1 Sep in WW2 History | World War II Database

1 Sep 1888

Ioseb Jughashvili entered the church school in Gori, Georgia Governorate, Russian Empire.
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1 Sep 1894

Ioseb Jughashvili entered the Tiflis Theological Seminary in Tiflis, Georgia Governorate, Russian Empire.
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1 Sep 1915

Rear Admiral Moshiro Iwasaki was named the Chief of Staff of the Mako naval port at Pescadores islands, Taiwan.
Bretagne was commissioned into service.
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1 Sep 1916

Renown was commissioned into service.
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The keel of British battlecruiser Hood was laid down.
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1 Sep 1917

The German 8th Army attacked Riga, Latvia in an attempt to bring about the downfall of the Provisional Government and force Russia to sue for peace. Apart from some resistance by one division whose commander had somehow managed to rally his men, most Russian soldiers refused to fight and melted away (their officers being killed by the deserters on frequent occasions).
Friedrich Christiansen was named the commanding officer of the German naval air station at Zeebrugge, Belgium.
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1 Sep 1921

The US battleship Washington (BB47) was launched by New York Shipbuilding but was cancelled as a consequence of the Washington Treaty of 1922 before completion.

1 Sep 1923

The first three combat legions of the Italian Blackshirts were mobilized and sent to Libya.
Mutsu transported food and medical supplies for victims of the Great Kanto Earthquake.
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1 Sep 1924

Takio Izawa was named the governor-general of Taiwan.

1 Sep 1927

Aoba was commissioned into service.
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Kinugasa was commissioned into service.
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1 Sep 1930

The keel of cruiser Astoria was laid down.
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1 Sep 1932

Fregattenkapitän Otto Schniewind took command of cruiser Köln.
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1 Sep 1936

Drayton was commissioned into service.
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1 Sep 1937

With the capture of Bilbao and Santander the only remaining Spanish Republican stronghold in the north of Spain was Gijón and its surrounding area. The Spanish Nationalists, led by Generals Antonio Aranda and José Solchaga, launched an offensive through the mountains of Leon and along the coast from the east to capture Gijón. General Aranda's forces, however, were unable to break through the mountain passes, which were strongly held by Asturian troops, until a Navarrese force, under General Solchaga's command, captured the village of Infiesto a month later, thus outflanked the mountain defences and forced the Asturians into a retreat.
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In China, under the command of Itagaki Seishiro, Japanese 5th Division and 11th Mixed Brigade marched from Beiping toward Chahar and Shanxi Provinces.
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Light carrier Hosho departed Shanghai, China.
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1 Sep 1938

General Franz Halder was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the German Army (Oberkommando des Heeres), succeeding General Ludwig Beck. He was the first Catholic to be assigned this position.
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1 Sep 1939

Using the staged Gleiwitz radio station attack as an excuse, Germany declared war on Poland. Meanwhile, the radio station in Minsk, Byelorussia increased the frequency of station identification and extended its playing time in an attempt to help German aviators navigate.
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General mobilisation began in the United Kingdom. On the civilian front, three million women and children were evacuated from London and other large cities, though most of these will return when the anticipated air raids do not materialise. Also, Air Raid Precautions were introduced and a blackout enforced from sunset to sunrise.
Mobilization of the French military.
Britain and France turned to Italy in response to his proposal to revamp the conditions of the Versailles Treaty rather than declaring war on Germany. Meanwhile, Italy declared itself a non-belligerent nation in the European War.
Germany placed curfew on German Jews: 9pm in the summer, 8pm in the winter.
Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden all proclaimed their neutrality in the European War; Germany pledged to respect Norway's and Sweden's sovereignty.
As the Free City of Danzig ceased to exist, Gauleiter Albert Forster's title was abolished. He would soon be named the Gauleiter and Reichstatthalter of Danzig-West Prussia.
Hitler authorized Reichsleiter Bouhler and Dr. Brandt to "grant merciful deaths" for the mentally ill and those who were suffering from incurable diseases. This was the beginning of Action T4 euthanasia program.
Reinhard Heydrich presided a meeting attended by the heads of Security Police and Commanders of Special Units, during which the deportation of the "remaining 30,000 Gypsies" from Germany to the soon-to-be-conquered territory of Poland was ordered.
Albert Forster ended his position of the State President of the Free City of Danzig as Danzig was abosrbed within German borders.
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The Iron Cross awards were established in Germany as an award for those who displayed bravery in combat or in command of military personnel. Four grades were specified: Iron Cross 2nd Class, Iron Cross 1st Class, Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross.
Adolf Hitler relieved Italy from having to fight in the war against Poland and possibly with the western powers in writing, asking only for political and economic support.
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Historical document written: No. 106: Speech by Herr Hitler to the Reichstag
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Historical document written: No. 107: Herr Hitler's Proclamation to the German Army
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Historical document written: No. 104: Explanatory Note Upon the Actual Course of Events
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Historical document written: No. 105: Speech by Chamberlain to the House of Commons
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Historical document written: No. 108-1: Albert Forster's Proclamation to the People of Danzig
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Historical document written: No. 108-2: Messages between Forster and Hitler on Danzig
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Photos dated 1 Sep 1939

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1 Sep 1940

British Destroyer HMS Ivanhoe sank after hitting a mine off the Dutch coast.
British minesweeping trawler HMT Royalo hit a mine and sank off Penzance, Cornwall, England; 7 were killed.
The coke-fired two-retort furnace in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp crematorium was put into service for the disposal of bodies.
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Formations of German fighters arrived in Britain in the morning to lure British fighters, but the tactic did not succeed. At 1100, 1330, and 1730 hours, large German raids attacked Debden, Biggin Hill, Hawkinge, Lympne, Kenley, Detling, Eastchurch, Tand Sherburn, as well as the Tilbury Docks in the East End of London. Luftwaffe lost 17 fighters and 8 bombers, while the RAF lost 15 fighters (with 6 pilots killed). Overnight, German bombers attacked Kent, Bristol Channel, and South Wales.
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British submarine HMS Sunfish collided with patrol launch Mesme shortly after departing Grangemouth, Scotland, United Kingdom. Mesme sank with the entire crew of 3 lost.
German submarine U-101 sank Greek ship Efploia 100 miles northwest of Ireland just after 0000 hours; the entire crew survived on two lifeboats and were rescued by British destroyer HMS Anthony. 200 miles west of Isle of Lewis, Scotland, United Kingdom at 1725 hours, U-32 attacked British cruiser HMS Fiji, killing 5 and badly damaging the ship; Fiji would be able to sail to the Clyde, Scotland under her own power for repairs. To the south, near Brest, France, British submarine HMS Tigris sank the small French fishing vessel Sancte Michael with the deck gun.
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Cruisers HMS Orion and HMAS Sydney and destroyers HMS Decoy and HMS Ilex shelled the Italian Dodecanese islands of Scarpanto (now Karpathos) and Stampalia (now Astypalea) in the Aegean Sea. HMS Ilex rammed and sank Italian motor torpedo boat MAS537.
Otto Skorzeny was promoted to the rank of Oberscharführer and was transferred to the 2nd SS Division "Das Reich".
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The US Marine Corps Midway Detachment of the Fleet Marine Force, consisting of 9 officers and 168 enlisted Marines and approximately one-third of the 3rd Defense Battalion's equipment, was established.
German naval shipping began to move from North Sea ports to ports to the south in preparation for the invasion of Britain.
Vyacheslav Molotov complained that the Second Vienna Arbitration was in violation of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed in 1939.
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1 Sep 1941

All Jews above the age of six in Germany and occupied lands were ordered to wear the yellow Star of David with the word "Jude" inscribed in black within; this was to be effective 19 Sep 1941.
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The 9th Company of German Police Battalion 322 participated in the murder of more than 900 Jews from the Minsk area in Byelorussia. On the same day, the Police Regiment South reported shooting 88 Jews, and Battalion 320 reported shooting 380.
Mineichi Koga was named the head of the China Area Fleet of the Japanese Navy.
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In China, the American Consul-General at Shanghai, the commander of the Yangtze Patrol, and the commanding officer of the 4th Marine Regiment at Shanghai recommended that all naval forces in China be withdrawn.
Douglas MacArthur mobilized the Filipino military.
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The BI-1 rocket-powered prototype aircraft was ready for unpowered flight at Khimki, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
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Cruiser Köln began supporting the invasion of Dagö and Ösel islands and disabled Soviet coastal batteries at Cape Ristna.
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Battleships USS Idaho, USS Mississippi, and USS New Mexico, escorted by 2 cruisers and 13 destroyers, were dispatched to patrol the Denmark Strait to protect American merchant shipping.
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Photos dated 1 Sep 1941

1 Sep 1942

German units reached the Black Sea as 1.Panzerarmee established a bridgehead across the Terek River near Mozdok in southern Russia. Soviet troops launched the Mozdok-Malgobek Defensive Operation.
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Running low on fuel, only some of the Axis tanks attacked Allied lines at Alam el Halfa, Egypt on this day.
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US Navy Construction Battalion personnel, Seabees, began to arrive at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
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USAAF B-17 bombers damages Japanese flying boat support ship Akitsushima.
Having taken over responsibility for building the Wildcat fighter from Grumman's Bethpage factory (which was now going over to building the F6F-3 Hellcat for the US Navy), the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors completed and flew its first FM-1 Wildcat fighter.
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Hans-Joachim Marseille, in a brand new Bf 109G fighter, flew three missions and shot down a total of 17 Allied aircraft in North Africa.
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Shokaku was assigned to Support Force, Striking Force Main Body (3rd Fleet, Carier Division 1).
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USS Tunny was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander Elton Watters Grenfell in command.
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Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Yugiri at Truk, Caroline Islands.
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Photos dated 1 Sep 1942

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1 Sep 1943

German and Estonian police surrounded the Vilna ghetto in Lithuania and began deporting Jews to forced labor camps in Estonia. The underground United Partisan Organization (FPO) issued a manifesto urging the ghetto residents to resist. After an abortive clash between the FPO and German forces, the Judenrat Chairman Jacob Gens reached an agreement with the Germans to fill the required deportee quota, 5,000 Jews,in exchange for the withdraw of German forces from the ghetto. A small number of Jews were able to escape the ghetto during the failed clash; some of them joined nearby resistance groups.
Chinese General He Yingqin tentatively planned to organize 45 divisions stationed in southern China into a cohesive force, Zebra Force, which Joseph Stilwell wished to establish.
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Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan.
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USS Snook performed lifeguard duty for carrier aircraft airmen.
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USS Cisco arrived at Brisbane, Australia.
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Photos dated 1 Sep 1943

1 Sep 1944

Gurkha troops attacked Tavoleto, Italy.
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Montgomery was promoted to the rank of field marshal.
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In France, British XII Corps crossed the Somme River, Canadian forces captured Dieppe, and US Third Army captured Verdun.
US troops began their attack on Fortress Brest.
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British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden responded to Chaim Weizmann's 6 Jul 1944 request, rejecting Weizmann's request to bomb rail lines leading to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland.
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The US coastal minesweeper YMS-21 was lost after striking a mine off Toulon, France.
Cruiser Köln conducted minelaying operations off southern Norway during this month.
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A Japanese aircraft attacked USS Tunny with four bombs, the first two of which caused a leak in a vent riser, among other damage. Her commanding officer decided to end the patrol early to receive repairs.
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Mutsu was struck from the Japanese Navy list.
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USS Pintado set sail for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
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USS Becuna came across a Japanese soldier in a small boat; after taking the soldier prisoner, she sank the boat with machine gun fire.
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USS Flying Fish departed Mios Woendi, Schouten Islands, Dutch East Indies.
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Photos dated 1 Sep 1944

1 Sep 1945

Two US Marine Corps aircraft dropped surrender terms to the Japanese garrisons on Wotje and Maloelap Atolls in the Marshall Islands.
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USS Menhaden departed Balboa, Panama Canal Zone.
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1 Sep 1947