23 Mar 1940
  • Dutch fighters accidentally shot down a RAF bomber near Rotterdam. ww2dbase [TH]
  • The British Malaya Force was formed to observe German merchant ships in Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • British submarine (HMS Truant or HMS Trident) intercepted German merchant ship Edmund Hugo Stinnes IV 6 miles off of the western coast of Denmark at 2330 hours. The German ship sailed closer to shore before being scuttled by its crew. The abandoned ship was later torpedoed and sunk by the submarine. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • IRA prisoners at Dartmoor, England staged a riot. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Deportation of Jews in German-occupied Eastern Europe continued despite of Hermann Göring's order for a temporary pause. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]
China
  • Eiji Nishimura was named the head of Unit 1855, a Japanese Army medical unit for human experimentation, in Beiping, China. ww2dbase [Eiji Nishimura | Beiping | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 23 Mar 1940
Officers and crew of USS Louisville, San Pedro, California, United States, 23 Mar 1940

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Please help us spread the word:

 Reddit
 Bluesky
 Mastodon

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds

Search WW2DB
News

Random Photograph

46-cm high explosive shell manufactured for use with Yamato-class battleships, Yushukan Museum on the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo, Japan, 6 Aug 2005

Current Site Statistics

Famous WW2 Quote
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win the war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!"

George Patton, 31 May 1944


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!