Video: Feb. 3, 1943 (at 52:30)
(Wednesday, February 3, 1943; a day after the Battle of Stalingrad ended on the Eastern Front of World War II) — German radio announced today that Stalingrad had fallen to the Soviets; the 6th Army had fought courageously but had succumbed to vastly superior enemy forces and to unfavorable circumstances. Continue reading German radio announces defeat at Stalingrad 70 years ago today (1943)
Video: '442nd Regiment of WWII'
(Monday, February 1, 1943; during World War II) — One of America’s most highly decorated military units, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up almost exclusively of Japanese-Americans anxious to prove their loyalty to their country of birth and defy national prejudice that they are aliens and dangerous, was authorized today.
Video: Event of Jan. 30, 1943 described w/cover video of Jan. 31, 1943 (at 46:05)
(Saturday, January 30, 1943; during the Battle of Stalingrad on the Eastern Front of World War II) — German dictator Adolf Hitler today promoted Gen. Friedrich Paulus to Generalfeldmarschall. Since no German Field Marshal had ever been taken prisoner, Hitler assumed that Paulus would fight on or take his own life.
Image: U.S. bombs Wilhelmshaven, Germany (Jan. 27, 1943)
(Wednesday, January 27, 1943; during World War II) — 91 bombers from the U.S. Eighth Air Force, a combination of B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators, mounted the first American airstrike inside Germany today.
55 of the B-17s made a daylight raid on the submarine bases at Wilhelmshaven. All of the aircraft were able to return to base.
Video: Jan. 24, 1943 (at 43:52)
(Sunday, January 24, 1943; during the Battle of Stalingrad on the Eastern Front of World War II) — German Gen. Friedrich von Paulus, commander in chief of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad, urgently requested permission from Adolf Hitler today to surrender his position there, but Hitler flatly refused the request, setting his soldiers up for a crushing defeat.
Video: Jan. 23, 1943 (at 7:52)
(Saturday, January 23, 1943, 5 a.m. local time; part of the Western Desert Campaign of World War II) — The conquering British Eighth army wrested Tripoli from the Axis today and the conquest of Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini’s African empire, which British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pledged in 1940 would be torn “to shreds and tatters,” was all but complete. Continue reading Tripoli falls to British 8th Army as it pursues Rommel into Tunisia 70 years ago this hour (1943)
Video: 'The Diary of ANNE FRANK (Part Two) - 06/17' (Jan. 13, 1943, at 0:15)
(Wednesday, January 13, 1943; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — On Anne Frank’s 192nd day in hiding in a secret apartment behind her father’s business in German-occupied Amsterdam, the 13-year-old girl described today in her diary the suffering of people outside and considers how selfish the members of the Secret Annex are to talk about what they will do or buy “after the war.”
Video: 'The World At War: Red Star The Soviet Union 4/5' (Jan. 12, 1942, at 0:20)
(Tuesday, January 12, 1943, 9:30 a.m. local time; part of the Eastern Front of World War II) — The Russians launched Operation Iskra today as the Soviet 67th Army began its final assault on the German occupation of Leningrad.
Video: 'AIR FORCE ONE: THE PLANES AND THE PRESIDENTS" (PART 1)' (Jan. 11, 1943, at 3:58)
(Monday, January 11, 1943, shortly after 6:00 a.m. local time; during World War II) — Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to fly while in office today as he left Miami today for a top-secret meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Morocco. Continue reading Franklin Roosevelt becomes first sitting U.S. president to fly in a plane 70 years ago this hour (1943)
Video: Jan. 8, 1943 (at 42:33)
(Friday, January 8, 1943; during the Battle of Stalingrad on the Eastern Front of World War II) — Gen. Konstantin Rokossovsky, commander of the Red Army on the Don front, called a cease fire today and offered German Gen. Friedrich Paulus terms of surrender. However, when Paulus asked Adolf Hitler, Führer of Germany, for permission to surrender, Hitler rejected this request almost out of hand and ordered him to hold Stalingrad to the last man.
