20 Aug 1919
Taiwan
Taiwan
- General Jiro Akashi was named the commanding officer of the newly-formed Taiwan Army with Major General Koichiro Soda as his chief of staff.
20 Aug 1921
United States
United States
- Joseph Rochefort became one of the rare few during this period who were transferred from the naval reserve into the United States Navy. He was given the rank of ensign.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1924
Japan
Japan
- Light carrier Hosho's modification work was completed at Yokosuka Navy Arsenal, Japan, which saw the removal of her island, mast, and crane.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- General Soroku Suzuki was named the commanding officer of the Japanese Chosen Army in occupied Korea, relieving Shinnosuke Kikuchi.
- Lieutenant General Takaichi Kanno was named the commanding officer of the Taiwan Army.
20 Aug 1929
- Ashigara was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
20 Aug 1937
- Mutsu embarked 2,000 men of the Japanese Army 11th Division.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- China was divided into five war areas for the purpose of organizing defense.
20 Aug 1938
- USS Enterprise crossed the Equator off Brazil.
» In-depth article
- Japanese 106th Division under Yasuji Okamura and the Japanese 101st Division launched an offensive in Jiangxi Province, China in an attempt to cut off Chinese troops in Nanxun and Wuning Railway. Chinese troops withdrew from Xinzi, Jiangxi Province after sundown, falling back toward Yikou.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1939
- German leader Adolf Hitler personally asked Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to move up the date for the meeting of the respective foreign ministers, preferably to 22 Aug or 23 Aug from the originally-proposed 26 Aug. Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck formally rejected British and French request for Poland to allow Soviet troops to enter Poland in case of a German invasion.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1940
- Luftwaffe stopped using Ju 87 Stuka aircraft in the Battle of Britain after suffering unsustainable loss rates; almost 60 were shot down in the past 11 days.
» In-depth article - Battle of Britain: At 1445 hours, 190 German aircraft flew over the Thames Estuary in search of British shipping, but failed to find any; British fighters arrived and shot down five German aircraft. Meanwhile, RAF Manston was attacked; 1 Spitfire fighter was shot down while attempting to defend the airfield. In total, 7 Luftwaffe aircraft and 3 RAF aircraft were lost today. At the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" speech.
» In-depth article - Hermann Göring sent peace proposals to Britain via Dutch and Turkish foreign ministries, but the proposals were ignored by the British.
- Joseph Stalin's political enemy Leon Trotsky was attacked in his home in Mexico with an ice axe by undercover NKVD agent Ramón Mercader. Trotsky would die on the next day.
- British submarine HMS Cachalot torpedoed and sank German submarine U-51 in the Bay of Biscay 100 miles west of St. Nazaire, France, killing the entire crew of 43.
» In-depth article - German armed merchant cruiser Orion spotted British ship Turakina 350 miles east of New Plymouth, New Zealand, finally sinking her with gunfire and one torpedo after a prolonged chase; 38 crew members were killed. Despite knowing the New Zealand Navy might already be on the way, Orion's commanding officer nevertheless decided to remain in the area for 5 hours to rescue 21 of Turakina's survivors.
» In-depth article - Theodor Osterkamp, the commanding officer of Jagdgeschwader 51, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz). Forty-eight year old Osterkamp was one of only a handful of aviators to see combat in both World Wars. During the Great War he had been awarded both the Knight's Cross of the Royal Hohenzollern House Order with Swords and the Pour le Mérite, and finished the war with thirty kills to his name. In 1940 he added six more victories before his superiors insisted that his further career should be chairbound.
» In-depth article
- Chinese communist forces launched the Hundred Regiments Offensive in Hebei and Shanxi Provinces in China.
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Churchill's Speech 'The Few' to the House of Commons
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Dick's Visit to Kenley Air Station
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Chemical Work for Military Purposes in Britain
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1941
- German 250th Infantry Division, nicknamed "Blue Division" and consisted of Spanish volunteers, was formed and began to move to Poland.
- The German siege of Leningrad, Russia began.
» In-depth article - German Eleventh Army captured Kherson, Ukraine. Romanian aircraft destroyed a Soviet armored train at Odessa Ukraine.
» In-depth article
- After sundown, the Germans conducted another round-up of Jews in Paris, France. Their French passports were confiscated, and they would eventually be deported to the Drancy Concentration Camp and later to various concentration camps in Germany and Eastern Europe.
» In-depth article
- Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki stepped down as the chief of staff of Kure Naval District, Japan.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1942
- USS Copahee was reclassified an auxiliary aircraft carrier with hull number ACV-12.
» In-depth article - Mutsu sortied to hunt for USS Long Island which was delivering aircraft for Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, but failed to make contact.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Destroyer Yukikaze completed a period of training in the Inland Sea in Japan.
» In-depth article - British ship City of Manila, damaged by German submarine U-406 on the previous day, sank 450 miles west of Portugal. A PBY Catalina aircraft of US Navy squadron VP-73 attacked German submarine U-464 with depth charges 250 miles west of the Faroe Islands between Britain and Iceland at 0530 hours, killing 2 men and damaging the submarine; U-464 was scuttled at 0815 hours after the 51 survivors abandoned ship; all survivors were captured by the British.
» In-depth article - USS Tuscaloosa, USS Rodman, USS Emmons, and HMS Onslaught, carrying war goods for the Soviet Union, were spotted by German aircraft.
» In-depth article
- 770 Japanese troops under Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki reached within a few miles of Henderson Field at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands by 0430 hours. During the day, Henderson Field received 31 US Marine fighter aircraft (19 Wildcat fighters and 12 Dauntless dive bombers) from USS Long Island, allowing air supply and evacuation of wounded to begin between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal; the small air fleet at Henderson Field was dubbed "Cactus Air Force". In the evening, Ichiki gave the order to move foward, running into the US Marines defensive perimeter at Tenaru River by surprise around midnight.
» In-depth article
- German submarine U-464 was sunk by US Navy pilot Lieutenant (jg) Robert Hopgood in Skerjafjord near Reykjavik, Iceland; 53 German crew members survived.
- The German 6.Armee began to attack Stalingrad, Russia, crossing the Don River by inflatable boats.
» In-depth article
- German bombers attacked Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- USS Gunnel was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander John S. McCain, Jr. in command.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1943
See all photos dated 20 Aug 1943
- USS S-31 completed training services at Nouméa, New Caledonia.
» In-depth article - USS Gar sank a Japanese ship in daylight with one of three torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article - Otto Skorzeny returned to mainland Italy after being shot down by British fighters two days prior.
» In-depth article - German Admiral Canaris' sources informed him that Benito Mussolini might be held prisoner on the island of Elba, Italy.
» In-depth article - Admiral Chester Nimitz submitted a general plan for the invasion of the Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
- Baanga island, located just off western New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, was secured by elements of the US Army 43rd Division.
» In-depth article
- Soviet and German tanks engaged in combat in the fields near Kharkov, Ukraine; the Soviets were defeated after losing 184 T-34 tanks.
» In-depth article
- USS Alabama departed Norfolk, Virginia, United States.
» In-depth article
See all photos dated 20 Aug 1943
20 Aug 1944
See all photos dated 20 Aug 1944
- French resistance fighters liberated Toulouse, France.
» In-depth article - At Falaise, France, Major David Currie became the only Canadian to win the Victoria Cross during the Normandy campaign. In three days of non-stop action, his little force of tanks, self-propelled anti-tank guns and infantry had destroyed seven Panzers, 12 heavy guns and 40 other vehicles, killing more than 1,000 of the enemy and taking 11,000 prisoners.
- Members of the Armia Krajowa attacked the State Telephone Exchange high-rise building in Warsaw, Poland.
» In-depth article - USS Segundo completed taking on ammunition and supplies for a war patrol.
» In-depth article - Destroyer Yuzuki was assigned to Destroyer Division 30 of Escort Squadron 31 of the Combined Fleet as the division's flagship under Captain Seiji Sawamura.
» In-depth article - Remy Van Lierde became the commanding officer of No. 164 Squadron RAF.
» In-depth article
- USS Cero arrived at Brisbane, Australia, ending her fifth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- The Falaise pocket in France began to close around German troops; the Allies captured over 4,000 prisoners of war.
» In-depth article - US 79th Division reached Seine River above Paris, France.
» In-depth article - Charles De Gaulle landed at Cherbourg, France. Meeting Dwight Eisenhower later in the day, he convinced the Allied commander that the French capital of Paris should be a priority objective that should not be bypassed.
» In-depth article - Pierre Laval stepped down as the Prime Minister of France.
» In-depth article - Blockship Foch was hit by two aerial bombs at the mouth of the Toulon harbor, France.
» In-depth article
- USS Gunnel attacked a Japanese transport in the South China Sea; all 9 torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
- 2nd Ukrainian Front and 3rd Ukrainian Front launched the Second Jassy-Kishinev Offensive into northeastern Romania. The Romanian 3rd Army was broken, while Axis shipping was attacked by Soviet aircraft on the Romanian coast.
» In-depth article
- USS Kete departed Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States.
» In-depth article
See all photos dated 20 Aug 1944
20 Aug 1945
See all photos dated 20 Aug 1945
- Pavel Meshik was named the deputy head of the Soviet 1st Main Directorate for the construction of atomic weapons.
- Soviet forces declared the cities of Mukden, Changchun, and Qiqihar in northeastern China secure.
» In-depth article - He Yingqin arrived in Zhijiang, Hunan Province, China and met with China Expeditionary Army representative Takeo Imai to negotiate surrender terms.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Stalin signed the final GKO order (No. 9887) making Lavrentiy Beria the head of State Committees No. 1 (atomic research), No. 2 (jet engine research), and No. 3 (radio location equipment development); he no longer held direct authority over counterintelligence.
» In-depth article
- Percy Hobart's British 79th (Experimental) Armoured Division Royal Engineers was disbanded.
See all photos dated 20 Aug 1945
20 Aug 1946
- Joseph Stalin explained that Vsevolod Merkulov's dismissal in May 1946 was due to his dishonesty during the war.
» In-depth article
- Rohan Amerasekera became the assistant aerodrome officer at the Ratmalana Airport in Ceylon.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1947
- The Doctors' Trial ended in Nuremberg, in which an United States military court found 16 of the 20 doctors and 3 Nazi officials guilty of human experimentation. 7 were given death sentences and 9 were given prison sentences.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1949
United States
United States
- USS Sea Robin arrived at New London, Connecticut, United States and joined Submarine Squadron 8.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1952
- USS Iowa took on 9 wounded sailors from USS Thompson, which was damaged by Chinese artillery off Korea.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1959
- William Halsey passed away.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 1967
- Walter Krueger passed away.
» In-depth article
20 Aug 2005
Photo(s) dated 20 Aug 2005
Photo(s) dated 20 Aug 2005
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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