World war II chronology - July 1943

3 July 1943	The USSR issues nine postage stamps depicting scenes of war. 653 British bombers attack Cologne, Germany. 72,000 people are made homeless.
4 July 1943	General Wladyslaw Sikorski, head of Poland's government in exile, is killed in a plane crash off Gibraltar. New Premier is Mikolajczyk. Three ships of a convoy of Canadian supply ships en route to the Sicily operation are torpedoed and sunk, with the loss of 58 men, 500 vehicles, and 40 guns. The American Forces Network radio program begins airing from England.
5 July 1943	German Central Army Group and Southern Army Group, about 900,000 troops, begin Operation Citadel, an attack around the Kursk salient in the Ukraine. Size of the opposing forces at the start of the battle: German: 900,000 men, 10,000 cannons, 2000 aircraft, 2000 tanks; Soviet: 1.9 million men, 20,800 cannons, 2000 aircraft, 5100 tanks. A German submarine torpedoes Canadian Motor Vessel Devis, near Algiers. It sinks 20 minutes later, with the loss of 52 lives.
6 July 1943	In the Indian Ocean, east of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, German submarine U-177 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Jasper Park.
7 July 1943	German scientists give a presentation to Adolf Hitler of the A-4 rocket. Hitler is enthusiastic, instructing Albert Speer to ensure the scientists receive whatever labor and materials they need.
8 July 1943	282 British bombers attack Cologne, Germany. 48,000 people are made homeless.
9 July 1943	418 British bombers attack the synthetic oil production centre of Gelsenkirchen, Germany, in the Ruhr. Few hits are made. England's 1st Air Landing (glider) Brigade takes off from airfields in Tunisia, bound for Sicily. This is the first use of American-built CG-4A gliders. British and American airborne troops land behind enemy lines to neutralize several enemy airfields. The Canadian assault convoy joins the main invasion armada of almost 3000 Allied ships en route to Sicily.
10 July 1943	Transports carrying 1st Canadian Division release landing craft to the shore of Pachino, southwest of Italy. Target beaches are code-names Roger (on left), and Sugar. Operation Husky begins, with an Allied invasion of Sicily. Four British divisions of the British 8th Army under General Sir Bernard Montgomery land on a 40-mile stretch on the southeast corner around Syracuse and Cape Passero. Four American divisions of the United States 7th Army under Lieutenant-General George Patton land on a 40-mile front to the west, around Scaglitti, Gela, and Licata. (In total, 478,000 troops land on the island.)   Canadian forces report successful landings on Sicily.
11 July 1943	In Russia, a Soviet reserve tank army is committed to the south of Kursk, halting the German advance. Canadian forces take Ispica, in southern Sicily.
12 July 1943	Canadian forces take Ragusa, in southern Sicily. The Soviet Briansk Front under Markian Popov launches Operation Kutuzov, an attack against the German salient in Orel, north of Kursk. In the Kursk battle, German SS Panzer Corp with 400 tanks reaches Prokhorovka Station. Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army under P.A. Rotmistrov with 800 tanks counterattacks. By the end of the day, 320 German tanks and over 400 Soviet tanks are destroyed. (This is the greatest tank battle in history. British bombers attack Turin, Italy.
13 July 1943	Adolf Hitler orders the Kursk offensive in Russia halted, so that reserve forces could be sent to defend Italy. Canadian 1st Brigade of 1st Division reaches Giarratana, Sicily. British bombers attack Aachen.
14 July 1943	Canadian 51st (Highland) Division captures Vizzini, Sicily.
15 July 1943	The British war cabinet approves use of "Window" on bombing attacks. "Window" is the code name for using bundles of aluminum foil dropped from planes to confuse enemy radar. 165 British Halifax bombers attack the Peugeot works at Montbéliard, France. 30 bombs hit the factory, but 600 hit the town, due to poor guidance by marker bombs.   A third pair of Oboe air navigation stations is completed in England. The Swedish government decides to stop transporting German war material to Norway, effective August 15. Transport of troops would cease on August 20. Spain's Francisco Franco decides to bring his soldiers home from fighting on the Russian front.
18 July 1943	In Sicily, Canadian troops capture Valguarnera, clearing the road to Enna.
20 July 1943	The 1st Infantry brigade of the 1st Canadian Division climbs the sheer south east face to the ruins of a 12th century fortress overlooking Assoro, Sicily. (They achieve surprise, reaching German positions at the top by sun-up.)
21 July 1943	About 500 men of the Canadian Hastings and Prince Edward Regment reach the summit of Monte Assoro via the eastern slope, achieving complete surprise, quickly overtaking the German artillery spotting team.
22 July 1943	The US 7th Army captures Palermo, Sicily. Canadian forces on Sicily clear Assoro and Leonforte of Axis forces.
24 July 1943	300 Allied heavy bombers attack chemical plants and submarine shelters in Norway. Little damage is done to the 12-foot thick shelters. In Italy, an extraordinary meeting of the Fascist Grand Council is held. Benito Mussolini receives a vote of no confidence. British Bomber Command begins Operation Gomorrah, a massive air assault on Hamburg, Germany. An airborne armada of 791 Lancaster, Halifax, Stirling, and Wellington aircraft cross the North Sea, heading for Hamburg, Germany.
25 July 1943	The first wave of British bombers arrive at Hamburg, Germany, dropping 1000- to 8000-pound bombs. Within minutes much of the city is a raging firestorm. 1346 tons of high explosives and 931 tons of incendiaries are dropped, setting 55 miles of streets ablaze. 1500 are killed, and over 20,000 made homeless. 12 bombers are shot down. This operation is the first use of "Window" technology by British Bomber Command, in which strips of aluminum foil are dropped from planes to confuse German aircraft detection systems. In Hamburg, Germany, local authorities declare the destruction a major catastrophe. In Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III has Premier Benito Mussolini arrested, and appoints Marshal Pietro Badoglio as premier. 68 bombers of the US 8th Air Force attack Hamburg, Germany. Fifteen planes are shot down. 705 British bombers attack Essen, Germany, focusing on the Krupps factories.
26 July 1943	German commander General Walther Model orders troops to withdraw from the Orel salient north of Kursk. Adolf Hitler issues Directive 48, directing defence measures in the event of Allied landings in Crete and Greece. 44 bombers of the US 8th Air Force attack Hamburg, Germany. Two planes are shot down.
27 July 1943	A second British bomber force of 729 planes is sent to attack Hamburg, Germany.
28 July 1943	722 British bombers attack Hamburg, Germany, dropping 2326 tons of bombs, creating nine square miles of firestorm, reaching 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, with winds up to 150 MPH feeding the fire. About 40,000 are killed. Canadian troops take Agira and Monte Fronte, Italy, after five days of hard fighting.
29 July 1943	Hamburg, Germany, is evacuated of nearly one million non-essential civilian personnel. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels writes in his diary about the destruction of Hamburg: "A city of one million inhabitants has been destroyed in a manner unparalleled in history...". 707 British bombers attack Hamburg, Germany, dropping 2318 tons of bombs.
30 July 1943	273 British bombers attack Remscheid, Germany, in the Ruhr. 80 percent of the area is destroyed, including over 100 industrial works. Production is ceased for three months. British bombers attack Hamburg, Germany, again
31 July 1943	General Dwight Eisenhower warns Italy that if peace is delayed, its cities would be air bombed more.