Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 337
July 8, 2015
Today in World War II History—July 8, 1940 & 1945
Grounded Dutch submarine O-19, 8 July 1945 (US Navy photo)
75 Years Ago—July 8, 1940: Britain begins tea rationing (two ounces per person per week), which won’t end until 1952.
70 Years Ago—July 8, 1945: Only international sub-to-sub rescue in history: USS Cod rescues crew of grounded Dutch sub O-19 in South China Sea. US guard Clarence Bertucci machine-guns a tent of sleeping German POWs in Utah; 8 are killed.
July 7, 2015
Today in World War II History—July 7, 1940 & 1945
French battleship Richelieu at Dakar, 1941 (US Navy photo)
75 Years Ago—July 7, 1940: At Dakar, French West Africa, British torpedo bombers damage French battleship Richelieu when she refuses to surrender. British disarm all French ships in Alexandria, Egypt. British actors in America are ordered to come home and report for the draft.
70 Years Ago—July 7, 1945: Soviet Capt. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is sentenced to 8 years of labor for his private criticism of Stalin.
July 6, 2015
Today in World War II History—July 6, 1940 & 1945
German U-boat U-37 at Lorient, France, 1940 (German Federal Archive: Bild 101II-MW-1032-11A)
75 Years Ago—July 6, 1940: First German U-boat base opens in France, at Lorient; first U-boat (U-30) arrives.
70 Years Ago—July 6, 1945: Nicaragua becomes the first nation to ratify the United Nations Charter. US President Harry Truman establishes the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor for civilians.
July 5, 2015
Today in World War II History—July 5, 1940 & 1945
US Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Australian Prime Minister John Curtin meet at Australian Parliament House, 26 March 1942 (Australian government, public domain)
75 Years Ago—July 5, 1940: Vichy France breaks relations with United Kingdom. In occupied France, Germans ban signs of national identity: the Tricolor flag, the “Marseillaise,” and berets.
70 Years Ago—July 5, 1945: Gen. Douglas MacArthur proclaims the end of the campaign in the Philippines. Australian Prime Minister John Curtin dies at age 60.
July 4, 2015
Today in World War II History—July 4, 1940 & 1945
British and Russian soldiers on the balcony of the Chancellery, same spot where Hitler made many of his speeches, Berlin, Germany, 5 Jul 1945 (Imperial War Museum)
75 Years Ago—July 4, 1940: At Portland, England, the Luftwaffe sinks antiaircraft ship HMS Foylebank (176 killed). After the Luftwaffe destroys a British convoy off Sussex, Churchill orders fighter protection for convoys. At the New York World’s Fair, a bomb explodes in the British Pavilion, killing 2 policemen; the case is never solved and was possibly caused by sabotage.
70 Years Ago—July 4, 1945: British occupation forces arrive in Berlin. Canadian troops riot in Aldershot, England, over not being shipped home; no damage or injuries.
July 3, 2015
Today in World War II History—July 3, 1940 & 1945
Smoke rising from French battleship Bretagne, Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria, 3 Jul 1940
75 Years Ago—July 3, 1940: British seize all French ships at port in Britain to prevent them from falling into Nazi hands. At Mers-el-Kébir Algeria, when French warships refuse to surrender, British warships sink French battleship Bretagne and French destroyer Mogador and damage two battleships—1200 are killed.
70 Years Ago—July 3, 1945: Australians secure Balikpapan oil fields on Borneo.
Private Aubrey Carl Kotz and Private W. Spence of 7 Platoon, A Company, Australian 2/10 Battalion during Battle of Balikpapan, Borneo, 3 Jul 1945 (Australian War Memorial)
July 2, 2015
Today in World War II History—July 2, 1940 & 1945
Arandora Star
75 Years Ago—July 2, 1940: Off Ireland, U-47 sinks British ocean liner Arandora Star; 805/1673 killed, mostly Axis POWs, civilian internees, and Jewish refugees. US Congress passes Export Control Act, giving president power to control or ban exports of munitions and critical materials. Hatch Shell dedicated on Boston Esplanade—the amphitheater which hosts the Boston Pops Fourth of July concert.
70 Years Ago—July 2, 1945: USS Barb attacks Kaihyo Island with the first use of rockets by a sub against shore installations.
July 1, 2015
Today in World War II History—July 1, 1940 & 1945
Scene of destruction in the Linden Passage, the famous Berlin, Germany shopping area on the Unter den Linden, 3 Jul 1945 (Imperial War Museum)
75 Years Ago—July 1, 1940: Vichy government set up in Vichy, France, in collaboration with Nazi Germany. Beginning of the “Happy Time” for German U-Boats, as they successfully hunt British shipping, to last through October.
70 Years Ago—July 1, 1945: Australians land at Balikpapan, Borneo in the final amphibious landing of the war. US occupation forces arrive in Berlin. US resumes production of cars, with the first rolling off assembly line August 30.
June 30, 2015
Today in World War II History—June 30, 1940 & 1945
German troops in the Channel Islands (German Federal Archive)
75 Years Ago—June 30, 1940: Germans occupy Guernsey in the British Channel Islands. Evacuation of European women and children from Hong Kong begins. US establishes Fish and Wildlife Services.
70 Years Ago—June 30, 1945: In the Philippines, Luzon is declared secure, although pockets of resistance remain until the end of the war. Organized Japanese resistance ends on Mindanao in the Philippines.
June 29, 2015
Today in World War II History—June 29, 1940 & 1945
Map depicting the proposed invasion routes of Operations Olympic and Coronet; Japanese defensive positions were as of Aug 1945. (US Military Academy)
75 Years Ago—June 29, 1940: Japan declares the South Seas to be in its sphere of influence. Roosevelt signs the Alien Registration Act; 5 million foreigners will register and be fingerprinted. New song in the Top Ten: “Fools Rush In.”
70 Years Ago—June 29, 1945: President Truman approves the invasion of Japan, with Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyushu, to start November 1, 1945, and Operation Coronet, the invasion of Honshu, to start March 1, 1946.
