Wednesday, March 1, 1944. The last surface raid in history begins.

U.S. Navy recognition depiction of Japanese Aoba-class heavy cruisers

Three Japanese cruisers broke out for the Indian Ocean Raid.  It was the last action by Axis surface raiders during World War Two, and hence the last such example, something that dated back to the age of sail, in history.  That the Japanese would engage in it frankly showed how far their fortunes had fallen.

There will never be another surface raid again.  This concludes something that dates back to antiquity.

Like much associated with the Japanese in World War Two, it would be marked by mindless atrocity.

The Kingisepp-Gdov Offensive concluded in a Soviet victory.

The Huon Peninsula Campaign concluded in an Allied victory.  As part of that, the Battle of Sio on New Guinea also ended in an allied victory.

A huge strike broke out in the Italian Social Republic against the government.

Hitler received the leaders of the Independent State of Croatia to discuss then current political issues, which is frankly rater surreal.

Today In Wyoming's History: March 1: 1944 Fremont County, Wyoming agriculture agents request 200 POWs for farm labor.

There was a major POW camp in Wyoming, housing Italian and German POWs, in Douglas. Ft. F.E. Warren also housed POWs during the war.

Nebraska also had six, including one at Scotsbluff and one at Camp Robinson.

German POWs, it might be noted, were particularly problematic, in part because US Army authorities in the US were sort of second stringers.  Often the Nazi elements in the camps were able to co-opt the system and even hold court-martials of German POWs within them in order to enforce the ideology of the regime.

Italian POWs, it's often noted, were glad to be out of the war, something that speaks highly for the intelligence of the average Italian.  Often criticized for not showing the fighting spirit the Germans did, the Italians actually served the interest of their country and people to a much greater extent than the Germans in uniform did.

On Italy, for the second time in the war, the Vatican was bombed accidentally by a plan of the RAF, killing one, and injuring another.

The U-358, U-630 and &-709 were sunk by the Allies in the Atlantic.