SprueStack Zero Hour: WW2 day by day

2 October 1943

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

About this page

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.

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

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Entries

Italy

15th Army Group: In U.S. Fifth Army’s Br to Corps area, U.S. 82d A/B Div move, into Naples to police it while advance is being continued to the Volturno, a natural barrier covering Naples.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
New Guinea

Troops of Aus 9th Div seize village and harbor of Finschhafen and make contact with Aus 22d Brig, which has moved forward from Lae. Japanese retain Sattelberg and Wareo, both of which command Finschhafen area and must be cleared.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
POA

27th Div, previously authorized to plan for invasion of Nauru, is notified that its mission will be to capture Makin Atoll in the Gilberts. Solomon Is.-Japanese complete withdrawal from Kolombangara, night 2-3.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
China-Burma-India Theater

THOR mission records show at least 35 Allied sorties (5 recorded unit missions) in the China-Burma-India Theater on 1943-10-02, flown by USAAF 10th Air Force, USAAF 14th Air Force.

Source US Air Force THOR (opens external site)

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

THOR mission records show at least 60 Allied sorties (2 recorded unit missions) in the East Africa Theater on 1943-10-02, flown by RAF. Targets included an unrecorded target country.

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 56 Allied sorties (2 recorded unit missions) in the Mediterranean Theater on 1943-10-02, flown by USAAF 12th Air Force. Targets included ITALY.

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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2 October in other years 1939 1940 1941 1942 1944

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2 October 1943

Entries

15th Army Group: In U.S. Fifth Army’s Br to Corps area, U.S. 82d A/B Div move, into Naples to police it while advance is being continued to the Volturno, a natural barrier covering Naples.

Troops of Aus 9th Div seize village and harbor of Finschhafen and make contact with Aus 22d Brig, which has moved forward from Lae. Japanese retain Sattelberg and Wareo, both of which command Finschhafen area and must be cleared.

27th Div, previously authorized to plan for invasion of Nauru, is notified that its mission will be to capture Makin Atoll in the Gilberts. Solomon Is.-Japanese complete withdrawal from Kolombangara, night 2-3.

THOR mission records show at least 35 Allied sorties (5 recorded unit missions) in the China-Burma-India Theater on 1943-10-02, flown by USAAF 10th Air Force, USAAF 14th Air Force.

THOR mission records show at least 60 Allied sorties (2 recorded unit missions) in the East Africa Theater on 1943-10-02, flown by RAF. Targets included an unrecorded target country.

THOR mission records show at least 56 Allied sorties (2 recorded unit missions) in the Mediterranean Theater on 1943-10-02, flown by USAAF 12th Air Force. Targets included ITALY.

Talk about it