CBI - China: Day 54 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 17 of 106 of the 2nd Battle of Shanghai.
1938 — , August 29
Spain: Day 774 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 419 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 80 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan. Japanese troops capture Tianjia.
1939 — , August 29
UK: The British Admiralty assumes control of all British-registered merchant ships.
Poland: Operation PEKING: A Polish destroyer squadron sails to the United Kingdom.
CBI - China: Day 784 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Mongolia: Day 111 of 129 of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a border dispute between the Soviet Union and Japan.
1940 — , August 29
UK: The British share their radar technology with the United States (which they called RDF for Range and Direction Finding).
Atlantic: German sub U-100 sinks four ships in an Allied convoy 150 miles northwest of Ireland, the British ships DALBLAIR, ASTRA II and EMPIRE MOOSE and the Swedish ship ALIDA GORTON.
ETO - Ireland: Germany apologizes to Ireland for the accidental bombing of Wexford which killed three girls.
ETO - UK: The British reject Germany's proposal to use Red Cross ships to recover downed German airmen in the English Channel.
ETO - UK: Day 51 of 114 of the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe sends large groups of fighters to draw and trap the RAF in a dogfight. The British quickly figure out the Luftwaffe's strategy and recall their fighters. During the night, German bombers attack at Portsmouth, Tyneside, Hartlepool, Swansea, Manchester and Liverpool but thanks to decoy fires set in the countryside, many of the bombers miss their targets.
Austria: Ribbentrop and Count Ciano meet the Romanian and Hungarian Ministers in Vienna, Austria.
East Africa: Day 81 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
West Africa: The French colonies of Equatorial Africa and the Cameroons declare support for Charles de Gaulle. Governor Georges Pierre Masson of Gabon will retract the support after pressure from the French naval commander at Gabon, who has sided with the Vichy government.
CBI - China: Day 1,150 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 289 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
Day 10 of 42 of the Hundred Regiments Offensive.
CBI - Indochina: Vichy France agrees to Japanese demands that they be allowed to station troops and bases in northern French Indochina.
1941 — , August 29
Russian Front - Finland: Day 62 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 60 of 140 of Operation ARCTIC FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 69 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko. The Finnish troops recapture Vyborg (today Viipuri), forcing the Soviets to withdraw from the Karelian Isthmus back to Leningrad.
Russian Front: Day 69 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA, the invasion of the USSR.
Russian Front - North: German Army Group North continues encircling Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 13 of 23 of the Battle of Dukhovshina, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 37 of 38 of the Battle of Gomel, Belarus.
Russian Front - South: Day 7 of 35 of the 1st Battle of Kiev, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: German units from Army Groups South continue building up their forces around Stalingrad.
Russian Front - South: Day 22 of 70 of the Siege of Odessa, Ukraine.
MTO - Libya: Day 142 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
Middle East: Day 5 of 24 of the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.
East Africa: Day 446 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,515 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1942 — , August 29
USA: The Red Cross announces that Japan has refused to allow safe passage of ships containing supplies for US POWs.
ETO - Belgium: US 8th Air Force B-17s bomb airfields in Belgium.
Russian Front - North: Day 356 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 117 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - Center: Day 31 of 64 of the 1st Battle of Rzhev-Sychevka, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: The Soviet continue an offensive on the Moscow front.
Russian Front - South: Day 7 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest battle in human history.
Russian Front - South: Day 63 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE.
MTO - Libya: US B-25s night bomb an Axis landing ground at Tobruk.
East Africa: Day 117 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - Burma: US B-25s bomb targets in Lashio.
CBI - China: Day 1,880 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 107 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 84 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - Malaya: Day 192 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 40 of 119 of the Battle of the Kokoda Track. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support. The Japanese continue driving over the Owen Stanley Range toward Port Moresby.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 5 of 14 of the Battle of Milne Bay. Japanese warships begin to evacuate the Bay.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 23 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal. US 5th Army Air Force provides air support.
1943 — , August 29
ETO - Denmark: The Germans declare martial law in Denmark and isolate the Danish Royal Family "for their protection."
Russian Front - North: Day 721 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 482 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - Center: Day 13 of 48 of the Battle of Bryansk, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 23 of 57 of the 2nd Battle of Smolensk, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 6 of 122 of the Battle of the Lower Dnieper River in Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 48 of 48 of the USSR's Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. The Germans withdraw from the area.
MTO - Italy: The Allied Air Forces attack logistical targets in Italy.
CBI - China: Day 2,245 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
US 14th Air Force bombs the airfield at Chingmen.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 130 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 15 of 56 of the Battle of Vella Lavella. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
1944 — , August 29
ETO - Paris: Three days after the liberation of Paris, members of the French Resistance continue to route out remaining German snipers still left in the area.
Spotlight...
Resistance patrol routing out remaining German snipers in areas of Paris
29 Aug 44 (AP photo)
On 26 Aug 44, the day General Charles de Gaulle led a parade through Paris to celebrate its liberation, German snipers were still active in the city, killing at least six people. It would take many days to weed them out completely, during which time more Parisians would be killed.
The remnants of German snipers were eventually rendered impotent, and many German soldiers were led off as captives. The hatred toward the Germans was so great that many of those who surrendered were attacked, some even machine-gunned as they were being led off to captivity.
More than 500 Resistance fighters had died in the struggle for Paris, as well as 127 civilians. Once the city was free from the last Germans, French collaborators were often killed upon capture, without trial.
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 - UK: Day 78 of 86 of the V-1 "Buzz Bomb" offensive on Britain.
ETO - France: The British attack at Amiens as the Canadians capture Rouen and the US liberates Soissons, 60 miles northeast of Paris.
ETO - France: Day 29 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 15 of 32 of Operation DRAGOON, the Allied invasion of southern France. US and French troops continue racing up the Rhone Valley.
ETO: US 8th Air Force: P-38s and P-47s attack transportation targets in France, Belgium and Germany.
Germany: As of this date, the number of Auschwitz prisoners in the Sonderkommando, a work group created by the Germans to operate the gas chambers and crematoria, is 874.
Russian Front - North: Day 20 of 28 of the Battle of Tartu in southeastern Estonia.
Russian Front - Center: Soviet troops keep pouring into Poland.
Russian Front - Center: The Slovakians begin rising up against Dr Jozef Tiso's pro-German government.
Russian Front - South: Day 10 of 10 of the Battle of Romania, 2nd Jassy Offensive. Soviet troops capture the Ploesti oilfields in Romania and enter Hungarian-occupied Transylvania.
MTO: US 15th Air Force bombs targets in Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia.
MTO - Italy: Allied troops continue pressing the German line holding the Po Valley. Allied Air Forces provide air support.
MTO - France: US Air Forces bomb targets in southern France.
CBI - Burma: Day 151 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 10th and 14th Air Forces provide air support. The British 36th Division captures Pinbaw during a monsoon.
CBI - China: Day 2,611 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 135 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force bombs on Pagan Island.
PTO - Dutch New Guinea: Day 59 of 61 of the Battle of Noemfoor. Although the island has been declared secured, bitter fighting from Japanese continues.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 259 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 130 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 77 of 80 of the Battle of Lone Tree Hill.
1945 — , August 29
USA: Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, fighter ace of "Flying Tigers" and "Black Sheep Squadron" fame, is found alive in a Japanese POW camp near Tokyo after two years of being listed as MIA. He is sent to Washington and awarded the Medal of Honor by President Truman.
Spotlight...
World War II photo of then-Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington
Boyington was a tough, hard-living character who was known for being unorthodox. He was also a heavy drinker and freely admitted that during the two years he spent as a POW his health improved, due to his forced sobriety.
Many people came to know of Pappy Boyington from the mid-1970s television show Baa Baa Black Sheep, a drama about the Black Sheep squadron based very loosely on Boyington's memoir of the same name, with Boyington portrayed by Robert Conrad. Boyington frequently informed interviewers and audiences that the television series was fiction, and was only loosely related to actual history, calling it "hogwash and Hollywood hokum."
Related dates...
03 Jan 44: Marine ace Pappy Boyington is shot down, taken POW
20 Aug 45: POWs at Tokyo Base Camp #1 are told the war is over
29 Aug 45: Pappy Boyington is found alive in a Japanese POW camp
Europe: A list of the first 22 war criminals to be tried at Nuremberg is drawn up by a "Four Power" Commission of Prosecutors in London. Among those named are: Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Albert Speer, Martin Bormann, Alfred Jodl and Karl Dönitz.
Japan: General Douglas MacArthur is ordered to exercise authority through the Japanese government, thus giving him authority over Emperor Hirohito.
Japan: First American Red Cross field director arrives in Japan after WWII to help rebuild the Japanese Red Cross.
[+] 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
CBI - China: Day 2,976 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 21 of 25 of the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria. The Soviets shoot down a US B-29 dropping supplies to former POWs in Korea. The Soviets announce they have captured 513,000 prisoners during the Manchurian campaign.
Day-By-Day listings for August 29 were last modified on Friday, February 23, 2018
Spotlight...
