1935: Adolf Hitler denounces the arms restrictions imposed by the Versailles Treaty and decrees a law establishing a peacetime army of 500,000 men.

1940: The Government of Argentina deports the German crew of Admiral Graf Spee into the interior and forbids them to wear their uniform

The President of Panama transmits a protest to Great Britain over British violation of the Pan-American Neutrality Zone in the Wakama Incident that took place off the coast of Brazil on 12 February.

The heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire had stopped the German freighter SS Wakama 12 miles off Cabo Frio, Brazil and Wakama's crew scuttled her so that their ship will not fall into British hands

1941: Today and tomorrow, the German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sink 16 merchantmen off Newfoundland

1943: In New Guinea, an aircraft from 22 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force flown by Flight Lieutenant Newton suffered multiple hits from anti-aircraft fire while making a bombing run on a Japanese target. Despite the damage, Newton held the aircraft on course and conducted a successful attack. He then nursed the stricken aircraft safely back to base. The following day, however, his aircraft was shot down. He and a crew member survived the crash but were executed by the Japanese. Newton was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1944: Bomber Command dispatched 130 aircraft against the railway facilities in Amiens, while 617 Squadron conducted a precision attack on the Michelin tyre factory at Clermont-Ferrand. No aircraft were lost.

1945: Bomber Command's 5 Group launched a devastating raid on Wurzburg, dropping over 1,100 tons of bombs in just 17 minutes, destroying 89% of the city. However, over Nuremburg, the target for 1 Group, the Luftwaffe's night-fighters showed they were still a force to be reckoned with: 24 Lancasters out of 231 were lost, a rate of 10.4%.

The island of Iwo Jima was finally declared secure

1949: Clothes rationing ended in Great Britain, nearly 4 years after the end of WW II. Food rationing continued until June 1954.