Germany: The Hakenkruez (Eagle-Swastika symbol) is introduced as part of German military helmets.
CBI - China: Day 74 of 142 of the 1st Battle of Hebei.
1935 — , March 15
Germany: In the Hohnstein trial in Dresden, SA members who staffed the Hohenstein Concentration Camp are given prison sentences for having brutally mistreated and tortured prisoners. Hitler gives the appearance of supporting this administration of justice (one of the last Germany will see for 10 years), in order to continue to win support of the German people.
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30 Jun 33: Prisoners from the Hohnstein concentration camp on their way to work building roads, Sebnitz, Germany.
Concentration camps had opened immediately after Hitler came into power and were filled primarily with political opponents. When charges of brutality and torture surfaced, the Ministry of Justice prosecuted the accused SA members. Thus, as more and more Germans were being arrested by the SA and the Gestapo, the average citizen had the false sense of security that due process would prevail and that violations of human rights would not be tolerated in the Nazi regime.
But in November Hitler will no longer feel the need for pretense and will give all the convicted SA members a full pardon.
Spain: Day 242 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War. Italian General Mario Roatta halts his advance on Guadalajara to regroup his forces.
1938 — , March 15
Spain: Day 607 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
USSR: Stalin's rival, Nikolai Bukharin, is shot following his conviction as a counter-revolutionary terrorist.
CBI - China: Day 252 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 37 of 124 of the Battle of Henan. 2,000 Chinese troops dig in at Tengxian against an overwhelming 10,000-strong Japanese offensive.
1939 — , March 15
Czechoslovakia: Hitler arrives in Prague to complete the occupation of the German-speaking regions of Bohemia and Moravia. He declares, "Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist."
Spain: Day 972 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 617 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1940 — , March 15
ETO - Poland: RAF bombers drop propaganda leaflets over Warsaw.
Finland: The Finnish parliament ratifies the Moscow Peace Treaty to end the Russo-Finnish War, aka the Winter War, 145 votes for and 3 votes against.
Romania: King Carol grants amnesty to the members of the fascist Iron Guard party after they swear allegiance to him.
PTO: British Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser HMS KANIMBLA impounds Soviet steamer VLADIMIR MAYAKOVSKY in the Sea of Japan, which was carrying American copper bound for Germany.
CBI - China: Day 983 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 122 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
Day 48 of 67 of the Battle of Wuyuan.
1941 — , March 15
USA: Roosevelt broadcasts to the nation announcing "the end of compromise with tyranny."
USA: The US shipping company American Export Lines announces that it will no longer accept orders from Lisbon, Portugal, because there are too many refugees waiting in its ports.
Atlantic: German battlecruisers SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU attack an Allied convoy 950 miles east of Nova Scotia, sinking 3 tankers and capturing 3 others.
Atlantic: German sub U-110 hits British tanker ERODONA, killing 36, but she will be towed to Iceland for repairs.
ETO - UK: Day 191 of 258 of the Blitz.
ETO - Belgium: Belgian politicians form the cross-party resistance organization called Independence Front at Liege.
East Africa: Day 279 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
East Africa - Eritrea: Day 39 of 56 of the Battle of Keren. Two Indian divisions make a major attack near Keren capturing the nearby hilltops.
CBI - China: Day 1,348 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 2 of 27 of the Battle of Shanggao.
CBI - Thailand: Day 166 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1942 — , March 15
Atlantic: Day 61 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
US planes sink German sub U-503 near the Grand Banks, off Newfoundland.
U-158 sinks US tankers ARIO and OLEAN off the southeast coast of Swansboro, North Carolina.
Germany: At Auschwitz, 28 prisoners died in the hospital and 131 prisoners are killed for no reason. Another 250 prisoners die from wounds sustained during torture.
Germany: Adolf Hitler predicts a victory over the Soviet Union by the end of the summer of 1942.
Russian Front - North: Day 189 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 36 of 102 of the Battle of the Demyansk Pocket, another failed attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 52 of 103 of the Battle of the Kholm Pocket. Another attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 67 of 103 of the Battle of Vyazma, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 67 of 103 of the Battle of Sychevsk, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 13 of 49 of the Battle of Rzhev, Russia, a diversion to pull more German troops away from Moscow.
Russian Front - South: Day 137 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula. All German attacks against Sevastopol are shut down for the winter.
MTO - Greece: British cruisers HMS DIDO and HMS EURYALUS shell the Greek island of Rhodes.
CBI - Burma: Day 92 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma.
CBI - China: Day 1,713 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 82 of 99 of the 3rd Battle of Changsha.
PTO - Borneo: Day 90 of 107 of the Battle of Borneo.
PTO - Malaya: Day 25 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - Philippines: Day 98 of 152 of the 1st Battle of the Philippines. 5th Air Force provides air support.
1943 — , March 15
Atlantic: Italian submarine LEONARDO DA VINCI sinks Canadian Pacific liner EMPRESS OF CANADA off the coast of Sierra Leone.
Atlantic: USS S-28 begins conducting sound tests and anti-submarine warfare exercises with the Canadian Navy and Air Force at Esquimalt, British Columbia.
ETO: The British Royal Navy launches the first of their X-class midget submarines.
Eastern Front: Germany and Finland sign a trade agreement.
Russian Front - North: Day 554 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad. German troops evacuate Vyazma, Russia.
Russian Front - North: Day 34 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 315 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 - Center: Day 14 of 30 of the 3rd Battle of Rzhev-Sychevka, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 25 of 25 of the 3rd Battle of Kharkov, Ukraine. The Germans have Kharkov.
MTO - Greece: Greek Jews from Salonika and Thrace are deported to concentration camps.
MTO - Tunisia: Day 119 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia. RAF and US Air Forces provide Allied air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 85 of 104 of the 1st Battle of Arakan. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 36 of 79 of the Allied Operation LONGCLOTH. Chindits under British Major Calvert and Major Fergusson cross the Irrawaddy River.
CBI - China: Day 2,078 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Indochina: US 14th Air Force attack targets in French Indochina.
PTO - Alaska: Day 282 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. US 11th Air Force warplanes bomb North Head, the Main Camp and gun emplacements on Kiska Island.
PTO - New Guinea: The US submarine TRITON is sunk by Japanese destroyers while on patrol off the Admiralty Islands.
1944 — , March 15
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb the industrial area at Brunswick.
ETO - Germany: Day 119 of 135 of the Battle of Berlin (RAF bombing campaign). The RAF bombs Stuttgart.
ETO - France: US 9th Air Force B-26s attack marshalling yards at Aulnoye and Haine-Saint-Pierre and Chievres Airfield. A directive is issued releasing the 9th AF from its priority commitment to assist the 8th AF. Providing future help will depend on the situation of the ground troops.
Russian Front - North: Day 43 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Both German and Soviet troops in the Baltic region go on the defensive.
Russian Front - South: Day 83 of 113 of the USSR's Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive in southwestern Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 12 of 45 of the Battle of Chernovtsy, Ukraine. The Soviets break through the German defenses and reach the Bug river, which was the starting point for Hitler's 1941 Operation BARBAROSSA.
Russian Front - South: Day 10 of 44 of the Battle of Snigirevka, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: German troops gather at the Hungarian border.
MTO - Italy: Day 59 of 123 of the Battle of Monte Cassino. RAF and US Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground troops. The Allies make their second major assault on Cassino, but are unable to make any headway.
MTO - Italy: Day 54 of 136 of the Battle of Anzio. RAF and US Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground troops.
CBI - Burma: Day 77 of 99 of the 2nd Battle of Arakan.
CBI - Burma: Day 11 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY. Joseph Stilwell orders the Chinese 22nd Division to attack the ridge of Jambu Bum.
CBI - Burma: Day 6 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,444 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
US 14th Air Force hits targets in China.
CBI - India: Day 8 of 118 of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima. At the India-Burma border, the Japanese begin their big offensive push toward Imphal and Kohima. After dark, a second wave of soldiers enter into India.
PTO: US 7th Air Force attacks targets in the Marshall and Caroline Islands.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 16 of 80 of the Battle of the Admiralty Islands. 5th Air Force provides air support. The US 1st Cavalry Division makes an amphibious landing on Manus Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 179 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 92 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 136 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , March 15
Atlantic: Prince Edward, the Duke of Windsor and the former King of the United Kingdom, resigns as the British governor of the Bahamas.
ETO - UK: Two German V-2 rockets fall in the River Thames near the Ford factory in Dagenham in greater London, causing no injuries.
ETO - France: Day 228 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 182 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO: Day 56 of 66 of the Battle to the Rhine. Day 10 of 20 of the Battle of Ramagen. US and French troops sweep into the Saarland in Germany. US 9th Air Force provides air support.
ETO - Germany: Day 9 of 46 of the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket.
ETO - Germany: Day 24 of 36 consecutive RAF night raids on Berlin. The RAF makes its first use of the 22,000lb GRAND SLAM bomb, wrecking the Bielefeld viaduct.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force bombs the German Army general staff headquarters at Zossenin.
Germany: Albert Speer writes a letter to Adolf Hitler in an attempt to dissuade him from destroying German infrastructure. Hitler will get the letter three days later.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 182 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 152 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 50 of 75 of the Battle of Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia).
Russian Front - Center: Day 3 of 10 of the Battle of Braunsberg, East Prussia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 49 of 63 of the Battle of the Heiligenbeil Pocket in East Prussia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 34 of 54 of the Battle of East Pomerania, Germany.
Russian Front - Center: Day 31 of 83 of the German Siege of Breslau (today Wroclaw, Poland).
Russian Front - Center: Day 12 of 15 of the Battle of Kolberg, Germany (today Kolobrzeg, Poland).
Russian Front - Center: Day 1 of 17 of the USSR's Upper Silesian Offensive in Germany (today Poland). The Soviets begin an offensive in the Ratibor area of the Upper Silesia River(now Racibórz, Poland).
Russian Front - South: Day 10 of 11 of the failed German Operation FRÜHLINGSERWACHEN (Spring Awakening) at Lake Balaton, Hungary. The Germans continue retreating.
Russian Front - South: Day 10 of 16 of the Battle of Drava (a river in Bulgaria). Germans attack the Bulgarians, hoping to distract the Soviet advance on Berlin.
Russian Front - South: Day 3 of 34 of the Battle of Vienna, Austria.
MTO: US 15th Air Force bombs targets in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Austria.
MTO - Italy: RAF and US Air Forces provide air support for the Allied ground units.
CBI: US 14th Air Force attacks targets in China and in the South China Sea.
CBI - Burma: Day 56 of 61 of the Battles of Meiktila and Mandalay. The US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 40 of 99 of the Battle of Pakokku and Irrawaddy River operations in central Burma. The US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,809 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: American warships bombard Japanese installations on Matsuwa, Kurile Islands. US 11th Air Force provide the air coverage.
PTO - Japan: US 7th Air Force attacks the Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima Island.
PTO - Japan: Day 25 of 36 of the Battle of Iwo Jima. US 7th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 444 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 328 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 147 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 91 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 6 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. 5th Air Force provides air support.
1946 — , March 15
Greece: The Greek Civil War begins.
1949 — , March 15
UK: Clothes rationing, imposed on 01 Jun 41, is finally lifted.
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