June 13, 1940: Italian Air Raids and French Defence
Hans Frank, portrait 1939
June 13, 1940: Italian Air Raids and French Defense
Battle Context: Italian Campaign and Fall of France
The Italian Regia Aeronautica continued air raids during the Siege of Malta. Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers from 15th Stormo targeted Hal Far airfield, aiming to weaken British defences in the Mediterranean.
Prime Ministers Churchill and Reynaud meet with respective Government ministers in Tours. The French, who in March had agreed that they wouldn’t seek a separate peace with Germany, asked to be released from the agreement to seek an armistice. Reynaud was under significant pressure to come to terms from other politician and commanders along with his own mistress, who was a fascist sympathiser.
Holocaust-Related Events:
No specific Holocaust events are recorded for June 13, 1940, but the Nazi regime intensified anti-Jewish measures in occupied Poland. The General Government (under Hans Frank) enforced ghettoization in Warsaw, with Jews facing forced labour and severe restrictions.
Key Personalities:
Benito Mussolini: Italian dictator escalating Mediterranean operations, despite limited readiness.
Colonel Charles de Gaulle: Led French resistance, advocating continued fight as France faltered.
Hans Frank: Nazi governor overseeing early Holocaust policies in Poland.
Outcome:
Italian raids strained Malta; German advances hastened France’s surrender (June 22); anti-Jewish measures escalated in Poland.
June 13, 1941: Syria-Lebanon Campaign and Barbarossa Preparations
Private Jim Gordon, VC
Battle Context: Operation Exporter
The Allied Operation Exporter against Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon progressed. British 7th Division, Australian 7th Division (under Major General John Lavarack), Free French 1st Division (under General Paul Legentilhomme), and 5th Indian Brigade advanced against Vichy forces under General Henri Dentz. Today the Australians fight the Battle of Jezzine in a hard fought battle in which Private Jim Gordon, 2/31st Battalion crawled forward and neutralised the dominant Vichy machine gun position with rifle and bayonet. He was later awarded the Victoria Cross.
Australian 21st Brigade consolidated Merdjayoun, engaging Vichy 22nd Algerian Tirailleurs. Free French 1st Marine Infantry Battalion clashed with Vichy 6th Foreign Legion near Quneitra, moving toward Damascus.
Air support from No. 3 Squadron RAAF (Hawker Hurricanes) countered Vichy Morane-Saulnier MS.406 fighters, with HMS Glengyle providing naval gunfire.
Holocaust-Related Events:
No specific Holocaust events occurred on June 13, 1941, but the Einsatzgruppen (under Reinhard Heydrich) finalized preparations for mass executions of Jews and others in Soviet territories, set to begin with Operation Barbarossa (June 22).
Russian Front: Pre-Operation Barbarossa
Germany completed preparations for Operation Barbarossa. Army Group North (under Field Marshal Wilhelm von Leeb), including 4th Panzer Group, amassed along the Soviet border in East Prussia. Soviet North-Western Front (under Colonel General Fyodor Kuznetsov) remained largely unaware of the imminent invasion.
Key Personalities:
Major General John Lavarack: Led Australian advances in Syria, overcoming Vichy resistance.
Reinhard Heydrich: Organized Einsatzgruppen for Holocaust atrocities in the upcoming Soviet invasion.
Field Marshal Wilhelm von Leeb: Prepared Army Group North for Barbarossa.
Outcome:
Allied gains in Syria positioned them for Damascus’s capture; Barbarossa preparations escalated Holocaust and Eastern Front threats.
June 13, 1942: North Africa, Pacific Planning, and Holocaust Deportations
Jewish families wearing yellow star badges arriving at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942
Battle Context: Battle of Gazala
At the Gazala Line, General Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps (15th Panzer Division, 90th Light Division) inflicted severe losses on the British Eighth Army (under General Neil Ritchie) during “Black Saturday.” The 50th (Northumbrian) Division and 1st South African Division faced encirclement near Knightsbridge, with Crusader tanks destroyed by German Panzer IV units.
The 1st Free French Brigade (under General Pierre Koenig) had evacuated Bir Hakeim on June 10–11, after delaying Rommel’s advance during a two-week siege by Italian Ariete Division and German forces.
Pacific Theatre: Guadalcanal Preparations
Post-Battle of Midway, the U.S. Pacific Fleet (under Admiral Chester Nimitz) planned the Guadalcanal Campaign. Task Force 16 (USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, under Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance) refitted, while 1st Marine Division (under Major General Alexander Vandegrift) trained for August landings.
PBY Catalina aircraft of VP-44 Squadron scouted Japanese positions on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Holocaust-Related Events:
Deportations to death camps intensified. Around June 13, trains from the Netherlands, were being organized by Adolf Eichmann’s office for the transportation of Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where most were gassed upon arrival. The first trains would leave on 15 June and in the following seven months 42,915 citizens would be deported and only 85 would survive.
Russian Front: Post-Kharkov Consolidation
After the Second Battle of Kharkov, German Army Group South (under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock) consolidated gains, preparing for Case Blue. Soviet Southwestern Front (under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko) suffered heavy losses (over 200,000 captured), weakening defenses around Stalingrad.
Key Personalities:
General Erwin Rommel: Exploited British collapse at Gazala, advancing toward Tobruk.
Adolf Eichmann: Oversaw Holocaust deportations to Auschwitz.
Marshal Semyon Timoshenko: Struggled to regroup Soviet forces after Kharkov.
Outcome:
Rommel’s success threatened Tobruk; U.S. Pacific plans advanced; Holocaust deportations escalated; Soviet losses weakened the Eastern Front.
June 13, 1943: Air Raids, New Georgia, and Holocaust Liquidations
Boeing B-17F radar bombing through clouds over Bremen, Germany, 1943. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Battle Context: Combined Bomber Offensive
RAF Bomber Command (under Air Marshal Arthur Harris) and U.S. Eighth Air Force (under Brigadier General Ira Eaker) targeted German industry. No. 5 Group RAF (Avro Lancasters) bombed Bochum, while 100th Bomb Group (B-17 Flying Fortresses) struck Bremen’s U-boat pens.
Pacific Theatre: New Georgia Campaign
U.S. forces, including 43rd Infantry Division (under Major General John H. Hester) and 4th Marine Raider Battalion, prepared for the New Georgia invasion (launched June 30). P-38 Lightning fighters of 339th Fighter Squadron escorted reconnaissance over the Solomon Islands.
Holocaust-Related Events:
The Lublin Ghetto liquidation continued under SS and Police Leader Odilo Globocnik, with remaining Jews deported to Majdanek or Sobibor death camps. By mid-1943, most ghetto residents faced extermination or forced labor.
Russian Front: Pre-Kursk Lull
A lull occurred as both sides prepared for the Battle of Kursk (July 1943). German Army Group Center (under Field Marshal Günther von Kluge) reinforced positions, while Soviet Central Front (under General Konstantin Rokossovsky) constructed defensive lines around Kursk.
Key Personalities:
Air Marshal Arthur Harris: Intensified RAF bombing to disrupt German production.
Odilo Globocnik: Directed ghetto liquidations in Poland.
General Konstantin Rokossovsky: Prepared Soviet defenses for Kursk.
Outcome:
Allied air raids weakened Germany; New Georgia plans advanced; Holocaust atrocities continued; both sides braced for Kursk.
June 13, 1944: Normandy, V-1 Attacks, and Holocaust Deportations
Men of British 51st Division in action in Normandy, 13 July 1944
Battle Context: Operation Overlord
Seven days after D-Day, Allied forces expanded Normandy beachheads. The British 51st (Highland) Division and Canadian 3rd Infantry Division (under General Bernard Montgomery) battled German 12th SS Panzer Division near Caen. The U.S. 1st Infantry Division (under Major General Clarence Huebner) advanced toward St. Lô against German 352nd Infantry Division.
The U.S. 101st Airborne Division secured Carentan against 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division in an action named ‘The Battle of Bloody Gulch’. British 7th Armoured Division clashed with Panzergruppe West (under General Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg) at Villers-Bocage, where SS-Obersturmführer Michael Wittmann’s Tiger I tanks destroyed 13 or 14 tanks, two anti tank guns and 13 to 15 transport vehicles in a counter attack that lasted less than 15 minutes. Wittmann was promoted to SS-Hauptsturnfuhrer and awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords after the action.
Allied air support from RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force (Hawker Typhoon fighters) and U.S. Ninth Air Force (P-47 Thunderbolts) targeted German armor.
Germany intensified V-1 flying bomb attacks from Flak-Regiment 155 (W) in Pas-de-Calais, striking London for the first time. The rocket stuck at Grove Road in Mile End and killed eight civilians.
Holocaust-Related Events:
Deportations from Hungary to Auschwitz-Birkenau continued, organized by Adolf Eichmann. Between May and July 1944, approximately 437,000 Hungarian Jews were deported, with most gassed upon arrival.
Russian Front: Pre-Operation Bagration
Soviet forces prepared for Operation Bagration (launched June 22). The 1st Belorussian Front (under General Konstantin Rokossovsky) amassed troops in Belarus, targeting German Army Group Center (under Field Marshal Ernst Busch).
Key Personalities:
General Bernard Montgomery: Led Allied efforts in Normandy.
SS-Obersturmführer Michael Wittmann: Led devastating tank attacks at Villers-Bocage.
Adolf Eichmann: Oversaw Hungarian deportations.
General Konstantin Rokossovsky: Planned Bagration to crush German forces.
Outcome:
Allies advanced in Normandy; V-1 attacks escalated; Hungarian deportations peaked; Soviet preparations set up Bagration.
June 13, 1945: Pacific, Borneo, and Post-Holocaust Recovery
Japanese prisoner, Okinawa 1945
Pacific Theatre: Battle of Okinawa
The U.S. 10th Army (under Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.) pressed the Battle of Okinawa against Japanese 32nd Army (under Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima). The 4,000 Japanese sailors who were holed up in the underground headquarters in the Oroku Peninsula all committed mass suicide within the tunnels.
B-29 Superfortress bombers of XXI Bomber Command (under Major General Curtis LeMay) firebombed Osaka, targeting industrial centers.
Borneo Campaign: Operation Oboe
The Allied Operation Oboe continued in Borneo. Australian 9th Division (under Major General George Wootten) secured Labuan Island, engaging Japanese 37th Army (under Lieutenant General Masao Baba). The 2/28th Battalion and 2/12th Commando Squadron cleared strongpoints, supported by RAAF No. 76 Squadron (P-40 Kittyhawk fighters) and HMAS Shropshire.
Australian 2/17th Battalion expanded control in Brunei Bay, securing Brunei town.
Holocaust-Related Events:
Holocaust survivors in Displaced Persons (DP) camps, such as Bergen-Belsen (administered by British forces), faced ongoing challenges. Around June 13, efforts to provide medical care and repatriation struggled, with many Jewish survivors remaining stateless.
Key Personalities:
Major General Curtis LeMay: Led air raids to weaken Japan.
Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.: Commanded U.S. forces in Okinawa.
Major General George Wootten: Directed Australian operations in Borneo.
Marshal Ivan Konev: Oversaw Soviet occupation in Germany.
Each Day in World War II – 13th June
June 13, 1940: Italian Air Raids and French Defence
June 13, 1940: Italian Air Raids and French Defense
June 13, 1941: Syria-Lebanon Campaign and Barbarossa Preparations
June 13, 1942: North Africa, Pacific Planning, and Holocaust Deportations
June 13, 1943: Air Raids, New Georgia, and Holocaust Liquidations
June 13, 1944: Normandy, V-1 Attacks, and Holocaust Deportations
June 13, 1945: Pacific, Borneo, and Post-Holocaust Recovery
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