Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 343
May 15, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 15, 1940 & 1945
Wartime ad about the requisition of nylon by the US government, which started in 1942.
75 Years Ago—May 15, 1940: Britain reduces weekly butter ration to 4 ounces per person. The McDonald brothers open McDonald’s Bar-B-Que in San Bernardino CA, precursor of the fast food restaurant. In the US, nylon stockings first go on the market, made by DuPont. [Nylon would be requisitioned in 1942. Read more about Stocking Shortages in World War II]
70 Years Ago—May 15, 1945: Turning point in China—Chinese troops have Japanese forces in full retreat. By end of the month, the Japanese will be pushed north of the Yellow River.
May 14, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 14, 1940 & 1945
Aerial view of the destruction at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, late May 1940. (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—May 14, 1940: The Netherlands surrenders to Germany after the bombing of Rotterdam. Britain forms Local Defence Volunteers (later called the Home Guard); more than 250,000 men aged 17-65 enroll in the first 24 hours.
70 Years Ago—May 14, 1945: Austrian Republic formed again; the Anschluss (union with Germany) is declared null and void. US Seventh War Loan starts. [Read more about World War II War Bonds]
Poster for US Seventh War Loan, 14 May-30 June 1945
May 13, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 13, 1940 & 1945
German troops crossing the Meuse River in a rubber raft, near Aiglemont, France, 14 May 1940 (German Federal Archive, Bild 146-1971-088-63)
75 Years Ago—May 13, 1940: In main attack, German troops cross the Meuse to trap Allies in the Low Countries. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill states, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat” in his first parliamentary speech as PM. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, her family, and her government flee to Britain.
70 Years Ago—May 13, 1945: US Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 58) begins raids on Kyushu, Japan, destroying the last of its airfields. Soviets crush last pockets of German resistance in Czechoslovakia.
Soviet T-34 tank in Prague, Czechoslovakia, May 1945
May 12, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 12, 1940 & 1945
German tank in the Ardennes, Belgium, May 1940 (German Federal Archive)
75 Years Ago—May 12, 1940: First tank battle on the western front, at Hannut, Belgium. Britain begins internment of adult male German and Austrian nationals living in the UK.
70 Years Ago—May 12, 1945: British troops return to Jersey in the Channel Islands. Gen. George Patton launches Operation Cowboy, rescuing 1200 horses, including 375 Lipizzans, from Soviet slaughter in Czechoslovakia. New song in the Top Ten: “Sentimental Journey.”
May 11, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 11, 1940 & 1945
75 Years Ago—May 11, 1940: Germans complete occupation of Luxembourg. Switzerland mobilizes army, while Swiss citizens living on the German border flee. British & French land in Dutch West Indies (Aruba & Curaçao) to protect oil installations; Roosevelt states actions do not violate the Monroe Doctrine.
70 Years Ago—May 11, 1945: Australians launch offensive in Wewak, the last Japanese stronghold on New Guinea, taking Wewak, its airfield, and the last Japanese port at New Guinea.
May 10, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 10, 1940 & 1945
A Dutch family in a devastated town after the German invasion, May 1940
75 Years Ago—May 10, 1940: Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg; and German troops land at Belgian Fort Eben Emael in the first use of glider-borne troops in history. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns and is replaced by Winston Churchill.
70 Years Ago—May 10, 1945: German forces on the Channel Islands officially surrender. US War Production Board lifts ban on 73 consumer items.
German troops waiting to cross the River Maas in Holland, 10 May 1940 (German Federal Archive)
May 9, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 9, 1940 & 1945
Victory celebration at Red Square, Moscow, USSR, 9 May 1945
75 Years Ago—May 9, 1940: In Nazi-occupied Poland, Jews are banned from parks, museums, restaurants, trains, and from land ownership.
70 Years Ago—May 9, 1945: German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signs unconditional surrender to the Soviets in Berlin. V-E Day celebrated by the USSR. Germans capitulate to Czech Partisans in Prague.
May 8, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 8, 1940 & 1945
Churchill waving to crowds at Whitehall, London, on the day the war with Germany was won, 8 May 1945. (Imperial War Museum)
75 Years Ago—May 8, 1940: British Labour Party calls for vote of no confidence in Chamberlain’s government. Gen. Semyon Timoshenko replaces Marshal Kliment Voroshilov as Soviet defense commissar.
70 Years Ago—May 8, 1945: V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day)—the US and the western Allies celebrate as the German surrender becomes official. Off Bergen, Norway, an RAF Catalina sinks U-320, the last U-boat sunk in war. US troops and Monument’s Men discover art stash at Altaussee, Austria, saved by Austrian civilians. US secures Leyte in the Philippines.
Ground crew on a RAF Bomber Command station in Britain return the ‘V for Victory’ sign to a neighboring searchlight crew. Silhouetted is the nose of a Lancaster bomber. (Imperial War Museum)
May 7, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 7, 1940 & 1945
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Ford Island Naval Air Station, Oahu, Hawaii, May 2, 1940 (Hawaiian Aviation Archives)
75 Years Ago—May 7, 1940: President Roosevelt orders the US fleet to stay at Pearl Harbor indefinitely as a deterrent to Japan.
70 Years Ago—May 7, 1945: Germany surrenders—Gen. Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender at Reims, France at 2:41 am, effective May 8. Last victims of Battle of Atlantic—off the British coast, U-2336 sinks Canadian transport Avondale Park and Norwegian transport Sneland I, and U-1023 sinks Norwegian minesweeper NYMS-382. Soviets take Breslau after 82-day siege. Pulitzer Prize in literature awarded to John Hersey for A Bell for Adano.
ColGen Alfred Jodl signing the documents of Germany’s surrender, Reims, France, 7 May 1945. (US Army Signal Corps)
May 6, 2015
Today in World War II History—May 6, 1940 & 1945
75 Years Ago—May 6, 1940: John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath.
70 Years Ago—May 6, 1945: German SS troops try to crush uprising in Prague, Czechoslovakia. All Italy is occupied by the Allies. Off Newfoundland, US destroyer escort Farquhar sinks U-881, the last sub sunk in the Atlantic by US forces.
