26 Oct 1893
- Oregon was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1894
- Walther Buhle was born.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1911
China
China
- Haichou fired on revolutionary forces at Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1914
- The Allies, front line troops exhausted, decided to flood to the canal and waterways of the Yser River in Belgium should German troops continue to advance.
- Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 4th Class.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1917
- In Russia the first Bolshevik Government was established; Stalin was given the Commissariat of Nationality Affairs with responsibility for preventing the non-Russian borderlands (including his own native Georgia) from seceding from the new revolutionary community.
26 Oct 1919
Taiwan
Taiwan
- General Jiro Akashi was removed from his position as the commanding officer of the Taiwan Army.
26 Oct 1927
China
China
- Jiang Dingwen was named the commanding officer of the Chinese 1st Division.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1931
Japan
Japan
- Prince Nagahisa was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1936
- Germany set up a the Reich Central Office for Combating Abortion and Homosexuality to specifically deal with homosexuality and abortion, both of which, in their thinking, decreases the German birth rate.
26 Oct 1937
- Japanese commando battalions broke through Chinese lines and pushed the defenders back along the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway in Shanxi, China.
» In-depth article
- At 2200 hours, the Chinese 524th Regiment withdrew from Shanghai North Railway Station into the six-story Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, China.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1938
China
China
- Japanese troops captured undefended Wuchang and Hankou (now districts of the city of Wuhan) in Hubei, China.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1939
- German authoriities decreed that Polish Jews between the age of 14 and 60 were to be conscripted as forced laborers.
- Arthur Greiser became the administrator of Reichsgau Posen.
» In-depth article - Jozef Tiso was declared the President of Slovakia.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1940
- Italy lodged a protest against Greece, citing its anti-Italian attitude.
» In-depth article - British Ministry of Food subsidised fish and chip shops to encourage potato consumption.
- German submarine U-28 hit British ship Matina 250 miles northwest of Ireland at 0432 hours with a torpedo, then surfaced to hit her with 15 shells with the deck gun; 67 crew members and 2 gunners of Matina abandoned the ship in lifeboats, but they would never to be seen again. On the same day, German Fw 200 Condor bomber discovered and hit British troop ship Empress of Britain with two 250kg bombs 70 miles northwest of Aran Island in the Atlantic Ocean; most of the 416 crew, 2 gunners, and 205 passengers survived the attack and abandoned ship; German submarines were alerted, and would close in for the kill.
» In-depth article - Thunderbolt was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article - The P-51 Mustang fighter, NA-73X, took its maiden flight.
» In-depth article
- The German Luftwaffe conducted the longest night time raid on London, England, United Kingdom to date.
» In-depth article - James Lacey shot down a German Bf 109 fighter over Britain.
» In-depth article
- The US Marine Corps organized a Marine Parachute Detachment at the Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States.
26 Oct 1941
- General Fedyuninsky was transferred from Leningrad, Russia to lead the Soviet 54th Army at Tikhvin about 120 kilometers to the east. The relieved commanding officer of the Soviet 54th Army, General Mikhail Khozin, who had previously served in Leningrad in 1938, was assigned to direct the defenses there.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-83 attacked Allied convoy HG-75 in the central Atlantic at 0354 hours and damaged British fighter catapult ship HMS Ariguani with a torpedo, killing 2.
- British submarine HMS Tetrach departed Malta for Gibraltar.
- HMS Eagle arrived off Greenock, Scotland, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1942
See all photos dated 26 Oct 1942
- USS S-28 began performing training missions for the West Coast Sound School and for the Amphibious Forces Training Group.
» In-depth article - 850 Jews were arrested in Norway. Meanwhile, in Nürnberg, Germany, 95 scientists gathered to review the result of Dr. Sigmund Rascher's freezing experiments using concentration camp prisoners as subjects.
» In-depth article - British Private Percy Gratwick used grenades, rifle, and bayonet to take enemy positions at El Alamein, Egypt but was then shot and killed. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
- In the morning, Rommel committed much of his reserves to the Point 29 region in Egypt. Meanwhile, noting that Rommel had taken the bait, Montgomery planned to pin down Axis troops around Point 29 while launching a new offensive to the southwest.
» In-depth article - Allied convoy UCF 1, containing troops and equipment for the invasion of French North Africa, was met by a covering force of battleships and cruisers which had sailed from Casco Bay, Maine, United States.
» In-depth article - USS S-31 stalked Japanese cargo ship Keizan Maru starting at 0825 hours in Otomae Wan, Paramushiro, Kurile Islands. At 0922 hours, she fired two torpedoes, both scoring and sinking the cargo ship. While withdrawing after the attack, S-31 ran aground on reef multiple times, finally reaching deep waters at 1000 hours.
» In-depth article - At the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, US forces achieved victory but saw USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, USS South Dakota, and USS San Juan damaged. On the Japanese side, carriers Shokaku and Zuiho were damaged by dive bombers from USS Hornet and USS Enterprise, respectively.
» In-depth article - US Navy Ensign George L. Wrenn of VF-72 from the USS Hornet engaged Japanese aircraft attacking the US fleet. He shot down five Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers during the sortie. The Hornet was sunk during the battle and Wrenn had to be recovered aboard the USS Enterprise.
» In-depth article - Men of the 1st Battalion of US 164th Infantry Division repulsed a Japanese attack on the southern flank of the Lunga Perimeter at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Meanwhile, another attack against Hill 67, initially penetrating into the American line, was eventually driven back by US Marines.
» In-depth article - Joseph Stilwell announced his intention to establish his forward base at Ledo, India for the planned offensive into Burma.
» In-depth article - In light of the positive report from Friedrich Paulus from Stalingrad, Russia, Adolf Hitler ordered some of the German units in that said to prepare to move north once Stalingrad was conquered.
» In-depth article - ShCh-307 sank Finnish merchant ship Betty H. south of the Åland Islands in the Gulf of Finland.
» In-depth article
- USS S-35 departed Unalaska, US Territory of Alaska for her fourth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- Shokaku was heavily damaged by bombs during the Battle of Santa Cruz. Four to six bombs struck the flight deck; one struck aft of the island and the rest were grouped around the amidships and aft elevators. Large fires were started, and the flight deck was completely buckled by the blasts. Though sixty officers and men were killed, since no aircraft were aboard, no fuel was active and damage control was able to extinguish the fires and save the ship. Admiral Nagumo transferred his flag to destroyer Arashi. Then, with the damaged light carrier Zuiho, Shokaku was detached and ordered home to Truk escorted by Hatsukaze and Maikaze.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
See all photos dated 26 Oct 1942
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
- Yamato arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Repair ship Akashi performed repair work for submarine I-180 at Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
26 Oct 1944
- 10 Lancaster bombers of No. 1 Group RAF conducted minelaying operations off Helgoland, Germany; one bomber was lost.
- USS Rock sank Japanese tanker Takasago Maru No. 7 with three torpedoes in the South China Sea.
» In-depth article - George Giffard was mentioned in a despatch for his service in Burma and India.
» In-depth article
- B-24 and B-25 bombers of the US 14th Air Force attacked Japanese shipping off Leizhou Peninsula, Guangdong, China.
- Shinano completed bow repairs at Yokosuka, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS Ticonderoga departed Eniwetok, Marshall islands for Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
- USS Marcus Island launched 12 aircraft to attack and shared the credit for the sinkings of Kinu and Uranami in the Vasayan Sea in the Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
- A German V-2 rocket hit Palmers Green Station in North London, England, United Kingdom at 1845 hours; detonating next to a stationary train, it seriously injured 15 people, while 38 suffered minor injuries. Elsewhere, another rocket hit Ilford, London, killing 8, seriously injuring 15, and lightly injuring 20.
- USS Brill was commissioned into service with Commander H. B. Dodge in command.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1945
China
China
- Du Yuming was named the commanding officer of the Northeastern Provinces Security Command.
» In-depth article
- Allied repatriation ship Hikawa Maru departed Uraga, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 47, Rear Admiral Shigetada Horiuchi
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 40, Captain K. Kanai
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 39, Captain Hisashi Ohara
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 48, Lieutenant Commander T. Okamoto
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 41, Commander Tonosuke Otani
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 44, Commander Moriyoshi Yamaguchi
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 37, Lieutenant Commander Noriteru Yatsui
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1950
Korea
Korea
- USS Missouri ended bombarding communist positions in the Chongjin-Tanchon area, Korea.
» In-depth article
26 Oct 1973
- Semyon Budyonny 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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"Since peace is now beyond hope, we can but fight to the end."Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937