- September 6
- In the Caribbean Sea, north-west of Netherlands Antilles, German submarine U-164 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship John A. Holloway. [27.20]
- September 7
- In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off Cap Chat, German submarine U-517 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Oakton. [27.20]
- In the St. Lawrence River, Canada, submarine U-165 torpedoes and sinks Canadian armed yacht HMCS Raccoon, while escorting Convoy QS-33. [27.12,20] [451.54]
- September 9
- Adolf Hitler dismisses Field Marshal Wilhelm List of Army Group A, taking personal command. [166.332] (September 10 [277.153])
- Japanese submarine I-25 launches a Yokasuka E14Y floatplane off Oregon, bombing the coast. (This, and another strike on September 29, are the only enemy bombings of the continental US during the war.) [87.73]
- The Canadian government closes the Gulf of St. Lawrence to ocean shipping, due to dangers of submarine attacks, and the need of escort ships elsewhere. [27.13,20] [400.46] [559.34]
- September 11
- In the St. Lawrence River, near Cap Chat, Quebec, Canada, submarine U-517 torpedoes and sinks Royal Canadian Navy corvette Charlottetown. Ten die. [27.12,20] [35.34] [451.54]
- (evening) 479 British aircraft attack Düsseldorf. 20,000 are made homeless. [84.151]
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
- September 12
- German submarine U-156 sinks British liner Laconia in the South Atlantic, 900 miles south of Freetown, Sierra Leone, and 250 miles northeast of Ascension Island. The ship was used as a transport by the British Admiralty, with over 1500 Italian prisoners of war, 180 Polish guards, 811 British passengers and crew. (Over four days, several German submarines take on survivors and tow lifeboats, until an American Liberator plane bombs U-156 five times. As a result, Admiral Karl Dönitz gives an order to release the lifeboats and not aid survivors in the future.) [806.356]
- September 13
- South of Greenland, German submarine U-91 torpedoes Royal Canadian Navy destroyer Ottawa. 114 die, 69 are saved. [27.12,20] [451.54]
- September 14
- In the Atlantic ocean, Royal Canadian Navy destroyer Ottawa sinks as a result of torpedo hits from the previous day. [27.12,20]
- (evening) 446 British bombers attack Bremen, damaging the Focke-Wulf aircraft factory and the Lloyd dynamo factory. [84.151]
- September
- British Bomber Command begins dropping acoustic mines in addition to magnetic mines. [84.181]
- Canadian merchant ship SS Cornwallis is torpedoed in Carlyle Bay, Barbados. [117.15]
- Erwin Rommel is replaced in Africa by General George Stumme, with General Wilhelm von Thoma commanding the Africa Corps. [277.174]
- The US Navy establishes coastal convoys along the Gulf of Mexico coast. [83.63]
- American carrier Wasp is sunk off Espirito Santo. [87.86]
- September 16
- (evening) 369 British aircraft attack Essen, Germany. Fifteen bombs and a crashing plane land on the Krupps armament complex. About 37 planes are lost. [84.151]
- American B-24 Liberator plane from Ascension Island spots German submarine U-156 and bombs it, not knowing about the earlier sinking of the Laconia liner and subsequent rescue mission of the submarine. [806.366]
- September 18
- In the Caribbean Sea, off British Guyana, German submarine U-175 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Norfolk. [27.20]
- September 19
- British Bomber Command makes its first daylight raid by Mosquitoes on Berlin, Germany. [84.344]
- September 23
- (evening) British bombers attack the submarine building yard at Wismar and the nearby Dornier aircraft factory. [84.151]
- September 24
- Adolf Hitler dismisses Army Chief of Staff Franz Halder, replacing him with Lieutenant General Kurt Zeitzler. [149.305,308] [691.206] (August 24 [277.153])
- September 25
- Australian forces begin counter-attack on Japanese forces approaching Port Moresby from Buna on New Guinea. [792.23]
- Four British Mosquito bombers attempt to destroy the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo, Norway. Four bombs hit the building, but none explode. One plane is shot down. [84.151] (September 28 [84.344])
- September 27
- In London, England, the film In Which We Serve premieres at the Gaumont Haymarket theater. The film is based on the sinking of HMS Kelly off the west coast of Greece. [562.42]
- September 28
- A Royal Canadian Air Force plane destroys a Japanese seaplane over Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. (This is the only air combat fought by Canadian planes in the North American theatre.) [459.52]
- September 29
- For the second time, Japanese submarine I-25 launches a floatplane off the coast of Oregon, bombing the coast. [87.73]
- September
- In England, Geoffrey Pyke submits a 232 page proposal to Lord Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations, to build aircraft carriers of frozen water and wood pulp, that he calls "pykrete". Code name for the vessel is Habbakuk. [101.33] [659.14]
- October 2
- (evening) British bombers attack Krefeld. [84.151]
- October 3
- German scientists make the first successful test launch of an A-4 (V-2) rocket, from Peenemünde. Supersonic speed is achieved for the first time by a liquid-propelled rocket. The rocket reaches a height of 60 miles, travelling 120 miles at over 3000 MPH, landing 2.5 miles wide of the target. [339.23,34] (October 14 [373.367])
- October 5
- (evening) 257 British bombers attack Aachen, Germany. Due to bad weather, many bombs are dropped on nearby Lutterade, Holland. [84.151]
- October 6
- German Colonel-General Friedrich Paulus, commander of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, calls a cease to the attack on the city due to losses in men and supplies. [81.19]
- (evening) Over 200 British bombers attack Osnabrück, Germany. [84.151]
- October 9
- In the St. Lawrence River, German submarine U-69 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Carolus. [27.20] [117.18]
- The British Royal Air Force begins an air offensive on Axis bases in North Africa. [223.29]
- October 10
- The USAAF makes its first raid of over 100 bombers, against Lille, France. [84.344]
- October 11
- In the Cabot Strait (Canada), German submarine U-106 torpedoes and sinks Newfoundland-registered merchant ship Waterton. [27.20]
- October 13
- German Colonel General Alfred Jodl distributes classified copies of the Commando Order to 22 senior army officers, instructing that any captured Allied soldiers participating in Commando raids in Europe or Africa are to be execited. [845.20]
- October 14
- (early) In the Cabot Strait between Nova Scotia, Canada, and Newfoundland, German submarine U-69 torpedoes and sinks Newfoundland passenger ferry SS Caribou. 136 of 237 passengers die as the ship sinks within four minutes. [27.13,20] [117.18] [400.42]
- October 15
- Japanese execute US Lieutenants Dean E. Farrow and William G. Hallmark, and Sargeant Harold A. Spatz, all part of the Doolittle raid on Japan in April. [807.13]
- October
- The United States 101st Airborne Division begins serious training in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for deployment overseas. [25.8]
- Norwegian fishing boat Arthur, with two "Chariot" manned torpedoes attached, is disabled by a storm, near Trondheim, Norway. It is just 10 miles from its target, German battleship Tirpitz. [29.101]
- October 16
- (evening) British bombers attack Cologne, Germany. Many bombs hit decoy fires set in open countryside. [84.152]
- October 17
- (dusk) 94 British Lancaster bombers fly in pairs to bomb the Schneider armament works at Le Creusot and the transformer station five miles away. Only plane is lost, which crashes into the transformer station, destroying it. Much damage is done to the armament factory. [84.152,344]
- October 20
- The office of US Alien Property Custodian operating under the "Trading With the Enemy Act" seizes shares of Union Banking Corporation in New York City, on grounds it was financing Adolf Hitler. [802.116]
- October 22
- At the northern tip of Labrador, Newfoundland, crew from German submarine U-537 establishes a small metal cylinder containing an automated weather station with an antenna mast. The device is to transmit data to Germany by morse code. The cylinder is labelled "Canadian Meteor Service" to avoid suspicion. (The device is not discovered for almost forty years. This is one of 21 stations to be installed around the world.) [559.38]
- (evening) 105 British Lancaster bombers led by eight Pathfinders attack Genoa, Italy. The eastern docks are devastated. All planes return safely. [84.152,344]
- October 23
- (evening) Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery begins an assault of the British 8th Army against German positions outside of El Alamein. The first phase is Operation Lightfoot, in which British Royal Engineers begin clearing paths through German minefields. Initial strengths of the two sides are British: 230,000 men, 1440 tanks, 1200 combat aircraft; German and Italian: 80,000 men, 490 tanks, 350 aircraft. [2.11] [166.340] [212.25] [223.24] [277.174] [766.40]
- German General George Stumme dies of a heart attack. [277.174]
- (evening) British bombers set out to attack Genoa, Italy, but due to bad weather, they instead hit Savona, 30 miles away. [84.152]
- October 24
- 88 British Lancaster bombers make a daylight raid on Milan, Italy. The Caproni aircraft factory and other targets are hit. Three planes are lost. [84.152,344]
- (dusk) 71 British bombers repeat an attack on Milan, Italy, but bad weather makes for poor results. [84.152]
- October 25
- General Erwin Rommel returns to command of German forces in North Africa. [277.174]
- German General Eberhard von Mackensen's III Panzer Corps begins an attempt to envelop Soviet 37th Army near Nalchik. They quickly cross the Baksan, Chegem, and Urvan rivers. [741.15]
- October 26
- (evening) Two German panzer divisions cross the Terek river, surprising the Soviet 37th Army, blocking roads out of Nalchik. [741.16]
- October 29
- In the North Atlantic, German submarine U-624 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Bic Island. [27.20]
- November 1
- Romania issues three postage stamps marking the 1st anniversary of the liberation of Bucovina from Russia. [343.491]
- The German 23rd Panzer Division captures Alagir in Russia, blocking the Ossetian road. [741.16]
- (evening) The British 8th Army in North Africa commences Operation Supercharge, a massive infantry attack on German defenders outside El Alamein. [223.29]
- November 2
- Off Bell Island, Newfoundland, German submarine U-518 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Rose Castle. [27.20]
- German 13th Panzer captures Gizel, five miles from objective Ordzhonikidze, in Russia. [741.16]
- November 3
- British Bomber Command makes its first operational use of the Ventura bomber. [84.344]
- German 13th Panzer Division reaches 2km from objective Ordzhonikidze, Russia. (Over the next two days, they will advance only hundreds of metres before Russian counterattacks.) [741.17]
- November 4
- In North Africa, Erwin Rommel orders his army to retreat. [2.11]
- November 5
- The British 8th Army renews its offensive against German forces in North Africa. [166.340]
- November 6
- Soviet forces at Ordzhonikidze counterattack with infantry and T-34 tanks against the overextended 13th Panzer Division, 23rd Panzer Division, and Romanian 2nd Mountain Division. [741.17]
- Heavy rains in North Africa put an end to the British 8th Army chase of Erwin Rommel's forces. [277.174]
- November 8
- (0704 hours) North of Casablanca, US battleship Massachussetts battles with two French heavy cruisers, battleship Jean Bart, and coastal batteries. [277.169]
- Operation Torch begins, as Allied forces land in Northern Africa. The Western Task Force with 24,500 Americans under Major General George Patton land at Fedala (15 miles north of Casablanca), Mehdia (55 miles south of Casablanca), and Safi (140 miles south of Casablanca). The Center Task Force with 18,500 Americans under Major General Lloyd Fredenall land near Oran. The Eastern Task Force with 9000 British and 9000 Americans and 2000 British Commandos under American Major General Charles Ryder land at Algiers. [80.322] [84.344] [149.203] [166.335] [212.25] [277.167,169] [755.8] [766.40]
- November 9
- (morning) Adolf Hitler gives German commander in the Mediterranean Albert Kesselring freedom to conduct the defence of Tunisia. [277.170]
- German forces outside Ordzhonikidze are ordered to retreat west to avoid encirclement. [741.17]
- The 64th Troop Carrier Group departs from England headed for North Africa, carrying British paratroopers. [100.29]
- November 11
- Admiral François Darlan, senior French officer in North Africa, signs a cease-fire ending French fighting in the area. [277.169] [519.1945]
- Adolf Hitler launches Operation Anton, with German forces occupying the remainder of France and the island of Corsica. (The operation is complete in three days.) [38.85] [84.344] [166.340] [277.170] [382.30b]
- Spain mobilizes its army along the French border. [38.85]
- British General Anderson sends a force to capture Bougie port, 110 miles east of Algiers. [277.171]
- November 12
- The 64th Troop Carrier Group drops its British paratroopers at Bône airfield. The airfield and Bougie harbor are captured, 60 miles from the Tunisian border. [100.29] [277.171]
- November 13
- In North Africa, the British 8th Army takes Tobruk. [80.322] [166.341] [212.25]
- (about 1110 hours) US light cruiser USS Juneau is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-26 off Guadalcanal with the loss of about 600. About 100 survivors are left behind by other US ships fearing further submarine attacks. (Only ten survive to be picked up on an island a week later.) [697.35]
- November 15
- German General Walther Nehring takes command of the 90th Corps, in charge of Tunisia. [277.171]
- November
- British forces destroy German submarine U-517 in eastern Atlantic and capture captain Paul Hartwig. [400.49]
- During the month, British bombers make four raids on Genoa, Italy, and Four on Turin. Heavy damage is done to the Fiat works, the Lancia works, the State Railway works, and the Royal Arsenal. [84.152]
- November 17
- The Stoneage convoy leaves Alexandria for Malta. [212.25] [519.1943]
- The office of US Alien Property Custodian operating under the "Trading With the Enemy Act" seizes Silesian-American Corporation, charging the company with being a Nazi front company supplying coal to Germany. [802.117]
- November 19
- Soviet counteroffensives with one million soldiers north and south of Stalingrad break through the German and Romanian armies. [78.271] [80.321] [81.21] [166.335] [277.146,154]
- During the night, the Stoneage convoy arrives undamaged at Malta from Alexandria. [212.25] [519.1933,1943]
- November 20
- Adolf Hitler appoints Field Marshal Erich von Manstein to head Army Group Don, ordering him to restore positions along the Don River, and relieve forces in Stalingrad. [149.309] [166.335]
- November 22
- (evening) Adolf Hitler orders the Germany 6th Army to stay in Stalingrad, despite commander Friedrich Paulus insisting they do have the strength or supplies to defend their position. [80.321]
- November 23
- Soviet forces complete encircling German forces in Stalingrad, holding 250,000 Germans and Romanians in 22 divisions in a 25 by 30 mile oval. [81.21] [166.335] [277.155] (November 21 [78.271])
- November 24
- Adolf Hitler repeats his order for the German 6th Army to remain in Stalingrad, after assurances from Hermann Göring that the Luftwaffe could supply them adequately. [80.321] [81.23]
- November 25
- British General Anderson begins an offensive on Tunis, with three columns of tanks and motorized infantry. [277.172]
- November
- German General Walther Nehring orders his forces pulled back to a small bridgehead around Tunis. [277.172]
- November 27
- (0145 hours) As part of Operation Anton, eight German armored columns move out from Aix to take Toulon and the French navy ships anchored there. [487.36]
- (0530 hours) French naval fleet commander Admiral Jean de Laborde in Toulon orders the fleet scuttled and destroyed. (Battleship Marseillaise burns for seven days Cruiser Colbert burns for ten days.) [277.171] [416.E5] [487.36]
- November 28
- Albert Kesselring arrives in Tunis, and orders the German withdrawal reversed. [277.172]
- German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel flies to meet with Adolf Hitler in Rastenburg. He suggests a complete withdrawl from North Africa. [277.176]
- German Field Marshal Erich von Manstein reports to Adolf Hitler with a plan to cut a path to the 6th Army in Stalingrad, resupply it, and get it out. [277.157]
- The 60th and 64th Troop Carrier Groups drop British paratroops near the airfield at Oudra, in north Africa. (This is the last major airborne operation in north Africa.) [100.29]
- November (month)
- British Bomber Command dropped 1219 mines in the sea during the month. [84.181]
- (month unknown)
- Canadian navy escort groups temporarily cease active duty, to undergo training. [5.99]
- December 2
- Scientists at the University of Chicago in the US induce a nuclear chain reaction, proving an atomic bomb to be possible. [277.179] [766.40]
- (evening) A slow Wellington bomber is part of a British raid on Frankfurt, Germany, but not as a bomber. It is designed to be a target of German night-fighter defence attacks, so that Britain can learn more about the Liechtenstein transmission system. The plane is attacked, but makes it back to England with valuable information. [90.22]
- December 3
- Adolf Hitler replies to Erich von Manstein, refusing to allow the 6th Army to shift forces to the south west to prepare for relief forces. [277.157]
- December 6
- 93 British aircraft attack Eindhoven radio factories, hitting it hard. 14 planes are shot down. (The factories are back at full production after six months.) [84.153,344]
- December 7
- The Russian 1st Armored Corp crosses the Chir River near Surovikino. [277.158]
- December 8
- (dawn) The German 11th Panzer Division counterattacks Russian forces that crossed the Chir River, successfully holding back Russian counterattacks over four days. [277.158]
- Japan issues two semi-postal postage stamps marking the first anniversary of the Greater East Asia War. [728.112]
- The Canadian germ warfare group formally proposes producing anthrax for Britain. The proposal estimates that a new facility at Grosse Ile, Quebec, should be able to make enough for 1500 30-pound bombs per week. [51.112]
- United States President Franklin Roosevelt receives a 20-page report from Rabbi Perlzweig on the situation of Jews in Europe, stating that nearly 2 million had already been killed. [68.2]
- December 12
- An attempt to relieve the German 6th Army in Stalingrad fails. [149.203]
- Erich von Manstein launches Operation Winter Tempest, with 57th Panzer Corps of 4th Panzer Army from Kotelnikovo attacking toward Stalingrad. [277.159]
- December 14
- Adolf Hitler issues Directive number 40, for French coastal fortifications to be overhauled, and strengthened as rapidly as possible. [171.43]
- December
- British code-breakers crack the German navy Enigma code that was changed in February. [568.16] [704.31]
- The British Admiralty changes its convoy message cipher. (The German code breakers crack the code in February.) [568.16]
- American battleship Nevada, torpedoed and grounded at Pearl Harbor, returns to active duty. [148.82]
- In British Parliament, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden declares that a systematic extermination of Europe's Jews is underway by Nazi Germany. [68.2]
- A second pair of Oboe air navigation stations is completed in England. [84.156]
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a memo to the Chiefs of Staff, asking for immediate action in development of Geoffrey Pyke's ice ships. [101.34]
- December 16
- The Russian 1st Guards Army attacks Italian 8th Army on the Upper Chir River, knocking a 60 mile hole in the line, heading to Rostov. [277.159]
- December 18
- England receives a report from Stockholm, from a Danish chemical engineer who heard a conversation about German rocket development with 5 tons of explosive, and range of 200 KM. [339.44]
- Convoy JW-51A with fifteen merchant ships leaves Scotland headed for Murmansk, Soviet Union. [173.49]
- December 19
- German 57th Panzer Corps crosses the Aksai River, reaching the Miskova River, 30 miles from the Soviet siege front around Stalingrad. [277.160]
- December
- Erich von Manstein sends an urgent appeal to Adolf Hitler and Friedrich Paulus of the 6th Army in Stalingrad, asking for Paulus to drive southwest to join the 4th Panzer Army. Hitler replies allowing the move, but only if the north, east, and west fronts of Stalingrad are held. Paulus says his tanks only have enough fuel for 20 miles travel. [277.160]
- December 20
- (evening) Britain's Oboe air navigation system is tried operationally for the first time. Six Mosquito bombers attack a power station at Lutterade in Holland. Three planes succeed in their bombing. [84.157,344]
- December 22
- Soviet cease attacks on the Chir front. [277.159]
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill decides H2S, a magnetron-powered ASV (Air to Surface Vessel), should be used immediately in Bomber Command to aid in flight navigation. The system would aid bombers in locating ground targets. [84.159]
- Adolf Hitler signs a decree by Munitions Minister Albert Speer, authorizing mass-production of the A-4 (V-2) rocket. [339.48]
- Convoy JW-51B with fourteen ships leaves Scotland headed for the Soviet Union. It is escorted by six destroyers and one cruiser. [173.49]
- December 24
- French Admiral Jean Darlan is assassinated in Algiers. [575.10]
- December 27
- Soviet armies launch a major assault on German 57th Panzer Corps, forcing it to withdraw to Kotelnikovo. (This move seals the fate of the 6th Army in Stalingrad.) [277.161]
- While escorting westbound convoy ONS-154 in the North Atlantic, Royal Canadian Navy destroyer St. Laurent and corvettes Chilliwack, Battleford, and Napanee sink German submarine U-356. Over a four-day battle with twenty submarines, 14 of 45 ships are lost. [27.20] [568.17]
- December 28
- Adolf Hitler issues Directive 47, regarding command and defence measures in the South-east, including Crete, German and Italian bases in the Aegean Sea, and the Balkan peninsula. [149.204]
- December 30
- Convoy RA-51 sails from Murmansk, headed for Scotland. [173.49]
- Convoy JW-51B in the North Sea is sighted by German submarine U-354. [173.55]
- The German Navy initiates Operation Regenbogen (Rainbow), with Admiral Hipper, Lützow, and six destroyers sailing to destroy convoy JW-51B. [173.55]
- December 31
- (0915 hours) A German destroyer sights British destroyers of convoy JW-51B, and opens fire. [173.55]
- (0944 hours) In convoy JW-51B, two British destroyers fake launching a torpedo attack on Admiral Hipper, causing it to turn away from the convoy. [173.55]
- (1019 hours) Cruiser Admiral Hipper cripples British destroyer Onslow escorting convoy JW-51B. [173.55]
- (1050 hours) Cruiser Lützow nears convoy JW-51B, but does not attack due to poor visibility. [173.55]
- (1106 hours) Cruiser Admiral Hipper makes a fifth try to avoid british destroyers and attach convoy JW-51B, but again turns away for fear of torpedo attacks. [173.55]
- (1133 hours) Cruisers Sheffield and Jamaica of Force R arrive at convoy JW-51B, opening fire on the Admiral Hipper, which then withdraws to Altenfjord. [173.55]
- British cruiser Sheffield sinks German destroyer Eckholdt. [173.55]
- (1137 hours) Cruiser Admiral Hipper is hit twice on the port side. [173.55]
- German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper sinks British HMS Achates, while defending an arctic convoy. [125.108]
- (evening) Two Oboe-led British Mosquito bombers attack the German night-fighter unit headquarters near Florennes, Belgium. One hit is scored, with two near misses. [84.157]
- December (month)
- Allied and neutral shipping losses for the month: 729,000 tons. [84.162]
- Year
- Sources of Allied merchant shipping losses in the Atlantic during the year: submarines: 6,226,215 tons; total: 1664 ships, 7,790,697 tons. [173.25]
- German losses of submarines during the year: 87. [173.25]
- Japanese merchant shipping losses during the year: 1.15 million tons. [518.1916]
|