What Happened in 1943

John F. Kennedy's Boat, the PT-109, is Sunk by the Amagiri

Conflicting statements have been made as to whether the destroyer captain had spotted and steered towards the boat; author Donovan, who interviewed... Read more

Szczurowa Massacre

The massacre in Szczurowa was the murder of 93 Romani people (also known as Gypsies), including children, women and the elderly, by German Nazi... Read more

First Phase of the Battle of Smolensk (1943)

After a day of probing, the goal of which was to determine whether German troops would choose to withdraw or not from the first set of trenches,... Read more

Ronald Reagan Appears as Johnny Jones in "This is the Army"

The splashy, star-studded This is the Army is based on the Irving Berlin Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was a reworking of... Read more

Operation Cottage

Operation Cottage was a tactical maneuver during the Aleutian Islands campaign. In the operation, which took place on August 15, 1943, Allied... Read more

First Quebec Conference is Held

The conference also established a new theatre of war in South East Asia, with Lord Mountbatten as commander, and reached an agreement to dissuade... Read more

Second Stage of the Battle of Smolensk (1943)

By mid-August, the situation on the Eastern Front had changed as the Red Army started a general offensive, beginning with the Belgorod-Kharkov... Read more

Lower Dnieper Offensive Begins

The Lower Dnieper Offensive (also known as the "Battle of the Lower Dnieper") of took place in 1943 during the Second World War. It was one of the... Read more

Frankford Junction Train Wreck

One hundred and fifty persons were reported killed and more than 90 injured in the wreck of the Congressional Limited, fastest train of the... Read more

Gulf Hotel Fire

Forty-eight men perished when fire swept a small, ancient hotel here today. Forty-four of them never got out of the three-story Gulf Hotel at... Read more

Third Stage of the Battle of Smolensk (1943)

In the week from 7 September to 14 September, Soviet troops were once again reinforced and were preparing for another offensive. The next... Read more

Joseph Stalin Reestablishes The Russian Orthodox Church

The catastrophic course of combat in the beginning of World War II forced Stalin to mobilize all the national resources for defense, including the... Read more

Declaration of Armistice Between Italy and Allied Forces

Today, it is announced that an armistice with Italy has been concluded. This was a great victory for the United Nations -- but it was also a... Read more

Mussolini Rescued from Prison by German Paratroopers in Gran Sasso Raid

On 25 July 1943, a few weeks after the allied invasion of Sicily and bombing of Rome, the Italian Grand Council of Fascism voted to depose... Read more

Germany Commences Weeklong Massacre of the Acqui Division (Cephalonia Massacre)

The massacre started on 21 September, and lasted for one week. After the Italian surrender, Hitler had issued an order allowing the Germans to... Read more

Formation of the Pro-German Faction, Italian Social Republic (RSI), Following Italy's Armistice with Allied Forces

Upon Mussolini's rescue from Italian arrest, Adolf Hitler ordered Mussolini to form a new fascist state or else he would destroy Milan, Genoa and... Read more

Battle of Leros Begins with German Attack

The German forces assembling for Unternehmen Leopard ("Operation Leopard") under the command of Generalleutnant Müller, comprised... Read more

Second Day of the 'Four Days of Naples'

On September 28, going to increase over time the number of citizens who joined Napolitain the first fighters, the fighting intensified, in the... Read more

Third Day of the 'Four Days of Naples'

On the third day of fierce clashes in the streets of Naples, the organization dell'insurrezione was still left to individual capipopolo... Read more

Fourth Day of the 'Four Days of Naples'

While the German troops had already begun the evacuation of the city for the arrival of Anglo-American forces from Nocera Inferiore, in the city is... Read more

Naples Liberated from German Occupation by Allied Forces

On October 1 at 9:30 of the first Allied tanks entered the city, while at the end of the day, the German command in Italy, to the mouth of Marshal... Read more

Battle of Kos

The main prize, the island of Rhodes, fell to a swift attack by a German armoured brigade. Nevertheless, British forces landed on several islands,... Read more

1943 World Series

The 1943 World Series matched the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the New York Yankees, in a rematch of the 1942 Series. The Yankees... Read more

Jewish Prisoners Stage Successful Uprising at Sobibor Extermination Camp

Sobibor was the site of one of two successful uprisings by Jewish prisoners in a Nazi extermination camp — there was a similar revolt at Treblinka... Read more

American Airlines' Flagship Missouri Crashes, Killing 11

Flight 63 originated at Cleveland at 17:56, 17 minutes later than the scheduled departure. Intermediate stops were made at Columbus, Dayton,... Read more