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Selected: November 26
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1931 — , November 26

  • CBI - China: Day 70 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.

1936 — , November 26

  • Spain: Day 133 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.

1937 — , November 26

  • Spain: Day 498 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
  • CBI - China: Day 143 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
    • Day 106 of 106 of the 2nd Battle of Shanghai. With fresh Japanese troops from Hangshow Bay, the Chinese evacuate Shanghai.

1938 — , November 26

  • Spain: Day 863 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
  • CBI - China: Day 508 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
    • Day 46 of 81 of Japan's Operation GUANGDONG.

1939 — , November 26

  • CBI - China: Day 873 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
    • Day 12 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.

1940 — , November 26

  • ETO - UK: Day 82 of 258 of the Blitz.
  • East Africa: Day 170 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
  • CBI - China: Day 1,239 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
    • Day 377 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
    • Day 2 of 6 of the Battle of Han River.
  • CBI - Thailand: Day 57 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).

1941 — , November 26

  • USA: US Secretary of State puts his final proposal to the Japanese.
  • Russian Front - Finland: Day 158 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko. The Soviets will be forced off their leased naval base.
  • Russian Front: Day 158 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA.
  • Russian Front - North: Day 80 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
  • Russian Front - Center: Day 56 of 98 of the Battle of Moscow.
  • Russian Front - South: Day 28 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula.
  • MTO - Libya: Day 231 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk. Due to Rommel's bold move, General Cunningham wants to halt the offensive and fall back to the frontier. He is replaced as commander of the British 8th Army with General Ritchie.
  • East Africa: Day 535 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
  • CBI - China: Day 1,604 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
  • PTO - Japan: Japanese 1st Air Fleet leaves Japan and sets sail for Pearl Harbor, with 6 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers and 8 oil tankers.

1942 — , November 26

  • USA: The Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman film Casablanca premieres in New York City. It will go on to become one of the greatest films of all time.
    Spotlight...

    "Here's lookin' at you, kid."

    Although an initial release date for Casablanca was anticipated for spring 1943, the film premiered in New York City on 26 Nov 42 to take advantage of free publicity generated with the Allied invasion of North Africa and the capture of Casablanca a few weeks earlier.

    Although Casablanca was an A-list film, with established stars and first-rate writers, no one involved with its production expected the movie to be anything out of the ordinary. It was just another of hundreds of pictures produced by Hollywood every year.

    The characters, dialog, and music of Casablanca have become iconic, and the film has grown in popularity to the point that it now consistently ranks near the top of lists of the greatest films of all time.

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  • USA: The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, an annual New York City event since 1924, is suspended for the duration of the war. All rubber balloons are consigned to a salvage yard and given over to the war effort.
    Spotlight...

    Macy's ad proudly announces the parade's cancellation

    The glittering grande dame of Thanksgiving Day parades, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is the beloved American institution that's been going strong since 1924 when it was known as the Macy's Christmas Parade.

    The 1942, 1943 and 1944 parades were canceled because of helium (Macy's is the country's second largest consumer of helium after the US government) and rubber shortages. Many of the parade's existing balloons in 1942 were handed over to the US military, providing more than 650 pounds of colorful scrap rubber to the war effort.

    The parade became a more prominent part of American culture after footage from the 1946 parade was featured in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" and when the parades began being broadcast in 1948 to a growing television audience nationwide.

    The fourth-Thursday date for the observance of Thanksgiving Day in the United States was set late in 1941 by a joint resolution of Congress and was first applicable for all 48 states on this day in 1942.

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  • ETO - Norway: The Germans make the first large deportation of Jews from Norway.
  • Russian Front - North: Day 445 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
  • Russian Front - North: Day 8 of 59 of the Battle of Velikiye Luki, near Leningrad. This stalemate does help ease the siege a little, but mostly it keeps German troops from being sent to other fronts.
  • Russian Front - North: Day 206 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 3 of 21 of the Battle of Sychevka, Russia.
  • Russian Front - Center: Day 2 of 26 of the 2nd Battle of Rzhev-Sychevka, Russia, launched by the Soviets as Operation MARS.
  • Russian Front - Center: Day 2 of 22 of the Battle of Belyi, Russia.
  • Russian Front - Center: Day 2 of 17 of the Battle of Luchesa (Vitebsk), Russia.
  • Russian Front - Center: Day 2 of 29 of the Battle of Molodoi Tud River, Russia.
  • Russian Front - South: Day 97 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, bloodiest battle in human history.
  • MTO - Tunisia: Day 10 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia. US 9th and 12th Air Forces provide air support.
  • MTO - Libya: US 9th and 12th Air Forces provide air support.
  • CBI - China: Day 1,969 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
  • PTO - Alaska: Day 173 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. The US and Canada will defeat the Japanese invaders.
  • PTO - Malaya: Day 281 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
  • PTO - New Guinea: Day 8 of 66 of the Battle of Buna-Gona.
  • PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 112 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal.

1943 — , November 26

  • MTO: The troop transport ship HMT ROHNA is sunk in the eastern Mediterranean by a Henschel Hs 293 radio-controlled glide bomb, killing over 1,000 personnel. This incident was kept from the public for many years after the war.
    Spotlight...

    Luftwaffe Dornier Do-217 with a radio-controlled
    glide bomb under its right wing

    The glide bomb or stand-off bomb is an aerial bomb with aerodynamic surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding, flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows the bomb to be released at a distance from the target rather than right over it, allowing a successful attack without the aircraft needing to survive intact until reaching the target.

    As for the German radio-controlled glide bomb, the bomb aimer dropped the bomb from high altitude while the aircraft was still approaching a ship, and guided it into an impact with the target by sending commands to spoilers attached to the rear of the bomb. This proved to be difficult to do, because as the bomb dropped toward the target it fell further behind the launch aircraft, eventually becoming difficult to see. This problem was solved by having the launch aircraft slow down and enter a climb to avoid overtaking the bomb as it fell

    Of the 1,138 men lost with the sinking of HMT ROHNA, 1,015 were American. The attack constitutes the largest loss of US troops at sea in a single incident. A further 35 American troops of the 2,000 originally on board later died of wounds. The heavy loss was in part due to a flotilla of seven empty large landing craft (LCI(L)) failing to stop to pick up survivors.

  • ETO - Germany: US fighter pilot Gabby Gabreski records his 4th and 5th kills to become an Ace. He will go on to become America's top Ace in the European Theater with 28 victories.
  • ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force makes its largest raid so far on Bremen. The RAF makes its fifth consecutive night raid on Berlin.
  • ETO - Germany: Day 9 of 135 of the Battle of Berlin (RAF bombing campaign). Berlin is attacked by 443 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos. The Mosquitos are used to lay "window" ahead of the Pathfinder aircraft to draw flak away from them but due to a temporarily clear sky, 21 aircraft are lost to AA guns over Berlin.
  • Russian Front - North: Day 810 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
  • Russian Front - North: Day 571 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 95 of 122 of the Battle of the Lower Dnieper River, USSR.
  • MTO - Italy: The US and Royal Air Forces provides air support for the ground troops.
  • CBI - China: Day 2,334 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
    • Day 25 of 49 of the Battle of West Changde.
  • PTO - Gilbert Islands: Lt Edward "Butch" O'Hare, America's first fighter Ace of the war, is shot down in his F6F Hellcat during an encounter with a group of Japanese torpedo bombers. No trace of O'Hare or his plane is ever found. he will be declared dead a year later.
  • PTO - New Guinea: Day 69 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge.
  • PTO - New Guinea: Day 66 of 162 of the Battle of the Huon Peninsula.
  • PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 26 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands.

1944 — , November 26

  • ETO - France: Day 118 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
  • ETO - France: Day 73 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
  • ETO - Germany: Day 69 of 145 of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.
  • ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force heavy bombers attack targets in Osnabruck and Misburg in western Germany, resulting in the second biggest air battle between the USAAF and the Luftwaffe. The 491st Bomb Group loses nine B-24 Liberators over Misburg in only 15 minutes.
  • Russian Front - Finland: Day 73 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 - Center: Day 43 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
  • Russian Front - Center: Day 36 of 99 of the Siege of Memel, a border town of Lithuania and East Prussia.
  • Russian Front - Center: The Soviets advance into Slovakia.
  • Russian Front - South: Day 29 of 108 of the Battle of Budapest, Hungary. US 15th Air Force attacks the Seregelyes Airfield.
  • MTO - Italy: US and Royal Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground units.
  • CBI - Burma: Day 240 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive.
  • CBI - Burma: Day 13 of 31 of the Battle of Bhamo.
  • CBI - China: Day 2,700 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
    • Day 224 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
  • PTO - New Guinea: Day 335 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
  • PTO - New Guinea: Day 219 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
  • PTO - Palau Islands: Day 73 of 74 of the Battle of Peleliu (Operation STALEMATE II).
  • PTO - Philippines: Day 38 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
  • PTO - Philippines: Day 38 of 73 of the Battle of Leyte.
  • PTO - Philippines: Day 16 of 41 of the Naval Battle of Ormoc Bay.
Day-By-Day listings for November 26 were last modified on Tuesday, February 2, 2016
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