Air Operations, CBI

During the night, while 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and RAF Liberators conduct a diversionary attack against the city of Rangoon and the Mingaladon airfield, 10 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s sow mines in the Gulf of Martaban approaches to Rangoon.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s and 1 43rd Heavy Bomb Group B-17 attack Lae.
• A-20s attack Japanese Army-occupied villages.
• 1 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24 attacks the Lorengau airfield at Manus in the Admiralty Islands.

Air Operations, Solomons

AirSols bombers and fighters attack Rekata Bay and landing barges.

Air Operations, Tunisia

• XII Bomber Command B-17s attack German Army units inside Kasserine Pass, 12th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge near the pass, and escorting P-38s strafe troops.
• XII Bomber Command B-25s attack the Gafsa rail yards.
• 47th Light Bomb Group A-20s mount 11 separate low-altitude missions throughout the day the help stem the advance of German armored columns from around Kasserine Pass toward Tebessa and Thala.
• 1 A-20 is lost in a crash-landing after attacked by 3 Bf-109s.
• 154th Observation Squadron P-39s destroy 3 German tanks and 10 trucks during recon missions during the day.
• 1 P-39 is lost to ground fire
• In the only air-to-air engagment during the day, pilots of the 31st and 82nd Fighter Groups down 2 Luftwaffe bombers in separate afternoon confrontations.

Atlantic

The Canadian corvette Weyburn sinks on a mine 4 mile west of Cape Spartel, Morocco with the loss of 9 of her crew. Upon sinking some of her depth charges explode damaging the British destroyer Wivern which had pulled alongside to help. Wivern picks up 27 survivors from Weyburn. The British sloop Black Swan picks up 41 survivors from Weyburn and 15 wounded from Wivern and takes Wivern in tow.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The US Navy reveals that 850 Americans were killed or missing when U-boats sank 2 passenger-cargo ships.
• U-92 torpedoes the Norwegian motor tanker Nielson Alonso (9348t) which is also attacked by U-753. The ship is eventually scuttled by the Polish destroyer Burza. U-606 torpedoes the US freighters Chattanooga City (5687t) and Expositor (4959t) and the British steamer Empire Redshank (6615t). The Canadian corvette Trillium rescues all hands from Chattanooga City as well as 34 of the 41-man crew and the entire 21-man Armed Guard from Expositor. Trillium then scuttles Empire Redshank. The success of the German submarine U-606 is brief as she is sunk by the Coast Guard cutter Campbell (PG-32) and the Polish destroyer Burza in the North Atlantic area.

U-606

Burma

Numbers 3, 7 and 8 Columns of the Northern Group of Chindits advancing toward Naungkan raid a Japanese camp at Sinlamataung.

Famous Visits to Washington’s Tomb - Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Soong May-ling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek), February 22, 1943 (Mount Vernon Ladies' Association)

A Visit to Washington's Tomb

A formation of Boston III's from No. 22 Squadron over Goodenough Island on 22 February 1943. (Australian War Memorial).

A Formation of Boston III's from No. 22 Squadron

Eastern Front

(? or 21st) Von Manstein's counter-offensive begins. However, in the salient the Russians continue to press forward, one unit even coming within 12 miles of von Manstein's headquarters before running out of fuel. All the Russian units have advanced so quickly that they are very short of both fuel and ammunition. By brilliant handling of his reserves, von Manstein has assembled considerable forces for the attack despite being outnumbered by about 7 to 1. 1st and 4th Pzr Armies are to attack northward from a line to the west of Krasnoarmeskoye, and Group Kempf, including principally II SS Pzr Corps, is to drive south from Krasnodar.

In the center the Russians open a new offensive in the Orel-Bryansk area and increase their pressure on Rzhev.

Régiment Normandie, an anti-Vichy French fighter group, goes into action for the first time on the Russian front. This unit was formed in Syria in 1942, flew fighters with remarkable success, downing 117 German planes to 25 losses by the end of the year.

The Soviets begin a new offensive in the Rzhev sector as Army Group Center prepare to evacuate the salient that juts forward on the road to Moscow. An attack by the 13th and 48th Armies against the Bryansk and Orel sectors make slow but steady progress in the face of fierce resistance by the German 2nd Army.

Units of the 69th Army force a crossing of the Vorskla River some 25 miles north of Poltava, despite fierce resitance by Corps Raus. To strengthen this sector the Germans begin to feed a newly arrive infantry division into the line south of Kotelva. Continues attacks by 40th Army capture Akhtyrka and Lebedin. The Grossdeutschland Division begins to abandon Lyubotin, falling back as the 3rd Tank Army takes control of the town. Rifle and cavalry units of the 3rd Tank push south of Kharkov but are held up by the SS Panzer Corps ad Novaya Vodolaga. Other elements of the corps drive the Soviets back upon Pavlograd. This flurry of blows smash the right wing and center of the Soviet 6th Army. Despite obviously dangerous position, the army is ordered to force its mobile group forward. Duly attacking in force, the 6th plunges deeper into Manstein's trap.

Group Popov staggers under the blows of the XL Panzer Corps. The Germans push through the broken Soviet group while other elements of the corps swing west to hit them again. Some of Popov's units fall back south of Barvenkovo. The Germans also begin to hit the Soviet units at Krasnoarmieskoye.

The XLVIII Panzer Corps advances rapidly in the direction of Barvenkovo while the LVIII Panzer and SS Panzer Corps move toward Pavlograd. The 4th and 1st Panzer Armies push into the rear of the Soviet armies still advancing toward the Dniepr, the 1st Panzer advancing upon Izyum. As the German attack penetrates deeper into the wings of the Soviet salient, leading elements of the Southwest Front are just 12 miles from Zaporozhe only to run short of fuel and are destroyed. The Stavka is slowly becoming aware of the German threat, but its forces are so over extended and weakened by the recent fighting that they are powerless to ward off the German blows.

Germany, Home Front

The execution of Hans and Sophie Scholl of the White Rose resistance takes place in Munich. They were found guilty of distributing traitorous literature and beheaded.

North Africa

Rommel breaks off the attacks on Sbiba by the 21st Panzer and Thala by the 10th Panzer when reinforcements sent by Gen Alexander begin to arrive from the British 6th Armored Div. The Germans fall back to the Kasserine Pass.

In the British 1st Army's US II Corps area, the Germans continue their offensive until afternoon, when Rommel abandons the effort to drive through to Le Kef and orders a withdrawal. The attack is broken off and the enemy starts back toward Kasserine Pass, leaving many mines behind. The 1st Armored Div assumes command of Nicholson's force and of its own Combat Command B.

A Captured German SdKfz 7 Artillery Tractor in the Western Desert, 22 February 1943