Today in World War II History—October 13, 1939 & 1944

Barber shop set up by a Marine on Peleliu, Palau Islands, 11 October 1944 (US Marine Corps photo 98027)
80 Years Ago—October 13, 1939: In skirmishes along the Maginot Line, French destroy three bridges over the Rhine.
Movie premiere of Busby Berkeley musical Babes in Arms, starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
75 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.