Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 10

Today in World War II History—July 9, 1940 & 1945

Australian Army Lieutenant MG Searles, 2/25 infantry battalion, inspecting a Japanese vehicle found abandoned near Balikpapan, Borneo, 22 Jul 1945. (Australian War Memorial 112057)

85 Years Ago—July 9, 1940: The Battle of Punta Stilo occurs between British and Italian convoys, the first naval engagement in the Mediterranean in WWII; battleship HMS Warspite hits Italian battleship Guilio Cesare from 24 km, one of the longest naval gun hits of the war.

German Evangelist Church protests Nazi euthanasia programs.

The Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII) is named British Governor of the Bahamas.

80 Years Ago—July 9, 1945: Australian and Dutch troops complete encirclement of Balikpapan Bay, Borneo.

US conducts last area bombing of Formosa (Taiwan); 6,100 have been killed in the campaign.

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Today in World War II History—July 8, 1940 & 1945

Grounded Dutch submarine O-19, 8 July 1945 (US Navy photo)

85 Years Ago—July 8, 1940: Britain begins tea rationing (two ounces per person per week), which lasts until 1952, and also begins rationing margarine and cooking fats. Read more: “Food Rationing in Britain in World War II”)

80 Years Ago—July 8, 1945: Only international sub-to-sub rescue in history: USS Cod rescues crew of stranded Dutch submarine O-19 in the South China Sea.

US guard Clarence Bertucci machine-guns a tent of sleeping German POWs in Salina, Utah; 8 are killed; Bertucci is admitted to a mental institution.

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Mists over the Channel Islands Cover Reveal Giveaway – Winners!

Thank you to everyone for celebrating the cover reveal for Mists over the Channel Islands with me! There are ten winners of the book giveaway, and all have been notified by email.

Congratulations to the winners!

Roma Davidson

Kathryn Pfeifer

Celeste Jordan

Julie Parrish

Alicia Blaszczyk

Ashley Sapp

Kati Mills

Madeline Martin

Marikay Batina

Karen Dagnall

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Today in World War II History—July 7, 1940 & 1945

French battleship Richelieu at Dakar, 1941 (US Navy photo)

85 Years Ago—July 7, 1940: At Dakar, French West Africa, Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Hermes damage French battleship Richelieu when she refuses to surrender.

British disarm all French ships in port at Alexandria, Egypt.

In first British commando action in Channel Islands, Lt. Hubert Nicolle lands in Guernsey at night to collect intelligence for future commando raids.

British actors in America are ordered to come home and register for conscription.

80 Years Ago—July 7, 1945: Soviet Capt. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is sentenced to 8 years of labor for his private criticism of Stalin.

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Today in World War II History—July 6, 1940 & 1945

German U-boat U-37 at Lorient, France, 1940 (German Federal Archive: Bild 101II-MW-1032-11A)

85 Years Ago—July 6, 1940: First German U-boat base opens in France, at Lorient.

80 Years Ago—July 6, 1945: Nicaragua becomes the first nation to ratify the United Nations Charter.

US President Harry Truman establishes the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor for US civilians.

US launches Operation Overcast to bring German scientists to America.

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Today in World War II History—July 5, 1940 & 1945

Labour Party election poster, 1945

85 Years Ago—July 5, 1940: Vichy France breaks relations with the United Kingdom.

In occupied France, Germans ban signs of national identity: the Tricolor flag, the “Marseillaise,” and berets.

Due to Japanese pressure on French Indochina, US President Franklin Roosevelt bans export to Japan of strategic minerals and chemicals, aircraft engines and parts, and machine tools.

US Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Australian Prime Minister John Curtin meet at Australian Parliament House, 26 March 1942 (Australian government photo NAA A1200, L36449, public domain)

80 Years Ago—July 5, 1945: Gen. Douglas MacArthur proclaims the end of the campaign in the Philippines.

Australian Prime Minister John Curtin dies at age 60 of heart disease.

British parliamentary elections are held and will be won by the Labour Party (announced July 26).

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Today in World War II History—July 4, 1940 & 1945

Ruins of the German Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, covered with graffiti from Soviet soldiers, 3 Jul 1945 (Imperial War Museum: 4700-30 BU 8582)

Poster for 1940 World’s Fair, New York City

85 Years Ago—July 4, 1940: At Portland, England, the German Luftwaffe sinks antiaircraft ship HMS Foylebank (176 killed).

After the Luftwaffe destroys a British convoy off Sussex, Churchill orders fighter protection for convoys.

At the New York World’s Fair, a bomb explodes in the British Pavilion, killing 2 policemen; the case is never solved and was possibly caused by sabotage or possibly by a British agent trying to gain sympathy for the Allied cause,

80 Years Ago—July 4, 1945: British occupation forces arrive in Berlin.

Canadian troops riot in Aldershot, England, over not being shipped home; no damage or injuries.

In the South Atlantic, Brazilian light cruiser Bahia is sunk in an accidental explosion of depth charges (294 killed).

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Today in World War II History—July 3, 1940 & 1945

French destroyer leader Mogador burning after bombardment at Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria, 3 July 1940 (public domain via Wikipedia)

85 Years Ago—July 3, 1940: British seize all French ships at port in Britain to prevent them from falling into Nazi hands.

At Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria, when French warships refuse to fight for the Royal Navy or surrender, British warships sink French battleship Bretagne and French destroyer Mogador and damage two battleships—1297 French sailors are killed, seriously damaging Anglo-French relations.

Private Aubrey Carl Kotz and Private W. Spence of 7 Platoon, A Company, Australian 2/10 Battalion during Battle of Balikpapan, Borneo, 3 Jul 1945 (Australian War Memorial 111069)

80 Years Ago—July 3, 1945: Australians secure Balikpapan oil fields on Borneo.

James Byrnes is sworn in as US Secretary of State.

Britain flies ten German physicists to England and holds them at Farm Hall for 6 months, where hidden microphones record their conversations.

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Today in World War II History—July 2, 1940 & 1945

Ocean liner Arandora Star in use as a troop transport, 1940 (Royal Navy photograph)

85 Years Ago—July 2, 1940: Off Ireland, German U-boat U-47 sinks British ocean liner Arandora Star; 805/1673 killed, mostly Axis POWs, civilian internees, and Jewish refugees bound for Canada.

US Congress passes Export Control Act, giving the president power to control or ban exports of munitions and critical materials.

Hatch Shell is dedicated on the Boston Esplanade—the amphitheater which hosts the Boston Pops Fourth of July concert.

80 Years Ago—July 2, 1945: Submarine USS Barb attacks Kaihyo Island (north of Japan off Sakhalin) with the first use of rockets by a US sub against shore installations.

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Today in World War II History—July 1, 1940 & 1945

German troops in the Channel Islands, 1 August 1941 (German Federal Archive: Bild 1011-228-0326-34A)

85 Years Ago—July 1, 1940: Germans occupy Jersey and Guernsey in the British Channel Islands.

Beginning of the “Happy Time” for German U-boats, as they successfully hunt Allied shipping, to last through October 1940.

Eric Knight’s children’s novel Lassie Come-Home is published.

Scene of destruction in the Linden Passage, the famous Berlin, Germany shopping area on the Unter den Linden, 3 Jul 1945 (Imperial War Museum 4700-30 BU 8608)

80 Years Ago—July 1, 1945: Australians land at Balikpapan, Borneo.

US occupation forces arrive in Berlin.

Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (former commander of the Tuskegee Airmen) assumes command of Godman Field, KY, the first Black officer to command a major US air base.

US resumes production of cars, with the first rolling off the assembly line on August 30.

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