- August 12
- US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill send a telegram to Soviet leader Josef Stalin proposing conference on supplies, to be held in Moscow. [831.838]
- 54 British Blenheim bombers attack power stations near Cologne. Due to their success, power output is reduced by 10 percent for nine days. Nine planes are shot down. [84.91,342]
- Wilhelm Keitel issues a supplement to Directive No. 34. Forces in the south-east are to press ahead against forces west of the Dnieper river, and to occupy the Crimean peninsula, Donets area, and Kharkov industrial area. Central forces are to hold position but assist on north and south flanks. [149.148]
- August 14
- US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill create the Atlantic Charter, the basis for their wartime alliance. They pledge that they seek to gain no territory, they desire no territory changes outside of the choices of people, they respect the right of people to choose their own form of government, and that sovereign rights are to be restored and self-government given to those forcibly deprived of it. [166.339,354] [406.198] [416.E5] [448.147] [831.838]
- August
- D.M. Butt, of the British War Cabinet Secretariat, completes an analysis of 630 photos taken on bomber night operations. Overall, of aircraft recorded as hitting their targets, only one third had actually struck within five miles. [84.96]
- Canada's Prime Minister William King and America's President Franklin Roosevelt negotiate a mutual defence pact. [51.67]
- August 17
- Russian army abandons Black Sea ports. [747.4]
- August 18
- In England, the Butt Report on aerial photography of night bombing in June-July is released. one-quarter of crews claiming to reach targets actually did. In raids over the Ruhr, one in ten bombers dropped bombs within five miles of targets. [831.816]
- August 20
- The Spanish Blue Division (Wehrmacht 250th Infantry Division) is sent from Germany to Poland. [178.521]
- August 21
- Adolf Hitler decides against concentrating attacks on Moscow, and orders central forces south to help capture Kiev. [80.318]
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- August 23
- Japanese Kwantung Army officials and senior Japanese Army officials decide to not fight the USSR. [444.571]
- August 25
- Allied forces land on Spitsbergen, Norway. Canadian and Norwegian forces destroy the Spitsbergen coal mines, denying 500,000 tons of coal to Germany. The local Russian and Norwegian population is evacuated. [166.354] [508.1765,1785]
- British and Soviet forces occupy Persia. [277.102] [740.25]
- August 26
- Six British Blenheim bombers set out for Heligoland, as a diversion while others attack German shipping. Four planes are shot down. [84.91]
- In Canada, a Privy Council order calls for the establishment of an experimental offensive chemical warfare station in Suffield, Alberta, and for the Chemical Warfare Laboratories in Ottawa to work on defence. [51.61]
- August
- Dusko Popov, former spy of Germany, now double-agent for Britain, meets with US FBI Bureau Chief J. Edgar Hoover in Washington. Popov shows a German spy questionnaire, with a section asking detailed questions about Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, intended for Japanese intelligence use. Hoover ignores the information. [376.68]
- August 28
- Eighteen British Blenheim bombers attack Rotterdam port, hitting at least two ships, but eight planes crash. [84.92]
- August 30
- (morning) Convoy SC-42 of 62 merchant ships leaves Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, headed for England. Five more ships join the convoy near St. John's, Newfoundland. The slow-moving convoy is escorted initially by only four Canadian warships: destroyer Skeena, and corvettes Orillia, Alberni, and Kenogami. (Before reaching England, fifteen ships of 70,000 tons will be sunk, one of the worst convoy losses of the war.) [27.10] [117.13] [377.54] [442.60]
- August 31
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill informs Australia of the intention to build a Far East fleet of capital ships by the end of the year, based within the triangle Aden - Singapore - Simonstown. [439.179]
- (month unknown)
- In the chemistry lab at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a poison gas based on fluorine is discovered. The element causing the extreme toxicity is named Compound Z. (It is later cited as one of Canada's most significant contributions to chemical warfare. Its existence is kept secret for over 40 years.) [51.65]
- September 3
- British Major General Grasett proposes to the British Imperial Chief of Staff and war office Chief of Staff that the Hong Kong garrison be strengthened by two battalions from Canada. [5.58]
- September 4
- American destroyer USS Greer and a British plane attack a German submarine in the Atlantic ocean. The submarine retaliates with several off-target torpedoes. (The incident is misrepresented to the American nation as an unprovoked attack.) [127.6] [166.338] [357.42] [448.155]
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill receives a reply from Soviet leader Josef Stalin, requesting a second front in the Balkans or France. [831.839]
- September 5
- German Army Group North completes occupation of Estonia. [517.1793]
- September 6
- Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 35. Army Group South is to make a surprise movement north-west, and Army Group Centre is to launch an attack against the Russian Army east of Smolensk at the end of the month. [149.152]
- September 8
- In Russia, German forces cut off and set siege to Leningrad. (The siege lasts 900 days.) [80.317] [517.1793]
- (evening) British Admiralty diverts Atlantic convoy SC-42 north to hug the eastern coast of Greenland to avoid German submarines. [442.60]
- September 9
- In the British House of Commons, Prime Minister Winston Churchill insists that Article 3 of the Atlantic Charter could not apply to the British Empire. [529.2020]
- (2137 hours) Convoy SC-42 across the Atlantic is attacked by German submarines. U-432 torpedoes and sinks SS Muneric. Two more merchant ships are torpedoed before midnight. [5.97] [117.14] [377.54] [442.61]
- September 10
- (0210 hours) Convoy SC-42 across the Atlantic is attacked by German submarines. U-432 torpedoes and sinks SS Winterswijk. Seven more merchant ships are torpedoed by the end of the day. [377.54] [442.61]
- A proposal to send two Canadian battalions to Hong Kong reaches British prime minister Winston Churchill's desk for approval. He accepts the recommendation. [5.58]
- (1305 hours) In Convoy SC-42 across the Atlantic, Canadian destroyer Skeena seriously cripples German submarine U-85. [442.61]
- (2138 hours) In Convoy SC-42 across the Atlantic, Canadian corvettes HMCS Chambly and Moosejaw sink German submarine U-501. [5.97] [27.10,19] [377.54] [442.61]
- (evening) 76 aircraft from Britain attack targets in Italy. They do little damage to military targets. [84.90]
- September 11
- (0045 hours) Convoy SC-42 across the Atlantic is attacked by German submarines. U-207 torpedoes and sinks SS Stonepool. Three more merchant ships are torpedoed by the end of the day. [442.61]
- (afternoon) As part of Atlantic Convoy SC-42, British destroyers Veteran and Leamington sink German submarine U-207. [377.54]
- September 12
- US President Franklin Roosevelt warns that the US Navy will shoot first at German and Italian submarines in the American defense zone. [416.E5] (September 11 [448.154])
- Kleist moves Panzer Group 1 from Kremenchug to form part of a pincer ring around Soviets protecting Kiev. [277.99]
- September 15
- German armored columns meet up at Lokhutsa, 125 miles east of Kiev, surrounding about 500,000 Soviet forces inside. [277.99] (September 16 [517.1805])
- Japan begins preparations for war to the south, to secure oil supplies. [130.46] [376.117]
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill receives a reply from Soviet leader Josef Stalin, proposing 25-30 British divisions land in Archangel or be sent through Persia to southern USSR. [831.839]
- September
- Soviet spy Richard Sorge in Tokyo, Japan, informs the Soviet Union Government that "The Soviet Far East can be considered safe from Japanese attack.". [704.28]
- The Foreign Office in Tokyo, Japan, requests the Japanese consul in Honolulu to report on the deployment of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. [51.84]
- In England, an operational research section is formed at High Wycombe, under Dr. B.G. Dickins. Objective is to assist aerial bombers over targets with minimal losses. [831.817]
- Adolf Hitler authorizes deportation of German Jews into occupied territories. [16.4]
- Canadian naval forces come under American co-ordinating supervision. [1.7]
- The USSR recognizes Charles de Gaulle as the leader of the Free French. [409.21]
- In Persia, Shah Reza Pahlevi abdicates the throne. His ignoring an Anglo-Russian request to expel German agents lead to his downfall. Following his abdication, British and Russian troops invade the country. [18.21]
- September 16
- (evening) As convoy SC-42 across the Atlantic nears Scotland, German submarine U-98 torpedoes and sinks MV Jedmoor. [442.67]
- September 17
- Atlantic convoy SC-42 from Canada reaches Loch Ewe, Scotland. Of the initial 67 ships, 15 were sunk, one severely damaged. Over 203 sailors were killed. The loss of 70,000 tons includes 21,000 tons of iron ore and steel. [117.14] [442.67]
- September 18
- German Field Marshal Erich von Manstein is appointed Commander Army group II (Russia). [149.309]
- September 19
- In the Grand Harbor of Gibraltar, the British naval tanker Denbydale, cargo ship Durham, and tanker Fiona Shell explode from charges attached by midget submarines of the Italian navy. [74.47]
- 120 miles east of Cape Farewell, Greenland, Atlantic convoy SC-44 loses four merchant ships to submarine attacks. U-74 torpedoes and sinks Royal Canadian Navy corvette Levis. [27.11,19]
- In the Soviet Union, Kiev falls to German Army Group South forces. 665,000 men are captured, the largest number of prisoners ever captured in one battle, and the largest single military success in history. Kiev was defended for 72 days. [166.331] [277.99] [517.1793,1807] (September 20 [80.318])
- September 22
- Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 36, ordering a halt in attacks toward Murmansk, but to attempt to cut off Murmansk rail communications before winter, and prepare for a renewed attack toward Murmansk. [149.155]
- Each government in exile in London, England, signs adherence to the Atlantic Charter. [508.1776]
- September 23
- Canada's War Committee of the Cabinet discusses Britain's request for two battalions for Hong Kong. They agree, subject to opinions from the Minister of National Defence and General Andrew McNaughton. [5.59]
- September
- Atlantic Convoy SC-48 loses 9 merchant ships, two Royal Navy escorts, and a United States Navy destroyer to submarine attacks. [27.11]
- September 24
- A Japanese mail letter is decoded via Operation Magic, revealing enquiries about berthing information of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. [127.58]
- September 26
- Adolf Hitler orders an attack commence on Moscow. [517.1793]
- September 27
- The US launches the first "Liberty Ship", the SS Patrick Henry. This type of ship is built for single use, to transfer cargo to England. (A total of 2700 are built by the US during the war.) [744.102]
- SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich arrives in Prague, as new commander of Czechoslovakia. [152.44]
- September 28
- The first PQ convoy sails from Iceland bound for Archangel, Russia. [212.27]
- September 29
- Adolf Hitler issues an order regarding the future of Leningrad. The entire city and all inhabitants are to be "wiped from the face of the earth". [149.165]
- September 30
- Operation Typhoon begins, an attack by German forces on Moscow. Field Marshal Fedor von Bock commands 70 divisions of Army Group Center with Günther Von Kluge's 4th Army and Strauss' 9th Army. [80.318] [166.331] [277.104] (October 2 [517.1793,1805])
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