June 14, 1940: German Occupation of Paris and Italian Operations
German 30th infantry Division march on Avenue Foch in Paris, 14th June 1940
June 14, 1940: German Occupation of Paris and Italian Operations
Battle Context: Fall of France and Italian Campaign
German Army Group A (under General Gerd von Rundstedt) entered Paris, declared an open city to avoid destruction, marking a major milestone in the Battle of France. By the evening today German soldiers were parading in the city and the swastika was flying from the Arc de Triomphe. The French 10th Army (under General Robert Altmayer) retreated south, facing German 7th Panzer Division.
The Italian Regia Aeronautica continued the Siege of Malta, with Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers from 15th Stormo attacking Valletta to disrupt British Mediterranean supply lines.
Holocaust-Related Events:
Nazi General Government (under Hans Frank) intensified anti-Jewish measures in occupied Poland, enforcing ghettoization in Warsaw and Kraków, with Jews subjected to forced labor and restrictions. Seven hundred and twenty-eight Polish political prisoners from Tarnow become the first inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Russian Front:
No Russian Front activity occurred, as the Soviet Union remained neutral under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, while Germany focused on Western Europe.
Key Personalities:
General Gerd von Rundstedt: Led German forces into Paris, solidifying the Fall of France.
Benito Mussolini: Italian dictator pushing Mediterranean operations, despite limited military readiness.
Hans Frank: Nazi governor overseeing early Holocaust policies in Poland.
Outcome:
German occupation of Paris accelerated France’s collapse (surrendered June 22); Italian raids strained Malta; anti-Jewish measures escalated in Poland.
June 14, 1941: Syria-Lebanon Campaign and Barbarossa Buildup
Beria, holding Stalin’s daughter, Svetlana. Stalin and Nestor Lakoba are in the background, unknown location, 1931
Battle Context: Operation Exporter
The Allied Operation Exporter against Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon advanced. British 7th Division, Australian 7th Division (under Major General John Lavarack), Free French 1st Division (under General Paul Legentilhomme), and 5th Indian Brigade pressed forward against Vichy forces under General Henri Dentz.
Australian 25th Brigade secured positions near Merdjayoun, engaging Vichy 17th Senegalese Tirailleurs. Free French 1st Marine Infantry Battalion clashed with Vichy 6th Foreign Legion near Damascus, supported by No. 3 Squadron RAAF (Hawker Hurricanes) against Vichy Dewoitine D.520 fighters and naval gunfire from HMS Phoebe.
Holocaust-Related Events:
Einsatzgruppen (under Reinhard Heydrich) completed preparations for mass executions of Jews, communists, and others in Soviet territories, set to begin with Operation Barbarossa (June 22).
Russian Front: Pre-Operation Barbarossa
Germany finalized preparations for Operation Barbarossa, with Army Group South (under Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt), including 1st Panzer Group, massing along the Soviet border in occupied Poland. Soviet South-Western Front (under Colonel General Mikhail Kirponos) remained unaware of the imminent invasion.
Soviet mass deportation of tens of thousands of people from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova begins. The June Deportations were ordered by Stalin and organised by the feared NKVD headed by Lavrentiy Beria with assistance of the Red Army. The Soviets were seeking to remove any political opposition in their occupied territories and the people were shipped off to the Russian interior. It targeted the wealthy, academics, nationalists and people with religious faith.
Key Personalities:
Major General John Lavarack: Led Australian forces in Syria, overcoming Vichy defences.
Reinhard Heydrich: Organized Einsatzgruppen for Holocaust atrocities in the upcoming Soviet invasion.
Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt: Prepared Army Group South for Barbarossa.
Lavrentiy Beria: Head of NKVD and implemented the June Deportations
Outcome:
Allied gains in Syria set up Damascus’s capture; Barbarossa preparations heightened Holocaust and Eastern Front risks.
June 14, 1942: North Africa, Pacific Planning, and Holocaust Deportations
Italian destroyers Ugolino Vivaldi, Alfredo Oriani and Ascari all leaving Palermo on 14th June 1942 to attack Operation Harpoon
June 14, 1942: North Africa, Pacific Planning, and Holocaust Deportations
Battle Context: Battle of Gazala Aftermath
Following “Black Saturday” (June 13), General Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps (15th Panzer Division, 90th Light Division) continued to press the British Eighth Army (under General Neil Ritchie) at the Gazala Line. The 50th (Northumbrian) Division and 1st South African Division retreated. The British had only 70 tanks remaining, from 300, have suffered devastating losses from German Panzer IV and 88mm Flak guns.
Mediterranean Theatre: Allied Losses mounting
Operation Harpoon, a relief convoy to beleaguered Malta is under sustained Italian naval and air attack. HMS Liverpool was damaged and had to be towed back to Gibraltar and HMS Hasty, a destroyer, was hit by a German torpedo boat.
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 at Pearl Harbor, while 1st Marine Division (under Major General Alexander Vandegrift) trained for August landings.
PBY Catalina aircraft of VP-44 Squadron conducted reconnaissance over Japanese-held Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Russian Front: Pre-Case Blue Operations
German Army Group South (under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock) prepared for Case Blue, consolidating positions after the Second Battle of Kharkov. Soviet Southwestern Front (under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko) attempted to reorganize, but heavy losses (over 200,000 captured) weakened defenses around Voronezh and Stalingrad.
Key Personalities:
General Erwin Rommel: Advanced toward Tobruk after Gazala’s collapse.
Adolf Eichmann: Oversaw Holocaust deportations to Auschwitz.
Marshal Semyon Timoshenko: Struggled to regroup Soviet forces.
Outcome:
Rommel’s advance threatened Tobruk (captured June 21); U.S. Pacific plans progressed; Holocaust deportations escalated; Soviet weaknesses exposed vulnerabilities.
June 14, 1943: Air Raids, New Georgia, and Holocaust Liquidations
Hitler Jugend in training with MG34, 14th June 1943
Battle Context: Combined Bomber Offensive
RAF Bomber Command (under Air Marshal Arthur Harris) and U.S. Eighth Air Force (under Major General Ira Eaker) targeted German industry. No. 1 Group RAF (Avro Lancasters) bombed Oberhausen, while 94th Bomb Group (B-17 Flying Fortresses) struck Kiel’s U-boat facilities.
Pacific Theatre: New Georgia Campaign
U.S. forces, including 43rd Infantry Division (under Major General John H. Hester) and 4th Marine Raider Battalion, finalized plans for the New Georgia invasion (launched June 30). P-38 Lightning fighters of 339th Fighter Squadron escorted reconnaissance missions over Munda Point.
Holocaust-Related Events:
Auschwitz-Birkenau camp now has four functioning crematoria, with a total daily capacity of 4,416.
Russian Front: Pre-Kursk Buildup
Both sides prepared for the Battle of Kursk (July 1943) during a lull. German Army Group Center (under Field Marshal Günther von Kluge) reinforced positions with 9th Army, while Soviet Central Front (under General Konstantin Rokossovsky) constructed extensive 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 German infrastructure; New Georgia plans advanced; Holocaust liquidations continued; both sides braced for Kursk.
June 14, 1944: Normandy, V-1 Attacks, and Holocaust Deportations
Tiger tank knocked out in Villiers-Bocage, June 1944
Battle Context: Operation Overlord
Eight days after D-Day, Allied forces expanded Normandy beachheads. The British XXX Corps, 7th Armoured Division, 50th (Northumbrian) Division and Canadian 3rd Infantry Division (under General Bernard Montgomery) battled German 12th SS Panzer Division ‘Hitler Jugend’, 21st Panzer and Panzer- Lehr Divisions near Caen but the plan to capture the city in a pincer attack, Operation Perch, was ended today in failure.
The U.S. 9th Infantry Division (under Major General Manton Eddy) advanced toward Cherbourg against German 709th Static Division.
The U.S. 82nd Airborne Division reinforced Carentan, securing links between Utah and Omaha beaches, against 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division. British 7th Armoured Division faced Panzergruppe West (under General Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg) near Villers-Bocage.
Germany escalated V-1 flying bomb attacks from Flak-Regiment 155 (W) in Pas-de-Calais, striking London and causing civilian casualties.
Holocaust-Related Events:
Deportations from Hungary to Auschwitz-Birkenau, organized by Adolf Eichmann, continued at a peak rate. Between May and July 1944, approximately 437,000 Hungarian Jews were deported, with most gassed upon arrival.
Russian Front: Pre-Operation Bagration
Soviet forces finalized preparations for Operation Bagration (launched June 22). The 1st Baltic Front (under General Ivan Bagramyan) and 3rd Belorussian Front (under General Ivan Chernyakhovsky) massed troops in Belarus, targeting German Army Group Center (under Field Marshal Ernst Busch).
Key Personalities:
General Bernard Montgomery: Led Allied efforts to capture Caen, facing fierce resistance.
SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Sepp Dietrich: Commanded 1 SS Panzer Corps at Caen.
Adolf Eichmann: Oversaw Hungarian deportations.
General Ivan Bagramyan: Planned Bagration to crush German forces.
Outcome:
Allies advanced in Normandy but struggled at Caen; V-1 attacks escalated; Hungarian deportations intensified; Soviet preparations set up Bagration.
June 14, 1945: Pacific, Borneo, and Germany’s Foreign Minster is captured
Detention report card of Ribbentrop, June 1945
Pacific Theatre: Battle of Okinawa
The U.S. 10th Army (under Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.) advanced in the Battle of Okinawa against Japanese 32nd Army (under Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima). The 6th Marine Division and 96th Infantry Division captured positions on Yaeju Dake Ridge.
B-29 Superfortress bombers of XXI Bomber Command (under Major General Curtis LeMay) firebombed Tokyo, targeting industrial and civilian areas.
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 Japanese strongpoints, supported by RAAF No. 76 Squadron (P-40 Kittyhawk fighters) and HMAS Shropshire.
Australian 2/15th Battalion advanced in Brunei Bay, consolidating control over Brunei town.
European Theatre:
German Minster for Foreign Affairs, Ulrich Fredrich-Wilhem Joachim von Ribbentrop is captured near Hamburg. Ribbentrop was an early supporter of Hitler and later was key in the German Italian Alliance or ‘Pact of Steel’ and the ‘Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact’ with the Soviet Union. He opposed the invasion of Russia but supported the declaration of war against the United States. He was convicted at the Nuremburg Trials and hanged, but the execution was botched and he took 14 minutes to die.
Key Personalities:
Major General Curtis LeMay: Led air raids to weaken Japanese infrastructure.
Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.: Commanded U.S. forces in Okinawa, facing high casualties.
Major General George Wootten: Directed Australian operations in Borneo.
Ulrich Fredrich-Wilhem Joachim von Ribbentrop: German Minster for Foreign Affairs and war criminal.
Each Day in World War II – 14th June
June 14, 1940: German Occupation of Paris and Italian Operations
June 14, 1940: German Occupation of Paris and Italian Operations
June 14, 1941: Syria-Lebanon Campaign and Barbarossa Buildup
June 14, 1942: North Africa, Pacific Planning, and Holocaust Deportations
June 14, 1942: North Africa, Pacific Planning, and Holocaust Deportations
June 14, 1943: Air Raids, New Georgia, and Holocaust Liquidations
June 14, 1944: Normandy, V-1 Attacks, and Holocaust Deportations
June 14, 1945: Pacific, Borneo, and Germany’s Foreign Minster is captured