CBI - China: Day 134 of 142 of the 1st Battle of Hebei.
1935 — , May 14
Philippines: The people of the Philippine Islands ratify the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines via a popular vote.
1937 — , May 14
USSR: A purge begins within the Soviet military. Stalin gets rid of military officers who have different political opinions than his.
Spain: Day 302 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , May 14
Italy: Mussolini promises the fascist nations will fight together against the democracies should a war break out.
Spain: Day 667 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 312 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 97 of 124 of the Battle of Henan.
1939 — , May 14
CBI - China: Day 677 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 25 of 35 of the Battle of Suizao.
CBI - Mongolia: Day 4 of 129 of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a border dispute between the Soviet Union and Japan.
1940 — , May 14
UK: The British Secretary of State for War calls for volunteers to create the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV) and more than 250,000 enroll within the first 24 hours.
Spotlight...
Haddington Home Guard
There are only two rifles visible among the ten men from Haddington's Home Guard shown here; an indication of how poorly armed much of Britain's Home Guard was.
Many men, who could not go to fight during World War II due to their age, reserved occupation or poor health, joined Local Defence Volunteer groups. In 1940, these groups became more formalized and were renamed "The Home Guard" and were trained to defend Britain in the event of an enemy invasion.
The men were issued with a uniform and an armband with the letters LDV to show that they were members of the Home Guard. British citizens were asked to donate any rifles, pistols or shotguns that they might have to provide the Home Guard with weapons. Those that were not provided with weapons made makeshift weapons from pieces of pipe or knives.
Most of the men had full time jobs and trained in the evenings. As well as preparing themselves to be ready to fight off a German invasion, the Home Guard also guarded buildings that had been bombed to prevent looting, helped to clear bomb damage, helped to rescue those trapped after an air raid, guarded factories and airfields, captured German airmen that had been shot down and set up roadblocks to check people's identity cards.
Related dates...
14 May 40: Call goes out to create the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV)
23 Jul 40: Local Defence Volunteers renamed Home Guard
01 Feb 41: Home Guard spots German spy parachuted into England
20 Apr 43: Home Guard allows limited recruitment of women
03 Dec 44: Home Guard of 1.5 million volunteers stands down
ETO - UK: Prime Minister Churchill tells US Ambassador Joseph Kennedy that even if Britain is conquered by Germany, the British government will continue to fight from Canada with the Royal Navy. The Admiralty orders all owners of large boats to send in the descriptions of each boat within two weeks.
ETO - Norway: Day 36 of 63 of the Battle of Norway.
ETO: Day 5 of 8 of the Battle of The Netherlands. The Germans capture Rotterdam. Elsewhere, the top Dutch general orders his forces to quit fighting as the situation has become hopeless.
ETO - Belgium: Day 5 of 19 of the Battle of Belgium. Erwin Rommel personally leads a tank charge near Dinant pushing the French and Belgian forces back three miles.
ETO - France: Day 5 of 44 of the Battle of France. Near Sedan, three German armored divisions cross the Meuse River.
CBI - China: Day 1,043 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 182 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
Day 14 of 49 of the Battle of Yichang.
1941 — , May 14
Atlantic: The German armed merchant cruiser ATLANTIS sinks the British ship RABAUL 500 miles west of South Africa.
ETO - UK: German spy Karel Richter, who parachuted into Hertfordshire two days ago on a mission to see if a fellow spy is a double agent, is caught and will be executed on 10 Dec 41.
ETO - UK: Day 251 of 258 of the Blitz.
ETO - UK: The British RAF forms No 121 Squadron, aka the second Eagle Squadron, which is made up of American volunteers.
ETO - France: 3,600 French Jews in Paris are arrested.
Romania: Romania passes laws which require all adult Jews to become forced laborers.
MTO - Greece: The British cruiser HMS DIDO departs from Suda Bay in Crete and heads for Alexandria, Egypt, with £7,000,000 worth of Greek gold aboard.
MTO - Libya: Day 35 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk. The Luftwaffe fails to locate the British troop concentrations massing near the Libyan-Egyptian border.
Middle East: Day 13 of 30 of the Anglo-Iraqi War in Iraq. The RAF attacks the Vichy French airfield at Palmyra, Syria, which the Luftwaffe is using to support the Iraqis.
East Africa: Day 339 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,408 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 8 of 21 of the Battle of South Shanxi.
CBI - Malaya: Large Royal Air Force and Navy reinforcements arrive in Singapore.
1942 — , May 14
USA: The US Congress establishes the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC).
Atlantic: Day 121 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
Off Key West, Florida, German sub U-564 sinks the Mexican tanker POTRERO DEL LLANO. U-106 sinks the Mexican tanker FAJA DE ORO.
Atlantic: The HMS VETCH sinks the German sub U-252 in the Atlantic Ocean.
Atlantic: The damaged British escort cruiser HMS TRINIDAD, returning from Murmansk, is sunk by Luftwaffe dive-bombers off the northern Norwegian coast.
Russian Front - North: Day 249 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 96 of 102 of the Battle of the Demyansk Pocket, another failed attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 10 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - South: Day 3 of 17 of the 2nd Battle of Kharkov, Ukraine. The Germans make a strong counter-attack, putting the Soviets on the defensive.
Russian Front - South: Day 197 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula.
Russian Front - South: Day 7 of 12 of the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, Crimea.
East Africa: Day 10 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - Burma: Day 152 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma.
CBI - China: Day 1,773 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Malaya: Day 85 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
1943 — , May 14
ETO - Norway: Waffen SS Day is "celebrated" in Oslo.
ETO - Netherlands: US 8th Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb Ijmuiden. These B-26s are the first medium bombers to arrive in the UK and will later be reassigned to the 9th AF when they move up from Africa.
ETO - Belgium: US 8th Air Force B-17s to attack at Antwerp.
ETO - France: US 8th Air Force B-17s hit Courtrai Airfield.
ETO - Germany: A British Mosquito reconnaissance plane photographs a German rocket at Peenemünde estimated to be 38 feet in length and 2 feet in diameter.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb at Kiel destroying three U-boats.
Russian Front - North: Day 614 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 375 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
MTO - Tunisia: The last of the Axis troops straggle in and surrender.
MTO - Italy: US 12th Air Force RAF Wellingtons night bomb in Sardinia. During the day, US planes attack targets at Olbia, Porto Ponte Romano, and Civitavecchia.
CBI - China: Day 2,138 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 3 of 23 of the Battle of West Hubei.
PTO - Alaska: Day 342 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. Day 4 of 20 of the Battle of Attu. US 11th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Australia: A Japanese sub sinks the Australian hospital ship CENTAUR, resulting in 299 dead.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 23 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
1944 — , May 14
Russian Front - North: Day 103 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Both German and Soviet troops remain in their defensive positions.
Russian Front - South: Day 37 of 60 of the Battle of Romania, 1st Jassy Offensive.
MTO - Italy: Day 119 of 123 of the Battle of Monte Cassino. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support. Day 4 of 8 of Operation DIADEM. The broken Gustov Line is falling apart.
MTO - Italy: Day 114 of 136 of the Battle of Anzio. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 71 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY.
CBI - Burma: Day 66 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 44 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive.
CBI - China: Day 2,504 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 28 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
Day 28 of 39 of the Battle of Central Henan, the first offensive in Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
CBI - India: Day 68 of 118 of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima.
PTO - Marshall Islands: The US 7th Air Force bombs targets in the Jaluit Atoll.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 76 of 80 of the Battle of the Admiralty Islands. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 152 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 23 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 196 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , May 14
Atlantic: The German sub U-858 surrenders off the coast of Delaware, becoming the first German warship to surrender to the US after the war in Europe has ended.
Atlantic: The British formally accepts the surrender of eight U-boats at Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The morale of these crews remains unbroken and their first question is, "When do we start fighting the Russians?"
Norway: The Norwegian resistance group Milorg is formally dissolved and disbanded.
Germany: British troops occupy the German island of Heligoland in the North Sea.
Germany: Luftwaffe general and fighter ace Adolf Galland is captured by the US Army.
Austria: The Austrian Republic is reformed, now free of German influence, and the Anschluss is declared null and void.
CBI - China: Day 2,869 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 44 of 91 of the Battle of Zhijiang. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
Day 36 of 60 of the Battle of West Hunan (near Zhijiang). Japanese troops continue withdrawing from southern China.
PTO - Dutch East Indies: Day 14 of 52 of the Battle of Tarakan Island.
PTO - Japan: US 20th Air Force B-29s fire-bomb the urban area of Nagoya, Japan, using Napalm and oil bombs.
PTO - Japan: Day 44 of 83 of the Battle of Okinawa. Japanese kamikazes hit and damage the USS ENTERPRISE.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 504 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support. Australian troops clear the Wewak peninsula.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 388 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 206 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 151 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 66 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 58 of 135 of the Battle of the Visayas region. US 5th and 7th Air Forces provide air support.
1948 — , May 14
Middle East: The Arab-Israeli War, also known as the Israeli Independence War, begins.
Day-By-Day listings for May 14 were last modified on Friday, February 23, 2018
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