CBI - China: Day 330 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 115 of 124 of the Battle of Henan.
1939 — , June 1
Germany: The Focke-Wulf Fw-190 fighter makes its maiden flight at Bremen.
PTO - Japan: The Japanese Navy deploys a new code, later to be named JN-25 by Allied codebreakers.
CBI - China: Day 695 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Mongolia: Day 22 of 129 of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a border dispute between the Soviet Union and Japan.
1940 — , June 1
Atlantic: The British destroyers HMS KEITH, HMS BASILISK and HMS HAVANT and the transport SCOTIA are sunk by Luftwaffe dive bombers near Dunkirk.
Atlantic: German sub U-37 sinks the Greek ship IOANNA 120 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain.
ETO - Norway: Day 54 of 63 of the Battle of Norway. British troops evacuate the Bodo area and begin evacuating Narvik to protect the UK from a potential invasion.
ETO - France: Day 23 of 44 of the Battle of France. Day 6 of 9 of Britain's Operation DYNAMO, the evacuation of Dunkirk. Another 64,429 troops are evacuated from the beaches and harbor to England.
ETO - UK: All signposts which might be helpful to German paratroopers landing in Britain are taken down.
ETO - France: The Luftwaffe raids industrial centers in the Rhone Valley from Lyons to Marseilles.
Slovakia: The government of Slovakia establishes a diplomatic relationship with the Japanese-sponsored puppet state of Manchukuo, China.
CBI - China: Day 1,061 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 200 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
Day 32 of 49 of the Battle of Yichang.
1941 — , June 1
USA: Famous American aviator and test pilot, Mildred "Micky" Tuttle marries David Axton and takes her husband's last name. Micky was one of the first three WASPs (Women AirForce Service Pilots) to be trained as a test pilot and was the first woman to fly a B-29.
Spotlight...
Mildred "Micky" Axton
Micky passed away at age 91 on 06 Feb 2010. At her funeral, the Kansas Air National Guard honored her with full military honors with an all woman Honor Guard - a first - done to honor Micky Axton and the WASP aviation women of World War II.
Dates related to Women pilots in WWII...
28 Jun 39: Britain's Women's Auxiliary Air Force formed
11 Jan 40: Britain's Women's Section of ATA first delivery
01 Jun 41: WASP Mildred "Mickey" Tuttle marries
21 Mar 43: WAFS/WASP Cornelia Fort killed in service
USA: American Red Cross services to branches of the military are unified as "Services to Armed Forces" (SAF). In the coming years, more than 104,000 nurses will be recruited and serve in military hospitals at home and abroad. 27 million Red Cross packages will be distributed to POWs. 78 Red Cross workers will die while serving overseas.
[+] show related dates
Red Cross related dates...
05 May 19: League of Red Cross Societies formed in Paris
01 Jun 41: Services unified as "Services to Armed Forces" (SAF)
03 Nov 41: "Angels of Mercy" becomes official wartime song
UK: Two years after food rationing began, clothes rationing is introduced in Britain, allowing everyone 66 clothing coupons per year, the equivalent of about one complete outfit. For example, an overcoat costs 16 coupons, a dress 11, a pair of pajamas 8, a nightdress 6, underpants 4, a pair of stockings 2 and a handkerchief might be just a half of a coupon. Clothes rationing will not be lifted until 15 Mar 49.
Atlantic: German sub U-105 sinks the ship SCOTTISH MONARCH southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.
Atlantic: German sub U-107 sinks the British ship ALFRED JONES 140 miles off Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa.
ETO - UK: Before dawn, German bombers attack Merseyside.
MTO - Greece: Day 13 of 13 of the Battle of Crete. The British complete their evacuation. Final casualty figures are 16,500 British to 6,200 Germans. The HMS CALCUTTA is attacked and sunk by the Luftwaffe while covering the evacuation fleet from Crete to Egypt.
MTO - Libya: Day 53 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
East Africa: Day 357 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,426 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1942 — , June 1
USA: Recruiting for the "Montford Marines" begins. More than 20,000 African-American men will join and receive basic training at the segregated Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Atlantic: Day 139 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
U-404 sinks US freighter WEAST NOTUS off the coast of North Carolina.
U-106 sinks US freighter HAMPTON ROADS west of Havana, Cuba.
ETO - Germany: The RAF makes their second 1,000-bomber raid against Essen.
ETO: Jews in France, Holland, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia and Romania are ordered to wear the yellow Star of David.
Germany: The Treblinka Concentration Camp in Poland begins operating.
Germany: Himmler is put in charge of the German ARP (Air Raid Protection) system.
Russian Front - North: Day 267 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 28 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - Center: Day 4 of 31 of Operation KREMLIN, a German diversion to trick the Soviets into thinking Moscow is their main objective instead of Stalingrad and the Caucasus.
Russian Front - South: Day 215 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula. The Germans begin bombarding the city around the clock.
MTO - Libya: Day 7 of 27 of the Battle of Gazala. The Afrika Korps takes the "box" and secures the "cauldron" in the Gazala line, which enables supplies to flow.
East Africa: Day 28 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - Burma: US 10th Air Force heavy bombers attack the dock and harbor at Rangoon, sinking one tanker.
CBI - China: Day 1,791 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 18 of 124 of Japan's Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign, launched to punish anyone suspected of aiding the Doolittle raiders in China. Roughly 250,000 Chinese will be killed.
PTO - Australia: Day 2 of 9 of the Battle at Sydney Harbor.
PTO - Malaya: Day 103 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - New Guinea: US 5th Air Force B-17s attack at Lae and Salamaua.
1943 — , June 1
Atlantic: British actor Leslie Howard, flying back to the UK from Lisbon after a five-week pro-Allied lecture tour in Spain and Portugal, is killed along with 16 others when his DC-3 airliner is shot down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay.
Spotlight...
Leslie Howard (left) with Vivien Leigh in a scene from Gone With the Wind
Leslie Howard is best-known for his role of Ashley Wilkes in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind. He was active in anti-Nazi propaganda during the war and was reputedly involved with British or Allied Intelligence, which may have led to his having been targeted in the attack on the DC-3 airliner.
Another long-standing hypothesis states that the Germans believed that UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill would be on board the flight. It has also been speculated that British codebreakers had decrypted top secret Enigma messages outlining the assassination plan and that Churchill, in not wanting Germany to suspect that their Enigma machines had been compromised, allowed the flight to continue.
German spies commonly watched the airfields of neutral countries and may have mistaken Howard and his manager, as they boarded their aircraft, for Churchill and his bodyguard. The Germans could have suspected even more surreptitious activities, since Portugal, like Switzerland, was a crossroads for internationals, and spies, from both sides.
Yet another claim is that Howard was on a top-secret mission for Churchill to dissuade Francisco Franco, Spain's authoritarian dictator and head of state, from joining the Axis powers. Whatever the truth may be, Churchill, in his autobiography, did express sorrow that a mistake about his activities might have cost Howard his life.
USA: Day 2 of 9 of the Los Angeles Zoot Suit Riots.
UK: British Empire casualty figures for first three years of war are: 92,089 killed, 226,719 missing, 88,294 wounded and 107,891 captured.
Russian Front - North: Day 632 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 393 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - Center: The Soviet Air Force attacks German Army Group Centre's rear communications and airfields at Smolensk, Orel and Bryansk.
MTO - Italy: Day 11 of 20 of the naval and aerial bombardment of Pantelleria Island. US 12th Air Force RAF Wellingtons night bomb on the island. During the day, the island is hit again by US planes as well as targets on Stagnone Island and three harbors in Sardinia.
CBI - China: Day 2,156 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 21 of 23 of the Battle of West Hubei. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
PTO: Day 6 of 47 adrift in a raft for the survivors of B-24 GREEN HORNET that crashed 850 miles from Hawaii.
PTO - Alaska: Day 360 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. US 11th Air Force attacks targets on Kiska Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 41 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
1944 — , June 1
ETO - France: The BBC transmits "Long sobs of autumn violins," the first line of the Paul Verlaine poem "Chanson d'automne," as a signal to the French Resistance that the invasion of Europe is set to begin within the next two weeks.
[+] show related dates
Related dates...
21 Aug 41: First violent act of resistance against the Germans in Paris
22 Oct 41: Fifty hostages shot in reprisal for Resistance assassination
24 Oct 41: Jean Moulin meets in London with Charles de Gaulle
01 Jan 42: Jean Moulin organizes French Resistance groups
27 May 43: First unified meeting of French Resistance groups takes place
21 Jun 43: French Resistance leader Jean Moulin is arrested
08 Jul 43: French Resistance leader Jean Moulin dies from torture
19 Dec 43: French Resistance battles German troops in eastern France
10 May 44: French Resistance claims they have over 100,000 fighters
20 May 44: Eisenhower broadcasts to groups in preparation for invasion
01 Jun 44: BBC broadcasts 1st line of poem to signal invasion within 2 weeks
05 Jun 44: BBC broadcasts 2nd line of poem to signal invasion within 48 hours
19 Aug 44: French Resistance fighters rise up in Paris against Germans
29 Aug 44: Resistance continues to hunt Germans after Paris' liberation
ETO - France: US 9th Air Force B-26s bomb airfields and coastal defense batteries from the Belgian border down to the Cherbourg Peninsula.
Russian Front - North: Day 121 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Both German and Soviet troops remain locked in their defensive positions.
Russian Front - South: Day 55 of 60 of the Battle of Romania, 1st Jassy Offensive.
MTO - Italy: Day 132 of 136 of the Battle of Anzio. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support. The British 8th Army captures Frosinone, southeast of Rome.
CBI - Burma: Day 89 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY. Monsoon season bogs down all operations.
CBI - Burma: Day 84 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support. Monsoon season bogs down all operations.
CBI - Burma: Day 62 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 14th Air Force provides air support. Monsoon season bogs down all operations.
CBI - China: Day 2,522 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 46 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
CBI - India: Day 86 of 118 of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima.
PTO - Alaska: The submarine USS HERRING is reported lost in the Kurile Islands and presumed sunk by Japanese shore batteries on Matua Island. US 11th Air Force B-24s bomb installations at Buroton Bay, Kurile Islands.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force B-25s hit Ponape Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 6 of 83 of the Battle of Biak. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 170 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 41 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: The USS PINTADO attacks a Japanese convoy, sinking the TOHO MARU and damaging another ship.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 214 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , June 1
PTO - Japan: US 20th Air Force bombs the city of Osaka and its harbor with 458 B-29s and 27 P-51s.
Spotlight...
Boeing B-29A Superfortress bombing Osaka, 01 Jun 45
This, the second bombing of Osaka, killed 3,960 Japanese and destroyed 3.15 square miles of buildings. Osaka was first attacked on 13 Mar 45. The last bombing will occur on 14 Aug 45, the day before Japan agrees to surrender and the war ends.
Osaka was the second largest city in Japan, with a population of 3,252,340 in 1940. Traditionally, it was the most important industrial concentration in the Far East.
Osaka was one of the principal centers of heavy industry, noted for its shipbuilding, iron, steel, rolling stock works, as well as non-ferrous metals enterprises (notably copper and aluminum). In addition, it was outstanding for its production of aircraft propellers and governors, munitions and ordnance, textiles, special steels, wires, electrical equipment, chemicals, instruments, and machines and machine tools, particularly anti-friction bearings.
It had also become a transportation center, and ranked third as a port. Much work had been done to develop its naturally shallow harbor. Lastly, it was the center of an extensive system of railways.
Germany: The White Russian Cossack Corps, anti-communist Russians who had fought for the Germans rather than support Stalin, are given orders to report to the Soviets. Knowing their fate if turned over to Stalin, they fight the British instead. Some 700 Cossacks and their families are either killed by the British, trampled to death or commit suicide. Almost all the Cossacks who are sent back will disappear without trace.
CBI - China: Day 2,887 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 62 of 91 of the Battle of Zhijiang. US 14th Air Force provides air support. Japanese troops continue pulling out of China.
Day 54 of 60 of the Battle of West Hunan (near Zhijiang). Japanese troops continue withdrawing from southern China.
PTO - Dutch East Indies: Day 32 of 52 of the Battle of Tarakan Island.
PTO - Japan: Day 62 of 83 of the Battle of Okinawa. US troops make new landings on Okinawa as forces from the east and west coasts link up south of Shuri.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 522 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 406 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 224 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 169 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 84 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 76 of 135 of the Battle of the Visayas region. US 5th and 7th Air Forces provide air support.
1947 — , June 1
USA: The United States finally ends their rationing of sugar.
Spotlight...
