March 13th, 1944 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Arrived Plymouth assigned - (1) 31st Minesweeping Flotilla a. HMCS Cowichan b. Caraquet c. Malpequet (2) 32nd M/S Fl, later to 14th M/S Fl, and then 31st M/S Fl. a. HMCS Vegreville.
U.S.S.R.: Russian forces take Kherson.
Moscow: The USSR and Italy re-establish diplomatic links.
BURMA: Japan attacks the Chindit airstrip at "Broadway"
Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 20 2:55 Flight Time. Hailakandi, Assam to Wuntho, Burma. The Chindits had established a road block at Wuntho and through radio directions and targeting the area with colored smoke, we were able bomb the Japanese position although no results were noted.
Note: Our missions were very short ones and we usually had an idea of the munitions required before taking off. When working with the Chindits on close support we usually carried fragmentation cluster bombs. There were two types; a 20 pound cluster of 6 per station we dropped from a minimum of 2000 feet (not sure if I have the altitude right) or a parachute type which came in clusters of 3. We could drop these flying from a very low altitude as the chutes delayed the bombs from detonating, giving the aircraft time to get clear. One of my missions included flying with another pilot, this hot shot put 57 fragments into the bottom of our plane when he dropped the load too low. Claimed it was from flak hits but we knew better. (Chuck Baisden)
Lt. George Albert Cairns (b.1913), Somerset Light Infantry, killed an officer who had cut off his arm and used the sword to fell more Japanese. He died of his wounds. (Victoria Cross: last VC of war gazetted [1949]).
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Fierce fighting continues on Bougainville. Heavy US counterattacks begin to blunt the recent gains by the Japanese. Japanese forces end their attack on Hill 700. (Mike Ballard)
CANADA:
Corvette HMCS Galt departed Halifax for refit New York City.
U.S.A.: The New York based Emergency Committee, devoted to urging the Allies to do more to save the Jews in Europe, hosts an all-star Show of Shows at Madison Square Garden.
More than 20,000 people attend, including 150 servicemen whose tickets are paid for by the famous Jewish boxer (and serviceman), Barney Ross.
The evening was a combination of pleasant entertainment and bitter reality.
On the one hand, it featured skits and comedy routines by Bob Hope, as well as by Gracie Fields, Jimmy Durante, Ethel Merman, Zero Mostel, Molly Picon, and others. Milton Berle served as master of ceremonies. Musical numbers were performed by Paul Robeson, Perry Como, the Andrews Sisters, the Xavier CugatBand, and the Count Basie Band, among others.
But the evening also included a dramatic reading by Helen Hayes of a Ben Hecht poem about the Nazi massacres.
Emergency Committee chairman Dean Alfange (a leader of the American Labor Party), in a stirring address, declared that it was the duty of the Christian world to help these stricken people in this black hour of their misery and distress. Bergson (the chairman of the Emergency Committee) also spoke, appealing to Allied officials and Jewish community leaders to “brush aside political considerations at a time when thousands of us are dying daily.
According to the New York Times, the Show of Shows netted $80,000--quite a sum for that era and an important boost to the rescue campaign. While other entertainers used their talents simply to gain personal wealth and fame, Bob Hope and his colleagues had demonstrated that they were a cut above the rest. The participants in the Show of Shows took the risk of associating with a controversial group, for the sake of the vital humanitarian cause of rescuing Jews from the Holocaust. (William L. Howard)
Destroyer escorts USS Riley and Willmarth commissioned.
Destroyers USS Charles S Sperry and Porter launched.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-575 (type VIIC) is sunk north of the Azores, in position 46.18N, 27.34W, by depth charges from the Canadian frigate HMCS Prince Rupert, the US destroyer USS Hobson, destroyer escort Haverfield, and by depth charges from a British Wellington and Fortress aircraft (Sqdns. 172/B and 206/R and 220/J) and Avenger aircraft of the US escort carrier USS Bogue. 18 dead and 37 survivors.
U-575 was located by Bogue's a/c and was soon joined by Haverfield. Prince Rupert was detached from the passing convoy ON 227 to join the action. Both ships attacked with depth charges and hedgehog but with no result. They were joined by USS Hobson, which began slow creeping attack that forced the submarine to the surface. Amidst a hail of fire from all three ships and an 'Avenger' a/c from Bogue, the submarine crew abandoned ship as she sank. OLtzS Bohmer was among the survivors. (Alex Gordon and Dave Shirlaw)
At 1940, the unescorted Peleus was hit by two torpedoes from U-852 and sank rapidly about 500 miles north of Ascension Island. The U-boat tried to destroy all evidences of the sinking by shooting at debris and rafts from the ship. During this action some survivors were killed and only four men were alive when the U-boat left the area. One of them later died, the remaining three survivors were picked up by the Portuguese SS Alexandre Silva on 20 April and taken to Lobito, Angola.