On this day in 1944, U.S. and British aircraft begin a systematic bombing raid on railroads in Germany and other parts of northern Europe, called Operation Chattanooga Choo-Choo. The operation is a success; Germany is forced to scramble for laborers, including foreign slave laborers, to repair the widespread damage exacted on its railway network.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- Great Emigration departs for Oregon, 1843
- American Revolution
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- Automotive
- "Winning" released, stars Paul Newman as a race car driver, 1969
- Civil War
- Southern congressman attacks Northern senator, 1856
- Cold War
- Jimmy Carter reaffirms his commitment to human rights, 1977
- Crime
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- Chandra Levy's remains found, 2002
- Disaster
- Belgian department store burns, 1967
- General Interest
- The War of the Roses, 1455
- President Nixon in Moscow, 1972
- Yemen united, 1990
- Hollywood
- Controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 wins Palme d’Or, 2004
- Literary
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is born, 1859
- Music
- Jerry Lee Lewis drops a bombshell in London, 1958
- Old West
- A thousand pioneers head West on the Oregon Trail, 1843
- Presidential
- Martha Washington dies, 1802
- Sports
- Sorenstam makes history, 2003
- Vietnam War
- Rusk warns North Vietnamese, 1964
- Negotiators differ on diplomatic exchange, 1969
- World War I
- Crisis in Austria-Hungary, 1917
- World War II
- The Pact of Steel is signed; the Axis is formed, 1939
- Operation Chattanooga Choo-Choo is launched, 1944
May 22, 1944:
Operation Chattanooga Choo-Choo is launched
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This Week in History, May 22 - May 28
- May 22, 1939
- The Pact of Steel is signed; the Axis is formed
- May 22, 1944
- Operation Chattanooga Choo-Choo is launched
- May 23, 1941
- Lord Mountbatten, cousin to a king, sunk by German dive-bombers
- May 23, 1945
- Himmler commits suicide
- May 24, 1941
- The Bismarck sinks the Hood
- May 24, 1943
- Auschwitz gets a new doctor: "the Angel of Death"
- May 25, 1944
- Operation Knight's Move is launched
- May 26, 1940
- Britain's Operation Dynamo gets underway as President Roosevelt makes a radio appeal for the Red Cross
- May 27, 1940
- British evacuation of Dunkirk turns savage as Germans commit atrocity
- May 27, 1943
- U.S. Olympian Louie Zamperini's plane goes down in the Pacific
- May 28, 1940
- Belgium surrenders unconditionally
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