The Second World War.

[Ennath]

September 19, 1931
China Following an incident at Mukden on the South Manchurian Railroad (the line was sabotaged), the Japanese army moves to occupy Manchuria. From the speed of the army reaction, it seems likely that the incident at Mukden has not been entirely accidental. The Japanese government is not consulted by the army and can do little except follow along. The Japanese constitution states that any government must have serving officers as navy and army ministers and this means that if either service is set on a course of action, it can bring down a government that tries to oppose it.
Diplomatic Relations China appeals to the League of Nations soon after the attack begins. The League calls on Japan to withdraw and appoints a Commission to investigate the rights and wrongs of the situation. Several members invoke the Kellogg-Briand Pact. This is the first time the League has been asked to intervene in a case where a great power is involved and the eventual failure of the intervention illustrates only too clearly the weakness of the League.

September 19, 1934
Diplomatic Relations The Soviet Union joins the League of Nations. Stalin is still unsure of the threat from Germany.

September 19, 1939
Poland The Soviet advance reaches the Hungarian frontier. In the north, Vilna is taken. The Soviets link up with the Germans at Brest-Litovsk which is given up to the Soviets in accordance with the provisions of the secret agreement of August 23. Other Red Army troops reach the outskirts of Lvov. The last Poles near Gdynia surrender.
At Wolka Weglowa, on the Bzura front, German infantry caught in the open are charged and routed by a Polish cavalry regiment. While reforming, the Poles are themselves caught by a column of German armored cars and cut down. The following day an Italian journalist visits the site, notes the dead horses, and cavalrymen, and invents the enduring myth of Polish cavalry charging German tanks. The Bzura battles end late in the day with the surrender of another 100,000 Polish troops.
Hitler makes a triumphant entry into Danzig.
Diplomatic Relations Hitler offers peace to the Western Allies on the basis of recognition of German territorial gains. The alternative, he says, is for the war “to be fought to its conclusion.” The following day, the Allies reject the offer, declaring that they “will not permit a Hitler victory to condemn the world to slavery and to the ruin of all moral values and destruction of liberty.”
Western Front The first British combat troops land in France.

September 19, 1940
Battle of Britain The German invasion fleet begins to disperse from the Channel ports. Later reports of the German navy show that 1918 barges have been assembled, of which 214 have been sunk or damaged in British air raids. Similarly 21 out of 170 transports have been lost. Although not officially cancelled, Sealion is, for all intents and purposes, dead.
Axis Diplomacy Ribbentrop meets Mussolini and Ciano in Rome and warns them not to attack Greece or Yugoslavia. The Italian leaders dutifully reply that they will conquer Egypt first.

September 19-24, 1940
Battle of Britain German attacks continue with minor raids in which they lose 59 planes and shoot down 22.

September 19, 1941
Eastern Front Kiev finally falls to the Germans, but the battle to liquidate the pocket continues. The German offensive on the Litsa is finally halted. The last chance to capture the port before winter is gone.
Black Sea German aircraft sink the monitor Udarnyi near Tendra Island.
Yugoslavia Tito and Mihailovic meet to discuss resistance but they quarrel. Mihailovic sees Tito as an anti-Royalist Communist troublemaker who wants to muscle in on Serb territory. Tito sees Mihailovic as a bourgeois representative of an already discredited officer corps. They meet again on October 26, but cannot resolve their differences. Their supporters begin fighting.

September 19, 1942
Yugoslavia The Partisans form a naval section. At first only fishing boats and the like, it will develop into a fairly strong coastal force capable of amphibious operations in the islands.
Eastern Front After a morning of consolidation, the Germans renew attacks in Stalingrad, pressing Soviet forces in the city center. The Luftwaffe flies 300 sorties, focusing on the Red October area and the ferries over the Volga.

September 19, 1943
Eastern Forces In the Smolensk sector the Soviets take Yartsevo and Dukovshchina.
Italy Auletta is captured by 8th Army.
The Germans, in one of their reprisal measures, burn down Boves, in Cuneo province, and kill 32 civilians. This episode sparks off partisan resistance in Italy.

September 19, 1944
Western Front In the morning, XXX Corps links up with 82nd Airborne Division at Grave. Together these formations move against Nijmegen. At Arnhem the British main body still cannot reach the battalion cut off at the bridge. The first US troops enter the Hurtgen Forest, but these probes are beaten back.
Back in Brittany, German resistance in Brest finally comes to an end. German garrisons remain, isolated, in Lorient, La Rochelle, St. Nazaire, and the Gironde estuary. The Americans are holding at Arracourt, despite bad weather leading to the grounding of air support.
Denmark The German authorities arrest and deport almost 2000 members of the Danish police on suspicion of aiding the resistance.
Eastern Front Valga falls to the Soviets, clearing most of the Estonian mainland. Soviet troops enter Latvia from the north. There is bitter fighting around Cluj.
Czechoslovakia SS General Hoffle takes charge of the German forces opposing the Slovaks. He has eight divisions, including four SS and one Slovak loyalist. His forces gradually manage to stabilize the situation and halt any further rebel gains.
Palau Islands The heavy fighting around Mount Umurbrogol goes on. The American advance is being held fairly comfortably by the Japanese. The fighting on Angaur is also intense.
Moluccas Fighting on Morotai ends for the time being. A major air base will be developed here.
China Roosevelt sends a message to Chiang demanding that the Generalissimo stop vacillating and make good his words. Chiang is furious.

September 19, 1945
Korea Kim Il-Sung arrives at Wonsan aboard a Soviet warship to organize the Korean Communist Party.

[screwthief]

One of my favourite anecdotes of the war concerns Wing commander Guy Gibson when he was commanding 617 squadron prior to the dams raid.
Gibson had to attend all trials of the "bouncing bombs" and he would fly down to an airfield close to the bomb range in a Miles Magister .
On one occasion the engine of the Magister failed and Gibson had to glide his plane down to an open field. Unfortunately as it was near the South coast ,the field was littered with anti-invasion poles ,and his plane hit one as it landed.
Gibson was unhurt and he was examining the wreckage when a local policeman arrived.
Gibson ,a veteran of 173 missions was wearing coveralls which hid his rank and ribbons
and the policeman fooled by Gibson's youthful appearance ,surveyed the damaged ,plane and said, "I think they let you young gentlemen go up by yourselves too early sir"

[Ennath]

September 20-25, 1931
China Japanese forces in Manchuria secure most of Kirin and Liaoning provinces, securing their rail communications to Korea. Of the 160,000 troops of the Northeastern Army at the beginning of the Manchurian Incident about 60,000 go over to the Japanese. 40,000 of Chang Hsueh-liang's army retreat without much resistance to Chinchow on the orders from Chiang. The remaining loyal Chinese troops are in Heilonchiang Province, mainly near Tsitsihar and Harbin in Kirin Province.

September 20-24, 1937
China Paoting falls to the Japanese. The Japanese are facing the problems of lengthening supply lines over inadequate roads. In such a large country, only the lines of communication can be adequately garrisoned.

September 20, 1938
Diplomatic Relations Czech President Benes asks the Soviet minister if Soviet aid would be forthcoming in the event of a German attack. Soviet policy is as yet undecided and there is no response.

September 20, 1939
Poland The Tomasow Lubelski battle is over. The Krakow and Lublin Armies, the last major Polish forces in the field, have been crippled. Regular German attacks on Praga begin. In the north, only the Hel Peninsula still holds out. Soviet troops begin attacking Grodno.
Britain, Politics Labor MP’s attack Chamberlain for failing to do enough to help the Poles.

September 20-22, 1940
Battle of the Atlantic Convoy HX-72 is successfully attacked by a U-Boat group. Altogether 12 ships of 78,000 tons are sunk, seven of them by Schepke’s U-100 without him even being detected by the convoy escorts.

September 20, 1941
Battle of the Atlantic An aircraft from the escort carrier Audacity shoots down an Fw-200 Condor which is trying to shadow convoy OG-74. This is the first success for the escort carrier class. Escort carriers will not be available in any numbers for convoy operations until the spring of 1943. Even with the Audacity, OG-74 loses six of 27 ships.
Mediterranean Italian midget submarines are sent to attack shipping in Gibraltar harbor and succeed in sinking two ships.

September 20, 1942
Eastern Front In the Caucasus, the town of Terek is captured by the Germans.

September 20, 1943
New Guinea The Australians advancing up the Markham Valley take Kalapit after a hard struggle.
United States, Home Front In the continuing debate about drafting fathers of families, Marshal and King tell a Senate Committee that failure to do so will probably prolong the war.
Eastern Front Soviet troops take Velizh, northwest of Smolensk, and Kholm, farther north.
Italy Canadian troops enter Potenza after being held up by a small German force.

September 20-21, 1943
Solomons The Americans on Sagekarasa find their enemy evacuated on the 20th and a similar discovery is made on Arundel on the 21st.

September 20, 1944
Western Front A joint attack by British and US troops takes Nijmegen and the vital bridge over the Waal before it can be destroyed by the Germans. At Arnhem the British are driven away from the bridge.
In other attacks, Polish troops of Canadian 1st Army make gains along the Scheldt estuary and US 3rd Army takes Chatel and Luneville.
France Drancy prison is transferred from FFI to government control. Collaborators are being held here, often in Nazi-like conditions.
Italy British V Corps of 8th Army enters the Republic of San Marino. They assure the government there that they will remain only long enough to pursue the retreating Germans.
Eastern Front Soviet troops cross the Hungarian border and take Arad. In a panic, the Hungarians mobilize 3rd Army of new recruits and reservists; it will prove to be of limited combat value. The Bulgarian Army introduces commissars.
British Forces The Jewish Brigade, of Zionists mostly from Palestine, is activated. The British Army has been reluctant to form such a unit. It will soon be deployed to 8th Army in Italy.
Palau Islands On Angaur the main Japanese forces have been wiped out but a few units still hold out for some time in the northwest of the island. Peleliu is still a stalemate.

September 20, 1945
India The Congress demands that the British quit India.
American Technology Captured German rocket engineers arrive in the USA to begin work on the American rocket program.
American Intelligence The OSS is disbanded. Donovan continues to urge the creation of a permanent civilian intelligence agency.

[Ennath]

September 21, 1938
Diplomatic Relations Poland and Hungary press their claims against Czechoslovakia.

September 21, 1939
Rumania The Rumanian prime minister, Calinescu, is murdered by the Iron Guard.
War Crimes The Heydrich Plan is adopted, calling for the removal of 600,000 Jews from western Poland and Danzig and their concentration in ghettos in central Poland. This is in preparation for a future “final goal”. Heydrich also orders a census and the establishment of Jewish administrative councils within the ghettos to implement Nazi policies and decrees.

September 21, 1940
Australia, Politics The election results are declared. Menzies remains prime minister. Labor is the largest party in both houses but has no overall majority.
The Blitz As the night attacks on London continue, the government officially allows subway stations to be used as air-raid shelters. This has been going on unofficially for some time.
France Jews are required to register with the Vichy authorities.

September 21, 1941
Eastern Front The fighting for Saaremaa continues as the Soviets contest every yard.

September 21-23, 1941
Yugoslavia In retaliation for partisan attacks, German forces execute 7000 people in Kragujevac.

September 21-24, 1941
Eastern Front The Luftwaffe launches a series of attacks on the fleet base at Kronstadt, near Leningrad. The battleship Marat is sunk, while Oktyabrskaya Revolustsiya and two cruisers are damaged.

September 21, 1942
Sweden, Politics In national elections, the pro-Nazi candidates do very badly.
Eastern Front Women and children are evacuated from Stalingrad.
Burma 14th Indian Division begins a hesitant advance into Arakan. An intended amphibious landing to support the advance has had to be cancelled due to a lack of shipping.

September 21, 1943
Italy 5th Army wheels to the left as 8th Army moves to the east side of the country. The Germans are falling back everywhere except in the vital passes leading to Naples.
Mediterranean Several German transports are sunk off Sardinia and Corsica by Allied air and submarine attacks. The evacuation of Sardinia is now complete. Allied troops are arriving on the island.
Eastern Front The Soviets take Demidov, north of Smolensk. Troops from Central Front take Chernigov, after three days of fighting, and Sinelnikovo.

September 21, 1944
Western Front British XXX Corps is attacking north from Nijmegen but progress is slow due to the marshy terrain. Being limited to the raised roads makes it easy for the Germans to meet these attacks. British paratroops at Arnhem are now holding west of the town and north of the Rhine. The last defenders at the bridge are overwhelmed. The Polish Parachute Brigade is dropped to reinforce this position on the opposite bank of the river. The weather at Arracourt clears, and tactical air support bolsters the American defenders.
Italy Canadian and Greek troops take Rimini which the Germans have abandoned.
Greece The Germans have now abandoned the Peloponnese.
Allied Diplomacy Tito meets with Stalin in Moscow to arrange for the temporary access of the Red Army through Yugoslavia.
Denmark The Germans quickly break a general strike in Copenhagen.
The Philippines The Laurel regime declares martial law.

September 21-24, 1944
The Philippines Planes from 12 US carriers attack targets on Luzon and in the Visayas. Since the beginning of the month, TF 38 has destroyed at least 1000 Japanese aircraft and sunk 150 vessels, losing 72 aircraft.

September 21, 1948
Russia, Politics An anti-Zionist editorial in Pravda marks the start of the Soviet Union’s support of the Arabs, which will eventually bring the Middle East into the Cold War.

September 21, 1949
China Mao Tse-tung formally proclaims the Peoples’ Republic of China.

[Ennath]

September 22, 1933
Germany, Home Front The National Chamber of Culture is established to bring all the arts under Party control.

September 22, 1938
Spain The International Brigades are withdrawn from the front lines, preparatory to being disbanded.

September 22-23, 1938
Diplomatic Relations Chamberlain returns to Germany with Czech acceptance of the partial cession plan. Hitler claims now that this is not sufficient and demands outright cession of the entire Sudetenland. After talks, Chamberlain again wishes to give in to Hitler but he is opposed by his cabinet on his return. On the 23rd the Czechs mobilize.

September 22, 1939
Poland The rapidly advancing Soviet troops take Lvov and Grodno. In Brest-Litovsk Soviet and German troops hold a joint victory parade. The former Commander of the German Army, General Fritsch, is killed by a Polish sniper outside Warsaw. Some feel he was courting death.
Britain, Home Front Gasoline rationing is introduced.

September 22, 1940
Indochina The Japanese enter northern Indochina after reaching a tentative agreement with the Vichy government. The Japanese aim to prevent aid reaching the Chinese through Indochina. There are to be 6000 troops stationed in the country and they are to have transit rights with a maximum of 25,000 troops present at any one time. Within hours Japanese troops are entering the colony in great strength, already over the agreed limit. Japanese 5th Division moves on Langson and fighting breaks out.
Vietnamese Communists rise with Japanese support in the Bac Son border district. When Vichy protests cause a temporary Japanese halt, the Communists are forced to retreat to the mountains and another rising in the Plain of Reeds in Cochin China is wiped out by the French.
Uruguay Eight prominent local Nazis are arrested on conspiracy charges.

September 22, 1941
Eastern Front In East Karelia, Soviet forces along the Svir break out of their encirclement and retreat northward. A Soviet amphibious counterattack at Odessa causes some losses and drives Axis artillery out of range of the harbor.

September 22, 1943
Arctic Six British midget submarine are sent to attack the Tirpitz in Altafjord. Only two manage to place their charges, but Tirpitz is put out of action until March.
Eastern Front The Soviets take Anapa in the Kuban and Novomoskovsk just north of Dnepropetrovsk. There is fierce fighting at Poltava as the Germans begin to pull out. The first Soviet troops cross the Dniepr near the confluence of the Pripet River.
Italy 8th Army is reinforced but cannot yet advance up the coast in any great strength. 5th Army is preparing to advance also.
Germany, Politics Goebbels suggests to Hitler a separate peace with Russia, but Hitler refuses.
New Guinea Australian 20th Brigade lands at Katika, just north of Finschhafen, supported by a naval bombardment and a strong air group.

September 22-27, 1943
Yugoslavia German forces capture Split, which has been occupied by Chetnik forces after the Italian surrender.

September 22-November 1, 1943
Yugoslavia Elements of 2nd SS Panzer Corps directed by Rommel clear most of the Croatian littoral after partisan units filled the vacuum caused by the Italian surrender, threatening communications between Italy and the Sava valley.

September 22, 1944
Western Front British and Polish troops try to reach the Rhine and the trapped 1st Airborne Division. XXX Corps continues to meet heavy resistance, taking Elst. In other attacks Boulogne falls to the Canadians. Eisenhower gives priority to operations to clear the Scheldt estuary. The German attacks at Arracourt are running out of steam, but continue in desultory fashion for several more days.
Italy All US units are now past the Gothic Line, save for a coastal strip between Livorno and La Spezia.
Eastern Front Soviet troops take Tallinn, the last major German position in mainland Estonia.
Yugoslavia Croatian dictator Pavelic decrees general mobilization. Despite this and increased German aid, his units are starting to collapse on contact with the Partisans.
Palau Islands Army reinforcements are committed to Peleliu. The Japanese are still holding firm on Mount Umurbrogol.

[Ennath]

September 23, 1938
United States Charles Lindbergh writes to Joe Kennedy, US ambassador in London “I am convinced it is wiser to permit Germany eastward expansion than to throw England and France, unprepared, into war at this time.” Deeply impressed by German airpower, he is convinced that Britain cannot win such a war, even with US aid.

September 23, 1939
Japan, Home Front Admiral Nomura becomes Foreign Minister in General Abe’s recently appointed government. Between now and their fall in January 1940 some conciliatory moves are made toward the United States. These are not reciprocated and this strengthens the beliefs and standing of the more militant Japanese politicians.
Poland German 8th Division is checked near Krasnobrod, a battle which features one of the last cavalry versus cavalry actions. In Warsaw, food is running short. Remaining Polish field forces begin fighting their way south toward Rumania.
Diplomatic Relations Mussolini again suggests a peace conference.
A Pan-American Conference in Panama bans belligerent submarines from American ports and demands a cessation of subversive activity in the Americas. A maritime exclusion zone is established.
War at Sea Hitler approves Raeder’s suggestion that merchant ships sending radio messages when stopped by U-Boats should be sunk.

September 23, 1940
Diplomatic Relations Finland grants German troops transit rights to northern Norway and bases in Lapland in return for German equipment and supplies.
Britain, Home Front The George Cross is instituted to reward civilian valor.

September 23-25, 1940
West Africa British and Free French forces try to bring the port of Dakar over to the Allied cause. The operation is code-named Menace. The forces involved include three small Free French warships, but the main power is provided by two British battleships and one carrier. There are 3600 Free French and 4300 British troops, although, for political reasons, the British are not to be used unless absolutely necessary. The Vichy forces include the battleship Richelieu (unfinished), two cruisers, and some destroyers and submarines. Admiral Landriau commands these vessels and Governor Boisson is in overall charge. On the first day of the operation there are talks between de Gaulle and the Vichy representatives, but these fail to reach any agreement and the Vichy warships begin an exchange of fire. There is damage on both sides and one Vichy submarine is sunk. An attempt by the Free French forces to land in Rufique Bay is beaten off. On the 24th the battleship Resolution is hit by shellfire and on the 25th it is seriously damaged by a torpedo. The Barham is also damaged. Following these setbacks, the operation is abandoned on Churchill’s orders.

September 23-26, 1940
Indochina The Japanese continue the occupation of French Indochina. Langson is captured on the 25th after two days of fighting. On the 23rd, the Vichy government protests the violation of the agreement. Japanese naval aircraft begin sorties against the Haiphong area on the 24th, but shore defenses remain on the alert. The Japanese land south of Haiphong on the 26th and begin moving on the city. Fighting ends that evening as the Japanese secure airfields and strongpoints at Haiphong and Hanoi.

September 23, 1941
United States, Politics At a press conference, Roosevelt announces that the United States is thinking of arming its merchant shipping against possible German attacks.

September 23, 1942
New Guinea The Australians go over to the offensive. More American reinforcements land at Port Moresby. Blamey takes personal charge with orders from MacArthur to invigorate the conduct of the campaign.
Guadalcanal The Americans begin a limited attack to drive the enemy back a safe distance from Henderson Field.
Madagascar British troops take the capital, Tananarive.
North Africa Rommel flies back to Germany for medical treatment. General Stumme takes temporary command in Africa with General von Thoma to lead the armor. In the past few months there have been many high-level German casualties in Africa. Some of the new men have been brought in from the Russian campaign and do not fit in well with the old hands of Afrika Korps.

September 23-26, 1942
Eastern Front The Russians mount a small counterattack in the northwest of Stalingrad from the Orlovka district. This attack makes some progress, but German resistance to it is fierce.

September 23, 1943
Italy British X Corps begins formal attacks to clear the passes toward Naples. Although more than three divisions are employed against little more than a regiment, the terrain and tenacious German defense prevent very much progress. The attacks continue.
Corsica French forces occupy Bonifaccio. They now control more than half the island. German evacuations continue.
Italy, Politics Mussolini announces the formation of the Italian Social Republic (RSI). Trieste, Istria, and the Trentino-Alto Adige are given up to wholly German control.
Eastern Front The Soviets take Poltava and , to the north, enter Unecha.
New Guinea Australian 20th Brigade advances south toward Finschhafen and reaches a Japanese defense position on the Bumi River.

September 23, 1944
Western Front The battles around Arnhem continue with no clear advantage and XXX Corps grinds forward. To the west Canadian troops cross the Escaut to begin operations northwest of Antwerp.
Italy 5th Army attacks north of Florence to clear the Futa Pass.
Diplomatic Relations San Marino declares war on Germany after a German platoon takes its 300-man army prisoner.
Eastern Front The Soviets in Estonia reach the Baltic at Parnu. Czerniakow in Warsaw has fallen.
Greece The Germans are beginning to evacuate Crete and several small garrisons in the Aegean. Some 60,000 troops are to be taken off.
Carolines US troops occupy Ulithi Atoll at the western end of the Caroline Islands after a naval reconnaissance suggests it is unoccupied by the Japanese. By the end of the war, it will be one of the main American fleet bases.

September 23, 1945
Indochina There is a nationalist rising in Saigon, suppressed by British troops, making some use of the local Japanese. The Communists allow the rising to be crushed in order to weaken the non-Communists and assume the mantle of nationalism for themselves alone.
Egypt The Egyptian government calls for British withdrawal from Sudan and its unification with Egypt.

September 23, 1949
Russia The Soviet Union explodes it's first atomic bomb. The American monopoly is over.

[DTravel]

Originally Posted by Ennath

September 23, 1938
United States Charles Lindbergh writes to Joe Kennedy, US ambassador in London “I am convinced it is wiser to permit Germany eastward expansion than to throw England and France, unprepared, into war at this time.” Deeply impressed by German airpower, he is convinced that Britain cannot win such a war, even with US aid.

I have to wonder what Lindbergh though of American airpower in 1945 with Mustangs, Liberators and Superfortresses. Not to mention atomic weapons.

[haroldeye]

Originally Posted by palo5

Trees are/were around about 60% of it, so probably not many. But I understand the point you're making

I always thought the better question would be: "How long until people sing with joy there again". Birds have nothing to do with it

I visited Belsen in the late seventies and there was no bird song then. I was told it was because the British had used so much quicklime in the burial pits in order to control disease that there were very few insects in the area and so very few birds.

Belsen claimed three members of my fathers family, shot by the Germans for being part of the Home Army. One cousin survived, a marvellous gentle man who found the strength to forgive the Germans.

[Ennath]

September 24, 1934
Germany, Politics The first three regiments of the Waffen-SS are formed.

September 24-25, 1937
China The Chinese Communists ambush and rout a Japanese supply column at P’inghsinkuan. Although a minor victory, it raises Chinese morale and demonstrates that a Popular Front against the Japanese is in the field.

September 24-29, 1937
Axis Diplomacy Mussolini makes a state visit to Germany and the Nazis pull out all the stops to impress him and draw him into closer alliance.

September 24, 1940
Germany, Home Front Release of the anti-Semitic film Jew Süss.

September 24-25, 1940
Mediterranean In retaliation for the attack on Dakar, Vichy aircraft attempt on both days to raid Gibraltar. Little damage is done.

September 24, 1941
Mediterranean The first German U-Boats to enter the Mediterranean pass Gibraltar. Six boats will arrive in the next two weeks. Late in the year, about half the U-Boat force will be engaged in the Mediterranean.
Eastern Front Tank forces of Army Group South reach to within 40 miles of Kharkov.
Yugoslavia Tito’s Partisans drive Italian troops from the town of Uzice.
Allied Diplomacy Fifteen governments sign the Atlantic Charter at ceremonies in London and Washington.

September 24-30, 1941
Mediterranean Operation Halberd is launched, a major effort to carry supplies to Malta. There are nine transports in the convoy and their escorts and covering force include a carrier, three battleships, five cruisers, and 18 destroyers. On September 26, Admiral Iachino leads two battleships, six cruisers, and 14 destroyers of the Italian fleet out to intercept. The remainder of the Italian fleet stays in port, ostensibly because of fuel shortages. On the 27th, both sides fail to find the main enemy force by air reconnaissance. The battleship Nelson receives some slight damage from an Italian torpedo bomber, but the heavy ships do not make contact. One transport is sunk by air attack, but the rest reach Malta with a close escort of cruisers and destroyers. An Italian submarine is sunk by a destroyer on the way back. Among the 50,000 tons of supplies brought to Malta is enough food to last for several months. British subs and aircraft based on the island have been attacking Axis traffic between Sicily and North Africa, with great success. Between June and the end of September, 270,000 tons of shipping have been sunk.

September 24, 1942
German Raiders In one of the most notable small actions of the war, the Liberty ship Stephen Hopkins, armed only with one 4” gun, is attacked by the much more powerful German raider Stier. Both ships sink. In its cruise, the Stier has sunk four ships of 29,400 tons.
German Command General Halder is dismissed by Hitler after many arguments during the summer. The new Chief of Staff at OKH with responsibility for the Russian front is General Kurt Zeitzler.
Soviet Air Operations Olga Yamshchikova becomes the first female pilot credited with an aerial kill when she downs a German plane over Stalingrad. The Soviets use a fair number of female pilots, nicknamed by the Germans the “Night Witches”.
Guadalcanal There are American attacks around Mount Austen and the Matanikau River.
Atomic Research Groves purchases 52,000 acres near Clinton, Tennessee for “Site X”, which will become the Oak Ridge Laboratory and production site, responsible for the separation of uranium-235 isotopes.

September 24-25, 1942
Solomons During one of their habitual night supply runs, two Japanese destroyers and one cruiser are damaged.

September 24, 1943
New Guinea The Australians push trough the Japanese positions on the Bumi. Finschhafen airfield is captured. Japanese aircraft attempt to attack supply convoys offshore but achieve little.
Eastern Front The Soviets capture Borispol, east of Kiev, and farther north the Germans begin to evacuate Smolensk and Roslavl. Smolensk has been one of the strongest positions in Russia.
The largest Soviet airborne operation of the war occurs with a drop on the west shore of the Dniepr near Kanev to secure a bridgehead for the advancing armor. Most of the paratroops are scattered and overwhelmed and the Soviet Command does not order any more large-scale drops.

September 24, 1944
Western Front XXX Corps reaches the south bank of the Rhine near Arnhem. North of the river, the paratroops are still holding out but are running short of supplies. Other XXX Corps units cross the German border southwest of Nijmegen. Canadian 2nd Division establishes a bridgehead over the Turnhout-Antwerp Canal. 1st Belgian Division enters the line.
Eastern Front After 9 days of bitter fighting the German and Hungarian counterattack in Transylvania is stopped. Almost all of Rumania is now in Soviet hands. The Germans in Warsaw attack Upper Mokotow, securing it in two days of fighting.
Palau Islands Heavy naval and air bombardments herald a new American attack on Mount Umurbrogol, but this makes no progress. An invitation to the Japanese on Angaur to surrender is ignored.
Burma British 36th Division is held up around Namma.

September 24, 1945
Cameroon Demands for reform lead to riots in Douala, suppressed by French troops and colonists with much bloodshed.

[Ennath]

September 25, 1938
Diplomatic Relations The Czechs reject the new German demands. An appeal has been sent to Mussolini to mediate, convincing Hitler of Anglo-French weakness. A meeting is called for the 29th. Neither the Czechs nor Soviets are invited.

September 25, 1939
Poland The Germans step up their bombardment of Warsaw and add heavy air attacks to it. Hitler wishes to complete the conquest as soon as possible and since the garrison is fairly strong it is necessary to force them to submit by terrorizing the civilian population. A large ground assault is repelled. The bombing continues until the city’s surrender.
Germany, Home Front Food rationing is introduced.

September 25, 1940
Norway Terboven, the Reichs Commissioner, formally deposes the King of Norway and appoints Quisling to lead the new Norwegian government.

September 25-30, 1940
Battle of Britain The German attacks in this period are sent mostly against aircraft factories. Plants in Bristol, Southampton, and Yeovil are all hit, but the defending fighters exact a high price. The RAF loses 82 planes and the Luftwaffe 143.

September 25, 1941
Eastern Front The Germans have now isolated the Crimea and begin attacks near Perekop with support from parachute forces.
Indochina The French administration officially turns the territory over to Japanese control.

September 25, 1942
Eastern Front German paratroops drop at Grozny, joining with local guerillas to try to hold the refineries until 1st Panzer Army can arrive. The tank attack meets heavy resistance.
Yugoslavia Partisans attack Jajce and defeat the Croatian garrison.
Norway RAF light bombers destroy Gestapo headquarters in Oslo, together with its records.
Indian Ocean British troops land in the Comoros and oust the Vichy administration.

September 25, 1943
Allied Diplomacy The United States reaches a Lend-Lease agreement with the Free French.
Solomons The Japanese begin to evacuate Kolombangara. Their garrison there has been made useless by the American capture of the other islands in the New Georgia group.
New Zealand, Politics In a general election, Labor retains its majority.
Eastern Front The Soviets take Smolensk and Roslavl – arguably their most important success since the end of the Kursk battle. From here to the south, the Germans are retreating behind the Dniepr, where they have been ordered by Hitler to make a stand. This retreat has been entirely forced and so there has been less benefit than if it had been done earlier as Manstein recommended. New attacks in the direction of Orsha are repulsed by German 4th Army.

September 25, 1944
Western Front British troops take Helmond and Seurne near Eindhoven. It is decided to evacuate as many as possible of the paratroops across the Rhine in small boats. During the night 2400 get away of the 10,000 who landed. About 1100 have been killed and 6400 taken prisoner. A few more are sheltered by Dutch families until the Allied liberation despite dreadful food shortages and the danger of discovery.
On the Channel coast Canadian 3rd Division attacks Calais.
Eastern Front In Estonia the port of Haapsalu falls to the Russians.
Allied Propaganda Allied broadcasts urge the 12 million foreign and slave laborers in Germany to rebel.
Germany, Home Front Hitler orders the creation of a Volkssturm (home guard).
Atomic Research The first Soviet cyclotron becomes operational.
Palau Islands The Americans make some gains south of Mount Umurbrogol using tanks and flamethrowers. Fighting continues on Angaur around Lake Salome.
China Stung by Roosevelt’s message, Chiang refuses to entrust operational command of the Chinese Army to Stilwell.

September 25, 1945
Norway The last Soviet troops leave northern Norway.
Germany The Nazi Party is formally banned.
September 25 – October 5, 1950
Austria A Communist-directed general strike fails. Finally, in 1955, a peace treaty brings Soviet withdrawal at the price of permanent neutrality.