CBI - China: Day 28 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.
1936 — , October 15
Spain: Day 91 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1937 — , October 15
Spain: Day 456 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 101 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 64 of 106 of the 2nd Battle of Shanghai.
Day 45 of 70 of the Battle of Taiyuan.
1938 — , October 15
Spain: Day 821 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
Czechoslovakia: German troops occupy the Sudetenland, the Czech government resigns.
CBI - China: Day 466 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 127 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
Day 4 of 81 of Japan's Operation GUANGDONG.
1939 — , October 15
CBI - China: Day 831 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1940 — , October 15
ETO - UK: Day 40 of 258 of the Blitz. Bombs rip into the Balham tube station and 64 people are killed.
ETO - UK: Day 98 of 114 of the Battle of Britain.
MTO: Italian submarine TOTI sinks the British submarine RAINBOW.
East Africa: Day 128 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,197 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 336 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
CBI - Thailand: Day 15 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1941 — , October 15
Russian Front - Finland: Day 109 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 107 of 140 of Operation ARCTIC FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 116 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko. The Soviets will be forced off their leased naval base.
Russian Front: Day 116 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA.
Russian Front - North: Day 38 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 14 of 98 of the Battle of Moscow.
Russian Front - South: Day 69 of 70 of the Siege of Odessa, Ukraine.
MTO - Libya: Day 189 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
East Africa: Day 493 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,562 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1942 — , October 15
ETO: US 14th Fighter Group, with twin-boom Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, makes its debut escorting the RAF on a raid into France.
Spotlight...
Lockheed P-38 Lightning YIPPEE with its distinctive twin booms
Named the "fork-tailed devil" by the Luftwaffe and "two planes, one pilot" by the Japanese, the P-38 Lightning was used in a number of roles, including dive bombing, level bombing, ground-attack, night fighting, photo reconnaissance missions, and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings.
The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in production throughout American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to V-J Day.
Russian Front - North: Day 403 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 164 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 110 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE, the failed offensive to take the Caucasus oil fields.
Russian Front - South: Day 54 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, bloodiest battle in human history.
East Africa: Day 164 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - China: Day 1,927 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 131 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. The US and Canada will defeat the Japanese invaders.
PTO - Malaya: Day 239 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 87 of 119 of the Battle of the Kokoda Track. The Australians continue pushing back the Japanese troops.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 70 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal. Japanese bombard Henderson Field as 4,500 more Japanese troops land as reinforcements.
1943 — , October 15
Russian Front - North: Day 768 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 529 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 53 of 122 of the Battle of the Lower Dnieper River, USSR. The Soviets launch an assault at Kremenchug, Ukraine.
MTO - Greece: US 12th Air Force B-25s hit airfields at Salonika and Megalo Mikra.
CBI - China: Day 2,292 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 27 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 24 of 162 of the Battle of the Huon Peninsula. Will result in an Allied victory.
1944 — , October 15
ETO - France: Day 76 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - Belgium: Day 44 of 62 of the liberation of Belgium.
ETO - Belgium: Day 14 of 38 of the Battle of the Scheldt Estuary.
ETO - France: Day 31 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Germany: Day 27 of 145 of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.
ETO: The largest number of sorties on single night is made by the RAF, with 1,576 in all.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s hit targets in Germany.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 31 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 9 of 23 of the Petsamo-Kirkenes Offensive. The Soviets will drive the Germans out of the Arctic region in northern Scandinavia. Soviets secure the Petsamo region.
Russian Front - North: Day 32 of 41 of the Battle of Riga, Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 1 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia. Germans will hold this area until the very end of the war.
Russian Front - Center: Day 11 of 18 of the Battle of Memel, a border town of Lithuania and East Prussia. The Germans continue to hold the Niemen line to cover East Prussia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 32 of 72 of the Battle into East Prussia and northern Poland.
Russian Front - South: Day 10 of 24 of the Battle of Debrecen, Hungary. Nazis seize control of the Hungarian puppet government.
Russian Front - South: Day 32 of 72 of the Battle of Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
MTO - Italy: US 12th Air Force attack targets south of Bologna and in the Po Valley.
CBI - Burma: Day 198 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive in Burma.
CBI - China: Day 2,658 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 182 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 306 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 177 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Palau Islands: Day 31 of 74 of the Battle of Peleliu (Operation STALEMATE II).
PTO - Palau Islands: Day 29 of 36 of the Battle of Angaur.
Day-By-Day listings for October 15 were last modified on Monday, January 25, 2016
Spotlight...
