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View Full Version : On this day in WW2 July 3rd



bobdina
07-02-2009, 11:22 PM
1940- In Algeria... At Mers-el-Kebir near Oran, British Admiral Somerville has been ordered to present various alternative schemes for the demobilization of the French ships and their removal to distant ports. Admiral Somerville has been sent with the two battleships and one battle cruiser of Force H supported by an aircraft carrier. The French Admiral Gensoul has four battleships and a large complement of supporting vessels. The deadline in Somerville's orders expires before the negotiations have achieved an agreement and he feels compelled to open fire. The Bretagne is sunk and two more battleships are badly damaged. The Strasbourg and five destroyers steam out of the port and succeed in getting away to Toulon.

In Britain... At Plymouth and Portsmouth two French battleships, nine destroyers and many smaller ships are taken over with a little bloodshed in some minor skirmishes.

In Egypt... Negotiations are proceeding in Alexandria between the British and the French naval commanders there.

In London... There have been some suggestions, supported by Admiral Pound, the First Sea Lord, that the British Fleet should be withdrawn from the eastern Mediterranean. The idea is rejected by Churchill. The British government and Admiralty are also worried by the status of the French navy and fear that it will fall into German hands.

1941- On the Eastern Front... In the area of German Army Group North, clear weather permits the Luftwaffe to provide close air support again. The German 41st Panzer Corps (Panzer Group 4) makes good progress against the relatively weak forces of the Soviet 1st Mechanized Corps, and two reserve rifle corps, of the Soviet Northwest Front (Sobennikov). Meanwhile, in the area of Army Group Center, elements of German 9th and 2nd Armies eliminate the resistance of Soviet forces trapped in the Bialystok pocket.

In the Soviet Union... Stalin broadcasts for the first time since the German invasion. The reason for his delay in responding is not clear. He calls for total effort and a policy of scorched earth before the German advance, and guerilla warfare in their rear. He also defends the 1939 non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany on the grounds of his desire for peace. The broadcast is the first of many to emphasize patriotic nationalism.

In East Africa... In southern Abyssinia the Italian resistance comes to an end with the surrender of General Gazzera and 7000 troops to a Belgian unit. In the northwestern Gondar area there are more Italian surrenders around Debra Tabor.

In Syria... Deir el Zor falls to the troops from 10th Indian Division. The Vichy French fort at Palmyra surrenders to Habforce after a long defense.

1942-New Zealander mobile anti-tank gunIn North Africa... The New Zealand 2nd Division and their supporting artillery almost destroy the Italian Ariete Division attacking toward Alam Nayil.

From Norway... The German pocket battleship Lutzow and cruiser Admiral Sheer leave Narvik with an escort to join the Tirpitz in an attack on the British convoys. However on the way, the Lutzow and three destroyers run aground. Germans take Sevastopol.

1943 -' In New Guinea... Australian forces, advancing from Wau, are heavily engaged by Japanese forces around Mubo. During the day, the Australians link up with the Americans from the Nassau Bay landing force in the Bitoi River region.
In the Solomon Islands... On New Georgia, American forces land at Zanana, about 8 miles east of Munda. There is no Japanese resistance and the beachhead is quickly consolidated.

In New Guinea... Japanese forces make an unsuccessful attempt to ship reinforcements to the garrison on Biak Island. US forces on Biak advance against heavy resistance.

1944-On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces of the 1st and 3rd Belorussian Fronts complete the capture of Minsk. German forces of the 4th Army, which has been pinned by 2nd Belorussian Front, are now trapped east of the city. German casualties and equipment losses are severe. Most of the forces of German Army Group Center are in disarray.

From Berlin... General Freissner replaces General Lindemann as commander of Army Group North.

On the Western Front... Forces of the US 1st Army launch an offensive drive south from the Cotentin Peninsula with the objective of reaching a line from Coutances to St. Lo. The difficult terrain and poor weather contribute to a limited advance during the day toward St. Jean de Daye and La Haye du Puits. German forces resist.

In Italy... Troops of the French Expeditionary Corps (part of US 5th Army) capture Siena. Other elements of the 5th Army reach Rosignano. Forces of the British 8th Army take Cortona.

In New Guinea... On Numfoor, the Allied forces expand their beachhead. A parachute battalion is dropped at Kamiriz Airfield which is captured with heavy casualties.

In the United States... The Bretton Woods conference continues.

1945-In the Soviet Union... Moscow radio announces that the body of Joseph Goebbels, the former Nazi minister of propaganda, has been discovered in the courtyard of the Chancellery in Berlin.

In Occupied Germany... The first American occupation troops arrive in Berlin. Meanwhile, Ernst Wilhelm Bohle, nominated by Hitler in 1940 to be Gauleiter of Britain, is captured by Allied troops.
In the Greater Sunda Islands... On Borneo, in the southeast, troops of the reinforced Australian 7th Division landed at Balikpapan take Sepinggang airfield as well as the town. The Australian forces have advance 6 miles inland, east of Balikpapan, which is almost surrounded.

Over Japan... American B-29 bombers attack Himeji, on Honshu, and the towns of Takamatsu, Tokushima and Kochi, on Shikoku Island, to the south of Honshu.