Germany: President Paul von Hindenburg, with Minister of War Werner von Blomberg at his side, meets with Adolf Hitler. Hindenburg tells Hitler to back down politically, or he will declare martial law, which will remove all powers from Hitler, giving them to the military instead.
1937 — , June 21
Spain: Day 340 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , June 21
UK: The British Minister of Parliament for Derby, P J Noel-Baker, speaks at the House of Commons against the aerial bombing of German cities based on moral grounds. "The only way to prevent atrocities from the air is to abolish air warfare and national air forces altogether."
Spain: Day 705 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 350 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 11 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
1939 — , June 21
CBI - China: Day 715 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 8 of 68 of the Battle of Tianjin.
Day 1 of 7 of Operation SWATOW, the Japanese offensive to take Shantou in southern China.
CBI - Mongolia: Day 42 of 129 of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a border dispute between the Soviet Union and Japan.
1940 — , June 21
Canada: The first successful west-to-east navigation of the Northwest Passage through the Arctic begins at Vancouver, British Columbia.
Atlantic: German sub U-28 sinks the British decoy ship HMS PRUNELLA south of Ireland.
ETO - France: Day 43 of 44 of the Battle of France. As this battle comes to an end, Italian troops who had crossed the Alps are repelled by a very small French garrison at Menton, five miles inside the border. For this, Mussolini isn't given any part of France. He's left extremely embarrassed by the inability of his troops to break through French lines. German and French representatives negotiate a peace to be signed at the 1918 Armistice site at Compiègne inside the very same rail car (to be brought in from a French museum) where the WWI armistice was signed. Hitler declares the Battle of France officially over.
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Dates related to Italy in WWII...
28 Oct 22: Fascist Mussolini takes control of Italy
11 Feb 29: Lateran Treaty signed between Mussolini and the Vatican
Eastern Front: The Estonian Independent Signal Battalion engages Soviet troops at Raua Street in Tallinn, Estonia. The Estonians will be defeated during the night.
East Africa: Day 12 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,081 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 220 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , June 21
ETO UK: The Luftwaffe night bombs on Southampton and drops many naval mines in the surrounding waters. The bombing causes a leak in the King George V Dry Dock and demolishes the down-line platform of the Southern Railway Central Station, blocking much rail traffic.
ETO - France: Vichy France enacts a law to exclude Jews from schools.
Eastern Front: Lavrenti Beria, head of Soviet State Security, tells Stalin that Germany will not attack the USSR in 1941. Later that night, Stalin is persuaded by others to send out an alert to all border units, but by the time the telegrams get deciphered, many of the units are already under attack.
MTO - Libya: Day 73 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
Middle East: Day 14 of 37 of the Battle for Syria and Lebanon. Free French troops capture the city of Damascus but the fighting continues in the surrounding villages. Elsewhere, the Indian 5th Infantry Brigade has to surrender to Vichy French troops at Mezze.
East Africa: Day 377 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,446 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1942 — , June 21
USA: Japanese submarine I-25 fires 17 shells at Fort Stevens, Oregon, making it the only military installation in a US state to receive hostile fire during World War II (the Japanese submarine shelling at the oil fields in Santa Barbara, California, on 23 Feb 42 was not considered a military installation).
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US troops at the site of a Japanese submarine shell hole after the attack on Fort Stevens
The attack caused no damage to the fort itself. The backstop for the post's baseball field was the only casualty.
Fort Stevens and its gun batteries protected the river until shortly after World War II, and was decommissioned in 1947. All armament was scrapped and buildings went into auction.
The grounds were transferred to the custody of the Corps of Engineers for many years until being turned over to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
Related dates (submarines)...
16 Sep 39: U-31 participates in WWII's first convoy attack
11 Mar 40: U-31 is sunk for the first of two times
Code Name Caesar: The Secret Hunt for U-Boat 864 During World War II
Atlantic: Day 159 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
ETO - UK: The Luftwaffe night bombs at Southampton. This port city has been hit many times during the war including one raid exactly one year ago.
Russian Front - North: Day 287 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 48 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - Center: Day 24 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 235 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula. The Soviet north line collapses.
MTO - Libya: Day 27 of 27 of the Battle of Gazala. The 35,000-strong Allied garrison at Tobruk, consisting of South African, British and Indian troops, surrender to the Axis forces. US HALPRO B-24s night bomb the harbor at Bengasi, after RAF Wellingtons light up the target with flares and incendiaries.
East Africa: Day 48 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - China: Day 1,811 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 38 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 - Alaska: Day 15 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - Malaya: Day 123 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - Midway: A US PBY Catalina aircraft rescues two airmen who had lost their TBD Devastator torpedo bomber during the Battle of Midway. They are the last survivors to be rescued from this battle.
1943 — , June 21
USA: California State Un-American Activities Committee members arrive in Los Angeles with orders to "determine whether the present Zoot Suit Riots were sponsored by Nazi agencies attempting to spread disunity between the United States and Latin-American countries." No such evidence will be found.
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Zoot Suit Riots related dates...
13 Jan 43: Sleepy Lagoon trial verdicts become precursor
31 May 43: Day 1 of 9 of the Los Angeles Zoot Suit Riots
03 Jun 43: Day 4 of 9 of the Los Angeles Zoot Suit Riots
07 Jun 43: Day 8 of 9 of the Los Angeles Zoot Suit Riots
16 Jun 43: Eleanor Roosevelt comments on the Riots
21 Jun 43: Calif looks for Nazi subversion in riots, finds none
ETO - France: French resistance leader Jean Moulin is arrested along with seven others at a meeting with fellow Resistance leaders. Moulin will undergo torturous interrogations by the Gestapo and die on 08 Jul 43.
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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 - Germany: The RAF launches a heavy raid on Krefeld in the Ruhr region of Germany.
Germany: Himmler orders the liquidation of all Jewish ghettos in all Soviet territories controlled by Germany. On this same day, the Lvov Ghetto in Poland is liquidated, killing some 10,000 to 20,000 Jews.
Russian Front - North: Day 652 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 413 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
MTO - Italy: US 9th Air Force attacks targets at Villa San Giovanni and Reggio di Calabria. RAF heavy bombers follow up with raids on the very same targets.
MTO - Italy: US 12th Air Force RAF Wellingtons night bomb at Naples. During the day, B-17s hit Naples again as well as Salerno, Battipaglia and Cancello Arnone.
CBI - China: Day 2,176 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
US 14th Air Force bombs at Shihshow and accidentally on the friendly village of Nanhsien, killing over 50 Chinese.
PTO: The USS HOE sinks a Japanese ship in the Pacific.
PTO: Day 26 of 47 adrift in a raft for the survivors of B-24 GREEN HORNET that crashed 850 miles from Hawaii.
PTO - Alaska: Day 380 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - Dutch East Indies: US 5th Air Force bombs at Koepang on Timor Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 61 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 2 of 67 of the Battle of New Georgia. Allied troops advance inland.
1944 — , June 21
ETO - UK: Day 9 of 86 of the V-1 "Buzz Bomb" offensive on Britain.
ETO - France: Day 16 of 49 of Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, known forever simply as D-Day.
ETO - France: Day 16 of 62 of the Battle of Caen.
ETO - France: Day 16 of 25 of the Battle of Cherbourg.
ETO: US 8th Air Force: B-17s begin shuttle missions between England and Russia. Today's mission bombs German oil refineries in the Berlin area. Other B-17s with the B-24s also hit targets in the Berlin area, but these return to England.
ETO - France: US 9th Air Force bomb thirteen V-1 rocket sites in the Pas de Calais area.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 1 of 50 of the Battle of Karelia. Soviet troops began another offensive against the Finns in eastern Karelia between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in northern Russia.
Russian Front - North: Day 141 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Both German and Soviet troops remain locked in their defensive positions.
MTO - Italy: Mussolini transforms the Partito Fascista Repubblicano into a military organization.
MTO - Italy: Day 6 of 34 of the Battle of Ancona (north of Rome). Allied Air Forces provide air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 109 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY. Monsoon season bogs down all operations.
CBI - Burma: Day 104 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support. Monsoon season bogs down all operations.
CBI - Burma: Day 82 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 14th Air Force provides air support. Monsoon season bogs down all operations.
CBI - China: Day 2,542 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 66 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
CBI - India: Day 106 of 118 of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima. The Japanese continue retreating toward Burma.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force bombs targets in the Truk Atoll.
PTO - Mariana Islands: Day 7 of 25 of the Battle of Saipan.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 26 of 83 of the Battle of Biak. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 190 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 61 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 8 of 80 of the Battle of Lone Tree Hill.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 234 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , June 21
CBI - China: Day 2,907 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 82 of 91 of the Battle of Zhijiang. US 14th Air Force provides air support. Japanese troops continue pulling out of China.
PTO - Borneo: Day 12 of 67 of the Battle of North Borneo. Australians troops land at Lutong on Sarawak and gain 25 miles toward the Seria oilfields. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force bombs fuel oil storage and power plant buildings on Eten Island in Truk Atoll.
PTO - Dutch East Indies: Day 52 of 52 of the Battle of Tarakan Island. The Australians have secured the island.
PTO - Japan: Day 82 of 83 of the Battle of Okinawa. The mop-up by the US Army continues.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 542 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 426 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 244 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 189 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support. US troops capture Aparri.
PTO - Philippines: Day 104 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 96 of 135 of the Battle of the Visayas region. US 5th and 7th Air Forces provide air support.
Day-By-Day listings for June 21 were last modified on Sunday, January 31, 2016
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