Today in World War II History—October 13, 1939 & 1944
Sunday, October 13, 2024 by Sarah Sundin
MGM poster for the 1939 film Babes in Arms (public domain via Wikipedia)
85 Years Ago—Oct. 13, 1939: In skirmishes along the Maginot Line, French destroy three bridges over the Rhine.
First BBC report from an observer with the British Expeditionary Force in France (Richard Dimbleby).
Movie premiere of Busby Berkeley musical Babes in Arms, starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
Barber shop set up by a Marine on Peleliu, Palau Islands, 11 October 1944 (US Marine Corps photo 98027)
80 Years Ago—Oct. 13, 1944: Soviets take important naval base of Riga, Latvia, trapping Germans in the Courland Peninsula.
US secures Palau Islands in the Pacific.
Port of Le Havre, France opens for Allied ships, improving the supply situation.
