The Defence of India Act was enacted to provide the colonial government in British India with sweeping powers to enforce the law during the Great War, including independence activities.
Pluto was photographed for the first time.
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The Blackpore Mutiny of 1824 took place in which enlisted Indian sepoys mutinied at Blackpore. The troops were upset about lack of sensitivity to cultural concerns and being transported by sea. Ultimately the British attacked the camp and 180 of the Indian troops were killed.
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The Canadian 1st Corp took Frosinone; the British 10th Corps Sora. The US 6th Corps captured Velletri and Monte Artemiso, unhinging the Caesar Line.
US forces on the north coast of New Guinea come under heavy Japanese attacks. The Australians took Bunabum.
The Government of India formed the Department of Planning and Development to plan for the postwar future of the country.
Sarah Sundin reports that Japanese Gen. Sato Kotoku ordered Japanese forces to withdraw from Indian, against his orders. More here: Today in World War II History—May 31, 1944
She also reports that forces for Omaha beach began to load.
Polesti was bombed by the U.S. Army Air Force with heavy aircraft losses.
The USS England sank the Japanese submarine RO105, the sixth sub victory by the England in twelve days. The HMS Milne sank the U-289 in the Barents Sea.
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The British 14th Army counterattacked at Imphal.
Mahatma Gandhi was released from two years imprisonment due to ill health. He'd never be imprisoned again.
Italy's Torre Dam was breached by RAF Mustangs and Australian and South African P40s.
The St. John the Baptist Church in Dragatuš, Slovenia, was destroyed in a German air raid on the town.
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The Bombay Explosion occured at Mumbai, India) when the British SS Fort Stikine caught fire and exploded, creating mass destruction and killing around 800 to 1,300 people.
Col. Shaukat Ali Malik of the Indian National Army entered Moirang with his troops and raised the flag of the Azri Hukumat e-Azad Hind for the first time on Indian soil.
The stories above illustrate the complicated nature of India and the Indian people in World War Two. Col/ Sjailat Ali Malik was a Muslim Indian who had previously served in a British Indian police force, the latter being quite militarized. The INA was a collaborationist army in combat against the Allies, while of course the British Indian Army was an Allied Army, but subject to the British Empire and therefore not really a "free" army.
Following the war, the INA would be regarded with sympathy by many Indians. I don't know what happened to Col. Malik, but the Muslin portions of Indian broke off from it immediately with independence, forming Pakistan. Today, what had been East and West Pakistan are Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The Red Army reached the Carpathian foothills.
Gen. Nikolai F. Vatutin died of wounds received in an ambush by Ukrainian partisans on February 29, 1944.
The U-448 was sunk off of the Azores.
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The Red Army took Odessa. 24,000 German and Romanian troops were evacuated, although many of them were wounded, along with 55,000 tons of supplies.
The RAF dropped 3,600 tons of bombs in a single raid that included Germany, France and Belgium. It was a record.
Gen. William Slim ordered an offensive to relieve Kohima and into Japanese territory.
The U-68 and U-515 were sunk in the Atlantic by U.S. aircraft flying from the USS Guadalcanal.
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The Battle of Kohima began around the town of Kohima in British India. The battle would prove to be the turning point in U-Go, and also prove to be long-running.
Japanese forces were depending on taking the town in order to resupply their provisions. In their initial attacks they cut off all access to the town.
A German counterattack by the 4th Panzer Army retook Kovel, a city in pre-war Poland, which is now in Ukraine. The attack blocked the Soviets from gaining a pass through the Carpathians.
The city had a large Jewish population before World War Two, and in fact had a large Ukrainian population that were members of the Communist Party. The Soviet invasion in 1939 had accordingly been largely welcomed. The German invasion would, of course, prove tragic, with 18,000 Jewish residents of the city being murdered. The city became a refuge for Poles escaping Ukrainian partisans late in the war. After the war, the Polish population of the city was forcibly relocated to post-war Poland.
A de Havilland Mosquito from the SAAF 60 Photo-Recon Squadron, flying out of Foggia, Italy to photograph the IG Farben photographed Auschwitz as part of a filming overrun, the latter of which was a practice in photo recon missions. It was the first instance of Auschwitz being photographed by the Allies from the air.
Six Valentine DD tanks sank in Exercise Smash I with the loss of their crews.
Charles de Gaulle announced changes to the Committee of National Liberation in Algiers, including the appointment of two Communists.
In France, the resistance halts aircraft parts production at Bronzavaia.
The First Partisan battalion Pino Budicin in Yugoslavia, made up of Italian Communists was formed.
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Charlie Chaplin was acquitted of violating the Mann Act.
The suit was somewhat ironic in that it stemmed from Joan Barry's pregnancy. While FBI files suggest that Barry aborted two children during her affair with Chaplin, which did occur, this child was not Chaplin's, as blood tests proved. Chaplin, in a separate suit, would nonetheless be ordered to pay child support for the girl until age 21.
Moreover, Barry was 21 years old with her affair with 52-year-old Chaplin began. Chaplin definitely fished in the shallower end of the pond, but Barry was of age, which at least one of his prior conquests, whom he married, was not.
Barry was sliding towards insanity, and after her affair with Chaplin ended, stocked him. She'd end up being committed to a mental institution at age 33, by which time she had married and had two additional children.
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The Japanese 31st (Sato) Division cut the road between Imphal and Kohima. Gen. Slim, British 14th Army, decides to supply Imphal by air.
The Red Army took Kolomya, which was in Poland prior to 1939, but which is now in Ukraine.
The Royal Navy sank the U-961.
Lithuanian pilot Romualdas Marcinkus, part of the Great Escape, was executed by the Gestapo.
The Columbian Navy destroyer ARC Caldas engaged and damaged the U-154 while escorting the MC Cabimas.
The first award of the Expert Infantryman Badge was made.
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The B-17 "Knock Out Dropper" flew its 75th mission, the first American bomber to reach that mark. It would have had multiple crews in reaching that goal.
Negotiations between the USSR and Finland resumed.
The Marine Corps completed its unopposed landings on Emirau.
The Red Army captured Kamenets-Podolski, on the Dnestr River and Gorodenka. The German 1st Panzer Army is ordered to break out.
The British regroup in India, with reinforcements brought in by air.
Life magazine, which was heavy on photos, featured a Landing Ship, Infantry, on the cover. In the pages it had an article on the best techniques for pin-ups.
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U.S. Marines landed unopposed on Emirau in the last stage of Operation Cartwheel in the Bismarks.
The Red Army took Vinnytsia and Mohyliv-Podilskyi. Vinnytsia had been the site of Hitler's headquarters in Ukraine.
Gen. Alexander agrees to call off attacks at Monte Cassino if progress is not made within the next two days.
The Rita Hayworth film Cover Girl was released.
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Sir William Davison (by Private Notice) asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the refusal by the Government of Eire of the American request supported by Great Britain that Axis Consular and Diplomatic representatives should be removed from Eire having regard to the serious danger to the Allies in connection with the forthcoming invasion of Europe in having a centre of espionage within the British Isles, he is satisfied that the steps recently taken to minimise the danger are adequate, and if not what other measures the Government have in view.
The Prime Minister: The initiative in this matter was taken by the United States, because of the danger to the American Armed Forces from the presence of Axis missions in Dublin. His Majesty's Government were, however, of course, consulted throughout by the United States Government, and gave the American approach full support. We have for some time past taken a number of measures to minimise the dangers arising from the substantial disservice to the Allied cause involved in the retention by Mr. de Valera's Government of the German Minister and the Japanese Consul with their staffs in Dublin. The time has now come when these measures must be strengthened, and the restrictions on travel to Ireland announced in the Press yesterday are the first step in the policy designed to isolate Great Britain from Southern Ireland and also to isolate Southern Ireland from the outer world during the critical period which is now approaching.
I need scarcely say how painful it is to us to take such measures in view of the large numbers of Irishmen who are fighting so bravely in our Armed Forces and the many deeds of personal heroism which they have kept alive the martial honour of the Irish race. No one, I think, can reproach us with precipitancy. No nation in the world would have been so patient. In view however of the fact that both British and British Dominion lives and the lives of the soldiers of our Allies 37are imperilled, we are bound to do our utmost to obtain effective security for the forthcoming operations.
There is also the future to consider. If a catastrophe were to occur to the Allied armies which could be traced to the retention of the German and Japanese representatives in Dublin, a gulf would be opened between Great Britain on the one hand and Southern Ireland on the other which even generations would not bridge. His Majesty's Government would also be held accountable by the people of the United States if it could be shown that we had in any way failed to do everything in our power to safeguard their troops.
§Sir W. Davison: May I ask the Prime Minister whether he does not think it essential that the frontier between Ulster and Eire should be closed, in view of the activities of the I.R.A., who have declared war on Great Britain and have riot long ago been apprehended with papers giving particulars of the American Forces at present in Ulster and certain plans of their operations?
The Prime Minister: I prefer to confine myself to a statement in general terms today. All necessary measures, within the limits which I have described, will, of course, be taken as they are deemed to be necessary.
Mr. Vernon Bartlett: May I ask my right hon. Friend whether this decision was taken after prior consultation with the other Dominions, because that would seem to be really important to bring home to the Irish people?
The Prime Minister: Complete unity on that prevails throughout the British Commonwealth, as far as I know.
Sir Ronald Ross: Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that the chief emphasis in the United States' note to the Government of Eire was on the dangers to United States' bases in Northern Ireland, and that it was chiefly, or largely, to protect them from espionage that this request was made? Is he not further aware that nothing that has been done up to the present has had the slightest effect to that end, and that while censorship is still applied between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, there is no censorship between Northern Ireland and Eire?
The Prime Minister: As I say, all these matters are receiving constant and vigilant attention.
Professor Savory: I want to ask the right hon. Gentleman whether the retention of these accredited representatives of the Axis Powers in Dublin is consistent with membership of the British Commonwealth of Nations?
The Prime Minister: The whole question of the position of Southern Ireland is anomalous from various points of view, and I can conceive that high legal authorities might have very great difficulty in defining the exact relationship which prevails. At any rate, I shall not attempt to do so at the end of Questions.
:Captain Strickland: In deciding the limits of the prohibition on travel between Northern Ireland and this country, would the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind the position of British soldiers serving in Ireland but due for leave? Will it be possible to make any concession to see that those soldiers are permitted to come back to this country?
The Prime Minister: I must leave the administration of the Act to the Ministers responsible. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will answer questions on the subject in detail.
Mr. Gallacher: I would not like to say anything that would make more difficult a very difficult situation, but I would like to ask if it is not possible, in any further approaches to Eire, to suggest that the question of partition will be a subject for discussion when peace is being decided.
The Prime Minister: I could hardly think of a more ill-conceived approach to the unity of Ireland.
Primary elections for the 1944 races began in the U.S. Wilkie and Roosevelt took top position in their respective races in New Hampshire.
The 17th Indian Division began a withdrawal in India. The 20th Indian Division had already started its retreat.
The Red Army continued to take ground in its southern offensive.
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US troops regained most of the ground lost on Bougainville in a counterattack.
U.S. forces overrun the small Japanese garrison at Hauwei.
In northwest Indian, the 17th and 20th Indian Divisions were authorized to pull back to Imphal. Mountbatten requested American aircraft to supply the Chinese and to redeploy the 5th Indian Division from the Arakan.
Japanese aircraft attacked the Broadway airfield being used to supply the Chindits.
The Kingdom of Italy and the Soviet Union restored diplomatic relations with each other.
The Red Army took Kherson.
The U-575 was sunk in the Atlantic. The Japanese cruiser Tatsuta was sunk off Hachijō-jima by the American submarine Sand Lance.
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The First Anglo Burmese War commenced with a British declaration of war against the Burmese Empire over competing claims to Northeast India.
