WWII History

November 4 spans shifting alliances, collapsing fronts, and the widening reach of a global war. The United States adopted a “cash and carry” policy that edged it closer to the Allies, while British intelligence leadership changed hands as MI6 prepared for the long struggle ahead. Finnish troops captured Hanko, German forces advanced deeper into Crimea, and North Africa saw the destruction of Italy’s 20th Motorized Corps with thousands of prisoners taken. In the Pacific, U.S. Marines landed at Aola Point, and across Europe both Allied momentum and Nazi brutality escalated. A day of turning points across multiple continents.

November 3 reflects a world already tightening into global conflict. A Dutch steamer sank on a German minefield as London endured another Luftwaffe raid. In 1940, the Italian campaign in Greece faltered badly while Britain rushed support to the eastern Mediterranean. By 1941, German momentum near Moscow was slowing as winter arrived and Japan edged closer to war with the United States. In 1942, the British advance west of El Alamein forced Axis troops into retreat, and in 1943 the Battle of the Atlantic claimed more Allied shipping while resistance movements across Europe continued their dangerous work. A day marked by shifting fronts and mounting pressure in every theater.

November 2 reveals the many fronts of a world at war. In 1939, the first transport of Polish women arrived at Ravensbrück, marking the beginning of the camp’s grim role in Nazi terror. By 1942, the struggle intensified across multiple theaters: brutal street fighting raged in Stalingrad, the German drive into the Caucasus stalled at Ordshonikidze, and the Allies launched Operation Supercharge at El Alamein. Eisenhower arrived in Gibraltar to prepare for the North African landings, Australians retook Kokoda, and a U-boat torpedo struck Bell Island—the only direct German attack on North American soil. In later years, U.S. forces won at Empress Augusta Bay, Canadians liberated Zeebrugge, and the bloody Hürtgen Forest campaign consumed the U.S. 28th Division. A day of turning points across continents.

November 1 traces the widening scope of a world at war—from Mussolini’s declaration of a Rome–Berlin “axis” in 1936 to intensifying combat across Europe and the Pacific. In 1940, Britain mined the Bay of Biscay and struck Italian targets as Turkey declared neutrality. By 1941, German forces advanced deeper into Crimea while diplomatic tensions with the U.S. grew. The Caucasus campaign continued in 1942, Soviet forces severed German land links to Crimea in 1943, and Japanese balloon bombs reached North America in 1944. At Walcheren, British commandos fought to open the Scheldt, while intelligence reports in 1945 confirmed Hitler’s death. A day marked by shifting alliances, hard fighting, and global consequences.