World war II chronology - November 1943

1 November 1943	The Moscow Declaration is published. The governments of USSR, UK, and USA declare they regard Germany's annexation of Austria null and void. US Marines land in Empress Augusta Bay on the island of Bougainville, in the Solomon Islands.
2 November 1943	In the South Pacific, Japanese cruisers and destroyers battle an American cruiser-destroyer force. The Japanese lose light cruiser Sendai and destroyer Hatsukaze. 78 American B-25 bombers and P-38 fighters attack Japanese base Rabaul, defended by 112 Zeros. Americans lose nine fighters and nine bombers. Japanese lose 18 destroyed or damaged, plus suffer bomb damage to Rabaul.   The Canadian 5th Armored Division is shipped to Italy.
3 November 1943	Adolf Hitler issues Directive 51, in which he warns of an Allied landing in western Europe, by spring of 1944. He orders the strengthening of the western defences near England and in Denmark, noting that an Allied landing would be more troublesome than Russian advances in the East. Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris proposes to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill that sustained aerial bombing of Berlin would cost 400-500 aircraft, and cost Germany the war. Churchill authorizes commencing the Battle of Berlin. In Italy, British 5th Corps forces Germans from Trigno, who withdraw to the Sangro River. Monks at Monte Cassino in Italy complete removing the archive and library. Most of the monks also leave. British Bomber Command sends a force of Lancaster bombers to attack Düsseldorf, Germany, blind-bombing using "GH" guidance technology.
4 November 1943	Commander of US Navy forces in Southwest Pacific Admiral William Halsey sends an order to Task Force 38 (carriers Saratoga and Princeton) of Rear Admiral Frederick Sherman to proceed from Remell Island as soon as possible to launch an attack on shipping in Rabaul.
5 November 1943	US Task Force 38 launches an air attack on Rabaul. Americans lose 13 planes, Japanese lose possibly 28. Damage is done to most ships, which was the objective of the raid. Adolf Hitler assigns Erwin Rommel the task of inspecting the Atlantic Wall. An air attack is made on the Vatican area in Italy. (After the war, investigators determine the attack was planned by Italian Fascist Robero Farinacci, in an attempt to discredit the Allies.) The Headquarters of the Canadian Corps and the 5th Canadian Armoured Division arrives at Italy.
6 November 1943	Kiev is liberated by Soviet forces.
8 November 1943	Adolf Hitler broadcasts a speech from a beer hall in Munich: "our hour of revenge is nigh!", refering to flying bomb and rocket weapons nearing a state of readiness. American submarine USS Nautilus departs Pearl Harbor with a US Marine detachment, to land at Abemama Island.
10 November 1943	British Bomber Command attacks the Mount Cenis railway tunnel.
11 November 1943	US Task Group 504, with carriers Saratoga and Princeton, launches an air assault on Rabaul, attacking a light cruiser and four destroyers without success. American planes from carriers and New Georgia arrive over Cape St. George en route to Rabaul, met by 68 Japanese Zero fighter planes. American planes attack Japanese ships at Rabaul. Light cruiser Agano is hit by a torpedo. Destroyer Naganami is hit by a torpedo. Destroyer Suzunami is sunk near the harbor entrance. Light cruiser Yubari is slightly damaged. Destroyer Urakaze is slightly damaged. Destroyer Umikaze is slightly damaged. Rabaul naval commander Rear Admiral Jinichi Kusaka launches a counterattack on US Task Group 503, sending a large force of fighters and bombers.  Japanese fighters and bombers reach US Task Force 503, battling American fighters before reaching the ships. US Task Force 503 commander Rear Admiral Alfred Montgomery cancels preparation of planes for a second strike on Rabaul, to deal with the incoming Japanese planes. US Task Force 503 survives the Japanese air attack with no loss of ships, and only injuries to ten sailors.
13 November 1943	A German guided aerial bomb hits HMS Dulverton off Kos, forcing the scuttling of the destroyer.
15 November 1943	British Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory is appointed Air Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force. US President Franklin Roosevelt embarks battleship Iowa, en route to Cairo and Teheran conferences. US destroyer William D. Porter accidentally launches a torpedo at the Iowa. The ship is able to move out the way, and the torpedo explodes harmlessly. (An investigation determines that water short-circuited the firing mechanism.)
18 November 1943	395 British bombers attack Mannheim and Ludwigshafen, Germany, as a diversion from the main attack on Berlin. 444 British heavy bombers attack Berlin, Germany, in the first attack of the Battle of Berlin. Nine British planes are lost. Little damage is done, mainly due to much cloud cover.
19 November 1943	Japanese submarine I-19 launches a floatplane to survey Pearl Harbor. It succeeds undetected, and returns to its mother submarine. 266 British bombers attack Leverkusen, Germany. Little damage is done.
20 November 1943	The British 8th Army commences Operation Encroach toward Rome, Italy. In the North Atlantic, Royal Canadian Navy corvettes Snowberry and Calgary and Royal Navy frigate Nene sink German submarine U-536.
21 November 1943	The US Pacific Fleet, commanded by Admiral Chester Nimitz, begins Operation Galvanic, Marine landings on Tarawa, Makin, and Abemama in the Gilbert Islands chain. (In taking the islands, 17 of 4637 Japanese defenders survive.)
22 November 1943	British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, American President Franklin Roosevelt, and Chinese President Chiang Kai-shek meet at Cairo, Egypt, over five days. They agree on military strategy against Japan. 764 British bombers attack Berlin, Germany. Enormous damage is done.
23 November 1943	British bombers again attack Berlin, Germany, doing great damage. In this and the past night, over 30 major industrial complexes are destroyed, 9,000 people are killed or injured, and 200,000 are made homeless.
25 November 1943	US destroyer Radford sinks Japanese submarine I-19.
26 November 1943	A German He 177 bomber attacks a convoy off the Algerian coast. A Hs 293 guided bomb hits British troopship Rohna, killing nearly 1200, including over 1000 Americans. 433 British Lancaster bombers and seven Mosquito fighter/bombers attack Berlin, Germany. Damage is moderate, with 38 industrial plants destroyed. About 27 planes are shot down, and another 14 crash land on their return to England.
28 November 1943	British General Bernard Montgomery launches an offensive on German defenses of the Sangro line in Italy. The immense air and artillery bombardment forces German 65th Division to withdraw behind the Sangro River to the main line farther back. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, American President Franklin Roosevelt, and Soviet President Josef Stalin meet at Teheran, Iran, over four days. Discussions include: European strategy, Far East strategy, Russia and Japan, United Nations, Turkey, Italy, Russian frontiers, Poland, and Germany's eastern frontier. The USSR issues two postage stamps commemorating the Tehran Conference.