On this day.....

[Michael Emrys]

-June 7th 1944: In the West, US forces landed in Normandy link up with elements of the British 6th Airborne Division South of Caen.

How could the US forces have linked up with the 6th. Airborne south of Caen? The 6th. had landed on the extreme eastern flank of the lodgement. The American were all in the western part of it. And so far as I know, there were no significant Allied units south of Caen as yet. In fact, at that early date, none had even gotten to Caen yet.

Michael

[Zebedee]

8th June 1942

I-24 shells Sydney, Australia. Of the 10 shells fired only 1 exploded. The worst injury sustained was a fracture foot.

[Jon G.]

June 8th 1945

The Japanese cruiser Ashigara is sunk off Batavia by Royal Navy submarine HMS Trenchant.

It is reported that every able bodied man, woman and child in Japan have been ordered to receive military training in anticipation of an Allied invasion.

[fredleander]

June 8th 1945: King Haakon VII of Norway returns after 5 years in exile to be welcomed by an immense crowd in Oslo harbour.

[WOLF1]

June 8

1941 Allies invade Syria and Lebanon


On this day in 1941, British and Free French forces enter Syria and Lebanon in Operation Exporter.

In May, the pro-Axis Rashid Ali rose to power in Iraq and refused to allow British maneuvers within his country in accordance with the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930. Britain quickly restored the status quo ante by driving Ali and his followers out of Iraq. And to ensure that German military supplies shipped to Ali via Syria did not result in Axis control of that country and neighboring Lebanon, Britain decided to take preventive action. With Australian and Indian support, as well as that of Free French forces, Britain invaded both Syria and Lebanon, fighting Vichy French garrisons loyal to Germany. Resistance lasted five weeks before an armistice was finally signed on July 14, giving the Allies control of both Syria and Lebanon. Among those wounded in the fighting was the 26-year-old leader of Palestinian volunteer forces, Moshe Dayan, the future hero in the fight for an independent Jewish state. He lost an eye.



1944 As British and American troops meet up at Normandy, Stalin rejoices


U.S. General Omar Bradley, following orders from General Eisenhower, links up American troops from Omaha Beach with British troops from Gold Beach at Colleville-sur-Mer. Meanwhile, Russian Premier Joseph Stalin telegraphs British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to announce that the Allied success at Normandy "is a source of joy to us all," and promises to launch his own offensive on the Eastern Front, as had been agreed upon at the Tehran Conference in late '43, and thereby prevent Hitler from transferring German troops from the east to support troops at Normandy.

Source The History Channel: This Day in History

Wolf1 (John)

[Jon G.]

June 9th 1945

The Japanese defenders on the Oroku peninsula are surrounded by the 6th USMC Division.

The Venezia Guilia area, whose future status is disputed, is placed under a temporary joint military administration composed of Yugoslav, American and British forces.

[Luftman129]

June 8th 1940

Armed merchant cruiser HMS 'Carinthia' sunk by U-boat reported the British Admiralty.

Thanks,
Chris

[Benoit Douville]

Michael,

You gona have to ask Jason Pipes from Feldgrau because my source is from his site:

http://www.feldgrau.com/june.html

Regards

[Max Williams]

9 June 1942.

State funeral for Heydrich in the Reichskanzlei Berlin before internment at the Invalidenfriedhof.

Hitler meets with President Hacha and the Protectorate government.

[Mikko H.]

9 June 1944

Soviet 21st and 23rd Armies start their offensive against the Finnish IV and III Army Corps in Karelian Isthmus by artillery and air bombardments together with probing infantry attacks that tie down Finnish local reserves. The main blow will follow tomorrow.

[Jon G.]

June 10th 1945

Australian forces of the veteran 9th Division land in Brunei Bay on Borneo.

The Japanese position on Oroku is now reduced to a 2000 sq. yard pocket.

The emperor of Japan gives dictatorial powers to prime minister Suzuki.

[Jon G.]

June 11th 1945

The Franck Report, which is composed by scientists employed at the University of Chicago, is released. The report recommends that any first use of an atomic weapon '...may best be made before the eyes of representatives of all United Nations, on the desert or a barren island.'

The Liberals win their 3rd consecutive term in Canada's 20th general election. A program for a 'new social order' is part of the Liberals' election platform.

The Japanese defensive perimeter in Oroku is further reduced, but resistance remains fanatical. American assaults on the town of Yuza and the Kunishi Ridge both fail under heavy defensive fire.

[waldorf]

June 12, 1940:

1940 Paris on the verge of invasion

On this day in 1940, 54,000 British and French troops surrender to German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at St. Valery-en-Caux, on the northern Channel border, as the Germans continue their gains in France.

Even after the evacuation of Dunkirk by the British Expeditionary Force, tens of thousands of British and Allied troops remained in France. Overwhelmed by the German invaders, over 3,000 Allied troops attempted to escape by sea but were stopped by German artillery fire. Surrender was the order of the day; among those taken prisoner were 12 Allied generals.

But all was not lost, as Britain refused to leave France to German occupation. Prime Minister Winston Churchill had already ordered more British troops back into France, and British bombers were also attacking German lines of communication. British and Allied troops were still active in other parts of France-some 50 British fighters and 70 bombers were moving on German forces.

But despite the British reinforcements and encouragement (Churchill flew to France himself to encourage the French leaders), General Maxime Weygand ordered the French military governor of Paris to ensure that the French capital remained an open city-that is, there was to be no armed resistance to the Germans. In short, he was pushing for an armistice, in effect, capitulation. The enemy would be allowed to pass through unchallenged. Weygand addressed his cabinet with his assessment of the situation: "A cessation of hostilities is compulsory." He bitterly blamed Britain for France's defeat, unwilling to take responsibility for his own inept strategies and failed offensives. Paris was poised for occupation.

http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih ... worldwarii

June 12, 1944:

John F. Kennedy receives medals

Lieutenant John F. Kennedy receives the Navy’s highest honor for gallantry for his heroic actions as a gunboat pilot during World War II on this day in 1944. The future president also received a Purple Heart for wounds received during battle.

As a young man, Kennedy had desperately wanted to go into the Navy but was originally rejected because of chronic health problems, particularly a back injury he had sustained playing football while attending Harvard. In 1941, though, his politically connected father used his influence to get “Jack” into the service. In 1942, Kennedy volunteered for PT (motorized torpedo) boat duty in the Pacific.

In July 1943, according to the official Navy report, Kennedy and the crew of PT 109 were ordered into combat near the Solomon Islands. In the middle of the night on August 2, their boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer and caught fire. Several of Kennedy’s shipmates were blown overboard into a sea of burning oil. Kennedy dove in to rescue three of the crew and in the process swallowed some of the toxic mixture. (Kennedy would later blame this for chronic stomach problems.) For 12 hours, Kennedy and his crew clung to the wrecked hull, before he ordered them to abandon ship. Kennedy and the other good swimmers placed the injured on a makeshift raft, and then took turns pushing and towing the raft four miles to safety on a nearby island.

For six days, Kennedy and his crew waited on the island for rescue. They survived by drinking coconut milk and rainwater until native islanders discovered the sailors and offered food and shelter. Every night, Kennedy tried to signal other U.S. Navy ships in the area. He also reportedly scrawled a message on a coconut husk and gestured to the islanders to take it to a nearby PT base at Rendova. On August 8, a Navy patrol boat picked up the haggard survivors.

On June 12, 1944, while he was in the hospital recuperating from back surgery, Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps medal for “courage, endurance and excellent leadership [that] contributed to the saving of several lives and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih ... esidential

[fredleander]

On this day - June 13th 1944 - the naval bombardment of Saipan and Tinian started with 15 battleships and many more cruisers and destroyers.

[Zebedee]

14th June 1940

German troops enter Paris one day after it was declared an "open town".