Timeline March 1944

Events in March 1944 11

• 1876 – 1944 Max Jacob (1876-1944) Died 5 March 1944, aged 67 French poet and painter, a friend of Picasso and Apollinaire and an important figure in early modernism. Born Jewish, he converted to Catholicism. He was arrested by the Gestapo and died in the Drancy internment camp.
• 1885 – 1944 Mineichi Koga (1885-1944) Died 31 March 1944, aged 58 Japanese admiral who became commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet after Isoroku Yamamoto's death. He was killed when his flying boat crashed in a typhoon near the Philippines. His death was kept secret for weeks.
• 1903 – 1944 Orde Wingate (1903-1944) Died 24 March 1944, aged 41 British Army officer who created the Chindits, long-range penetration units that fought behind Japanese lines in Burma. He had earlier led guerrilla operations in Palestine and Ethiopia. He was killed in an air crash in northeast India.
• 1944 – 1997 Townes Van Zandt (1944-1997) Died 1 January 1997, aged 52 Townes Van Zandt was an American singer-songwriter whose songs, including Pancho and Lefty, were covered by numerous country and folk artists. Though he achieved little mainstream commercial success in his lifetime, he is regarded as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. He died in Smyrna, Tennessee, on New Year's Day.
• 1944 Battles of Imphal and Kohima Japanese invasion of India is defeated The Japanese 15th Army invaded northeast India, hoping to capture Imphal and Kohima. British and Indian forces held out through sieges and fierce close-quarter fighting. The failed offensive cost Japan tens of thousands of men and opened the way for the reconquest of Burma.
• 1944 Mount Vesuvius erupts Most recent eruption of the volcano Vesuvius erupted, and lava flows destroyed the villages of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio and Massa di Somma. Ash damaged around 80 aircraft of the US Army Air Forces at a nearby airfield. Vesuvius has not erupted since.
• 1944 Germany occupies Hungary Jews of Hungary deported to Auschwitz Germany occupied Hungary on March 19, 1944. Within weeks, 437,000 Hungarian Jews were deported to Auschwitz in the largest and most rapid deportation of the Holocaust.
• 1944 Germany occupies Hungary Operation Margarethe German forces occupied Hungary to stop it from making a separate peace with the Allies. Regent Miklós Horthy stayed in office, but a pro-German government was installed. The occupation made possible the mass deportation of Hungarian Jews.
• 1944 – 2019 Ric Ocasek (1944-2019) Died 15 September 2019, aged 75 Ric Ocasek was the lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the American rock band The Cars, known for hits including "Just What I Needed" and "Drive". He also produced albums for artists such as Weezer and Bad Brains. He was found dead at his New York home.
• 1944 The Great Escape Mass breakout from Stalag Luft III Seventy-six Allied airmen escaped through a tunnel named Harry from the German prisoner-of-war camp at Sagan. All but three were recaptured. On Hitler's orders, fifty of them were executed by the Gestapo.
• 1944 – present Rick Barry The Greyhound Known for his underhanded free throws and 1975 Finals MVP title.