15 Oct 1891
- Tadashige Daigo was born.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1911
Photo(s) dated 15 Oct 1911
Photo(s) dated 15 Oct 1911
15 Oct 1925
- Emden was commissioned into service.
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15 Oct 1926
- Chuichi Nagumo was named the commanding officer of gunboat Uji.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1930
- Cruiser Köln completed trials and training in the Baltic Sea and North sea.
» In-depth article - Joseph Jules Brévié was named the Governor-General of French West Africa.
15 Oct 1932
Photo(s) dated 15 Oct 1932
Photo(s) dated 15 Oct 1932
15 Oct 1934
- Erwin Rommel was posted to the Infantry School at Potsdam, Germany as an instructor.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1935
Germany
Germany
- The first three Panzer Divisions were established in the German Army. The 1st Panzer Division was placed under General Freiherr von Weichs at Weimar, 2nd Panzer Division under Colonel Heinz Guderian at Würzburg and 3rd Panzer Division under General Fessmann at Berlin.
15 Oct 1936
- The Spanish Republican Popular Army established a system of Commissars (Political Officers) in each unit.
- 50 Soviet T-26 Model 1933 light tanks arrived in Spain to aid the Republic forces in the Spanish Civil War.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1938
- The Czechoslovakian government resigned after Germany occupied the Sudetenland.
» In-depth article
- Walter Grabmann shot down an I-16 fighter over Spain.
» In-depth article
- Major General Kazuo Otsu was named the chief of staff of the Taiwan Army.
15 Oct 1939
- German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee refueled from tanker Altmark.
» In-depth article - Walter Krupinski began flight training.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1940
- British submarine HMS Triad detected Italian submarine Enrico Toti while running on the surface 100 miles south of Taranto, Italy at 0100 hours. Triad hit Enrico Toti twice with her deck gun, but the torpedo fired missed; Enrico Toti's damage prevented her from diving. Enrico Toti returned fire, hitting Triad twice with the deck gun and sprayed her with machine gun. As Triad attempted to dive, Enrico Toti scored a hit with a torpedo, sinking Triad at about 0130 hours and killing the entire crew of 59.
- Italian submarine Foca sank while laying a minefield off Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine.
- German submarine U-93 sank British ship Hurunui of Allied convoy OA-228 100 miles northwest of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom just after 0000 hours; 2 were killed and 72 survived. Five hours later in the same general area, German submarine U-138 sank British ship Bonheur (all survived) and damaged British tanker British Glory (3 killed) of Allied convoy OA-228 between 0510 and 0515 hours. German submarine U-103 sank British ship Thistlegarth 100 miles northwest of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom at 1933 hours; 30 were killed and 9 survived. Far to the south, Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini sank Belgian ship Kabalo 800 miles west of Casablanca, Morocco; 1 was killed.
» In-depth article - US Marine Corps mobilized its reserve battalions, ordering that these reserve personnel to be assigned to active duty no later than 9 Nov 1940.
- Adolf Hitler noted that about half the Czechs in occupied western Czechoslovakia could be assimilated into the German population. The other half, which included the intellectuals, were to be eliminated.
» In-depth article
- Captain Sadayoshi Yamada was named the commanding officer of Kaga.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Captain Matsuji Ijuin was named the commanding officer of Naka.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- The German Luftwaffe launched 5 fighter sweeps toward London and 1 over Southampton, both in England, United Kingdom; the Germans lost 16 fighter and 3 bombers, while the British lost 15 fighters with 6 pilots killed. Overnight, 400 German bombers dropped 530 tons of high explosives on London, killing 400 and wounding 900; Bristol and Birmingham were also attacked.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1941
- Japanese Navy Captain Shutoku Miyazato, Chief Equipping Officer of Battleship No. 1, was promoted to the rank of rear admiral.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - US Marine Corps Major James P. S. Devereux relieved Major Lewis A. Hohn as the commanding officer of the Wake Island Marine Detachment. Devereux also took on the responsibility of the island's overall commander.
- British authorities reported that, in the week ending at 0600 hours on 15 Oct 1941, an estimated 61 people were killed and 69 seriously injured by German bombing.
» In-depth article - In southern Ukraine, Soviet troops set off explosive charges to destroy port facilities and defensive structures at Odessa in preparation of the evacuation of 35,000 Soviet troops from Odessa to Sevastopol, which would commence after sundown.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-553 attacked Allied convoy SC-48 500 miles west of Ireland at 0815 hours, sinking British ship Silvercedar (21 killed, 26 survived) and Norwegian ship Ila (14 killed, 7 survived). Merchant ship Silverelm attempted to ram the submarine, and hours later Canadian destroyer HMCS Columbia attacked with depth charges, but none damaged U-553.
- German submarine U-558, en route to attack Allied convoy SC-48, came across and sank Canadian ship Vancouver Island in the Atlantic Ocean at 2317 hours; all aboard were lost.
- German SS-Brigadeführer Franz Stahlecker of Einsatzgruppe A sent a 130-page report to Berlin, Germany on this date. He reported that, among other things, 71,105 Jews had been liquidated in Lithuania and 30,000 Jews in Latvia, and 3,387 Communists in Russia.
» In-depth article - German SS General Hans Frank, the Nazi Governor-General of occupied Poland, issued a general order proclaiming that any Jews leaving the Warsaw ghetto would be liable for the death penalty as would any person who knowingly gave shelter to such Jews.
» In-depth article - ShCh-320 fired a torpedo at a merchant ship north of Danzig Bay at 1115 hours; the torpedo missed.
» In-depth article
- Hans-Joachim Marseille arrived at Munich-Riem Airfield in Germany to be introduced to the new Bf 109E-7 and Bf 109F4 variant designs.
» In-depth article
- Tatsuta Maru departed Yokohama, Japan for the United States; she carried American nationals who wished to return to the US due to the rapidlyl deteriorating US-Japan relations. She would maintain radio silence throughout the entire journey.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- In Russia, German 1st Panzer Division turned northwest, thus away from Moscow, to attack Soviet Northwestern Front from the rear. The Soviet GKO ordered the NKVD, various agencies, and various foreign legations to evacuate from Moscow to Kuibyshev (now Samara). The Lubyanka Prison staff began the evacuation immediately, transferring the first group of prisoners to Kuibyshev and Saratov on this day.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1942
- Lieutenant Commander Sakae Nakajima became the commanding officer of I-168.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - After a naval bombardment, 3,000 to 4,000 men of Japanese 230th and 16th Infantry Regiments landed at Tassafaronga, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Despite interference from US Marine Corps SBD aircraft, 80% of the men and supplies successfully made to shore. With the arrival of these reinforcements, General Hyakutake ordered a new offensive against Henderson Field to take place on 18 Oct.
» In-depth article - Robert Oppenheimer was appointed, by Leslie Groves, to coordinate the scientific research of the Manhattan Project at Site Y, a location yet to be finalized.
» In-depth article - Aircraft from carrier Shokaku and Zuikaku sank destroyer USS Meredith off San Cristobal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Alfred Jodl suggested to Adolf Hitler to order Vichy France to strengthen its defenses in North Africa as intelligence indicated a possible Allied attack; Hitler rejected the suggestion as he thought the Italians would object to any moves that strengthened France.
» In-depth article - USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese ship south of the Palau Islands; both torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article - The Soviet submarine ShCh-311 was attacked and sunk off Porkkala Peninsula in Kirkkonummi, Finland by Finnish patrol boats VMW-13 and VMW-15.
- George Kenney and Kenneth Walker awarded US servicemen at Townsville and Mareeba in Australia. After the ceremonies, Kenney ordered Walker to use instantaneous fuses on aerials bombs, not delayed fuses that Walker had preferred.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stilwell departed Chongqing, China or Delhi, India.
» In-depth article
- German Stuka dive bombers of Luftflotte 4 flew 900 individual sorties against Soviet positions at the Dzerzhinskiy Tractor Factory in Stalingrad, Russia, wiping out several Soviet regiments.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1943
See all photos dated 15 Oct 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Singapore.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - I-168 was struck from the Navy List.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - USS Tang was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander Richard O'Kane in command.
» In-depth article - The keel of future escort carrier Petrof Bay was laid down.
» In-depth article - Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Sama (now Sanya), Hainan, China.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Shokaku departed Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- French General de Lattre de Tassigny escaped from Vichy France, eventually joining the Free French.
» In-depth article
See all photos dated 15 Oct 1943
15 Oct 1944
- Japanese Navy Captain Nobuei Morishita, commanding officer of Yamato, was promoted to the rank of rear admiral.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Prinz Eugen collided with light cruiser Leipzig by accident north of Hela (Hel, Poland) in the Baltic Sea, causing light damage.
» In-depth article - Damaged German battleship Tirpitz set sail for Tromsř, Norway at the speed of 10 knots.
» In-depth article - USS Franklin was attacked by Japanese aircraft off of Luzon, Philippine Islands; 1 bomb hit and 2 near misses caused damage.
» In-depth article - Shortly after announcing that Hungary would withdraw from the war, Admiral Miklós Horthy's son Miklós Horthy, Jr. was abducted by Sturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny's commandos. In Horthy's place, the new head of state, Fenenc Szalasi promised to maintain the alliance with Germany. Among the first pro-German policies implemented was the resumption of the deportation of Hungarian Jews.
» In-depth article - German V-2 rocket hit Rettendon, Essex, England, United Kingdom. The village pub was damaged and two were slightly injured.
- USS Kete arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article - Rear Admiral Masafumi Arima of the Japanese 26th Air Flotilla in the Philippine Islands attempted a special attack with a D4Y Suisei aircraft against an American carrier; it was said that "This act of self-sacrifice by a high flag officer spurred the flying units in forward combat areas and provided the spark that touched off the organized use of suicide attacks in the battle for Leyte."
» In-depth article - Submarine Carbonero was launched, sponsored by Mrs. S. S. Murray.
» In-depth article
- Miklós Horthy announced that Hungary and Soviet Union had signed an armistice and asked the Hungary troops to lay down their arms; the order was rejected by the Hungarian generals, and the troops continued to fight against the invading Soviets.
» In-depth article
- USS Alabama supported landing operations on Leyte, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1945
- Pierre Laval was executed for treason.
» In-depth article - US Army ship FS-390 was decommissioned from service.
- Du Yuming arrived at Chongqing, China, where Chiang told him that Du was to become the scapegoat for the removal of General Long Yun; Chiang would later award him with higher positions for taking on this responsibility.
» In-depth article
- USS Puffer arrived at San Francisco, California, United States.
» In-depth article - USS Iowa arrived at Seattle, Washington, United States.
» In-depth article - USS Wisconsin arrived at San Francisco, California, United States.
» In-depth article - USS Alabama arrived at San Francisco, California, United States at about 1200 hours.
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 12, Captain Rikihei Inoguchi
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 7, Vice Admiral Kayutaka Shiraichi
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 13, Captain Yasuji Watanabe
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1946
- Two hours before his scheduled execution, Hermann Göring committed suicide.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1948
China
China
- Du Yuming arrived in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.
» In-depth article
- Shigeru Yoshida became the 48th Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Japan.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1950
- US President Truman and General MacArthur met at Wake Island. At its conclusion, Truman awarded MacArthur a fourth oak leaf cluster to his US Army Distinguished Service Medal.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1956
Japan
Japan
- USS Ticonderoga began a tour in Asian waters, based out of Yokosuka, Japan.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1957
- André Marquis passed away.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1959
Photo(s) dated 15 Oct 1959
Photo(s) dated 15 Oct 1959
15 Oct 1966
- The wreck of USS Arizona was placed on the National Register of Historic Places of the United States.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1979
- Jacob Devers passed away.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 1996
United States
United States
- Battleship Wisconsin arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, United States.
» In-depth article
15 Oct 2001
- Xueliang Zhang passed away.
» In-depth article
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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