On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 17 -- Russian surface craft were reported today to be operating freely in the Baltic. Swedish fishing vessels reported that they had observed submarines and old naval units near the Island of Bornholm.
hits western area; Isle of Pines isolated; worst storm since 1935 threatens Fla Keys; Neuva Gerona, govt radio knocked out; residents evacuated from coastal areas; Havana business dist closed; trees anchored
Roosevelt accepts inv to s at Shibe Pk, Phila; rally planned
4,000 reptd killed
1944World War II: Soviet Union begins the liberation of Czechoslovakia from Nazi Germany.[†]
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.
1944World War II: The state funeral of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel takes place in Ulm, Germany.[†]
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel, popularly known as The Desert Fox, was a German Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. He served in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany, as well as in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, and the Imperial German Army of the German Empire.