CBI - China: Day 1 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria. Induced by the Mukden incident, this marks the true beginning of World War II. China asks the League of Nations to intervene, but no military action is taken.
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WWII truly begins with Japan invading Manchuria
The Mukden incident was a staged event engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China. The Japanese established a puppet state, called Manchukuo, and their occupation lasted until the end of World War II.
Western media reported on the events with accounts of atrocities such as bombing civilians or firing upon shell-shocked survivors. It aroused considerable antipathy to Japan, which lasted until the end of WWII.
Despite allegations that Japan had been provoked by China to a certain extent, Japan took it as an unacceptable rebuke and withdrew from the League of Nations, which also helped create international isolation.
Dates marking the beginning of WWII around the world...
CBI - China: Day 74 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 37 of 106 of the 2nd Battle of Shanghai.
Day 18 of 70 of the Battle of Taiyuan.
1938 — , September 18
Europe: England and France ask Czechoslovakia to give the Sudeten area to Hitler.
Spain: Day 794 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 439 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 100 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
1939 — , September 18
ETO - Germany: American-born British propagandist William Joyce, nicknamed "Lord Haw Haw," makes his first broadcast for the Nazis.
Poland: Day 18 of 36 of Germany's Invasion of Poland.
Poland: Day 2 of 20 of the USSR's Invasion of Poland. The German Wehrmacht Army and Red Army stage a joint parade in Brest Litovsk, now Belarus.
CBI - China: Day 804 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 6 of 26 of the 1st Battle of Changsha.
1940 — , September 18
ETO - UK: Day 13 of 258 of the Blitz.
ETO - UK: Day 71 of 114 of the Battle of Britain.
East Africa: Day 101 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,170 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 309 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
Day 30 of 42 of the Hundred Regiments Offensive.
1941 — , September 18
Russian Front - Finland: Day 89 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko. The Soviets will be forced off their leased naval base.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 15 of 28 of Finland's reconquest of East Karelia in southern Finland. The Soviets continue withdrawing from Finland back to Leningrad.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 82 of 142 of Operation SILVER FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign to capture the Russian port of Murmansk in the Arctic. The German troops continue withdrawing back into northern Finland.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 80 of 140 of Operation ARCTIC FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland.
Russian Front: Day 89 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA, the overall invasion of the USSR.
Russian Front - North: Day 11 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - South: Day 42 of 70 of the Siege of Odessa, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 27 of 35 of the 1st Battle of Kiev, Ukraine. German Army Group South captures Poltava, Ukraine. The Russians evacuate Kiev, but the fight to the death will continue for another week.
MTO - Libya: Day 162 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
East Africa: Day 466 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,535 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 13 of 33 of the 2nd Battle of Changsha.
1942 — , September 18
Atlantic: Allied convoy loses 1 destroyer, 1 minesweeper and 13 merchant ships while Germans lose 3 U-boats sunk and 5 damaged, along with 41 Luftwaffe planes destroyed.
ETO: The RAF's Pathfinder Force flies its first mission to Flensburg, Germany. Pathfinders (PFF) are special equipped planes that can navigate by triangulating radio signals.
Russian Front - North: Day 376 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 137 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket, USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - Center: Day 51 of 64 of the 1st Battle of Rzhev-Sychevka, Russia. Though it will end in a stalemate, it will keep German troops from going to Stalingrad.
Russian Front - South: Day 83 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE, the failed offensive to take the Caucasus oil fields.
Russian Front - South: Day 27 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest battle in human history. The Soviets launch an offensive on the Voronezh front, 250 miles northwest of Stalingrad.
East Africa: Day 137 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar. British troops land on the east coast of Madagascar and occupy Tamatave.
CBI - China: Day 1,900 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 104 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. The US and Canada will defeat the Japanese invaders.
PTO - Malaya: Day 212 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 60 of 119 of the Battle of the Kokoda Track. The Australians continue pushing back the Japanese troops. This will become an Allied victory.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 43 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
1943 — , September 18
ETO: US 8th Air Force: B-26s hit targets in France.
Russian Front - North: Day 741 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 502 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket, USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - Center: Day 43 of 57 of the 2nd Battle of Smolensk, Russia. Becomes a Soviet victory as the Axis are pushed completely away from the Moscow region.
Russian Front - Center: Day 33 of 48 of the Battle of Bryansk, Russia. German troops continue evacuating Bryansk.
Russian Front - South: Day 26 of 122 of the Battle of the Lower Dnieper River, USSR.
MTO - Italy: US 7th Army takes Altavilla, Persano, and Battipaglia without opposition. The RAF, US 9th and 12th Air Forces provide the air cover.
CBI - China: Day 2,265 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 35 of 56 of the Battle of Vella Lavella. The Allies will win this one.
1944 — , September 18
ETO - France: Day 49 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany. US 9th Army finally takes Brest after a long struggle.
ETO - Belgium: Day 17 of 62 of the liberation of Belgium.
ETO - France: Day 4 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Netherlands: Day 2 of 9 of Operation MARKET GARDEN. Germans launch a heavy counter-attack in Arnhem sector.
ETO: US 8th Air Force: B-24s drop supplies to Allied forces in Operation MARKET GARDEN. B-17s drop supplies to Polish forces in Warsaw, Poland.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 4 of 223 of the Lapland War. Finland and Russia have joined forces to kick the Germans out of Finland's most northern province.
Russian Front - North: Day 2 of 10 of the Battle of Porkuni, Estonia.
Russian Front - North: Day 5 of 41 of the Battle of Riga, Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 5 of 72 of the Battle into East Prussia and northern Poland.
Russian Front - South: Day 5 of 72 of the Battle of Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
MTO: US 15th Air Force: B-17s and B-24s hit targets at Suboticam Szeged, Szob, and Budapest, Hungary, and at Novi Sad and Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
MTO - Italy: US 12th Air Force B-25s continue to support of the British 8th Army forces in the Rimini area by hitting enemy troop concentrations.
MTO - Italy: US 12th Air Force B-26s and P-47s maintain attacks on bridges, rail lines and transportation in the Po Valley.
CBI - Burma: Day 171 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive in Burma.
CBI - China: Day 2,631 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 155 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 279 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 150 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Palau Islands: Day 4 of 74 of the Battle of Peleliu (Operation STALEMATE II).
PTO - Palau Islands: Day 2 of 36 of the Battle of Angaur.
Day-By-Day listings for September 18 were last modified on Friday, January 22, 2016
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