Kursk, Soviet Union · July 13, 1943 On this date in 1943 Operation Citadel (Zitadelle), Adolf Hitler’s gambit to retake Kursk, an important Soviet rail hub south of Moscow, and straighten the German line on the Eastern Front failed with devastating losses on both sides, but especially to German strategic armored reserves. A day earlier…
Near Kursk, Russia · July 5, 1943 On this date in 1943 Germans and Soviets unleashed the largest tank battle in history, the Battle of Kursk. Following the surrender of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad (January 31, 1943), Soviet advances during the first months of 1943 pushed deep into German-held territory to recapture the Ukrainian…
London, England · June 24, 1942 On this date in 1942 Maj. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in London, England, to assume administrative and operational command of the European Theater of Operations, United States Army. Set up 16 days earlier, ETOUSA directed U.S. ground, air, and service operations north of Italy and the Mediterranean coast. When…
Berlin, Germany · May 22, 1939 On this date in 1939 Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy signed the “Pact of Steel,” which tied the two dictatorships in a ten-year military alliance and stipulated that neither side could make peace without the other’s consent. Ominously dubbed the “Pact of Blood” in the planning stage, the alliance…
Salzburg, Austria · April 8, 1943 On this date in 1943 in Salzburg, Austria, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met for the first time since the collapse of the Axis defense of Stalingrad at the end of January. Ignoring Mussolini’s trial balloon about negotiating a ceasefire with the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, Hitler remained convinced…
Berlin, Germany · February 25, 1941 The first flight of the German prototype Me 321 Gigant (“Giant”) took place on this date in 1941. The previous October German aircraft maker Messerschmitt had been given just 14 days to submit a proposal for a large-capacity troop- and cargo-carrying glider. The prototype glider’s maiden flight encouraged Messerschmitt to enlarge…
Montgomery saw service in France during World War I, rising to the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1919 he briefly commanded a battalion in the British Army of the Rhine. Later he saw service in India and in the British mandate of Palestine, where, promoted to major general in October 1938, he put down an…
When July 9/10 to August 17, 1943 Where The Italian island of Sicily
Like Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bradley graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1915 and held various staff and instructor positions in the interwar years. (The influenza pandemic and the armistice prevented Bradley from serving in Europe in World War I.) On several occasions Bradley taught at West Point. He served directly under Army…
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1915, Eisenhower served in various capacities during World War I and the interwar years: in Texas, where he commanded a tank training center (1915–18); in Panama (1922–24); the Philippines (1935–39), where served under Gen. Douglas MacArthur; and in the States, where he severed as chief-of-staff…