CBI - China: Day 5 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.
1936 — , September 22
Spain: Day 68 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1937 — , September 22
Spain: Day 433 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 78 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 41 of 106 of the 2nd Battle of Shanghai.
Day 22 of 70 of the Battle of Taiyuan.
1938 — , September 22
Spain: Day 798 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 443 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 104 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
1939 — , September 22
Poland: Day 22 of 36 of Germany's Invasion of Poland.
Poland: Day 6 of 20 of the USSR's Invasion of Poland. A Polish regiment repels attacks by 40 Soviet tanks and infantry units at the Battle of Kodziowce. Soviet losses are hundreds killed and 20 tanks destroyed. 217,000 Polish troops surrender to Soviets at Lvov. Thousands of Polish officers are deported to Russia where they will be executed a year later in the forest of Katyn near Smolensk.
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17 Sep 39: USSR invades Poland from the east 17 days after Germany invaded from the west, taking the area of Katyn
22 Sep 39: Thousands of surrendered Polish officers are deported to Russia where they will be eventually returned to Katyn forest and murdered
03 Apr 40: Katyn Massacre: Over 20,000 Polish police, military officers and intellectuals are massacred by the Soviet NKVD in Katyn forest
13 Apr 43: Germans announce the discovery of mass graves in the Katyn Forest and accuse the Soviet Union, which is fatly denied
01 May 43: A German-convened Commission, along with the Red Cross and Allied POW officers all conclude that the USSR is responsible for the Katyn atrocity
?? Nov 43: Red Army retakes the area of Katyn and appoints its own commission of inquiry with not-too-surprising results
CBI - China: Day 808 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 10 of 26 of the 1st Battle of Changsha.
1940 — , September 22
CBI - Indochina: Day 1 of 5 of the Japanese invasion of Vichy French Indochina, which aims to prevent China from importing arms and fuel through the French colony.
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Japanese troops entering Saigon
The Sino-Japanese War had been ongoing since 07 Jul 37 when China began full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory (which had begun in 1931). Much of China's resistance to Japan was supplied from Indochina along the Sino-Vietnamese Railway. Japanese efforts to cut the rail line proved to be difficult. Aerial bombing failed to close it.
The 22 Jun 40 surrender of France to Germany, Japan's Axis ally, had established the neutral but very Axis-influenced Vichy France government in the unoccupied part of France. Vichy France controlled most French overseas possessions, including Indochina. Japan pressured the Vichy government to close the railway, but the French were dragging their feet. Only when faced with the threat of invasion did Vichy France yield and sign an accord.
The accord allowed a limited number of Japanese troops to be stationed in Indochina. All Japanese land, air, and naval forces were barred from Indochinese territory except as authorized in the accord.
CBI - Indochina: Day 1 of 4 of the Battle of Lang Son.
UK: Former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain tenders his resignation as President of the Council in Churchill's War Cabinet, citing health reasons. He will die of bowel cancer in 49 days.
ETO - UK: Day 17 of 258 of the Blitz.
ETO - UK: Day 75 of 114 of the Battle of Britain.
East Africa: Day 105 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,174 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 313 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
Day 34 of 42 of the Hundred Regiments Offensive.
1941 — , September 21
Russian Front - Finland: Day 93 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko. The Soviets will be forced off their leased naval base.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 19 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 86 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 84 of 140 of Operation ARCTIC FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland.
Russian Front: Day 93 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA, the overall invasion of the USSR.
Russian Front - North: Day 15 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - South: Day 46 of 70 of the Siege of Odessa, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 31 of 35 of the 1st Battle of Kiev, Ukraine.
MTO - Libya: Day 166 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
East Africa: Day 470 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,539 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 17 of 33 of the 2nd Battle of Changsha.
1942 — , September 22
ETO - Germany: The RAF conducts night raids against Munich and the Saar valley.
Russian Front - North: Day 380 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 141 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 55 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 87 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE, the failed offensive to take the Caucasus oil fields.
Russian Front - South: Day 31 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest battle in human history. German troops splits the Soviet 62nd Army in two and captures most of Stalingrad, including the huge grain elevator.
MTO - Libya: US B-24s bomb shipping in harbor at Benghazi.
East Africa: Day 141 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - China: Day 1,904 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 108 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. The US and Canada will defeat the Japanese invaders.
PTO - Malaya: Day 216 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 64 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 47 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
1943 — , September 22
ETO: Six British midget submarines attack and damage the TIRPITZ in Alten Fjord, northern Norway.
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German battleship TIRPITZ before being damaged and eventually sunk
Operation SOURCE was a series of attacks to neutralize the heavy German warships - TIRPITZ, SCHARNHORST and LüTZOW - based in northern Norway, using X-class midget submarines. The attacks that took place in September of 1943 succeeded in keeping the TIRPITZ out of action for at least six months. Intelligence contributing to the attack on TIRPITZ was collected and sent to the Royal Navy by the Norwegian resistance.
Three X-craft were assigned to attack the battleship TIRPITZ. They were towed to the vicinity by conventional submarines and sent to place demolition charges underneath the battleship. Two managed to drop their charges, but were unable to make good their escape as they were observed and attacked. Both craft were abandoned and six crew survived to be captured. The third is believed to have been sunk by a direct hit from one of TIRPITZ's four-inch guns before the crew had a chance to place her charges.
The TIRPITZ, while not in danger of sinking, was heavily damaged, taking on over 1,400 tons of water and suffering significant mechanical damage. The TIRPITZ could not leave her anchorage until April of 1944.
The TIRPITZ would eventually be sunk by Royal Air Force bombers on 12 Nov 44.
ETO: US 8th Air Force: B-26s attack an airfield in France.
Russian Front - North: Day 745 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 506 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 47 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 37 of 48 of the Battle of Bryansk, Russia. German troops continue evacuating Bryansk.
Russian Front - South: Day 30 of 122 of the Battle of the Lower Dnieper River, USSR.
MTO - Italy: The British 78th Division begins landing at Bari. The RAF, US 9th and 12th Air Forces provide the air cover for the Allied ground troops.
CBI - China: Day 2,269 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 4 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge. Troops of the 9th Australian Division land near Finschhafen. Will become an Allied victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 1 of 162 of the Battle of the Huon Peninsula. This will result as an Allied victory.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 39 of 56 of the Battle of Vella Lavella. The Allies will win this one.
1944 — , September 22
ETO - France: Day 53 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - Belgium: Day 21 of 62 of the liberation of Belgium.
ETO - France: Day 8 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Netherlands: Day 6 of 9 of Operation MARKET GARDEN. British 2nd Army is still six miles from Arnhem. The US 1st Army halts west of Aachen. Germans at Boulogne surrender to Canadian forces.
ETO - Germany: Day 4 of 145 of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.
ETO: US 8th Air Force B-24s and B-17s hit targets in Germany.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 8 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 6 of 10 of the Battle of Porkuni, Estonia. The Soviets occupy Tallinn and Reval.
Russian Front - North: Day 9 of 41 of the Battle of Riga, Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 9 of 72 of the Battle into East Prussia and northern Poland.
Russian Front - South: Day 9 of 72 of the Battle of Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
MTO: US 15th Air Force B-24s and B-17s bomb at Munich, Germany, while other B-24s hit a target at Larissa, Greece.
MTO - Italy: US 12th Air Force Flies support missions for the US 5th Army and British 8th Army.
CBI - Burma: Day 175 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive in Burma.
CBI - China: Day 2,635 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 159 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 283 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 154 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Palau Islands: Day 8 of 74 of the Battle of Peleliu (Operation STALEMATE II).
PTO - Palau Islands: Day 6 of 36 of the Battle of Angaur.
Day-By-Day listings for September 22 were last modified on Thursday, March 22, 2018
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