German soldiers work around the time of Operational Citadel. Hitler’s postponement of the plan worried his own generals who thought it would give the Soviet Union enough time to regroup. For more details, click here.

By: Phil Kohn. Dedicated to the memory of his father, GM3 Walter Kohn, U.S. Navy Armed Guard, USNR, and all men and women who have answered the country’s call in time of need. Phil can be contacted at ww2remembered@yahoo.com.

The British release a corpse (of a homeless man with no known family), dressed as a Royal Marines officer and carrying phony documents, into the Mediterranean Sea on April 30, 1943, as part of a deception operation to divert German attention from Allied plans to invade Sicily. The corpse is recovered by the Germans, who find the false paperwork containing details of an Allied attack on Greece and Sardinia. Falling for the misinformation, the German High Command orders reinforcements sent to those areas.

At one minute past midnight on May 1, over 480,000 U.S. coal miners walk off their jobs when the United Mine Workers’ union contract with the nation’s coal-mining companies expires. With only a three-week supply of coal available for steel mills, and less than 10 days’ worth of coal in storage for railroads, President Roosevelt orders UMW president John L. Lewis to end the strike by 10 a.m. When he is ignored, Roosevelt issues an executive order directing the Secretary of the Interior to seize any mines at which work stoppages are occurring. In Sofia, Bulgaria, a massive anti-German rally takes place; over 700 people are arrested.

Japanese bombers and Zero fighters, flying from bases on Papua-New Guinea, bomb Darwin, on the north coast of Australia, on May 2. Little ground damage is incurred. President Roosevelt addresses the need for an end to the coal strike on a national radio broadcast, ending with an appeal to strikers who have sons in the military. The United Mine Workers union announces a two-week freeze of its threatened strike, saying it will try to negotiate an agreement with mine owners.

British forces take Rangoon, Burma, on May 3. In Europe, the U.S. Army’s Lt. Gen. Frank Andrews, commander of U.S. forces in the European Theater, is killed in an air crash in Iceland. Lt. Gen. Jacob Devers is named as his replacement. In Croatia, a second sweep is made by SS and Ustaše forces to collect Jews that may have been missed in the first roundup. Those captured are sent to Auschwitz.

Hitler on May 4 decides to postpone “Operation Citadel” in order that more Tiger heavy tanks and Panther medium tanks can be deployed for the offensive against the Kursk salient in Russia. The decision is made against the advice of a number of generals, who fear that the Soviet defenses will become too strong if the offensive is delayed.

To the south of Tunis, British forces break through the defenses of the 5^th Panzerarmee on May 5. In Russia, the Red Army captures Krymsk, northeast of Novorossiysk, the country’s main port on the Black Sea. U.S. Postmaster General Frank C. Walker devises the Postal Zone system to speed delivery of the mails.

In Tunisia, reinforcements sent by the British Eighth Army help the British First Army recapture Djebel Bou Aoukaz. This enables the British 7th Armored Division to advance into open “tank country,” allowing General Sir Harold Alexander to exploit the numerical and material superiority of his Allied forces against the Axis troops defending Tunis. The town of Massicault, 19 miles southwest of Tunis, is reached on May 6. In the U.S., Adm. Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations, orders the creation of Combat Underwater Demolition Units. Their primary mission is to reconnoiter and destroy enemy defensive obstacles on beaches prior to amphibious landings.

By: Phil Kohn. Dedicated to the memory of his father, GM3 Walter Kohn, U.S. Navy Armed Guard, USNR, and all men and women who have answered the country’s call in time of need. Phil can be contacted at ww2remembered@yahoo.com.

The British release a corpse (of a homeless man with no known family), dressed as a Royal Marines officer and carrying phony documents, into the Mediterranean Sea on April 30, 1943, as part of a deception operation to divert German attention from Allied plans to invade Sicily. The corpse is recovered by the Germans, who find the false paperwork containing details of an Allied attack on Greece and Sardinia. Falling for the misinformation, the German High Command orders reinforcements sent to those areas.

At one minute past midnight on May 1, over 480,000 U.S. coal miners walk off their jobs when the United Mine Workers’ union contract with the nation’s coal-mining companies expires. With only a three-week supply of coal available for steel mills, and less than 10 days’ worth of coal in storage for railroads, President Roosevelt orders UMW president John L. Lewis to end the strike by 10 a.m. When he is ignored, Roosevelt issues an executive order directing the Secretary of the Interior to seize any mines at which work stoppages are occurring. In Sofia, Bulgaria, a massive anti-German rally takes place; over 700 people are arrested.

Japanese bombers and Zero fighters, flying from bases on Papua-New Guinea, bomb Darwin, on the north coast of Australia, on May 2. Little ground damage is incurred. President Roosevelt addresses the need for an end to the coal strike on a national radio broadcast, ending with an appeal to strikers who have sons in the military. The United Mine Workers union announces a two-week freeze of its threatened strike, saying it will try to negotiate an agreement with mine owners.

British forces take Rangoon, Burma, on May 3. In Europe, the U.S. Army’s Lt. Gen. Frank Andrews, commander of U.S. forces in the European Theater, is killed in an air crash in Iceland. Lt. Gen. Jacob Devers is named as his replacement. In Croatia, a second sweep is made by SS and Ustaše forces to collect Jews that may have been missed in the first roundup. Those captured are sent to Auschwitz.

Hitler on May 4 decides to postpone “Operation Citadel” in order that more Tiger heavy tanks and Panther medium tanks can be deployed for the offensive against the Kursk salient in Russia. The decision is made against the advice of a number of generals, who fear that the Soviet defenses will become too strong if the offensive is delayed.

To the south of Tunis, British forces break through the defenses of the 5^th Panzerarmee on May 5. In Russia, the Red Army captures Krymsk, northeast of Novorossiysk, the country’s main port on the Black Sea. U.S. Postmaster General Frank C. Walker devises the Postal Zone system to speed delivery of the mails.

In Tunisia, reinforcements sent by the British Eighth Army help the British First Army recapture Djebel Bou Aoukaz. This enables the British 7th Armored Division to advance into open “tank country,” allowing General Sir Harold Alexander to exploit the numerical and material superiority of his Allied forces against the Axis troops defending Tunis. The town of Massicault, 19 miles southwest of Tunis, is reached on May 6. In the U.S., Adm. Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations, orders the creation of Combat Underwater Demolition Units. Their primary mission is to reconnoiter and destroy enemy defensive obstacles on beaches prior to amphibious landings.