Germany: A German cabinet meeting agrees to make a new law that murder without consequence or trial is lawful if done so for the defense of the state.
1937 — , July 3
Spain: Day 352 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , July 3
Spain: Day 717 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 362 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 23 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
1939 — , July 3
CBI - China: Day 727 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 20 of 68 of the Battle of Tianjin.
CBI - Mongolia: Day 54 of 129 of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a border dispute between the Soviet Union and Japan.
1940 — , July 3
Atlantic: 59 French warships that had sought refuge at Plymouth and Portsmouth are seized by the Royal Navy, but only after overcoming armed French resistance in some cases.
Atlantic: Due to such heavy losses from the Luftwaffe, the British suspend all traffic through the English Channel. Meanwhile, the British decide that harbors on the Occupied Channel coast and German shipping should be the primary targets of bombing.
ETO - UK: The British Auxiliary AA ship FOYLE BANK is sunk by German air attacks on the docks at Portland, Dorset. The Luftwaffe also bombs at Cardiff, Wales.
MTO - Algeria: The British Navy makes an attack (Operation CATAPULT) on the French fleet stationed at Mers-el-Kebir near Oran, sinking the battleship BRETAGNE and heavily damaging the battleship PROVENCE, battlecruiser DUNKERQUE and destroyer MOGADOR.
East Africa: Day 24 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,093 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 232 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , July 3
ETO - UK: The Luftwaffe makes a daylight bombing raid on Land's End in southwestern England. However, the bombs fail to explode.
ETO - Germany: The RAF bombs Essen.
Russian Front: During a radio speech, Stalin calls for a scorched earth policy and for occupied partisans to attack the Germans behind the lines. He also urges the execution of all cowards and shirkers.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 5 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 3 of 140 of Operation ARCTIC FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 12 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko.
Russian Front: Day 12 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA, the invasion of the USSR.
Russian Front - Center: Day 12 of 12 of the Battle of Minsk. German Army Group Centre eradicates the Bialystok pocket in Poland, capturing 290,000 prisoners.
Russian Front - South: Day 2 of 21 of the Battle of Bessarabia, Russia. German and Romanian troops continue their attack at Bessarabia to take the land and city that Romania was forced to cede to the USSR a year ago.
Russian Front - South: German and Romanian troops keep advancing toward Vinnitsa and the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine.
MTO - Libya: Day 85 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
Middle East: Day 26 of 37 of the Battle for Syria and Lebanon.
East Africa: Day 389 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,458 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1942 — , July 3
Atlantic: Day 7 of 14 of Germany's Hunt for Allied Convoy PQ-17. During this hunt, U-boats and the Luftwaffe will sink 24 merchant ships. 11 U-boats begin closing in on the convoy.
Atlantic: The British armed anti-submarine trawler HMS LE TIGER sinks German sub U-215 with depth charges east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Atlantic: US 8th Air Force's 27th Fighter Squadron based at Goxhill, England, begins operating from Reykjavik, Iceland, with their P-38s.
Russian Front - North: Day 299 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 60 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - Center: Day 2 of 22 of Germany's Operation SEYDLITZ, a plan to trap and capture numerous Soviet troops.
Russian Front - South: Day 247 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula. German troops take 97,000 prisoners as the city falls.
Russian Front - South: Day 6 of 27 of the Battle of Voronezh, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 6 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE, the failed offensive to take the Caucasus oil fields.
MTO - Egypt: Day 3 of 27 of the 1st Battle of El Alamein. Rommel is now down to just 13 tanks while waiting for more tanks and supplies to be brought up.
MTO - Libya: US B-24s bomb the harbor at Tobruk.
East Africa: Day 60 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - China: Day 1,823 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 50 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.
Chinese troops recapture Tsingtien in eastern Chekiang, cutting off the Japanese at Wenchow.
PTO - Alaska: Day 27 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. Japanese reinforce Kiska with 1,200 men, 24 aircraft and 6 mini-submarines. US 11th Air Force bombs Kiska and Near Islands, damaging two Japanese seaplane carriers and a transport off Agattu Island. US submarines attack four Japanese destroyers in the area, sinking three of them with torpedoes.
PTO - Malaya: Day 135 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Japanese leadership officially cancels the invasion of Port Moresby.
1943 — , July 3
USA: Ann Baumgartner Carl graduates from the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) training program and will become the only WASP to serve as a military test pilot. She will also go on to become the first American woman to fly a US Army Air Force turbo jet, the Bell YP-59A, in Oct 1944.
Spotlight...
Ann Baumgartner Carl (1918-2008)
Ann took her first flight in a J-3 Piper Cub in 1940. Her addiction to flying was immediate and she declared, "This is what I was made for." During WWII she became a Womens Airforce Service Pilot and was the only WASP to serve as a military test pilot. She flew in-flight refueling test missions, tested new gun sites and flew the RP-47E, the first fighter with a pressurized cockpit. In October 1944, she became the world's first woman to fly a turbo jet powered aircraft, the Bell YP-59A, a distinction that would remain unchallenged for 10 years. Ann was honored to become a personal friend of Orville Wright and served as his escort to numerous aviation events for many years.
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
USA: The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) is renamed the Women's Army Corps (WAC). Its members are given full military status, receiving the same pay as men and becoming subject to military discipline.
ETO - Germany: The RAF carries out a heavy night raid on Cologne, causing considerable damage and killing hundreds of civilians.
Russian Front - North: Day 664 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 425 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - South: Germans launch Operation CITADEL, aimed at encircling and destroying Soviet troops in the Orel-Belgorod salient near Kursk. However, Soviet air strikes delay the attack for another day.
MTO - Italy: US 9th and 12th Air Forces bombs several targets in Sicily and Sardinia.
CBI - Burma: US 10th Air Force hits the often-bombed bridge at Myitnge, knocking the south end span into the river.
CBI - China: Day 2,188 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO: The USS SCORPION sinks the Japanese cargo ships ANZAN MARU and KOKURYU MARU.
PTO: Day 38 of 47 adrift in a raft for the survivors of B-24 GREEN HORNET that crashed 850 miles from Hawaii.
PTO - Alaska: Day 392 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. US 11th Air Force bombs Main Camp on Kiska.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 73 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 14 of 67 of the Battle of New Georgia. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support. US troops link up with the Australians who are under heavy attack at Mubo. Other US troops land on Zanana beach.
1944 — , July 3
ETO - UK: Day 21 of 86 of the V-1 "Buzz Bomb" offensive on Britain.
ETO - France: Day 28 of 49 of Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, known forever simply as D-Day. D-Day+27: Allied Air Forces provide air support. US troops drive south toward Coutances.
ETO - France: Day 28 of 62 of the Battle of Caen.
ETO - Romania: US 8th Air Force B-17s in Italy while on a USSR shuttle mission, join the 15th AF bombers in bombing marshalling yards at Arad.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 9 of 15 of the Battle of Tali-Ihantala. This becomes the largest battle in Scandinavian history.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 13 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 153 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Both German and Soviet troops remain locked in their defensive positions.
MTO: US 15th Air Force bombs targets in Romania and Yugoslavia.
MTO - Italy: Day 18 of 34 of the Battle of Ancona (north of Rome). Allied Air Forces provide air support. Free French troops enter Siena, 30 miles south of Florence. US 5th Army begins their drive to Leghorn.
CBI - Burma: Day 121 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY.
CBI - Burma: Day 116 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 94 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,554 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 78 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
Day 12 of 48 of the Battle of Hengyang. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - India: Day 118 of 118 of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima. Although this battle is said to be over, Japanese commandos attack the British airfield, destroying 8 parked planes.
PTO: The USS FRANKLIN launches strikes against the Bonin Islands.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force B-24s bomb Truk Atoll.
PTO - Dutch New Guinea: Day 2 of 61 of the Battle of Noemfoor. US paratroopers are dropped behind the enemy lines.
PTO - Mariana Islands: Day 19 of 25 of the Battle of Saipan. US 7th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 38 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 202 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 73 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 20 of 80 of the Battle of Lone Tree Hill.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 246 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , July 3
PTO - Dutch East Indies: Day 3 of 21 of the 2nd Battle of Balikpapan. Australian troops capture the oilfields.
CBI - China: Day 2,919 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Borneo: Day 24 of 67 of the Battle of North Borneo. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Japan: US 20th Air Force B-29s fire-bomb the Japanese urban areas of Takamatsu, Kochi, Himeji and Tokushima.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 554 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 438 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 256 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 201 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 116 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 108 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.
Day-By-Day listings for July 3 were last modified on Sunday, January 31, 2016
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