Baseball didn't make the front page on this day in 1924. The House passing the Japanese Exclusion Act did.
But it was opening day.
The United States Army Air Service launched its around the world flying expedition from Seattle, Washington, although as previously noted, it could be argued the party had commenced several days prior by flying to Seattle.
Today in World War II History—April 2, 1944: Soviet troops enter Romania. First US B-29 Superfortress bomber arrives at Kharagpur, India, near Calcutta. Armed revolt erupts in El Salvador.
From Sarah Sundin's blog.
The entering of Romania was more proof, if anymore was needed, that the Third Reich was in its final act. Romania had sought to exit the war, but had been dissuaded from doing so by the Germans. It would start pondering that once again in earnest.
Romania, although somewhat forgotten in the West, was not a minor power in some significant ways. The country had the third-largest army in the Axis in Europe, behind Italy and Japan, until Italy's 1943 surrender, at which time it was the second-largest Axis power. Its army was in fact the fourth largest in the world. It was plagued with internal problems, however, with a rank and file that was woefully uneducated and an officer corps that was condescending towards its men. Generally, Romanians fought better under German officers and NCO's.
It was a monarchy, but a monarchy which was, at the time, led by a military dictator.
Hitler issued his directive 54 with the topic of stopping the Russian advance, which obviously wasn't going to happen.
The rebellion would be violently put down, but it would nonetheless lead to Martinez' fall a month later.
Martinez was killed in a labor dispute with his taxi driver in 1966 while living in exile in Honduras.
The Japanese 15th Army (Mutaguchi) continued to advance.
The Italian Communist Party declared its support for the Badoglio government.
The 1944 Tour of Flanders bicycle race commenced.
Last prior edition:
It's not clear to me, however, why the new 6.8mm weapons still carry an "X" designation, indicating they are not fully accepted yet.
The British Parliament voted to give female teachers the same pay as men.
The Italian Communist Party declared cooperation with "bourgeois" parties.
The Red Army took Nikolaev.
Fighting carried on in the CBI.
"Infantrymen of the 66th Regt, 2nd Bn, 22nd Chinese Division advancing upon a group of tanks upon which a Jap Magnetic anti tank mine has been set off by remote control ordnance Intelligence purposes.
These tanks had burnt out. They belong to the First Provisional Tank Group and maintenance men of that outfit will salvage the salvageable parts left on these tanks. They met action against the Japs in the area a few miles north of the village of Shadeazup, Northern Burma. This photo demonstrated though, how the Chinese troops had actually fought with the tank group. This tank group is an American trained Chinese outfit, they having received their training at Ramgarh, India from U.S. Army Armoured Corps instructors. These infantrymen are also American trained. 28 March, 1944."
Ships were inspected:
For distinguished conduct in battle, engagements of Vera Cruz, 21 and 22 April 1914. Lt. Wainwright was eminent and conspicuous in command of his battalion; was in the fighting of both days, and exhibited courage and skill in leading his men through action. In seizing the customhouse, he encountered for many hours the heaviest and most pernicious concealed fire of the entire day, but his courage and coolness under trying conditions were marked.
Last prior edition:
The Soviet Air Force destroyed 53% of Tallinn, Estonia.
In terms of World War Two destruction, this isn't particularly remarkable, but it is well remembered in Estonia to this day, where the day is marked.
This is not to excuse areal carpet bombing in the Second World War. . . by anyone. All of it, to my mind, fits into the category of war crimes. And predictably, the bombing of Estonia resulted in increased Estonian resolve to resist the Soviets.
President Roosevelt authorized Dr. Stephen Wise and Dr. Abba H. Silver of the American Zionist Emergency Council to announce: “When future decisions are reached, full justice will be done to those who seek a Jewish national home.”
The 5th Marine Regiment took Talasea in an unopposed operation in New Britain.
On Bougainville, Japanese counterattacks against the Army's 37th Infantry Division failed to make significant gains.
The Japanese 33d Division reached the location of the headquarters of the British 17th Division. Gen. Cowan initially refused to believe the news.
The Red Army took Starokonstantinov.
The USS Leopold was sunk by the U-255 in the North Atlantic. 28 of 191 men survived.
Argentina's President Ramirez resigned and turned over the miltiary government of Argentina to Edelmiro Julián Farrell, who would in turn yield to Juan Peron shortly after World War Two.
Pedro Ramirez had come to power via a coup. The fascist leaning dictator had strong connections with Germany, having been trained in Imperial Germany in the early 1910s, and having married a German wife. He participated in the coup of 1930, after which he had been sent to Italy to observe the Italian Army. In the 1940s he organized the Argentine Milicia Nacionalista, later called the Guardia Nacional, and authored a program for a state ruled by the militia. In 1942, Ramírez hewas appointed War Minister by President Ramón Castillo, and began to reorganize the Argentine Army. During that time, modeling things after what had happened in fascist states in Europe, the Guardia Nacional joined with a political party to form the fascist "Recuperacion Nacional". He participated in the May 18, 1943, coup after being dismissed from his post.
Last prior:
Mexican Federals defeated rebels in Tamaulipas.
The Berliner gyrocopter No. 5 gave its first successful demonstration. U.S. Army Lt. Harold R. Harris flew it for one minutes and 20 seconds at the College Park Airport, near the University of Maryland, in front of the press and members of the U.S. Navy.
Harris has been mentioned here before due to his career as a test pilot. He lived until 1988, dying at age 92.
The Beverly Hills Speedway hosted its final race, which was attended by 85,000 automobile racing fans. Harlan Fengler broke the world's record for a 250 mile race, averaging 116.6 mph.
Fengler would go on to be the Chief Steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 until 1974. He passed away in 1981 at age 78.
Today in World War II History—February 23, 1944: Maj. Gen. Lucian Truscott assumes command of US VI Corps at Anzio. First US Army blood bank in the Mediterranean Theater opens at Naples medical center.
Cavalryman Lucian Truscott was one of the great ones.
Of interest, Truscott, who had started off his adult life as a school teacher before entering the Army during World War One (he did not see overseas service), was replacing another cavalryman, Gen. Lucas. His entry into teaching was based upon a lie, in that he represented, at age 16, that he was a high school graduate, which he was not. His entry into the Army, which was combined with a petition to become an officer, was based upon a compounded lie that he had attended, but not graduated from, college.
Truscott was an extremely able commander and the author of the excellent cavalry memoir, Twilight of the Cavalry. He's an example, additionally, on how the era allowed capable individuals to excel without full accreditation, something that does not occur nearly as much now.
The Soviet mass deportation of the Chechens commenced.
Resistance on Parry Island ended, and with it the hard fought Eniwetok campaign. Of the 3,400 Japanese troops committed to the defense of the atoll, 66 survived.
The Battle of Admin Box also ended in an Allied victory.
The late bluesman Johnny Winter was born in Beaumont, Texas. He passed away in 2014 at age 70.
I'm not endorsing Duckworth, and I'm sure she has left of center opinions that I have problems with, but there's no earthly way that a guy with contempt for veterans and whose views toward women appears rather, well whatever, could handle a smart, female combat veteran, like Tammy Duckworth.
Trump and his supporters couldn't handle her, and Trump would insult every single veteran, Asian American and woman in the country within 12 hours.
Curious.
The landing at Saidor concluded on January 2, Operation Michaelmas, resulted in an Allied victory on this date. The Australians and the Americans had linked up, and the Huon Peninsula was mostly occupied.
The Minekaze was sunk off of Formosa by the USS Pogy.
Sarah Sundin notes:
Today in World War II History—February 10, 1944: Japanese surround Indian 7th Division on the Arakan peninsula in Burma; Allies keep the 7th Division supplied through air drops.
The Red Army took Shepetovka, Ukraine.
The U-545 was scuttled after being crippled west of the Hebrides by a Vickers Wellington. T he U-666 disappeared in the North Atlantic.
On the same day, American Airlines Flight 2 crashed into the Mississippi River. All twenty-four passengers and crew were killed. The cause of the crash was never determined.
Air travel between Miami and Key West was initiated.
The Japanese launched Operation Ha-Go in the Arakan, a major offensive against British forces in Burma. As was typical for Japanese offensive operations, it featured a strict timetable.
Stemming from the same region, the Swiss passed on a protest from Thailand, stating:
The Swiss Minister (Bruggmann) to the Secretary of State
Th. 1 Thailand
The Minister of Switzerland presents his compliments to The Honorable, The Secretary of State, and has the honor to submit a communication from the Government of Thailand which has been received from the Federal Political Department in Berne, with the request that it be transmitted to the Government of the United States:
“In air raids about the end of 1943 and January 1944 Anglo-American aeroplanes dropped bombs on Chulalongkon Hospital, Saowapha, on the Pasteur Institute of the Red Cross Bangrak Hospital and two mental disease hospitals. Such humanitarian establishments cannot be said in any way to be military objectives and the indiscriminate bombing thereof is not only a violation of the Geneva Convention [Page 1322]of 192925 but also of the principles of humanity. His Majesty’s Government therefore enters a strong protest against the unjustifiable act of destruction above mentioned.”
The Minister would be grateful to The Honorable, The Secretary of State, for an acknowledgment of this communication.26
Washington , February 4, 1944.
All Japanese organized resistance on Kwajalein ceased. Of 8,700 defenders, 265, many of them Korean laborers, survive. The American forces sustained 370 KIA and 1,500 WIA.
The Germans attacked the British 1st Division at Anzio, forcing it to fall back. The US 5th Army gained ground further south.
The Soviet 42nd Army took Gdov. Hitler ordered the 24th panzer Division to assist in the relief of the Korsun Pocket. Relieving forces are spearheaded by the Heavy Panzer Regiment Bake.
The U-854 struck a mine in the Baltic and sank.
President Roosevelt established the Bronze Star.
Executive Order 9419—Bronze Star Medal
February 04, 1944
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:
There is hereby established the Bronze Star Medal, with accompanying ribbons and appurtenances, for award to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard of the United States on or after December 7, 1941, distinguishes, or has distinguished, himself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military or naval operations against an enemy of the United States.
The Bronze Star Medal and appurtenances thereto shall be of appropriate design approved by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, and may be awarded by the Secretary of War, or the Secretary of the Navy, or by such commanding officers of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard as the said Secretaries may respectively designate. Awards shall be made under such regulations as the said Secretaries shall severally prescribe, and such regulations shall, so far as practicable, be of uniform application.
No more than one Bronze Star Medal shall be awarded to any one person, but for each succeeding heroic or meritorious achievement or service justifying such an award a suitable device may be awarded to be worn with the medal as prescribed by appropriate regulations. The Bronze Star Medal or device may be awarded posthumously, and, when so awarded, may be presented to such representative of the deceased as may be designated in the award.
Signature of Franklin D. Roosevelt
FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT
The White House,
February 4, 1944.
It's a surprise, really, to realize that Bronze Star was created this late, but like the Silver Star, it was created to reflect combat conditions that the US had not experienced since the Civil War.
Today in World War II History—February 3, 1944: 80 Years Ago—Feb. 3, 1944: In Italy, New Zealand Corps is formed under Lt.-Gen. Sir Bernard Freyberg, over New Zealand 2nd Division and Indian 4th Division.
Freyberg was born in the United Kingdom but raised in New Zealand. He was a championship swimmer when young, and was licensed as a dentist in New Zealand in 1911. He left New Zealand in 1914 to join the Villista's, and served as a Captain in those forces. He left the fighting in Mexico, however, in August of that year upon learning that World War One had broken out, taking time to win a swimming championship in Los Angeles, and having earned passage to the UK by boxing. He served first in a ground unit of the Royal Navy, and then transferred to the British Army. He remained in the British Army between the wars.
A controversial general outside of British circles, he's somewhat emblematic of the British Army of the period in that his nationality was pretty fluid, but always British. He was appointed Governor General of New Zealand after World War Two, and passed away in 1963.
The Germans sealed off the Anzio beachhead.
The U.S. prevailed at Kwajalein. Task Group 58 raided Eniwetok. US forces landed on Burton Island.
The Red Army encircled the Germans at the Korsun Pocket, where Hitler, on the same day, ordered them not to retreat. Manstein organized an armored force with the goal of relieving the pocket.
Off of the Solomon's, the Japanese sank the U.S. Navy light cruiser Juneau, which took 687 men with it, including five brothers of the Irish Catholic Sullivan family of Iowa.
It's commonly asserted that after this the U.S. military would not allow siblings to serve together, but in fact many siblings were already serving together in combat in North Africa as members of Federalized National Guard units. Entire towns would end up loosing huge numbers of their male citizens in the combat actions to come. There was a policy change, which relieved a sole survivor from military service, but it did not come until 1943, and was partially due to the deaths of the Borgstrom brothers of Utah as well. Indeed, the Navy already had a policy precluding siblings from serving on the same vessel, but they did not actively enforce it.
A sister of the Sullivan brothers remained in Navy service. Indeed, their enlistment in the Navy, or in once case a reenlistment, was to avenge the death of her boyfriend, who died at Peal Harbor.
The Sullivan family was not informed of the death of their sons until 1943, at which time their father was informed of all of their deaths at one time. The Navy would commission a ship in their honor during the war, and oddly enough, one of the sons of the one of the men lost would later serve as a post-war officer aboard it. That ship has been decommissioned, but a second The Sullivans was commissioned to take its place.
_flies_the_ship's_battle_flags_during_exercises_at_sea.jpg)
The tragic story was also made into a patriotic movie during the war itself, which was released in 1944.
The Sullivan story was the inspiration for the film Saving Private Ryan, although it's obviously in a much different setting.
The Renunciation Act of 1944 made it possible for a US citizen to renounce their citizenship during time of war by applying to the US Attorney General. The hope was that interned Japanese Americans would do so, so that they could be deported to Japan.
It's doubtful that many would have ever exercised that option, but it should be noted that by this time of the war, the news was dealing with American advances in the Pacific nearly daily. Hard fighting was occurring, but the Japanese were losing and that was fairly obvious. Internees had full access to the news and to the extent that this tempted anyone, that surely would have reduced that desire.
On this day, the Soviets announced the end of the Siege of Leningrad.
Tenuous ground communication with the city had happened prior, but now the relief was solid, and the two year, four months, and five day siege was broken.
The battle was one of the most horrific in human history.
The 34th Infantry Division captured Monte Maiola and Caira.
The Marines expanded the Cape Gloucester beachhead on New Britain.
The governments of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States protested Japan's treatment of POW's setting the ground for war crime prosecution.
Anglican Peter Jasper Akinola was born in Nigeria. He would rise to the position of Anglican Primate for Nigeria, and while he was a Low Church Anglican, he was staunch in his opposition to Anglican accommodations to homosexuality. He is retired.
36,000 Allied troops had already disembarked by the prior midnight, 13 had been killed, and 200 German prisoners of war taken, including a drunk German officer and orderly who had driven his staff car into an Allied landing craft. There'd be 50,000 troops on the ground by the end of the day.
Allied troops, under Lucas' command, took up forming defensive positions in anticipation of a counterattack, a decision that was soon controversial, and frankly, a mistake. This is interesting for a variety of reasons, one of which is that Lucas was originally a cavalry officer, with cavalry being the only branch in the U.S. Army that was dedicated to battlefield mobility and had a doctrine of always moving forward.That view as not shared by the other branches. Having said that, Lucas had transferred out of the cavalry after World War One.
The German forces did debate what to do. Kesselring, in command in Italy, believed the Gustav Line could be held along with the beachhead at Anzio. Von Vietinghoff favored withdrawing from the Gustav Line. The German High Command, meanwhile, allocated reserved from France, northern Italy and the Balkans to the effort.
By the week's end, the Allies would be facing 8 German divisions at Anzio.
The HMS Janus as sunk off shores by a Fritz X.
The Australian Army took Maukiryo in New Guinea.
The Detroit Red Wings beat the New York Rangers 15 to 0, which apparently remains a hockey record.
Pistol Packin' Mama was number one on the country charts.
