March

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.

World War II Today: March 9 includes Nazi persecution before the war, the collapse of the Dutch East Indies, a devastating U-boat attack off Brazil, Rommel’s departure from North Africa, the widening Remagen bridgehead, and the beginning of the firebombing of Tokyo.

March 8 in World War II saw critical events unfold across Europe and the Pacific. The U.S. Senate passed the Lend-Lease Act, providing vital support to Allied nations, while Japanese forces captured Rangoon and expanded their reach in the Pacific. American bombers struck Berlin in a costly raid, and Allied troops advanced deeper into Germany as the war neared its final months.

March 7 in World War II saw Hitler remilitarize the Rhineland in 1936, British troops deploy to Greece, the sinking of U-boat ace Günther Prien’s U-47, Japan capture Rangoon, German wolfpacks attack Atlantic convoys, and U.S. forces seize the vital Rhine bridge at Remagen in 1945.

March 6 in World War II saw Hitler approve the daring Ardennes invasion plan, German aircraft mine the Suez Canal, the battleship Tirpitz attempt to intercept Arctic Convoy PQ-12, Allied bombing intensify over Berlin and northern France, Marines land in New Britain, and U.S. forces reach the Rhine as Cologne falls in 1945.

March 5 in World War II saw Allied naval forces seize an Italian collier, the Royal Navy escort troop convoys to Greece, German aircraft locate Arctic Convoy PQ-12, Allied forces evacuate Rangoon, RAF Bomber Command begin the Battle of the Ruhr, Chindits establish the Broadway stronghold in Burma, and U.S. troops reach Cologne as Germany begins conscripting teenage soldiers.

March 4 in World War II saw Hitler pressure Yugoslavia to join the Axis,
a daring Allied commando raid on Norway’s Lofoten Islands, early Pacific carrier strikes,
renewed Soviet offensives in Ukraine, Arctic convoy battles, Merrill’s Marauders in Burma,
and Red Army advances toward the Oder River in 1945.

World War II Today: March 3 includes the Soviet assault on Viipuri during the Winter War, RAF attacks on occupied France, the tragic Bethnal Green disaster, fighting at Anzio and Los Negros, and Allied advances into Germany in 1945.

World War II Today: March 2 includes the bombing of the liner Domala, Germany’s occupation of Bulgaria, Churchill’s warning about the battleship Tirpitz, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, Allied advances into Germany, and the recapture of Corregidor.