31 Jul 1887
- Mitsuru Ushijima was born.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1914
- Germany began to mobilize.
- General Joffe, the French Chief of the General Staff, warned the cabinet that a delay in calling out the reservists could result in an initial abandonment of French territory.
31 Jul 1916
- Robert Saundby forced down a German Eindekker aircraft but was slightly injured in the fighting.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1917
- The third battle of Ypres (also known as Passchendale) began. It was a British offensive designed with the aim of breaking through the German trench lines to the German submarine bases in Belgium and to relieve pressure on the collapsing Russian army in the east. Neither of these objectives was achieved. For much of the three months battle successive attacks by Gough’s Fifth army and Plumer’s Second army foundered in terrain that had been turned into a swamp by intensive artillery bombardment, thus precluding the use of tanks. The limit of the British advance was five miles, at a cost of 250,000 casualties.
- Lieutenant General Yujiro Nakamura succeeded Lieutenant General Akira Nakamura as the Governor-General of Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China.
31 Jul 1918
- Captain G. E. Chaplin of the Imperial Russian Navy landed with a small task force of (white) Russians at Archangel, Russia. The demoralised Bolsheviks put up only a limited resistance in the area of the docks and railway station, and by the end of the day the "Whites" had taken the town with only a few casualties.
31 Jul 1919
- The German Reichstag passed the new constitution.
31 Jul 1923
- Yubari was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Detroit was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1929
- Myoko was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
31 Jul 1932
Germany
Germany
- German national elections ended with Nazi Party members gaining 230 seats, or 38% and the majority, in the Reichstag.
31 Jul 1934
- I-68 / I-168 was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
31 Jul 1937
China
China
- Zhao Dengyu was posthumously promoted to the rank of general second class.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1938
- Japanese 19th Division and Manchukuo units defeated the Soviet 39th Rifle Corps during a night battle during the Battle of Lake Khasan.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1939
- Neville Chamberlain spoke before the House of Commons of the British Parliament, noting that he was engaging in talks with the Soviet Union as a means to contain German aggression.
» In-depth article - Repair ship Akashi was completed and placed on the reserve list.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
31 Jul 1940
- While German Army and Navy leadership continued to disagree over the plans for the invasion of Britain (with Admiral Raeder convincing Hitler to delay the invasion until mid-Sep 1940), the Luftwaffe moved forth with its plans and began to shift the main target from English Channel shipping to RAF airfields in southern England. Although 77 RAF aircraft were destroyed and 43 were damaged (along with 67 airmen killed and 23 wounded), aircraft production during the month was greater than aircraft lost.
» In-depth article - At Adolf Hitler's residence near Berchtesgaden, München-Oberbayern, Germany, German military leaders were advised of Hitler's plan to attack the Soviet Union. Hitler made it clear that an invasion of the USSR was a way of securing mastery of Europe, as the fall of the USSR would certainly force Britain to surrender. The military leaders were told to expect the invasion to start in May 1941, and would likely last about five months.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-99 sank British ship Jamaica Progress at 0138 hours (killing 7) and British ship Jersey City at 1324 hours (killing 2) 50 miles north of Ireland. She was attacked by depth charges by escort vessels and a bomb from a flying boat, but she was able to escape undamaged.
» In-depth article - British destroyer HMS Whitshed hit a mine off Harwich, Essex, England and lost most of her bow, but she able to be towed to Harwich by the stern by destroyer HMS Wild Swan. She would remain under repair at Chatham, Kent, England until 21 Dec 1940.
- German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin sank British ship Domingo De Larringa in the South Atlantic 1,000 miles east of Pernambuco, Brazil. 8 were killed and 30 were taken prisoner.
- British submarine HMS Spearfish departed Rosyth, Scotland, United Kingdom to patrol off the Norwegian coast.
- Heavy cruisers USS Wichita and USS Quincy arrived at Bahia, Brazil.
» In-depth article - Adolf Hitler announced that he would decide whether the invasion of Britain was to take place in mid-Sep 1940 or May 1941 in a few days; the progress of the Luftwaffe campaign over Britain would be among the key factors in his decision process.
» In-depth article - Joachim von Ribbentrop, upon learning that the Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, was departing for the Bahamas soon, issued an order to send the British royalty another message overnight, stressing the fact that Germany was attempting to avoid armed conflict with the United Kingdom, which could be achieved with the duke was willing to assist, beginning by not departing Europe for the Bahamas.
» In-depth article
- Mitsubishi delivered the first production Zero fighter to the Japanese Navy.
» In-depth article
- American ambassador in London, England, United Kingdom Joseph Kennedy relayed to US Secretary of State Cordell Hull another request from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for destroyers. "If we cannot get reinforcement," Churchill noted, "the whole fate of the war may be decided by this minor and easily remediable factor."
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1941
- Reinhard Heydrich received instructions from Hermann Göring to prepare the implementation of the Final Solution to the Jewish question, Endlösung.
» In-depth article - Reichskommissar Josef Terboven declared Norway under a state of emergency.
- Romanian leader Ion Antonescu formally accepted German leader Adolf Hitler's request for Romanian troops to conquer and occupy the Ukrainian territory between Dniester and Bug Rivers.
» In-depth article - USS Astoria arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article - Soviet destroyer Sokrushitelny made rendezvous with British minelayer HMS Adventure near the Gorodetski lighthouse at the entrance to the White Sea in northern Russia.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1942
- US Navy and Marines ended a four-day amphibious landing exercise.
- 1,000 Jews from Theresienstadt Concentration Camp were taken to Baranowitsche Concentration Camp in Poland and gassed in vans.
» In-depth article - Destroyer Yuzuki arrived at Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands.
» In-depth article - Hiyo was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - USS Grunion damaged Japanese transport Kashima Maru 10 miles north if Kiska, US Territory of Alaska at 0547 hours; Kashima Maru fought back with her 80-millimeter gun, sinking USS Grunion, killing all 70 aboard.
» In-depth article - Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down three Allied aircraft, increasing his total victories to 17.
» In-depth article - US aircraft located and attacked a Japanese convoy bringing reinforcements from Rabaul, New Britain to Buna, Australian Papua; the convoy was forced to return to Rabaul by this attack.
» In-depth article - Canadian Hudson aircraft (Squadron Leader Norville Small) sank German submarine U-754 on the surface 120 miles southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; all 43 aboard were killed. 760 miles east of St. John's, Newfoundland, German submarines U-164, U-210, U-217, U-511, U-553, and U-588 attacked Allied convoy ON-115 without success; Canadian corvette HMCS Wetaskiwin and destroyer HMCS Skeena counterattacked and sank U-588 with depth charges, killing all 46 Germans aboard. 150 miles east of the Azores islands, U-213 attacked Allied convoy OS-35 but was sunk by British sloops HMS Erne, HMS Rochester, and HMS Sandwich; all 50 aboard were killed.
» In-depth article
- George Kenney arrived at Townsville, Australia.
» In-depth article
- USAAF began a 7-day bombardment against Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Meanwhile, the Allied invasion force (75 warships and transports with 16,000 men on aboard) for Guadalcanal departed from Fiji.
» In-depth article
- 30 men of Australian Plover Force attempted to land on Tanimbar, Moluccan Islands, Dutch East Indies; they were driven off by Japanese gunfire. The Japanese would secure the island before the end of the day.
» In-depth article
- 630 British bombers (308 Wellington, 113 Lancaster, 70 Halifax, 61 Stirling, 54 Hampden, and 24 Whitley) attacked Düsseldorf, Germany with 900 tons of bombs, destroying 453 buildings, damaging 15,000 buildings, killing 276 civilians, and wounding 1,018 civilians; 29 bombers were lost on this attack.
» In-depth article
- Shokaku arrived at Hashirajima island in Hiroshima Bay, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Kaname Harada was recalled from quarantine into service.
» In-depth article
- Adolf Hitler reversed his order of 23 Jul 1942 which detached the 4th Panzer Army from the assault on Stalingrad, Russia; the 4th Panzer Army began moving north toward Stalingrad, which caused some logistical issues as other German units moved south along the same roads in the invasion of the Caucasus region.
» In-depth article
- German bombers attacked Hull, England, United Kingdom with 46 tons of bombs between 0215 hours and 0325 hours, damaging Victoria Dock facilities and destroying several homes on Grindell Street.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1943
- Young was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article - The Chinese-American Composite Wing of the USAAF 14th Air Force was established.
- After studying the findings of a small joint US Army, US Navy, and US Marine Corps reconnaissance mission to Vella Lavella between 21 and 22 Jul 1943, it was concluded that a landing in the Barakoma area was feasible.
» In-depth article - Oberleutnant Erich Baumgartl of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
- A Brazilian Air Force Lockheed A-28A aircraft caught a surfaced German submarine, U-199, in the Atlantic Ocean. Though damaged by anti-aircraft fire the Brazilian crew managed to keep the U-Boat on the surface until a Brazilian Air Force Catalina aircraft arrived and sank the submarine.
- Repair ship Akashi began repairing cruiser Kumano at Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- The Air Force of the Republic of China formed the 1st Bomb Group (Provisional) and the 3rd Fighter Group (Provisional); these two groups would form the foundation of the Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional) in two months.
31 Jul 1944
See all photos dated 31 Jul 1944
- Tirpitz conducted exercises at sea with five destroyers.
» In-depth article - USS Tang departed for her fourth war patrol off Honshu, Japan.
» In-depth article - British VIII Corps launched Operation Bluecoat towards Vire River in Normandy, France. Meanwhile, US 4th Armored Division captured Avranches and 20,000 prisoners of war in 6 days.
» In-depth article - USS Kete was commissioned into service with Commander R. L. Rutter in command.
» In-depth article - The British 9th Armoured Division (Major General John D'Arcy) was disbanded.
- USS Parche attacked a Japanese convoy off Taiwan and sank cargo ship Manko Maru and tanker Koei Maru; she also shared the credit with USS Steelhead for sinking another transport. She expended 19 torpedoes during this attack. Parche's commanding officer, Commander Lawson Ramage would later be awarded the Medal of Honor for this attack while the crew received the Presidental Unit Citation.
» In-depth article
See all photos dated 31 Jul 1944
31 Jul 1945
- USS Blenny reported sinking two small Japanese craft with the deck gun in the South China Sea off Malaya.
» In-depth article - Operation Struggle: British midget submarine XE3, crewed by Lieutenant Ian Fraser, Acting Leading Seaman James Magennis, Sub-Lieutenant William James Lanyon Smith, (of New Zealand), and Engine Room Artificer Third Class Charles Alfred Reed, attacked Japanese shipping at Singapore, sinking heavy cruiser Takao. Fraser and Magennis would later be awarded the Victoria Cross for this sinking, while Smith would receive the Distinguished Service Order and Reed the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Pierre Laval surrendered in Austria.
» In-depth article - USS Bugara sank 1 small enemy craft with her deck gun in the Gulf of Siam and South China Sea area before dawn, and 4 more during the day.
» In-depth article - USS Sennet attacked a Japanese patrol boat in the Sea of Japan; all 3 torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
- American PB4Y aircraft based in Okinawa, Japan destroyed a bridge on an important railway in Korea.
31 Jul 1946
- USS Petrof Bay was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article - Manila Bay was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1948
- The battleship USS Nevada, having survived both sinking at Pearl Harbor and the Bikini Atoll atom bomb test, was finally destroyed as a target off US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article - German industrialist Alfried Krupp was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and the confiscation of his wealth.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1953
- Robert Taft passed away.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1958
Photo(s) dated 31 Jul 1958
Photo(s) dated 31 Jul 1958
31 Jul 1966
- Alexander von Falkenhausen passed away.
» In-depth article
31 Jul 1986
- Chiune Sugihara 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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"With Germany arming at breakneck speed, England lost in a pacifist dream, France corrupt and torn by dissension, America remote and indifferent... do you not tremble for your children?"Winston Churchill, 1935