On this day

June 13, 1944

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from June 13, 1944

Notable Births

1944Christine Beasley, English nursing administrator[†]

Dame Christine Joan Beasley, is a British nurse and NHS healthcare administrator.

1944David Curry, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government[†]

David Maurice Curry is a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Skipton and Ripon from 1987 to 2010.

Ban Ki-moon

1944Ban Ki-moon, South Korean politician and diplomat, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations[†]

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister of foreign affairs and trade between 2004 and 2006. Ban was initially considered to be a long shot for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations; he began to campaign for the office in February 2006. As the foreign minister of South Korea, he was able to travel to all the countries on the United Nations Security Council, a manoeuvre that subsequently turned him into the campaign's front-runner.

Historical Events

World War II

1944World War II: The Battle of Villers-Bocage: German tank ace Michael Wittmann ambushes elements of the British 7th Armoured Division, destroying up to fourteen tanks, fifteen personnel carriers and two anti-tank guns in a Tiger I tank.[†]

World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen

1944World War II: German combat elements, reinforced by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, launch a counterattack on American forces near Carentan.[†]

The 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Götz von Berlichingen" was a German Waffen-SS division that saw action on the Western Front during World War II. It was formed in October 1943 from Germans, Volksdeutsche, Romanians, and Belgians, and included a cadre from the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg. The division was sent into battle, destroyed, and rebuilt, before surrendering to U.S. forces near Achen Lake in May 1945. It was first stationed in southwest France before being sent to Normandy in June 1944, where it launched a counterattack against the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. The 17th slowed down their advance but was practically destroyed as of July 1944. The division was rebuilt in eastern France and took part in the Battle of Metz, where it took heavy losses, and after that its remnants fought against the Western Allied invasion of Germany.

V-1 flying bomb

1944World War II: Germany launches the first V1 Flying Bomb attack on England. Only four of the eleven bombs strike their targets.[†]

The V-1 flying bomb was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry (RLM) name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was Höllenhund (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and MaikÀfer (maybug).