February 1943

February

• 02

  • Key eventThe end of the Battle of StalingradOn 2 February 1943 General Strecker's northern pocket surrendered and the Battle of Stalingrad ended. A day later the Reich announced the Sixth Army's defeat.
  • Rommel on the Mareth LineIn early February 1943 Rommel's army fell back from Libya behind the old French Mareth Line in Tunisia. The Eighth Army entered Tunisia on 4 February.
• 07

  • Shoe rationing in the United StatesOn 7 February 1943 the US announced that from 9 February leather shoes would be rationed – three pairs per person a year. The army needed the leather.
• 08

  • The first Chindit expeditionOn 8 February 1943 Orde Wingate's 77th Brigade set out from Imphal behind Japanese lines in Burma. The Chindit raid cost dearly but brought hope.
• 09

  • Key eventThe end of the fighting on GuadalcanalOn the nights of 1–8 February 1943 Japanese destroyers took some 10,600 soldiers off Guadalcanal. On 9 February the Americans declared the island secured.
  • Bombing raids in February 1943In February 1943 the RAF razed Lorient, bombed blind with H2S radar successfully for the first time (Wilhelmshaven), and the Americans attacked Emden.
• 11

  • Eisenhower becomes Supreme Commander in North AfricaOn 11 February 1943 Eisenhower was promoted to full general and confirmed as Allied Commander-in-Chief in North Africa, with British deputies under him.
• 13

  • The Battle of Sidi Bou ZidOn 14 February 1943 Arnim's panzer divisions routed the Americans at Sidi Bou Zid, and Rommel took abandoned Gafsa. US II Corps fell back to the Western Dorsal.
• 14

  • The liberation of RostovOn 14 February 1943 troops of the Southern Front liberated Rostov-on-Don. The Germans had got the First Panzer Army through the city and fell back to the Mius.
• 16

  • The liberation of KharkivOn 16 February 1943 Voronezh Front troops entered Kharkiv, abandoned by an SS corps against Hitler's orders. A month later the Germans retook the city.
  • The creation of the STO in FranceOn 16 February 1943 Laval's government set up the Service du travail obligatoire. Young Frenchmen born in 1920–1922 were to work in the Reich for two years.
• 18

  • Key eventGoebbels’s “total war” speechOn 18 February 1943 Goebbels asked a hand-picked crowd in Berlin’s Sportpalast: “Do you want total war?” The speech became a symbol of Nazi propaganda.
• 19

  • The fighting at the Kasserine PassOn 19–22 February 1943 Rommel broke through the Kasserine Pass and routed the Americans, but was stopped at Thala and Djebel Hamra. The Axis withdrew.
• 22

  • Key eventThe execution of Hans and Sophie SchollOn 22 February 1943 Freisler’s People’s Court sentenced Hans and Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst of the White Rose to death. They were guillotined that day.
• 25

  • The Featherston camp massacreOn 25 February 1943 guards at the Featherston POW camp in New Zealand opened fire on striking Japanese prisoners. 48 prisoners and one soldier died.
• 28

  • Operation GunnersideDuring the night of 27–28 February 1943 Norwegian SOE commandos blew up the heavy water plant at Vemork. Not a shot was fired, and all evaded pursuit.