What Happened in 1944

"Henry V" Is Released

Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Chronicle History of King Henry the... Read more

Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive

The northern attack towards Rava-Ruska commenced on the 13 July 1944. The 1st Ukrainian Front forces easily broke through near Horokhiv. The... Read more

Second Battle of the Odon

As preparation for Goodwood was under way, Second Army launched two preliminary operations. The purpose of these operations, Montgomery stated was... Read more

Nelson Mandela marries Evelyn Mase

Mandela's first marriage was to Evelyn Ntoko Mase who, like Mandela, was also from what later became the Transkei area of South Africa, although... Read more

Port Chicago Disaster

The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly munitions explosion that occurred on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago,... Read more

Jackie Robinson arrested for refusing to move to back of military bus

While awaiting results of hospital tests on his prior ankle injury from junior college, Robinson boarded an Army bus with a fellow black officer's... Read more

Liberation of Caen

On 18 July 942 Allied bombers and fighters attacked five villages on the eastern end of Caen in order to facilitate Operation Goodwood. The attacks... Read more

Operation Goodwood

Operation Goodwood was an attack launched on 18 July 1944, during the Second World War, by the British army to the east of the city of Caen.... Read more

Operation Atlantic

Operation Atlantic was a Canadian offensive during the Battle of Normandy; launched in conjunction with Operation Goodwood, from July 18–20, 1944.... Read more

Lublin–Brest Offensive Begins

The Lublin–Brest Offensive (Russian: Люблин‐Брестская наступательная операция, 18 July – 2 August 1944) was a part of the Operation Bagration... Read more

Battle of Verrières Ridge

The Battle of Verrières Ridge was a series of engagements fought as part of the Battle of Normandy, in western France, during the Second World War.... Read more

Operation Valkyrie: Adolf Hitler Narrowly Escapes Explosion of Bomb Planted by Claus von Stauffenberg

The 20 July plot of 1944 was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, inside his "Wolf's Lair" field headquarters... Read more

Second Battle of Guam

The Second Battle of Guam (July 21 — August 8, 1944) was the American capture of the Japanese held island of Guam (in the Mariana Islands) during... Read more

Battle of Tinian

The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July 1944... Read more

Majdanek Concentration Camp is Liberated by Soviet Troops

In late July 1944, as Soviet forces approached Lublin, the Germans hastily evacuated Majdanek. The SS had evacuated most of the prisoners to... Read more

Battle of Tannenberg Line

The Battle of Tannenberg Line was a campaign between the German the army detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for the... Read more

Operation Cobra

Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army eight weeks after the D-Day landings, during the... Read more

Operation Spring

Operation Spring was an offensive operation conducted by II Canadian Corps during the Normandy campaign. The plan was intended to create pressure... Read more

Kaunas Offensive

On 28 July the forces of the Front went over to the offensive, and by the end of 29 July they had advanced 5–17 km. By July 30 the German... Read more

Operation Bluecoat

Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army at the Battle of Normandy during World War II, from 30 July 1944 to 7 August 1944. The... Read more

W-hour Marks Beginning of the Warsaw Uprising

After days of hesitation, at 17:00 on 31 July, the Polish headquarters scheduled "W-hour" (from the Polish wybuch, "explosion"; also wolność,... Read more

Warsaw Uprising Reaches Apogee

The uprising was intended to last a few days until Soviet forces arrived; however, this never happened, and the Polish forces had to fight with... Read more

Anne Frank and her Family are Arrested by the Gestapo

On the morning of 4 August 1944, the Achterhuis was stormed by the German Security Police (Grüne Polizei) following a tip-off from an informer who... Read more

Wola Massacre

The Wola massacre (Polish: Rzeź Woli, "Wola slaughter") (August 5-August 8, 1944 in Wola, Warsaw) was the scene of the largest single massacre in... Read more

Nazis Begin Evacuation of Kaiserwald Concentration Camp Preceding Arrival of Soviet Forces

On August 6, 1944, as the Red Army advanced westwards and entered Latvia, the Germans began to evacuate the inmates of Kaiserwald to Stutthof, in... Read more