United Kingdom
Tag
(515)1943
January
- 16
- Iraq declares war on the AxisOn 16 January 1943 Nuri al-Said’s government declared Iraq at war with Germany, Italy and Japan from midnight, and Iraq joined the United Nations.
- RAF raids on Berlin in January 1943On the nights of 16/17 and 17/18 January 1943 RAF Lancasters and Halifaxes bombed Berlin after a 14-month gap. Damage was slight, second-night losses heavy.
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
- 17
- The end of the fighting in SicilyOn the night of 16–17 August 1943 US patrols entered Messina, and Patton drove in that morning. After 38 days of fighting all of Sicily was in Allied hands.
- The Azores AgreementOn 17 August 1943 Salazar, invoking the alliance of 1373, gave Britain the use of ports and airfields in the Azores. Neutral Portugal leaned towards the Allies.
September
- 03
- The Armistice of CassibileOn 3 September 1943 Castellano and Bedell Smith signed a secret “short armistice” in Sicily. Italy surrendered, but this was announced only on 8 September.
- Operation BaytownOn 3 September 1943 the British Eighth Army's XIII Corps crossed the Strait of Messina to Calabria. The Allies were back on the mainland almost unopposed.
- 09
- Key eventThe landing at SalernoOn 9 September 1943 Mark Clark's American-British Fifth Army landed in the Gulf of Salerno. Despite Italy's surrender, the Germans were waiting on the beaches.
- Iran declares war on GermanyOn 9 September 1943 Iran, occupied for two years by the British and Soviets, declared war on Germany, opening its way into the ranks of the United Nations.
October
- 03
- Mountbatten takes command in South-East AsiaIn early October 1943 Louis Mountbatten, appointed at Quebec in August, flew to India to take over the Allied South East Asia Command.
- The Germans take KosOn 3 October 1943 the Germans landed on Kos and next day took the island with the only Allied airfield in the Dodecanese. They shot about 100 Italian officers.