WWII History

World War II Today: March 18 includes the meeting between Hitler and Mussolini at the Brenner Pass, the first operational use of Alan Turing’s Bombe machine to break Enigma codes, the U.S.–Canada defense pact, Allied operations in North Africa and Burma, the German occupation of Hungary, and major Allied advances in the final months of the war.

World War II Today: March 17 includes the appointment of Fritz Todt as Germany’s armaments chief, Allied advances in East Africa, the capture of famed U-boat commander Otto Kretschmer, the beginning of deportations to the Belzec death camp, Bulgarian resistance to Nazi deportation demands, and the dramatic collapse of the Remagen bridge in 1945.

World War II Today: March 16 includes Hitler’s announcement of German rearmament, the final destruction of Czechoslovakia, the Luftwaffe raid on Scapa Flow, the capture of famous U-boat commanders, fierce Atlantic convoy battles, the siege of Imphal, and the declaration that Iwo Jima was secured by U.S. forces.

World War II Today: March 15 includes Germany’s occupation of Bohemia and Moravia, Roosevelt’s warning about tyranny, the fierce Battle of Keren in Eritrea, major naval battles in the Atlantic, heavy bombing raids over Europe, and continued Allied advances during the final months of the war.

World War II Today: March 14 includes Hitler’s declaration of Nazi authority, the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the German recapture of Kharkov, the destruction of the Krakow Ghetto, Allied advances across Europe and the Pacific in 1945, and the first combat use of the massive Grand Slam earthquake bomb.

World War II Today: March 13 includes the end of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, devastating Luftwaffe attacks on Clydebank, Roosevelt organizing American war relief, advances and setbacks across Europe and Asia, and massive Allied bombing operations in 1945.

World War II Today: March 12 includes the Anschluss of Austria by Nazi Germany, the end of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, devastating Luftwaffe bombing of Clydebank, early aeromedical evacuation flights in North Africa, and the death of Anne Frank in Bergen-Belsen.

March 11 saw the passage of the historic Lend-Lease Act, General Douglas MacArthur’s dramatic departure from the Philippines, heavy U-boat attacks on Atlantic convoys, Chindit operations deep behind Japanese lines in Burma, and massive RAF bombing raids on Essen in 1945.

World War II Today: March 10 includes the debut of the Halifax bomber, Japanese advances in New Guinea, U.S. carrier strikes at Lae and Salamaua, the first combat mission of the P-47 Thunderbolt, and Allied advances toward the Rhine in 1945.