The 8th Army, on this day in 42, reached Cyrene, Libya.
That Libyan city was founded in 631 BC. It is likely most well known to people in the west for the reason that it was the place of origin of Simon of Cyrene. At the time, it had a large Jewish population of approximately 100,000, due to a forcible settlement there during the Egyptian reign of Greek general Ptolemy Soter. It would become, like many Libyan coastal cities, an important center of early Christianity.
Marshal Pétain granted Vichy Prime Minister Pierre Laval the authority to rule by decree. Vichy was had already become a rump state and had, for all practical purposes, lost its legitimacy at this point.
President Roosevelt ordered the registration for Selective Service of all men who had turned 18 years of age after July 1, 1942, thereby increasing the conscription pool by 500,000 men.
