21 Mar 1889
- Bernard Freyberg was born.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1901
- Ioseb Jughashvili stopped working at the Tiflis Meteorological Observatory in Tiflis, Georgia Governorate, Russian Empire.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1917
- British No. 100 Squadron RFC, the first RFC squadron specifically trained for night operations, moved from Hingham, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom (where it was formed) to Saint-André-aux-Bois in France. The unit’s first aircraft were twelve F.E.2Bs.
21 Mar 1918
- The Germans opened their last great offensive on the western front, the Ludendorff offensive.
- The British War Cabinet continued to press for American support to the idea of asking the Japanese to intervene in Siberia (to protect the war stores at Vladivostok, Russia). Colonel House, the US President's special adviser admitted that while he was impressed by the British argument he was not at all impressed by the attitude of the Japanese themselves. President Wilson refused to even discuss the subject of intervention.
- Robert Greim achieved his 9th kill over France.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1929
Norway
Norway
- Crown Prince Olav of Norway married his first and second cousin Princess Märtha of Sweden at Oslo Cathedral in Norway.
21 Mar 1933
- Battle of the Great Wall: Japanese troops captured Yiyuankou Pass of the Great Wall.
» In-depth article - The opening ceremonies of the German Reichstag were held at the Garrison Church in Potsdam, Germany.
- Germany established a special court to handle crimes committed against the country. It was presided by three Nazi Party-affiliated judges and had no jury.
- Franklin Roosevelt submitted his plan to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps to the United States Congress; it was initially opposed by organized labor leaders and even some members of the Democratic Party for the plan's militaristic organization, fascist appearance, and low wages (US$1 per day of work), but it would nevertheless be passed into law within ten days.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1934
- In Germany an emergency decree made it an offence to spread malicious gossip, spread defeatist of demoralizing comments, make defamatory remarks about political figures or the Nazi Party, or utter remarks likely to cause "foreign policy difficulties".
- The Nazi German regime reintroduced Sondergerichte Courts, special courts without the usual safeguards in legal procedure, to deal with political cases.
21 Mar 1936
Photo(s) dated 21 Mar 1936
Photo(s) dated 21 Mar 1936
21 Mar 1937
- The Papacy's encyclical (Mit Brenneder Sorge) was commanded to be read out in all Catholic churches. Much of it expressed concern over breaches in the Concorat agreement on education and religious freedoms in Germany. The letter also called for a cessation of anti-Christian propaganda and rejected the Nazi position regarding Political mastery over the Catholic Church.
21 Mar 1938
- The female prisoners at Moringen Concentration Camps were transferred to the Lichtenburg Concentration Camp, which was a camp exclusively for women prisoners.
» In-depth article
- The Chinese 31st Division arrived at Jiangsu Province in response of a Japanese attack.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1939
- Édouard Daladier resigned as the French Prime Minister.
» In-depth article - German heavy cruiser Deutschland set sail for Memel, Lithuania. Meanwhile, Germany demanded Lithuania to sent representatives to the warship on the following day to sign Memel over to Germany.
» In-depth article - Dong Zhao was relieved of his position and the commander of the 28th Division so he could focus on his corps-level command.
» In-depth article
- Japanese 6th Division crossed the Xuishui River west of Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, China and marched toward Wuning.
» In-depth article
- French President Albert Lebrun visited London, England, United Kingdom. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain attempted to persuade Lebrun to enter into a British-French-Polish alliance to contain Germany; a similar proposal was also sent to the Polish leadership via the British ambassador in Warsaw, Poland, but the Polish responded coolly. On the same day, in Berlin, Germany, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop expressed that if Poland continued to not agree with German demands for Danzig and if Poland continued to resist signing the Anti-Comintern Pact, then the present German-Polish friendship would deteriorate.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1940
- Paul Reynaud was named the Prime Minister of France.
- German submarine U-38 sank neutral Danish merchant ship Algier 15 miles north of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom at 0100 hours, killing 5; British trawler Manx King rescued 18 survivors At 0326, U-38 torpedoed another Danish ship, Christiansborg, killing 1; HMS Discovery II rescued 24 survivors from the damaged Danish ship.
- British and Turkish delegations met in Syria.
- Chinese troops captured Japanese-occupied Wuyuan, Suiyuan Province, China.
» In-depth article
- Semyon Timoshenko was made a Hero of the Soviet Union for the first time and the Order of Lenin for the second time.
» In-depth article
- Tatsuta Maru arrived at San Francisco, California, United States.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
21 Mar 1941
- Yugoslavians protested Prince Paul's pact with Hitler. Many ministers resigned in protest.
- Nigerian Brigade of British 11th African Division attacked Italian defenses at Marda Pass in eastern Abyssinia at 1200 hours. Italian defenses held off the attacks for hours before falling back after sundown.
» In-depth article - After laying siege to the Italian garrison at Giarabub in southeastern Libya for the past three months, Australian forces finally gathered enough strength to begin a large scale assault.
» In-depth article - German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were detected by aircraft of the British Coastal Command. They were met by friendly aircraft at 1900 hours, escorting them as they headed for Brest, France.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-105 attacked Allied convoy SL-68 500 miles west of Cap blanc, French West Africa at 0046 hours, sinking British ships Clan Ogilvy (61 killed, 24 survived) and Benwyvis (34 killed, 21 survived). At 2200 hours, U-105 attacked the same convoy again, sinking British ship Jhelum (8 killed, 49 survivors).
- German aircraft attacked Allied convoy AS-21 en route between Piraeus, Greece and Alexandria, Egypt, sinking Greek ship Embiricos Nicolaos (2 killed) and damaging Norwegian tanker Solheim (1 killed).
- German aircraft attacked British shipping off various ports in England, United Kingdom; minesweeping trawler HMT Asama was sunk near Plymouth, ship Millisle was sunk off Bristol (10 killed), and ship London II was sunk off Swansea (4 killed).
- Tatsuta Maru departed San Francisco, California, United States; among the passengers was German Army General Werner Thiel.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - George Murray was named the commanding officer of USS Enterprise.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1942
- Jews from the Lublin ghettos were deported to Belzec, Majdanek, and other concentration camps.
» In-depth article - US Army General MacArthur arrived at Kooringa, Australia by train and discovered there would be no army waiting for him to reinforce the Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article - The United Kingdom discussed plans for Indian independence after the war.
- Adolf Hitler placed Fritz Sauckel in charge of mobilizing forced laborers from occupied territories.
» In-depth article - Germany introduced harsh laws against unnecessary rail travel.
- German submarine U-124 heavily damaged US tanker Esso Nashville 20 kilometers southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, United States at 0608 hours. At 1005 hours, U-124 struck again, damaging US tanker Atlantic Sun.
» In-depth article - Submarine Mingo was laid down.
» In-depth article - The US Marine Corps established the 3rd Marine Brigade at New River, North Carolina, United States; the unit was slated for the defense of Western Samoa.
- British aircraft carriers HMS Argus and HMS Eagle departed Gibraltar, escorted by battleship HMS Malaya, cruiser HMS Hermione, and 9 destroyers, with Spitfire fighters for Malta. Italian submarines Mocenigo and Dandolo attempted to attack the force in failure.
» In-depth article - Italian submarines Onice and Platino spotted British convoy MW10, which had departed from Alexandria, Egypt, off the Libyan coast. A force consisted of battleship Littorio, 3 cruisers, and 10 destroyers departed from Taranto on mainland Italy and Messina on the island of Sicily to intercept; British submarine P36 spotted this Italian response.
» In-depth article
- Four US Kittyhawk fighters arrived over Port Moresby, Australian Papua as reinforcement at 1400 hours, but nervous anti-aircraft gunners fired on them, damaging all four. Later in the day, a lone Japanese bomber attacked Port Moresby, and one of the newly arrived Kittyhawks was able to scramble and shoot down the attacker. Later in the day, 14 additional Kittyhawk fighters arrived.
- 151 Japanese bombers attacked the British airfield at Magwe in northern Burma, the operating base of the Chinese Air Force 1st American Volunteer Group "Flying Tigers"; 15 Sino-American aircraft were destroyed at the cost of 2 Japanese aircraft. Meanwhile, at Oktwin, forward elements of Japanese 55th Division engaged Chinese troops.
» In-depth article
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Allied convoy PQ-13, consisted of 19 merchant ships, set sail from Reykjavík, Iceland, with 1 destroyer and 5 trawlers in escort.
» In-depth article
- Tatsuta Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- General Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach led a German assault out of the Demyansk, Russia to the northwest.
» In-depth article
- At Fort Benning in Georgia, United States, 276 men of the US 501st Parachute Battalion received their "wings".
- USS Marlin departed New London, Connecticut, United States.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1943
- The submarine Cod was launched, sponsored by Mrs. G. M. Mahoney.
» In-depth article - After 4 months of public silence, Hitler made a Hero's Day speech.
» In-depth article - Cornelia Fort was killed during an aircraft ferrying mission in Texas, United States.
» In-depth article - New Zealand troops under Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg bypassed the Mareth Line defenses in Tunisia by moving his forces through Wilder's Gap to the west. They engaged surprised German defenses at the Tebaga Gap.
» In-depth article - Lieutenant Colonel Derek Seagram won a posthumous Victoria Cross for leading an attack on the Mareth Line in Tunisia. He inspired his men by being first across the scaling ladders over the German anti-tank ditches but was mortally wounded in the fighting.
- PBY Catalina aircraft delivered a group of US Marine Corps scouts at Segi Plantation, New Georgia for a reconnaissance mission; they would later report that Segi's beaches would not accommodate a large landing force.
» In-depth article - USS Pollack continued to chase the Japanese freighter she had attacked between Jaluit and Makin Atolls in the Gilbert Islands and Marshall Islands area, further damaging the ship.
» In-depth article - USS Finback damaged a Japanese cargo ship in the Southwestern Pacific, hitting her with two of three torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyers Isokaze and Kawakaze at Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, and Wilhelm Keitel attended a ceremony for a Heroes Memorial Ceremony in Berlin, Germany. An anti-Hitler conspirator wore an overcoat with explosives hidden inside, aiming to conduct a suicide mission to assassinate Hitler and perhaps take out some of his top command. A unexpected early departure, however, led to the abandonment of this mission.
» In-depth article
- The BI-3 rocket-powered prototype aircraft took its third flight at Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia.
» In-depth article
- No. 617 Squadron RAF was established at RAF Scampton, England, United Kingdom under the command of Wing Commander Guy Gibson for the purpose of launching an attack upon the Ruhr dams in Germany.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1944
See all photos dated 21 Mar 1944
- British Chindit forces attacked Indaw, Burma. Meanwhile, Orde Wingate began moving his headquarters from Imphal to Sylhet in India, thus causing some confusion in the Indaw offensive.
» In-depth article
See all photos dated 21 Mar 1944
21 Mar 1945
- Soviet forces captured Braunsberg near Königsberg in East Prussia, Germany.
» In-depth article - US First Army advanced toward Siegburg, Germany.
» In-depth article - The Japanese made the first operational sortie with the Yokosuka Ohka (Cherry Blossom) suicide aircraft. The sixteen Mitsubishi G4M2e bombers of 321st Squadron launched aircraft were intercepted short of their target and were forced to jettison their piloted weapons.
» In-depth article - USS Baya fired three torpedoes at a Japanese transport in the South China Sea; all torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
- USS Wake Island departed Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
- Soviet forces captured Székesfehérvár (German: Stuhlweißenburg), Hungary.
» In-depth article
- Allied convoy JW-65 arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
» In-depth article
- German V-2 rocket hit the Packard factory in London, England, United Kingdom at 0939 hours, destroying it and damaging 13 factories and 662 houses; it killed 32, seriously injured 100, and lightly injured 460. Another rocket hit Primrose Hill in St Pancras (though officially listed as in Hampstead), London, damaging the reservoir and injuring 14 people.
- USS Carbonero departed New London, Connecticut, United States.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1947
- Holland was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1967
France
France
- Béarn was struck from the French Navy list.
» In-depth article
- USS Caiman exited drydock at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States.
» In-depth article
21 Mar 1991
- USS Missouri departed Persian Gulf.
» 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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