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16 August 1943

What happened on this day in the Second World War, from 1939 to 1945, with a source for every entry.

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Each day we list events from the Second World War that happened on that date, from 1939 to 1945. Every entry names its source and links to it, so you can read further. Entries are sourced and machine-screened before they go up, a subset is human-reviewed, and we add more over time.

7 of 9 sourced entries for this date, chosen by the editor.

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Entries

Mediterranean

At conference of commanders at Carthage, final decisions are made for invasion of Italy.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
Sicily

Enemy continues withdrawal of rear guards to Italy as rapidly as possible and offers no organized opposition.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
Solomon IS.

43d Div commander personally directs operations on Baanga and commits 172d Regt ( - ) as well as 169th ( - ). Arty supports attack but progress is still slow. Enemy guns on Baanga begin shelling Munda.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
U.S. troops enter Messina, Sicily.

Source Wikipedia (opens external site)
China-Burma-India Theater

THOR mission records show at least 30 Allied sorties (5 recorded unit missions) in the China-Burma-India Theater on 1943-08-16, flown by USAAF 10th Air Force, USAAF 14th Air Force. Targets included BURMA, CHINA.

Source US Air Force THOR (opens external site)

THOR is a secondary compilation with known gaps, not a complete record.
Mediterranean Theater

THOR mission records show at least 73 Allied sorties (75 recorded unit missions) in the Mediterranean Theater on 1943-08-16, flown by USAAF 9th Air Force, USAAF 12th Air Force, RAF. Targets included ITALY.

Source US Air Force THOR (opens external site)

THOR is a secondary compilation with known gaps, not a complete record.
Pacific Theater

THOR mission records show at least 69 Allied sorties (18 recorded unit missions) in the Pacific Theater on 1943-08-16, flown by USAAF 13th Air Force, USAAF 5th Air Force, USAAF 7th Air Force.

Source US Air Force THOR (opens external site)

THOR is a secondary compilation with known gaps, not a complete record.

The full list for this date is being cleaned and will return soon.

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16 August in other years 1940 1941 1942 1944 1945

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16 August 1943

Entries

At conference of commanders at Carthage, final decisions are made for invasion of Italy.

Enemy continues withdrawal of rear guards to Italy as rapidly as possible and offers no organized opposition.

43d Div commander personally directs operations on Baanga and commits 172d Regt ( - ) as well as 169th ( - ). Arty supports attack but progress is still slow. Enemy guns on Baanga begin shelling Munda.

U.S. troops enter Messina, Sicily.

THOR mission records show at least 30 Allied sorties (5 recorded unit missions) in the China-Burma-India Theater on 1943-08-16, flown by USAAF 10th Air Force, USAAF 14th Air Force. Targets included BURMA, CHINA.

THOR mission records show at least 73 Allied sorties (75 recorded unit missions) in the Mediterranean Theater on 1943-08-16, flown by USAAF 9th Air Force, USAAF 12th Air Force, RAF. Targets included ITALY.

THOR mission records show at least 69 Allied sorties (18 recorded unit missions) in the Pacific Theater on 1943-08-16, flown by USAAF 13th Air Force, USAAF 5th Air Force, USAAF 7th Air Force.

Talk about it