Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 25

Today in World War II History—February 15, 1940 & 1945

Map showing the clearing of the Bataan Peninsula, 12-21 February 1945 (US Army Center of Military History)

85 Years Ago—Feb. 15, 1940: Germany declares that all British merchant ships will be regarded as warships.

80 Years Ago—Feb. 15, 1945: US Sixth Army lands at Mariveles on tip of Bataan peninsula on Luzon, takes Mariveles and its airfield.

As Japanese advance, US Fourteenth Air Force evacuates the last of its eastern China airfields, can no longer raid the South China Sea.

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Today in World War II History—February 14, 1940 & 1945

Ruins of Dresden seen from the Rathaus, 15 Feb 1945 (US Army Signal Corps)

85 Years Ago—Feb. 14, 1940: The Irish Republican Army detonates five bombs in Birmingham, England, in retaliation for execution of IRA bombers; no injuries.

Food rationing begins in Vatican City.

80 Years Ago—Feb. 14, 1945: Starting late the night of February 13-14, 805 RAF bombers and 311 US Eighth Air Force B-17s bomb Dresden, Germany, starting a firestorm that kills at least 37,000.

Martial law ends in Greece after the Greek government and the communists signed a treaty two days earlier.

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Today in World War II History—February 13, 1940 & 1945

Franklin Roosevelt and King Abdul-Aziz (Ibn Saud) of Saudi Arabia aboard USS Quincy, Great Bitter Lake, Egypt, 14 Feb 1945 (US National Archives: USA C-545)

85 Years Ago—Feb. 13, 1940: Britain cracks down on unauthorized slaughterhouses (“steakeasies”) which try to circumvent rationing.

80 Years Ago—Feb. 13, 1945: Soviets take Budapest, Hungary, opening the Danube Valley for the drive to Vienna; take 110,000 POWs.

In Manila, US troops capture Nichols Field and Cavite naval base.

On his way home from the Yalta Conference, Pres. Franklin Roosevelt meets with kings Farouk of Egypt, Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, but is unable to convince them to allow Jewish settlement in Palestine.

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Today in World War II History—February 12, 1940 & 1945

British poster, WWII (National Archives, UK)

85 Years Ago—Feb. 12, 1940: British minesweeper HMS Gleaner sinks German U-boat U-33 in the Firth of Forth, capturing Enigma machine rotors.

Britain institutes paper rationing: businesses and government to decrease use by 40%.

“The Adventures of Superman” radio show premieres in the US.

WAC Major Charity E. Adams and Captain Abbie N. Campbell inspecting members of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, England, 15 Feb 1945 (US National Archives: 111-SC-20079)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 12, 1945: US Women’s Army Corps 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion arrives in Britain to resolve a backlog of mail, the only predominately black WAC unit to serve overseas in WWII.

B-29 Superfortresses of the US XXI Bomber Command begin pre-invasion bombing of Iwo Jima.

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Today in World War II History—February 11, 1940 & 1945

John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor-General of Canada, 17 Dec 1936 (National Archives of Canada: 1984-204)

85 Years Ago—Feb. 11, 1940: Soviet Union and Germany sign a treaty to exchange Soviet raw materials for German manufactured goods.

Lord Tweedsmuir (John Buchan), Governor-General of Canada and author of The 39 Steps, dies in Montréal, age 64.

Molotov and Stalin at the Yalta Conference in Yalta, USSR (now Ukraine), Feb 1945 (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum: 48223659(48))

80 Years Ago—Feb. 11, 1945: At the Yalta Conference, Stalin pledges to declare war on Japan within 3 months of the German surrender.

The post Today in World War II History—February 11, 1940 & 1945 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Midnight on the Scottish Shore Giveaway Winners

Midnight on the Scottish Shore Release Day Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to all 549 of you who entered my release day giveaway and helped me celebrate the release of my new novel, Midnight on the Scottish Shore!

The winner is…

Beth Nagy!

Beth has already been notified by email. Congratulations!

Cilla’s Cipher Disc Contest Winner!

Also, those of you who preordered Midnight on the Scottish Shore and entered for the preorder goodies received Cilla’s Cipher Disc and a code to decipher. I was thrilled to see 45 people who printed and assembled the disc and deciphered the message. And every single one of you deciphered it correctly! Wow! Those are some super deciphering skills!

The winner, chosen randomly from among the 45 correct entries is…

Martha Groeber!

Martha has already been contacted. Congratulations!

Thank you to all of you who entered and shared about the giveaways for Midnight on the Scottish Shore!

The post Midnight on the Scottish Shore Giveaway Winners first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—February 10, 1940 & 1945

Finnish soldiers on skis with reindeer, near Jäniskoski, Finland, 20 Feb 1940 (Finnish Army Picture, public domain via Wikipedia)

85 Years Ago—Feb. 10, 1940: Soviets break through Finnish Mannerheim Line on Karelian Isthmus.

US Coast Guard cutters Bibb & Duane take positions in the North Atlantic, the first vessels to make radio transmissions as weather stations.

Soviets begin deporting one million Poles & ethnic Ukrainians in Soviet-occupied Poland to Siberia and Kazakhstan; only half will survive.

Over 4,000 members of the American Youth Congress march in Washington, DC, to protest the US being drawn into “an imperialistic war”; President Roosevelt angrily confronts them.

Hanna-Barbera’s Tom & Jerry make their cartoon debut in “Puss Gets the Boot.”

German passenger ship München, later renamed Steuben, July 1925. (German Federal Archives, N 1572 Bild-1925-079 / Fleischhut, Richard)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 10, 1945: Soviet submarine S-13 sinks German transport Steuben, killing 3,800 military personnel and civilians fleeing East Prussia; S-13 also sank Wilhelm Gustloff, making sub commander Alexander Marinesko the most lethal in history and the most successful Soviet commander in tonnage.

A US P-51 deliberately damages a US C-47 to prevent the cargo plane from mistakenly landing at a Japanese airfield in the Philippines; the C-47 ditches at sea and all aboard are rescued the next day—the P-51 pilot was dating one of the flight nurses on board the C-47.

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

William Dodd after his appointment as US Ambassador to Germany, 10 June 1933 (public domain via International News Service)

85 Years Ago—Feb. 9, 1940: Ireland establishes a law to detain IRA men without trial.

William Dodd, US Ambassador to Germany 1933-37, dies of pneumonia in Virginia, age 70.

French Infantry advances into Colmar, 2 February 1945 (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 9, 1945: US Seventh & French First Armies clear the Colmar Pocket and the Alsatian Plain and drive Germans over the Rhine south of Strasbourg, France.

In rare sub vs. sub combat and the only documented case in naval history where both were submerged, British submarine HMS Venturer sinks German U-864 off Bergen, Norway.

British secure Ramree Island, Burma.

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

3rd Canadian Infantry Division amphibious vehicles on the flooded Kranenburg road, February 1945 (public domain via “Official History of the Canadian Army—Operation ‘Veritable’”)

85 Years Ago—Feb. 8, 1940: Germans establish a Jewish ghetto in Lódz in occupied Poland, restricting Jews to certain neighborhoods.

80 Years Ago—Feb. 8, 1945: Canadian First Army opens drive for the Rhine from Nijmegen in the Netherlands, often in flooded conditions.

Norwegian resistance (Milorg) kills Maj. Gen. Karl Marthinson, head of Norwegian state police.

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

British railway poster, WWII

85 Years Ago—Feb. 7, 1940: British railways are nationalized.

German General Staff recommends no research or development be pursued unless it promises military results within four months, effectively killing atomic bomb research.

Movie premiere of Disney’s Pinocchio in New York City.

Damage to the Schwammenauel Dam causes flooding of the Roer River, Feb. 1945 (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—Feb. 7, 1945: Germans blow up floodgates in the Ruhr Valley, flooding the area west of Cologne, Germany.

Japanese take US Fourteenth Air Force base in Kanchow, China.

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