CBI - China: Day 23 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.
1936 — , October 10
Spain: Day 86 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1937 — , October 10
Spain: Day 451 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 96 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 59 of 106 of the 2nd Battle of Shanghai.
Day 40 of 70 of the Battle of Taiyuan.
1938 — , October 10
Spain: Day 816 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 461 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 122 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
1939 — , October 10
Lithuania: The Soviet Union signs and agreement with Lithuania that allows the Soviets to establish military bases in the country.
CBI - China: Day 826 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1940 — , October 10
ETO - UK: Day 35 of 258 of the Blitz.
ETO - UK: Day 93 of 114 of the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe raids Scarborough in North Yorkshire, during which two parachute mines are dropped.
East Africa: Day 123 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,192 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 331 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
CBI - Thailand: Day 10 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1941 — , October 10
Russian Front - Finland: Day 104 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 102 of 140 of Operation ARCTIC FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 111 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko. The Soviets will be forced off their leased naval base.
Russian Front: Day 111 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA.
Russian Front - North: Day 33 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad. The Spanish 250th BLUE Division, made up of Spanish volunteers, engage the Soviets between Lake Illmen and the west bank of the Volkhov River in Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 9 of 98 of the Battle of Moscow.
Russian Front - South: Day 64 of 70 of the Siege of Odessa, Ukraine.
MTO - Libya: Day 184 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
East Africa: Day 488 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,557 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1942 — , October 10
MTO - Malta: German and Italian bomber forces begin the final major offensive against the British island of Malta in the Mediterranean, which will continue for the next eight days.
Spotlight...
A typical formation of Italian bombers
By June of 1943, Malta, home to Britain's most important Mediterranean naval base, will gain the distinction of being the most bombed place on Earth, as the Germans and Italians continue to fiercely assault it with 6,700 tons of bombs in just six weeks. However, the Luftwaffe will eventually be forced to inform Hitler that they simply cannot sink an island with bombs.
The flag of Malta with the George Cross
The George Cross was awarded to the island of Malta by King George VI of the United Kingdom in a letter dated 15 April 1942 to the island's Governor Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie, so as to "bear witness to the heroism and devotion of its people" during the great siege it underwent in the early parts of World War II. The George Cross is woven into the Flag of Malta and can be seen wherever the flag is flown.
Related dates...
06 Jan 41: Luftwaffe launches first attacks against convoys bound for Malta
10 Jan 41: Luftwaffe begins heavy air attacks on Malta
01 Apr 42: Luftwaffe informs Hitler that they simply cannot sink the island
15 Apr 42: George Cross is awarded to the people of Malta
10 May 42: Kesselring prematurely says Malta has been neutralized
21 May 42: Hitler indefinitely postpones an invasion of Malta
10 Oct 42: German, Italian bombers begin 8 day offensive against Malta
18 Oct 42: Axis daylight bombing raids over Malta are finally suspended
30 Jan 45: Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Malta
Russian Front - North: Day 398 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 159 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 - South: Day 105 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE, the failed offensive to take the Caucasus oil fields.
Russian Front - South: Day 49 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, bloodiest battle in human history.
MTO - Libya: US B-24s bomb shipping and the dock area at Benghazi.
MTO - Egypt: US B-25s hit enemy landing grounds behind El Alamein.
East Africa: Day 159 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - China: Day 1,922 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 126 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. The US and Canada will defeat the Japanese invaders.
PTO - Malaya: Day 234 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 82 of 119 of the Battle of the Kokoda Track. The Australians continue pushing back the Japanese troops.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 65 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
1943 — , October 10
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s hit targets in Germany.
Russian Front - North: Day 763 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad. Under pressure from the Allies and conservative Spaniards, Franco orders his Spanish 250th Blue Division to withdraw and go back home. Many of these volunteers refuse and enlist in the BLUE LEGION, attached to the German 121st Infantry Division.
Russian Front - North: Day 524 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 - North: Day 15 of 15 of the USSR Kremenchug Offensive into Estonia.
Russian Front - South: Day 48 of 122 of the Battle of the Lower Dnieper River, USSR. The Soviet begin an attack on Zaporizhia, Ukraine.
MTO - Italy: A time bomb planted by retreating Germans in Naples explodes, killing 23 combat engineers as they slept and wounding 21 more.
MTO - Greece: US 12th Air Force B-17s bomb Athens while B-24s bomb at Rhodes and Crete.
CBI - China: Day 2,287 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 22 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 19 of 162 of the Battle of the Huon Peninsula. Will result in an Allied victory.
1944 — , October 10
ETO - France: Day 71 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - Belgium: Day 39 of 62 of the liberation of Belgium.
ETO - Belgium: Day 9 of 38 of the Battle of the Scheldt Estuary. The Canadians enter the Breskens Pocket along the Scheldt with an amphibian assault.
ETO - France: Day 26 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Germany: Day 22 of 145 of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 26 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 - Finland: Day 4 of 23 of the Petsamo-Kirkenes Offensive. The Soviets will drive the Germans out of the Arctic region in northern Scandinavia.
Russian Front - North: Day 27 of 41 of the Battle of Riga, Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 27 of 72 of the Battle into East Prussia and northern Poland.
Russian Front - Center: Day 6 of 18 of the Battle of Memel, a border town of Lithuania and East Prussia. Soviets reach the Baltic at Memel and cutoff German Army Group North in the Kurland area for the rest of the war.
Russian Front - South: Day 5 of 24 of the Battle of Debrecen, Hungary.
Russian Front - South: Day 27 of 72 of the Battle of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The Soviet Army breaks through the German lines in Serbia and begin moving toward Belgrade.
MTO - Italy: US 12th and 15th Air Forces provide air support in the areas of Bologna, Sabbioso, and particularly at Monte delle Formiche where US 85th Infantry Division is stalled.
MTO - Greece: The British take Corinth as German Army Group E begins its final retreat from Greece.
CBI - Burma: Day 193 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive in Burma.
CBI - China: Day 2,653 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 177 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
PTO - Formosa: US B-29s pound Formosa and Okinawa. The Formosa bombardment lasts seven days, during which over 650 Japanese planes are reported as destroyed.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 301 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 172 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Palau Islands: Day 26 of 74 of the Battle of Peleliu (Operation STALEMATE II).
PTO - Palau Islands: Day 24 of 36 of the Battle of Angaur.
PTO - Philippines: Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita assumes command of the 14th Area Army to defend the occupied Philippines.
Day-By-Day listings for October 10 were last modified on Monday, January 25, 2016
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