| Date | Type | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1943-01-14 | In 1943 Soviet forces penetrated a section of the German Siege of Leningrad. In June 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. One of Adolf Hitler’s strategic objectives was the capture of Leningrad, the Soviet Union's second-largest city in Russia, an industrial powerhouse, and a cultural hub. The city held immense symbolic significance as the cradle of the Russian Revolution. As German forces, along with Finnish troops from the north, advanced toward the city, the Soviet government and Red Army hastily organized defensive efforts. Factories were repurposed to produce weapons, civilians were mobilized to build fortifications, and soldiers were prepared to hold the city at all costs. The Siege of Leningrad, one of the longest and most harrowing sieges in modern history, began on September 8, 1941, and lasted until January 27, 1944. For 872 days, the city of Leningrad (modern-day St. Petersburg) endured a brutal blockade imposed by Nazi Germany and its allies, resulting in immense suffering and loss of life. German and Finnish forces had effectively surrounded Leningrad, cutting off all land routes for supplies. The city's only lifeline was Lake Ladoga, through which supplies could be transported via a precarious route known as the Road of Life, initially by boat and later across the frozen lake during winter. Food supplies quickly dwindled, and rationing was introduced. By the winter of 1941-42, the daily bread ration for civilians dropped to as low as 125 grams (less than a slice of bread). Starvation claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. People resorted to desperate measures, including eating pets, and wallpaper paste, and, in extreme cases, reports of cannibalism surfaced. The winter of 1941-42 was particularly brutal, with temperatures plummeting to -40°C (-40°F). With limited fuel and electricity, the city was plunged into darkness and cold. Thousands froze to death in their homes and on the streets. Despite the dire conditions, the people of Leningrad refused to succumb to despair. Cultural life continued as a form of resistance. The city's famed Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, composed during the siege, was performed in Leningrad in August 1942, providing hope and inspiration to its residents and the wider Soviet Union. Throughout the siege, the Red Army launched several offensives to break the blockade. However, the decisive moment came on the 14th of January 1944, the start of the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive. Soviet forces launched a massive attack, forcing the German Army to retreat and lifting the siege entirely on January 27, 1944. The city was finally free after nearly 2.5 years of unimaginable hardship. It is estimated that 1 million to 1.5 million people died during the siege, primarily from starvation, cold, and bombardment. | |
| 1943-02-02 | In 1943 the defeated German’s 6th Army surrendered to Russian forces at Stalingrad. The Germans began their assault on the Russian City of Stalingrad, on the 19th of August 1942, a city which holds great strategic importance. But it also held great symbolic value as it was named after Russian leader Joseph Stalin, to lose it would weaken the Red Army's resolve. But after five months of fighting in weather that reached -30°C the German’s 6th army was defeated and 90,000 German soldiers were taken prisoner. This victory was a great morale boost for all Allied soldiers. | |
| 1943-05-16 |
On this day in 1943, The British Royal Air Force commences Operation Chastise carried out by the 617 Squadron or more commonly known as the “Dambusters”. The British wanted to attack the Nazi industry which was at the heart of their military might. Whenever they bombed factories however it didn’t take long for the Germans to rebuild them in secret locations. The British realised that the best way to hurt their industry was not to attack the factories themselves but to attack the power sources that supplied them. They knew that the Germans had three main power sources which were coal, oil and hydroelectric dams. The British decided that the dams were the perfect target as they would take many years to repair and this would maximise damage to their industry. They had even decided on the perfect six targets situated in Ruhr Valley in Germany’s industrial centre and if just two of these dams (the Mohne and Sorpe) were destroyed it would halt production of tanks and aircraft etc for the German army. The problem was that from above the target of the dam was a relatively thin wall making it an impossible target for bombing raids. Also if you bombed the dams from above and somehow managed to hit the target you would only do minimal damage, taking out only a small part of the top section. The far more destructive way would be to hit the dam near the bottom, where the water pressure is significant enough to destroy the entire dam wall. But the Germans hadn’t overlooked the importance of the dam defence and they had installed torpedo nets leading up to the dam preventing any attack by sea. The answer came from Dr Barnes Wallis, an aeronautical engineer who worked on the problem for many years, even devising new aircraft to take large enough bombs to destroy the dams from above. But it was his creation of the bouncing bomb (code-named “Upkeep”) that proved to be one of the most ingenious inventions of World War II. It had long been reported that bombs dropped or launched would sometimes bounce across the surface of the water before hitting their target but this generally seemed to be a fluke. After months of experimentation, Wallis devised a bomb that if dropped at the right angle would do just that. The “upkeep” was a bomb shaped much like a barrel but it was not only its shape that was important. The bomb had to be dropped at a 7-degree angle which meant the aircraft would have to fly at a low height to achieve this. But the most important factor was that the bombs had to be dropped with backspin. Backspin gave the bomb aerodynamic lift and increased the amount of bounces the bomb achieved and therefore increased the distance. But the back spin gave an added bonus to the procedure, when the bomb hit the wall of the dam the back spin would cause the bomb to bounce off and then the momentum would make the bomb return close to the dam wall. The bomb's trigger was similar to that of a depth charge so as it sank to a certain level the bomb would explode where the water pressure is significant enough to destroy the entire dam wall. Early trials of the bouncing bomb proved unsuccessful and the British Bomber command almost scrapped the idea forever but a few high-ranking RAF officers saw the potential and Wallis was given the go-ahead. A team of top RAF bomber pilots were assembled and training was kept top secret and were initially called Squadron X (later to be Squadron 617). Squadron 617 was for formed for this one mission and they would later to be known as the “Dambusters”. They would have to fly at 220mph and a height of 60 feet above the waters surface to get the correct motion and angle to drop the bomb. Bomber command chose only elite bombers that had survived at least 60 missions to ensure they had the required experience. The date of the mission was chosen as the water levels in May were particularly high and this would cause the maximum destruction. On this night in 1943, nineteen Lancaster bombers took off from Scampton in Lincolnshire, England. Squadron 617 had three primary targets: the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams and two secondary ones, the Lister and the Eneppe dams. Mohne and Eder were destroyed but the Sorpe, although hit, didn’t collapse. The mission to destroy Sorpe had many problems, firstly the Dam was significantly stronger but also the topography of the land leading up to the dam was very hazardous and it took 10 attempts to get a run the bombardier was happy with. When he did drop the bomb it didn’t have the correct momentum and backspin. Eight bombers and 53 men died (13 of whom were from the Canadian RAF and 2 from the Australian RAF), and another 3 survived to become prisoners of war. Without the destruction of the Sorpe dam, the damage was not as great as desired but the destruction of the other two dams did impede the production of arms to some extent. The two destroyed dams released 330 million tons of water into the Ruhr Valley and flooded the area for 50 miles. Despite this, the Germans put in significant effort to fix the dams and water levels returned to normal after about 6 weeks. The bombing raids did have a significant impact on the morale of both the Allies and the Germans. It showed what could be achieved with the right ingenuity and bravery and showed the Germans that they were not as safe as they believed. | |
| 1943-06-11 | In 1943 Great Britain began Operation Corkscrew. Mussolini had lost many battles in its attempts to conquer lands which made Italy look weak while its allies had conquered so much. Their cowardly entrance, as Hitler saw it, into World War II on the 10th of June 1940 was bad enough but Hitler was rapidly losing patience with his old hero. This was known to the Allies who decided to end the Italian contingent of the Axis powers. They knew one massive defeat would anger the Italian people enough to topple their dictator. The target they proposed was Sicily which they planned to attack on the 9th of July 1943. In the area was the smaller Island of Pantelleria, which had great military significance if the invasion of Sicily would be a success. The radar system and airfields on the island were used by the Luftwaffe giving the Axis great areal superiority in the region and making naval attacks more difficult. Great Britain began an aerial bombing campaign of the island from the 8th of May until the 11th of June 1943 and on this day they prepared the landing of their ground troops on the island. The previous night the commander of the Italian garrison on the island had already sought permission to surrender. Mussolini himself gave the order to surrender but denied this when questioned by a much-angered Hitler. When the Royal Marines stepped foot on the island the Italian troops surrendered immediately. The island was won and the only British casualty was a man bitten by a mule. The planned invasion of Sicily went ahead on the 9th of July and by the 17th of August the Allied had captured the island. On the 25th of July 1943, the fascist government met and voted to oust Mussolini, King Victor Emmanuel III had him removed from office and imprisoned. Hitler however still felt loyalty towards his old friend and had him rescued and placed in the safety of German-controlled North Italy. The success of Operation Corkscrew had more implications than just aiding the removal of Mussolini. Pantelleria was the first successful conquest of the Axis powers. Also without the airfield the sea lanes were open once more to the royal navy allowing for the siege of Malta and access to Asia through the Suez Canal once more. | |
| 1943-07-09 | In 1943 The Allied Powers began “Operation Husky” – the invasion of Sicily. Mussolini had lost many battles in its attempts to conquer lands which made Italy look weak while its allies had conquered so much. Their cowardly entrance, as Hitler saw it, into World War II on the 10th of June 1940 was bad enough but Hitler was rapidly losing patience with his old hero. This was known to the Allies who decided to end the Italian contingent of the Axis powers. They knew one massive defeat would anger the Italian people enough to topple their dictator. The target they proposed was Sicily which they planned to attack on the 9th of July 1943. On the 11th of June 1943 successfully occupied the strategic Island of Pantelleria in “Operation Corkscrew”. The Allied Naval forces had been unable to dominate the Mediterranean due to the powerful Luftwaffe forces in the area. By removing the Luftwaffe’s use of their main airfields and radar on the Island Mediterranean Sea was once more accessible and Operation Husky was free to go ahead. The planned invasion of Sicily, or “Operation Husky” went ahead on the 9th of July Forces of Great Britain, the United States and Canada began the invasion from land, sea and air with 160,000 troops. On the night of the 9th of July British and US paratroopers were dropped onto the island and they quickly began causing as much havoc as possible. By the early hours of the next day, the amphibious forces began to land on the island, taking control of the port of Syracuse by the evening gave the allies a stronghold in Sicily. By the 17th of August the Allied numbers had grown to some 400,000 had captured the island in a major blow to Italian morale. On the 25th of July 1943 the fascist government met and voted to oust Mussolini, King Victor Emmanuel III had him removed from office and imprisoned. Hitler however still felt loyalty towards his old friend and had him rescued and placed him in the safety of German-controlled North Italy. |
