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March 2
1916: Lord Derby speaks in the House of Lords on recruiting: "stronger methods are needed to get men, women must take the place of men..."
1943: New Guinea - Battle of the Bismark Sea rages; Allied planes sink 12 Japanese ships carrying reinforcements to New Guinea, killing nearly 4,000.
1944: The frigates of the Royal Navy's First Escort Group brought the longest continuous U-boat hunt to a successful conclusion, destroying U-358, but losing HMS Gould. The hunt started on 29 February, and HM Ships Affleck, Gould, Gore and Garlies dropped some 104 depth charges over the following two days. Gore and Garlies had to withdraw to Gibraltar for fuel, but Affleck and Gould continued the attack. U-358 succeeded in torpedoing Gould, but was then forced to the surface and finished off by Affleck's gunfire.
1945: In Burma, Gian Singh, a Naik of the 15th Punjab Regiment, single-handedly attacked a series of Japanese positions. Despite being wounded, he cleared a series of trenches and a concealed anti-tank gun, then led his section forward to complete the reduction of the enemy position. He received the Victoria Cross.
1945: Naik (Corporal) Fazal Din of the 10th Baluch Regiment conducted a lone attack on a Japanese bunker, which was pinning down his section. Having eliminated its defenders, he then attacked a second, from which six Japanese charged forth. A Japanese officer ran his sword through Fazal Din's chest, but as he pulled the blade out, the mortally wounded Naik wrestled it from his grip, and killed the officer with his own sword. He then killed a second Japanese soldier with the sword, as his men advanced to capture the bunker. Fazal Din managed to stagger back to report the success of the attack, before dying from his injuries. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.
1951: National Defence publish first Canadian casualty list from Korea; six soldiers killed.
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