Germany: Canada's Prime Minister William King meets with German chancellor Adolf Hitler in Berlin.
Spain: Day 348 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , June 29
Spain: Day 713 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 358 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 19 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
1939 — , June 29
CBI - China: Day 723 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 16 of 68 of the Battle of Tianjin.
CBI - Mongolia: Day 50 of 129 of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a border dispute between the Soviet Union and Japan.
1940 — , June 29
Atlantic: Southwest of Ireland, German sub U-51 sinks the British decoy ship HMS EDGEHILL, U-26 sinks the Greek steamer FRANGOULA B GOULANDRIS and U-47 sinks the British ship EMPORE TOUCAN.
East Africa: Day 20 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,089 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 228 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , June 29
USA: Former US President Herbert Hoover warns in a radio broadcast against aiding the Soviet Union. "If we go further and join the war and we win, then we have won for Stalin the grip of communism on Russia... If we join the war and Stalin wins, we have aided him to impose more communism on Europe and the world."
Spotlight...
Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States
The court of American public opinion seems to have placed Hoover at or near the bottom of the presidential popularity list, but he was known to have spoken with insight on occasion regarding the war in Europe, while generally supporting an isolationist "Fortress America" concept.
In this 29 Jun 41 radio address he went on to say, "At least we could not with such a bedfellow say to our sons that by making the supreme sacrifice, they are restoring freedom to the world. War alongside Stalin to impose freedom is more than a travesty. It is a tragedy."
When the United States entered the war, Hoover swept aside all feelings of neutrality and called for total victory. He offered himself to the government in any capacity necessary, but the Roosevelt Administration did not call upon him to serve.
Herbert Hoover related dates...
11 May 41: HH gives radio address warning that the US is not prepared for war, needs to stay out, and yet "America cannot be defeated"
29 Jun 41: HH gives radio address warning of the consequences of giving aid to the Soviet Union
Germany: Goering is named Hitler's successor, just in case.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 1 of 142 of Operation SILVER FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign to capture the Russian port of Murmansk in the Arctic.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 8 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko. Other Finnish troops head off toward Leningrad.
Russian Front: Day 8 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA, the invasion of the USSR.
Russian Front - Center: Day 8 of 12 of the Battle of Minsk. German Army Group Centre surrounds Minsk, trapping 27 Soviet divisions.
Russian Front - Center: Day 8 of 8 of the Battle of Brest, Russia. German Army Group Center captures Brest.
Russian Front - South: Day 7 of 8 of the Battle of Brody, Poland.
MTO - Libya: Day 81 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
Middle East: Day 22 of 37 of the Battle for Syria and Lebanon.
East Africa: Day 385 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,454 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO: Germany demands that Japan launch an attack against Russia. The Japanese will consider this, but in the end they only agree to strengthen their forces in this area.
1942 — , June 29
Atlantic: Day 167 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
Day 3 of 14 of Germany's Hunt for Allied Convoy PQ-17. During this hunt, U-boats and the Luftwaffe will sink 24 merchant ships.
With so many U-boats sunk during the month of June, the German Navy begins ordering their subs to return home.
ETO - France: US 8th Air Force: Captain Charles C Kegelman leads the very first 8th AF unit to drop bombs on enemy-occupied Europe, this one on Hazebrouck.
Russian Front - North: Day 295 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 56 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - South: Day 243 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula. The Germans take a day to prepare for the final attack on Sevastopol itself.
Russian Front - South: Day 2 of 27 of the Battle of Voronezh, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 2 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE, the failed offensive to take the Caucasus oil fields.
MTO - Egypt: Mussolini arrives at Derna to prepare for his triumphal entry into Cairo. Alexandria is bombed by the Axis.
MTO - Libya: US HALPRO B-24s bomb the harbor at Tobruk, losing one B-24 with 10 KIA becoming the first US servicemen killed in the Middle East.
East Africa: Day 56 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - China: Day 1,819 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 46 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 23 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - Malaya: Day 131 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - New Guinea: US 5th Air Force night bomb airfields at Rabaul and at Lae.
1943 — , June 29
ETO - France: US 8th Air Force: B-17s bomb airfields in France.
Russian Front - North: Day 660 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 421 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
MTO - Italy: US 9th Air Force RAF heavy bombers hit the airfield at Reggio di Calabria.
MTO - Italy: US 12th Air Force RAF Wellingtons night bomb the ferry slips and marshalling yard at Messina, Sicily.
CBI - China: Day 2,184 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO: Day 34 of 47 adrift in a raft for the survivors of B-24 GREEN HORNET that crashed 850 miles from Hawaii.
PTO - Alaska: Day 388 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 69 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support. US Marines land on Nassau beach near Lae.
PTO - New Guinea: The US 158th Regiment and the US 6th Engineer Company lands unopposed at Kiriwini Island, Trobriand Islands.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 10 of 67 of the Battle of New Georgia. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1944 — , June 29
ETO - UK: Day 17 of 86 of the V-1 "Buzz Bomb" offensive on Britain.
ETO - France: Day 24 of 49 of Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, known simply as D-Day. D-Day+23: Allied Air Forces provide air support.
ETO - France: Day 24 of 62 of the Battle of Caen. The RAF carries out a saturation raid against the 2nd and 9th SS Panzer Divisions at Villers-Bocage near Caen.
ETO - France: Day 24 of 25 of the Battle of Cherbourg. The US captures the last harbor fort at Cherbourg.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force bombs aviation related targets in Germany.
Germany: Erwin Rommel and Gerd von Rundstedt meet with Hitler at his residence in Berchtesgaden in southern Germany. They urge Hitler to pursue peace, but he rejects the notion, saying that the V-weapons will soon turn the tide of war.
[+] show related dates
Related dates (Rommel)...
06 Feb 41: Lt Gen Rommel appointed commander of the Afrika Korps
12 Feb 41: Rommel arrives in Tripoli with his Afrika Korps
19 Mar 41: Hitler tells Rommel not to expect reinforcements in Libya until May
24 Mar 41: Rommel begins his North African offensive
15 Aug 41: Panzer Group Afrika is activated with Rommel in command
17 Nov 41: British mission to kill Rommel fails because he is away in Rome
22 Jun 42: Rommel is promoted to the rank of Field Marshal
03 Nov 42: Hitler orders Rommel's Afrika Korps to stand and fight
09 Mar 43: Rommel leaves North Africa for reasons of health
11 Mar 43: Rommel receives Diamonds to his Knight's Cross medal
12 Dec 43: Rommel takes command of northern coastal defenses
15 May 44: Rommel invited to anti-Hitler meeting, but does not attend
05 Jun 44: Rommel goes back to Germany for his wife's birthday
29 Jun 44: Rommel urges Hitler to pursue peace, which he rejects
15 Jul 44: Rommel writes to Hitler, again urging he sue for peace
17 Jul 44: Rommel is wounded when his staff car is strafed
14 Oct 44: By Hitler's order, Rommel is forced to commit suicide
18 Oct 44: Funeral service is held for Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Germany: A transport of 2,502 Hungarian Jews from Auschwitz Concentration Camp arrive at Stutthof Concentration Camp. At the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, out of about 1,100 prisoners with valid entry certificates for Palestine, 221 of the Jews are allowed to go.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 5 of 15 of the Battle of Tali-Ihantala. This becomes the largest battle in Scandinavian history.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 9 of 50 of the Battle of Karelia. Soviet troops continue their offensive against the Finns in eastern Karelia between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in northern Russia.
Russian Front - North: Day 149 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Both German and Soviet troops remain locked in their defensive positions.
Russian Front - Center: Day 6 of 6 of the Battle of Bobruysk, Belarus. The Soviets liberate Bobruysk and capture a massive number of Germans.
MTO - Italy: Day 14 of 34 of the Battle of Ancona (north of Rome). Allied Air Forces provide air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 117 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY.
CBI - Burma: Day 112 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 90 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,550 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 74 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
Day 8 of 48 of the Battle of Hengyang.
CBI - India: Day 114 of 118 of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima. The Japanese continue retreating back into Burma.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force bombs targets in the Truk Atoll and on Ponape Island.
PTO - Mariana Islands: Day 15 of 25 of the Battle of Saipan. US 7th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 34 of 83 of the Battle of Biak. There are still 3,000 Japanese soldiers on the island who won't give up.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 198 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 69 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 16 of 80 of the Battle of Lone Tree Hill.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 242 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , June 29
CBI - China: Day 2,915 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 90 of 91 of the Battle of Zhijiang. US 14th Air Force provides air support. Japanese troops continue pulling out of China.
PTO - Borneo: Day 20 of 67 of the Battle of North Borneo. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Japan: Japan offers the Soviet Union fishing rights in various areas of waters on the Japanese-Russian maritime border in exchange for oil and request the Soviet Union to renew their 1941 neutrality pact.
PTO - Japan: US 20th Air Force B-29s bomb the Nippon Oil Company refinery at Kudamatsu.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 550 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 434 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 252 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 197 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. The battle is said to over but hold-outs will continue fighting for a couple of more months.
PTO - Philippines: Day 112 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. The battle is said to over but hold-outs will continue fighting for a couple of more months.
PTO - Philippines: Day 104 of 135 of the Battle of the Visayas region. The battle is said to over but hold-outs will continue fighting for a couple of more months.
1956 — , June 29
USA: The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed by President Eisenhower, officially creating the 41,000 mile US Interstate Highway System, the largest public works project in American history through that time.
Spotlight...
1955 map of the initially proposed Interstate system
Eisenhower's support of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 can be directly attributed to two things: 1) his experiences in 1919 as a participant in the US Army's first Transcontinental Motor Convoy across the United States on the historic Lincoln Highway, and 2) his observations of the German autobahn network during World War II. The former made him see the need for good roadways across the land and the latter made him see the wisdom of those roadways being broad, wide, grade-separated ribbons.
The Cold War induced a nuclear paranoia which gave rise to the feeling of a need for urban escape routes and the need to efficiently move military men, equipment and supplies around the country. Add to it the vision of how the Interstate system could, for better or worse, transform American society and spur growth and economic development, and everything made very good sense.
Kansas gets the title of building the first section of Interstate Highway (though Missouri and Pennsylvania lay claim as well), with contracts drawn under the new program on 02 Aug 56. Thirty-six years and billions of dollars later, the final section of the original planned 41,000 mile system was completed in Colorado.
Though not completed in the thirteen years contemplated by the act, in 1990 the Interstate was designated the "Dwight D Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways" in recognition of Ike's leadership role in its construction.
The popular notion is that Hitler's Nazi Germany "invented" the high-speed, multi-lane, controlled-access, divided highway. Sorry, folks, but technically that distinction goes to the USA with the 1908 opening of the Long Island Motor Parkway, a private venture toll road on Long Island, New York. It was the first roadway designed for automobile use only and featured overpasses and bridges to remove intersections, although it did allow some left turns here and there.
Sixteen years later in 1924, Fascist Italy's Mussolini opened his 80-mile autostrada running from Milan to Varese. Germany didn't begin to build its first 19-mile autobahn, which ran between Cologne and Bonn, until 1932, a year before Hitler was appointed Chancellor.
Dates related to roads and highways...
08 Feb 42: Chief designer of the German autobahn killed in plane crash
08 Mar 42: Construction of the Alaska (Alcan) Highway gets underway
29 Jun 56: Eisenhower signs bill creating US Interstate System
Eisenhower related dates...
05 Dec 43: FDR chooses Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander
Spotlight...
