Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 106

Today in World War II History—January 22, 1943

SS and French police round up Jews in the old quarter of Marseille, France, 24 Jan 1943 (German Federal Archive: Bild 101I-027-1477-29)

80 Years Ago—Jan. 22, 1943: Soviets begin final drive in Stalingrad.

Australian and American forces end organized Japanese resistance in Papua New Guinea, the first Japanese land defeat of WWII.

In the Vieux Port old quarter of Marseille, France, Nazis begin removing 40,000 residents to prevent partisan activity, rounding up Jewish residents, and looting; 1400 buildings will be destroyed in February.

Margaret Bourke-White becomes the first woman reporter to fly on a US Army Air Force combat mission, in a Twelfth Air Force B-17 to El Aouina Airfield, Tunisia.

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Today in World War II History—January 21, 1943

German soldiers unloading supplies from Ju 52 cargo plane at Stalingrad, late 1942 (German Federal Archive: Bild 1011—003-3446-16)

80 Years Ago—Jan. 21, 1943: Stalingrad airlift ends when Soviets take Gumrak Airfield, the last Luftwaffe field in the city.

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

Today in World War II History—January 20, 1943

Evarts-class destroyer escort USS Brennan, 1943 (US Navy photo)

80 Years Ago—Jan. 20, 1943: First US destroyer escort, USS Brennan (DE-13), is commissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard, CA.

Journal of the American Medical Association reports new painless childbirth technique using continuous caudal anesthesia.

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Today in World War II History—January 19, 1943

Troops of the US 35th Infantry Division at the Gifu on Guadalcanal, January 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—Jan. 19, 1943: US launches final offensive on Guadalcanal.

In Libya, British Eighth Army under Montgomery flanks Germans near Tripoli, forcing Rommel to retreat.

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Today in World War II History—January 18, 1943

US poster encouraging conservation of metal for military purposes, WWII

80 Years Ago—Jan. 18, 1943: Soviets open a corridor to supply Leningrad, which remains open throughout the war.

First Warsaw uprising: Nazis attempt to deport Jews from the ghetto, but are met with gunfire.

US bans the sale of sliced bread to conserve metal parts in bakery equipment (Read more: Make It Do—Metal Shortages in World War II).

Journalist Richard Tregaskis’s bestselling book Guadalcanal Diary is published, based on his experiences landing with the US Marines.

First edition cover of Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis, 1943

The post Today in World War II History—January 18, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—January 17, 1943

Brig. Gen. Fred Borum presents the Air Medal to Lt. Elsie Ott, the first woman to receive the Air Medal (US Air Force photo: 090903-F-1234S-014)

80 Years Ago—Jan. 17, 1943: US Naval Base and Naval Air Station, Brisbane, Australia, is established.

First intercontinental medical air evacuation is conducted, and for the first time a nurse participates in air evacuation—Lt. Elsie Ott, who had not been trained in air evacuation and had never flown in a plane, cares for patients on a week-long journey from India to Washington, DC; she will receive the first Air Medal to be awarded to a woman. (Read more: Medical Air Evacuation in World War II).

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Today in World War II History—January 16, 1943

Berlin during a night raid by RAF Mosquitos; the track of a falling target indicator can be seen on the right, c. 1943-45 (Imperial War Museum: C 4925)

80 Years Ago—Jan. 16, 1943: In Libya, British Eighth Army links with Free French under Gen. Philippe Leclerc, who had marched 30 days across the Sahara from Lake Chad.

RAF bombs Berlin for first time since November 1941, with the first use of target indicator flares to mark the target for bombers farther back in the stream.

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Today in World War II History—January 15, 1943

Andrée de Jongh after visiting Buckingham Palace to receive the George Medal for rescuing Allied airmen, February 1946 (Imperial War Museum: HU 55451)

80 Years Ago—Jan. 15, 1943: British Eighth Army under Montgomery begins offensive at Buerat, Libya, against the Germans.

In the Solomons, US Navy, Marine Corps, and Thirteenth Air Force aircraft attack Japanese destroyers and shoot down 38 Japanese aircraft.

Over Guadalcanal, USMC F4F pilot Capt. Joseph Foss downs 3 aircraft, a total of 26 in 44 days, an unsurpassed US record in WWII; he receives the Medal of Honor.

In the Pyrenees, the Germans arrest Andrée de Jongh, Belgian founder of the Comet escape line, which helped Allied airmen escape from Nazi-occupied Belgium across the Pyrenees into Spain; she will survive the war in a concentration camp.

US Navy or USMC SBD Dauntless dive-bombers on mission in the Solomon Islands, early 1943 (US Navy photo)

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Today in World War II History—January 14, 1943

Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in Casablanca, French Morocco during the Casablanca Conference, 24 Jan 1943 (US Army Signal Corps photo)

80 Years Ago—Jan. 14, 1943: Casablanca Conference begins: Roosevelt and Churchill meet in media secrecy to plan the course of the war.

Australians clear Sanananda Trail junction, New Guinea.

Adm. Erich Raeder resigns from command of German navy, effective January 30, due to losses in the Battle of the Barents Sea.

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Today in World War II History—January 13, 1943

Defendants in the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial are reunited with family and friends in the Los Angeles Hall of Justice following their acquittal, 2 Oct 1944 (public domain via Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA, via Wikipedia)

Patch of the US Thirteenth Air Force, WWII

80 Years Ago—Jan. 13, 1943: Students at the University of Munich riot after a Nazi speaker blames the German army’s dire situation in Stalingrad on student malingerers.

US Thirteenth Air Force is established in the South Pacific under Brig. Gen. Nathan Twining, based in Nouméa, New Caledonia.

In “Sleepy Lagoon” case in Los Angeles, 17 Mexican-Americans are wrongly convicted of murder; convictions will be overturned in October 1944.

The post Today in World War II History—January 13, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.