated in a bond tour event in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 10 Sep 1943
11 Sep 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Pierre Le Gloan passed away.
» In-depth article
- German authorities raided Jews in Nice, France.
- US and French troops landed on the French island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Italian forces in various Aegean islands surrendered to the Germans, including those at the island of Rhodes.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Jewish ghettos in Byelorussian cities of Minsk and Lida were liquidated over the next 3 days.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
Italy
- British 1st Airborne Division captured Brindisi and Bari, Italy without resitance; 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- Orde Wingate departed the United Kingdom for Lisbon, Portugal.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 11 Sep 1943
12 Sep 1943
- USS Cassin Young was launched.
» In-depth article
- German Luftwaffe and SS personnel rescued Mussolini from Gran Sasso, Italy.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- USS Snook fired 6 torpedoes at a Japanese transport; all torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
- USS Cabrilla departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Pompon departed Brisbane, Australia for her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Portugal
Photo(s) dated 12 Sep 1943
See all photos dated 12 Sep 1943
13 Sep 1943
- USS S-28 entered her patrol area in the northern Kurile Islands.
» In-depth article
- Allied aircraft bombed Rhodes, a Greek island recently under Italian occupation, now garrisoned by German troops.
» In-depth article
- USS Gar arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her ninth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Snook sank Japanese transport Yamato Maru in the East China Sea with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Orde Wingate departed Cairo, Egypt for Karachi, India.
» In-depth article
- Chiang Kaishek reluctantly agreed to stop the fighting against communist forces in China and turn his full attention to the Japanese.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 13 Sep 1943
14 Sep 1943
- French commandos infiltrated Corsica to aid partisans against the Germans.
- Kos Island, Greece was occupied by British Royal Navy Special Boat Service troops.
» In-depth article
- German troops evacuated Bryansk, Russia.
- USS Seahorse attacked a Japanese tanker in the Palau Islands; all eight torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
New Hebrides
- USS Alabama arrived at Havannah Harbor, Efate Island, New Hebrides Islands.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 14 Sep 1943
See all photos dated 14 Sep 1943
15 Sep 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS S-28 suffered severe smoking and sparking from her port main motor, which took 14 hours to repair.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Otto Skorzeny flew from Munich, Germany to East Prussia, Germany; on the same flight were Ambassador Dörnberg and Ernst Kaltenbrunner.
» In-depth article
- Escort carrier Wake Island was launched, sponsored by the wife of Rear Admiral Frederick Sherman.
» In-depth article
- Submarine Pintado was launched, sponsored by Mrs. Antonio Prince.
» In-depth article
- The veteran pilots of the German Luftwaffe's JG 51 "Mölders" fighter unit record their 7,000th combat kill.
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- A new marine railway for handling destroyers and submarines at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, US Territory of Hawaii was completed.
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
United States
- The keel of Kanalku Bay was laid down by Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver, Washington, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1943
16 Sep 1943
- USS S-28 transited Mushiru Kaikyo in the Kurile Islands.
» In-depth article
- Leros Island in the Aegean Sea was captured by British troops.
» In-depth article
- Yugoslavian partisans captured Split, Dalmatia, Yugoslavia.
- Soviet naval infantry captured Novorossiysk, Russia.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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."
» In-depth article
- USS Pollack arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her seventh war patrol.
» In-depth article
- Minesweeper USS Armada was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act.
Caroline Islands
France
- Julius Ritter, aide to the Labor Minister Fritz Sauckel, was shot in Paris, France; 50 French would be executed in reprisal.
Italy
- After sundown, British 10th Parachute Battalion and 156th Parachute Battalion captured Gioia, Italy. German troops attempted to attack positions held by troops of British X Corps near Salerno, but made little progress. To the south, Bernard Montgomery's British 5th Infantry Division reached Sapri, less than 100 kilometers from Salerno. Heinrich von Vietinghoff recommended Albert Kesselring to break off the offensive in the Salerno area, fall back, and form a defensive line.
» In-depth article
United States
- The keel of submarine Chub was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 16 Sep 1943
17 Sep 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Tunny arrived at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, California, United States.
» In-depth article
18 Sep 1943
Australia
Caroline Islands
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Italy
Japan
Pacific Ocean
- USS Bluefish sank small Japanese ship with her deck gun in the Dutch East Indies.
» In-depth article
Russia
- German submarine U-711 shelled the Soviet wireless telegraph station at Pravdy in northern Russia.
» In-depth article
United States
Photo(s) dated 18 Sep 1943
19 Sep 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Italian resistance forced German troops off the island of Sardinia, Italy.
- Orde Wingate arrived in Delhi, India.
» In-depth article
- Oberleutnant Franz Schmidt of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Germany
- 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.
Italy
- In Italy, British and American troops of US Fifth Army marched from Salerno toward Naples.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
United States
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Submarine Gabilan was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by the wife of Rear Admiral Jules James.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 19 Sep 1943
20 Sep 1943
- Shokaku arrived at Eniwetok.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- German Armeegruppe Süd began withdrawing to a new line running from Melitopol to Zaporozhe in Ukraine.
- HMS Polyanthus (Lieutenant J. G. Aitken) was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-952, whilst on escort duties southwest of Iceland.
- 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.
Australia
- USS Cisco departed Darwin, Australia for her first and only war patrol.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Italy
- British Eighth Army captured Bari, Italy. Meanwhile, Venice was bombed by Allied planes.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Photo(s) dated 20 Sep 1943
21 Sep 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Davao, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- The southern portion of the German defensive Panther Line was breached when Red Army units crossed the Dneiper River near Dnepropetrovsk in Ukraine.
- Picking was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Pacific Ocean
- USS Bluefish attacked a Japanese ship in the Celebes Sea; all four torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- 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.
22 Sep 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Davao, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Hoe damaged a Japanese tanker after hitting her with 2 out of 6 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was presented Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross by Adolf Hitler at Wolfsschanze near Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- British 78th Infantry Division began to arrive at Bari, Italy. Elsewhere in Italy, US 3rd Infantry Division captured Acerno.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 22 Sep 1943
23 Sep 1943
- Red Army captured Poltava, Ukraine.
- The Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania was liquidated.
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- Indian 8th Infantry Division began to arrive at Taranto, Italy.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Russia
- Colonel Pyotr P. Timofeev was named the Soviet counterintelligence agency GUKR SMERSH's chief within the Steppe Front.
United States
- USS Gar entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Brill was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States.
» In-depth article
- Historical document written: Armistice with Italy, Employment and Disposition of Italian Fleet and Merchant Marine (Cunningham-de Courten Agreement)
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 23 Sep 1943
24 Sep 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Ambon, Molucca Islands and departed later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS Cabrilla attacked a Japanese escort carrier with six torpedoes in the Western Pacific, causing some damage.
» In-depth article
- James Johnson was awarded Bar to his Distinguished Service Order medal.
» In-depth article
- Two of the ten sections of USS ABSD-1 arrived at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Russia
- German submarine U-711 shelled the Soviet wireless telegraph station at Blagopoluchiya in northern Russia.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- Following the untimely death of Sir Kingsley Wood, Sir John Anderson was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom.
25 Sep 1943
- Soviet troops captured Roslavl and Smolensk, Russia.
- All Jewish ghettos in Byelorussia were liquidated.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Italy
- General Otto Fretter-Pico was named the commanding officer of German 148th Infantry Division in Italy.
- Italian resistance fighters captured a stock of 250 rifles which had been previously confiscated by German authorities in Naples, Italy.
» In-depth article
Japan
Marshall Islands
Pacific Ocean
- USS Bluefish sank a Japanese ship south of Celebes, Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 3 of 10 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 25 Sep 1943
26 Sep 1943
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- USS Cero departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
Italy
- Large scale riots began taking place on the streets of Naples, Italy.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Pacific Ocean
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 26 Sep 1943
27 Sep 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- German troops started to withdraw all forces out of Ukraine to defensive positions on the west side of the Dnieper River.
- The last German-held port on the Black Sea, Temyruk, Russia, was captured by the Red Army.
Italy
- British 78th Infantry Division captured the major airfield complex near Foggia, Italy.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
US Pacific Islands
- USS Seahorse arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
28 Sep 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Makassar, Celebes and departed later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Germans recaptured Split, Dalmatia, Yugoslavia from the partisans.
- The US submarine Cisco was sunk by Japanese aircraft west of Mindanao, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
Italy
- US 3rd Infantry Division captured Avellino, Italy.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Pacific Ocean
- USS Bluefish sank a Japanese transport in the Banda Sea, hitting her with 2 of 2 torpedoes fired.,
» In-depth article
29 Sep 1943
- USS Mingo departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Snook damaged a Japanese craft with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
- Lord Gort participated in the Italian surrender ceremony in Valetta harbor in Italy.
» In-depth article
- The minesweeper USS Aspire was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act.
Dutch East Indies
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
30 Sep 1943
- The Soviet Dneiper bridgehead in southern Ukraine expanded to a 300-mile frontage.
- 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.
- USS Hoe fired 4 torpedoes at a Japanese freighter; all torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
Italy
- German troops began evacuating Naples, Italy amidst continued fighting, leaving behind a burning city historical archive and many booby traps.
» In-depth article
Russia
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
Photo(s) dated 30 Sep 1943
1 Oct 1943
- American submarine USS Halibut tested a torpedo equipped with newly designed contact exploder.
» In-depth article
- The US Navy Pacific Fleet deployed its first submarine wolfpack.
- U-52 was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article
- USS Pompon attacked a Japanese transport in the South China Sea; all 4 torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
China
Denmark
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Russia
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 1 Oct 1943
2 Oct 1943
- USS Cod arrived at Brisbane, Australia.
» In-depth article
- Orders were given by the German government to deport Danish Jews to concentration camps.
» In-depth article
- RAF aircraft bombed München, Germany.
» In-depth article
- Louis Mountbatten departed Northolt, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- Eight of the ten sections of USS ABSD-1 arrived at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides.
» In-depth article
Dutch East Indies
Italy
3 Oct 1943
Caroline Islands
Dutch East Indies
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 3 Oct 1943
4 Oct 1943
- Construction began for the first nuclear reactor at the Hanford Site of the Manhattan Project in Washington, United States.
» In-depth article
- German forces captured Kos in the Dodecanese Islands.
» In-depth article
- The French occupation of Corsica was completed.
- 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.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- USS Flying Fish departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her seventh war patrol with Lieutenant Commander Glynn Donaho in command.
» In-depth article
Italy
- German 16th Panzer Division attacked the newly gained bridgehead on the Biferno River near Termoli, Italy on the eastern end of the Volturno Line.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 4 Oct 1943
5 Oct 1943
- USS S-28 traveled through the Onekotan Strait in the northern Kurile Islands.
» In-depth article
- Germans completed their evacuation of Corsica, France.
- 1,196 Polish Jewish children originally from the liquidated Bialystok ghetto were transferred from Theresienstadt Concentration Camp to Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
» In-depth article
- American aircraft bombed Wake Island.
- Remy Van Lierde shot down a German Ju 88 heavy fighter (his fifth kill) and destroyed another aircraft on the ground.
» In-depth article
- Manila Bay was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Submarine U-869 was launched.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stilwell ordered Sun Liren to launch an offensive in northern Burma, but Sun hesitated.
» In-depth article
- Minesweeper USS Assail was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act.
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Panama Canal Zone
Photo(s) dated 5 Oct 1943
6 Oct 1943
- Soviet troops captured Nevel, Russia, which was on the boundary shared by German Armeegruppe North and German Armeegruppe Mitte.
- Louis Mountbatten arrived in Delhi, India.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- The first docking at the newly completed Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, US Territory of Hawaii took place.
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
United States
Photo(s) dated 6 Oct 1943
7 Oct 1943
- 98 captured Americans were executed on Wake Island on the orders of Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara as reprisal to a 5 Oct air raid.
- A group of Auschwitz prisoners blew up one of the crematoria; all saboteurs were caught and executed.
- RAF aircraft bombed Stuttgart, Germany.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stilwell met with the newly arrived Louis Mountbatten in Delhi, India.
» In-depth article
- German submarine U-703 rescued survivors of sunken Russian freighter Dekabrist.
» In-depth article
Italy
- German defenses halted US Fifth Army on the Volturno River, Italy.
» In-depth article
8 Oct 1943
- USS Hoe searched for down American airmen in the Wake Island area.
» In-depth article
- USS Snook arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Germany
- Robert Johnson shot down a German Fw 190 aircraft over Lingen, Germany.
» In-depth article
Japan
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Kure, Japan to escort carrier Ryuho to Singapore.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Texas began escorting an Allied convoy from New York, New York, United States to Britain.
» In-depth article
9 Oct 1943
- Kuban, Russia was under complete Soviet control as the last German and Romanian units had evacuated to Crimea in southern Ukraine.
» In-depth article
- US bombers attacked Mariensburg, Germany.
» In-depth article
- USS Hoe searched for down American airmen in the Wake Island area.
» In-depth article
- The American destroyer USS Buck was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-616 off Salerno, Italy.
- USS Puffer damaged a Japanese transport east of Borneo, Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- Oberfeldwebel Johann Boos and Oberleutnant Robert Seib of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Germany
- Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report.
» In-depth article
Norway
- German submarine U-703 arrived at Harstad, Norway and dropped off two survivors of Russian freighter Dekabrist.
» In-depth article
Russia
- Semyon Timoshenko was awarded the Order of Suvorov 1st Class for the first time.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 9 Oct 1943
10 Oct 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Saeki, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Dutch East Indies
Germany
- Robert Johnson shot down a German Bf 110 aircraft and a Fw 190 aircraft over Münster, Germany.
» In-depth article
Japan
- Prince Morihiro married Shigeko, the Princess Teru, the oldest daughter of Emperor Showa.
» In-depth article
Russia
- N. A. Rozanov was named the Soviet counterintelligence agency GUKR SMERSH's chief within the 2nd Byelorussian Front.
Photo(s) dated 10 Oct 1943
11 Oct 1943
Caroline Islands
Dutch East Indies
12 Oct 1943
- German 250th Infantry Division of Spanish volunteers began to be pulled from the front lines two days after Franco ordered their return.
- An Allied convoy sailing through the planned path of USS Dorado reported no submarine contacts.
» In-depth article
- USS Cero attacked a Japanese convoy consisted of three freighters escorted by two destroyers, damaging one freighter; nine torpedoes were expended.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
13 Oct 1943
- Red Army units reached Melitopol, Russia.
- USS Scorpion departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol.
» In-depth article
Alaska
- USS S-28 arrived at Attu, US Territory of Alaska, ending her seventh war patrol.
» In-depth article
Dutch East Indies
Italy
- Marshal Pietro Badoglio's new Italian government announced a declaration of war against Germany. Meanwhile, US Fifth Army crossed the Volturno River in Italy.
» In-depth article
Russia
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 13 Oct 1943
14 Oct 1943
- USS Corvina arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Prisoners of Sobibor Concentration Camp in Poland destroyed extermination facilities and escaped en masse; 300 disappeared into the woods and 50 joined partisan units.
» In-depth article
- German troops cleared the Zaporozhe bridgehead, retreating across the Dneiper River in southern Ukraine.
- Submarine Segundo was laid down.
» In-depth article
- Natoma Bay was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Canberra (Baltimore-class) was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Pompon attacked a Japanese oiler in the Gulf of Siam; all 4 torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 14 Oct 1943
See all photos dated 14 Oct 1943
16 Oct 1943
- More than 1,000 Italian Jews from Rome were sent to Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- USS Mingo fired a spread of six torpedoes at a Japanese carrier, claiming two hits.
» In-depth article
- Louis Mountbatten named William Slim the commanding officer of the new 14th Army.
» In-depth article
- Light carrier Ryuho departed Sama (now Sanya), Hainan, China.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 16 Oct 1943
17 Oct 1943
- Yamato sortied from Truk to Brown Atoll, Eniwetok in response to radio traffic that suggested a potential American strike on Wake Island.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS Scorpion refueld at Midway Atoll.
» In-depth article
- USS Puffer arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- US Army Colonel Lewis Pick assumed command of the Allied road building effort in India and Burma.
Caroline Islands
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Photo(s) dated 17 Oct 1943
18 Oct 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Singapore.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Italian Jews from Rome began to be deported to concentration camps.
» In-depth article
- USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese escort carrier in the Western Pacific, hitting her with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
- USAAF B-29 bombers attacked Truk, Caroline Islands.
China
United States
- USS Flier was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander John D. Crowley in command.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 18 Oct 1943
19 Oct 1943
- Yamato arrived at Brown Atoll, Eniwetok.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- US Navy communiqué revealed that, since 7 Dec 1941, American submarines had sunk 319 Japanese vessels and damaged at least 81.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Seletar, Singapore.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Caroline Islands
Italy
- US Fifth Army's Volturno River offensive in Italy was stalled by resistance and weather.
» In-depth article
20 Oct 1943
- The United Nations War Crimes Commission was established.
- Vatutin's attacked out of Bukrin, Ukraine were rebuffed with heavy Soviet casualties.
- Lieutenant Commander Shohei Matsumoto relieved Lieutenant Commander Shoichi Oyamada as the commanding officer of destroyer Yuzuki.
» In-depth article
- Louis Mountbatten departed China for India. On the same day, Chiang Kaishek sent a message to King George VI, complimenting the new supreme commander.
» In-depth article
- Chuichi Nagumo stepped down as the commanding officer of Kure Naval District, Japan and was given command of the First Fleet.
» In-depth article
US Pacific Islands
- USS Seahorse departed Midway Atoll for her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
21 Oct 1943
China
French Indochina
Poland
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 21 Oct 1943
22 Oct 1943
- USS Cod arrived departed Brisbane, Australia on her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- During an RAF raid on Kassel, Germany, the RAF began Operation Corona to jam German night-fighter communications.
» In-depth article
- HMS Orfasy was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-68 off Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa.
- Louis Mountbatten met with William Slim for the first time at Barrackpore in eastern India.
» In-depth article
French Indochina
23 Oct 1943
- Yamato departed Brown Atoll, Eniwetok and sortied to a position 250 miles south of Wake Island.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Soviet forces captured Melitopol, Ukraine after 10 days of combat; meanwhile, Malinovsky's forces captured Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.
- Lieutenant General Brehon Somervell visited India and offered US Army railway troops to support the British Bengal and Assam Railway.
24 Oct 1943
Photo(s) dated 24 Oct 1943
25 Oct 1943
- Submarine Kete was laid down.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion began a reconnaissance mission of Agrihan and Pagan islands in the Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
Taiwan
United States
- Liberty Ship Sidney Lanier departed Port Chicago, California, United States at 1320 hours.
26 Oct 1943
- RAF bombers attacked Stuttgart, Germany before dawn; during the day, USAAF bombers bombed Bremen, Germany.
» In-depth article
- USS Rock was commissioned into service with Commander John Jay Flachsenhar in command.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion completed a reconnaissance mission of Agrihan and Pagan islands in the Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Light carrier Ryuho departed Singapore.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Vasily Chuikov was awarded the Order of Lenin for the first time.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 26 Oct 1943
27 Oct 1943
- After suffering severe injuries in a car crash, Feldmarschall von Kluge was invalided home.
» In-depth article
- Johnston was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- USS Flying Fish sank two Japanese transports east of the Philippine Islands in two separate attacks, hitting them with 3 of 10 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Italy
- Bernard Montgomery restarted the British offensive on the eastern shore of Italy.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 27 Oct 1943
28 Oct 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
29 Oct 1943
- Spanish volunteers from the recently disbanded German 250th Infantry Division began to arrive in Spain.
- Colonel General Hans-Valentin Hube replaced Eberhard von Mackensen as the commander of the German 1.Panzerarmee.
- 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.
- USS Seahorse sank a small Japanese vessel with her deck gun south of Japan.
» In-depth article
Taiwan
- Lieutenant General Shinpachi Kondo was named the chief of staff of the Taiwan Army.
Photo(s) dated 29 Oct 1943
30 Oct 1943
Australia
Caroline Islands
United States
- The keel of submarine Springer was laid down at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 30 Oct 1943
31 Oct 1943
- USS Seahorse sank a small Japanese vessel with her deck gun south of Japan.
» In-depth article
British Western Pacific Territories
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- US Fifth Army resumed the stalled offensive north of the Volturno River in Italy.
» In-depth article
Japan
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Sasebo, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- An American reconnaissance flight from Suichuan, Jianxi, 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.
» In-depth article
- Tomokazu Kasai completed advanced flight school in Japan.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Gunnel completed a period of overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 31 Oct 1943
1 Nov 1943
- Men of the US 3rd Marine Division landed on the beaches of Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- The US 15th Air Force was formed commanded by Major General J. H. Doolittle with its headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia.
- The town of Ota in Gunma Prefecture, Japan absorbed the nearby town of Shimanogo.
- USS Scorpion began a reconnaissance mission of Farallon de Pajoras island, Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- Chinese troops mounted a small offensive in northern Burma, but this attack would achieve little.
- Light carrier Ryuho departed Sama (now Sanya), Hainan, China.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Russia
- Allied convoy RA-54A departed the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Ukraine
- German troops in the Crimea were cut off by land as Soviet troops made a landing across the Strait of Kerch in southern Ukraine.
Photo(s) dated 1 Nov 1943
2 Nov 1943
- 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.
- Four Japanese cruisers and six destroyers from Rabaul moved against the US Marine invasion of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, engaging American warships at 0230 hours in Empress Augusta Bay. Americans struck first, scattering the Japanese formation, but the Japanese were able to regroup and force the American ships to withdraw. Though the action was inconclusive, the Japanese failed to disrupt American operations on Bougainville.
» In-depth article
- Japanese troops occupied the undefended Chinese city of Changde.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion completed a reconnaissance mission of Farallon de Pajoras island, Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
- One of the ten sections of USS ABSD-1 sank at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides during assembly, killing 13.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Austria
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- Allied troops reached the German defensive Barbara Line in Italy.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 2 Nov 1943
See all photos dated 2 Nov 1943
3 Nov 1943
- 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.
- Overnight, 400 US bombers, escorted by 600 fighters, bombed Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Later in the same night, the RAF bombed Düsseldorf, Germany.
» In-depth article
- In Latvia, Jewish ghettos at Riga were liquidated. 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. Meanwhile, 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.
» In-depth article
- Soviet troops launched a massive breakout attack from their bridgehead north of Kiev, Ukraine.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion arrived off Maug Islands of the Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
- 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 Ploie?ti 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Italy
- British 78th Infantry Division reached San Salvo north of the Trigno River in Italy.
» In-depth article
Japan
- Tomokazu Kasai was assigned to a training fighter squadron in Japan.
» In-depth article
Netherlands
- Robert Johnson shot down a German Bf 109G fighter over Ameland, the Netherlands.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS S-31 completed training services at San Diego, California, United States.
» In-depth article
- Historical document written: Führer Directive 51
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 3 Nov 1943
4 Nov 1943
- USS Corvina departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first and only war patrol.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
Italy
- In Italy, US Fifth Army captured Isernia and joined with British Eighth Army moving up from Foggia.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 4 Nov 1943
5 Nov 1943
- Captain and Surgeon Mamoru Nomura became the new commanding officer of hospital ship Hikawa Maru.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Soviet troops began entering Kiev, Ukraine.
» In-depth article
- US carriers Saratoga and Princeton raided Rabaul, Bismarck Archipelago, damaging four Japanese heavy cruisers.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion spotted a Japanese heavy cruiser, but failed to gain a good position to attack due to poor weather.
» In-depth article
- USS Pompon arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Cero damaged two Japanese transports south of Japan, hitting them with 3 of 9 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Australian New Guinea
Italy
Japan
Vatican City
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 5 Nov 1943
See all photos dated 5 Nov 1943
6 Nov 1943
- Quintin Brand retired from the Royal Air Force.
» In-depth article
- USS Corvina received fuel at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The colonial government of India officially accepted US help with railway defense and operations.
Australian New Guinea
China
- Louis Mountbatten met with Chiang Kaishek in Chongqing, China.
» In-depth article
United States
- Escort carrier Kanalku Bay, still under construction at Vancouver, Washington, United States, was renamed Marcus Island.
» In-depth article
US Pacific Islands
- USS Flying Fish arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her seventh war patrol.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 6 Nov 1943
7 Nov 1943
- Soviet troops recaptured Kiev, Ukraine.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion arrived off Agrihan Island, Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
- USS Wake Island was commissioned into service with Captain Hames R. Tague in command.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Submarine Manta was launched, sponsored by the wife of Michael J. Bradley.
» In-depth article
Fiji
8 Nov 1943
- The British began an inquiry to see if intelligence collected really suggested the existence of German rockets.
- USS Scorpion unsuccessfully attacked a Japanese Q-ship with three torpedoes in the Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
Pacific Ocean
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 8 Nov 1943
9 Nov 1943
- Major General Roy Geiger became the commanding general of I Amphibious Corps following the death of Major General Charles Barrett in the previous month.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 9 Nov 1943
10 Nov 1943
- Soviet troops broke through German lines near Gomel, Byelorussia.
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 10 Nov 1943
11 Nov 1943
- US warships bombarded of Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- American carrier aircraft struck Rabaul, Bismarck Islands, Solomon Islands, damaging a Japanese heavy cruiser.
» In-depth article
- SB2C Helldiver aircraft saw combat for the first time in the Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- USS Cero damaged a small Japanese boat southeast of Japan with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Fiji
- USS Alabama departed Fiji in support of the Gilbert Islands operation.
» In-depth article
French Syria and Lebanon
- Martial law was proclaimed in Lebanon following the arrest of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and two other Ministers.
Pacific Ocean
- USS Bluefish sank a Japanese patrol boat with her deck gun in the Sulu Sea.
» In-depth article
12 Nov 1943
- A combined German sea and airborne attack began on the British-held Greek island of Leros.
» In-depth article
- Soviet troops captured Zhytomyr, Ukraine.
- Karl Dönitz complained in his diary that Allied air superiority and radar was severely restricting his ability to conduct campaigns.
» In-depth article
China
Photo(s) dated 12 Nov 1943
13 Nov 1943
- Ugo Cavallero passed away.
» In-depth article
- Omar Bradley was promoted to the permanent rank of colonel.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion attacked a Japanese convoy in the Mariana Islands with four torpedoes, damaging oiler Shiretoko with one hit.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Australian Papua
- USS Ray departed Milne Bay, British Territory of Papua for her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 13 Nov 1943
See all photos dated 13 Nov 1943
14 Nov 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Japan
United Kingdom
- Allied convoy RA-54A arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
15 Nov 1943
- The British attempt to retake Leros, Greece failed.
» In-depth article
- The Allied Expeditionary Air Force was formed in preparation for the eventual invasion of northern Europe.
- Shinyo was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS Scorpion patrolled off Saipan, Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
- Raymond Wheeler was named the principal administrative officer of the Allied South East Command.
- Pierre Barjot was promoted to the rank of captain in the Free French Navy.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
China
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
United Kingdom
- Allied convoy JW-54A departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 15 Nov 1943
See all photos dated 15 Nov 1943
16 Nov 1943
- Greek island Leros again surrendered to the Germans; Germans carried out severe reprisals against the Italians who cooperated with British forces.
» In-depth article
- British bombers attacked the Telemark heavy water plant in Norway, which was in the process of being rebuilt by the Germans.
- 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.
- USS Cero arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
- The US submarine Corvina was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese submarine I-176 off Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
Japan
17 Nov 1943
Caroline Islands
- 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.
» In-depth article
France
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Historical document written: Armistice with Italy, Ammendment to Employment and Disposition of Italian Fleet and Merchant Marine
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 17 Nov 1943
18 Nov 1943
- Chinese 57th Division attacked and recaptured the city of Changde.
» In-depth article
- German troops captured Zhytomyr, Ukraine.
- 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Pacific Ocean
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 18 Nov 1943
19 Nov 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
Baltic Sea
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
- The US submarine Sculpin was scuttled by her crew after being severely damaged by Japanese destroyers off Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
Poland
- 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.
Photo(s) dated 19 Nov 1943
20 Nov 1943
- US Marines invaded Makin and Tarawa atolls in the Gilbert Islands.
» In-depth article
- On Samos Island, Greece, nearly 5,000 British prisoners were taken by the Germans.
» In-depth article
- The Soviet Army began an advance on Kirovograd, Ukraine after breaking through German lines near Kremenchug.
- Hitler refused permission for the German Armeegruppe Nord to withdraw to the Panther-Wotan Line.
- Jews in northern Italy were ordered to be sent to concentration camps.
» In-depth article
- USS Mingo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stilwell arrived at Cairo, Egypt and checked into the Mena House hotel.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
- USS Alabama provided naval gunfire support for the US landing at Betio, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands.
» In-depth article
Italy
United Kingdom
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Parche was commissioned into service with Commander Lawson Ramage in command.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 20 Nov 1943
See all photos dated 20 Nov 1943
21 Nov 1943
- Feldmarschall Kesselring was appointed commander of all German forces in Italy.
» In-depth article
- Feldmarschall Rommel was placed in command of Atlantikwall defenses in France.
» In-depth article
- Journalist Drew Pearson publicized George Patton's "slapping incident" of 3 Aug 1943, stirring controversy.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- The French Committee of National Liberty decided to release the President of Lebanon and the other arrested ministers.
Caroline Islands
Photo(s) dated 21 Nov 1943
See all photos dated 21 Nov 1943
22 Nov 1943
- Air Vice Marshal M. Henderson became the commanding officer of the No. 12 Group RAF.
- The German occupation of the Dodecanese Islands was completed.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- USS Scorpion observed a Japanese convoy in the Mariana Islands but was unable to attack.
» In-depth article
- USS Seahorse sank Japanese cargo ship Daishu Maru south of Japan, hitting her with two of four torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- Allied convoy JW-54B departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
United States
- USS Gar completed overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 22 Nov 1943
See all photos dated 22 Nov 1943
23 Nov 1943
- Japanese resistance ended on Tarawa and Makin atolls in the Gilbert Islands.
» In-depth article
- USAAF fighter pilot Chuck Yeager departed for Britain.
» In-depth article
- Kaiyo was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
France
- FR.11 was damaged by Allied bombing at Toulon, France and sank to the bottom.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 383 RAF aircraft (365 Lancaster, 10 Halifax, and 8 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany.
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Italy
- Allied troops attacked across the Sangro River, Italy in strength.
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Japan
- Tomokazu Kasai was assigned to a front line fighter squadron based at Matsuyama airfield, Shikoku, Japan.
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Photo(s) dated 23 Nov 1943
See all photos dated 23 Nov 1943
24 Nov 1943
- Doris Miller passed away.
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- 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.
- Albert W. Grant was commissioned into service.
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- USS Puffer departed Fremantle, Australia for her second war patrol in the Sulu Sea area off the Philippine Islands.
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- US Army aviation engineering units arrived in India to expand airfields in the Calcutta area.
Germany
- 6 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Berlin, Germany; one aircraft was lost.
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- Before dawn, while on display at a museum in Berlin, Germany, the Do X aircraft was destroyed by British bombing.
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Russia
- Allied convoy JW-54A arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
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Photo(s) dated 24 Nov 1943
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25 Nov 1943
- 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.
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- 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.
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- Light carrier Ryuho departed the Inland Sea in Japanese Wars for Tairajima, Bonin Islands.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- George Patton sent Dwight Eisenhower a cable apologizing for the public relations row that he had caused.
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Germany
- RAF bombers attacked Frankfurt, Germany; 3 Mosquito aircraft attacked Berlin, Germany as diversion.
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Japan
- Destroyer Yuzuki arrived at Yokosuka, Japan for a scheduled overhaul.
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Marshall Islands
Taiwan
- 6 B-25 bombers of the 2nd Bomber Squadron of the Chinese-American Composite Wing and 8 B-25 bombers of the US 11th Bomber Squadron, escorted by 16 fighters of the US 23rd Fighter Group, attacked a Japanese airfield in Taiwan, destroying 32 aircraft without any losses.
- 8 P-51A, 12 B-25, and 8 P-38 aircraft based in China struck Japanese airfields on Taiwan, destroying 42 aircraft.
Photo(s) dated 25 Nov 1943
26 Nov 1943
- Kiyoto Kagawa passed away.
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- German troops withdrew from Gomel, Byelorussia.
- 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.
- The turbojet powered Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter was demonstrated before Hitler, who, to everyone's surprise, insisted that it should be developed as a bomber.
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- Robert Johnson became a flight leader with the USAAF 61st Fighter Squadron.
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- 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.
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- USS Seahorse sank Japanese tanker San Ramon Maru south of Japan, hitting her with two of three torpedoes fired.
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Alaska
- USS S-35 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, continuing her seventh war patrol.
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Egypt
- 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.
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Germany
- 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.
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Japan
Pacific Ocean
- During the night, USS Alabama fired anti-aircraft guns against incoming Japanese raids.
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Russia
27 Nov 1943
- The first British Seafire F III carrier fighters reached the 894 Naval Air Squadron.
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- 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.
- USS Wake Island departed Astoria, Oregon, United States.
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- 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.
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Italy
- British Eighth Army launched an offensive across the Sangro River, Italy.
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United Kingdom
- Carrier Glory was launched at Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, sponsored by Lady Cynthia Brookes, wife of Prime Minister Basil Brookes of Northern Ireland.
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Photo(s) dated 27 Nov 1943
28 Nov 1943
- The Teheran Conference began between Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill.
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- USS Wake Island anchored at Bremerton, Washington, United States to take on supplies.
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Caroline Islands
Germany
Italy
- 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.
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Photo(s) dated 28 Nov 1943
29 Nov 1943
- USS Cod attacked Japanese merchant ships but was not able to observe the results.
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- 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.
- 21 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Bochum, Cologne, and Düsseldorf in Germany.
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- 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.
- USS Rock completed a journey down the Mississippi River and arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
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- 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.
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- Hornet (Essex-class) was commissioned into service.
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- Rear Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka was named the chief of staff of the Japanese Navy 11th Air Fleet.
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- USS Pompon departed Fremantle, Australia for her third war patrol.
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- Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
Italy
- British troops captured Mezzagrogna and Santa Maria in Italy.
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Japan
- American B-29 bombers attacked the Nakajima factory outside Tokyo, Japan.
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United States
- USS Mingo entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul.
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Photo(s) dated 29 Nov 1943
30 Nov 1943
Germany
Italy
Marshall Islands
United States
- Submarine Golet was commissioned into service at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States with Lieutenant Commander James M. Clement in command.
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Photo(s) dated 30 Nov 1943
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1 Dec 1943
- 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.
- Arthur Liebehenschel became the second commandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
» In-depth article
- Rudolf Höss was assigned to the SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt.
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- 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.
- German troops in the Crimea in southern Ukraine were completely isolated, as Soviet troops completed their control of the northern end of the Dneiper River bend.
- Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was named the commanding officer of the 2nd Group of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2.
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- USS Ray attacked a Japanese ship with her deck gun north of New Guinea, causing no damage.
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- Nobutake Kondo was named the commanding officer of the Japanese China Area Fleet.
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- 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.
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Caroline Islands
Italy
- US Fifth Army launched an offensive on the Garigliano River in Italy, led by British X Corps.
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Marshall Islands
Photo(s) dated 1 Dec 1943
2 Dec 1943
- Germans mounted operations against Yugoslav partisans.
- Adolf Hitler ordered the conscription of youth for service.
- British Minister of Labor Ernest Bevin announced that the government would soon conscript men to work in coal mines.
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- The first transport of Jews from Vienna arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
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- The US submarine Capelin was reported missing, presumed lost, whilst on patrol north of Celebes, Sunda Islands, Dutch East Indies.
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- Production for the Ki-67 Hiryu bomber design began.
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France
- Otto Skorzeny, who had been stationed in Paris, France due to the threat of Marshal Pétain leaving for North Africa, was ordered to leave the city as that threat was proven to be false.
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Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
- German 26th Panzer Division fortified Orsogna, Italy on the Gustav Line.
» In-depth article
Marshall Islands
Pacific Ocean
- USS Gunnel attacked a Japanese carrier in the Pacific Ocean; all 4 torpedoes missed.
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United States
- The US Navy expanded the piston-jet mix-powered fighter contract with Ryan Aeronautical to 100 examples.
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Photo(s) dated 2 Dec 1943
3 Dec 1943
- 527 RAF aircraft (307 Lancaster and 220 Halifax) attacked Leipzig, Germany.
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- 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.
- Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Singapore.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Italy
- New Zealand troops attacked Orsogna, Italy on the Gustav Line.
» In-depth article
Russia
4 Dec 1943
Pacific Ocean
- USS Gunnel sank Japanese passenger-cargo ship Hiyoshi Maru in the Pacific Ocean, hitting her with 4 of 4 torpedoes.
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Ukraine
- German 11.Armee attempted to crush the Soviet bridgehead at Kerch, Ukraine, but the attack was halted after it suffered 10,000 killed and 3,000 captured.
Photo(s) dated 4 Dec 1943
5 Dec 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Operation Buccaneer, which planned to assault a large number of Japanese targets in the Burma region, was canceled during the Second Cairo Conference.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Italy
- 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.
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United States
- USS Rock departed New Orleans, Louisiana, United States for the Panama Canal Zone.
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6 Dec 1943
- 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.
- Soviet troops reached Yeysk in southern Russia on the Sea of Rostov, cutting off German Armeegruppe A.
- 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.
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- USS Wake Island departed waters off Bremerton, Washington, United States.
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- 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.
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- 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.
Italy
- US Fifth Army captured Monte Carnino, Italy. Canadian troops attacked San Leonardo and San Donato, Italy, but would fail to take the town.
» In-depth article
Russia
- The last of the German operatives working with Chechen rebels was captured by Soviet troops.
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7 Dec 1943
- The planned escort carrier Woodcliff Bay was renamed Makin Island.
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Caroline Islands
- Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort carrier Chitose and transport Irako to Yokosuka, Japan.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
- Destroyer Yuzuki was refitted at the Ishikawa Shipyard and the Yokosuka Shipyard near Tokyo, Japan.
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US Pacific Islands
- USS Snook arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her fourth war patrol.
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Photo(s) dated 7 Dec 1943
8 Dec 1943
- A transport of 55 Berlin Jews arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. After the selection, 14 were registered and 31 were gassed.
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- US Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz was appointed Chief of US Strategic Air Forces in Europe.
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- Mussolini's Repubblica Sociale Italiana in Northern Italy established the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana.
- HMS Rysa was mined and sunk off La Maddalena, Italy.
- Joseph Stilwell departed Cairo, Egypt.
» In-depth article
Italy
- Franklin Roosevelt arrived in Sicily, Italy.
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- 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.
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- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Nauru
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 8 Dec 1943
9 Dec 1943
- The British government announced the establishment of the Council of Freedom in Denmark.
Italy
- Canadian troops captured San Leonardo, Italy. US and British troops captured the surroundings of Monte Camino to the west.
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United Kingdom
- Allied convoy RA-54B arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom.
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Photo(s) dated 9 Dec 1943
10 Dec 1943
- 25 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Leverkusen, Germany.
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- The Indian sappers and miners pushed a Bailey bridge across the Chindwin River in Burma. At 1,154 feet it was the biggest such bridge in the world.
- Lieutenant Commander Masamichi Terauchi was named the commanding officer of destroyer Yukikaze.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
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Mariana Islands
United States
- USS Wake Island arrived at San Francisco, California, United States.
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Photo(s) dated 10 Dec 1943
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11 Dec 1943
Australia
- USS Ray departed Fremantle, Australia for her second war patrol.
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Italy
- The Canadian attack in "The Gully" region in Italy was met with resistance, suffering heavy casualties.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 11 Dec 1943
12 Dec 1943
- Yamato departed Truk to cover for troop transport operation BO-1.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Feldmarschall Rommel was appointed the head of Armeegruppe B based in France.
» In-depth article
- In Moscow, Russia, a treaty of friendship was signed between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.
- A treaty of amity, mutual aid and collaboration after the war was concluded by the Soviet Union with Czechoslovakia.
Caroline Islands
China
Germany
- 18 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Essen, Germany while 9 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Düsseldorf, Germany.
» In-depth article
Hawaii
- USS Seahorse arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
Italy
- The Canadian attack in "The Gully" region in Italy was met with resistance, suffering heavy casualties.
» In-depth article
New Hebrides
United Kingdom
- Allied convoy JW-55A departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom.
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United States
- USS Wake Island departed San Francisco, California, United States.
» In-depth article
- Submarine Barbero was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Mrs. Katherine R. Keating.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 12 Dec 1943
13 Dec 1943
- American code breakers learned that battleship Yamato was scheduled to arrive at Truk, Caroline Islands on 25 Dec 1943 ferrying men and supplies.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- German Armeegruppe Mitte was heavily engaged in defensive combat in and around Vitebsk, Byelorussia.
- USS Puffer sank Japanese freight Teiko Maru west of the Philippine Islands, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- USS Cero departed Midway Atoll for her second war patrol.
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Caroline Islands
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
United Kingdom
- The US 359th Fighter Group became operational in England, United Kingdom.
Photo(s) dated 13 Dec 1943
14 Dec 1943
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
United States
- USS Wake Island arrived at San Diego, California, United States.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 14 Dec 1943
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15 Dec 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- The four Germans on trial for war crimes in Kharkov, Ukraine all pled guilty, with admissions that over 30,000 victims died.
» In-depth article
- 16 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Düsseldorf, Germany.
» In-depth article
- San Jacinto was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- USS Finback completed overhaul at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii and departed for her seventh war patrol.
» In-depth article
- The Guilin Infantry Training Center in China graduated its first class of infantry troops.
- 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.
Caroline Islands
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 15 Dec 1943
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16 Dec 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Kwajalein, then arrived at Roi; she would depart later in the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS Cod arrived at Fremantle, Australia for refit, ending her first war patrol.
» In-depth article
- In retaliation for a partisan attack in which two German officials were killed, 150 Polish civilians were executed.
- The chief surgeon at Auschwitz Concentration Camp reported that 106 castration operations had been performed on prisoners.
» In-depth article
- USS Gar began her tenth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- The keel of submarine Carbonero was laid down.
» In-depth article
- USS Iowa disembarked US President Franklin Roosevelt.
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- USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese cargo ship off Luzon, Philippine Islands, hitting her with 3 of 3 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
China
- 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.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 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.
» In-depth article
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
United States
- Marcus Island was launched at Vancouver, Washington, United States, sponsored by Mrs. S. L. La Hache.
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Photo(s) dated 16 Dec 1943
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17 Dec 1943
Italy
- US Fifth Army captured San Pietro Infine, Italy after a 10-day battle.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 17 Dec 1943
18 Dec 1943
India
- In India, 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 and Chittagong.
Italy
- A Canadian-Indian attack across the Ortona-Orsogna road in Italy was repulsed by German troops with heavy losses.
» In-depth article
19 Dec 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
- French Résistants engaged in heavy fighting with Germans in Bernex, France.
» In-depth article
- RAF bombers delivered propaganda leaflets over France.
- Submarine Croaker was launched, sponsored by the wife of Admiral William H. P. Blandy.
» In-depth article
- Light carrier Ryuho departed Palau Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
United States
Photo(s) dated 19 Dec 1943
See all photos dated 19 Dec 1943
20 Dec 1943
- A spy ring working for the Germans, led by a 19-year old Italian, was broken in Sicily.
- The Falangist Militia was dissolved in Spain.
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
China
Hawaii
Italy
- 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.
» In-depth article
Japan
Photo(s) dated 20 Dec 1943
21 Dec 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Kwajalein, then arrived at Roi.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- The radio in the German embassy in Ireland was seized in response to Allied pressure to limit German espionage efforts.
- The German bridgehead across the Dneiper River at Kherson, Ukraine was destroyed.
- 9 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked the Mannesmann factory at Düsseldorf, Germany.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stilwell arrived in his field headquarters in Burma.
» In-depth article
- 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.
Italy
- Canadian 1st Division attacked Ortona, Italy, beginning a period of tough street fighting in the town.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 21 Dec 1943
22 Dec 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Roi.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Allies designated Tito as the Allied commander in Yugoslavia.
» In-depth article
- Germany threatened punishment of Allied prisoners of war in retaliation for the Soviet war crimes trial in Kharkov, Ukraine.
» In-depth article
- 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.
- A small number of RAF Mosquito bombers attacked Frankfurt and Bonn in Germany.
» In-depth article
- A German aircraft sighted Allied convoy JW-55B sailing north from Britain toward Murmansk, Russia.
» In-depth article
- Remy Van Lierde was assigned to the Central Gunnery School at RAF Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- 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.
» In-depth article
Caroline Islands
Italy
Netherlands
- Robert Johnson shot down a German Bf 109G fighter over Almelo, the Netherlands.
» In-depth article
Russia
- Allied convoy JW-55A arrived at Arkhangelsk, Russia and convoy RA-55A departed Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
» In-depth article
Photo(s) dated 22 Dec 1943
See all photos dated 22 Dec 1943
23 Dec 1943
- 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.
» In-depth article
- Guavina was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Galeazzo Ciano made his final diary entry at the prison at Verona, Italy.
» In-depth article
Germany
- 379 RAF aircraft (364 Lancaster, 7 Halifax, and 8 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany; 16 Lancaster bombers were lost.
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Italy
- In Italy, Candian troops attacked Villa Grande while Indian troops captured Vezzano and British troops attacked toward Orsogna.
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Photo(s) dated 23 Dec 1943
24 Dec 1943
- US Army General Dwight Eisenhower was named the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
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- 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.
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- General Vatutin launched another winter offensive, starting with the capture of Berdichev, Ukraine.
Italy
- 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.
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Photo(s) dated 24 Dec 1943
25 Dec 1943
- 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' [sic] and 5 1/2 meters below penetrating outer plates of 'bilge' [sic]."
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- By this date in 1943, there were a total of 86,919 prisoners in the Auschwitz camp system, 56,595 of whom were men and 30,324 were women.
- Otto Skorzeny and his family vacationed at Zurs on the Arlberg, Austria.
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Alaska
Caroline Islands
Italy
- The British moved 3rd Battalion of 8th Punjab Regiment to the front lines at Villa Grande, Italy.
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Norway
- 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.
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Tunisia
- Dwight Eisenhower met with Henry Wilson, who would replace him as the Allied command in the Mediterranean Theater, at Tunis, Tunisia.
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Photo(s) dated 25 Dec 1943
See all photos dated 25 Dec 1943
26 Dec 1943
- The Allied assault on New Britain expanded with US 1st Marine Division landing near Cape Gloucester.
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- An Soviet offensive began in Ukraine.
- 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.
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- The Fletcher-class destroyer USS Brownson was sunk by a Japanese dive bomber off Cape Gloucester, New Britain, Bismarck Islands.
- 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.
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- USS Ray sank Japanese tanker Kyoko Maru in the Tioro Strait in the Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 5 of 6 torpedoes fired.
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Italy
- 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.
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Photo(s) dated 26 Dec 1943
27 Dec 1943
- Manteuffel was made the commanding officer of the elite Panzer Grenadier Großdeutschland division.
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- John Basilone departed for Camp Pendleton, California, United States.
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- As of this date, the Ledo Road was 103 miles long from Ledo, India into the Patka Mountains in northern Burma.
- 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.
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- Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander under General Dwight Eisenhower.
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- General Sir Bernard Paget became Commander-in-Chief Middle East under General Sir H. Maitland Wilson.
Caroline Islands
Japan
28 Dec 1943
- 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.
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- I-52 was commissioned into service.
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- 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."
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- USS Gabilan was commissioned into service, Commander K. R. Wheland in command.
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Caroline Islands
Italy
- Canadian 1st Division succeeded in taking Ortona, Italy after a heavy battle with German airborne troops; the Germans fell back across the Moro River.
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Russia
- F. G. Petrov stepped down as GUKR SMERSH's chief in the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
United States
30 Dec 1943
- 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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- 10 Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron RAF and 6 Mosquito aircraft attacked a German V-1 rocket launch site but failed to destroy it.
Alaska
- USS S-35 arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, ending her seventh and final war patrol.
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France
- Robert Johnson shot down a German Fw 190D aircraft over Soissons, France.
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Pacific Ocean
- USS Bluefish sank a Japanese oiler southwest of Borneo, Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 5 of 5 torpedoes fired.
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Russia
Photo(s) dated 30 Dec 1943
31 Dec 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Palau.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS Cassin Young was commissioned into service under the command of Commander E. T. Schrieber.
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- 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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- Soviet troops again recaptured Zhytomyr, Ukraine.
- As of today, 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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- Arbiter was commissioned into service.
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- Lieutenant General Oliver Leese assumed command of the British 8th Army.
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- The Danish-Icelandic Act of Union of 1918 expired.
France
- Robert Johnson shot down two German Fw 190D aircraft over Savenay, France.
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Russia
- Allied convoy RA-55B departed the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
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Photo(s) dated 31 Dec 1943
See all photos dated 31 Dec 1943
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
