1943

World War II Timeline

I tried the NetMagazines "5 magazines for $30" deal last year, and it's for real. I did it for American Heritage, which costs $20 by itself. Books on Tape has over 120 (!) WWII history audio books. Chris Whitten, Webmaster

January 2, 1943

Australian and U.S. Army forces under MacArthur fight back the Japanese at Buna in New Guinea.

January 14, 1943

The Casablanca Conference between the U.S. and Britain begins. Roosevelt and Churchill agree that Germany must surrender unconditionally, and plan the Allied invasion of Sicily.

January 31, 1943

Over 90,000 German troops at Stalingrad surrender to the Soviets. It is a significant turning point in the war against Germany.

February 8, 1943

U.S. troops complete the capture of Guadalcanal from the Japanese .

April 19, 1943

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins after German troops attempt to deport the ghetto's last surviving Jews. About 750 Jews fought back the Germans for almost a month.

May 11, 1943

The Trident Conference between the U.S. and Britain begins. Roosevelt and Churchill decide to delay the Allied invasion of France and in its place plan the Allied invasion of Italy. In Alaska, U.S. troops land on Attu in the Aleutian islands to retake it from the Japanese .

May 12, 1943

Axis forces in North Africa surrender.

May 16, 1943

German troops crush the last resistance of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and kill thousands of Jews. The rest are sent to the Treblinka concentration camp to die.

July 1, 1943

The U.S. government begins directly withholding income tax from wages.

July 10, 1943

Over 160,000 Allied troops land in Sicily, beginning Operation Husky.

July 24, 1943

The Allies begin bombing Hamburg.

July 25, 1943

Benito Mussolini's fascist government is overthrown in Italy. The new Italian government begins peace talks.

August 1, 1943

The Allies bomb the Ploesti oil fields in Romania.

August 11, 1943

The Quebec Conference between the U.S. and Britain begins.

August 15, 1943

U.S. troops retake Kiska island in the Aleutians.

August 17, 1943

Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, is successfully concluded when American troops take Messina.

September 3, 1943

British troops land on mainland Italy, beginning the Allied campaign in Italy. American troops land six days later. The new Italian government formally surrenders.

September 10, 1943

German troops occupy Rome. Mussolini soon declares himself the head of a new fascist Italian government in German-occupied northern Italy.

October 13, 1943

Italy declares war on Germany.

November 1, 1943

U.S. Marines land on Bougainville island in the Solomons.

November 20, 1943

U.S. Army troops land on Makin island in the Gilberts. The next day, U.S. Marines land on Tarawa. Within four days, both islands were secured, but at the cost of thousands of casualties.

November 8, 1943

The Teheran Conference between the U.S., Britain, and the USSR begins. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meet together for the first time.

December 1, 1943

The Teheran Conference between the U.S., Britain, and the USSR is successfully concluded. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agree that the Western Allies would invade France in June 1944 and that when it began the USSR would launch a new offensive from the east.

December 24, 1943

Dwight Eisenhower is named supreme commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces.