Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 40

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

Interior of a B-29 Superfortress, showing the rear pressurized cabin, equipped with four bunks to give crew members a chance for rest on a long mission, June 1944 (US Air Force photo: 040315-F-9999G-003)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 26, 1939: British first use naval air warning radar, during a Luftwaffe attack on carrier HMS Ark Royal.

Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) is established in Warsaw.

80 Years Ago—Sept. 26, 1944: US 20th Bomber Command B-29 Superfortresses bomb Manchuria, the command’s largest mission to date (98 bombers).

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

German Heinkel He 111 bomber over Warsaw, September 1939 (public domain via Wikipedia)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 25, 1939: German Luftwaffe drops incendiary bombs on Warsaw, Poland.

Polish cryptographers arrive in Paris with two Enigma machines.

Germany issues new ration cards: 1 lb. meat, 5 lb. bread, ¾ lb. fats, ¾ lb. sugar, and 1 lb. coffee or ersatz coffee per week.

Bridge at Arnhem, the Netherlands after the British paratroopers had been driven back, 17-25 Sept 1944 (Imperial War Museum 5404-02 HU 2127)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 25, 1944: Operation Market Garden ends as British troops withdraw from Arnhem, the Netherlands; two-thirds of the British paratroopers have been killed or captured.

Free French troops launch an assault toward the Belfort Gap in France.

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

Flight nurse Lt. Mary Louise Hawkins, WWII (US Air Force photo)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 24, 1939: German SS Einsatzgruppe murders 800 Polish intelligentsia in Bydgoszcz.

80 Years Ago—Sept. 24, 1944: US C-47 cargo plane en route from Palau to Guadalcanal makes a forced landing on Bellona Island; flight nurse Lt. Mary Louise Hawkins treats a patient’s severed trachea using parts from a life vest, all 24 patients survive; Hawkins receives the Distinguished Flying Cross. (Read more about flight nursing—“Medical Air Evacuation in World War—The Flight Nurse.”)

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

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

Sigmund Freud, 1922 (public domain via Wikipedia)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 23, 1939: Sigmund Freud dies in London of cancer of the mouth and jaw, age 83; he had left Nazi-occupied Austria the year before.

Polish cavalry retakes Krasnobrod, one of the last battles in military history between opposing cavalry.

80 Years Ago—Sept. 23, 1944: Soviets reach the Gulf of Riga on the Baltic.

Soviets enter Hungary near Arad.

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

Today in World War II History—September 22, 1939 & 1944

British poster, WWII

85 Years Ago—Sept. 22, 1939: Britain begins rationing petrol (provides for driving 100-200 miles per month).

London officials report car accidents have tripled since the blackout started.

CBS radio correspondent Edward R. Murrow first uses his catchphrase “This is London.”

North anchorage at Ulithi Atoll seen from Sorlen Island, 1945 (US Navy photo)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 22, 1944: In the Pacific, US 81st Infantry Division lands on Ulithi Atoll unopposed, to be used as a supply base.

Allied ships arrive off Guernsey to arrange the surrender of the Channel Islands, which have become cut off from France; German commander Gen. Rudolf Graf von Schmettow refuses to meet the Allied envoys.

The post Today in World War II History—September 22, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—September 21, 1939 & 1944

Armand Călinescu, 1938 (public domain via Wikipedia)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 21, 1939: German SS Gen. Reinhard Heydrich produces plan to remove Polish Jews, intelligentsia, clergy, and nobility to ghettoes.

In Romania, fascist Iron Guard assassinates Prime Minister Armand Călinescu for supporting Poland.

The bridge over the Nederrijn near Arhnem, the Netherlands, circa 19 September 1944 (Imperial War Museum: 4909-06 MH 2061)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 21, 1944: In Operation Market Garden, Germans retake bridge in Arnhem from British paratroopers.

US Navy Task Force 38 carrier aircraft strike Manila Harbor in the Philippines, sinking 28 Japanese ships.

The post Today in World War II History—September 21, 1939 & 1944 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—September 20, 1939 & 1944

Cromwell tanks of Guards Armoured Division, British XXX Corps driving toward Nijmegen, the Netherlands, 20 September 1944 (Imperial War Museum: 4700-29 B 10131)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 20, 1939: Germany announces Jews must surrender radios.

Over France, the first aerial engagement of the war between the RAF and the Luftwaffe takes place.

80 Years Ago—Sept. 20, 1944: In Operation Market Garden, British ground troops and US 82nd Airborne take Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

In British Eighth Army area, Indian troops occupy the Republic of San Marino.

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Today in World War II History—September 19, 1939 & 1944

Men of the Guards Armoured Division of the British XXX Corps passing through Grave, the Netherlands, 19 Sept 1944 (Imperial War Museum 4700-29 B 10133)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 19, 1939: Japanese use poison gas against Chinese troops along Sinchiang River in drive to Changsha, China.

BBC premiere of “It’s That Man Again,” popular comedy program about “Ministry of Aggravation and Misery,” popularizes phrase “Ta-ta for now (TTFN).”

80 Years Ago—Sept. 19, 1944: Belgian Parliament meets for the first time since 1940.

US Ninth Army clears Brittany region of France.

In Operation Market Garden, British ground troops link with US 82nd Airborne Division at Grave, the Netherlands.

Germans begin arresting 10,000 Danish policemen for refusing to protect enterprises from the Danish resistance; 2,000 will be sent to concentration camps, where 81-90 will die.

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Today in World War II History—September 18, 1939 & 1944

German Army Lt. Gen. Heinz Guderian and Russian Army Brig. Gen. Semyon Krivoshein in victory parade in Brest-Litovsk, Poland, 22 Sept 1939 (German Federal Archive, Bild 101I-121-0011A-23)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 18, 1939: German and Soviet troops link at Brest-Litovsk, Poland.

Polish cryptographers flee for Paris with vital information on German Enigma codes.

People of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, dance in the town square after liberation, 20 Sept 1944 (Imperial War Museum 4905-03 TR 2369)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 18, 1944: In Operation Market Garden, British ground troops link with US 101st Airborne Division in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

US Ninth Army takes crucial port of Brest, France.

South of Sumatra, submarine HMS Tradewind sinks Japanese army cargo ship Junyo Maru; 5620 killed, including Javanese slave laborers and 1477 Allied POWs, the worst maritime loss in history to date.

US troops fighting in Brest, Brittany, France, September 1944 (US Army Center of Military History)

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Today in World War II History—September 17, 1939 & 1944

Sinking of HMS Courageous, 17 September 1939 (public domain via WW2 Database)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 17, 1939: The Soviet Union (allied with Germany) invades Poland, surrounding Polish troops.

Over 150 Polish military and civilian planes fly to Romania; the pilots will make their way to Britain to fight again.

Off the Irish coast, German U-boat U-29 sinks British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous, 518 killed, the first British capital ship sunk in WWII and the world’s first carrier lost in combat.

US C-47 Skytrains towing Waco CG-4 gliders over Bergeijk, Holland en route the Operation Market Garden landings near Eindhoven, 17 September 1944 (US National Archives)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 17, 1944: Operation Market Garden begins: 20,000 US and British paratroopers land in Nijmegen, Eindhoven, and Arnhem in the Netherlands, with a British ground offensive designed to link with the airborne units.

In Italy, US Fifth Army breaks the German Gothic Line at Il Giogo Pass.

Britain relaxes blackout regulations except along coast—half-lighting, with blackout only when air raid alarm sounds.

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