Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 41

Today in World War II History—September 16, 1939 & 1944

German Army horses towing an infantry gun, Poland, September 1939 (German Federal Archive, Bild 183-S54817)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 16, 1939: In Poland, Germans take Brest-Litovsk and surround Warsaw.

First German U-boat attack on an Allied North Atlantic convoy; U-31 sinks British freighter Aviemore in convoy OB-4 off Land’s End.

German Army Ordnance tasks scientists with exploring nuclear power for bombs or energy; Nuclear Physics Research Group formed, also called Uranverein (Uranium Club).

80 Years Ago—Sept. 16, 1944: Soviets launch assault toward Gulf of Riga on the Baltic.

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Published on September 16, 2024 01:00

Today in World War II History—September 15, 1939 & 1944

US Marines on Orange Beach on Peleliu, 15 September 1944 (US Marine Corps)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 15, 1939: Aviator Charles Lindbergh makes his first radio broadcast opposing US involvement in the war.

African-American Marines on Peleliu, 15 September 1944 (US National Archives: 127-N-9527)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 15, 1944: US Marine 1st Division land on Peleliu in the Palau Islands in the Pacific.

Allied forces from Operation Dragoon (landings in southern France) are transferred from the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) to the European Theater of Operations (ETO).

First American Red Cross clubmobile serves doughnuts and coffee in Germany, in Roetgen.

American Red Cross clubmobile serves coffee and donuts to US troops in Britain, WWII (Photo via American Air Museum in Britain)

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Published on September 15, 2024 01:00

Today in World War II History—September 14, 1939 & 1944

T/Sgt. Joe Trdenic of US 36th Infantry Division receives gift from 11-year-old Therese Grenier in Luxeuil, France, 16 Sept 1944 (US Army Center of Military History)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 14, 1939: Off the Hebrides, German submarine U-39 attacks carrier HMS Ark Royal but misses and is sunk by British destroyers Faulknor, Foxhound, and Firedrake, the first U-boat sunk in WWII.

Germans take Gdynia, the only remaining Polish port.

80 Years Ago—Sept. 14, 1944: Operation Dragoon, the Allied campaign in southern France, concludes: 131,000 German POWs have been taken, 40% of Army Group G.

Mutiny trial begins for 50 Port Chicago sailors at Treasure Island, CA (Read more: “The Port Chicago Disaster—The Mutiny Trial”).

Great Atlantic Hurricane kills 390 from North Carolina to New England and sinks 2 US Coast Guard cutters.

US Army Air Force A-20 Hurricane Hunter becomes the first aircraft to intentionally penetrate a hurricane to collect data.

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Published on September 14, 2024 01:00

Today in World War II History—September 13, 1939 & 1944

German Ju-87 Stukas over Poland, September 1939 (German Federal Archives, Bild 183-1987-1210-502)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 13, 1939: Germans resume offensive on Warsaw, Poland.

Stained glass in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is removed for safekeeping.

British civilians are allowed to carry torches (flashlights) in blackout if screened with tissue paper.

Leopold Canal, Belgium (Library and Archives Canada)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 13, 1944: In Belgium, Canadians cross Leopold Canal and Canal de Derivation, while British cross Meuse-Escaut Canal.

Nazis execute four female agents of the British SOE: Noor Inayat Khan, Yolande Beekman, Madeleine Damerment, and Éliane Plewman.

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Published on September 13, 2024 01:00

Today in World War II History—September 12, 1939 & 1944

Gov. Gen. of Canada Alexander Cambridge, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King at the Octagon Conference in Québec, 12 September 1944 (Library and Archives, Canada: C-021525)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 12, 1939: Anglo-French Supreme War Council agrees to postpone military operations from France.

80 Years Ago—Sept. 12, 1944: Romania signs an armistice with the Allies and agrees to fight Germany.

First German city falls to the Allies as the US First Army takes Roetgen.

In Normandy, Canadians take crucial port of Le Havre; due to damage, the port won’t open for four weeks.

Ships of US Task Force 38 strike Cebu in the Philippines, sinking over 40 Japanese ships.

Octagon Conference begins in Québec between US, UK, and Canada.

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Published on September 12, 2024 01:00

Today in World War II History—September 11, 1939 & 1944

Map of the Allied campaign in Northwest Europe, 26 Aug.-14 Sept. 1944 (US Military Academy)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 11, 1939: Polish submarines are ordered to break through to Britain or to be interned in Sweden; many will fight for the Allies.

“Lord Haw Haw” (US-born British subject William Joyce) begins broadcasting anti-British propaganda to Britain on “Germany Calling” radio show on Radio Hamburg.

80 Years Ago—Sept. 11, 1944: US First Army reaches the Siegfried Line at the German border and crosses into Germany north of Trier.

At Saulieu, France, official contact is made between Overlord forces (landed in Normandy 6/6/44) and Dragoon forces (landed in southern France 8/15/44); Allied front now runs from the English Channel to the Swiss border to the Mediterranean.

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Published on September 11, 2024 01:00

Today in World War II History—September 10, 1939 & 1944

Canadian recruiting poster, WWII

85 Years Ago—Sept. 10, 1939: Canada declares war on Germany, the first time Canada has ever declared war.

The Battle of the Atlantic officially begins; this naval battle between the Allies and the Axis will last until V-E Day.

US troops carrying supplies on the Gothic Line (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 10, 1944: US First Army liberates Luxembourg.

In Italy, US Fifth Army launches offensive toward Bologna on the German “Gothic Line.”

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Published on September 10, 2024 01:00

Today in World War II History—September 9, 1939 & 1944

German troops in a Polish town, September 1939 (German Federal Archive, Bild 101I-012-0037-23A)

85 Years Ago—Sept. 9, 1939: Battle of Bzura (Kutno): Polish Army makes sole offensive of war, forcing Germans to withdraw from Warsaw.

First troops of British Expeditionary Force sail in convoy to France.

Surprise sneak preview of Gone with the Wind is held at the Fox Theater in Riverside, CA; producer David O. Selznick gauges the audience reaction.

Coldstream Guards, British Expeditionary Force landing at Cherbourg, France, Sept.-Oct. 1939 (Imperial War Museum: O.87)

80 Years Ago—Sept. 9, 1944: Canadians overrun German rocket bases on the Belgian coast.

US First Army enters the Netherlands near Maastricht.

Near Brest, France, four men of the US 2nd Ranger Battalion, led by Lt. Robert Edlin, with lots of bluffing and bravado, take Batterie Graf Spee at Locrist without firing a shot—and take 814 POWs.