CBI - China: Day 150 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.
CBI - China: Day 18 of 41 of the 1st Battle of Shanghai.
1933 — , February 14
CBI - China: Day 45 of 142 of the 1st Battle of Hebei.
1937 — , February 14
Spain: Day 213 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , February 14
Spain: Day 578 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 223 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 8 of 124 of the Battle of Henan.
1939 — , February 14
Germany: The great German battleship BISMARCK is launched, the most powerful ship in the Kriegsmarine, the German Navy. Its career on the seas, however, will be cut short by the British.
Spotlight...
The Bismarck, first of two Bismarck-class battleships
In the course of her short career, Bismarck conducted only one offensive operation in 1941, sinking the HMS HOOD, pride of the British Navy, rallying the Brits to avenge.
The Bismarck, resting in peace on the sea floor, June 1989. The big holes are the mounts where the guns sat. Held in place by gravity, they simply fell off when the ship was sunk by the British on 27 May 41.
CBI - China: Day 588 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1940 — , February 14
Finland: Day 77 of 105 of the Russo-Finnish War.
CBI - China: Day 953 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 92 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
Day 18 of 67 of the Battle of Wuyuan.
1941 — , February 14
ETO - UK: Day 162 of 258 of the Blitz.
MTO - Yugoslavia: Hitler starts to apply pressure on Yugoslavia to join the Tripartite Pact.
MTO - Libya: First units of the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel start to arrive at Tripoli for Operation SONNENBLUME and are immediately moved up to Sirte to take up defensive positions.
East Africa: Day 250 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt. Kurmuk near the Ethiopian border in Sudan is recaptured by British forces.
East Africa - Eritrea: Day 10 of 56 of the Battle of Keren.
CBI - China: Day 1,319 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 16 of 31 of the Battle of South Henan.
CBI - Thailand: Day 137 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1942 — , February 14
Atlantic: Day 32 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
USSR: The Soviet Union introduces universal labor conscription.
Russian Front - North: Day 160 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 7 of 102 of the Battle of the Demyansk Pocket, another failed attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 23 of 103 of the Battle of the Kholm Pocket. Another attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 38 of 103 of the Battle of Vyazma, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 38 of 103 of the Battle of Sychevsk, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 108 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula. All German attacks against Sevastopol are stopped for the winter.
CBI - Burma: Day 63 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma.
CBI - Burma: Day 1 of 5 of the Battle of the Bilin River.
CBI - China: Day 1,684 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 53 of 99 of the 3rd Battle of Changsha.
CBI - Indonesia: Day 2 of 3 of the Battle of Palembang, Sumatra. The Japanese make airborne landings.
CBI - Java: Day 16 of 17 of the Battle of Singapore. Japanese soldiers advance toward the Alexandra Barracks Hospital. A British lieutenant, acting as an envoy with a white flag, approaches the Japanese forces but is killed with a bayonet. The Japanese troops enter the hospital and kill a number of patients, including those undergoing surgery at the time, along with doctors and members of the nursing staff.
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Dates related to British Malaya and Singapore...
18 Feb 41: Elements of the Australian 8th Division arrive in Singapore.
18 Mar 41: Grand Admiral Erich Raeder urges Hitler to convince Japan to attack Singapore.
28 Apr 41: Churchill issues directive stating that at present there is no need to make provisions for the defense of Malaya and Singapore.
19 Jan 42: General Wavell warns Churchill that Singapore cannot be held, but is told that no question of surrender be entertained.
22 Jan 42: Day 46 of 55 of the Battle of British Malaya. Reinforcements reach Singapore with an Indian Brigade landing.
24 Jan 42: Day 48 of 55 of the Battle of British Malaya. British 18th Division arrives at Singapore as reinforcements to boost its defenses.
30 Jan 42: Day 54 of 55 of the Battle of British Malaya. British troops withdraw into Singapore.
30 Jan 42: Day 1 of 17 of the Battle of Singapore. The Japanese siege of British troops in Singapore begins.
14 Feb 42: Day 16 of 17 of the Battle of Singapore. Japanese soldiers advance toward the Alexandra Barracks Hospital. A British lieutenant, acting as an envoy with a white flag, approaches the Japanese forces but is killed with a bayonet. The Japanese troops enter the hospital and kill a number of patients, including those undergoing surgery at the time, along with doctors and members of the nursing staff.
15 Feb 42: Day 17 of 17 of the Battle of Singapore. 9,000 British and Australian troops have been killed, and the remaining 80,000 are taken prisoner as Japanese troops take the city, joining 50,000 taken in the earlier Malayan Campaign to be worked as slaves. It remains the largest surrender of British-led forces in history.
16 Feb 42: Australia's Prime Minister Curtin, calls the surrender of Singapore "Australia's Dunkirk."
04 Mar 42: The Australian sloop HMAS YARRA is sunk by Japanese cruisers while attempting to protect a convoy of vessels withdrawing from Singapore to Australia.
05 Sep 45: Following Japan's surrender, British land in Singapore.
PTO - Borneo: Day 61 of 107 of the Battle of Borneo.
PTO - Philippines: Day 69 of 152 of the 1st Battle of the Philippines. 5th Air Force provides air support.
1943 — , February 14
ETO - UK: US 8th Air Force: Flying Spitfires, the 4th Fighter Group flies shipping patrols over the Channel.
Russian Front - North: Day 525 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 5 of 51 of the USSR's Operation POLAR STAR, a failed offensive north of Leningrad, hoping to take the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, Russia.
Russian Front - North: Day 286 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket, USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - South: Day 65 of 69 of the USSR's Operation LITTLE SATURN. A successful drive into the Northern Caucasus and the Donets Basin pushing the Axis troops out.
MTO - Tunisia: Day 90 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia.
MTO - Tunisia: Day 1 of 4 of the Battle of Sidi Bouzid. Axis troops advance from Faïd to take Sidi Bouzid and Sbeitla. At Kasserine Pass, US troops suffer heavy casualties inflicted by the German tanks. Note: The famous big battle at Kasserine Pass will start on the 19th.
CBI - Burma: Day 56 of 104 of the 1st Battle of Arakan. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 7 of 79 of the Allied Operation LONGCLOTH.
CBI - China: Day 2,049 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 253 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
1944 — , February 14
ETO - Netherlands: US 8th Air Force P-47s hit the Gilze-Rijen Airfield.
Russian Front - North: Day 651 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket. USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - North: Day 32 of 48 of the Battle toward the Narva River, Estonia. This drive helped lift the Leningrad siege and goes on to liberate Narva.
Russian Front - North: Day 13 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia.
Russian Front - North: Day 32 of 33 of the Battle of Luga, Russia. Taking this town west of Leningrad will open the door toward Estonia.
Russian Front - South: Day 53 of 113 of the USSR's Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive in southwestern Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 16 of 31 of the Battle of Nikopol, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 22 of 25 of the Battle of the Korsun Bulge in Ukraine.
MTO - Italy: Day 29 of 123 of the Battle of Monte Cassino. RAF and US Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground troops.
MTO - Italy: Day 24 of 136 of the Battle of Anzio. RAF and US Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground troops.
CBI - Burma: Day 47 of 99 of the 2nd Battle of Arakan.
CBI - Burma: Day 10 of 19 of the Battle of the Admin Box. Japanese launch a major attack on the Anglo-Indian defensive position at Sinzweya, capturing one hill on the perimeter.
CBI - China: Day 2,414 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force attacks targets in the Caroline Islands.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 149 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 146 of 162 of the Battle of the Huon Peninsula. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 62 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 106 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , February 14
South America: Uruguay declares war on Germany.
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Dates related to Latin America in WWII...
05 Jul 41: Peru and Ecuador go to war against each other
19 Dec 41: Colombia severs diplomatic relations with Germany and Italy
21 May 42: Mexico declares war against the Axis powers
22 Aug 42: Brazil declares war on Germany and Italy, sends troops
ETO - France: Day 198 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 153 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Germany: Day 7 of 16 of Operation GRENADE, the US drive into Germany. US 9th Air Force provides air support.
ETO - Germany: Day 7 of 17 of Operation VERITABLE, the British and Canadian drive into Germany. These Allied troops reach the Rhine, 40 miles northwest of Duisberg.
ETO: Day 26 of 66 of the Battle to the Rhine. US 9th Air Force provides air support.
ETO - Germany: RAF launches two heavy night bombing waves on Dresden, followed by day bombings conducted by the US 8th Air Force. These Allied raids are estimated to have killed between 35,000 to 135,000 German citizens, becoming the most destructive raid in Europe.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 153 of 223 of the Lapland War. Finland and Russia have joined forces to kick the Germans out of Finland's most northern province.
Russian Front - Center: Day 123 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 21 of 75 of the Battle of Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia).
Russian Front - Center: Day 20 of 63 of the Battle of the Heiligenbeil Pocket in East Prussia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 5 of 54 of the Battle of East Pomerania, Germany.
Russian Front - Center: Day 7 of 17 of the USSR's Lower Silesian Offensive (Poland).
Russian Front - Center: Day 2 of 83 of the German Siege of Breslau (today Wroclaw, Poland).
Russian Front - Center: Day 14 of 31 of the Battle of Schwedt, Germany.
MTO: US 15th Air Force B-24s and B-17s bomb over a half of dozen targets in Austria and at three places in Yugoslavia.
MTO - Italy: RAF and US Air Forces provide air support for the Allied ground units.
CBI - Burma: Day 27 of 61 of the Battles of Meiktila and Mandalay. The US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 25 of 39 of the Battle of Ramree Island. The US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 11 of 99 of the Battle of Pakokku and Irrawaddy River operations in central Burma. The US 10th Air Force provides air support. British Indian 4th Corps begins crossing the Irrawaddy and hit the Japanese rear.
CBI - China: Day 2,780 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
US 14th Air Force attacks two airfields and destroys 14 locomotives in China.
PTO - Alaska: US 11th Air Force B-24s bomb the Suribachi Airfield on Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands.
PTO - Japan: US 7th Air Force bombs targets on Iwo Jima in preparation for the upcoming amphibious invasion.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 415 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 299 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Philippines: Day 118 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 62 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 15 of 22 of the Battle of the Bataan Peninsula. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 12 of 29 of the Battle of Manila.
Day-By-Day listings for February 14 were last modified on Friday, February 23, 2018
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