25 Mar 1943
  • Greek partisans captured Samos Island from the Italian garrison, albeit only temporarily. ww2dbase [TH]
  • The Spanish foreign ministry announced the closure of its border with France and stopped with refugee from cross into Spain without transit papers. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Indian 4th Division overran the Mareth Line in Tunisia. ww2dbase [Operations Pugilist and Supercharge II | TH]
  • Russian fighter Ace Grigori Rechkalov received his first (of two) award of Hero of the Soviet Union while serving as a senior lieutenant with the 16th GvIAP. ww2dbase [AC]
  • The Japanese offensive at Bougainville in the Solomon Islands was halted. ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | CPC]
  • The No. 5 Column of the Chindits, under Bernard Fergusson, made rendezvous with Orde Wingate's main body at Shaukpin Chaung river bed in Burma. ww2dbase [Operation Longcloth | CPC]
  • Lieutenant Ralph Marcus Wallace was named the commanding officer of HMCS Trillium. ww2dbase [Trillium | CPC]
  • Vasily Kuznetsov was promoted to the rank of colonel general. ww2dbase [Vasily Kuznetsov | CPC]
Atlantic Ocean
  • At 0707 hours, the unescorted and unarmed 1,688-ton Swedish motor merchant Industria was hit on the starboard side below the bridge by one of two torpedoes from German submarine U-518 while steaming at 12 knots about 80 miles southeast of Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil. The submarine had spotted the navigation lights of the ship, but could not see the Swedish flag painted on the side because it was not illuminated. No distress signals were sent as the aerial had been damaged and the ship sank by the bow within eight minutes. Most crew members abandoned ship in one lifeboat, while others had to jump overboard when the ship sank. The submarine surfaced shortly after, questioned the survivors in the boat and took the master, the chief officer and the chief engineer as prisoners aboard. The Germans then asked the survivors if there were any wounded and if water was required and left after 30 minutes. The lifeboat picked up the men swimming in the water and searched in vain for a man who was last seen on a raft. The survivors were picked up 15 hours after the sinking by the Swiss steam merchant St. Cergue and landed at Bahia, Brazil. ww2dbase [HM]
  • U-469, a German Type VIIC submarine, was sunk in the North Atlantic south of Iceland, by depth charges from a British Fortress aircraft of 206 Squadron RAF/L. All 47 of her crew were lost. ww2dbase [HM]
Baltic Sea
  • The 1,504-ton German steamship Bungesberg struck a mine and sank west of Tallinn, Estonia. ww2dbase [HM]
British Western Pacific Territories Cuba Nauru
  • US bombers attacked Nauru for the first time. ww2dbase [CPC]
Pacific Ocean
  • USS Whale spotted a Japanese ship and began tracking her off Saipan, Mariana Islands. ww2dbase [Whale | CPC]
  • USS Wahoo sank freighter Satsuki Maru in the Yellow Sea with two torpedoes (both of which missed) and her deck gun. ww2dbase [Wahoo | Yellow Sea | CPC]
Trinidad
  • USS S-44 departed Trinidad. ww2dbase [S-44 | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 25 Mar 1943
Johnston sliding down the building ways at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard, Seattle, Washington, United States, 25 Mar 1943AEC Mk II armored car, Lulworth, England, United Kingdom, 25 Mar 1943Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Major General Terry Allen, and Lieutenant General George Patton observing the field near El Guettar, Tunisia, late Mar 1943

25 Mar 1943 Interactive Map

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




Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

 Facebook
 Reddit
 Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds

Search WW2DB
Famous WW2 Quote
"Since peace is now beyond hope, we can but fight to the end."

Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!