Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 158

Today in World War II History—October 1, 1941

US War Bond poster, WWII (Oakland Public Library)

80 Years Ago—Oct. 1, 1941: US signs contract to send military aircraft to the USSR (15,000 sent during the war).

Sale of US War Savings Bonds to naval personnel begins; will sell $61,000,000 worth throughout the war.

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Today in World War II History—September 30, 1941

Soldiers of Japanese 4th Division man Type 92 heavy machine gun near Miluo River in China, Second Battle of Changsha, 22 or 23 Sep 1941 (public domain via Wikipedia)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 30, 1941: Chinese defeat Japanese in the Second Battle of Changsha.

RAF withdraws US-made B-17C Flying Fortress bombers from combat due to problems with systems freezing and insufficient armor.

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Today in World War II History—September 29, 1941

Map of US Navy Western Atlantic and Canal Zone Defense Area in WWII (Source: US Navy)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 29, 1941: Babi Yar Massacre begins: German SS begins 2-day massacre of 33,771 Jews from Kiev in the Ukraine.

Due to resistance, Germany names SS Gen. Reinhard Heydrich as Deputy Protector of Bohemia and Moravia (Czechoslovakia).

Germans enter Donets Basin, the Soviet industrial base.

Brazil allows US Navy to use ports of Bahia and Recife for provisioning, refueling, and upkeep.

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Today in World War II History—September 28, 1941

Baseball card for Boston Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams, 1940 (Wikipedia, public domain)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 28, 1941: Free French declare independence of Syria and Lebanon.

Japanese assault city of Changsha, China, beginning Second Battle of Changsha.

Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox earns .406 batting average for the season; his record still stands.

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Today in World War II History—September 27, 1941

Liberty ship SS Patrick Henry launching in Baltimore, MD, on Liberty Fleet Day, 27 September 1941 (National Museum of the US Navy: Lot-3452-6)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 27, 1941: Liberty Fleet Day: US launches first 14 Liberty cargo ships, led by SS Patrick Henry in Baltimore, MD.

Germans arrest Alois Eliáš, prime minister of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, for resistance work; he will become the only head of state to be executed by the Nazis.

New song in Top Ten: “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire.”

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Today in World War II History—September 26, 1941

Poster for the US Army Corps of the Military Police, WWII

80 Years Ago—Sept. 26, 1941: Gen. Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French, signs an alliance with the USSR.

US Army establishes Military Police Corps (MPs).

Movie premiere of A Yank in the RAF, starring Tyrone Power & Betty Grable.

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Today in World War II History—September 25, 1941

Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy, 1942 (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, public domain)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 25, 1941: Germans parachute into Perekop peninsula and take it, cutting off Crimea from rest of the USSR.

Future president John F. Kennedy enlists in the US Navy.

Movie premiere of You’ll Never Get Rich, starring Fred Astaire & Rita Hayworth.

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Today in World War II History—September 24, 1941

Poster with Charles De Gaulle’s speech to France on the BBC, 18 Jun 1940 (public domain via National Library of France)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 24, 1941: Fifteen Allied nations (including neutral US) and governments-in-exile agree to follow principles of the Atlantic Charter.

Gen. Charles de Gaulle forms French National Committee in London.

First German U-boats pass Gibraltar and enter the Mediterranean.

In Paris, the daily tobacco ration is reduced to 4 cigarettes for men and none for women.

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Today in World War II History—September 23, 1941

Battleship USS Massachusetts, Battleship Cove, Fall River MA (Photo: Sarah Sundin, July 2014)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 23, 1941: Germans declare French men who help downed British airmen will be shot; women will be sent to concentration camps.

Battleship USS Massachusetts is launched at Quincy, MA (currently a museum ship at Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA).

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Today in World War II History—September 22, 1941

King George II of Greece, 1942 (Library of Congress: fsa.8e00859)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 22, 1941: King George II of Greece and the Greek government arrive in London to form a government-in-exile.

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