Showing posts with label Yugoslavia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yugoslavia. Show all posts

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Friday, May 11, 1945. The USS Bunker Hill.

The USS Bunker Hill was badly damaged by kamikaze attacks, something that had been an unrelenting feature of the Japanese defense of Okinawa as part of Operation Ten-Go.

The Battle of West Henan–North Hubei ended in tactical stalemate but a Japanese operational victory.

Soldiers of the US Army who had commenced combat with Operation Torch and who had gone on to serve in Europe were exempted from further combat deployment.  Fighting was still raging all over the Pacific, with troops meeting stiff resistance in New Guinea, the Philippines, and Okinawa as examples.

Soldiers at a familiarization course for newly arrived soldiers on Okinawa, May 11, 1945.


The Australians took Wewak, New Guinea.

The Red Army continued to encounter German units that had not yet surrendered.  In Yugoslavia German Group Ostmark refused to surrender and kept fighting Yugoslav forces.

German forces began to surrender in the Aegean.

Last edition:

Thursday, May 10, 1945. Guderian surrenders.

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Friday, May 4, 1945. The war ends in northwest Europe.

British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands, northwest Germany including all islands, Denmark and all naval ships in those areas. 

The US Seventh United States Army captured Innsbruck, Salzburg and Berchtesgaden.

German forces in northeast Germany, Czechoslovakia and Austria begin rearguard actions in an attempt to reach Anglo American lines.

The Red Army too the Oranienburg concentration camp.

Konrad Barde, 47, German Generalmajor committed suicide.

Fedor von Bock, 64, German field marshal was killed by a strafing British aircraft while traveling by car.

Yugoslav partisans entered Fiume.

Last edition:

Thursday, May 3, 1945. Dönitz sends a surrender delegation.

Saturday, April 19, 2025

Thursday, April 19, 1945. Broadcasting from Belsen.

Army machine gunners on Okinawa, April 19, 1945.  Not the visible rear sight on the M1917 machine gun and the high angle the gun is being used at.

The Battle of the Seelow Heights ended in Soviet/Polish victory.

The US 1st Army took Leipzig.

Robert Cappa, the famous photographer, took a series of photos in an event that occurred in this battle, in which a tank crewman who was manning a machinegun in a building was killed by a German sniper.  The bloody scene and the soldier's lifeless body is the recalled photograph.  A nearly as dramatic photo of another crewman stepping over him to man the gun is not as well recalled.


Richard Dimbleby broadcast the conditions of Belsen on the BBC.

The Battle of Odžak began in Croatia between Yugoslav Partisans and the Axis aligned Croatian Armed Forces.  The last battle to be fought in the Second World War in Europe, it would continue until May 25.

Pyinmana, the base of the Japanese aligned Burma Defence Army, fell to the 5th Indian Division.


Japanese Gen. Sōsaku Suzuki, age 53, was killed in action in the Philippines.

Nazi Party member Fritz Wächtler,  age 54, was executed by the Nazis for desertion over the surrender of Bayreuth. The charge was unjust and due to rivalry on the part of other Nazis.  

It's amazing to think of this sort of infighting when it should have been obvious they'd all be facing trials by the victors soon.

The U-251, U-548 and U-879 were sunk.

Johnny Kelley won the Boston Marathon.

Last edition:

Wednesday, April 18, 1945. The death of Ernie Pyle.Labels: 

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Sunday, April 8, 1945. Cebu City.

"Sam Yoshihana, Chicago, Ill., leads a bunch of German prisoners taken by the 100th Bn., through the village of Valecchia to a PW cage. 8 April, 1945. Valecchia, Italy. 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Photographer: Bull, 196th Signal Photo Co."  Yoshihana is armed iith a Thompson submachinegun.

British and French forces prevailed in Operation Amherst.

The US won the Battle for Cebu City.

The Battle of Lijevče Field ended in victory for the forces of the Independent State of Croatia which wasn't to be independent for very much longer.

"C and D Troop, 10/65 Field Btry., 4/22 Field Regt., South African arty., 6th South African Arm'd Div., firing a mission. They are equipped with "sextons", self-propelled 25 pounder cannons. 8 April, 1945. Pian Di Setta area, Italy. Photographer: Thomas, 196th Signal Photo Co"

Last edition:

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Sunday, February 8, 1925. The Lost World.

The Lost World premiered.


Parliamentary elections were held in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes with the People's Radical Party (Narodna radikalna stranka or NRS), led by Prime Minister Nikola Pašić gaining 15 seats. The populist party had evolved from a radical populist socialist party into a conservative one.

Actor Jack Lemmon was born in an elevator in Newton, Massachusetts.

Lemmon was a great actor, but personally highly insecure, something that perhaps reflects itself in his portrayal of worried characters, of which there are some very notable performances.  He died in 2001 at age 76.

Radical environmentalist Alice Mabel Gray died at age 43.

Last edition:

Monday, February 2, 1915. Serum run concludes.

Friday, December 13, 2024

Saturday, December 13, 1924. Albanian invasion.

Former Albanian Prime Minister Ahmet Zogu, the future King Zog the First, led an invasion of Albania with guerrillas backed by Yugoslavia.

And, it was a Saturday.




Last edition:

Friday, December 12, 1924. Soviet Gun Control.

Monday, November 11, 2024

Saturday, November 11, 1944. Ghastly Japanese losses at Ormoc Bay.

The Battle of Ormoc Bay began in the Camotes Sea off of the Philippines.  It would carry on well into December and result in disproportionate Japanese losses as they attempted to reinforce ground elements on Leyte.  On this day, four destroyers, 1 minesweeper and 5 transports carrying nearly 10,000 troops were sunk in heavy Japanese losses.

Iwo Jima was bombarded by the U.S.Navy.

Remaining German troops in Greece withdrew.

The Battle of Batina began in Croatia.

US troops in France.  Note many are wearing L. L. Bean style "Maine Hunting Shoes", which were adopted for cold weather use by the  U.S. Army.

The U-771 and U-1200 were sunk by the Royal Navy.

The 1942-44 musicians strike ended with RCA Victor and Columbia Records agreeing to union demands.

Last edition:

Friday, November 10, 1944. The Explosion of the Mount Hood.

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Thursday, November 2, 1944. The march of the Hungarian Jews.

Infantrymen moving through Hurtgen Forest near Vossenack, Germany. 2 November, 1944. Company E, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division.

The Germans commenced a forced march of 50,000 Hungarian Jews from Budapest to Austria as Germany's ongoing amplification of mass murder against the Jews in the closing months of the war carried on.

Josip Broz Tito became the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia.

The 7th Army took Nompatelize.

The 5th Army took Casseta.

"American Red Cross worker Henry Eichman of Springfield, Mo., giving a pair of U.S.- made moccasins to a pig-tailed Italian girl. 2 November, 1944. Monghidoro, Italy."

Robert Edward Femoyer preformed the actions that resulted in his receiving a posthumous Medal of Honor.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Merseburg, Germany on 2 November 1944. While on a mission, the bomber, of which 2d Lt. Femoyer was a navigator, was struck by three enemy antiaircraft shells. The plane suffered serious damage and 2d Lt. Femoyer was severely wounded in the side and back by shell fragments which penetrated his body. In spite of extreme pain and great loss of blood he refused an offered injection of morphine. He was determined to keep his mental faculties clear in order that he might direct his plane out of danger and so save his comrades. Not being able to arise from the floor, he asked to be propped up in order to enable him to see his charts and instruments. He successfully directed the navigation of his lone bomber for 2 and one half hours so well it avoided enemy flak and returned to the field without further damage. Only when the plane had arrived in the safe area over the English Channel did he feel that he had accomplished his objective; then, and only then, he permitted an injection of a sedative. He died shortly after being moved from the plane. The heroism and self-sacrifice of 2d Lt. Femoyer are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

The tanker Fort Lee was sunk in the Indian Ocean by the U-181.

Last edition:

Wednesday, November 1, 1944 Death of Greek Catholic Archbishop of Lviv and Metropolitan of Halych Andrey Sheptytsky

Today in World War II History—November 2, 1944

Today in World War II History—November 2, 1944: 80 Years Ago: US First Army begins drive on Schmidt, Germany, through the Hürtgen Forest. All German males ages 13-60 are ordered to join Volkssturm militia.

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Friday, October 20, 1944. "This is the Voice of Freedom, General MacArthur speaking. People of the Philippines: I have returned."

So stated a radio address from Douglas MacArthur, on this the opening day of the Battle of Leyte.


A Japanese task force was launched to address the situation in the Philippines.

Members of E Troop, 2nd Squadron, 7th Cav. Regt., engaging the Japs at close range, 100 yards inland from White Beach, Leyte Island, P.I. 20 October, 1944.

The Red Army and Bulgarian partisans took Belgrade.

The Western Allies commenced Operation Pheasant in the Netherlands.

The Guatemalan Revolution began with the overthrow of the government.


From the turret of a medium tank, Cpl. Eugene McKay, Calumet City, Ill., searches for Germans in Aachen, Germany, while a tank destroyer, in the background, moves on German positions. 20 October, 1944. 745th Tank Battalion and 634th Tank Destroyer Battalion attached to 1st Infantry Division.

Last edition:

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Sunday, October 15, 1944. Horthy attempts to take Hungary out of the war.

n Aachen, Germany, Pfc. Ragnel Lundgren, Jamestown, New York, maintains continuous communications with his headquarters with a handie-talkie radio. 15 October, 1944. 1st Infantry Division.

Aided by the armored force, Yank infantry moves forward to engage the enemy in Aachen, Germany. 15 October, 1944. Company M, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.

Regent of Hungary Miklós Horthy made a radio broadcast announcing a separate peace with the Soviet Union.  The Germans launched Operation Panzerfaust, a commando operation to seize Horthy and keep Hungary in the war.  He was in fact seized later that day and resigned in favor of Arrow Cross leader Ferenc Szálasi when he learned that his son had been seized and his life was in danger.

The Red Army too Riga.

Partisans launched an operation to expel the Germans from Kosovo.

The Poles took Gambettola.

The Leipzig collided with the Prinz Eugen in the Baltic fog and was rendered a total loss.

The U-777 was sunk by the RAF.

Task Force 38.4 conducted air raids north of Manila.

Pfc. Hoyle E. Lougherty, Knoxville, Tenn., looks at a warning sign posted by the Nazis for the German citizenry of Aachen, Germany. It means "Take care, the enemy may be listening". 15 October, 1944.

Last edition:

Saturday, October 14, 1944. Rommel kills himself.

Friday, September 6, 2024

Wednesday, September 6, 1944. Closing in and winding down. . .

Fighting in the rain, Pfc. Lowell Holt, West Des Moines, Iowa, a member of the 5th Armored Division, takes cover behind a truck as he gets set to draw a bead on a German sniper across the street.

The French captured Chalon-sur-Saône.  The Poles liberated Ypres.  The British took Ghent, Courtrai and Armentieres. The Canadians reached the English Channel north of Calais, south of Boulogne. The U.S. Army crossed the Meuse River south of Namur.

Results of the 113th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron encountering a German convoy in Court - St. Etienne, Belgium, 

The Soviet Tartu Offensive concluded with a Red Army victory.  The Red Army reached the Yugoslavian border.

The United Kingdom ended compulsory training for the Home Guard and relaxed blackout restrictions.  The US announced that it planned on demobilizing 1,000,000 following the defeat of Germany.

The moves made sense in context, but in the American case it was over optimistic.  The war with Japan was about to reach its bloodiest stages and it would soon be determined that the manpower needed to take the home islands would be massive.  Moreover, the US would soon find that it had a deficit of infantry in Europe.

Prince Jan Franciszek Czartoryski, a Polish noble and a Dominican friar, was shot by the Germans during the Warsaw Uprising.

Ted T. Tanouye died of his wounds.  He'd receive the Medal of Honor.

Technical Sergeant Ted T. Tanouye distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 7 July 1944, near Molino A Ventoabbto, Italy. Technical Sergeant Tanouye led his platoon in an attack to capture the crest of a strategically important hill that afforded little cover. Observing an enemy machine gun crew placing its gun in position to his left front, Technical Sergeant Tanouye crept forward a few yards and opened fire on the position, killing or wounding three and causing two others to disperse. Immediately, an enemy machine pistol opened fire on him. He returned the fire and killed or wounded three more enemy soldiers. While advancing forward, Technical Sergeant Tanouye was subjected to grenade bursts, which severely wounded his left arm. Sighting an enemy-held trench, he raked the position with fire from his submachine gun and wounded several of the enemy. Running out of ammunition, he crawled 20 yards to obtain several clips from a comrade on his left flank. Next, sighting an enemy machine pistol that had pinned down his men, Technical Sergeant Tanouye crawled forward a few yards and threw a hand grenade into the position, silencing the pistol. He then located another enemy machine gun firing down the slope of the hill, opened fire on it, and silenced that position. Drawing fire from a machine pistol nest located above him, he opened fire on it and wounded three of its occupants. Finally taking his objective, Technical Sergeant Tanouye organized a defensive position on the reverse slope of the hill before accepting first aid treatment and evacuation. Technical Sergeant Tanouye's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.

Lest it create some confusion, the rank of Technical Sergeant later became Sergeant First Class, with the same insignia.  A Technician Fourth Grade wore an insignia with three chevrons and a T.

The U.S. Navy's Task Force 38 hit all of the Palau Islands.

Last edition:

Tuesday, September 5, 1944. The USSR declares war on Bulgaria.