19 Oct 1892
- Gongbo Chen was born.
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19 Oct 1901
- Arleigh Burke was born.
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19 Oct 1915
- Barham was commissioned into service.
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19 Oct 1922
- A rebellion by Conservative Party Members of Parliament at the Carlton Club in London, England, United Kingdom resulted in a decision to end the Coalition government of Lloyd George. The Prime Minister, who had already lost the support of his influential Foreign Minister, Lord Curzon, was forced to resign, never to return as a major figure in party politics.
19 Oct 1937
- 769th Regiment of Chinese 120th Division attacked the Yangmingbao airfield in Shanxi, China, destroying 24 aircraft on the ground.
» In-depth article
19 Oct 1939
- Western Poland was incorporated into the Reich as the General Government.
- American gunboat Erie arrived off Manzanillo, Mexico on neutrality patrol to monitor movements of German freighter Havelland.
19 Oct 1940
- During the day, a German Ju 88 bomber was shot down near Maidstone, Kent and another near Falmouth, Cornwall in England, United Kingdom. A raid of 60 German fighters and fighter-bombers for London was intercepted by 5 RAF squadrons over Kent at 1430 hours; 2 British fighters were shot down during the battle with 1 pilot killed. Overnight, London, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, and Coventry were bombed.
» In-depth article - While escorting Romanian freighter Ingener N. Vlassopol Canadian auxiliary minesweeper HMCS Bras d'Or sank during a storm in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in northeastern Canada, killing the entire crew of 30.
- German submarines U-99, U-100, U-101, and U-123 continued to attack Allied convoy SC-7 100 miles northwest of Ireland. U-123 sank British ship Shekatika as Shekatika received her fifth torpedo hit. U-99 sank Norwegian ship Snefjeld; the entire crew of 21 survived.
» In-depth article - British destroyer HMS Venetia hit a mine and sank in the Thames Estuary 10 miles north of Herne Bay, Kent in southern England; 35 were killed and 18 were wounded.
- German submarines U-38, U-46, U-47, and two others attacked Allied convoy HX-79 200 miles west of Ireland, sinking 5 ships and damaging tanker Shirak.
» In-depth article - Photos dated 19 Oct 1940

19 Oct 1941
- German troops defeated the Soviets forces within the Vyazma pocket and captured 670,000 men, 1,000 tanks, and 4,000 artillery pieces. At Volokolamsk, the northwest end of the Mozhaysk defensive line, newly arrived Soviet 316th Rifle Division halted the attack by German 4th Panzer Army. In Moscow, Joseph Stalin declared that the capital city was in a state of siege, and further government offices were evacuated to the east.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-126 torpedoed and sank American freighter Lehigh 100 miles west of Freetown, British West Africa at 1051 hours; all 38 aboard survived. U-126 had misidentified the American ship as a Greek vessel.
- German submarine U-204 sank British tanker Inverlee carrying 35 miles southwest of Tangier, Spanish Morocco at 0300 hours; 22 were killed, 21 survived. In the same region, German submarine U-206 sank British ship Baron Kelvin at 0614 hours; 26 were killed, 16 survived. British corvettes from Gibraltar were dispatched to hunt for these submarines; HMS Mallow was able to find and sink U-204 at 2146 hours with depth charges.
- British gunboat HMS Gnat bombarded a German artillery battery near Tobruk, Libya after sundown.
» In-depth article - German troops began rounding up men over the age of 16 in the Serbian town of Kragujevac in Yugoslavia. Of the 2,324 gathered, about 300 of them were students from the First Boys High School.
19 Oct 1942
- The British King's African Rifles regiment captured 800 Vichy French troops in Madagascar without incurring a single casualty of their own.
» In-depth article - Joseph Stilwell convinced Archibald Wavell to commit to an offensive in Burma in cooperation with the Sino-American forces.
» In-depth article - British officers Major Ronnie Littledale and Lieutenant-Commander Billie Stephens, having escaped from Oflag IV-C prisoners of war camp at Colditz Castle in Germany on 14 Oct 1942, successfully made it to Switzerland.
- USS Gar laid 32 naval mines off Bangkok, Thailand.
» In-depth article
19 Oct 1943
- US Fifth Army's Volturno offensive in Italy was stalled by resistance and weather.
» In-depth article - 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 - Shokaku arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Yamato arrived at Brown Atoll, Eniwetok.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Seletar, Singapore.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
19 Oct 1944
- German troops evacuated Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
- Feldmarschal Model called off the attempts to relieve Aachen, Germany.
» In-depth article - Hitler ordered the complete and total destruction of the city of Warsaw, Poland.
» In-depth article - German 4.Armee withdrew from around Tilsit, East Prussia, Germany.
- A state funeral was held in Budapest, Hungary for the 26 Hungarian and German personnel killed during the kidnapping of Miklós Horthy, Jr. four days prior.
- Franklin Roosevelt relieved Joseph Stilwell from all commands in China and recalled him to the United States.
» In-depth article - USS Franklin launched an attack on the Japanese on Manila Bay, Philippine Islands sinking several ships and downing 11 aircraft.
» In-depth article
19 Oct 1945
- Communist forces in China attacked US Marine trains and aircraft.
- USS S-31 was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article - S-32 was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article - Maury was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 18, Lieutenant Commander Hiroshi Tokuno
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 10, Captain Mineo Yamaoka
» In-depth article - Photos dated 19 Oct 1945




See all photos dated 19 Oct 1945
19 Oct 1952
- USS Missouri provided gunfire support in the Tanchon area in Korea.
» In-depth article
19 Oct 1961
- Sergio Osmeña passed away.
» In-depth article
19 Oct 1968
- Submarine Cabrilla was designated a museum ship at Galveston, Texas, United States.
» 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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