3 Nov 1901
- Léopold III was born.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1923
- German Social Democrat Interior Minister Wilhelm Sollmann, Justice Minister Gustav Radbruch and Vice Chancellor Robert Schmidt resigned from the German coalition government, thus bringing about its collapse within weeks.
- Concord was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1930
- The Do X aircraft departed Friedrichshafen, Germany under the command of Friedrich Christiansen for the ultimate destination of New York, United States.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1936
- Franklin Roosevelt was re-elected US President.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1938
- Werner Mölders scored his final aerial victory in the Spanish Civil War.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1939
- Hunted by Royal Navy destroyers, the German-captured US freighter City of Flint entered the harbour of Haugesund, Norway where she was boarded and seized by sailors from the Norwegian minesweeper Tryggvason.
- Franz Halder sent a message to Ludwig Beck telling him to be ready to move against Adolf Hitler on or shortly after 5 Nov 1939, which was the date the plans for the invasion of France, was supposed to be made known to top German military leaders.
» In-depth article - The Cash and Carry clause was introduced in US Statute of Neutrality.
- Photos dated 3 Nov 1939
3 Nov 1940
- In the Pindus Mountains in northern Greece, Greek Pindus detachment counterattacked against Italian Julia Deivision, recapturing the villages of Samarina and Vovousa. Further west, Italian tanks were brought up to attack the Greek defenses on the Kalamas River, but the terrain was poorly suited for mobile operations. Far to the south, British troops began arriving on mainland Greece.
» In-depth article - British submarine HMS Sturgeon sank Danish ship Sigrun in the Oslofjord, Norway.
- German submarine U-99 sank British ship Casanare 150 miles west of Ireland at 2140 hours, killing 9. Casanare sent out a distress signal prior to her sinking, which brought British armed merchant cruisers HMS Laurentic and HMS Patroclus to the area; U-99 disabled HMS Laurentic after hitting her with torpedoes at 2250 hours, 2310 hours, and 2330 hours, killing 49; 368 survivors abandoned the ship and were rescued by Patroclus.
- The British capital of London experienced the first night in 57 nights without seeing any bombing.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1941
- German submarine U-202 sank British ships Flynderborg (3 were killed, 21 survived) and Gretavale (38 were killed, 6 survived) of Allied convoy SC-52 200 miles northeast of Newfoundland at 0500 hours. At 1828 hours, U-203 attacked the same convoy, sinking British ships Everoja (all 41 aboard survived) and Empire Gemsbuck (all 43 aboard survived).
- Soviet submarine ShCh-214 sank Turkish schooner Kaynakdere with gunfire in the Black Sea.
- In Russia, German Panzer Army 2 attacked Tula while other German units captured Kursk 180 miles to the southwest to protect the southern flank of the assault toward Moscow.
» In-depth article - American PBY Catalina aircraft provided air cover for Atlantic convoy ON 31.
» In-depth article - American destroyer Upshur, escorting convoy HX 157, depth charged sound contact.
- Chief of the Japanese Naval General Staff Admiral Osami Nagano approved the draft plan for the attack on Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article - Heinz Guderian noted in his diary that the first cold wave had hit Russia, bringing temperature to the freezing point.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1942
- British Ventura aircraft flew their first combat mission against a factory in Hengelo in the Netherlands.
» In-depth article - US government demanded Finland to cease hostilities against the Soviet Union.
- Polish political prisoner Heinz Radomski was caught while attempting to escape from sector BIb of the Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camp. He was later executed on 24 Jul 1943 in the washroom of Block 11.
» In-depth article - After sun down, Allies launched renewed attacks at the weakened Axis defensive positions near El Alamein, Egypt.
» In-depth article - Three US Marine battalions attacked Japanese positions west of Point Cruz on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article - Chiang Kaishek met with Joseph Stiwell regarding the planned offensive into Burma, pledging 15 divisions by 15 Feb 1943.
» In-depth article - USS Finback sank a small vessel east of Taiwan with gunfire.
» In-depth article - Irako sailed south from Fukajima, Japan with minelayer Nasami in escort.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Photos dated 3 Nov 1942
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 - Robert Johnson shot down a German Bf 109G fighter over Ameland, the Netherlands.
» 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 - USS S-31 completed training services at San Diego, California, United States.
» In-depth article - USS Scorpion arrived off Maug Islands of the Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Führer Directive 51
» In-depth article - Photos dated 3 Nov 1943
3 Nov 1944
- Soviet troops advanced toward Budapest, Hungary.
- Filipp Golikov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the third time.
» In-depth article - Aleksandr Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Red Banner for the first time.
» In-depth article - Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his second Order of the Red Banner.
» In-depth article - Halsey personally inspected USS Franklin at Ulithi, Caroline Islands; she was the first major American ship to be damaged by "kamikaze" special attacks.
» In-depth article - USS Gar began her fourteenth war patrol.
» In-depth article - USS Snook rescued a downed American airman in the Pacific Ocean.
» In-depth article - USS Pintado fired six torpedoes at a Japanese carrier off the Philippine Islands, but hit escorting destroyer Akikaze instead, damaging but not failing to sink the destroyer.
» In-depth article - Photos dated 3 Nov 1944
3 Nov 1945
- USS Cod arrived at New London, Connecticut, United States.
» In-depth article - Light carrier Hosho arrived at Uraga, Japan and disembarked 1,011 Japanese military servicemen returned from the Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Historical document written: Interrogation Nav 58, Commander Kokichi Mori
» In-depth article - Photos dated 3 Nov 1945
3 Nov 1946
- Yoshio Nishina was awarded the Order of Culture by Emperor Showa.
» In-depth article - Photos dated 3 Nov 1946
3 Nov 1947
- Pohl Trial in Nuremberg ended; out of 17 defendants, 2 were acquitted while the other 15 former SS men were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, largely for their role in the atrocities committed against concentration camp victims.
» In-depth article - John Winant committed suicide in his home in Concord, New Hampshire, United States.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1950
- Kuniaki Koiso passed away.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1954
- Chen Jitang passed away in Taiwan, Republic of China.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1960
- Santa Fe was officially commissioned into Argentinian service.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1962
- USS Charr departed San Diego, California, United States for a tour in Asian waters.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1967
- Captain Norman Kenneth McInnis was named the commanding officer of USS Ticonderoga.
» In-depth article
3 Nov 1970
- Petar II 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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