Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 348
March 28, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 28, 1940 & 1945
B-24M Liberator “Second Chance II” of US 8th Air Force over Zossen, Germany, Mar 15 1945. (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—Mar. 28, 1940: Britain and France agree not to make separate peace treaties with Germany.
70 Years Ago—Mar. 28, 1945: Soviets take crucial port of Gdynia on the Baltic. US Eighth Air Force flies final bombing mission to Berlin. Japanese-trained Burma National Army under Aun San revolts and joins Allies.
March 27, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 27, 1940 & 1945
Michael Savage (public domain)
75 Years Ago—Mar. 27, 1940: New Zealand prime minister Michael Savage dies of cancer, and is replaced by Peter Fraser.
70 Years Ago—Mar. 27, 1945: Last German V-2 rockets land in Britain—in London (131 killed) and in Kent; Ivy Millichamp is last British civilian killed during the war. US Eighth Army takes Cebu City, second largest city in the Philippines. Ella Fitzgerald records “It’s Only a Paper Moon.”
US Eighth Army landing at Cebu, 27 March 1945 (US Army Center of Military History)
March 26, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 26, 1940 & 1945
Men of the US 77th Division landing from LVTs onto Zanami Island of the Kerama Islands near Okinawa, Japan, 27 Mar 1945. (US Army photo)
75 Years Ago—Mar. 26, 1940: Canadian election returns Mackenzie King as prime minister. First flight of Curtiss C-46 Commando cargo plane in St. Louis MO.
70 Years Ago—Mar. 26, 1945: US Eighth Army lands on Cebu in Philippines. US Tenth Army lands on Kerama Islands 15 miles west of Okinawa to build artillery base; seizes 350 kamikaze torpedo boats. David Lloyd George, British prime minister during WWI, dies at age 83
March 25, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 25, 1940 & 1945
75 Years Ago—Mar. 25, 1940: US allows sale of military aircraft to the Allies. Britain doubles butter ration to ½ pound per week.
70 Years Ago—Mar. 25, 1945: US Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy flies its last strategic mission of war: 650 bombers hit Prague and Cheb, Czechoslovakia. German SS troops behind US lines assassinate Allied-backed mayor of Aachen, Germany.
March 24, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 24, 1945
C-47 transports releasing hundreds of paratroopers and their supplies over the Rees-Wesel region, Germany during Operation Varsity, 24 Mar 1945. (Imperial War Museum)
70 Years Ago—Mar. 24, 1945: US Ninth Army crosses the Rhine at 0200; in Operation Varsity, 17,000 British & US airborne troops drop east of the Rhine at 1000 and link with British & US land forces. US Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy sends 660 bombers to Berlin for first time as a diversion for Rhine crossings. The escorting 332nd Fighter Group (the African-American Tuskegee Airmen), shoots down 3 German Me 262 jets and earns Distinguished Unit Citation.
March 23, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 23, 1940 & 1945
Men of the British 1st Cheshire Regiment crossing the Rhine River with Buffalo tracked landing vehicles at Wesel, Germany, 24 Mar 1945. (Imperial War Museum)
75 Years Ago—Mar. 23, 1940: Germany requires car owners to donate batteries and requires church bells to be melted down. Radio premiere of Truth or Consequences on CBS.
70 Years Ago—Mar. 23, 1945: Montgomery’s British Second Army crosses Rhine at Wesel, Germany. French Gen. Charles de Gaulle grants limited self-government to French Indochina.
March 22, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 22, 1945
US troops crossing the Rhine under fire at Sankt Goar, Germany, late Mar 1945. (US National Archives)
70 Years Ago—Mar. 22, 1945: Gen. George Patton’s US Third Army crosses Rhine at Nierstein & Oppenheim at night, surprising the Germans. US Eighth Army secures Panay in the Philippines.
March 21, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 21, 1940 & 1945
Ohka at Planes of Fame Museum, Chino CA, November 2014. (Photo: Sarah Sundin)
75 Years Ago—Mar. 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud becomes new French prime minister. First German merchant ship sunk by British sub: British sub Ursula sinks German freighter Heddernheim.
70 Years Ago—Mar. 21, 1945: Japanese use rocket-powered Ohka kamikaze plane for first time, but cause little damage to US fleet.
March 20, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 20, 1940 & 1945
Adm. Lord Louis Mountbatten addressing men of British Royal Armoured Corps, Mandalay, Burma, 21 Mar 1945 (Imperial War Museum)
75 Years Ago—Mar. 20, 1940: French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier resigns after vote of no confidence from Parliament.
70 Years Ago—Mar. 20, 1945: On Luzon, a force of Filipinos takes San Fernando, led by US Col. Russell Volckmann, who refused to surrender to the Japanese in 1942. British & Indian troops take Mandalay, Burma.
March 19, 2015
Today in World War II History—March 19, 1940 & 1945
Damaged carrier USS Franklin, off Japan, 19 Mar 1945; photograph taken from cruiser Santa Fe. (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—Mar. 19, 1940: The Royal Air Force bombs a seaplane base at Hörnum and Sylt Island, the first bombs to land on German soil during the war.
70 Years Ago—Mar. 19, 1945: Hitler issues “Nero Decree” for scorched-earth retreat—Germans to destroy factories, railroads, and bridges, but it is largely ignored. Off Honshu, Japan, kamikazes damage carrier USS Franklin, killing about 800.
