1940 Bomb holes roof of Balham tube station: 64 killed. Italian submarine Toti sinks British submarine Rainbow. 16 million Americans already registered for National Service. Heavy Luftwaffe raid on London, Birmingham, and Bristol starts 900 fires. Italy demobilizes 300,000 soldiers for the harvest, leaving only 100,000 for upcoming invasion of Greece. 1941 Odessa, a Russian […]
World War II Today: October 15 Read More »
1939 U47 (Kapitanleutnant Prien) sinks HMS Royal Oak at anchor in Scapa Flow, killing 883. U47 then escapes undetected and returns home to Germany. The press in Germany declare Prien a hero. Polish submarine Orzel arrives in Britain having escaped internment in Estonia. 1940 Luftwaffe bomb falls on Balham Tube station in London, killing 66.
World War II Today: October 14 Read More »
1939 In skirmishes along Maginot Line, French destroy 3 bridges over Rhine. 1940 14-year old Princess Elizabeth made her first public speech, a radio address to the children of the British Commonwealth. Her ten-year-old sister Princess Margaret joined in at the end. 1941 German forces of Army Group Centre capture Kalinin, just 100 miles to
World War II Today: October 13 Read More »
Few vehicles from the Second World War are as recognizable—or as influential—as the M4 Sherman tank. With approximately 50,000 units produced, the Sherman became the backbone of Allied armored forces and a defining symbol of industrial power and battlefield adaptability. Origins of the M4 Sherman The M4’s design emerged from the need to mount a
The M4 Sherman Tank – From World War 2 till Today Read More »
Francis was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on June 16, 1922. As the Depression took its hold on America, her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 9 in search of work.
Francis Rafferty: Yank Pin Up October 12, 1945 Read More »
The real life Desmond Doss. Desmond Thomas Doss was born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1919. During the Great Depression, he stopped attending school after the ninth grade to help out his family, working in a shipyard when WWII broke out. He could have gotten a deferment due to his employment, but he wanted to serve
Desmond Doss, the Pacifist Who Went to War Read More »
1939 Hans Frank appointed Nazi Gauleiter (governor) of Poland. Jews evacuate Vienna. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain rejects Hitler’s “peace offer.” 1940 President Roosevelt in a fireside chat suggests the drafting of 18 and 19 year old men. Night raids on London continue. Hitler postpones invasion of Britain until the spring 1941. U-101 torpedoes and
World War II Today: October 12 Read More »
1939 British Expeditionary Force on continent reaches strength of 158,000 in five weeks. The Soviet Union and Finland begin negotiations concerning the establishment of Soviet air bases on Finnish soil. The Soviet Union also requires Finland to cede territory around lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, plus the Petsamo area in northern Finland. In
World War II Today: October 11 Read More »
1938 The Hungarian army, with the sanction of its German allies, retakes territory in Czechoslovakia that was stripped from the Austro-Hungarian Empire after WWI. 1939 The Soviet Union signs and agreement with Lithuania that allows the Soviets to establish military bases in the country. Hitler forms Winter Relief, forced charitable contributions from German civilians. Chinese
World War II Today: October 10 Read More »
1939 Chamberlain announces committee of ministers to co-ordinate the economy. Hitler issues orders for the invasion of France and the Low Countries. This first plan called for the German Army to wheel through Belgium as they had done during World War One, although this time they were to invade Holland as well. Only the start
World War II Today: October 9 Read More »
