Chronology of World War II

June 1943

Wednesday, June 23

Air Operations, East Indies

17 380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based in Australia attack 2 Japanese light cruisers, port facilities, a factory, and the town area at Makassar, Celebes.

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Air Operations, Europe

The Luftwaffe makes the first of 4 night raids on Hull during 1943. 2 of the raids will be totally unsuccessful.

RAF BOMBER COMMAND
Evening Ops:

52 Lancasters that had bombed Friedrichshafen 3 nights previous fly from North Africa, bomb La Spezia and then return to England without a loss.
Bomber Command claims damage to an armaments store and an oil depot in La Spezia.

Minor Ops:

3 Mosquitos each to Colgone and Duisburg and 30 aircraft lay mines off Brittany and the Biscay ports with no losses.

Many aircraft had maintenance checks in the open before being despatched on a night-time operation.
Aircraft Maintenance Check

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Air Operations, New Guinea

1 V Bomber Command B-24 on an armed-reconnaissance mission attacks the Malahang airfield at Lae.

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Air Operations, Solomons

42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s and AirSols fighters and SBDs attack Buka.

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June 23, 1943: US Army reinforcements land on a beach in Attu, Alaska on during World War II. U.S. troops invaded Attu on May 11 to expel the Japanese from the Aleutians. (AP photo)
US Reinforcements Land on Attu

Australia, Politics

In the House of Representatives a censure motion on the government is beaten by one vote. Prime Minister Curtin announces that he will advise the Governor General to dissolve Parliament.

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Two Cossacks belonging to 5.Regiment, Don Cossacks, fighting with the Germans on the Eastern Front, perform a traditional war dance for the benefit of German army correspondents and a crowd of soldiers and local people. Unknown location. The photo appeared in the *DIE WEHRMACHT magazine*, No. 13, 23 June 1943.
Two Cossacks Performing War Dance

New Guinea

In the area between Mubo and Lababia the Japanese slowly ease their pressure on the Australian 17th Bde.

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Pacific

The US cargo ships Aludra (AK-72) and Deimos (AK-78) are sunk by submarine torpedoes in the Solomon Islands area.

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Trobriand Islands

During the night Americans land on Kiriwina Island, the largest island in the group.

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Monuments Men

On June 23, 1943, President Roosevelt approved the formation of the 'American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas' widely known as 'The Roberts Commission', after its chairman, Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts. Thus was born the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives ('MFAA') section under the auspices of the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied Armies. The 'Monuments Men', were a group of approximately 345 men and women from thirteen nations who comprised the MFAA section during World War II. Many were museum directors, curators, art historians, artists, architects, and educators. Together they worked to protect monuments and other cultural treasures from the destruction of World War II. In the last year of the war, they tracked, located, and in the years that followed returned more than five million artistic and cultural items stolen by Hitler and the Nazis. Their role in preserving cultural treasures was without precedent. The Monuments Men remained in Europe for up to six years following the conclusion of fighting to oversee the complicated restitution of stolen works of art. During that time they played instrumental roles in rebuilding cultural life in the devastated countries of Europe by organizing temporary art exhibitions and musical concerts. http://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/ This demonstrates how important art and culture are, and how closely related they can be. If these art pieces were lost or destroyed, a whole part of European history would be erased and art would not be as we know it today.