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• » 28 Mar 1943

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland departing later on the same day. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
• Most Axis troops were evacuated from the Mareth Line in Tunisia to form a new line to the north. ww2dbase [Operations Pugilist and Supercharge II | CPC]
• USS Tunny attacked a Japanese cargo ship off Wake Island at dawn with two torpedoes, blowing off the ship's stern. ww2dbase [Tunny | CPC]
• The US Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a directive canceling the orders issued on 2 Jul 1942. Replacing it, the Offensive Operations in the South and Southwest Pacific Areas During 1943 aimed to establish airfields on Kiriwina and Woodlark Islands, to capture northern coast of New Guinea island, to capture western New Britain, and to capture key locations in the Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 2 | CPC]
• The main body of Chindit forces reached Inywa, Burma at 1600 hours. ww2dbase [Operation Longcloth | CPC]

• The German patrol boat V-2018 (Vogtland) of 20th Vorpostenboot Flotilla based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands was heavily damaged by a mine off Terschelling, the Netherlands. ww2dbase [North Sea | HM]

• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against the railroad yards at Rouen, France. ww2dbase [RAF Thurleigh | Bombing of Cities in France and Low Countries | Rouen | DS]

• British armed trawler HMS Man O'War landed the survivors of City of Perth, victim of German submarine U-77 two days prior, at Gibraltar. ww2dbase [HM]

• US 12th Air Force bombed the oil refinery at Livorno, Italy. ww2dbase [Bombing of Rome, Naples, and Other Cities | Livorno, Toscana | TH]

• Nachi arrived at Paramushiro (Paramushir), Kurile Islands. ww2dbase [Nachi | Paramushiro, Hokkaido | CPC]

• USS Whale attacked a Japanese freighter between Saipan in Mariana Islands and Truk in Caroline Islands; all 3 torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Whale | CPC]
• USS Wahoo sank two small fishing vessels with her deck gun in the East China Sea. ww2dbase [Wahoo | East China Sea | CPC]

• Wing Commander Guy Gibson flew a Lancaster bomber down Derwent reservoir near Sheffield in central England, United Kingdom to try out flying very accurately at low level. ww2dbase [Dambuster Raid | Sheffield, England | AC]

• Richard Sutherland once again presented the Elkton II plan for operations in the Pacific to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, United States, this time without any mention of plans to invade the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul, New Britain. The JCS finally gave Sutherland permission to proceed with the plan. ww2dbase [Washington | CPC]
• USS Ranger arrived at Casco Bay, Maine. ww2dbase [Ranger | Portland, Maine | DS]

28 Mar 1943 Interactive Map