Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 30

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

Destroyed US P-47 fighter planes at Metz-Frescaty Airfield, France, 1 Jan 1945 (US Army Air Force photo)

85 Years Ago—Jan. 1, 1940: In the Rose Parade, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy serve as grand marshals.

Britain expands conscription to men aged 20-27, adding two million potential draftees.

Joseph Stalin appears on cover of Time Magazine as Man of the Year for 1939.

80 Years Ago—Jan. 1, 1945: In Operation Bodenplatte, 900 Luftwaffe aircraft strafe Allied airfields in France and Belgium, destroying 465 aircraft but losing 234 with an irreplaceable loss of experienced pilots.

Herbert Hoover serves as grand marshal of the Tournament of Roses—the parade is not held due to the war, however.

The post Today in World War II History—January 1, 1940 & 1945 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 31, 1939 & 1944

Finnish troops gathering captured Soviet weapons, Taipale, Finland, 27-28 Dec 1939 (public domain via Wikipedia)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 31, 1939: Finnish 9th Division secures Suomussalmi, Finland, after the Soviets retreat.

Britain bans sirens and horns for New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Map of German Nordwind offensive, Dec. 31, 1944-Jan. 25, 1945 (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—Dec. 31, 1944: Germans launch Nordwind offensive just before midnight against US Seventh and French Armies in Alsace, the last major German offensive of the war.

In the US, rationing is tightened again on meats, fats, and canned vegetables due to the Battle of the Bulge.(Read more: “Meat and Cheese Rationing in World War II,” “Rationing of Butter, Fats & Oils in World War II,” and “Rationing of Canned Goods in World War II.”)

US poster, 1943

The post Today in World War II History—December 31, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 30, 1939 & 1944

Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe and Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard II at Bastogne, Belgium, late Dec 1944 (US War Dept. photo)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 30, 1939: Movie premiere of Of Mice and Men, starring Burgess Meredith, Betty Field, and Lon Chaney Jr.

80 Years Ago—Dec. 30, 1944: Germans attack Bastogne, Belgium, but US forces hold firm.

Second of two German spies (Erich Gimpel) who landed in Maine by U-boat on November 29 is arrested by the FBI in New York City; William Colepaugh had turned himself in on December 26.

The post Today in World War II History—December 30, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 29, 1939 & 1944

Finnish ski patrol, lying in the snow on the outskirts of a wood in Northern Finland, on the alert for Soviet troops, 12 January 1940. (Imperial War Museum)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 29, 1939: In the Soviet-Finnish Winter War, Finnish ski troops tear up the Leningrad-Murmansk rail line.

Movie premieres of Destry Rides Again, starring Jimmy Stewart & Marlene Dietrich, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Charles Laughton & Maureen O’Hara.

80 Years Ago—Dec. 29, 1944: In Italy, Germans retreat in Serchio Valley after counterattack against US Fifth Army.

The post Today in World War II History—December 29, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 28, 1939 & 1944

Consolidated XB-24 Liberator in flight, 1939. (US Air Force photo)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 28, 1939: First flight of the Consolidated XB-24 Liberator, at Lindbergh Field, San Diego, CA, the prototype for what will be America’s most-produced four-engine heavy bomber of the war.

The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom

80 Years Ago—Dec. 28, 1944: Corrie ten Boom is released from Ravensbrück concentration camp due to a clerical error; she will later write The Hiding Place about her experiences.

Musical On the Town premieres on Broadway, featuring hit song “New York, New York (It’s a Wonderful Town).”

The post Today in World War II History—December 28, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 27, 1939 & 1944

Hungarian troops man a 7.5 cm Pak 40 antitank gun in a Budapest suburb, Nov 1944 (German Federal Archive: Bild 146-1986-064-15)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 27, 1939: US State Department protests British removal and censorship of US mail from neutral ships.

First Indian troops arrive in France to join the British Expeditionary Force.

80 Years Ago—Dec. 27, 1944: Soviets encircle Budapest, Hungary, beginning 102-day siege.

Red Cross vessel Vega arrives in Guernsey in the German-occupied Channel Islands with 750 tons of supplies, preventing starvation in the besieged island; will arrive in Jersey three days later.

The post Today in World War II History—December 27, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 26, 1939 & 1944

Soldiers of US Third Army fighting to relieve besieged troops at Bastogne, Belgium, Dec. 1944 (US Army photo)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 26, 1939: First Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel arrive for service in Britain.

80 Years Ago—Dec. 26, 1944: US Third Army under Patton opens a corridor to Bastogne, relieving the defenders.

German Ardennes Offensive grinds to a halt due to stiff opposition and to supply problems caused by Allied bombing.

In Italy, Germans launch a counterattack against the US Fifth Army in the Serchio Valley, retaking territory.

US Army allows Blacks to volunteer for combat infantry duty in Black platoons in existing white units.

Tennessee Williams’s play The Glass Menagerie premieres in Chicago.

The post Today in World War II History—December 26, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 25, 1939 & 1944

Finnish Army Lieutenant Aarne Juutilainen and his company holding a Christmas service near the Kollaa River, Finland, 24 Dec 1939 (public domain via Wikipedia)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 25, 1939: For Christmas in Britain, midnight church services are cancelled so stained glass windows won’t have to be blacked out, carolers are not allowed to use handbells, and the carol service at Westminster Abbey is cancelled since the choirboys have been evacuated from London.

Soviets attempt to break out at Suomussalmi, Finland, but fail.

Soldiers of the 463rd Combat Engineers in France near the German border observe Christmas, 25 Dec 1944; note K-ration cans as ornaments (US Army Signal Corps photo)

80 Years Ago—Dec. 25, 1944: US Sixth Army lands at Palompon on Leyte in the Philippines, cutting off the last Japanese port on the island and ending the assault phase of the campaign.

The post Today in World War II History—December 25, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 24, 1939 & 1944

Lt. Col. Frederick Castle, before 10 June 1944 (US Air Force Historical Support Division)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 24, 1939: On Christmas Eve, Pope Pius XII appeals for peace.

80 Years Ago—Dec. 24, 1944: In the largest mission of the war, 2,034 heavy bombers & 863 fighters of the US Eighth Air Force, plus 500 RAF bombers, hit German targets in the Ardennes.

Brig. Gen. Frederick Castle, commander of the US 4th Combat Bombardment Wing in the Eighth Air Force, dies in a B-17 crash in Belgium after giving his crew time to bail out; he will receive the Medal of Honor.

Two-day Guam Riot begins: white Marines open fire at Black Marines who had been talking to Asian women; two Blacks will be killed in armed riots and 43 Blacks—and no whites—will be court-martialed.

The San Francisco Ballet performs the first full-length performance of The Nutcracker ever in the US.

The post Today in World War II History—December 24, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—December 23, 1939 & 1944

Troops of US 101st Airborne Division watching C-47 Skytrain aircraft delivering supplies to their unit, Bastogne, Belgium, 26 Dec 1944 (US Army Signal Corps: 415376)

85 Years Ago—Dec. 23, 1939: British form Military Intelligence Section 9 (MI9) to aid resistance fighters, downed airmen, and POWs in Nazi-occupied countries.

Map noting the objective of and actual ground gained during the German Ardennes Offensive, 16-26 Dec 1944. (US Army)

80 Years Ago—Dec. 23, 1944: In the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans reach the maximum range of their offensive, within 3 miles of the Meuse River.

US C-47 cargo planes drop supplies, including medical supplies, into surrounded Bastogne, Belgium.

In US, all horse and dog racing is banned to save labor, effective January 3, 1945.

At Papago Park camp in Arizona, 25 German POWs escape, ecstatic about successes in the Battle of the Bulge, but their plan to float down a river to Mexico goes awry due to the riverbed being dry; all are recaptured by January 28, 1945.

The post Today in World War II History—December 23, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.