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• » 20 Feb 1943

• US carrier aircraft attacked the Japanese naval base at Rabaul, New Britain. ww2dbase [TH]
• Hartwig von Ludwiger was made the commanding officer of 704th Infantry Division. ww2dbase [Hartwig von Ludwiger | CPC]
• Hubert Lanz stepped down as the commanding officer of Armeeabteilung Lanz. ww2dbase [Hubert Lanz | CPC]
• The Germans made the first use of their new 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launcher against the western allies at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia. ww2dbase [15 cm NbW 41 | AC]
• The US coastal minesweeper YMS-133 foundered and sank at Coos Bay, Oregon, United States. ww2dbase [AC]
• German and Italian troops defeated American troops at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, but the force attacking Sbiba Pass was met with strong resistance. ww2dbase [Battle of Kasserine Pass | CPC]
• American movie studio executives agreed to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | Truk | CPC]

• Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 1943 hours for a war patrol. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | Bordeaux, Aquitaine | CPC]

• A special section was established at the Hinzert Concentration Camp for Polish civilian workers who fraternized with German women. ww2dbase [Buchenwald Concentration Camp | Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Hinzert, Trier | CPC]
• Kurt Fricke stepped down as the Chief of the Department of Naval Operations at the Navy High Command. ww2dbase [Kurt Frike | CPC]

• USS Tunny arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Midway Bases | Tunny | Midway | CPC]
• Lieutenant Commander Albert Burrows was named the commanding officer of USS Whale, relieving Lieutenant Commander John Azer. ww2dbase [Whale | Midway | CPC]

20 Feb 1943 Interactive Map