Spain: Day 3 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War. General Francisco Franco flies from the Canary Islands to Tetuan, Spanish Morocco, to take command of the Spanish Army of Africa. Meanwhile, he also appeals to Germany and Italy for volunteer fighters.
CBI - China: Day 13 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 13 of 33 of the 2nd Battle of Hebei.
Day 6 of 22 of the Battle of Tainjin-Beijing.
1938 — , July 19
Spain: Day 733 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 378 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 39 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
1939 — , July 19
CBI - China: Day 743 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 36 of 68 of the Battle of Tianjin.
CBI - Mongolia: Day 70 of 129 of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a border dispute between the Soviet Union and Japan.
1940 — , July 19
Denmark: Denmark withdraws from the League of Nations.
USA: The Two-Ocean Navy Act is passed by the US Congress.
UK: The British Army Intelligence Corps is established. Also, the British Government removes the right of workers to strike.
Atlantic: German sub U-62 sinks a British ship 30 miles northwest of Ireland.
Atlantic: The German armed merchant cruiser THOR sinks the Dutch ship TELA off the coast of Brazil.
Atlantic: The British minesweeping trawler HMS CRESTFLOWER is bombed and sunk by the Luftwaffe off Portsmouth, England.
ETO - UK: Day 10 of 114 of the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe bombs various targets throughout Britain, including Glasgow where 42 citizens are killed. Daphne Pearson is awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal for her 31 May 40 rescue of a pilot from a crashed bomber as unspent ammunition exploded all around her. The medal was later updated to the George Cross in 1941.
ETO - Germany: The RAF bombs Bremen, Gelsenkirchen and Kassel.
Germany: Adolf Hitler makes a peace appeal to Britain in an address to the Reichstag. Lord Halifax, the British foreign minister, flatly rejects peace terms in a broadcast reply on July 22.
Germany: Hermann Goering is promoted to the rank of Reichsmarschal, a special rank created just for him so that he will outrank all Field Marshals in the German military.
MTO - Greece: Battle of Cape Spada: The British and Italian Navies clash off Cape Spada, Crete. Just as the British are beginning to flee, more British ships arrive to help. The Australian cruiser HMAS SYDNEY sinks the Italian cruiser BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI.
East Africa: Day 40 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,109 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 248 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , July 19
South America: Day 15 of 27 of the Ecuadorian-Peruvian War, a territorial dispute between Peru and Ecuador.
UK: The BBC introduces the "V Army" which is the underground resistance movement in occupied Europe. A broadcast by "Colonel Britton" calls on the people of occupied Europe to resist the Nazis under the slogan "V for Victory."
UK: British citizen George Armstrong is executed at Wandsworth prison for espionage.
UK: Churchill decides to share the military intelligence gained by the Enigma decoders with the Soviets, but mandates that the Soviets are not to be told how the intelligence was gained and instead are told the intelligence is gained by spies in Berlin.
[+] show related dates
Dates related to cryptology...
14 Mar 40: First "Bombe" decipher machine becomes operational
22 May 40: Bletchley Park cryptologists break Luftwaffe Enigma code
25 Sep 40: US discovers key to Japanese coding mechanism
09 May 41: British capture Enigma machine and code book intact
19 Jul 41: Churchill shares Enigma findings with Soviets
19 May 42: US decodes Japanese messages regarding mysterious "AF"
30 Jun 42: British completely crack the Enigma code
13 Apr 43: Decrypted Japanese code leads to plot to kill Admiral Yamamoto
07 Aug 44: IBM dedicates first program-controlled calculator
Related WWII Store items...
The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum
Colossus: The secrets of Bletchley Park's code-breaking computers
Battle Of Wits: The Complete Story of Codebreaking in World War II
Atlantic: The British sub HMS UMPIRE collides with a trawler off Kent, England, and sinks in 60 feet of water.
Atlantic: RAF bombers attack an 8-ship German convoy escorted by 6 anti-aircraft ships off The Hague, Netherlands, sinking four of the transports and damaging another.
Atlantic: German sub U-66 sinks the transport HOLMSIDE northeast of Cape Verde islands.
Atlantic: Hitler orders that American shipping is not to be attacked by German forces in order to keep the US from entering the war.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 21 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 19 of 140 of Operation ARCTIC FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 28 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 10 of 18 of Finland's reconquest of Ladoga, Karelia. The Finns continue their offensive on Lake Ladoga northeast of Leningrad.
Russian Front: Day 28 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA, the invasion of the USSR.
Russian Front - North: Heavy fighting between German and Soviet troops takes place near Lake Peipus near Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 14 of 31 of the 1st Battle of Smolensk, Russia. Hitler instructs German Army Group Centre that once Smolensk has been taken not to proceed on to Moscow but to hand over their tank units to Army Groups North and South.
Russian Front - Center: Day 7 of 12 of the Battle of Zhlobin, Belarus.
Russian Front - South: The Axis begins a punitive operation into the Pripyat Swamps in Belarus and Ukraine to wipe out entire Jewish villages, murdering 13,788 people.
Russian Front - South: Day 5 of 25 of the Battle of Uman, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 18 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 pushing toward Vinnitsa and the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine.
MTO - Libya: Day 101 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
East Africa: Day 405 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,474 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Fiji: Fijian ship VITI departs from Suva and heads for the Gilbert and Ellice Islands with New Zealand military servicemen aboard. She will drop off small reconnaissance parties on many of the atolls and small islands to act as lookouts, aka coastwatchers.
1942 — , July 19
Atlantic: German sub U-332 sinks the Greek transport ship LEONIDAS M somewhere between Brazil and Australia. U-129 sinks the Norwegian cargo ship PORT ANTONIO, carrying coffee to New Orleans.
Germany: Heinrich Himmler orders Operation REINHARD, the mass deportations of Jews in Poland to extermination camps.
Russian Front - North: Day 315 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 76 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - Center: Day 18 of 22 of Germany's Operation SEYDLITZ, a plan to trap and capture numerous Soviet troops.
Russian Front - South: Day 22 of 27 of the Battle of Voronezh, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 22 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE, the failed offensive to take the Caucasus oil fields.
MTO - Egypt: Day 19 of 27 of the 1st Battle of El Alamein. The British cruisers HMS DIDO and HMS EURYALUS and four destroyers bombard Mersa Matruh.
MTO - Libya: US B-24s hit Bengasi while B-17s attack Tobruk in a continuing effort to disrupt movement of supplies.
East Africa: Day 76 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - China: Day 1,839 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 66 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.
US 10th Air Force bombs at Linchwan in support of Chinese ground troops who have had the Japanese held city under siege for some time. This raid breaks the stalemate and the Chinese will enter the city the next day.
PTO - Alaska: Day 43 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - Malaya: Day 151 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - New Guinea: The Japanese invasion fleet leaves Rabaul for Buna.
1943 — , July 19
Russian Front - South: Famed Soviet Air Force pilot Yekaterina "Katya" Budanova, one of very few female fighter aces, shoots down a Bf-109 fighter near Antracit, Luhansk, Russia, but her Yak-1 fighter is also hit and catches fire. She manages to put out the fire and force lands in no-man's land, but when farmers rush over to help they find her dead inside.
Spotlight...
Yekaterina "Katya" Budanova
There have been several different versions of Budanova's aerial victory score published, with no official tally. The most common quoted is for 11 kills (6 individual and 5 shared). According to some historians she achieved 11 individual air victories. She was twice awarded the Order of the Patriotic War. Although she was proposed for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the war, she did not receive it officially. On 01 Oct 1993 she was posthumously awarded with the title Hero of the Russian Federation.
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
UK: Winston Churchill suggests converting icebergs into floating airfields.
Atlantic: German sub U-513 is sunk by US Navy planes southeast of São Francisco do Sul, Brazil.
Atlantic: The crew of Canadian destroyer HMCS IROQUIOS stages a brief mutiny, refusing to obey orders for what they perceived as harsh treatment by the commanding officer.
Germany: Twelve Polish prisoners of Auschwitz I camp are executed by hanging in front of the kitchen during roll call for helping three fellow prisoners escape.
Russian Front - North: Day 680 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 441 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - Center: Day 15 of 50 of the Battle of Kursk, Russia. Soviet troops now threaten the German positions at Bolkhov.
Russian Front - Center: Day 8 of 38 of the Battle of Orel, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 7 of 48 of the USSR's Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. The surrounded German troops at Brody keep trying to fight their way out but are stuck.
MTO - Italy: At Feltre, Hitler and Mussolini meet for the thirteenth of fourteen times, the last time before Mussolini is ousted from power. Hitler convinces Mussolini not to give up the pact between Germany and Italy, but in six days, on 24 Jul 43, Mussolini will be defeated in the vote at the Grand Council of Fascism, and the King will have him arrested the following day.
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The 14 meetings between Hitler and Mussolini...
14 Jun 34: Venice - both are mutually unimpressed with each other
03 May 38: Rome - five days of cultural and military ceremonies
18 Mar 40: Brenner Pass - they discuss Hitler's coming powder keg
18 Jun 40: Munich - they discuss France's appeal for an armistice
04 Oct 40: Brenner Pass - they discuss the progress of the war
28 Oct 40: Florence - they discuss Italy's invasion of Greece
19 Jan 41: Berchtesgaden - Hitler offers military help in North Africa
02 Jun 41: Brenner Pass - they discuss the progress of the war
25 Aug 41: East Prussia - Mussolini visits the Wolf's Lair
28 Aug 41: Ukraine - they visit Army Group South near the Russian Front
30 Apr 42: Berchtesgaden - they discuss a Mediterranean strategy
07 Apr 43: Salzburg - they discuss how to keep Italy in the war
19 Jul 43: Feltre - their last meeting before Mussolini is ousted from power
15 Sep 43: Germany - Deposed, imprisoned and rescued, Mussolini is taken for a final visit with Hitler
MTO - Italy: During the night, RAF Wellingtons drop leaflets over Rome announcing tomorrow's bombing. Pope Pius XII allows the citizens of Rome to take shelter in Vatican City.
MTO - Italy: Day 11 of 40 of the Battle of Sicily. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support. Encountering stiff resistance on the coastal road at Catania, the British 8th Army switches over to use the inland route to Messina, making the US 7th Army move even further west.
CBI - Burma: US 10th Air Force attacks targets at Shweli.
CBI - China: Day 2,204 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Indochina: US 14th Air Force bombs the cement works at Haiphong.
PTO - Alaska: Day 408 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. US 11th Air Force bombs Gertrude Cove and Main Camp on Kiska Island.
PTO - Gilbert Islands: Japanese bombers attack the US airfield on Funafuti, Ellice Islands.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 89 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 30 of 67 of the Battle of New Georgia. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
1944 — , July 19
ETO - UK: Day 37 of 86 of the V-1 "Buzz Bomb" offensive on Britain.
ETO - France: Day 44 of 49 of Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, known forever simply as D-Day. D-Day+43: Allied Air Forces provide air support. US troops secure St Lo, the first step in order to break out of Normandy.
ETO - France: Day 44 of 62 of the Battle of Caen. The Canadians clear the southern suburbs while the British are beaten back four times in taking Bras and Hubert-Follie.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force bombs targets in western and southwestern Germany.
Germany: Claus von Stauffenberg is summoned to see Adolf Hitler at Rastenburg, East Prussia, tomorrow.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 29 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 169 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 15 of 16 of the Battle of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Russian Front - Center: Day 15 of 27 of the Battle of Siauliai, Lithuania. Soviet troops begin crossing the border into Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 15 of 23 of the Battle of Belostock, Poland.
Russian Front - Center: Day 7 of 15 of the Battle of Lvov, Poland. The Soviets have trapped 40,000 German troops at Brody, Poland.
Russian Front - Center: Day 7 of 15 of the Battle of Stanislav, Poland.
Russian Front - Center: Day 2 of 16 of the Battle of Lublin, Poland.
MTO - Germany: US 15th Air Force bombs targets in the Munich area.
MTO - Italy: Day 34 of 34 of the Battle of Ancona (north of Rome). Allied Air Forces provide air support. The US captures Livorno on the coast. Polish troops have secured Ancona, however the Germans have set up about 25,000 booby traps before evacuating the city.
CBI - Burma: Day 137 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 132 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 110 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,570 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 94 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
Day 28 of 48 of the Battle of Hengyang. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - India: German sub U-181 sinks the transport KING FREDERICK off southern India in the Arabian Sea.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force B-25s bomb targets in the Truk Atoll.
PTO - Dutch New Guinea: Day 18 of 61 of the Battle of Noemfoor. Although the island has been declared secured, bitter fighting from Japanese continues.
PTO - Mariana Islands: Destroyer escort USS WYMAN sinks the Japanese sub I-5 360 miles east of Guam. US 7th Air Force bombs targets on Tinian and Pagan Islands.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 54 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 218 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 89 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 36 of 80 of the Battle of Lone Tree Hill.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 10 of 47 of the Battle of Driniumor River, a failed Japanese offense on US troops near Aitape.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 262 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , July 19
USA: The United States Congress ratifies the Bretton Woods system of monetary management, which leads to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
CBI: US 14th Air Force attacks railroads, bridges and truck convoys throughout China and French Indochina.
CBI - China: Day 2,935 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Borneo: Day 40 of 67 of the Battle of North Borneo. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Dutch East Indies: Day 19 of 21 of the 2nd Battle of Balikpapan.
PTO - Japan: US 20th Air Force B-29s fire bomb the urban areas of Fukui, Hitachi, Choshi, Okazaki and the Nippon oil plant at Amagasaki.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 570 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 454 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 272 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 217 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. The battle is said to over but hold-outs will continue fighting until the end of the war.
PTO - Philippines: Day 132 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. The battle is said to over but hold-outs will continue fighting until the end of the war.
PTO - Philippines: Day 124 of 135 of the Battle of the Visayas region. The battle is said to over but hold-outs will continue fighting for several weeks.
Day-By-Day listings for July 19 were last modified on Sunday, January 31, 2016
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