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• Raffaele de Courten was born in Milan, Lombardia, Italy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Friedrich Paulus was born in Guxhagen, Germany. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Volodymyr Kubijovyč was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Vice Admiral Tomomichi Onomoto was named the commanding officer of the Mako naval port at Pescadores islands, Taiwan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Sep 1903 Interactive Map

• Susan Travers was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Franklin Roosevelt's son Elliott was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Eleven German Zeppelin airships raided England, United Kingdom, with three heading for London. LZ 76 (L-33) was forced to land after being damaged by anti-aircraft fire, and LZ 74 (L-32) was attacked by Second Lieutenant F. Sowrey, causing it to burst into flames. ww2dbase [AC]

• Henry Arnold was promoted to the rank of captain. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• George Brett stepped down as the Director of Military Aeronautics of the US Army in Washington DC, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Naoshi Kanno was born in a village near Edano (now Kakuda), Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Sep 1921 Interactive Map

• Philipp married Princess Mafalda of the House of Savoy, daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy, at the Castello di Racconigi in Italy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Sep 1925 Interactive Map

• The first production example of GL-810 HY floatplanes took flight at Les Mureaux, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• HMS Hermes arrived at Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Chinese Lieutenant General Xi Qia began talks with the Japanese occupation representatives in Mukden, China. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Adolf Hitler made an announcement in Nürnberg, Germany stressing the importance of separating the functions of the Nazi SA organization and the German Army. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Light carrier Hosho's flight was damaged in a typhoon while participating in the annual Combined Fleet Maneuver exercise. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• Chiang Kaishek officially announced a united front between Nationalist Party and Communist Party forces against Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• In the evening, Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler met again in Bad Godesberg, Germany. Hitler demanded Czechoslovakia to leave the Sudetenland area by 28 Sep 1938; Chamberlain expressed frustration that Hitler was now demanding more than what had originally been discussed; after some heated discussion, Hitler returned to the original demand of 1 Oct 1938. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Walter Grabmann claimed 3 kills in Spain, an I-15 fighter, an I-16 fighter, and a SB-2 bomber. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• In Hunan Province, China, Japanese Army 6th Division crossed the Sinchiang River at dawn, followed by a similar crossing by another division at 0620 hours at Yingtian (now Miluo). Also on the same day, naval vessels landed Japanese Navy Shanghai Special Naval Landing Force and Japanese Army 3rd Division east of the city of Changsha. Surrounded on three sides, Chinese troops fell back to prevent encirclement, opening the way to Changsha. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Émile Bertin embarked 57 tons of Polish gold at Syria-Lebanon. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• German police began confiscating radios from Jews. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop expressed approval for the Soviet proposal on the partition of Poland. Meanwhile, at Krasnobrod, Poland, three squadrons of the Nowgrodek Cavalry Brigade attacked and surprised the German 8th Infantry Division which had entrenched on a hill. The German made a disorderly retreat to a nearby town, hotly pursued by the Polish cavalry. Despite heavy losses from machine-gun fire the Poles secured the town, capturing the German divisional headquarters including General Rudolf Koch-Erpach and about 100 other German soldiers. In addition forty Polish prisoners were freed. During the action Lieutenant Tadeusz Gerlecki, commanding the second squadron, defeated a German cavalry unit - one of the last battles in military history between opposing cavalry. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC, AC]

• Joseph Stilwell ended a period of leave in the United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS R-1 was recommissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Japanese troops invaded Indochina despite French agreement to Japanese demands during negotiations on the previous day. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• Operation Menace: General Charles de Gaulle arrived with 3,600 Free French troops at Dakar, French West Africa held by Vichy France; his forces were supported by 4,300 British troops and a powerful fleet. The Vichy French forces imprisoned the crew of two Free French aircraft that had landed at Dakar, and then fired upon a boat containing Free French personnel approaching to negotiate (wounding 2). At 1000 hours, British warships approached the harbor, and were also fired upon (killing 5). At 1130 hours, British ships fell back out of the range of shore batteries; at about the same time, Vichy French submarine Persee was sunk while attempting to torpedo the cruiser Dragon. In the afternoon, cruiser HMAS Australia attacked Vichy French destroyer L'Audacieux, forcing her to beach after 81 were killed. De Gualle's first attempt at a landing, at Rufisque Bay, was repulsed, and he began to show reluctance of killing fellow countrymen. Having heard of this sentiment, Winston Churchill urged de Gaulle to "[s]top at nothing". ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• British submarine H-49 sank German ship Heimdal 7 miles northwest of Terschelling Island, the Netherlands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• King George VI of the United Kingdom instituted the George Cross award as the equivalent of the Victoria Cross for civilians. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Bantam delivered a prototype, officially named the "Pilot" but nicknamed the "Blitz Buggy", to the US Army vehicle test center at Camp Holabird, Maryland, United States for a requirement that would result in the Jeep. ww2dbase [Main Article | DS]

• The United Kingdom received 7 American destroyers at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ww2dbase [CPC]

• The British RAF Bomber Command sent 129 bombers for a night raid against Berlin, Germany, causing minimal damage. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• Werner Mölders was presented Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross medal by Adolf Hitler in Berlin, Germany. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Two German raids approached London, England, United Kingdom at 0930 hours and 1730 hours, but few aircraft reached London, turned back by RAF fighters; the Germans lost 10 Bf 109 and 1 Bf 110 fighters, while the British lost 11 fighters. Overnight, German bombers attacked London and Liverpool. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Sep 1940 Interactive Map

• German Stuka dive bombers attacked Soviet warships at Kronstadt near Leningrad, Russia, hitting battleship Marat (already sunk in shallow water on 21 Sep 1941) with two bombs, igniting the forward magazine. The shipyard in Leningrad were also attacked, sinking submarines P-2 and M-74; cruisers Maksim Gorki and Kirov were also attacked. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The German authorities in Paris, France issued a decree that stated that any French man concealing or assisting a British Airman would be shot, and any woman would be sent to a concentration camp. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

• Armed resistance was met by the Germans during the liquidation of the Tutzin ghetto in western Ukraine. ww2dbase [CPC]
• US Marines began to move toward Matanikau River on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• In northern Germany, 83 British Lancaster bombers attacked Wismar (4 were lost), 28 Halifax bombers attacked Flensburg (5 were lost), and 24 Stirling bombers attacked Vegesack (1 was lost). ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• East African 22nd Infantry Brigade captured Tananarive (now Antananarivo), Madagascar. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German submarine U-617 attacked Allied convoy SC-100 200 miles east of the southern tip of Greenland just after the start of the day, sinking British tanker Athelsultan at 0019 hours (51 were killed, 10 survived) and British merchant ship Tennessee at 0142 hours (15 were killed, 20 survived. At 0026 hours, U-211 sank US tanker Esso Williamsburg 500 miles south of Greenland; most of the 60 aboard were killed, and the few survivors never reached land. 580 miles southeast of Newfoundland, U-582 sank Norwegian merchant ship Vibran; all 48 aboard were killed. At 0615 hours, U-515 sank Norwegian ship Lindvangen off British Guyana; 15 were killed, 8 survived. At 1103 hours, U-515 struck again in the same area, damaging US ship Antinous. British aircraft attacked German submarine U-177 on the surface off the Faroe Islands at 1330 hours, causing no damage but killed one. At 2334 hours, U-125 sank British ship Bruyère 380 miles southwest of Freetown, British West Africa after an 8-hour pursuit; all 55 aboard survived. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Erwin Rommel departed North Africa for a six-week rest in Germany to recover from sinusitis, high blood pressure, and other ailments linked to the North African environment. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Soviet submarine M-60 struck a mine and sank in the Black Sea off Odessa, Ukraine. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Shokaku arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• USS Finback departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• Australian destroyer HMAS Voyager ran aground at Betano Bay, East Timor at 1830 hours as she attempted to disembark Australian 2/4th Independent Company. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Soviet 284th Rifle Division arrived in Stalingrad, Russia and was ferried across the Volga River to join the front lines as German troops attacked the landing site. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH, CPC]
• Tiger I tanks saw combat for the first time, operated by German 502nd Tank Battalion near Leningrad, Russia. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Whale departed San Francisco, California, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Leslie Groves was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. On the same day, he toured the future Oak Ridge site of the Manhattan Project in Tennessee, United States and expressed his satisfaction for this site being used for a future production site. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

23 Sep 1942 Interactive Map

• Red Army captured Poltava, Ukraine. ww2dbase [TH]
• Joseph Goebbels visited Adolf Hitler at Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany. The two had dinner together, during which Adolf Hitler shared his belief that Winston Churchill would not be willing to consider peace offers coming from Germany. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Indian 8th Infantry Division began to arrive at Taranto, Italy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Colonel Walter Schöll issued the complete evacuation of the coast near Naples, Italy within a day; the area had a population of over 200,000. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• British Mediterranean Fleet Commander-in-Chief Admiral Andrew Cunningham and Italian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Raffaele de Courten at Brindisi, Italy and struck the Gentlemen's Agreement, beginning a period of cooperation between the two navies. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | CPC]

• USS Harder sank freighter Kowa Maru and tanker Daishin Maru off Nagoya Bay, Japan, hitting each with one torpedo; six torpedoes were expended in this attack. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania was liquidated. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Shokaku departed Eniwetok, Marshall Islands for Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• Colonel Pyotr P. Timofeev was named the Soviet counterintelligence agency GUKR SMERSH's chief within the Steppe Front. ww2dbase [CPC]

• King George VI cabled Chiang Kaishek, informing the Chinese leader that Louis Mountbatten would soon be dispatched to Chinese to discuss an Anglo-American-Chinese joint offensive against Japanese forces in Burma. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Air Marshal Arthur Harris despatched a bomber raid to Berlin, Germany to test the effectiveness of the H2S navigation system over the city and to probe German defences before the first major operation was undertaken. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | AC]

• USS Gar entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]
• The keel of submarine Brill was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

23 Sep 1943 Interactive Map

• Canadian troops formed a bridgehead across the Escaut Canal in Belgium. ww2dbase [TH]
• Franklin Roosevelt denounced Republican Party attacks during a speech at the Teamster's Union dinner; the Republicans had accused Roosevelt of inappropriately using a US Navy destroyer to fetch his pet dog Fala, abusing his presidential powers. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The tiny republic of San Marino in northern Italy declared war on Germany after its 300-man army was rounded up by a mere platoon of German soldiers. ww2dbase [AC]
• The Republic of China established the Order of Loyalty and Diligence. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Patrick Hurley asked Chiang Kaishek to accept communist assistance in the war against Japan; Chiang rejected the request. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Ray departed Fremantle, Australia for her sixth war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Jewish prisoners of concentration camp in Kluga, Estonia were massacred. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• After a six-day siege, Canadian troops forced the German troops at Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France to surrender. The Canadians suffered 634 casualties and captured 9,500 prisoners (many driven from their bunkers by driving flame down the ventilation shafts). ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

• Soviet and Romanian forces entered Hungary just beyond Arad, Romania. Hungarian Baron Ede Atzel led a delegation across the Soviet front lines in an attempt to negotiate an armistice. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH, CPC]

• Irako dropped anchor between Tangat Island and Lusong Island just off the southern coast of Busuanga, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• Kamoi refueled submarine chaser CH-30 and submarine chaser CH-33 at Coron Bay, Palawan, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• Allied convoy JW-60 arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• No. 56 Squadron RAF was transferred out of RAF Newchurch in southern England, United Kingdom; the field ceased operations upon No. 56 Squadron's exit. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Boarfish was commissioned into service with Commander Royce L. Gross in command. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Charr was commissioned into service at 1030 hours at the US Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut, United States with Commander Francis Boyle in command. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Joseph Rochefort was promoted to the rank of captain. His superior Joseph Redman sent him a three-word letter "Delivered with congratulations" for this occasion. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Croaker completed her refitting at Midway and began her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

23 Sep 1944 Interactive Map

• In southern French Indochina, British Major General Douglas Gracey armed French prisoners of war in Cochinchina, French Indochina as recommended by French commissioner Jean Cédile; in the evening, these French troops, bent on revenge, stormed and captured the Saigon City Hall and other administrative buildings from the Viet Minh, killing many innocent civilians and burning down homes during the process, critically damaging public trust in the European administration which had already been waning. Meanwhile, in northern and central French Indochina, several leaders in civilian spheres sent a joint message to the Vatican, asking Pope Pius XII to support for Vietnamese independence. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Chinese forces entered Luang Prabang, Laos and disarmed French troops in the name of maintaining peace between the Lao and French peoples. ww2dbase [CPC]

• The leftist political party Democratic Alliance staged a large rally in Manila, Philippines, demanding reforms, release of Huk leader Luis Trauc, and justice against war time collaborators. ww2dbase [CPC]

• USS Whale arrived at the Tompkinsville area of Staten Island, New York, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Sep 1945 Interactive Map

• USS Missouri entered New York Naval Shipyard in New York, United States for a scheduled overhaul. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• US President Harry S. Truman announced to the world that there was positive evidence that the Soviet Union had detonated an atomic bomb; this highlighted the fact that the US monopoly of nuclear weapons had ended and marked the beginning of East-West confrontation known as the Cold War. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

• General Mark Wayne Clark observed the USS Iowa bombardment of Wonsan, Korea from aboard the battleship. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Sep 1952 Interactive Map

• Santa Fe departed San Francisco, California, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Karl Burk passed away in Fritzlar, Hessen, Germany. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Sep 1970 Interactive Map

• USS Wasp departed Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island, United States for exercise Lantcortex 1-72. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Sep 1983 Interactive Map