May 1943

May

• 02

  • The Japanese raid on Darwin in May 1943On 2 May 1943 Japanese bombers escorted by Zeros attacked Darwin. Chasing them out to sea, the defenders lost 13–14 Spitfires, largely for lack of fuel.
• 07

  • The capture of Tunis and BizerteOn 7 May 1943 British armour of the First Army entered Tunis and Americans of II Corps entered Bizerte. The Axis front in Tunisia broke into isolated groups.
• 09

  • The Changjiao massacreFrom 9 to 12 May 1943 the Japanese murdered civilians and stranded Chinese soldiers at Changjiao on Lake Dongting. Chinese sources give 30,000 victims.
• 11

  • The landing on AttuOn 11 May 1943 the US 7th Infantry Division landed on Japanese-occupied Attu. Fog, freezing cold and defences in the hills slowed the advance.
• 12

  • The Trident ConferenceOn 12 May 1943 Churchill and Roosevelt opened the Trident Conference in Washington. It set 1 May 1944 as the date for the cross-Channel invasion.
• 13

  • Key eventThe Axis surrender in AfricaOn 13 May 1943 Messe's Italian First Army, the last Axis force in Tunisia, surrendered. Some quarter of a million men were captured; the war in Africa was over.
• 15

  • The founding of the National Council of the ResistanceOn 15 May 1943 London announced the National Council of the Resistance, in which Jean Moulin united underground movements, unions and parties under de Gaulle.
  • Case BlackOn 15 May 1943 Germany and its allies launched Case Black, the fifth offensive against Tito's Partisans in Montenegro, also aimed at the Chetniks.
• 16

  • Key eventThe end of the Warsaw Ghetto UprisingOn 16 May 1943 Stroop blew up the Great Synagogue on Tłomackie and declared the Warsaw Ghetto at an end. His report listed 56,065 Jews “caught”.
  • Operation ChastiseOn the night of 16–17 May 1943 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron breached the Möhne and Eder dams with “bouncing bombs”. The flood killed some 1,600 people.
• 22

  • The raids on Sicily and SardiniaAfter victory in Tunisia, Allied aircraft bombed the airfields and ports of Sicily, Sardinia and Pantelleria; at the end of May B-17s struck the Naples area.
• 24

  • Key eventBlack MayIn May 1943 the U-boats lost 41–43 boats for meagre results. On 24 May Dönitz pulled them out of the North Atlantic – the turning point of the Atlantic battle.
  • Mengele at AuschwitzOn 24 May 1943 Josef Mengele was posted to Auschwitz. From 30 May he was doctor of the Gypsy camp at Birkenau, conducting selections and criminal experiments.
• 29

  • The raid on WuppertalOn the night of 29–30 May 1943 over 700 RAF bombers attacked Wuppertal. Fire consumed Barmen and killed some 3,400 people – the most in any single raid so far.
• 30

  • The end of the fighting on AttuOn 29 May 1943 the remnants of Attu's Japanese garrison launched a suicidal charge. By 30 May the fighting was over; Tokyo spoke of gyokusai for the first time.