23 May 1939 | World War II Database

23 May 1939

Adolf Hitler held a long speech before his top military commanders, starting by noting Danzig as a means to engage Poland in a war to gain Lebensraum ("living space") for the German people, and then digressing to note the possibility of war with Britain and France, the need to occupy the Low Countries for their airfields, and strategies for a war in western Europe and the Atlantic. ww2dbase [The Danzig Crisis | CPC]

China

Chinese troops captured Suixian, Hubei Province, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang | Suixian, Hubei | CPC]

Russia

The Soviet Air Force transferred 35 I-15bis fighters from the 22nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) to airfields close to the border with the Mongolia region of China. ww2dbase [I-15 | CPC]

United States

USS Squalus sank off the Isles of Shoals in northeastern United States due to the failure of the main induction valves, which flooded the aft portions of the ship. 26 were killed from drowning, 33 were rescued. ww2dbase [Sailfish | CPC]

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

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