istoryworld
All Events
Bernard Montgomery is appointed commander of the demoralized British and Commonwealth Eighth Army in North Africa
Canadian troops provide most of the assault force in a disastrous raid on Dieppe
Rommel's new thrust towards Alexandria is halted by the British at Alam al-Halfa, a ridge near El Alamein
A desperate battle begins for the city of Stalingrad, with house-to-house fighting between Germans and Russians
The German V-2 rocket is successfully tested by Wernher von Braun and his team at Peenemünde
Montgomery launches the second battle of El Alamein against Rommel
In a few weeks Montgomery and the Eighth Army push Rommel back some 1200 miles, into Tunisia
American and British forces, under Dwight Eisenhower, land in Morocco and Algeria
Hitler, disregarding the armistice, sends German troops to take control of Vichy France
After three days of resistance the French commanders in north Africa bring their troops over to the Allied side
Soviet tanks complete the encirclement of 20 German divisions at Stalingrad
French crews in Toulon scuttle the fleet to prevent it falling into German hands
Enrico Fermi and his team in Chicago achieve the first nuclear chain reaction
The loss of merchant shipping to U-boats reaches a peak in the Battle of the Atlantic, with 1.5 million tons sunk in the last quarter of the year
An international declaration condemns Germany's 'bestial policy of cold-blooded extermination'
Harold Macmillan reveals his diplomatic skills as a go-between at the Casablanca Conference
Salvador Luria and Max Delbrück demonstrate that bacteria evolve according to the Darwinian theory of natural selection acting on random mutations
French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre expounds his theory of existentialism in Being and Nothingness ('L'Être et le néant')
The musical Oklahoma! launches the partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
English contralto Kathleen Ferrier makes her London début in Handel's Messiah in Westminster Abbey
Power is seized in Argentina by a new military junta, the Group of United Officers
11-year-old Elizabeth Taylor co-stars with a collie in Lassie Come Home
Basil Brooke begins an unbroken 20-year period in office as Unionist prime minister of northern Ireland
William Tubman begins a 28-year spell as president of Liberia
Zoot Suit riots, starting in Los Angeles, target young Mexican Americans
