March 26 1942 For reasons not readily apparent to most people at the time, Churchill declared “it seems very likely that we and our Allies cannot loose this war . . .except through our own fault”. Roosevelt ordered a speedup in the shipment of supplies to the Soviet Union. Admiral Ernest J King was named chief of Naval Operations, succeeding Harold R Stark as the renking U.S. naval officer. The army command was totally overhauled under General George C Marshal. The Japanese occupied most of Toungoo.
1943 In one of the major misreadings of history Mussolini wrote to Hitler that Russia was so weakened after Stalingrad “she cannot hope, at any rate for a long time to come, to constitute a serious menance”. New Zealand troops assulted the western flank of the Mareth Line under intense R.A.F. close air support. The defense line fell apart and the Axis forces began retreating. A Japanese naval force en route to the Aleutians was turned back by U.S. ships. In the battle of the Komandorski Islands, the Japanese were unable to reinenforce their Atu garrison even though they possessed numerical combat ship superiority. Only one Japanese crusier was damaged ( to a damaged U.S. crusier and destroyer ) , but the task force had to return to Japan without putting men or material ashore.
1944 Red Army troops reached the Prut River in the Ukraine on a 53 mile front. In one of the most bizarre and trajic incidents of the war the U.S. submarine Tullibee apparently torpedoed and sank itself. Operating north of Palau in the Carolines, the surfaced sub fired two torpedos at a Japanese transport. Shortly there after Tullibee expoded and sank. The only survivor, a gunners mate on the bridge, said one of the torpedos, equipped with a contact exploder made a circular run and hit the sub.
1945 The U.S. Seventh Army crossed the Rhine river near Worms and made contact with the Third Army which had reached the Main near Offenbach. The Rhine-Main airport was captured and Frankfurt was penitrated. Red Army units made substantial advances through Hungary and Czechoslavakia. The U.S. American Division landed on Cebu in the Philippines, to the west of Cebu City. A final attack was made by the Japanese on Iwo Jima. About 200 of the trapped troops staged a suicidal assult from their tiny pocket. At least 196 were killed.
1939 Italy announced its intention to establish control over the Suez Canal, Tunisia, and Djibouti at the expense of Britisn and France. Poland, politly but firmly, rejected Germany’s offer on Danzig and the rail and road corridor to East Prussia.
March 25 1936 The London Naval agreement was signed, with Britian France and the U.S. approving a 35,000 ton limitation on new war ships and restricting the size of guns on vessels. Italy refused to sign the final agreement, and Germany began construction of the 45,000 ton Bismark and Turpitz.
March 25 1937 Italy and Yugoslavia signed a treaty with each agreeing to honor the land and sea frontiers of the other and remaining neutral should either be attacked by a third country
March 25 1938 For the first time in the modern era, Japan suffered a major military defeat. The battle of Taierchuanng began this date when 3,000 Chinese troops attacked the Japanese garrison holding the walled town on the Grand Canal. For the next two weeks, with each side committing large numbers or troops in escalading combat, the Chinese were able to circle the town completly. Only 2,000 of the 18,000 Japanese survived. The rest were killed. About 15,000 Chinese troops died in the action.
