18 Mar 1869
- Neville Chamberlain was born.
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18 Mar 1901
- Iwate was commissioned into service.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
18 Mar 1903
- Galeazzo Ciano was born.
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18 Mar 1909
- Franklin Roosevelt's son Franklin Jr. was born.
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18 Mar 1913
- Werner Mölders was born in Gelsenkirchen, Westphalia, Germany.
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18 Mar 1914
- Texas was commissioned into service.
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18 Mar 1922
- Mohandas Gandhi was sentenced to six years in prison (he was to be released in Feb 1924 on health grounds).
18 Mar 1929
- Devonshire was commissioned into service.
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18 Mar 1933
- Iwane Matsui was made a member of the Japanese Supreme War Council.
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- Major General Kennosuke Otsuka was named the chief of staff of the Taiwan Army.
18 Mar 1937
- Spanish Republic forces under Colonel Enrique Jurado Barrio launched a counter-attack against Italian troops near Guadalajara, Spain. Two divisions, assisted by Russian tanks and aircraft, fell on the leading Italian units. The ferocity of the counterattack surprised the Italians and their retreat rapidly became a rout. General José Moscardó Ituarte's Nationalist troops, previously advancing steadily, was forced to fall back as the Italians lost Brihuega. Although the Nationalist attack on Guadalajara had gained some ground when the battle finally ended, it had failed to achieve the decisive result which had been hoped for. Also on this date, the Italian Blackshirt Division 'Dio lo vuole' in Spain was disbanded; later in the year, the remaining two divisions of Blackshirts were also disbanded and reorganized into three Italian-Spanish brigades.
» In-depth article - Benito Mussolini staged an event for propaganda in which he received a ceremonial sword from Arab leaders from Italian Libya, symbolizing him as the proector of Arab peoples.
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18 Mar 1938
- Meeting between Hitler and Mussolini in the Brenner Pass; Mussolini agreed to enter a war on the side of Germany at an opportune moment.
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- Japanese troops captured Tengxian, Jiangsu Province, China after a two-day battle. The Chinese 31st Division began to march out of Xucheng, Henan Province for Xuzhou area, Jiangsu Province.
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18 Mar 1939
- France, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union lodged official protests regarding German occupation of Czechoslovakia. Meanwhile, in Vienna in German-occupied Austria, Adolf Hitler approved the formation of a German protectorate in Slovakia.
» In-depth article - Spain and Portugal entered into a non-aggression pact.
- In Russia, the "Industry of Socialism" Exhibition finally opened, sixteen months behind schedule, having finally satisfied the censors that the pictures displayed proved that life had got better in Russia since the removal of the Tsars.
- At the 18th Party Congress, Joseph Stalin declared that the western aggressor states of United Kingdom and France were pushing Germany toward Eastern Europe, thus provoking an eventual war between Germany and the Soviet Union, a venture that he did not wish to embark the Soviet Union upon.
» In-depth article - USS Astoria departed Annapolis, Maryland, United States with the ashes of Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Saito on board.
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- A group of Japanese troops boarded barges at Xingzi, Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, China, sailed south 10 kilometers on the Yangtze River, and disembarked to attack Chinese positions at Wucheng.
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18 Mar 1940
- German bombers attacked Dutch trawler Protinus off Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, killing several people including the captain and the first mate. 10 found their way to the lifeboat but 2 of them would perish before they were found by submarine HMS Unity 6 days later.
- HMS Edinburgh arrived at Tyne, England, United Kingdom for a refit.
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- Alan Turing's first electromechanical machine, "bombe", was installed.
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18 Mar 1941
- US and Canada declared a joint defense pact, which included cooperation in ship building efforts on the Great Lakes.
- Germany centralized all coal mining and distribution.
- Battleship Bismarck entered the Baltic Sea for trials.
» In-depth article - The French government-in-exile in Britain established a central bank.
- German submarine U-105 attacked Allied convoy SL-68 west of Senegal, French West Africa at 0400 hours, sinking British ship Medjerda, killing the entire crew of 52 and 2 gunners.
- Italian troops bombarded Fort Dologorodoc near Keren, Eritrea, Italian East Africa, which British and Indian had only recently gained.
» In-depth article - Erwin Rommel departed North Africa for a meeting with Adolf Hitler.
» In-depth article - British armed boarding vessel Rosaura, carrying Italian prisoners of war, hit a mine and sank off Tobruk, Libya. 14 crew, 5 guards, and 59 Italians were killed.
- British Swordfish torpedo bombers of Fleet Air Arm 830 Naval Air Squadron based in Malta bombed the harbor at Tripoli, Libya; 1 Swordfish aircraft was shot down, with its crew of 2 taken prisoner.
- British bombers attacked Vlorë, Albania, sinking Italian torpedo boat Aldebaran.
» In-depth article - German armed merchant cruiser Kormoran transferred 7 torpedoes to submarine U-124 1,050 miles southwest of Cape Verde Islands.
- German 1st S-boat Flotilla (with 6 motor torpedo boats) raided shipping on the east coast of England, United Kingdom, sinking French ship Daphne II off the Humber Estuary.
- The US Marine Corps 7th Defense Battalion arrived at American Samoa.
- Adolf Hitler met with Wilhelm Keitel, Alfred Jodl, and Erich Raeder; Raeder urged Hitler to convince Japan to attack Singapore and recommended Hitler to reveal the plans of the Soviet invasion to Japan.
» In-depth article - Douglas Bader was promoted to the rank of wing commander.
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18 Mar 1942
- Lord Mountbatten was appointed as the British Chief of Combined Operations.
» In-depth article - US President Roosevelt signed an Executive Order for the establishment of the War Relocation Authority, which led to the internment of Japanese-Americans during WW2.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-124 sank Greek ship Kassandra Louloudis off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States at 0114 hours; all 35 aboard survived. At 0827, U-124 struck again, sinking US tankers US tankers E. M. Clark; 1 was killed, 26 survived.
» In-depth article - The first A4 rocket exploded on Test Stand VII at Peenemünde, Germany during a combustion chamber test.
- US Army engineers arrived at Efate, New Hebrides for the construction of a new airfield.
- The repair work on light cruiser Voroshilov completed.
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- Douglas MacArthur officially accepted the position of the Supreme Commander of Southwest Pacific Area while still aboard a train traveling for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Rabaul, New Britain.
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» Tabular Record of Movement - Several US B-17 bombers launched from Port Moresby, Australian Papua to attack Rabaul, New Britain, causing no damage.
- Japanese aircraft attacked Port Moresby, Australian Papua.
- Chinese troops ambushed 200 Japanese reconnaissance troops near Pyu in Battle of Tachiao, killing 30. Meanwhile, aircraft of the 1st American Volunteer Group "Flying Tigers" bombed the Japanese airfield at Moulmein, claiming 16 Japanese aircraft destroyed on the ground. Of the Burmese coast, troops from India reinforced the garrison on Akyab Island.
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- Naka was assigned to the Seizure Force for the invasion of Christmas Island.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- British submarine HMS Upholder sank Italian submarine Tricheco 2 miles off of Brindisi, Italy; 38 were killed, 3 survived (including the commanding officer).
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.
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- Famed Polish Jewish violinist Henri Czaplinski (aka. Genrikh Maksimovich Chaplinsky in Soviet documents) joined the Donukalov Partisan Brigade near Minsk, Byelorussia.
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
- Oswald Mosley and Diana Mosley received Norah Elam and Dudley Elam while in imprisonment in London, England, United Kingdom.
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- The keel of destroyer USS Cassin Young was laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, United States.
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18 Mar 1944
- Aircraft of No. 466 Squadron RAAF conducted minelaying operations off of Helgoland, Germany.
- At 1100 hours, Auschwitz Concentration Camp prisoner Rudolf Friemel married forced laborer Margarita Ferrer at the camp's Registry Office. It was the only case where a prisoner was allowed to marry in the camp. They had met in Spain when Rudolf Friemel, an Austrian, fought as a volunteer for the Spanish Republicans in the civil war. Friemel was executed by hanging on 30 Dec 1944 for a failed attempt to escape Auschwitz. Ferrer and their child survived the war.
» In-depth article - USS Pollack arrived off Nanpo Islands, Japan.
» In-depth article - Chindit troops reached the railway at Kenu, Burma; the subsequent Battle of Pagoda Hill was characterized by savage hand-to-hand fighting that resulted in 23 Chindits and 42 Japanese killed.
» In-depth article - Japanese 15th Division reached Ukhrul, India, which was about 50 miles from Imphal, India. Behind them, Japanese 31st Division crossed the Chindwin River in eight columns toward India.
» In-depth article - USS Iowa bombarded Mili Atoll, Marshall Islands. She was hit by two 120mm shells from Japanese coastal guns during the bombardment, suffering minor damage.
» In-depth article - USS Ray fired six torpedoes at two Japanese destroyers and one patrol craft in the South China Sea; her crew reported hearing one explosion, but could not confirm it as the submarine dove in expectation of counterattacks.
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- RAF bombers attacked Hamburg, Germany with approximately 3,000 tons of bombs.
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- USS Golet departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
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- New Zealand troops mounted a failed armored attack on Cassino, Italy, losing all 17 tanks in the process.
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- Yamato exited drydocks at Kure, Japan.
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» Tabular Record of Movement
18 Mar 1945
- US Third Army captured Boppard, Germany.
» In-depth article - Soviet 1st Polish Army captured Kolberg, Germany (now Kolobrzeg, Poland) while other Soviet units approached Gdynia and Danzig.
» In-depth article - Filipino guerrillas welcomed the invading American troops on Panay, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article - Pope Pius XII denounced Nazi German racist policies.
» In-depth article - Albert Speer, sensing Adolf Hitler's wish to potentially order the destruction of Germany to prevent Allied capture, attempted to persuade Hitler not to destroy the future of Germany.
» In-depth article - USS Tunny detected a Japanese convoy but she failed to gain favorable attack positions.
» In-depth article - USS Missouri escorted carriers while the aircraft aircraft struck Japan.
» In-depth article
- In Burma, Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge directed the destruction of ten enemy bunkers at a heavily defended cotton mill at Myingyan. Guiding a tank to another bunker for some reason he asked the commander to hold fire while he checked it out. He entered the bunker but was shot. The 21-year-old Punjabi was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
- Indian 5th Division captured Myingyan, Burma. In the area, Anglo-Indian troops attempted to cross the moat of Fort Dufferin in Mandalay, Burma in failure, suffering heavy casualties.
» In-depth article
- General Mark Clark established the goal of the Allied offensive in Italy in spring 1945 to be 'to destroy the maximum number of enemy forces south of the Po [River], force crossings of the Po and capture Verona'.
» In-depth article
- USS Franklin arrived at Okinawa area and launched strikes against Japanese positions in the Japanese home islands.
» In-depth article
- USS Springer sank Japanese Transport No. 18 in the East China Sea, hitting her with 3 of 8 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- German V-2 rocket hit the Speaker's Corner at the edge of Hyde Park in London, England, United Kingdom at 0930 hours, killing 3 and seriously injuring 9.
18 Mar 1946
Russia
Russia
- Georgy Malenkov and Lavrentiy Beria were made full members of the Soviet Politburo.
» In-depth article
18 Mar 1949
- Edward Brooks was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and was named the Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel of the US Army.
» In-depth article
18 Mar 1953
- USS Croaker was decommissioned from service at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire, United States for conversion into a hunter-killer submarine.
» In-depth article
18 Mar 1964
- Joseph O'Callahan passed away.
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18 Mar 1967
- Erik Hansen passed away.
» In-depth article
18 Mar 2008
- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the discovery of the wreck of HMAS Sydney.
» 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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