Seattle, Washington • November 3, 1944 On this date in 1944 Japan began an explosive balloon campaign against the U.S. and Canada. The date was chosen to commemorate the birthday of former Emperor Meiji (1852–1912). Over the next 5 months the Special Balloon Regiment of the Japanese Army launched some 6,000 to 9,300 (sources vary) hydrogen-filled…
Schmidt, Huertgen Forest, Germany • November 2, 1944 On September 19, 1944, elements of Lt. Gen. Courtney Hodges’ First U.S. Army entered the 10‑mile/16‑km-wide, 20‑mile/32‑km-long Huertgen Forest (German, Hürtgenwald) southeast of the ancient city Aachen, the first major and westernmost city in Nazi Germany to have fallen to the Anglo-American-Canadian armies. Before the outbreak of World…
Auschwitz (Oświęcim), German-Occupied Poland • November 1, 1940 On this date in 1940 SS Hauptsturmfuehrer (Captain) Rudolf Hoess (also Höß or Hoeß; pronounced “hearse”) (1901–1947) reported for duty as commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp in the newly annexed province of Upper Silesia in former Poland. During Hoess’s tenure at Auschwitz, the 20,000‑acre/8,094‑hectare complex of 3 separate camps…
Introduction à l’expérience mobile de Casinova Casino Dans le monde dynamique des jeux en ligne, l’application mobile de Casinova Casino se distingue comme une solution particulièrement adaptée aux utilisateurs actifs. En effet, cette plateforme propose une expérience fluide et optimisée, permettant aux joueurs de profiter de leurs jeux favoris en toute liberté, où qu’ils soient….
Chungking, China • October 31, 1944 The war against the Japanese in China was desultory at best, and service in that theater was viewed as a graveyard by U.S. military and diplomatic officials. On this date, October 31, 1944, Maj. Gen. Albert Wedemeyer arrived to replace dismissed Gen. Joseph (“Vinegar Joe”) Stilwell as commander of the China…
New York City, New York • October 30, 1939 On this date in the Manhattan borough of New York City hundreds of American Nazis paraded in front of the headquarters of the German American Bund (Amerikadeutscher Bund; Bund, pronounced “bunt,” means “alliance” in English). Among German speakers, Bund members, and fascist supporters the organization was…
Honolulu, Hawaii • October 29, 1943 In World War II’s Pacific Theater, sea mines—explosive underwater devices that damaged, sank, or deterred Japanese warships, submarines, and maritime commerce—were weapons that had difficulty gaining the same respect as guns, bombs, and torpedoes enjoyed in the U.S. arsenal. Over time, however, a small number of mining advocates in…
Rome, Italy • October 28, 1940 In early October 1940 Romanian strongman Gen. Ion Antonescu gave Adolf Hitler permission for the German Wehrmacht (armed forces) to occupy his country. Hitler’s Axis partner Benito Mussolini was caught off guard by the news, and the Italian public reacted negatively. For years the Italian dictator and his countrymen…
Milan, Italy • October 27, 1922 On this date in 1922 in Italy, riots instigated by Benito Mussolini’s National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista) erupted in several Italian towns. The Fascists called on the national government to resign. The next day 4 columns of Mussolini’s paramilitary insurgents, Blackshirts (Camicie nere) or squadristi as they were called,…
Berlin, Germany • October 26, 1939 On this date in 1939 in Poland, 56 days after Germany invaded that country, Dr. Hans Frank, Germany’s chief jurist and one of the most vicious products of Nazism, was appointed Governor-General of the General Government—that half of Nazi-occupied Poland not directly incorporated into the Reich. It included much of…
