2 February – World War II: In Russia, the Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end with the surrender of the German 6th Army and its 91,000 remaining soldiers.
3 February – World War II: The Four Chaplains of the U.S. Army are drowned, when their ship (Dorchester) is struck by a German torpedo.
16 March – 19 March – World War II: 22 ships from Convoys HX 229/SC 122 and one U-boat are sunk in the largest North Atlantic U-boat wolfpack attack of the war.
22 March – World War II: The entire population of Khatyn in Belarus is burnt alive by the German Dirlewanger Brigade in retaliation for an attack of a German convoy by Soviet partisans.
5 July – World War II: Operation Citadel commences, resulting in the Battle of Kursk – The largest tank battle in history begins, with German Panther tanks seeing combat for the first time.
27 July – World War II: Operation Gomorrah – The continued British bombing of Hamburg, initiates a firestorm. The fire rages through the night into the morning of the 28th, causing the majority of Operation Gomorrah's deaths.
3 August – World War II: Operation Gomorrah closes, with an estimated 42,600 killed and 37,000 wounded; much of Hamburg is leveled.
23 August – The Battle of Kursk ends with a serious strategic defeat for the German forces.
24 August – World War II: – Heinrich Himmler is named Reichsminister of the Interior in Germany.
29 August – World War II: Germany dissolves the Danish government after it refuses to deal with a wave of strikes and disturbances to the satisfaction of the German authorities (see Occupation of Denmark).
18 November – World War II: The Royal Air Force opens its bombing campaign against Berlin, with 440 planes causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF loses 9 aircraft and 53 aviators.
2 December – A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks an American ship with a mustard gas stockpile, causing numerous fatalities; the exact death toll is unresolved, as the bombing raid itself causes hundreds of deaths as well.