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1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949

1 Jan 1937
  • Battleship King George V was laid down. ww2dbase [King George V | CPC]
  • The United States began withholding taxes from payrolls per the Social Security Act legistration. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • François Darlan was made the chief of staff of the French Navy. ww2dbase [François Darlan | CPC]
  • Captain Clement Moody was named the commanding officer of HMS Eagle. ww2dbase [Eagle | CPC]
  • Peter Drummond was promoted to the rank of group captain. ww2dbase [Peter Drummond | CPC]
Germany
  • Ernst Vogelsang was promoted to the rank of lieutenant (jg). ww2dbase [Ernst Vogelsang | CPC]
  • The order for the construction of Waldemar Kophamel was issued. ww2dbase [Waldemar Kophamel | CPC]
2 Jan 1937
  • Galeazzo Ciano secured British signatures on the Italo-British Gentlemen's Agreement in which both Italy and the United Kingdom stated respect for each other's spheres of influence. ww2dbase [Galeazzo Ciano | CPC]
  • William Leahy was promoted to the rank of admiral. ww2dbase [William Leahy | CPC]
Germany
  • The order for the construction of Albert Leo Schlageter was issued. ww2dbase [Albert Leo Schlageter | CPC]
3 Jan 1937
  • Spanish Nationalist forces captured a seven-mile stretch of the Corunna Road north of Madrid, Spain. For the following 12 days, Spanish Republican forces would attempt to counterattack to regain the road, with high casualties on both sides, ending in a stalemate. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Russia
  • Kirill Meretskov was awarded his first Order of Lenin. ww2dbase [Kirill Meretskov | CPC]
7 Jan 1937
  • Erwin Rommel was briefly without a position in the German Army. ww2dbase [Erwin Rommel | CPC]
12 Jan 1937

Photo(s) dated 12 Jan 1937
Vincennes making 10.74 knots during trials off Rockland, Maine, United States, at 1258 on 12 Jan 1937Henley ready for launching, Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, 12 Jan 1937; note Preston partially visible through the crane rails, at right
15 Jan 1937
  • USS Pollack was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Clarence E. Aldrich in command. ww2dbase [Pollack | CPC]
  • Hermann Göring met Benito Mussolini; when Göring brought up the topic of the German wish to annex Austria, Mussolini showed disapproval. ww2dbase [Annexation of Austria | CPC]
16 Jan 1937

Photo(s) dated 16 Jan 1937
Himmler, Heydrich, Daluege, and Adolf HĂĽhnlein at a memorial ceremony on German Police Day, Horst-Wessel-Platz, Berlin, Germany, 16 Jan 1937
17 Jan 1937

Spain
  • With the arrival in Spain of the Italian volunteers the Spanish Nationalists now felt confident to mount an offensive on the southern provinces of Republican Spain. Three Nationalist columns converged on Málaga; The Army of the South (General Gonzalo) advanced from the west, whilst from Grenada, to the north of the city, advanced Colonel Antonio Muñoz JimĂ©nez. The third column, attacking from the north, consisted of the Italians of General Mario Roatta. Although large numbers of Republican troops were available to defend Málaga, they were badly organised and were steadily forced back over the course of the following two weeks. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | Málaga | AC]
United Kingdom
  • Upon his father's passing, Oliver Leese was made the Third Baronet of the Leese Baronetcy. ww2dbase [Oliver Leese | CPC]
18 Jan 1937

Japan United Kingdom
  • Roderick Carr was named the commanding officer of Fleet Air Arm units aboard HMS Eagle. ww2dbase [Roderick Carr | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 18 Jan 1937
Wang Jingwei arriving at Ming Palace Airport, Nanjing, China, 18 Jan 1937, photo 2 of 2Wang Jingwei arriving at Ming Palace Airport, Nanjing, China, 18 Jan 1937, photo 1 of 2
20 Jan 1937
  • Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated for second term as US President; in the inauguration speech, he spoke about taking care of the third of the American population who were "ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished". ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | CPC]
21 Jan 1937

Photo(s) dated 21 Jan 1937
Japanese War Minister Hisaichi Terauchi and Prime Minister Koko Hirota at the Diet of Japan during a historic session that would lead to Hirota
23 Jan 1937
25 Jan 1937

Photo(s) dated 25 Jan 1937
Cummings
26 Jan 1937
  • Civilian Captain Nai Haremaro took command of the Japanese luxury ocean liner Hikawa Maru. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
  • Pickerel was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Pickerel | CPC]
  • A second German Civil Service Law was introduced which extended the influence of the NSDAP over Reich State appointments. The new law permitted promotions to be afforded only to those with the correct political (i.e. Nazi) attitude. It afforded Nazi employees the right to refer work problems directly to the Party rather than through their employer, and also provided for the removal of any official who did not support the National Socialist cause (although by this time very few such officials continued to remain in office). ww2dbase [AC]
Photo(s) dated 26 Jan 1937
Destroyer USS Shaw moored at Philadelphia Navy Yard, 26 Jan 1937.Destroyer USS Shaw at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 26 Jan 1937. Photo 1 of 2.Destroyer USS Shaw at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 26 Jan 1937. Photo 2 of 2.
27 Jan 1937

United States
  • The US Navy and US Marine Corps began Fleet Landing Exercise No. 3 in the San Clemente and San Pedro in and near Los Angeles, California, United States. A small US Army contingent also participated in the exercise. ww2dbase [Los Angeles, California | CPC]
28 Jan 1937

Japan
  • Kamoi departed Yokosuka, Japan for a survey mission in the Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Kamoi | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]
29 Jan 1937

United Kingdom
  • The British Air Ministry placed an order with Handley Page for 180 H.P.52 (later named Hampden) bombers under the specification B.30/36. ww2dbase [Hampden | AC]
Photo(s) dated 29 Jan 1937
Göring trying a dish made by a German housewife during an event celebrating homemakers, Berlin, Germany, 29 Jan 1937
30 Jan 1937 Germany
  • The Enabling Act of Mar 1933 was renewed by the German Reichstag even though Frick's Interior Ministry had wanted the government to have a larger say, and the Reichstag to give formal assent to new laws. The formal legal principle was retained that laws were, in theory, approved by "the Reich government as a collegium", and not by Hitler alone (this despite the fact that Hitler had long abandoned any pretence what the State was governed by a collective leadership, and instead issued decrees and directives on his own behalf). In a speech to the Reichstag upon the renewal, Hitler formally declared the German withdrawal from the Treaty of Versailles. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | Berlin | AC]
Italy
  • The keel of submarine Scirè was laid down by Odero-Terni-Orlando in Muggiano, Lerici, La Spezia, Italy. ww2dbase [Scirè | La Spezia, Liguria | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • The first production Wellesley bomber took flight at Brooklands in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Wellesley | Weybridge, England | AC]
1 Feb 1937
  • Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. ww2dbase [Francis Tuker | CPC]
Germany
2 Feb 1937
  • Osami Nagano was named the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. ww2dbase [Osami Nagano | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 2 Feb 1937
HMS Apollo off St. Johns, Virgin Islands, 2 Feb 1937
3 Feb 1937
  • Spanish Nationalist and Italian volunteer forces reached the outskirts of Malaga, Spain. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
4 Feb 1937

Photo(s) dated 4 Feb 1937
Hitler speaking to 15,000 rail workers from balcony of Reich Chancellery, 4 Feb 1937; Government Secretary Hans-Heinrich Lammers and Minister of Transport Julius Heinrich DorpmĂĽller next to Hitler
6 Feb 1937
  • Spanish Nationalist forces entered Malaga, Spain as Republican forces fled toward Almeria. At Madrid, the Nationalists under General Luis Orgaz renewed the attempts to capture the city; this time they concentrated their efforts on cutting the Valencia road where it ran through the Jarama valley to the southeast of the city. General Sebastian Pozas led the Republican forces at Madrid. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Photo(s) dated 6 Feb 1937
Launching ceremony of Admiral Hipper, Blohm und Voss shipyard, Hamburg, Germany, 6 Feb 1937; note Wilhelm Gustloff in backgroundPresident of the House of Peers of the Japanese Diet Fumimaro Konoe at a press conference after receiving orders to form a new government, Tekigaiso residence, Tokyo, Japan, 2 Jun 1937
8 Feb 1937
  • Falangist troops captured the city of Málaga, Spain during the Spanish Civil War. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 8 Feb 1937
Carriers Enterprise (left) and Yorktown (right) under construction at Newport News, Virginia, United States, 8 Feb 1937President of Boy Scouts of America Walter Head, US President Franklin Roosevelt, and Chief Scout Executive James West at the Oval Office, White House, Washington DC, United States, 8 Feb 1937
9 Feb 1937
  • Martin Bormann ordered that clergymen and theology students were not allowed to join the Nazi Party. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • The first flight of the Blackburn Type B-24 Skua prototype aircraft was made at Brough, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. A Dive bomber it became the British Fleet Air Arm’s first monoplane. ww2dbase [Skua | AC]
10 Feb 1937

France
  • Jean de Vienne was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Jean de Vienne | CPC]
11 Feb 1937
  • General Luis Orgaz's Spanish Nationalist forces drove off General Sebastian Pozas' forces eastward across the River Jarama near Madrid, Spain. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Photo(s) dated 11 Feb 1937
Song Meiling and Chiang Kaishek at the grand opening of Overseas Chinese Hostel, Nanjing, China, 11 Feb 1937
15 Feb 1937
  • In order to restore the situation General Jose Miaja took over personal command of the dispirited Spanish Republican troops on the Jarama Front near Madrid, Spain. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Germany
  • Fleet escort ship F7 was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [F7 | CPC]
18 Feb 1937
  • Jisaburo Ozawa was named the chief of staff of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. ww2dbase [Jisaburo Ozawa | CPC]
Germany
  • The construction of Franken was ordered. ww2dbase [Franken | CPC]
  • The order for the construction of Ermland was issued. ww2dbase [Ermland | CPC]
19 Feb 1937
  • John Winant's second term as the Chairman of the United States Social Security Board ended. ww2dbase [John Winant | CPC]
Ethiopia
  • During a public ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Eritrean nationalists attempted to kill Italian Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with grenades. Italian guards fired into the crowd indiscriminately. ww2dbase [Addis Ababa | CPC]
21 Feb 1937
  • The League of Nations Non-Intervention Committee banned foreign nationals from fighting in the Spanish Civil War. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | CPC]
23 Feb 1937
  • Heinrich Himmler issued the directive to arrest about 2,000 "professional and habitual criminals" in Germany on 9 Mar 1937 in one swift strike; they were to be sent to concentration camps. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]
24 Feb 1937
  • When the fighting on the Jarama Front near Madrid, Spain finally came to an end, the Spanish Nationalists had driven a salient into the Republican front-line, but had failed to cut off Madrid. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
  • Vincennes was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Vincennes | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 24 Feb 1937
TKS tankette in the Estonian anniversary parade, Tallinn, Estonia, 24 Feb 1937
25 Feb 1937
  • Tatsuta Maru arrived at Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Tatsuta Maru | CPC]
  • Erwin Rommel was posted as the War Ministry's liaison to Baldur von Schirach of the Hitler Youth. ww2dbase [Erwin Rommel | CPC]
28 Feb 1937
  • The Ki-30 aircraft took its first flight. ww2dbase [Ki-30 | CPC]
1 Mar 1937
  • Spencer was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Spencer | CPC]
China
  • Hideki Tojo was named the chief of staff of Kenkichi Ueda (Japanese Kwantung Army in northeastern China). ww2dbase [Hideki Tojo | CPC]
Germany
  • Hubert Lanz was promoted to the rank of Oberstleutnant and was made the Chief of Staff of IX Armeekorps. ww2dbase [Hubert Lanz | CPC]
Japan
  • Some time during this month, Japanese Rear Admiral Keijii Fukuda and his design team completed the blueprint for the largest class of battleships in the world. This design would later become the Yamato-class battleship. ww2dbase [Yamato-class | CPC]
  • Crown Prince Yi Un became an instructor in the Japanese Army Academy. ww2dbase [Yi Un | CPC]
  • Korechika Anami was made the head of the Personnel Bureau of the Army Ministry. ww2dbase [Korechika Anami | CPC]
Taiwan
  • Major General Masataka Hata was named the chief of staff of the Taiwan Army. ww2dbase [CPC]
2 Mar 1937

Italy Photo(s) dated 2 Mar 1937
USS Ranger entering drydock at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, California, United States, 2 Mar 1937. This was the first occasion that a US aircraft carrier entered drydock with aircraft still aboard.
3 Mar 1937

Germany
  • The order for minesweeper M18 was issued. ww2dbase [M18 | CPC]
5 Mar 1937
  • Imperial airways officially opened its new flying-boat base at Hythe on Southampton water in southern England, United Kingdom. This would become the centre for its Empire services. ww2dbase [AC]
  • Newcastle was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Newcastle | CPC]
Germany
6 Mar 1937

Photo(s) dated 6 Mar 1937
Chiang Kaishek with Japanese ambassador Shigeru Kawagoe, Nanjing, China, 6 Mar 1937
7 Mar 1937
  • Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts, now formed into two divisions and supported by 250 light tanks and 180 guns, their right flank supported by a mixed brigade of regulares, RequetĂ©s and Falangists began their advance aiming for Guadalajara, Spain to the northeast of Madrid, Spain on the main Madrid-Saragossa highway which was allotted as their main approach axis. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Photo(s) dated 7 Mar 1937
Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe with his cabinet ministers, Tokyo, Japan, 7 Mar 1937; note Minister for Foreign Affairs Koki Hirota (left edge of photograph) and Minister for Navy Mitsumasa Yonai (rear row in naval uniform)
8 Mar 1937
  • Spanish Nationalist forces threatening Madrid, Spain were ordered to attack around the northeast of the city in an attempt to cut it off from the rest of the Republic. Two Nationalist armies advanced towards Guadalajara, which was 34 miles from Madrid, and pushed back the inexperienced Republican troops which faced them. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
9 Mar 1937
  • The Armstrong Whitwotrth Whitley Mk I heavy bomber joined No. 10 Squadron RAF and went on to equip no fewer than 20 RAF Squadrons. ww2dbase [A.W.38 Whitley | AC]
United States
  • In the "Fireside Chat" radio address broadcast on this date, US President Franklin Roosevelt attempted to persuade the American public in allowing him to change to change the law in order to appoint more Supreme Court Justices. The American public would generally voice opinions against Roosevelt. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | CPC]
10 Mar 1937
  • At Guadalajara, Spain, the Spanish Nationalist invasion force attacked in two columns. The right-hand (or western) army, which was commanded by General JosĂ© MoscardĂł Ituarte, had little trouble in forcing the opposing Republican troops back, but the left-hand (or eastern) army, which was composed of Italian volunteers and led by General Mario Roatta, experienced stiffening resistance after their capture of Brihuega on this date. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
United States
  • The US Navy and US Marine Corps' Fleet Landing Exercise No. 3 in the San Clemente and San Pedro areas, California, United States was completed. ww2dbase [San Clemente Island, California | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 10 Mar 1937
SS-HauptsturmfĂĽhrers Walther WĂĽst speaking at a SS gathering, MĂĽnchen, Germany, 10 Mar 1937Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui (Wang Chung-hui) with German Ambassador to China Oskar Trautmann, Nanjing, China, 10 Mar 1937
11 Mar 1937

Photo(s) dated 11 Mar 1937
Raeder, Göring, and Fritsch joined Blomberg in the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the German military, 11 Mar 1937
12 Mar 1937

Germany
  • Georg von KĂĽchler was named the commanding officer of 1st Military District with personal command over I Corps. ww2dbase [Georg von KĂĽchler | CPC]
14 Mar 1937
  • HMS Bedouin (L67) was commissioned into British Royal Navy service with Commander J. A. McCoy in command. ww2dbase [AC]
  • The Vatican City announced that Germany had broken various clauses of the agreement signed between the two countries on 20 Jul 1933. ww2dbase [CPC]
Azerbaijan
  • The 9th Extraordinary All-Azerbaijani Congress of Soviets approved the new constitution. ww2dbase [CPC]
Photo(s) dated 14 Mar 1937
Survivors of the British Motor Ship Silver Larch posed with Louisville
15 Mar 1937
  • Werner Mölders was named the squadron leader of the 1st Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 334. ww2dbase [Werner Mölders | CPC]
  • Italian General Mario Roatta halted his advance on Guadalajara, Spain to regroup. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Photo(s) dated 15 Mar 1937
Spanish Nationalist field gun crew, the Battle of Guadalajara, Spain, Mar 1937, photo 1 of 2Spanish Nationalist infantry in the field, Battle of Guadalajara, Spain, Mar 1937, photo 1 of 2Spanish Nationalist machine gun crew, the Battle of Guadalajara, Spain, Mar 1937Spanish Nationalist machine gunner, the Battle of Guadalajara, Spain, Mar 1937
See all photos dated 15 Mar 1937
16 Mar 1937

Photo(s) dated 16 Mar 1937
Göring reviewing a Luftwaffe formation at the courtyard of the Reich Aviation Ministry, Berlin, Germany, 16 Mar 1937
17 Mar 1937

Singapore United States
  • USS Permit was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Charles O. Humphreys in command. ww2dbase [Permit | CPC]
18 Mar 1937
  • Benito Mussolini staged an event for propaganda in which he received a ceremonial sword from Arab leaders from Italian Libya, symbolizing him as the protector of Arab peoples. ww2dbase [Benito Mussolini | CPC]
Spain
  • 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 JosĂ© MoscardĂł 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. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | Guadalajara | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • The first production Wellesley bomber was delivered to the British Royal Air Force for trials. ww2dbase [Wellesley | AC]
19 Mar 1937
  • The second prototype of the Mitsubishi Ki-15 aircraft took flight. ww2dbase [Ki-15 | CPC]
20 Mar 1937

United Kingdom
  • M.14 Magister aircarft took its maiden flight. ww2dbase [M.14 Magister | AC]
Photo(s) dated 20 Mar 1937
A column of vehicles destroyed by aircraft pushed to the side of a road, Battle of Guadalajara, Spain, Mar 1937Spanish civilian checking out a building destroyed in the Battle of Guadalajara, Spain, Mar 1937
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. ww2dbase [AC]
22 Mar 1937

Photo(s) dated 22 Mar 1937
German carrier hull Flugzeugträger A (future Graf Zeppelin) under construction, Kiel, Germany, 22 Mar 1937, photo 1 of 9German carrier hull Flugzeugträger A (future Graf Zeppelin) under construction, Kiel, Germany, 22 Mar 1937, photo 2 of 9German carrier hull Flugzeugträger A (future Graf Zeppelin) under construction, Kiel, Germany, 22 Mar 1937, photo 3 of 9German carrier hull Flugzeugträger A (future Graf Zeppelin) under construction, Kiel, Germany, 22 Mar 1937, photo 4 of 9
See all photos dated 22 Mar 1937
24 Mar 1937

Photo(s) dated 24 Mar 1937
Launching of cargo ship Kybfels, Deschimag shipyard, Bremen, Germany, 24 Mar 1937, photo 1 of 2Launching of cargo ship Kybfels, Deschimag shipyard, Bremen, Germany, 24 Mar 1937, photo 2 of 2
29 Mar 1937

Photo(s) dated 29 Mar 1937
A column of Spanish Nationalist troops, Battle of Guadalajara, Spain, 29 Mar 1937Wounded Spanish Nationalist soldier supported by two comrades near the end of the Battle of Guadalajara, Spain, 29 Mar 1937
30 Mar 1937

Japan
  • Kichisaburo Nomura stepped down as a Naval Councilor on the Supreme War Council. ww2dbase [Kichisaburo Nomura | CPC]
31 Mar 1937
  • Bombers of the German Condor Legion in Spain, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Freiherr von Richthofen, bombed the mountain strongholds of the Republicans, not easily reached by artillery, and battered the key village of Ochandiano before it was quickly taken by the Army of Navarre. In the same region, the Spanish Nationalist forces, commanded by General Emilio Mola y Vidal, began an offensive against Basque forces in Vizcaya with the intention of capturing the Basque stronghold of Bilbao. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Germany
  • Georg von KĂĽchler stepped down as the deputy president of the military court system. ww2dbase [Georg von KĂĽchler | CPC]
1 Apr 1937
  • Hugo Sperrle was promoted to the rank of Generalleutnant. ww2dbase [Hugo Sperrle | CPC]
  • Air Vice Marshal John H. S. Tyssen became the commanding officer of the No. 12 Group RAF. ww2dbase [CPC]
Germany Japan
  • Akagi was taken out of service and entered drydock for extensive modernization at Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Japan. Records showed the date of this event simply as "Apr 1937"; the exact date was not noted. ww2dbase [Sasebo Naval Arsenal | Akagi | Sasebo, Nagasaki | CPC]
  • Prince Naruhiko of Higashikuni, an aviation enthusiast, christened the Ki-15 aircraft that was about to make a record flight from Japan to Europe "Kamikaze". ww2dbase [Naruhiko | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 1 Apr 1937
MT-1 Hayabusa aircraft at rest, China, 1 Apr 1937
4 Apr 1937

China
  • Kong Xiangxi stepped down as the acting head of the Executive Yuan. ww2dbase [Kong Xiangxi | CPC]
5 Apr 1937

Russia
  • Submarine S-7 was launched at Gorky, Russia. ww2dbase [S-7 | Gorky | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 5 Apr 1937
Manuel Quezon giving a radio address regarding woman suffrage and speeding up the Philippine independence timeline, Washington DC, United States, 5 Apr 1937, photo 1 of 2Manuel Quezon giving a radio address regarding woman suffrage and speeding up the Philippine independence timeline, Washington DC, United States, 5 Apr 1937, photo 2 of 2
6 Apr 1937

Japan
  • Kichisaburo Nomura was named the principal of Gakushuin school. ww2dbase [Kichisaburo Nomura | CPC]
8 Apr 1937

Germany
  • Fleet escort ship F8 was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [F8 | CPC]
9 Apr 1937

United Kingdom
  • A Ki-15/Karigane aircraft, named "Kamikaze", landed in London. The flight from Tokyo to London broke the world record, while "Kamikaze" became the first Japanese aircraft to fly over Europe. ww2dbase [Ki-15 | London, England | CPC]
12 Apr 1937
  • British RAF engineer Frank Whittle successfully bench-tested his first turbojet engine which he had tried to get built since 1930. ww2dbase [AC]
13 Apr 1937

Photo(s) dated 13 Apr 1937
Ark Royal immediately after launching, 13 Apr 1937
15 Apr 1937

Russia
  • Viktor Abakumov was assigned to the 4th Department of the GUGB of the Soviet NKVD. ww2dbase [Viktor Abakumov | CPC]
Spain
16 Apr 1937

Photo(s) dated 16 Apr 1937
Dr. H. Lammers, Dr. J. Dorpmüller, Dr. F. Gürtner, Milch, Göring, Dr. W. Ohnesorge, R. Darr at inaugural meeting of German Academy of Aeronautics Research, Berlin, Germany, 16 Apr 1937
19 Apr 1937
  • In Spain, the Falange and Carlist Movement were united and became the FET (Falange Espanola Tradicionalista y de las Junta de Ofensive Nacional-Sindicalista). ww2dbase [AC]
20 Apr 1937
  • In Spain, two Anarchist battalions, who were dissatisfied with their movement's representation in the Republican Government, went on strike and pulled out, leaving a 15-mile gap in the front line in front of the little town of Marquina directly east of Guernica. Von Richthofen, commanding the German Condor Legion, quickly realised that if the gap was exploited, the Republican Forces in the area would be forced to withdraw and could be trapped if the single bridge at Guernica was destroyed by bombing. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Germany
  • Georg von KĂĽchler was promoted to the rank of General der Artillerie. ww2dbase [Georg von KĂĽchler | CPC]
  • Horst Böhme was promoted to the rank of SS-SturmbannfĂĽhrer. ww2dbase [Horst Böhme | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 20 Apr 1937
Portrait of Chancellor Adolf Hitler, 20 Apr 1937Josef Dietrich, Adolf Hitler, and Heinrich Himmler at the entrance of the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 20 Apr 1937 during a celebration for Hitler
23 Apr 1937
  • In Spain, the Madrid Defence Junta was dissolved. ww2dbase [AC]
Germany Photo(s) dated 23 Apr 1937
German police chiefs Kurt Daluege, Heinrich Lankenau, and Adolf von Bomhard, Bremen, Germany, 23 Apr 1937Daluege, Lankenau, and Bomhard reviewing police forces, Bremen, Germany, 23 Apr 1937, photo 1 of 2Daluege, Lankenau, and Bomhard reviewing police forces, Bremen, Germany, 23 Apr 1937, photo 2 of 2
24 Apr 1937
  • Britain and France relieved Belgium of its Locarno Treaties responsibilities. ww2dbase [CPC]
26 Apr 1937
  • Operation RĂĽgen: German and Italian bombers attacked the Spanish city of Guernica, killing between 200 and 1,000 civilians. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | CPC]
27 Apr 1937

Photo(s) dated 27 Apr 1937
Hull approaching an anchorage in the lower end of Iliuliuk Bay, in the Aleutian Islands, North Pacific, 27 Apr 1937
28 Apr 1937
  • Basque forces, fighting on the side of the Spanish Republicans, surrendered at Durango and Guernica, Spain. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
United Kingdom
  • The British Royal Navy issued the order for the future battleship HMS Howe. ww2dbase [Howe | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 28 Apr 1937
Joseph Goebbels speaking at the Ordensburg Vogelsang school in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 22-29 Apr 1937
29 Apr 1937

Germany
  • In a speech to local party district leaders Adolf Hitler explained that only one political party was needed in a society united with one will. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | AC]
Photo(s) dated 29 Apr 1937
Hitler visiting the Ordensburg Vogelsang school in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 29 Apr 1937, photo 1 of 2; Dr. Robert Ley seen with HitlerHitler visiting the Ordensburg Vogelsang school in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 29 Apr 1937, photo 2 of 2; Dr. Robert Ley seen with HitlerGerman State Secretary Hans Lammers at his desk with his adjutants, Berlin, Germany, 29 Apr 1937
30 Apr 1937
  • Douglas MacArthur married Jean Faircloth in a civil ceremony. ww2dbase [Douglas MacArthur | CPC]
  • The Spanish Nationalist battleship Espana sank after hitting a mine off Cape Penas near Santander during the blockade of Bilbao, Spain. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
  • Seal was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Seal | CPC]
United States
  • Claire Chennault retired from the US Army Air Corps under the guise of poor health; in actuality, he had grown too frustrated with the USAAC leadership who did not share his vision for the future of air warfare. ww2dbase [Claire Chennault | CPC]
1 May 1937
  • Remy Van Lierde began his training as a pilot. ww2dbase [Remy Van Lierde | CPC]
  • Dunkerque was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Dunkerque | CPC]
  • Adolf Hitler declared that all German children were to be raised as loyal Nazi Germans. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | CPC]
  • Japanese destroyer Kashi was transferred to the Manchukuo Navy and was renamed Haiwei. She would serve as Manchukuo's flag ship. ww2dbase [Kashi | CPC]
Germany
  • Rudolf Höss' fourth child Hans-Rudolf JĂĽrgen was born. ww2dbase [Rudolf Höss | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • HMS Acasta arrived at HM Dockyard, Devonport in Plymouth, England, United Kingdom and began a period of refitting. ww2dbase [Acasta | Plymouth, England | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 1 May 1937
Hitler Youth, Bund girls, and naval Hitler Youth children on a parade ground, Germany, 1 May 1937Nazi Party youth organization members at the Berlin Olympic Stadium, Germany, 1 May 1937Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg inspecting the crew of Horst Wessel, accompanied by Captain Thiele and another officer, Germany, 1 May 1937Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg (center) and his adjutant Captain Lieutenant Hubert von Wangenheim aboard Horst Wessel, Germany, 1 May 1937
2 May 1937

Japan
  • Prince Nagahisa's son Prince Michihisa was born. ww2dbase [Nagahisa | CPC]
3 May 1937

China
  • Zhang Jinghui, temporarily shedding his government title and acting only as a civilian, oversaw the funeral service and the re-internment of his sworn brother Zhang Zuolin, assassinated by the Japanese in 1928, in northeastern China. ww2dbase [Zhang Jinghui | CPC]
United Kingdom
5 May 1937

Germany Photo(s) dated 5 May 1937
Prof. Troost, Hitler, Mrs. Troost, Adolf Ziegler (President of the Academy of Fine Arts), and Goebbels at the House of German Art, Munich, Germany, 5 May 1937British Ambassador in Berlin Sir Nevile Henderson, 5 May 1937Launching of Wilhelm Gustloff, Slip VII of Blohm und Voss shipyard, Hamburg, Germany, 5 May 1937
6 May 1937

China
  • Lieutenant General Chen Qingyun was named the commandant of the Chinese Central Aviation Academy at Jianqio Airfield, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, relieving Lieutenant General Huang Guangrui. ww2dbase [Jianqiao Airfield | Hangzhou, Zhejiang | CPC]
United States
  • Lieutenant Colonel W. T. H. Galliford commanded a unit of US Marines for rescue and riot control duties at Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States after the crash of German airship Hindenburg. He would remain in this role until 8 May. ww2dbase [Lakehurst, New Jersey | CPC]
  • The German airship LZ129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed with heavy loss of life whilst attempting to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States. ww2dbase [Lakehurst, New Jersey | AC]
7 May 1937
  • The German Condor Legion Fighter Group, equipped with He 51 biplanes, arrived in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | CPC]
8 May 1937
  • Stalin authorized the reintroduction of political officers in all military units above the size of a division. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | AC]
  • Street fighting broke out in Barcelona, Spain with the CNT (Confederacion Nacional de Trabaja [the Anarcho-Syndicalist Trades Union]) and POUM battling with the Communists, who are supported by the Generalitat. The fighting would last until 8 May. ww2dbase [AC]
9 May 1937

China
  • Chen Guofu inspected the Huai River rerouting project in Jiangsu Province, China. ww2dbase [Chen Guofu | Jiangsu | CPC]
10 May 1937

Photo(s) dated 10 May 1937
Kirishima in Tsukumo Bay, Japan, 10 May 1937, after her 1935 modernization
11 May 1937
  • Grom was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Grom | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 11 May 1937
B2M, A2N, and Ki-4 aircraft operating aboard carrier Kaga, 11 May 1937View of the edge of KagaKing George VI of the United Kingdom with Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King at the Buckingham Palace, London, England, United Kingdom, 11 May 1937
12 May 1937

China
  • Yu Xuezhong relocated the headquarters of the 51st Army from Anhui Province to Jiangsu Province, China. ww2dbase [Yu Xuezhong | Anhui | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • The coronation of King George VI took place at Westminster Abbey, London, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [George VI | London, England | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 12 May 1937
Ba Maw in traditional Burmese clothing at King George VI coronation, Westminster Abbey, London, England, United Kingdom, 12 May 1937
14 May 1937
  • A purge began in the Soviet military. ww2dbase [CPC]
15 May 1937
  • Largo Caballero resigned as Spanish Prime Minister. ww2dbase [AC]
China
  • Pan Yukun was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. ww2dbase [Pan Yukun | CPC]
17 May 1937
  • Dr. Juan Negrin became the new Spanish Prime Minister. His government would be dominated by Communists. ww2dbase [AC]
Photo(s) dated 17 May 1937
Coronation portrait of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret of the United Kingdom, London, England, United Kingdom, 12 May 1937.King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret of the United Kingdom appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the king’s coronation day, London, England, United Kingdom, 12 May 1937
19 May 1937

Photo(s) dated 19 May 1937
US Coast Guard cutter John C. Spencer departing on her maiden voyage to US Territory of Alaska from New York Navy Yard, New York, United States, 19 May 1937
20 May 1937
  • Roger Backhouse was made Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. ww2dbase [Roger Backhouse | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • The Fairey Battle light bomber entered service with No. 63 Squadron at RAF Upwood near Upwood, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Battle | Upwood, England | CPC]
  • HMS Hermes participated at the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Hermes | Spithead, England | CPC]
  • HMS Glorious participated in the Coronation Fleet Review held at Spithead off Hampshire, southern England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Glorious | Spithead, England | AC]
United States Photo(s) dated 20 May 1937
Hubei Province Chairman Huang Shaohong, Nationalist Party military instructor General Jiang Fangzhen (courtesy name Baili), and Italian Finance Minister Alberto De Stefani at Hankou, Hubei Province, China, 20 May 1937
21 May 1937

Ethiopia
  • As reprisal for the failed assassination of Italian Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani earlier this year, Italian troops massacred the entire community of Debre Libanos in Ethiopia, killing 320. ww2dbase [Debre Libanos | CPC]
22 May 1937

Photo(s) dated 22 May 1937
Admiral Graf Spee at the Spithead Naval Review, southern England, United Kingdom, 22 May 1937
24 May 1937
  • The Soviet Central Committee decided to place the arrested Marshal Mikhail Nikolaievich Tukhachevsky (the former First Deputy Commissar of Defence) and seven other Military Commanders on trial, accused of plotting an army conspiracy to overthrow Stalin. ww2dbase [AC]
Spain United Kingdom
  • Garland entered drydocks at Sheerness, England, United Kingdom for a scheduled overhaul. ww2dbase [Garland | Sheerness, England | CPC]
United States
  • Clifton Cates was detached from Headquarters Marine Corps. ww2dbase [Clifton Cates | CPC]
25 May 1937

United Kingdom
  • British Royal Air Force took ownership over prototype Hurricane fighter K5083 at Martelesham Heath airfield in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Hurricane | Martelesham Heath, England | CPC]
27 May 1937

United States
  • The Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco, California, United States was formally opened. Over 200,000 people crossed on foot on the first day but motor traffic was not permitted until the following day. ww2dbase [San Francisco, California | AC]
  • Helm was launched at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, United States. ww2dbase [Helm | Portsmouth, Virginia | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 27 May 1937
Bagley-class destroyers Blue and Helm on 27 May 1937, the date of their launching, in Drydock #2 at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, United States.
28 May 1937
  • Neville Chamberlain became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Neville Chamberlain | CPC]
  • The forerunner to the modern Volkswagen car company, Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH, was established. ww2dbase [CPC]
United Kingdom
  • Neville Chamberlain appointed the unpopular Jewish Liberal Leslie Hore-Belisha as Secretary of State for War. ww2dbase [AC]
29 May 1937
  • The German pocket battleship Deutschland was bombed by Spanish Republican aircraft off the Spanish coast. Thirty-one German sailors were killed and 101 were injured. ww2dbase [Deutschland | AC]
United Kingdom
  • Hurricane prototype fighter K5083 was revealed to the public during the Empire Air Day exhibitions at Felixstowe and Martlesham in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Hurricane | England | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 29 May 1937
Model of Nazi Party rallying ground at NĂĽrnberg, Germany on display at the Germany House of the Paris World
30 May 1937

China Photo(s) dated 30 May 1937
United States Navy photo of the cruiser HMS Cumberland on the Yangtze River, China below Hankow (now Hankou), 30 May 1937.
31 May 1937
  • The Spanish Republicans began an offensive to capture Segovia, Spain. Three Republican Divisions, under the command of General Domingo Moriones, broke through the Spanish Nationalist front-line at San Ildefonso and captured La Granja. Nationalist troops, led by General JosĂ© Varela, were detached from the Madrid front and used to mount a counter-attack which stopped any further Republican advance. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Spain
1 Jun 1937
  • Lieutenant Commander Isamu Fujita was named the commanding officer of destroyer Yuzuki. ww2dbase [Yuzuki | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • The keel of HMS Howe was laid down by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan, Scotland, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Howe | Govan, Scotland | CPC]
2 Jun 1937
  • A S-43 aircraft operated by Linea Aerea Nacional de Chile disappeared over the Sea of Chile; all 9 aboard were never seen again. ww2dbase [S-43 | CPC]
China
3 Jun 1937
  • Spanish Nationalist General Emilio Mola y Vidal was killed in an air crash and was replaced by General Fidel Dávila Arrondo. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
  • Captain John S. McCain, Sr. relieved Captain Bellinger as commanding officer of USS Ranger ww2dbase [John McCain | Ranger | DS]
United Kingdom
  • The M.9 Kestrel prototype aircraft took its first flight. ww2dbase [M.9 Master | AC]
Photo(s) dated 3 Jun 1937
Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe and his first cabinet, Tokyo, Japan, Jun 1937
4 Jun 1937
  • Prince Fumimaro Konoe became the 34th Prime Minister of Japan. ww2dbase [Fumimaro Konoe | CPC]
6 Jun 1937

United States Photo(s) dated 6 Jun 1937
Émile Bertin at Lorient, France, 6 Jun 1937
7 Jun 1937
  • USS Pollack departed Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, United States, starting her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea. ww2dbase [Pollack | CPC]
8 Jun 1937
  • The Tribal-class destroyer HMS Afridi was launched by Lady Foster at Vickers-Armstrong’s High Walker Yard on the Tyne in England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [AC]
United States
  • Major General Ben H. Fuller, who had been the 15th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, passed away in Washington DC, United States. ww2dbase [Washington | CPC]
9 Jun 1937

Photo(s) dated 9 Jun 1937
Chinese Finance Minister Kong Xiangxi (H. H. Kung) visiting Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, 9 Jun 1937Ambassador Cheng Tianfang, Minister of Finance Kong Xiangxi (H. H. Kung), Minister of Navy Admiral Chen Shaokuan, and Minister of Economics Hjalmar Schacht in Berlin, Germany, 9 Jun 1937
10 Jun 1937

China
  • Arthur Chin was made the commanding officer of 28th Pursuit Squadron of Chinese 5th Pursuit Group. ww2dbase [Arthur Chin | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 10 Jun 1937
Kong Xiangxi (H. H. Kung), Hjalmar Schacht, Chen Shaokuan, and others at the Chinese embassy in Berlin, Germany, 10 Jun 1937
11 Jun 1937
  • Basque forces withdrew behind the "Ring of Iron" defences around Bilbao, Spain as Nationalist forces pressed on with their attacks, but these proved to be less than effective when subjected to heavy artillery bombardment. Under cover of the bombardment, the Nationalists were able to breach the outer defences and the "Ring of Iron" collapsed. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
  • Do 18F "Zyklon" flying boat took its maiden flight. ww2dbase [Do 18 | CPC]
  • Spitfire fighter designer Reginald J. Mitchell died of cancer, aged 42. ww2dbase [Spitfire | AC]
Russia
  • Soviet Marshal Mikhail Nikolaievich Tukhachevsky and seven other Soviet military leaders were shot after "confessing", under NKVD torture, to a plot to overthrow Joseph Stalin. ww2dbase [AC]
12 Jun 1937
  • Secret order by Reinhard Heydrich of the German SS organization: Jewish convicted criminals were to be placed into protective custody after completion of their sentence from the justice department. ww2dbase [CPC]
Danzig Photo(s) dated 12 Jun 1937
Salmon ready for launching at the Electric Boat Company shipyard, Groton, Connecticut, United States, 12 Jun 1937
13 Jun 1937
  • During the night, most of the civilian inhabitants of Bilbao, Spain were evacuated by the Basque forces. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Germany
  • Chinese Minister of Finance Kong Xiangxi (Wade-Giles: Kung Hsiang-hsi; alternate: H. H. Kung) met with Adolf Hitler at Berghof, Berchtesgaden, Germany. Kong persuaded Hitler to place more distance between Germany and Japan, while Hitler offered Kong German industrial investment in China and a loan (the latter of which was rejected). ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | Kong Xiangxi | Berchtesgaden, MĂĽnchen-Oberbayern | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 13 Jun 1937
Visiting Chinese diplomat with Adolf HitlerOberscharfĂĽhrer of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler at Berghof, Berchtesgaden, Germany, 13 Jun 1937Berghof, Berchtesgaden, Germany, 13 Jun 1937Adolf Hitler at Berghof, Berchtesgaden, Germany, 13 Jun 1937
See all photos dated 13 Jun 1937
14 Jun 1937

Hawaii
16 Jun 1937
  • In Spain the POUM (Parttido Obrero de Unification Marxists) was outlawed and its leaders were arrested. ww2dbase [AC]
Photo(s) dated 16 Jun 1937
USS Perch at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States, 16 Jun 1937
17 Jun 1937
  • The Spanish Republican battleship Jaime I blew up and sank at Cartagena, Spain. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Germany
  • The order for U-56 was issued to Deutsche Werke, Kiel, Germany. ww2dbase [U-56 | CPC]
Russia
  • Red Army planner Valentin Trifonov wrote to Joseph Stalin, noting that Germany was the likely military enemy of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union should counter this by focusing on a defensive strategy rather than an offensive one (as the defensive strategy would be more cost-effective). ww2dbase [Operation Barbarossa | CPC]
18 Jun 1937
19 Jun 1937
20 Jun 1937

Photo(s) dated 20 Jun 1937
HMS York at Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 20 Jun 1937
21 Jun 1937
  • Andres Nin, the leader of the Marxist POUM in Spain, was murdered by Soviet agents. ww2dbase [AC]
  • Wolfgang Falck's son Klaus was born. ww2dbase [Wolfgang Falck | CPC]
Russia
  • Soviet official Valentin Trifonov, a former VCheKa member, was arrested and would be interrogated by members of the GUGB of the Soviet NKVD, including future Soviet counterintelligence chief Viktor Abakumov. ww2dbase [Viktor Abakumov | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 21 Jun 1937
Texas in the Gatun Locks of Panama Canal, en route to the US east coast, 21 Jun 1937
24 Jun 1937
  • Gridley was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Gridley | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 24 Jun 1937
Helena under construction at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States, 24 Jun 1937
25 Jun 1937

Photo(s) dated 25 Jun 1937
Vyacheslav Molotov, Joseph Stalin, and Kliment Voroshilov, 25 Jun 1937
26 Jun 1937

Russia
  • Moscow City Party Committee secretary Semyon Korytny was arrested for having family ties to Joseph Stalin's perceived political enemy Iona Yakir. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | CPC]
27 Jun 1937

Germany
  • Pastor Martin Niemöller delivered an outspoken sermon in Berlin, Germany in which he made it clear that a Christian's obligation was to "obey God rather than man". Arrested for anti-state activity he was sentenced to seven months in prison in Mar 1938, after which Hitler had him committed to a Concentration Camp, from which he emerged alive in 1945. ww2dbase [Berlin | AC]
Photo(s) dated 27 Jun 1937
Prof. Bruckmann, Mayor of Nuremberg Willy Liebel, Ribbentrop, Hitler, and Speer in Nuremberg, Germany, 27 Jun 1937
28 Jun 1937

Photo(s) dated 28 Jun 1937
N3N trainer aircraft being constructed at the Naval Aircraft Factory at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States, 28 Jun 1937
29 Jun 1937
  • Kamoi began a period of maneuvers. ww2dbase [Kamoi | CPC]
30 Jun 1937
  • Milton Miles was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander. ww2dbase [Milton Miles | CPC]
United States
  • The active duty strength of the United States Marine Corps was reported to be 1,312 officers and 16,911 enlisted men for a total of 18,223. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Clifton Cates was attached to 2nd Battalion of 5th Marine Regiment. ww2dbase [Clifton Cates | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 30 Jun 1937
Hitler Youth boys from Steglitz and Tempelhof areas of Berlin waiting to board a train for summer camp, Berlin, Germany, late Jun 1937
1 Jul 1937
  • In compliance with an order of the Navy Department, all United States Marine Corps Reserve tactical squadrons were designated as scouting squadrons. ww2dbase [CPC]
Germany Photo(s) dated 1 Jul 1937
Goebbels speaking to workers, Berlin, Germany, 1 Jul 1937
2 Jul 1937
  • Sunfish (S-class) was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Sunfish (S-class) | CPC]
  • Kamoi received orders to search for Amelia Earhart's lost aircraft, but did not receive any useful information such as the aircraft's last known coordinates. The order was canceled a few hours after. ww2dbase [Kamoi | CPC]
French Indochina
  • The British Air Ministry reported Japanese activity on Spratly and Itu Aba in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. ww2dbase [Spratly Islands | CPC]
5 Jul 1937
  • Kamoi completed a period of maneuvers. ww2dbase [Kamoi | CPC]
United Kingdom
6 Jul 1937
  • After the failure of the Spanish Nationalist attack upon Guadalajara the Spanish Republican troops around Madrid went on to the offensive. General JosĂ© Miaja ordered two Republican Corps (led by Generals Juan Modesto and Enrique Jurado) to advance southwards from the El Escorial-Madrid road towards Brunette. Their aim was to cut off those Nationalist forces besieging Madrid from the west. At the start of the 20-day battle that ensued, the initial thrust captured Brunette and drove a 5 mile salient into the Nationalist front-line. The Nationalist armies, under the command of General JosĂ© Varela, then rallied and mounted a counter-attack which forced the republicans almost all the way back to their start line. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
China
  • Japanese troops conducted a night-time exercise near the border of China and the Japanese-sponsored puppet nation of Manchukuo in northeastern China. The Japanese authorities failed to give the Chinese notice, thus the Chinese guards regarded the Japanese troops as invaders and fired a number of rifle shots at them. At 2300 hours, the Japanese troops fired back, but would very soon pull back. Japanese Major Kiyonao Ichiki reported one of his men was missing after the brief fire fight, suspecting that he was captured by the Chinese. Before midnight, demands for the return of the missing soldiers were being sent to Chinese military headquarters. ww2dbase [Lugou Bridge Incident and Second Battle of Hebei | Beiping | CPC]
Germany
7 Jul 1937
  • The USAAC placed an order for 210 Curtiss P-36A fighters, which was the largest US peacetime contract ever awarded for fighter aircraft up to that date. ww2dbase [P-36 Hawk | AC]
China United States Photo(s) dated 7 Jul 1937
Chinese troops at Lugou Bridge, Beiping, China, Jul 1937Soldier of Chinese 29th Army showing contempt toward Japanese troops, Beiping, China, Jul 1937
8 Jul 1937

China
  • At 0330 hours, four Japanese mountain gun crews and a machine gun company were ordered to prepare for an invasion of China. At 0500 hours (still 7 Jul 1937 for the western world on the other side of the International Date Line), the Japanese opened fire, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe held a cabinet meeting in an attempt to find a solution to de-escalate the situation, but the Japanese Army was working in the opposite direction, planning to move the Japanese Chosen Army and Kwantung Army units to the contested region. ww2dbase [Lugou Bridge Incident and Second Battle of Hebei | Beiping | CPC]
  • The Chinese Communist Party urged its members over a radio announcement to cooperate with the Nationalist Party in the war against Japan. ww2dbase [CPC]
Photo(s) dated 8 Jul 1937
Chinese ZB vz. 26 machine gun crew at Lugou Bridge, Beiping, China, Jul 1937Chinese ZB vz. 26 machine gun crew at Lugou Bridge, Beiping, China, Jul 1937Chinese sentry at the Lugou Bridge, Beiping, China, Jul 1937
9 Jul 1937

China
10 Jul 1937

Japan
  • Kamoi arrived in Ise Bay, Japan. ww2dbase [Kamoi | Ise Bay | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 10 Jul 1937
Chinese troops in Wanping Fortress, Beiping, China, Jul 1937Chiang Kaishek announcing the start of a war of resistance against the Japanese invasion, Lushan, Jiangxi Province, China, 10 Jul 1937, photo 2 of 3Chiang Kaishek announcing the start of a war of resistance against the Japanese invasion, Lushan, Jiangxi Province, China, 10 Jul 1937, photo 1 of 3Chiang Kaishek announcing the start of a war of resistance against the Japanese invasion, Lushan, Jiangxi Province, China, 10 Jul 1937, photo 3 of 3
11 Jul 1937
  • Units of the Japanese Chosen Army and Kwantung Army, previously ordered to march into China on the first day of the Second Sino-Japanese War, was recalled due to political reasons. ww2dbase [Lugou Bridge Incident and Second Battle of Hebei | CPC]
  • Ya-20 trainer aircraft took its first flight. ww2dbase [UT-2 | CPC]
China
  • The Japanese Army and Japanese Navy agreed on a boundary in China. The Army was placed in charge of conducting the war in northern China, while the Navy would take on central and southern China. The Japanese Navy's air power in China at this time consisted of 80 aircraft aboard carriers Kaga, Ryujo, and Hosho. ww2dbase [Lugou Bridge Incident and Second Battle of Hebei | CPC]
Japan
  • Masafumi Arima was assigned to Cruiser Division 10. ww2dbase [Masafumi Arima | CPC]
12 Jul 1937

Photo(s) dated 12 Jul 1937
Yorktown making 17.5 knots astern during her preliminary standardization trials, run #41, off Rockland, Maine, United States, 12-21 July 1937
14 Jul 1937

Photo(s) dated 14 Jul 1937
Harry Hopkins arriving at the White House, Washington, United States, 14 Jul 1937
15 Jul 1937
  • Alfredo Oriani was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Alfredo Oriani | CPC]
China
  • The Chinese Communist Party issued the declaration of cooperation with the Nationalist Party in the war against Japan. ww2dbase [CPC]
Germany
16 Jul 1937

China
  • Light carrier Hosho arrived off Shanghai, China and began launching aircraft to support the invasion. ww2dbase [Hosho | Shanghai | CPC]
17 Jul 1937
  • The Soviet Union and the United Kingdom signed a naval agreement in which the USSR was allowed a Baltic Fleet equal in size to the German presence in the same region. This would lead to the independence of the Soviet Navy by Nov 1937; presently, the Soviet Navy was subservient to the Red Army. ww2dbase [CPC]
18 Jul 1937
  • Hitler opened the Exhibition of German Art but was outraged at some of the paintings, submitted for his approval, which he declared to be too modernist for display. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | AC]
  • 30 Soviet-built I-15 fighters were delivered to the Chinese Air Force at Lanzhou, Gansu, China. ww2dbase [I-15 | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 18 Jul 1937
Chancellor Hitler speaking at the opening of the House of German Art, Munich, Germany, 18 Jul 1937Chancellor Hitler touring the House of German Art, Munich, Germany, 18 Jul 1937Chancellor Adolf Hitler speaking at the opening of the House of German Art, Munich, Germany, 18 Jul 1937Göring and Hitler touring the House of German Art museum, Munich, Germany, 18 Jul 1937; Professor Ziegler seen speaking with Hitler
19 Jul 1937
  • In Munich, Germany, the "Exhibition of Degenerate Art" opened, containing some 650 exhibits confiscated from museums, galleries and public buildings by a committee set up by Goebbels. The Exhibition, opened by Adolf Ziegler, was an instant success with over two million visitors in the first four months; after which it went on tour around Germany. ww2dbase [AC]
21 Jul 1937

Photo(s) dated 21 Jul 1937
Carrier Yorktown underway prior to her commissioning, 21 Jul 1937
23 Jul 1937

Photo(s) dated 23 Jul 1937
Horst Wessel in the Baltic Sea while sailing from Pillau, Germany (now Baltijsk, Russia) to Sassnitz, RĂĽgen island, Germany, 23 Jul 1937
25 Jul 1937

China
  • Japanese 20th Division clashed with Chinese troops at the city of Langfang, China, major rail junction between Beiping and Tianjin. This was the first major battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. ww2dbase [Lugou Bridge Incident and Second Battle of Hebei | Langfang, Hebei | CPC]
  • Light carrier Hosho's aircraft shot down a Chinese B-10 bobmer near Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Hosho | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Destroyer Squadron 29 of US Asiatic Fleet departed Yantai, Shandong Province, China and made rendezvous with USS Augusta at sea. ww2dbase [Augusta | Yantai, Shandong | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 25 Jul 1937
Launching of battleship Vittorio Veneto, Trieste, Italy, 25 Jul 1937
26 Jul 1937

China
27 Jul 1937

China
28 Jul 1937
  • The IRA attempted a bombing assassination against King George VI in Belfast. ww2dbase [George VI | CPC]
China
  • Troops of the Japanese 20th Division and three independent combined brigades, with air support, launched an offensive against Beiping, China. Discouraged, Chinese General Song Zheyuan, head of the Hebei-Chahar Political Council and the commanding officer of the 29th Route Army, announced defeat and withdrew from the city of Tianjin. ww2dbase [Lugou Bridge Incident and Second Battle of Hebei | Beiping | CPC]
  • Zhao Dengyu was killed in battle at Nanyuan near Beiping, China. ww2dbase [Zhao Dengyu | Beiping | CPC]
  • The Central Aviation Academy was ordered to relocate from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China to Kunming Airfield, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. ww2dbase [Kunming Airfield | Kunming, Yunnan | CPC]
Russia United States
29 Jul 1937

China
  • Troops of the Japanese Army 5th Division and Japanese naval troops separately attacked the Chinese city of Tianjin. In Tongzhou near Beiping, 5,000 Japanese-trained East Hebei Army soldiers mutinied against the Japanese. The rebellion soon became out of control. Japanese civilians were rounded up and massacred, and there were many incidences of rape committed against Japanese women. Much of the city was burned down by the time East Hebei Army officers regained control of their men. The militant factions in the Japanese government would use this incident as one of the justifications for starting the Second Sino-Japanese War. ww2dbase [Lugou Bridge Incident and Second Battle of Hebei | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 29 Jul 1937
Japanese troops at Lugou Bridge, near Beiping, China, Jul 1937, photo 1 of 4Japanese troops at Lugou Bridge, near Beiping, China, Jul 1937, photo 3 of 4Japanese troops at Lugou Bridge, near Beiping, China, Jul 1937, photo 2 of 4Japanese troops at Lugou Bridge, near Beiping, China, Jul 1937, photo 4 of 4
30 Jul 1937
  • Do 18 flying boat "Aeolus" was damaged during an ocean landing and was lost. ww2dbase [Do 18 | CPC]
China Photo(s) dated 30 Jul 1937
Japanese troops in Tongzhou, Beiping, China, 30 Jul 1937
31 Jul 1937

China
  • Zhao Dengyu was posthumously promoted to the rank of general second class. ww2dbase [Zhao Dengyu | CPC]
1 Aug 1937
  • Wilhelm Keitel was promoted to the rank of General der Artillerie. ww2dbase [Wilhelm Keitel | CPC]
China Germany Japan
  • Settsu was assigned to the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. ww2dbase [Settsu | CPC]
  • Haruki Isayama attached to the General Affairs Section of the Japanese Army. ww2dbase [Haruki Isayama | CPC]
Russia
  • Destroyer Squadron 29 of US Asiatic Fleet departed Vladivostok, Russia for Yantai, Shandong Province, China while USS Augusta departed the same port for Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. ww2dbase [Augusta | Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai | CPC]
2 Aug 1937

Germany Japan
  • Naka received a new commanding officer. ww2dbase [Naka | CPC]
  • Crown Prince Yi Un was made the commandant of the Japanese Army Preparatory Academy. ww2dbase [Yi Un | CPC]
  • Captain Koso Abe was named the commanding officer of Tenryu. ww2dbase [Tenryu | CPC]
Taiwan
  • Lieutenant General Mikio Tsutsumi was named the commanding officer of the Taiwan Army. ww2dbase [CPC]
Photo(s) dated 2 Aug 1937
Troops of the Chinese 88th Division marching toward Shanghai, China, circa early Aug 1937; note German M1935 helmets
3 Aug 1937
  • A S-43 aircraft operated by Pan Am Grace Airways crashed into the sea 20 miles off Cristobal, Panama; all 14 aboard were killed. ww2dbase [S-43 | CPC]
4 Aug 1937
  • The US Marine Corps League, officially formed in 1923, was finally chartered by US Congress. ww2dbase [CPC]
China
5 Aug 1937
  • The Soviet military purge that began in the previous month expanded to most establishments in the Soviet Union. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Emperor Showa ordered that Chinese prisoners of war would not receive the treatment demanded upon by international law. ww2dbase [Showa | CPC]
6 Aug 1937

China
  • He Yingqin was made the commanding officer of the 4th War Area. ww2dbase [He Yingqin | CPC]
Spain
  • Falangist artillery bombarded Madrid, Spain during the Spanish Civil War. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | CPC]
7 Aug 1937

China
8 Aug 1937

China
  • Japan declared Chinese cities of Beiping and Tianjin secure. ww2dbase [Lugou Bridge Incident and Second Battle of Hebei | CPC]
  • A S-43 aircraft operated by China National Aviation Corporation was ditched due to rough weather at Chilang Point, Daya Bay, Guangdong Province, China; 3 were killed, 8 survived. ww2dbase [S-43 | Guangdong | CPC]
9 Aug 1937

China
  • Chinese Peace Preservation Corps troops shot and killed Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces Lieutenant Isao Oyama as he attempted to enter Hongqiao Airport, Shanghai, China without authorization. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
  • A special national assembly was called at Nanjing, China, with representatives of both Nationalist and Communist Parties present, to discuss the war with Japan. ww2dbase [Nanjing | CPC]
10 Aug 1937
  • In Spain, the Council of Aragon was dissolved by the Republican Government. ww2dbase [AC]
China
  • Japanese Consul General in China demanded the Chinese to withdraw the Peace Preservation Corps from Shanghai due to the death of Lieutenant Isao Oyama at Hongqiao Airport on the previous day. Meanwhile, additional Japanese troops began arriving in Shanghai. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 10 Aug 1937
Japanese troops guarding a section of a railway near the village of Changxindian, Hebei Province, China, west of the city of Beiping, 10 Aug 1937; seen in the 1 Sep 1937 issue of the Japanese publication AsahigraphCrossley armored cars of the Japanese Shanghai Naval Landing Force, Shanghai, China, 10 Aug 1937
11 Aug 1937
  • The first flight of the Boulton Paul Defiant aircraft was made at Wolverhampton, England, United Kingdom with Chief Test Pilot Cecil Feather at the controls. This first prototype was flown without the gun turret and with ballast added to compensate for the turret and its gunner. As such it achieved a satisfactory 302 mph, and the flying characteristics were pronounced as excellent. ww2dbase [P.82 Defiant | AC]
China
  • Chinese trawlers Ganlu, Aori, and Qingtian and gunboats Suining, and Weining destroyed lighthouses, buoys, and other navigation aids at the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangsu Province, China to disrupt an expected naval incursion. On the ground, additional Chinese troops began arriving in Shanghai. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • Tongji was scuttled in the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. ww2dbase [Tongji | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
Japan Photo(s) dated 11 Aug 1937
USS Permit underway during shakedown period, 11 Aug 1937Gridley-class destroyer USS Gridley underway, 11 Aug 1937
12 Aug 1937

China
  • Battle of Chahar in China ended with Japanese victory. ww2dbase [Battle of Chahar | Chahar | CPC]
  • USS Augusta delivered 50 Marines and 57 Navy personnel to reinforce the US 4th Marine Regiment stationed at Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Augusta | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Chinese light cruisers Hairong, Pinghai, Ninghai, Haichou, and Yixian and training cruiser Yingrui arrived at the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China in anticipation of a Japanese attack. On the same day, 8 older naval vessels, 20 civilian transports, and 8 civilian barges were sunk in the river to block Japanese warships from entering. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • Haiqi was scuttled in the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China to block Japanese movement up the river. ww2dbase [Haiqi | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • The Chinese government gave Chiang Kaishek special powers for the duration of the war. ww2dbase [Chiang Kaishek | CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang flew his first combat mission of the Second Sino-Japanese War, attacking Japanese warships at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the Shanghai area in eastern China in a Hawk III fighter. The mission was called off due to weather. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Shanghai | CPC]
Germany Spain
  • Jantina began a patrol off Barcelona, Spain. ww2dbase [Jantina | CPC]
13 Aug 1937

China
  • Japanese troops and men of Chinese Peace Preservation Corps exchanged small arms fire at the Zhabei, Wusong, and Jiangwan districts of Shanghai, China starting at 0900 hours, thus opening the Second Battle of Shanghai. At 1500 hours, Japanese troops crossed the Bazi Bridge in Zhabei district amidst mortar attacks by troops of Chinese 88th Division. At 1600 hours, warships of Japanese 3rd Fleet bombarded Chinese positions. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
  • USS Augusta departed Qingdao, Shandong Province, China with Admiral Harry Yarnell of US Asiatic Fleet aboard. ww2dbase [Augusta | Qingdao, Shandong | CPC]
  • Units of the US 4th Marine Regiment were assigned to reinforce the Municipal Police of the international zone in Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Shanghai | CPC]
14 Aug 1937
  • After capturing Bilbao the Spanish Nationalist forces in the north of Spain switched their offensive towards Santander. The Nationalists, who were led by General Fidel Dávila, advanced westward through the Cantabrian Mountains. Spanish Republican resistance was weak, despite the large number of troops General Mariano Gamir Ulibarri had under his command, because of poor training and a shortage of weapons. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
  • Henley was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Henley | CPC]
China
  • 18 Type 96 G3M bombers of the Japanese Kanoya Air Group took off from the Matsuyama Airfield in Taihoku (now Songshan Airport in Taipei), Taiwan to bomb Jianqiao Airfield at Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province and Guangde Airfield in Anhui Province in China. Fighters of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, led by Captain Gao Zhihang, rose to intercept from Jianqiao and shot down 3 bombers without any losses. Cheng Xiaoyu's 22nd Squadron, also of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, rose to meet the other group attacking Guangde Airfield, shooting down another. Anti-aircraft crews claimed a further two bombers destroyed. Gao's downing was the first Republic of China Air Force victory of WW2. In 1939, the Chinese Nationalist government would declare 14 Aug as a holiday, Air Force Day, as an instrument to raise morale. ww2dbase [Bombing of Shanghai, Chongqing, and other Cities | Jianqiao Airfield | Gao Zhihang | Hangzhou, Zhejiang | CPC]
  • The Manchukuo Film Association Limited was established in the Japanese-sponsored puppet state of Manchukuo; it was a joint-venture between the government of Manchukuo and the South Manchurian Railway Company. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang, commanding officer of the 24th Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 5th Pursuit Group flying a Hawk III fighter, claimed the squadron's first victory, an E8N seaplane, near Shanghai, China; Japanese records showed no E8N aircraft lost on that date. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Liu Zhesheng, flying a Hawk III fighter, shot down a G3M bomber of Japanese Kanoya Air Group near Shanghai, China. He shared this victory with fellow pilot Li Guidan or his wingman Lieutenant Wang Wenhua. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Liu Zhesheng | Shanghai | CPC]
  • A Chinese aircraft, en route to attack Japanese warships off Shanghai, China, accidentally released a bomb over the international section of Shanghai. The bomb hit the Cathay and Palace Hotels near the waterfront at 1627 hours, killing many Chinese and western civilians. The killed included American citizens Robert Reischauer, Frank Rawlinson, Hubert Honigsberg, and Mrs. Honigsberg. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 14 Aug 1937
Palace and Cathay Hotels damaged by accidental bombing, Shanghai, China, 14 Aug 1937, photo 1 of 7
15 Aug 1937
  • A new political police force, the SIM (Servicio Investigacion Militar), was established in Republican Spain. It was controlled by the Communists and contained many Russian advisers. ww2dbase [AC]
  • In the afternoon, 8 P-26 fighters, 5 Gladiator fighters, and 13 Hawk II and Hawk III fighters of Chinese 8th, 17th, 28th, and 34th Squadrons intercepted a group of 20 Japanese G3M bombers en route to attack Nanjing, China; 4 bombers were destroyed and 6 bombers were damaged. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • The Japanese government announced its intention to eliminate anti-Japanese movements within Chinese borders; the utter disregard for Chinese sovereignty in this announcement made it an unofficial declaration of war to the Chinese. ww2dbase [CPC]
China
  • Rear Admiral Masakichi Okuma and his Japanese Navy Destroyer Squadron 5 were placed in charge of evacuating Japanese residents in Southern China to Taiwan. ww2dbase [Guangdong | CPC]
  • Japanese bombers conducted a raid on the Chinese capital city of Nanjing; it was the very first time this city was subjected to aerial bombing. ww2dbase [Bombing of Shanghai, Chongqing, and other Cities | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Chiang Kaishek officially assumed the role of the commander-in-chief of the Chinese military for the duration of the Second Sino-Japanese War and issued orders to reorganize Chinese Communist forces under Nationalist command. ww2dbase [Chiang Kaishek | CPC]
  • Lieutenant Yue Yiqin of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, flying a Hawk III biplane fighter, shot down four Japanese carrier-based A5M fighters over Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China at dawn. ww2dbase [Yue Yiqin | Hangzhou, Zhejiang | CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang engaged in aerial combat over Shanghai, China flying a Hawk III fighter, claiming the downing of a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Mao Yingchu, flying a Hawk III biplane fighter, claimed a Japanese B2M carrier torpedo bomber over Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Mao Yingchu | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Liu Zhesheng, flying a Hawk III fighter, shared the credit of a B2M aircraft from carrier Kaga with other pilots near Shanghai, China. He was forced to break off from the engagement after his aircraft was damaged in the fuel tank. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Liu Zhesheng | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Arthur Chin and his 28th Pursuit Squadron was deployed to Chuyung Airfield near Nanjing, China. In the afternoon, he saw combat with aircraft of the Japanese Kisarazu Kokutai. He claimed two G3M bombers, but was not given credit; post-war studies in Chinese and Japanese records showed that he probably should have been given credit for the two victories. ww2dbase [Arthur Chin | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Wong Sun-sui, flying a P-26 fighter, shot down a Japanese G3M bomber over Nanjing, China; this was his first victory. ww2dbase [Wong Sun-sui | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Cen Zeliu, flying a CR.32 fighter, pursued and damaged a Japanese bomber south of Nanjing, China alongside of his flight leader Lieutenant Harry Low, but failed to shoot it down. ww2dbase [Cen Zeliu | Nanjing | CPC]
Japan
  • Japanese Army General Iwane Matsui, en route from Tokyo, Japan for China where he would pick up his newly assigned command over the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, noted to War Minister Hajime Sugiyama that "[t]here is no solution except to break the power of Chiang Kaishek by capturing Nanjing. That is what I must do." ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | CPC]
  • Iwane Matsui was recalled from the retirement list. ww2dbase [Iwane Matsui | CPC]
  • Haruki Isayama was made the Chief of General Affairs Section of the Japanese Army. ww2dbase [Haruki Isayama | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 15 Aug 1937
Smoke above Zhabei district of Shanghai during battle, Aug-Sep 1937Japanese soldiers guarding a Chinese prisoner of war at bayonet point, south of Yuepu, Shanghai, China, Aug 1937; note Japanese censor
16 Aug 1937
  • Mugford was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Mugford | CPC]
China
  • 11 Japanese G3M bombers attacked a Chinese airfield near Nanjing, China. Fighters of Chinese 17th and 28th Pursuit Squadrons shot down 3 Japanese bombers; the Chinese lost 3 fighters in the engagement. ww2dbase [Nanjing | CPC]
  • Japanese aircraft attacked Chinese positions at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • Yuan Baokang, flying a Hawk III fighter, claimed an E8N floatplane over Shanghai, China as his first victory. However, Japanese records showed no such loss on this date. ww2dbase [Yuan Baokang | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Arthur Chin, flying a Hawk II fighter, damaged the Japanese bomber piloted by Lieutenant Osugi (Osugi would be forced to land in Korea due to damage) but was in turn damaged. He made a successful emergency landing in a field near Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Arthur Chin | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Wong Sun-sui, flying a P-26 fighter, damaged a Japanese G3M bomber between Nanjing and Suzhou, China, but could not finish off the bomber due to electrical failures that rendered his weapons useless. ww2dbase [Wong Sun-sui | CPC]
United States
  • The American Adviser on Political Relations sent a memo to the US Secretary of State Cordell Hull requesting further reinforcements for the US 4th Marine Regiment in Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [CPC]
17 Aug 1937

China
  • Japanese light tanks halted a Chinese counter attack at Shanghai, China. Meanwhile, the first group of American evacuees departed from the international zone of Shanghai. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Chinese Hawk III fighters flew 17 sorties against incoming Japanese bombers targeting Chinese airfields in the Shanghai-Nanjing area; 1 Japanese bomber and 2 Chinese fighters were lost. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang engaged in aerial combat over Shanghai, China flying a Hawk III fighter, claiming the downing of a Japanese bomber at 1940 hours. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Shanghai | CPC]
  • John Wong, flying a P-26 fighter, shot down Lieutenant Commander Nitta's G3M bomber northeast of Chuyung Airfield near Nanjing, China; Nitta was either killed during the crash, or, according to Japanese records, committed suicide after a crash landing. Shortly afterwards, Wong heavily damaged Lieutenant (jg) Watanabe's G3M bomber, followed by a joint victory over yet another G3M bomber (credit shared with Lieutenant Wong Tse-tsim). ww2dbase [John Wong | Nanjing | CPC]
Japan
  • The Japanese government officially abandoned its previous decision not to escalate the situation in China. ww2dbase [CPC]
18 Aug 1937

China Photo(s) dated 18 Aug 1937
Yura in Shanghai, China, 18 Aug 1937, photo 1 of 2Yura in Shanghai, China, 18 Aug 1937, photo 2 of 2
19 Aug 1937

China
  • A rifle company of two officers and 102 enlisted men arrived in Shanghai, China from Cavite, Philippine Islands to reinforce the US 4th Marine Regiment. ww2dbase [Shanghai | CPC]
20 Aug 1937

China
  • China was divided into five war areas for the purpose of organizing defense. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, shot down a Japanese fighter and an E8N seaplane from seaplane carrier Kamoi after he dropped a 500-pound bomb on a Japanese troop concentration in Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Liu Cuigang | Shanghai | CPC]
  • While moored in the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China in the evening, the crew of USS Augusta gathered on the well deck for movies. A Chinese anti-aircraft shell intended for a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft flying nearby landed on the American cruiser, killing Seaman 1st Class Freddie J. Falgout and wounding 18 others. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Augusta | Shanghai | CPC]
Japan
  • Mutsu embarked 2,000 men of the Japanese Army 11th Division. ww2dbase [Mutsu | CPC]
  • Nachi departed Nagoya, Japan with the headquarters company and 1st company of 6th Infantry Regiment of Japanese Army 3rd Division aboard. ww2dbase [Nachi | Nagoya, Aichi | CPC]
21 Aug 1937

China
  • Patrolling Japanese E8N floatplanes intercepted six Chinese Gamma 2E light bombers over the suburbs of Shanghai, China. The Japanese succeeded in forcing the Chinese to abandon the planned attack on the Kunda Texile Factory, but failed to shoot down any aircraft (but the Japanese claimed two victories). Lieutenant Yue Yiqin of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, flying a Hawk III biplane fighter, shot down the Japanese floatplane flown by Petty Officer First Class Shigeru Yano, who survived the downing. Yano attempted to ram a Chinese aircraft as he went down; he failed to make contact as none of the Chinese fighters reported being rammed, but Yano believed he did. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Yue Yiqin | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Yuan Baokang, flying a Hawk III fighter, shot down a prototype G3M bomber piloted by Hikosaburo Sato over Hai'an, Jiangsu Province, China. ww2dbase [Yuan Baokang | Hai'an, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • Takijiro Onishi was on board a prototype G3M bomber as an observer during a raid on Chinese positions in Jiangsu Province, China when the flight was intercepted by Hawk III fighters of Chinese 5th Pursuit Group; the bomber flying two positions behind his aircraft was shot down by Chinese pilot Lieutenant Yuan Baokang, but Onishi's aircraft was able to escape. ww2dbase [Takijiro Onishi | Jiangsu | CPC]
  • Photographer Harrison Forman boarded USS Augusta in Shanghai, China to document the event in which an errant Chinese anti-aircraft shell killed one American sailor and wounded 18 others. ww2dbase [Harrison Forman | Augusta | Shanghai | CPC]
Germany
  • F9 was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [F9 | CPC]
Pacific Ocean
  • Nachi transferred the headquarters company and 1st company of 6th Infantry Regiment of Japanese Army 3rd Division to cruiser Jintsu and eight destroyers off Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Nachi | East China Sea | CPC]
22 Aug 1937

China
  • In the morning, 12 Japanese Type 92 attack aircraft, escorted by 6 Type 95 fighters, attacked Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China, targeting light cruisers Pinghai and Ninghai. Pinghai suffered a hit in the forward half of the Pinghai the starboard side, causing light flooding and injuring commanding officer Captain Gao Xianshen in the waist; Ninghai also suffered one hit. At noon, another wave of Japanese bombers arrived from the west and dropped bombs from altitude, causing minor damage to Pinghai. In the afternoon, 7 carrier aircraft from Kaga attacked the Chinese fleet. At 1630 hours, 9 Japanese aircraft attacked Ninghai, causing no damage. At 1730 hours, 6 Type 92 attack aircraft and 3 Type 95 fighters of the Japanese 12th Air Fleet attacked Pinghai, causing further damage with four bomb hits and near misses. On this day, Pinghai suffered 5 killed, 23 wounded; she also claimed 5 aircraft shot down. Chiense training cruiser Yingrui was also damaged by Japanese aircraft on this day. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • The main force of the Chinese Communist Party was organized under the Chinese Army as the 8th Route Army. ww2dbase [CPC]
Photo(s) dated 22 Aug 1937
Troops of Japanese Shanghai Special Naval Landing Force fighting near Yangshupu Creek, Shanghai, China, 22 Aug 1937
23 Aug 1937

China
  • Mutsu arrived at Shanghai, China and disembarked 2,000 troops of the Japanese Army 11th Division. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Mutsu | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Japanese reconnaissance aircraft scouted Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China at 1100 hours. At 1400 hours, 9 Type 92 attack aircraft and 3 Type 95 fighters of the Japanese 12th Air Fleet attacked Jiangyin with the purpose of drawing fire from the defenses; shortly after, 12 Type 94 bombers, 14 Type 96 bombers, and 8 carrier aircraft from Kaga attacked the primary target Chinese light cruiser Pinghai, scoring three bomb hits and sinking the ship in shallow waters. At 1400 hours, 38 Japanese aircraft attacked Ninghai from three directions, hitting the light cruiser three times, wounding Captain Chen Hongtai in the legs. Chen attempted to move Ninghai up river away from the action, but she gave in to her wounds near Bawei harbor, sinking by the stern in shallow waters. Ninghai suffered 62 casualties on this day, but claimed 4 Japanese aircraft shot down. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • Japanese A4N biplanes from carrier Ryujo attacked a group of Chinese Hawk III biplanes over Baoshan District of Shanghai, China; Masaichi Kondo claimed two victory, while other pilots in his air group claimed an additional eight. On the Chinese side, Liu Cuigang claimed one victory at 0730 hours, Yuan Baokang claimed one damaged over Liuhe in Jiangsu Province, and Wong Sun-sui claimed one victory near Chongming Island north of Shanghai. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Liu Cuigang | Yuan Baokang | Wong Sun-sui | Masaichi Kondo | Shanghai | CPC]
Japan
  • Paul Wenneker stepped down as a naval attachĂ© at the German embassy in Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Paul Wenneker | Tokyo | CPC]
Spain
  • Near Santander, the Basque forces in the Spanish Republican army surrendered to General Ettore Bastico, and seeing that further resistance was impossible, Ulibarri abandoned his remaining troops and flew to safety in France. This left Santander, the objective of the Spanish Nationalist offensive, nearly defenseless. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
24 Aug 1937

China Spain
  • Spanish General Sebastián Pozas's Republican Army of the East commenced an offensive into Aragon from Catalonia with the object of capturing Saragossa. The Spanish Nationalist forces of General Miguel Ponte were pushed back in the north and south of the River Ebro over the course of the next month, but the Republicans were unable to dislodge them from the area around Saragossa, nor to capture Huesca (in the north) or Tereul (in the south). By the end of Sep 1937 the offensive had ceased to have any impetus and effectively grounded to a halt. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
25 Aug 1937

China Spain
26 Aug 1937

China
  • Japanese aircraft attacked a vehicle carrying the ambassador of United Kingdom during an air raid on Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Bombing of Shanghai, Chongqing, and other Cities | Shanghai | CPC]
  • A second rifle company of two officers and 102 enlisted men arrived in Shanghai, China from Cavite, Philippine Islands to reinforce the US 4th Marine Regiment; the first company of identical strength had arrived 7 days prior. ww2dbase [Shanghai | CPC]
  • Japanese aircraft sank Chinese vessel Jiaori. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • After sundown, Mao Yingchu and Lu Jichun, each flying a Hawk III fighter, shot down a Japanese G3M2 Model 21 bomber over the town of Tianchang, Anhui Province, China north of Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Mao Yingchu | Tianchang, Anhui | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • The keel of destroyer Kelly was laid down by Hawthorn Leslie and Company in Hebburn, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Kelly | Hebburn, England | AC]
United States
  • Cruiser Honolulu was launched at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States with Miss Helen Poindexter as sponsor, the daughter of the governor of Hawaii. ww2dbase [New York Navy Yard | Honolulu | Brooklyn, New York | DS]
27 Aug 1937

Spain
  • Jantina completed a patrol off Barcelona, Spain. ww2dbase [Jantina | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 27 Aug 1937
Killed civilians on Nanjing Road, Shanghai, China, Aug 1937; note Japanese censor
28 Aug 1937

China
  • Japanese aircraft damaged Chinese gunboat Chuyou at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • Wang Xiaoting, also known as H. S. "Newsreel" Wong, filmed the scenes at South Station in Shanghai, China immediately after a Japanese Navy aerial bombing. One of the stills featuring an injured and crying toddler, "Chinese Baby", would soon be seen by an estimated 25 million people world wide in the form of newsreels, newspapers, and magazines by the end of the year. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Wang Xiaoting | Shanghai | CPC]
United States
  • The US 2nd Marine Brigade headquarters and the US 6th Marine Regiment departed San Diego, California, United States for Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [San Diego, California | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 28 Aug 1937
Injured Chinese toddler crying in the South Station in Shanghai, China, 28 Aug 1937, photo 1 of 2Injured Chinese toddler crying in the South Station in Shanghai, China, 28 Aug 1937, photo 2 of 2A boy scout tending to a toddler injured by Japanese bombing at South Station, Shanghai, China, 28 Aug 1937, photo 2 of 2A boy scout tending to a toddler injured by Japanese bombing at South Station, Shanghai, China, 28 Aug 1937, photo 1 of 2
See all photos dated 28 Aug 1937
29 Aug 1937
  • Lieutenant Commander Ralph Orson Myers was made the commanding officer of USS Stewart. ww2dbase [Stewart | CPC]
China
30 Aug 1937

Photo(s) dated 30 Aug 1937
Japanese soldier guarding a group of Chinese prisoners of war, Shanghai, China, 30 Aug 1937; note Japanese censorPhotographer Wang Xiaoting (also Wang Haisheng or H. S.
31 Aug 1937
  • Italian submarine Iride attacked British destroyer HMS Havock off Spain, and HMS Havock responded with depth charges; neither incurred any damage. ww2dbase [Iride | CPC]
China
  • The Japanese Navy Kanoya Air Group, based in Taiwan, launched 9 Type 96 G3M2 bombers to attack Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. 8 Hawk III fighters of Chinese 29th Independent Pursuit Squadron were scrambled to intercept; one G3M bomber was shot down, two Hawk III fighters were damaged. ww2dbase [Bombing of Shanghai, Chongqing, and other Cities | Guangzhou, Guangdong | CPC]
  • The last Japanese merchant ship departed Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, escorted by submarine tender Jingei. ww2dbase [Qingdao, Shandong | CPC]
  • The Chinese Ministry of Education ordered that, with the exception of Yenching University and Fu Jen Catholic University in Beiping (both which were run by westerners and thus safe from the Japanese), all universities in war zones must be relocated to the rear. ww2dbase [CPC]
1 Sep 1937

China
  • In China, under the command of Itagaki Seishiro, Japanese 5th Division and 11th Mixed Brigade marched from Beiping toward Chahar and Shanxi Provinces. ww2dbase [Battle of Shanxi | Beiping | CPC]
  • Light carrier Hosho departed Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Hosho | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Xinjiang provincial forces under Ma Shengkuei captured Kashgar, Xinjiang, China without opposition. ww2dbase [Xinjiang Wars | Kashgar, Xinjiang | CPC]
France
  • Capitaine de vaisseau Auphan was named the commanding officer of Jeanne d'Arc. ww2dbase [Jeanne d'Arc | CPC]
Spain
  • With the capture of Bilbao and Santander the only remaining Spanish Republican stronghold in the north of Spain was GijĂłn and its surrounding area. The Spanish Nationalists, led by Generals Antonio Aranda and JosĂ© Solchaga, launched an offensive through the mountains of Leon and along the coast from the east to capture GijĂłn. 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. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | GijĂłn, Asturias | AC]
United Kingdom
  • No. 5 Group, RAF Bomber Command was established under the command of Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Travis with its headquarters at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Mildenhall, England | AC]
2 Sep 1937
  • Craven was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Craven | CPC]
  • The F4F Wildcat fighter took its first flight. ww2dbase [F4F Wildcat | CPC]
United States
3 Sep 1937
  • The first British-built Bren gun fired in testing. ww2dbase [Bren | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 3 Sep 1937
Japanese troops scaling a wall, Baoshan County, Zhejiang, China, 3 Sep 1937
4 Sep 1937

China
  • Japanese diplomatic personnel previously stationed in Nanjing, China arrived in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China by train for evacuation to Japan. ww2dbase [Qingdao, Shandong | CPC]
  • Hiroshi Nemoto was attached to the headquarters of the Japanese North China Area Army. ww2dbase [Hiroshi Nemoto | CPC]
United States
  • USS Pollack arrived at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, United States, ending her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea. ww2dbase [Pollack | Kittery, Maine | CPC]
5 Sep 1937
  • Yubari and Destroyer Squadron 5 was ordered to blockade the coast of Guangdong, China. ww2dbase [Yubari | CPC]
China
  • Deng Xihou gave a patriotic speech in Chengdu, Sichuan, China before leading troops to eastern China to engage the Japanese. ww2dbase [Deng Xihou | Chengdu, Sichuan | CPC]
Japan Spain
6 Sep 1937

China Photo(s) dated 6 Sep 1937
German Reich Labor Service gathering at Zeppelinfeld, NĂĽrnberg, Germany, 6-13 Sep 1937
7 Sep 1937

China
  • Nationalist Chinese 36th Division commanding officer Ma Hushan deserted his troops in Xinjiang, China and fled to India. ww2dbase [Xinjiang Wars | Xinjiang | CPC]
8 Sep 1937

China Japan
9 Sep 1937

China United Kingdom
  • The 9,100-ton light cruiser, HMS Glasgow, built at Scotts (Greenock, Scotland, United Kingdom), was commissioned with Captain Francis N. Attwood in command. ww2dbase [Glasgow | Greenock, Scotland | AC]
10 Sep 1937

China
  • Yuan Baokang claimed a Japanese aircraft over Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Yuan Baokang | Nanjing | CPC]
  • The arrest of 65 high ranking officials in the Mongolian separatist government in Mongolia Area, China signaled the start of a 18-month long great purge by the communist party in Mongolia. ww2dbase [Mongolia | CPC]
Japan Photo(s) dated 10 Sep 1937
Field Marshal Blomberg offering the German Army for HitlerNazi Party Reichsarbeitsdienstes (Reich Labor Service) men in a party rally, NĂĽrnberg, Germany, 6-13 Sep 1937
11 Sep 1937

China
  • Following the advice of German advisor to China Falkenhausen, Chinese troops dug in at Luodian near Shanghai to defend against a Japanese offensive. The 300,000 Chinese infantry troops would hold on to Luodian for four days against attacks by 100,000 Japanese troops with overwhelming firepower. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 11 Sep 1937
Nazi Party Reichsarbeitsdienstes (Reich Labor Service) men marching at Zeppelin Field, NĂĽrnberg, Germany, Sep 1937
12 Sep 1937

China
  • China requested League of Nations intervention with Japanese invasion. ww2dbase [CPC]
Germany
  • Karl Burk was promoted to the rank of SS-SturmbannfĂĽhrer. ww2dbase [Karl Burk | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 12 Sep 1937
Troops of French 39th Infantry Regiment with Renault UE vehicle during an exercise, south of Troarn, France, 12 Sep 1937Nazi Party Reichsarbeitsdienstes (Reich Labor Service) men in parade at Zeppelin Field, NĂĽrnberg, Germany, Sep 1937
13 Sep 1937
  • Japanese troops captured Datong, Shanxi, China and its large supply of coal. Chinese troops fell back to Yanmenguan, Niangziguan, and Pingxingguan gates of the Great Wall. ww2dbase [Battle of Shanxi | CPC]
14 Sep 1937
  • Japanese cruiser Yubari and two destroyers engaged with Chinese cruiser Zhaohe and sloop Haizhou off the Pearl River Delta off Guangdong, China. Zhaohe and Haizhou were both damaged, and the captain of Zhaohe would later be shot for ordering a retreat from this engagement. ww2dbase [Yubari | CPC]
15 Sep 1937

China
19 Sep 1937

China
  • The 2nd Marine Brigade headquarters and the US 6th Marine Regiment arrived in Shanghai, China. The US Marine Corps presence in Shanghai was now 2,536-strong. ww2dbase [Shanghai | CPC]
  • Mao Yingchu, flying a Hawk III biplane fighter, claimed a D1A2 dive bomber, another D1A2 as a probable, and a third damaged over Nanjing, China. Later study of Japanese records revealed that Lieutenant Kawaguchi's 3-plane flight of 13th Air Group failed to return, so it was likely that Mao had actually shot down all three. ww2dbase [Mao Yingchu | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Wong Sun-sui, flying a P-26 fighter, attempted to attack multiple Japanese E8N aircraft which were shooting Lieutenant Liu Lan-ching who was descending to grounds near Nanjing, China via a parachute. Wong was in turn attacked by Pilot Officer 2nd Class Harada, flying an A5M fighter. Wong suffered fragment wounds to the left hand but was able to bail out safely. ww2dbase [Wong Sun-sui | Nanjing | CPC]
20 Sep 1937

China
  • Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, damaged a Japanese D1A1 dive bomber and shot down an E8N seaplane near Nanjing, China. Both Liu and his wingman Lieutenant Yuan Baokang each claimed an E8N shot down, but Japanese records showed only one lost. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Nanjing | CPC]
  • John Wong, flying a P-26 fighter, damaged a Japanese floatplane over China. ww2dbase [John Wong | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 20 Sep 1937
Machine gun crew of Chinese 88th Division covering an infantry advance, Shanghai, China, Sep-Oct 1937; note Germany-supplied helmetsSoldier of Chinese 88th Division guarding a position in Shanghai, China, Sep-Oct 1937
21 Sep 1937

China
  • Prince Naruhiko ordered the Japanese Army Air Service to begin a renewed air offensive against the Chinese capital of Nanjing. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Light carrier Hosho arrived off Guangzhou, Guangdong, China and launched aircraft to attack Tienho and Paiyun airfields, claiming 6 kills. 5 of the fighters launched ran out of fuel and were lost in the sea; all crew members were rescued. ww2dbase [Hosho | Guangzhou, Guangdong | CPC]
  • Ryujo attacked Guangzhou, Guangdong, China with 9 aircraft in the afternoon; they claimed to have shot down five of the defending Chinese Hawk III fighters. ww2dbase [Ryujo | Guangzhou, Guangdong | CPC]
  • Lieutenant Yue Yiqin of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, flying Hawk III biplane fighter designated IV-1, with other Hawk III and P-26 fighters, intercepted a group of Japanese bombers en route toward Nanjing, China. While the P-26 fighters occupied the escorting A5M fighters, Yue got through to the bombers over Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China and heavily damaged a D1A1 biplane dive bomber from carrier Kaga. The Japanese dive bomber, which was able to land at Kunda Arifled at Shanghai, China, was crewed by pilot Lieutenant Yoshiyuki Kame and gunner Petty Officer First Class Kuroki; Kuroki was killed by Yue's attack. ww2dbase [Yue Yiqin | Zhenjiang, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • Yuan Baokang claimed a Japanese bomber over Nanjing, China; his fighter's fuel tank was punctured during the engagement but he was able to return to base safely. ww2dbase [Yuan Baokang | Nanjing | CPC]
Germany
22 Sep 1937

China
  • The Chinese Nationalist Party issued a declaration of cooperation with the Communist Party in the war against Japan. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, shot down a Japanese D1A2 dive bomber near Nanjing, China. His wingman Lieutenant Yuan Baokang also claimed a D1A2 shot down, but Japanese records showed only one lost (from 13th Kokutai). ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Nanjing | CPC]
23 Sep 1937
  • Chiang Kaishek officially announced a united front between Nationalist Party and Communist Party forces against Japan. ww2dbase [Chiang Kaishek | CPC]
25 Sep 1937
  • Battle of Pingxingguan: Communist Chinese forces successfully ambushed Japanese forces at this gate of the Great Wall of China. ww2dbase [Battle of Shanxi | CPC]
China
  • Japanese bombers flew 95 sorties over Nanjing, China between 0930 and 1630 hours, dropping 500 bombs which caused more than 600 mostly civilian casualties. The National Central Hospital, which had a large red cross painted on the roof, was also damaged by bombs. ww2dbase [Bombing of Shanghai, Chongqing, and other Cities | Nanjing | CPC]
  • 16 Japanese carrier aircraft from Kaga attacked and sank Chinese light cruiser Yixian at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China; two Japanese aircraft were lost in the attack. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 25 Sep 1937
Mussolini and Hitler in an open-top Mercedes-Benz limousine, Berlin, Germany, late Sep 1937Type 24 machine gun crew of 115th Division of Chinese Eighth Route Army at the Battle of Pingxingguan, Shanxi Province, China, 25 Sep 1937
26 Sep 1937

China
  • Luo Yingde, flying a Hawk III fighter, successfully forced Shichiro Yamashita's A5M fighter down in Nanjing, China. Luo would ultimately convince Yamashita to defect to the Chinese, which aided the Chinese efforts to break Japanese tatical codes. ww2dbase [Luo Yingde | Nanjing | CPC]
27 Sep 1937

China
  • Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, led a flight of six others to drop 110-pound bombs on Japanese tank concentrations reported near Luodian, Shanghai, China. Failing to find the tanks but seeing Japanese fighters, Liu ordered all bombs jettisoned in order to engage the fighters. Liu would claim one Japanese fighter shot down. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Arthur Chin, flying a Hawk II fighter, damaged a Japanese G3M bomber over the Hankou-Guangdong Raiway in southern China. He ran out of fuel and made a crash landing near Shantou (Postal Map: Swatow), Guangdong, China. ww2dbase [Arthur Chin | Shantou, Guangdong | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 27 Sep 1937
5-inch/38 caliber dual-purpose gun on Yorktown
28 Sep 1937

China
  • Zhaohe was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Guangdong Province, China. ww2dbase [Zhaohe | Guangdong | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 28 Sep 1937
Goebbels speaking during Mussolini
29 Sep 1937
  • Japanese aircraft sank Chinese gunboat Chuyou. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Destroyer USS Cummings departed New York Harbor, New York, United States bound for San Diego, California. ww2dbase [Cummings | DS]
Photo(s) dated 29 Sep 1937
Finnish Army Lieutenant Colonel Aaro Pajari at his desk, Finland, 29 Sep 1937
30 Sep 1937 China
  • Japanese aircraft bombarded Chinese coastal battery positions overlooking the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province, China. ww2dbase [Guangdong Operation | Guangdong | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 30 Sep 1937
Commissioning ceremony of USS Yorktown, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, United States, 30 Sep 1937USS Yorktown (Yorktown-class) commissioning ceremonies taking place on the flight deck, Naval Operating Base Norfolk, Virginia, United States, 30 Sep 1937. Note destroyer USS Jacob Jones on the other side of the pier
1 Oct 1937
  • Kapitän zur See Theodor Burchardi took command of cruiser Köln. ww2dbase [Köln | CPC]
  • Erwin Rommel was promoted to the rank of Oberst. ww2dbase [Erwin Rommel | CPC]
  • Largo Caballero was removed from the leadership of the UGT (Union General de Trabajadores, or "Socialist Trades Union") in Spain. ww2dbase [AC]
China
  • USS Stewart reported Chinese aerial bombs, intended for Japanese warships operating nearby, detonated near the American ship at Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Stewart | Shanghai | CPC]
Germany
  • Maximilian von Weichs was made the commanding officer of German 13th Corps. ww2dbase [Maximilian von Weichs | CPC]
  • Kapitänleutnant Dietrich von der Ropp was made the commanding officer of U-12, replacing Hans Pauckstadt. ww2dbase [U-12 | CPC]
  • Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer was named the commanding officer of U-23, relieving Kapitänleutnant Hans-GĂĽnther Looff. ww2dbase [U-23 | CPC]
United States
  • Rear Admiral Clark H. Woodward was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States. ww2dbase [New York Navy Yard | Brooklyn, New York | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 1 Oct 1937
Henley at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, 1 Oct 1937, photo 1 of 2Henley at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, 1 Oct 1937, photo 2 of 2
2 Oct 1937

China Poland
  • The PZInz 130 prototype amphibious tank was delivered to the Polish Army. ww2dbase [PZInz 130 | CPC]
United States
  • Cruiser Nashville was launched with the daughters of the president of a newspaper from Nashville, Tennessee as sponsors. ww2dbase [Nashville | Camden, New Jersey | DS]
Photo(s) dated 2 Oct 1937
Ann and Mildred Stahlman, the daughters of the president of The cruiser Nashville began slipping down the ways after several nervous, motionless moments following christening at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey, United States, 2 Oct 1937.
3 Oct 1937
  • Japanese aircraft sank Chinese torpedo boat Hue. ww2dbase [CPC]
China
4 Oct 1937

China
  • After a 10-day rest period, the US 4th Marine Regiment returned to police duties in the international zone in Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Shanghai | CPC]
  • Jiang Dingwen was named the commanding officer of the Chinese 4th Army. ww2dbase [Jiang Dingwen | CPC]
Germany
  • Hitler issued a comprehensive law for "the reconstruction of German cities", with priority being given to the rebuilding of Berlin. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | Berlin | AC]
Japan Photo(s) dated 4 Oct 1937
French Ambassador André François-Poncet speaking with German Luftwaffe General Erhard Milch, Paris, France, 4 Oct 1937
5 Oct 1937

Danzig
  • Westerwald was launched F. Schichau in Danzig. ww2dbase [Nordmark | CPC]
Germany
  • Korvettenkapitän Johannes Franz was named the commanding officer of U-27, replacing Korvettenkapitän Hans Ibbeken. ww2dbase [U-27 | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 5 Oct 1937
Henley in San Pablo Bay, near the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, 5 Oct 1937, photo 3 of 3Henley in San Pablo Bay, near the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, 5 Oct 1937, photo 1 of 3Henley in San Pablo Bay, near the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, 5 Oct 1937, photo 2 of 3
6 Oct 1937

China
  • Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, engaged in dogfights with Japanese A5M fighters, heavily damaging one A5M fighter (although he claimed it as a victory). Liu's fighter was then damaged by another A5M fighter; he was able to escape. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 6 Oct 1937
Troops of Japanese Shanghai Special Landing Force fighting near Sanyili, Zhabei District, Shanghai, China, 6 Oct 1937
7 Oct 1937

China
  • Kaga arrived off Guangdong Province, China. ww2dbase [Kaga | Guangdong | CPC]
9 Oct 1937

Photo(s) dated 9 Oct 1937
Harry Hopkins at the funeral service of his wife Barbara (née Duncan), 9 Oct 1937
10 Oct 1937

France
  • Marseillaise was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Marseillaise | CPC]
11 Oct 1937

Germany
12 Oct 1937
  • Japanese troops captured Gouxian, Shanxi, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Shanxi | CPC]
China
  • Gao Zhihang, flying a stripped down Hawk III fighter, he shot down a Japanese E8N floatplane in the morning and an A5M fighter over Nanjing, China. Three other A5M fighters counterattacked him, but Gao was able to evade, with his returning fire fatally wounding the pilot of one of the three A5M fighters. The pilot would be able to land his aircraft before dying. Gao was denied the score of the third victory of the day as the captured A5M was secretly sent to the Soviet Union for study in a deal struck between Nanjing and Moscow. ww2dbase [Gao Zhihang | CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang, flying a modified Hawk III fighter, shared the downing of two E8N seaplanes from seaplane carrier Kamoi over Nanjing, China in the morning. In the afternoon, he engaged in a fierce dogfight with a Japanese A5M fighter, ultimately downing it over a busy city district, which bolstered civilian morale. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Yuan Baokang, flying a stripped-down Hawk III fighter, scored a victory on Lieutenant Nambu's E8N floatplane over Shanghai, China when the two aircraft collided with each other during the dogfight. The Japanese floatplane crashed and exploded, but Yuan was able to crash land near Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. ww2dbase [Yuan Baokang | Shanghai | CPC]
  • John Wong, flying a P-26 fighter, shot down a Japanese A5M fighter over China. ww2dbase [John Wong | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • Hurricane prototype fighter K5083 took its final flight; on the same day, the first production Hurricane fighter took its first flight at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Hurricane | Weybridge, England | CPC]
  • Lieutenant-General Sir William Bartholomew was appointed General Officer Commanding, Northern Command with its Headquarters in York, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [York, England | AC]
13 Oct 1937
  • Germany, in a note to Brussels, guaranteed the inviolability and integrity of Belgium. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • 50,000 Japanese troops marched for Xinkou, Shanxi, China, supported by 30 aircraft, 40 pieces of artillery, and 50 light tanks and tankettes. ww2dbase [Battle of Shanxi | CPC]
14 Oct 1937

United States
  • Ralph Talbot was commissioned into service at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, United States with Lt. Cmdr. Harry R. Thurber in command. ww2dbase [Ralph Talbot | Boston, Massachusetts | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 14 Oct 1937
Japanese soldiers walking among Chinese refugees near the village of Shengjiaqiao in Baoshan, Jiangsu, China, 14 Oct 1937; seen in 10 Nov 1937 issue of Japanese publication Asahigraph
15 Oct 1937

China
  • Soviet aircraft bombed Khotan, Xinjiang, China, causing 2,000 Nationalist Chinese military and civilian casualties. ww2dbase [Xinjiang Wars | Khotan, Xinjiang | CPC]
16 Oct 1937
  • Chinese troops counterattacked the Japanese at Xinkou, Shanxi, China, slowing Japanese momentum. ww2dbase [Battle of Shanxi | CPC]
  • The first flight of the prototype Short Sunderland flying boat took place. ww2dbase [S.25 Sunderland | AC]
Japan
  • Minoru Ota was made the commanding officer of oiler Tsurumi. ww2dbase [Minoru Ota | CPC]
Spain
  • Emden arrived in Spanish waters. ww2dbase [Emden | CPC]
United States
17 Oct 1937
  • Light carrier Hosho transferred all of her aircraft to carrier Ryujo and departed Chinese waters. ww2dbase [Hosho | CPC]
China
18 Oct 1937

Spain
  • Emden departed Spanish waters. ww2dbase [Emden | CPC]
19 Oct 1937
  • 769th Regiment of Chinese 120th Division attacked the Yangmingbao airfield in Shanxi, China, destroying 24 aircraft on the ground. ww2dbase [Battle of Shanxi | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • Elizabeth "Betty" Carver-Montgomery, wife of the future Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery and sister of Major-General Sir Percy Hobart, passed away. ww2dbase [Bernard Montgomery | AC]
20 Oct 1937
  • The Spanish Republican submarine C6 was scuttled at GijĂłn, Spain after suffering damage during a Spanish Nationalist air attack. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
Japan
  • Masafumi Arima was transferred from Cruiser Division 10 to Cruiser Division 14. ww2dbase [Masafumi Arima | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 20 Oct 1937
Troops of Japanese 18th Infantry Regiment at Dachang near Shanghai, China, Oct 1937, photo 1 of 2Troops of Japanese 18th Infantry Regiment at Dachang near Shanghai, China, Oct 1937, photo 2 of 2Japanese troops fighting in Shanghai, China, Oct 1937
21 Oct 1937
  • Spanish Republican-held stronghold of GijĂłn surrendered, allowing the whole northern coast of Spain to pass into Nationalist control. In GijĂłn harbor, the Spanish Republican destroyer Ciscar was sunk Nationalist aircraft. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
22 Oct 1937

China
23 Oct 1937

China
  • Yingrui was sunk by Japanese carrier aircraft from Kaga off Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China; 15 were killed, 40 were wounded. ww2dbase [Yingrui | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
United States
24 Oct 1937

China
  • Kaga departed waters south of Guangdong Province, China. ww2dbase [Kaga | Guangdong | CPC]
25 Oct 1937

Turkey
  • President Mustafa Kemal AtatĂĽrk of Turkey, looking for more liberal economic policies, appointed Cemal Bayar as Prime Minister. ww2dbase [AC]
Photo(s) dated 25 Oct 1937
Mugford off Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 25 Oct 1937
26 Oct 1937
  • Japanese commando battalions broke through Chinese lines and pushed the defenders back along the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway in Shanxi, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Shanxi | CPC]
China
  • At 2200 hours, the Chinese 524th Regiment withdrew from Shanghai North Railway Station into the six-story Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang, flying a Hawk III fighter, led three others from Piaosui Airfield in Jiangsu Province, China to reinforce Communist guerrilla forces near Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China, taking off at 0700 hours. In the evening, they briefly stopped at Luoyang, Henan Province, China to refuel, taking off again at 2000 hours. As the sun began to set and in poor weather, he led the flight past Taiyuan into Japanese lines by mistake and was subjected by anti-aircraft fire. Failing to locate their destination airfield near Taiyuan, they turned back for Luoyang, but one of the fighters ran out of fuel. Liu swooped down to drop a flare for his comrade, who was descending via a parachute. Misjudging his altitude, Liu crashed into a pagoda southeast of Gaoping, Shanxi Province, killing him. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Gaoping, Shanxi | CPC]
27 Oct 1937
  • Republican forces in Spain set fire to their fuel reserves in Gijon, Spain to avoid Nationalist capture. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | CPC]
  • Vincenzo Gioberti was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Vincenzo Gioberti | CPC]
China
  • After taking Shanghai North Railway Station in the morning, Japanese troops moved on to launched a small scale attack the Sihang Warehouse on the north bank of the Suzhou River in Shanghai to test Chinese defenses. The Japanese avoided using mortars and other weapons of greater firepower, including aerial bombardment, to avoid hitting the international zone just across the river. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 27 Oct 1937
Norwegian Foreign Minister Halvdan Koht and US Secretary of State Cordell Hull, State Department, Washington DC, United States, 27 Oct 1937Chinese soldiers on the roof of Sihang Warehouse, Shanghai, China, late Oct 1937Bombed out shell of what used to be the Shanghai North Railway Station, China, late Oct 1937
28 Oct 1937

China
  • Japanese troops attacked the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, China with light field guns. In the evening, trucks loaded with donated supplies from Shanghai residents reached the warehouse; Japanese snipers killed three Chinese soldiers while they were unloading the trucks. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
United States
29 Oct 1937

China
  • A 12-foot-wide Chinese flag was raised atop the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, China, which was a great morale booster for the defenders fortified inside the building. Meanwhile, western officials in the international zone in Shanghai appealed to Chiang Kaishek to order the defenders in the Sihang Warehouse to withdraw, while negotiating for a short ceasefire agreement from the Japanese so that the withdraw would be conducted in peace. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 29 Oct 1937
Two Japanese soldiers helping a wounded comrade off the battlefield near Suzhou Creek, Shanghai, China, late Oct 1937Japanese troops assaulting the Sihang Warehouse, Shanghai, China, circa 29 Oct 1937, photo 1 of 3Japanese troops assaulting the Sihang Warehouse, Shanghai, China, circa 29 Oct 1937, photo 2 of 3Japanese troops assaulting the Sihang Warehouse, Shanghai, China, circa 29 Oct 1937, photo 3 of 3
30 Oct 1937

China Germany Photo(s) dated 30 Oct 1937
Sihang warehouse, Shanghai, China, late-Oct 1937Sihang warehouse, Shanghai, China, late-Oct 1937Sihang warehouse, Shanghai, China, late-Oct 1937Carrier USS Yorktown anchored at Hampton Roads, Virginia, United States, 30 Oct 1937
31 Oct 1937
  • Suzuya was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Suzuya | CPC]
  • Kumano was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Kumano | CPC]
  • Oshio was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Oshio | CPC]
China
  • At midnight, the remaining 376 Chinese officers and men in the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, China withdrew from the building into the international zone. The evacuation was completed by 0200 hours on 1 Nov 1937. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
1 Nov 1937
  • Hugo Sperrle was promoted to the rank of General der Flieger. ww2dbase [Hugo Sperrle | CPC]
  • Giosuè Carducci was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Giosuè Carducci | CPC]
China
  • The Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai, stubbornly defended by the Chinese for four days, was evacuated between 0000 and 0200 hours. The 376 Chinese officers and men were allowed to evacuate into the international zone across the southern shore of the Suzhou River but were kept imprisoned until the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
Japan
  • Haruki Isayama was promoted to the rank of colonel. ww2dbase [Haruki Isayama | CPC]
2 Nov 1937

United States
4 Nov 1937

Japan
5 Nov 1937
  • 35,000 Republican supporters were massacred in Piedrafita de Babia, Spain. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | CPC]
China Germany
  • Adolf Hitler first announced his plans for European expansion at the Hossbach Conference in Germany. ww2dbase [Hossbach Conference | TH]
Luxembourg
  • Joseph Bech resigned as the Prime Minister of Luxembourg. ww2dbase [Joseph Bech | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 5 Nov 1937
Danzig Senate President Greiser and his wife at a ball, 5 Nov 1937
6 Nov 1937
7 Nov 1937

China
  • The Japanese Army combined the Shanghai Expeditionary Force and the Japanese 10th Army to form the new Central China Area Army. The new army was placed under the command of Iwane Matsui. ww2dbase [Iwane Matsui | CPC]
8 Nov 1937

China
9 Nov 1937

China
10 Nov 1937
  • A document sent from the German Foreign Office to Adolf Hitler revealed that German should test British sentiments toward Germany by demanding territory concessions. ww2dbase [CPC]
Germany
  • The Hossbach Memorandum was completed, which outlined Adolf Hitler's plans for German autarchy and future expansion. ww2dbase [Hossbach Memorandum | CPC]
11 Nov 1937
  • Chinese troops at Xinkou, Shanxi, China abandoned the city and fell back toward Taiyuan. ww2dbase [Battle of Shanxi | CPC]
China
  • The Japanese army began to advance on Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | CPC]
  • Billy MacDonald, flying a Chinese Air Force P-26 fighter, discovered Japanese carrier Kaga near Zhoushan Island, Zhejiang Province, China. Three Gamma bombers of Chinese 2nd Bombardment Group came in to attack, but all bombs landed in the carrier's wake, causing no damage. A5M fighters from Kaga shot down two of the Chinese bombers. ww2dbase [Kaga | Zhoushan, Zhejiang | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 11 Nov 1937
USS Helm departing Hampton Roads, Virginia for her builders’ trials, 11 Nov 1937.
15 Nov 1937
  • Chen Changjie was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. ww2dbase [Chen Changjie | CPC]
  • Chuichi Nagumo was named the commandant of the mine warfare school. ww2dbase [Chuichi Nagumo | CPC]
  • Nobutake Kondo was promoted to the rank of vice admiral. ww2dbase [Nobutake Kondo | CPC]
France
  • Montcalm was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Montcalm | CPC]
  • Cruiser Georges Leygues was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Georges Leygues | CPC]
  • Gloire was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Gloire | CPC]
16 Nov 1937

China
  • Chiang Kaishek ordered Chinese government ministries and agencies to depart from the capital city of Nanjing within the next three to four days. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang's remains were buried at the Air Force Martyrs Cemetery on Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Nanjing | CPC]
17 Nov 1937

China
  • Jiang Dingwen was named the director of the military commission of Xi'an, China. ww2dbase [Jiang Dingwen | Xi'an | CPC]
18 Nov 1937
  • Birmingham was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Birmingham | CPC]
France
19 Nov 1937
  • Lord Halifax met Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden in southern Germany; he failed to achieve any official agreements with the German leader, and gave Hitler the confidence that the current British government would be likely to concede to future German demands. Upon his return, Halifax reported that Hitler did not appear to be pursuing war. ww2dbase [Halifax | CPC]
China
  • The Wufu defensive line between Shanghai and Nanjing in China was overrun by Japanese troops. to the rear, Lieutenant General Shun Tada ordered Lieutenant General Heisuke Yanagawa to stop the Japanese 10th Army's advance toward Nanjing, but Yanagawa did not comply with the order. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | CPC]
  • Japanese troops captured Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China; the civilians of the city suffered through days of massacre and rape. ww2dbase [Suzhou, Jiangsu | CPC]
20 Nov 1937
  • Flying the DH.88 aircraft "The Burberry", between Croydon and Cape Town, Flight Officer A. E. Clouston and Mrs. Betty Kirby-Green established a new record for the UK-South Africa return flight in a time of 5 days, 17 hours and 28 minutes. ww2dbase [AC]
China
  • The order for Chinese government ministries to evacuate the capital city of Nanjing to Hankou, originally ordered by Chiang Kaishek on 16 Nov 1937, was publicly announced at 1200 hours. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
21 Nov 1937

China
  • Gao Zhihang, while at Zhoujiakou Airfield in Henan Province, China, awaiting his mechanics to start the engine of his I-16 fighter during a Japanese raid conducted by G4M2 bombers, a bomb struck near his aircraft, killing him. ww2dbase [Gao Zhihang | Zhoujiakou, Henan | CPC]
  • Mao Yingchu, flying a Hawk III biplane fighter, shot down a Japanese G3M bomber. He was wounded during the action. ww2dbase [Mao Yingchu | CPC]
Japan
22 Nov 1937

China
24 Nov 1937

China
  • Kaga arrived off Guangdong Province, China and began launching aircraft against Chinese positions near Guangzhou. ww2dbase [Kaga | Guangzhou, Guangdong | CPC]
  • River gunboat USS Guam arrived at Hankou, Hubei Province, China to protect American interests in the temporary Chinese capital. ww2dbase [Hankou, Hubei | CPC]
25 Nov 1937
  • Błyskawica was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Błyskawica | CPC]
China
  • From Nanjing, China, German businessman John Rabe sent a message to Adolf Hitler, appealing for the German leader to voice concern over the atrocities committed by the Japanese in China. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 25 Nov 1937
Goebbels and filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, Germany, 25 Nov 1937
26 Nov 1937

China
27 Nov 1937

China
  • During a press conference, Tang Shengzhi, the Commander-in-Chief of all forces in Nanjing, China, advised foreign residents in Nanjing to depart but stressed that his troops would defend the city against the impending Japanese attack. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Dong Zhao was named the commander of anti-air defenses of the city of Xi'an, China. ww2dbase [Dong Zhao | Xi'an | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 27 Nov 1937
Lieutenant Colonel Osterkamp taking commanding of a garrison at Werneuchen, Brandenburg, Germany, 27 Nov 1937
28 Nov 1937

China
29 Nov 1937
  • USS Pollack departed Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, United States. ww2dbase [Pollack | CPC]
China
  • Kaga departed waters south of Guangdong Province, China; some of her aircraft were left behind to operate from airfields in southern China. ww2dbase [Kaga | Guangdong | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 29 Nov 1937
Cummings underway, 29 Nov 1937
30 Nov 1937 Photo(s) dated 30 Nov 1937
Portrait of Haruki Isayama, 30 Nov 1937
1 Dec 1937
  • Zengo Yoshida was named the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Hiroaki Abe became the commanding officer of battleship Fuso. ww2dbase [Hiroaki Abe | CPC]
  • The US 3rd Marine Regiment, a reserve unit, was disbanded. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Vittorio Alfieri was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Vittorio Alfieri | CPC]
  • Light carrier Hosho was placed in reserve. ww2dbase [Hosho | CPC]
China France Japan
  • Captain Chimaki Kono was named the commanding officer of Naka. ww2dbase [Naka | CPC]
  • Masafumi Arima was promoted to the rank of captain and was named the commanding officer of converted seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru. ww2dbase [Masafumi Arima | CPC]
  • Nachi completed her first reconstruction; an unknown officer assumed command of the cruiser. ww2dbase [Nachi | CPC]
  • Raizo Tanaka was named the commanding officer of light cruiser Jintsu. ww2dbase [Raizo Tanaka | CPC]
  • Rear Admiral Masukichi Matsuki was made the commanding officer of Maizuru Naval Arsenal in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Maizuru Naval Arsenal | Maizuru, Kyoto | CPC]
  • Minoru Ota was promoted to the rank of captain. ww2dbase [Minoru Ota | CPC]
Korea
  • Vice Admiral Jugoro Arichi was named the commanding officer of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea; Vice Admiral Sadaichi Matsunaga was named the chief of staff. ww2dbase [Chinkai Guard District | Chinkai, Gyeongsangnam | CPC]
Taiwan
  • Vice Admiral Shunzo Mito was named the commanding officer of the Mako naval port at Pescadores islands, Taiwan. ww2dbase [Mako Guard District | Mako, Hoko | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 1 Dec 1937
Portrait of Hans Lammers, 1 Dec 1937, photo 1 of 2Portrait of Hans Lammers, 1 Dec 1937, photo 2 of 2
2 Dec 1937

China Japan
  • Emperor Showa gave the command of Japanese troops attacking Nanjing, China to his uncle Prince Yasuhiko, the head of princely household Asaka-no-miya. ww2dbase [Yasuhiko | CPC]
United Kingdom Photo(s) dated 2 Dec 1937
Two Japanese soldiers carrying an unidentified item labeled
3 Dec 1937

China
  • Japanese 16th Division and 9th Division began an attack on Chinese 83rd Corps and 66th Corps east of Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Japanese troops captured the coastal battery near Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Jiangyin, Jiangsu | CPC]
  • Lieutenant Yue Yiqin of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese 4th Pursuit Group, flying Hawk III biplane fighter designated IV-1, attempted to attack a group of Japanese Army bombers escorted by Japanese Navy A5M carrier fighters, but was in turn heavily damaged by one of the A5M fighters. He was killed when his parachute failed to open after bailing out near Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Yue Yiqin | Nanjing | CPC]
  • John Wong, flying a P-26 fighter, flew a reconnaissance mission out of Nanjing, China over the Shanghai area. He radioed the number of Japanese aircraft parked at several airfields, and escaped the Japanese fighters that rose to intercept him. ww2dbase [John Wong | Shanghai | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 3 Dec 1937
Japanese troops entering Danyang, Jiangsu Province, China, 3 Dec 1937; Danyang was about 50 kilometers or 30 miles east of the Chinese capital of Nanjing
4 Dec 1937
  • Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory became the commanding officer of the No. 12 Group RAF. ww2dbase [Trafford Leigh-Mallory | CPC]
5 Dec 1937

Japan
  • Japanese Prince Yasuhiko of Asaka departed Tokyo, Japan for the front lines in China. ww2dbase [Yasuhiko | Tokyo | CPC]
6 Dec 1937
  • Lord Gort was made a general, appointed to the Army Council, and appointed the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. ww2dbase [John Vereker | CPC]
7 Dec 1937
  • USS S-31 was decommissioned from service and placed in reserve at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. ww2dbase [S-31 | CPC]
China
  • Chiang Kaishek departed Nanjing, China by plane. The civilian administration of the city was left to an International Committee led by John Rabe. Outside the city, several villages were set ablaze by Chinese troops to prevent them from being used by the approaching Japanese troops. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Chiang Kaishek | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Iwane Matsui suffered a bout of tuberculosis while in China. Nevertheless, he ordered the siege of Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Iwane Matsui | CPC]
  • Luo Yingde served as one of the fighter escorts for Chiang Kaishek's aircraft, which evacuated the Chinese leader from the capital of Nanjing, China to Hankou. ww2dbase [Luo Yingde | Nanjing | CPC]
8 Dec 1937

China
  • Japan established the puppet nation of Mengjiang in the Inner Mongolia region of China. Its capital was at Kalgan (now Zhangjiakou), Chahar Province, China. ww2dbase [Demchugdongrub | Kalgan, Chahar | CPC]
  • Prince Yasuhiko arrived outside of Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Yasuhiko | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Chinese Air Force squadrons departed Nanjing, China for airfields to the west, leaving the capital city without fighter defense and with little modern communications equipment. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
United States
  • Minoru Yasui was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in the US Army Infantry Reserve. ww2dbase [Minoru Yasui | CPC]
9 Dec 1937

China
  • In the morning, Japanese troops reached the outskirts of Nanjing, China. At 1200 hours, Japanese aircraft dropped leaflets into the walled city, urging surrender within 24 hours, with the offered terms expiring at 1200 hours on the following day. Chinese commanding officer Tang Shengzhi publicly rejected the demand, but in private he, urged on by the international community in Nanjing, considered negotiating for a ceasefire; such negotiation would be pending Chiang Kaishek's approval. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Kanichi Kashimura engaged in aerial combat over Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. Despite having a third of his port wing shot off by a Chinese fighter, he was able to nurse his aircraft 600 kilometers to the north to safely land at his base near Nanjing, China. ww2dbase [Kanichi Kashimura | Nanchang, Jiangxi | CPC]
Japan Photo(s) dated 9 Dec 1937
Japanese pilot KashimuraJapanese troops with a captured German-built Chinese Army Panzer I tank, possibly near Nanjing, China, 9 Dec 1937Japanese pilot Kashimura
10 Dec 1937

China
  • Chiang Kaishek rejected Tang Shengzhi's request to negotiate with the Japanese for an evacuation of Nanjing, China. Having received no response to the ultimatum issued on the previous day that expired at noon, the Japanese began the assault at 1300 hours. General Iwane Matsui's order to attack included the wording "[y]ou are to observe military regulations to the letter, to set an example for the future.... Anyone who loots or starts a fire, even accidentally, will be severely punished." ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
Japan
  • Kaga departed Sasebo, Japan. ww2dbase [Kaga | Sasebo, Nagasaki | CPC]
  • Japanese transport Shinsho Maru disembarked troops of No. 1 Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force near Nagoya, Japan on an amphibious assault exercise. ww2dbase [Nagoya, Aichi | CPC]
Panama Canal Zone
11 Dec 1937
  • Italy withdrew from the League of Nations. ww2dbase [CPC]
12 Dec 1937
  • National elections were held in the Soviet Union for the first Supreme Soviet under the recently ratified Stalin Constitution. The turnout reached 98.6% of the electorate. ww2dbase [AC]
China
  • At 0300 hours, General Tang Shengzhi, commanding officer of Chinese forces in Nanjing, China, having learned that Japanese naval vessels were heading up the Yangtze River, ordered his officers to prepare a small group of men to retreat across the river while the bulk would gather for an offensive to break out of the Japanese line. During the day, troops of the Japanese 114th Division wooed 1,500 Chinese troops into surrendering at the southern side of the city wall, promising to spare them their lives; they were all executed by the end of the following day. In the afternoon, Japanese bombers sank the American gunboat USS Panay in Nanjing, China at 1554 hours. At 1700 hours, Tang met with his officers again (several of whom were absent, having fled the city without permission) and was told that the Japanese were advancing faster than anticipated. He decided to increase the size of the Yangtze River evacuation to 5 divisions of troops. Tang would depart via the Yijiang Gate on the northern side of the city at 2100 hours, crossing the river on a small launch. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Kaname Harada saw his first combat action in China. ww2dbase [Kaname Harada | CPC]
Taiwan
  • The Daiton National Park (now Yangmingshan National Park) and the Tsugitaka Taroko National Park were established in northern Taiwan and eastern Taiwan, respectively. ww2dbase [CPC]
Photo(s) dated 12 Dec 1937
Japanese soldier holding the severed head of a Chinese civilian, Nanjing, China, Dec 1937-Jan 1938Japanese troops attacking the Zhonghua Gate of the Nanjing city wall with a field gun, China, 12 Dec 1937Japanese Type 94 tankettes at the moment that the Zhonghua Gate of the Nanjing city wall was breached, Nanjing, China, 12 Dec 1937 at 1210 hoursType 94 Te-Ke tankettes and infantry attacking a gate of the Nanjing city wall, China, circa 12 Dec 1937
See all photos dated 12 Dec 1937
13 Dec 1937

China
  • The Japanese Sabae Regiment occupied the Guanghua Gate in Nanjing, China after two days of heavy fighting. In the afternoon, Chinese forces twice attempted to attack the headquarters of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force at Tangshuizhen, but the Japanese was able to repulse the attacks. Later in the day, Zhongshan Gate and Taiping Gate were captured by the Japanese as well, while Japanese Navy warships began to arrive to provide support. By nightfall, the Chinese capital city was declared as captured. German businessman John Rabe, who was in Nanjing, noted the diary entry on this date "It is not until we tour the city that we learn the extent of destruction. We come across corpses every 100 to 200 yards. The bodies of civilians that I examined had bullet holes in their backs. These people had presumably been fleeing and were shot from behind. The Japanese march through the city in groups of ten to twenty soldiers and loot the shops.... I watched with my own eyes as they looted the cafĂ© of our German baker Herr Kiessling. Hempel's hotel was broken into as well, as almost every shop on Chung Shang and Taiping Road." On this day, troops of the Japanese 16th Division massacred over 3,000 Chinese people, military and civilian, attempting to flee the combat near Guanjiangan and Jiangli areas of Nanjing. Troops of the Japanese 114th Division captured over 1,000 Chinese during its mop up operations, most of whom would be executed within days. Vessels operated by the 11th Task Force of the Japanese 3rd Fleet fired on Chinese refugees attempting to cross the Yangtze River. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 13 Dec 1937
Japanese soldiers crossing the Qinhuai River near the Nanjing city wall, China, 13 Dec 1937Japanese troops celebrating the capture of Nanjing, China, 13 Dec 1937Japanese soldiers crossing a canal or moat near the Nanjing city wall, China, Dec 1937Bodies of killed Chinese civilians on a street in Nanjing, China, Dec 1937; note Japnese military censor
See all photos dated 13 Dec 1937
14 Dec 1937 China
  • Japanese 9th Division began to conduct mop up operations in secured areas of Nanjing, China, occupying, among other buildings, the National Central Hospital. Nearby, at Xianhe Gate and Yaohua Gate of the city wall north of Zijin Mountain, 38th Company of the Japanese 16th Division killed 7,200 Chinese people, military and civilian, during mop up operations; those who were able to flee claimed that some sections of the moat were filled with dead bodies. Near Xuanwu Gate, troops of the Japanese 16th Division executed 500 Chinese civilians. Second Lieutenant Nakamura of the 6th Cavalry Company of the Japanese 6th Division executed 300 prisoners of war. As reported by the International Committee later, Japanese troops entered civilian homes in Nanjing and raped or took away women. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Kaga arrived off Guangdong Province, China. ww2dbase [Kaga | Guangdong | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 14 Dec 1937
Head of a Chinese man who was decapitated by Japanese placed on a barricade near Nanjing, China, 14 Dec 1937Japanese troops ordering Chinese civilians out of an air raid shelter, Nanjing, China, 14 Dec 1937
15 Dec 1937
  • In Spain, in order to pre-empt a Spanish Nationalist attack upon Catalonia, two Spanish Republican armies (led by Generals Hernández Sarabia and Leopoldo Menendez) launched an offensive to capture the city of Teruel, surrounding the city by nightfall. The city's garrison commander Colonel Rey d’Harcourt would hold out in the southern part of the city until early Jan 1938. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
China
  • Troops of the 23rd Company of the Japanese 6th Division executed over 1,000 captured Chinese military and civilians and over 400 police personnel (all captured in the city legislature building area where a temporary refugee camp was located) outside of Hanzhong Gate of Nanjing, China; their 2,000 bodies were burned. At Yijiangmen at about 1400 hours, Japanese troops rounded up 300 residents of the Jiang estate, killing them by machine gun fire and buring. On the Yangtze River, gunboats Futami and Seta of the Japanese Navy 3rd Fleet fired on Chinese refugees attempting to cross the river; nearby, Japanese naval personnel began executing many of the 9,000 captives they held. As reported by the International Committee later, "a number Japanese soldiers entered the University of Nanking buildings at Tao Yuen and raped 30 women on the spot, some by six men." ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 15 Dec 1937
Japanese troops posing with a captured Chinese Panzer I Ausf A tank, Nanjing, mid-Dec 1937Partially sabotaged Chinese Panzer I Ausf A tanks at the port of Nanjing, China, mid-Dec 1937Chinese Panzer I Ausf. A light tanks captured by the Japanese, Nanjing, China, Dec 1937Japanese soldiers saluting a fallen comrade, Nanjing, China, mid-Dec 1937
See all photos dated 15 Dec 1937
16 Dec 1937

China
  • Japanese 9th Division killed about 6,500 Chinese people, both military in civilian, in Nanjing, China during two days of mop up operations. 20th Company of the Japanese 16th Division massacred more than 7,000 Chinese east of Zijin Mountain. Chinese troops launched a failed counterattack at Qilin Gate of the city wall; 200 Chinese troops who were captured during the failed counterattack were executed by bayoneting by men of the 38th Company of the Japanese 16th Division. On the shore of the Yangtze River, the Japanese 13th Division began to execute large numbers of the 20,000 Chinese captives it held. As reported by the International Committee later, "seven girls (ages ranged from 16 to 21) were taken away from the Military College"; only five of them were able to return on 18 Dec; some of them reported being raped six or seven times daily by Japanese soldiers. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 16 Dec 1937
Japanese troops rounding up Chinese, Nanjing, China, 16 Dec 1937Chinese women begging Japanese troops to spare the lives of their husbands and sons who were being rounded up on Shanghai Road, Nanjing, China, 16 Dec 1937
17 Dec 1937
  • PB2Y Coronado flying boat took its first flight. ww2dbase [PB2Y Coronado | CPC]
China
  • At the Sancha Fangsheng Temple and the nearby orphanage in Nanjing, China, Japanese troops massacred 400 to 500 civilians. At a dock on the Yangtze River, Japanese troops massacred over 3,000 prisoners of war, civilian workers of the power plant, and other civilians. German businessman John Rabe, who was in the Chinese capital of Nanjing, noted the diary entry on this date "In one of the houses in the narrow street behind my garden wall, a woman was raped, and then wounded in the neck with a bayonet. I managed to get an ambulance so we can take her to Kulou Hospital.... You hear nothing but rape. If husbands or brothers intervene, they're shot. What you hear and see on all sides is the brutality and bestiality of the Japanese soldiers." ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
  • Iwane Matsui entered Nanjing, China with a military parade. ww2dbase [Iwane Matsui | Nanjing | CPC]
Danzig
  • The keel of Ermland was laid down by F. Schichau in Danzig. ww2dbase [Ermland | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 17 Dec 1937
Japanese soldiers purchasing items from Chinese vendors, Nanjing, China, 17 Dec 1937; the Chinese claimed this to be a staged photo for propagandaJapanese General Iwane Matsui marching into Nanjing, China, 17 Dec 1937, photo 1 of 2Japanese troops parading in Nanjing, China, 17 Dec 1937Japanese troops escorting 450 captured Nanjing policemen, China, 17 Dec 1937; most of them would be executed en masse later that day outside the West Gate of the city wall
See all photos dated 17 Dec 1937
18 Dec 1937

China
  • Japanese troops executed over 300 Chinese people, military and civilian, on a road outside of Nanjing, China by machine gun. As reported by the International Committee later, at 1600 hours on this date, "at No. 18 I Ho Lu, Japanese soldiers wanted a man's cigarette case and when he hesitated, one of the soldier crashed in the side of his head with a bayonet. The man is now at the University Hospital and is not expected to live." ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
  • USS Stewart departed Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Stewart | Shanghai | CPC]
United States
  • USS Permit arrived at San Diego, California, United States and joined Submarine Squadron 6 of the US Navy. ww2dbase [Permit | San Diego, California | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 18 Dec 1937
Japanese troops at the Wuxi Rail Station, Nanjing, China, Dec 1937Japanese soldiers transporting loot with a cart at a Nanjing city wall gate, China, Dec 1937; note unburied Chinese remainsJapanese Admiral Kiyoshi Hasegawa (3rd Fleet), General Iwane Matsui (Central China Area Army), Prince Yasuhiko of Asaka (Shanghai Expeditionary Army), and General Heisuke Yanagawa (10th Army) at a memorial for fallen Japanese soldiers at Minggugong Airfield, Nanjing, China, 18 Dec 1937Japanese Admiral Kiyoshi Hasegawa, General Iwane Matsui, and Prince Yasuhiko of Asaka in Nanjing, China, circa 18 Dec 1937
See all photos dated 18 Dec 1937
19 Dec 1937

China
  • Men of the Japanese 13th Division, having executed tends of thousands of refugees and prisoners of war in Nanjing, China by machine gun, bayonet, and fire since 16 Dec 1937, began to burn the remains; the ashes were dumped into the Yangtze River. Reverend James M. McCallum, who was in Nanjing, noted in his diary "Never I have heard or read such brutality. Rape! Rape! Rape! We estimate at least 1,000 cases a night, and many by day.... Women are being carried off every morning, afternoon and evening. The whole Japanese army seems to be free to go and come as it pleases, and to do whatever it pleases." ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 19 Dec 1937
Dead Chinese piled on the shore of the Yangtze River, Nanjing, China, Dec 1937Dead Chinese piled on the shore of the Yangtze River near Xiaguan Pier, Nanjing, China, Dec 1937Japanese soldiers with a Chinese child, Nanjing, China, 19 Dec 1937
20 Dec 1937
  • German Great War General Erich Ludendorff dies in Munich, Germany. ww2dbase [AC]
  • Arashio was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Arashio | CPC]
China
  • The Japanese Domei News Agency reported that life in Nanjing, China, which was recently captured by Japanese troops, was returning to normal, and refugees who had fled the city prior and during the battle were starting to return. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • The British Royal Navy issued the order for the light cruiser to be named HMS Mauritius. ww2dbase [Mauritius | CPC]
21 Dec 1937
  • Francis Tuker was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. ww2dbase [Francis Tuker | CPC]
23 Dec 1937

Photo(s) dated 23 Dec 1937
Joseph Goebbels with daughters Helga and Hilde at a large Christmas party amidst the playing of a patriotic song, 23 Dec 1937
24 Dec 1937
  • The Maachi C.200 Saetta (Lightning) aircraft made its maiden flight in prototype form. Designed by Dr. Mario Castoldi, the C.200 Saetta was the first monoplane fighter with fully-retractable undercarriage and enclosed cockpit to enter service with the Italian Air Force. ww2dbase [C.200 Saetta | AC]
25 Dec 1937

United Kingdom
  • The first production Hurricane fighters began to be delivered to No. 111 Squadron RAF at Northolt, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Hurricane | Northolt, England | CPC]
United States
26 Dec 1937

China
  • Chinese seaplane tender Zhenhai was sunk as a blockship in Qingdao harbor, Shandong Province, China. ww2dbase [Qingdao, Shandong | CPC]
28 Dec 1937

China Japan
  • Hisao Tani was made the commanding officer of the Central Defense Army. ww2dbase [Hisao Tani | CPC]
29 Dec 1937
  • Spanish General Franco ordered Generals JosĂ© Varela and Antonio Aranda to mount a counter-attack to relieve the defenders at Teruel, who were surrounded by Spanish Republican forces. Appalling winter weather, however, hampered their advance, although this move nearly placed the Republicans in a siege situation themselves. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
  • Soryu was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Soryu | CPC]
31 Dec 1937
  • Douglas MacArthur retired from the US Army, but remained Philippine President Manuel Quezon's advisor as a civilian. ww2dbase [Douglas MacArthur | CPC]
  • Filipp Golikov was promoted to the rank of corps commander. ww2dbase [Filipp Golikov | CPC]
China


Photo(s) dated
Mahan-class destroyer USS Tucker leaving Norfolk Navy Yard after completion, 2 Mar 1937.

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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