Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 102

Today in World War II History—February 25, 1943

US troops marching through Kasserine Pass, Tunisia, 26 Feb 1943 (US Army Signal Corps photo: SC 167571)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 25, 1943: U-boats break off attack on Allied North Atlantic convoy ON-166; 15 of 49 ships have been sunk since February 21.

In Tunisia, US II Corps reoccupies abandoned Kasserine Pass.

US 11th Airborne Division is activated under Maj. Gen. Joseph Swing at Camp Mackall, NC.

The post Today in World War II History—February 25, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—February 24, 1943

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel with his staff in Tunisia, 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 24, 1943: German Army Group Africa is established under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, including 1st Italian Army under Gen. Giovanni Messe and German 5th Panzer Army under Gen. Hans-Jürgin von Arnim.

The post Today in World War II History—February 24, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—February 23, 1943

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel talking to German troops in captured American half-track, Tunisia, 1943 (German Federal Archives: Bild 146-1990-071-31)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 23, 1943: In Tunisia, German troops under Rommel retreat back through the Kasserine Pass; US II Corps has lost 192 killed and 2400 POWs in the battle.

Allied Convoy UC-1 loses 7 tankers to German U-boats over the next two days, with the first use of German acoustic homing torpedoes.

The post Today in World War II History—February 23, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—February 22, 1943

Sophie Scholl, 1942 (public domain via Wikipedia)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 22, 1943: Nazis try and execute Hans & Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst, leaders of the White Rose resistance group.

In Norway, Nazi collaborationist Vidkun Quisling orders the conscription of 35,000 Norwegian men for military construction.

Battleship USS Iowa is commissioned, New York Navy Yard, the first of four Iowa-class battleships, the last US battleships (currently a museum ship in Long Beach, CA).

Battleship USS Iowa commissioning ceremony, New York Naval Shipyard, New York, 22 Feb 1943 (US National Archives: 80-G-K-825)

The post Today in World War II History—February 22, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—February 21, 1943

 

A view of the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, June-July 1942 (Library of Congress: LC-USW36-789)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 21, 1943: US Marine 3rd Raider Battalion and US 43rd Infantry Division take Russell Islands in the Solomons unopposed.

Germans open counterattack in Ukraine toward Kharkov.

Thirty-five Japanese-Americans are arrested at Tule Lake Relocation Center for refusing to fill out a loyalty questionnaire.

The post Today in World War II History—February 21, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—February 20, 1943

US poster featuring Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom from Want,” 1943

80 Years Ago—Feb. 20, 1943: Germans take Kasserine Pass in Tunisia; first use of German Nebelwerfer rocket launcher.

Movie executives agree to allow US Office of War Information to censor films.

New song in Top Ten: “I’ve Heard That Song Before.”

Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom of Speech” appears on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.

German 21cm Nebelwerfer rocket launcher, Tunisia, April 1943 (German Federal Archive: Bild 101I-787-0505-09A)

The post Today in World War II History—February 20, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—February 19, 1943

US M3 Grant tank near Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, late Feb 1943 (US Army Signal Corps photo)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 19, 1943: Battle of Kasserine Pass begins: German forces under Rommel drive back US II Corps in Tunisia at Kasserine and Sbiba Passes.

British Gen. Harold Alexander takes control of 18th Army Group in Tunisia (British First and Eighth Armies, US II Corps, and Free French units).

The post Today in World War II History—February 19, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—February 18, 1943

Song Meiling, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, addressing US Congress, 18 Feb 1943 (public domain via Republic of China Ministry of the National Defense)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 18, 1943: Nazis arrest the leaders of the White Rose resistance group at the University of Munich.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek addresses joint session of Congress, the first woman and the first Chinese person to do so.

First class of 39 flight nurses graduates from the School of Air Evacuation at Bowman Field, Kentucky (Read more: “Medical Air Evacuation in World War II—The Flight Nurse”).

A B-29 Superfortress bomber crashes during a test flight into a meat-packing plant in Seattle, 33 killed.

At the Army Air Force School of Air Evacuation at Bowman Field, KY, student flight nurses learn how to handle patients with the aid of a mock-up fuselage of a Douglas C-47 transport. (US Air Force photo)

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Today in World War II History—February 17, 1943

US 31st Fighter Group at Thélepte Airfield, Tunisia, 1943 (US Air Force photo)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 17, 1943: In Tunisia, US evacuates Fériana and Thélepte Airfields; Germans occupy the airfields and the towns of Sbeïtla and Kasserine.

Baseball player Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees enlists in the US Army.

Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-16) is commissioned at Quincy, MA.

Newly commissioned carrier USS Lexington, Boston Harbor, MA, 17 Feb 1943 (US Navy photo: 80-G-35657)

The post Today in World War II History—February 17, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—February 16, 1943

Insignia of the US Sixth Army, WWII

80 Years Ago—Feb. 16, 1943: US Sixth Army is established in the Southwest Pacific Area under Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger.

France establishes Service du Travail Obligatoire to conscript 250,000 young men to work in Germany; this causes many to flee and join the resistance.

Mildred Fish Harnack is executed in Berlin for resistance activities, the only American woman to be executed by the Gestapo.

The post Today in World War II History—February 16, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.