This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Njaco]

30 June 1944

WESTERN FRONT: Since D-Day the Allies have landed 630,000 men, 600,000 tons of supplies and 177,000 vehicles in Normandy. Allied KIA and WIA total 62,000. The Allies have lost 7,704 dead - 4,868 Americans, 2,443 Britons and 393 Canadians. Battle fatigue has also claimed 10,000 men in American units since D-Day - one fifth of all casualties.

Operation Epsom, an attempt by the British VIII Corps to break through German lines west of Caen, has been aborted. Lt-Gen Dempsey today withdrew the British 11th Armoured Division from Hill 112, overlooking the road to Caen. The ever-reliable "Ultra" intelligence reports showed that the Germans were about to launch a major attack on Hill 112 by two formations just arrived from the Soviet front: the 9. and 10.SS Panzerdivisions. In the area as a whole Dempsey had 60,000 men and 600 tanks, supported by 700 guns; but he knew that he was still outranked by the Panzers. The offensive was abandoned; Caen will have to wait. Hill 112 is recaptured by the Germans. Meanwhile, German resistance in the Cotentin Peninsula ends and the US 1st Army begins to redirect it's operations toward St. Lo.

The Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 448: 153 bombers and 539 fighters are dispatched to attack airfields; Of 75 B-17s, 39 hit Montdidier Airfield, 24 hit Le Culot Airfield and 11 hit Furnes Airfield, Coxyde, Belgium; 27 B-17s are damaged. Of 78 B-24s, 35 hit Conches Airfield and 26 hit Fauville Airfield, Evreux, France without loss. Escort is provided by 168 of 178 P-51s who afterwards strafe marshalling yards, airfields, barracks, a train, a factory, and a warehouse with good results. No enemy aircraft are encountered and no aircraft are lost. Other P-38 Lightnings, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51s hit bridges, marshalling yards and other targets in France; they claim 3-3-4 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; one P-38 is lost.

125+ USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs, using blind-bombing methods in bad weather, bomb fuel dumps and road junctions at Conde-sur-Vire, Foret de Conches, Conde-sur-Noireau, and Thury-Harcourt; around 250 others are forced to abort due to weather; 600+ fighters escort bombers, fly cover over the beach, and bomb marshalling yards at Chartres and Verneuil-sur-Avres, bridges east of Paris, and Evreux-Bueil, and Breux-sur-Avre-Trappes rail lines; the fighters fly armed reconnaissance in the Seine-Loire gap and along the Loire River, and Continent-based fighters of the IX Tactical Air Command attack communications targets in advance of the US and British positions.

266 RAF aircraft - 151 Lancasters, 105 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitos - of Nos 3, 4 and 8 Groups to bomb a road junction at Villers Bocage through which the tanks of two German Panzer divisions, the 2nd and 9th, would have to pass in order to carry out a planned attack on the junction of the British and American armies in Normandy that night. The raid was controlled with great care by the Master Bomber, who ordered the bombing force to come down to 4,000ft in order to be sure of seeing the markers in the smoke and dust of the exploding bombs. 1,100 tons of bombs were dropped with great accuracy and the planned German attack did not take place. 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster lost.

102 RAF Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups bombed a flying-bomb launching site at Oisemont. The attack took place through 10/10ths cloud and results were not observed. No aircraft were lost. 118 Lancasters of No 1 Group attacked railway yards at the small town of Vierzon, south of Orléans and bombed with great accuracy, a success for No 1 Group's own marking flight. 11 Lancasters were lost, nearly 12 per cent of the force. 40 Mosquitos to Homberg oil plant, 6 RCM sorties, 29 Mosquitos on fighter patrols, 6 Stirlings minelaying in the River Scheldt. 1 Mosquito lost from the Homberg raid.

'U-478' (Type VIIC) is sunk northeast of the Faroes, at position 63.27N, 00.50W, by depth charges from Canadian Canso (RCAF-Sqdn. 162/A, piloted by Flight Lieutenant David Hornell VC) and British Liberator aircraft (Sqdn. 86/E). The submarine was first sighted by the Canso, which was unable to release its depth charges during its attack. The Canadian aircraft vectored in the Liberator, which dropped a six-charge pattern that lifted the boat's bows out of the water. Although survivors were sighted in two dinghies, none of 'U-478's' 52 crewmembers were rescued. 52 dead (all crew lost).

UNITED KINGDOM: London: A V1 lands on Bush House in the Aldwych, killing 198 people. During the month, 2452 V-1 bombs were launched by German forces against England.

GERMANY: A test unit, Erprobungskommando [Trials Detachment]` 262, has been in existence since April but now a new unit, I/KG51 (First Wing of No. 51 Kampfgeschwader [Bomber Group]) has been formed. At Hitler's insistence the Me262 will serve as a fighter-bomber, although he has permitted development of the fighter version to continue. This has meant much modification to give the aircraft the structural strength to carry bombs. It is planned to deploy the new unit to France once it is fully operational.

MEDITERRANEAN: The Allied advance in Italy begins to encounter a new German line of defence south of Siena and Arezzo. The advance bogs down.

Bad weather causes 450+ bombers and 150+ fighters of the Fifteenth Air Force to abort missions. 188 B-17s and B-24s, escorted by 138 fighters, hit an airfield at Zagreb, Yugoslavia and targets of opportunity in Hungary and Yugoslavia, including marshalling yards at Kaposvar, Osztopan and Split, a highway bridge at Brac Island, airfield at Banjaluka, and the city of Budapest, Hungary.

EASTERN FRONT: This day is considered to be the last of the Tali-phase of the battle. Lt. Gen. Taavetti Laatikainen's IV Corps has succesfully straightened its right flank and manned the new line west from Ihantala. For once, the terrain is favourable to the defender, and the Finnish infantry is receiving large numbers of German infantry at-weapons. The Finnish artillery is reaching the top of its powers. Finnish Army has more than 20 artillery battalions concentrated near the battlefield, and the advanced fire-control system is showing what it can achieve. In the air the Finnish Air Force, reinforced by Obstlt. Kuhlmey's Stukas and Fw 190's, provides air-cover and ground-support.

The Red Army offensive continues as the 3rd Belarusian Front establishes bridgeheads over the Berezina River north and south of Borisov. The Germans abandon the city before they could be surrounded.

 

[Njaco]

1 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: In Normandy, a serious counterattack in the Caen area develops as the German 1. SS Panzerkorps hits the British.

At the headquarters of Gerd von Rundstedt in Paris, France, he receives orders from Adolf Hitler that present positions are to be held. Rundstedt replies to a staff officer at Hitler's headquarters that this cannot be done, and says;

"Make peace, you fools".

The US Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 449: 323 bombers (78 B-17s and 245 B-24s) and 166 P-51s are dispatched to bomb 14 V-weapon sites in northern France but are recalled because of clouds; the recall messages by mistake are not sent to 3 squadrons; 2 of these abort on a decision of the squadron leaders; the other continues on the mission and 9 B-24s bomb a V-weapon site at Mont Louis Ferme; 1 B-24 is lost and 10 are damaged; 124 P-51s, relieved of escort duty by the recall of the bombers, claim 5-0-5 Luftwaffe aircraft, 1 P-51 is lost. 82 fighters of a force of 97 P-38s, 169 P-47s and 99 P-51s attack rail and road targets in northern France and claim 3-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1P-47 is lost and 2 damaged beyond repair. 18 B-24s participate in CARPETBAGGER missions in France.

Weather prevents operations by the USAAF's IX Bomber Command; 47 fighters escort troop carriers and fly sweeps in the Vire area where about 20 fighters bomb tactical targets.

307 RAF Halifaxes of Nos 4 and No 6 Groups with 15 Mosquitos and 6 Lancasters of the Pathfinders attacked 2 flying bomb launching sites and a stores site. All targets were completely or almost completely cloud-covered; bombing was on Oboe markers and no results could be seen. 1 Halifax of No 4 Group was lost from the raid on the St Martin l'Hortier site. 2 Mosquitos carried out uneventful Ranger patrols to airfields in Northern Holland. 6 Mosquitos to Scholven/Buer and 4 to Homberg - both targets were oil plants - 6 Lancasters minelaying off Horn's Reef, 2 Mosquitos on flying-bomb patrols. No aircraft lost.

The German authorities proclaim a state of emergency because of the general strike in Copenhagen.

The date for "Operation Dragon", the invasion of southern France, is set for August 15.

MEDITERRANEAN: The US 5th Army makes headway against the Albert Line, taking Cecina and Pomerance. British X and XIII Corps push German units back in their sector.

1(F)./123 sent a Ju 88T-1 on a photo-reconnaissance mission to Naples – this aircraft failed to return. It crashed at San Martino while on a photo-recce mission to Naples. Aircraft burnt out crew killed. 1(F)./122 reported 9 x Me 410A-3 and 1 x Me 410B-1 on strength.

EASTERN FRONT: This day is the first day of the Ihantala-phase of the Battle of Tali-Ihantala. The Finnish IV Corps (Lt. Gen. Taavetti Laatikainen) has succesfully straightened its right flank and settled down into defence. Early this morning the Soviet forces, supported by tanks, ground-attack aircraft and artillery, attack the Finnish II/IR 12 which holds the Village of Ihantala. The attack is repelled with the aid of artillery and mortar fire. Another attempt is staged in mid-morning. The Soviets forces, supported by some 20 tanks and artillery, again attack the II/IR 12. However, as the Soviet attack commences, a stroke of good luck comes to help the Finns. The bridge across a stream running south from the Lake Ihantalanjärvi was left intact yesterday, when the engineers assigned with blowing up the bridge were all killed. A Finnish artillery officer, Capt. Urho Karhula, decides to try to destroy the bridge this morning with one heavy artillery piece. He starts directing the fire, and finally a hit is scored, which also detonates the charges left in the bridge. Three enemy tanks are knocked out in the explosion, and seven are left stranded between the Finnish positions and the destroyed bridge, while the Finnish artillery and infantry fire drives the enemy infantry away. After these unsuccessful attempts the Soviets try to penetrate the Finnish defences at Vakkila, west of Ihantala. At 1 pm the Soviet air forces bomb the 6th Division's positions, and immediately afterwards the Soviet artillery fires a furious barrage at the Finnish positions around Vakkila. But the attack is aborted soon after its start when the Finnish artillery and mortars disperse the advancing Soviet formations. Obstlt. Kurt Kuhlmey's German aircraft also bomb the advancing Soviets, destroying several tanks. At 6 pm. the Red Army once again attacks Ihantala, supported this time by some 30 tanks, but is again repelled. An hour later the Soviet forces attack west of Ihantala in several waves, but suffer heavy losses in Finnish infantry and artillery fire. At 9 pm. the Soviet aircraft bomb the positions of the I/IR 12 around Pyöräkangas, and are soon joined by the Soviet artillery. The Soviet ground forces start forming for an attack after 10 pm, but are dispersed by Finnish artillery, and the attack is aborted.

NORTH AMERICA: Roosevelt declares that "The Manhattan Project" receives the highest priority for resources in the United States.

GERMANY: Count Claus von Stauffenberg was promoted to colonel.

 

[Njaco]

2 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: Hitler sacks von Rundstedt. Field Marshal Günther von Kluge replaces Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt as commander of German forces in the West. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel arranges the exchange of badly wounded prisoners with US forces in Europe.

The US Eighth Air Force in England dispatches 350 bombers and 171 P-51s on Mission 450 to hit 13 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; 1 B-24 is lost: Of 78 B-17s, 24 hit Fleury, 24 hit Fressin, 21 hit Blengermont and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 33 B-17s are damaged. Of 272 B-24s, 36 hit Crepy, 35 hit Fiefs, 24 hit Vignacourt, 23 hit Blanc Pignon, 22 hit Courbronne, 21 hit Renescure, 13 hit Haute Cote Island, 13 hit Mont Louis Ferme, 13 hit Santrecourt and 12 hit Belloy-sur-Somme; 1 B-24 is lost and 1 damaged beyond repair. Escort for the above is provided by 166 of 171 P-51s without loss. 37 B-24s CARPETBAGGER missions in France during the night.

All USAAF IX Bomber Command missions are cancelled due to bad weather; fighters of seven groups of the IX Tactical Air Command fly interception missions in the Caen area and cover over the beach area, attack rail lines along the Loire, and hit a HQ and supply dumps and strongpoints near La Haye-du-Puits.

26 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the industrial area at Gyor, Austria.

374 RAF Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups attacked 3 V-weapons sites. Cloud affected all of the raids but good concentrations of bombs were believed to have been dropped at all targets. No aircraft lost. 4 Mosquitos on uneventful Ranger patrols.

The German Type IXC/40 submarine 'U-543' is sunk about 335 nm (621 km) west-southwest of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas Island, Canary Islands, in position 25.34N, 21.36W, by depth charges and a FIDO homing torpedo from a TBM Avenger of Escort Carrier Air Group Fifty Eight (VC-58) in the USN escort aircraft carrier USS 'Wake Island' (CVE-65). All hands (58 men) in the U-boat are lost.
....The unescorted 'Bodegraven' was torpedoed and sunk by 'U-547', which took one man on board as POW.

Transport 'General W.A. Mann' (AP-112), escorted by Brazilian destroyers 'Marcilio Dias', 'Mariz e Barros' and 'Greenhalgh', sails from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the first elements of the Italy-bound Brazilian Expeditionary Force.

MEDITERRANEAN: Foiano is liberated by the British 4th Infantry Division.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack nine targets: (1-3) 509 bombers attack three targets in Budapest, the marshalling yard (253 aircraft), Vecses Airfield (142 aircraft) and the Shell Oil Refinery (114 aircraft) with the loss of 14 bombers; (4-5) one each aircraft bombs the city of Paks and the city of Kiskunhalas; (6) five bombers hit the Szolnok railroad bridge with the loss of one aircraft; and (7-9) four bombers hit targets of opportunity. Eighth and Fifteenth Air Force fighters sweep over the Budapest area; bombers and fighters claim 50+ fighters shot down.

Liberators of the RAF No. 205 Group hit three targets. During the day, 44 hit the Prahova Oil Refinery at Bucharest with the loss of two aircraft. During the night, ten aircraft, in two groups of five, mine the Danube River.

The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force hits four targets: (1) 37 bombers hit the Brod marshalling yard; (2) 26 hit the Vinconvivi marshalling yard (2 lost); (3-4) two aircraft bomb two targets of opportunity. The Hungarian Air Forces admit to losses of 28 planes this day.

EASTERN FRONT: Russian forces west of Minsk cut several railway lines.

Battle of Tali-Ihantala: While the Soviet artillery is active all day, the only Soviet attacks come at the right flank, around Tähtelä. One attempt is repelled early in the night, and another, more serious, commences at 3.30 pm. This time the Soviet forces, supported by tanks, are able to penetrate the Finnish positions, but are beaten back by the reserves. Finnish artillery is again crucial in repelling the Soviet attacks. But this evening the Red Air Force manages to launch a surprise attack at the Finnish airfield in Immola, where the German Stukas and Fw 190's of Obstlt. Kurt Kuhlmey's force are based. The attack, starting at 7.59 pm, destroys 9 German aircraft and damages 24. This succesful Soviet operation greatly weakens the German air forces supporting Finns.

GERMANY: Count von Stauffenberg called off an attempt to assassinate Hitler because a last minute change in plan canceled visits by Himmler and Goering, who the count also wanted to kill in the attack.

 

[Njaco]

3 JULY 1944

UNITED KINGDOM: A V1 lands on a Chelsea block of flats, killing 74 people and injuring 50. The British capital is being evacuated again. Under the impact of the flying-bomb attack the government has announced a new scheme to move mothers of children under five, as well as schoolchildren, to the country. Many others have made their own arrangements for evacuation. In the first two weeks of the attack over 1,700 people have been killed. The fact that V1s fall out of cloudy skies in daytime makes it harder to shelter. However, the anti-aircraft and balloon barrage now on the North Downs is bringing down more of the robot planes than before.

WESTERN FRONT: US forces mount a major move south from Normandy. Their goal is a line from Coutances to St.Lo. The hedgerow country, weather and stiff German opposition, slow the advance. The US 712th enters combat in the Haye du Puits sector of Normandy. Troy Middleton leads the US 8th Corps in a drive down the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula, but fails.

Nearly 275 Ninth Air Force fighters strafe and bomb strongpoints, gun positions, a fuel dump, communication lines, bridges, and patrol the beach in the vicinity of Lessay and Periers, south of the US First Army's advance.

MEDITERRANEAN: Siena, the beautiful Etruscan capital falls to Algerian troops of the French Expeditionary Corps. There was little time for celebration, however. Almost as soon as the last German had left the city, the 3rd Algerian Division was preparing to move south - to Naples and the planned invasion of the south of France. The Algerians have been replaced by the Moroccan 4th Mountain Division, which has wasted no time in heading for Florence and the Gothic Line. The US Fifth Army, which is also likely to lose much of its strength to the proposed invasion, today took the coastal town of Cecina and is close to encircling the port of Leghorn. The British 78th Division captures Cortona, and US forces reach Rosignano.

Four USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack the Szeged railroad bridge with Azon bombs.

The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force attacks nine targets: (1) 110 hit the oil storage facilities at Giurgiu; (2-4) 212 bomb three targets in Bucharest, the Malaxa locomotive factory (95 aircraft), the Mogasia oil storage facility (83 aircraft) and the Titan Oil Refinery (34 aircraft); (5) the Timosoara marshalling yard (93 aircraft); (6) the Arad railway shops (44 aircraft); (7) the Piatra railroad bridge (28 aircraft); (8 ) the Duca railroad (27); and (9) the Turnu Severin railroad (13 aircraft). Eleven aircraft are lost. Fifty five Eighth Air Force B-17s in Italy on the USSR shuttle mission join in bombing the Arad marshalling yards; 38 P-51 Mustangs of the VIII Fighter Command, also on the shuttle run, fly escort on the mission.

The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force attacks two targets: (1) Oil storage facilities in Belgrade (28 aircraft) and (2) the Cuprija railway line (1 aircraft).

German Type IXC submarine 'U-154' is sunk about 594 nm (1100 km) west of Casablanca, French Morocco, in approximate position 34.00N, 19.30W, by depth charges from the USN destroyer escorts USS 'Inch' (DE-146) and 'Frost' (DE-144). All hands (57 men) in the U-boat are lost.

EASTERN FRONT: Battle of Tali-Ihantala: Twelve Finnish artillery battalions fire at the Soviet positions in the early morning hours, as do the German Stukas and Jabos. This ends the Soviet activity for few hours. However, some 200 enemy aircraft start bombing the Finnish positions at 6 am, and are soon joined by artillery and assault guns. At 7 am. an enemy division attacks Ihantala, but is repelled with the aid of artillery. At 9 am. an enemy attack drives the I/IR 12 from Pyöräkangas, west of Ihantala. Capt. L. Jaale's III/IR 6 attacks from west, followed by the rest of Lt. Col. Reino Inkinen's regiment. Maj. K. Suurkari's detachment (remains of the I/IR 12, company from III/IR 12 and a jäger company) attacks from north at 12.30 pm, and Maj. J. Sammalkorpi's III/IR 35 from north-east at 2 pm. This three-pronged assault drives the enemy from Pyöräkangas by 5 pm. For the rest of the day the Soviet forces attempt attacks at different points along the 6th Division's front, but every time the enemy formations are dispersed by Finnish artillery even before they are able to attack. Only at Tähtelä, at 6th Division's left flank, the enemy reaches the Finnish positions at 8 pm, but are immediately driven back by counter-attack.

Operation Bagration: Ten days after the start of Operation Bagration, Minsk is captured by troops of the First and Third Byelorussian fronts. The German 4.Armee and other units are now cut off. The German Heeresgruppe Mitte is caught offguard by this and is beginning to cease to exist as a fighting unit. Those elements of Heeresgruppe Mitte that still have freedom of action are withdrawing in disorder. Minsk, the capital of Byelorussia, was the last major city in the Soviet Union still occupied by the Germans. The city was first encircled and then stormed by General Cherniakhovsky's Third Byelorussian Front and Marshal Rokossovky's First Byelorussian front. Not only have they taken 73,000 prisoners, including two generals - Michaelis and Konradi - they have also trapped a large force of Germans east of Minsk. The story is the same all along the line. In the north General Bagramyan's First Baltic Front has invested Polotsk and is pushing the Germans out of the city in hand-to-hand street fighting. When Polotsk falls Vilna, the capital of Lithuania, will come within striking distance. In the south, Marshal Zhukov has mounted an attack on Baranovichi, the key to the German right wing.

Colonel General Johannes Frießner succeeds Colonel General Georg Lindemann in command of the German Herresgruppe Nord.

 

[Bernhart]

real interesting reading about the fighting in finland, something one doesn't usually hear much about

 

[Njaco]

4 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: Operation Windsor begins, with Canadian 3rd Infantry Division beginning an attack on Carpiquet village and airport, west of Caen. Allied field guns and naval cannon begin a bombardment of the airfield. 1,100 US guns fired 4th of July salute at German lines in Normandy. US forces suffer heavy losses for very little gain in their drive toward St. Lo. J. Lawton Collins leads the US 7th Corps in a drive down the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula, but fails.

The Eighth Air Force in England dispatches 558 bombers and 632 fighters on Mission 451 to attack 7 airfields north and west of Paris; bad weather and mechanical failures cause 350+ bombers to abort; 1 B-17 and 4 fighters are lost: Of 300 B-17s, 24 hit Dreux Airfield, 24 hit Illiers L'Eveque Airfield, 13 hit Conches Airfield and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 37 damaged. Of 258 B-24s, 56 hit Conches Airfield, 50 hit Beaumont le Roger Airfield, 49 hit Evreux Airfield, 25 hit Beaumont-sur-Oise Airfield and 12 hit Creil Airfield; 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 52 damaged. 199 P-38s, 189 P-47s and 244 P-51s are dispatched to escort the bombers but 63 abort; 2 P-38s, 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost and 1 P-47 is damaged. Of 144 P-38s and 176 P-47s, 29 hit Nevers marshalling yard, 25 hit Joinville Bridge, 16 hit Chartre-Chateaudun marshalling yard, 14 hit Perrigny marshalling yard, 14 hit Fresnes Bridge, 8 hit La Tours marshalling yard at Cercy, 8 hit Cambrai marshalling yard, 6 hit St Florentin, 5 hit targets of opportunity and 4 hit Rouen Bridge; they claim 17-0-10 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; 1 P-38 is lost and 1 damaged. 36 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night; 1 aircraft crashes.

Bad weather curtails Ninth Air Force bomber operations, but 95 B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs bomb a rail bridge at Oissel and strongly defended positions north of Anneville-sur-Mer, using the Pathfinder technique; 900+ fighters strafe and bomb numerous targets including troop concentrations, gun positions, rail lines, marshalling yards, a tunnel, a radio station, bridges, highways, and a command post; fighters also fly escort and cover the beach and assault areas; units moving from England to France.

British authorities, concerned with the effectiveness of the V-1 attacks on London, launch a precision bombing raid against a storage facility at St Leu. 17 Lancasters, 1 Mosquito and 1 Mustang of No 617 Squadron attacked a flying-bomb store in a large cave at St Leu d'Esserent, north of Paris, and bombed the site accurately and without loss. (Aircraft of No 5 Group, with some Pathfinders, attacked St Leu d'Esserent immediately after the No 617 Squadron attack but Bomber Command records show the No 617 Squadron operation as a day raid and the later operation as a night raid.) 328 aircraft - 307 Halifaxes, 15 Mosquitos, 6 Lancasters - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups to 3 flying bomb launching sites. Some cloud was present but at least 2 of the attacks were assessed as accurate. No aircraft lost. 231 Lancasters and 15 Mosquitos, mostly from No 5 Group but with some Pathfinder aircraft, continued the attack on the underground flying-bomb store at St Leu d'Esserent with 1,000lb bombs, in order to cut all communications to the site. The bombing was accurate but 13 Lancasters were lost when German fighters engaged the force. 282 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups attacked railway yards at Orleans and Villeneuve. Both targets were accurately bombed. 14 Lancasters were lost, 11 from the Villeneuve raid and 3 from Orleans. 36 Mosquitos to Scholven/Buer oil facility, 25 RCM sorties, 61 Mosquito patrols, 6 Stirlings and 5 Halifaxes minelaying off Brest and St Nazaire, 16 aircraft on Resistance operations, 30 OTU sorties. 1 Halifax RCM aircraft lost.

Following a conference at First Army Headquarters, General Eisenhower crowded into the cockpit of a P-51 with Maj. Gen. Elwood R. "Pete" Quesada, commander of IX Tactical Air Command, and, with three other P-51s, spent over half an hour ranging over the battle area, flying as much as fifty miles beyond friendly positions. The lack of space precluded either man from wearing a parachute.

Between 1631 and 1706, 'U-539' fired torpedoes at a tanker convoy and reported four tankers with 26,000 tons torpedoed. According to the xB-Dienst one of these tankers was the American 'Hollywood' (5498 tons). However, the only ship hit was the unescorted 'Kittanning', which was torpedoed three times about 40 miles NE of Cristobal. The 'Kittanning' had left port at 1330, but soon thereafter the third assistant engineer fell and seriously injured himself and the master decided to return to Cristobal. At 1631, just after the ship changed course back at 14.5 knots, a torpedo struck on the starboard side at the #6 tank. At 1646, a second torpedo hit the #7 tank on the same side abaft the midships house and the ship swung hard right. The explosions opened a hole 65 feet long and 20 feet high and flooded five tanks, causing a 35° list to starboard. At 1700, the ten officers, 39 crewmen and 25 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5-in, one 3-in and eight 20-mm guns) abandoned ship in four lifeboats, but two boats swamped in the choppy seas and squally weather. A coup de grâce, fired at 1706, struck on the port side at the #4 tank under the midship house, causing the tanker to right herself and float on an even keel. The U-boat had reported another torpedo fired at 1849 hours, but it seems that it had missed.

MEDITERRANEAN: Private First Class William K. Nakamura distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action near Castellina, Italy. During a fierce firefight, Private First Class Nakamura's platoon became pinned down by enemy machine gun fire from a concealed position. On his own initiative, Private First Class Nakamura crawled 20 yards toward the hostile nest with fire from the enemy machine gun barely missing him. Reaching a point 15 yards from the position, he quickly raised himself to a kneeling position and threw four hand grenades, killing or wounding at least three of the enemy soldiers. The enemy weapon silenced, Private First Class Nakamura crawled back to his platoon, which was able to continue its advance as a result of his courageous action. Later, his company was ordered to withdraw from the crest of a hill so that a mortar barrage could be placed on the ridge. On his own initiative, Private First Class Nakamura remained in position to cover his comrades' withdrawal. While moving toward the safety of a wooded draw, his platoon became pinned down by deadly machine gun fire. Crawling to a point from which he could fire on the enemy position, Private First Class Nakamura quickly and accurately fired his weapon to pin down the enemy machine gunners. His platoon was then able to withdraw to safety without further casualties. Private First Class Nakamura was killed during this heroic stand. Private First Class Nakamura's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army. (MoH)

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack three targets: 148 B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the Photgen Oil Refinery at Brasov, 105 B-24 Liberators bomb the railroad bridge at Pitesti and one aircraft hits a target of opportunity; 350+ fighters escort the bombers and carry out sweeps in the target area; claims of enemy fighters destroyed total 17; a fighter group strafes two landing grounds and a troop train in Yugoslavia on the return trip to base.

EASTERN FRONT: The First Baltic Front attacks The German Heeresgrppe Nord. The Soviet 1st Baltic Front launches fresh attacks against the southern flank of Heeresgrppe Nord. (16th and 18th Armies), aimed at cutting to the Baltic Sea behind the German formations. Polotsk, the gateway to Latvia, quickly falls. The extended German position is held tenuously because the Soviet forces to the south have advanced quickly, exposing the flanks of these units.

Two Soviet attacks are repulsed at Tähtelä this morning, but later on the day Finnish radio intelligence captures a message stating that the Soviets were going to attack at 8 pm, supported by tanks and aircraft. Accordingly Finnish artillery and aircraft bomb the Soviet positions in the evening, and the Soviet attack is postponed. After 10 pm. the Soviet forces are observed forming for an attack, and the Finnish artillery fires on them, and the attack is again aborted. This ends the Soviet offensive activity for this day at Ihantala. At 7.28 pm. the Soviet aircraft try to repeat their success the day before yesterday by attacking again the Finnish airfield in Immola where Obstlt. Kurt Kuhlmey's German Stukas and Jabos are based. This time the defenders are ready, and only few bombs fall on the target. Losses are negligible. After heavy fighting Finnish troops are forced to leave the islands of Suonionsaari, Esisaari and Ravansaari. Islands of Teikarinsaari and Melansaari are almost lost but regained by counterattacks later in the day.

 

[syscom3]

5 July 1944

EASTERN FRONT: After heavy fighting Finns are forced to leave the islands of Teikarinsaari and Melansaari in the Bay of Viipuri, Finland. Another quiet day at Ihantala. Finnish artillery prevents few Soviet attacks at TŠhtelŠ and Ihantala, but the enemy manages to capture a piece of terrain at PyšrŠkangas. They are driven back next night by elements of the II/IR 35.

The retreat of Luftwaffe forces around Minsk continued with the Stab of JG 51 leaving its base at Kobryn and joining the I Gruppe at Krzewica. In Bulgaria, the detached unit from II./JG 51, 5./JG 51 was moved from Gaddura to Kastelli on Crete in the Mediterranean.

WESTERN FRONT: La Haye du Puits, France falls to US forces.

The Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 453: 371 bombers and 445 fighters are dispatched to attack three airfields in the Netherlands and two in Belgium, a factory near Mol, and three V-weapon supply sites in France; five fighters are lost:
1. Of 79 B-17 Flying Fortresses dispatched to the Netherlands, 38 hit Gilze-Rijen Airfield, 20 hit Volkel Airfield and 19 hit Noll.
2. Of 221 B-24 Liberators, 43 hit Bois de Cassan V-weapon site, 36 hit Le Coulet Airfield, 29 hit Foret de L'Isle Adam and 29 hit Mery sur Oise V-weapon sites, 13 hit Eindhoven Airfield, five hit Melsbroek Airfield and two hit Tulemont Airfield. The two missions above are escorted by 180 P-51 Mustangs that claim 4-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; two P-51s are lost.
3. 70 B-17s hit Beziers marshalling yard; 228 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51s escort the bombers and claim 18-1-9 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; two P-47s and a P-51 are lost. Of 93 P-47s, 22 bomb Rouen, ten hit L'Arche Bridge, ten hit Seine River locks, seven hit Boissy le Bois, seven hit Pantgouin, seven hit Veulettes Bridge and six hit communication targets; they claim 3-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; two P-47s are lost. The P-47s are escorted by 181 P-38s Lightnings; two P-38s are lost . During the night, eight B-17s drop leaflets in France with the loss of one aircraft; and eight B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions.

Seventy B-17s on a shuttle mission (UK-USSR-Italy-UK) attack a marshalling yard at Beziers, France (with Fifteenth Air Force B-2s) while on the last leg from Italy to the UK; 42 P-51s return to UK with the B-17s (of the eleven P-51s remaining in Italy, ten return to the UK the following day and the last several days later).

In France, about 180 Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs bomb bridges at Caen and also sidings, tracks, and rolling stock; in the afternoon four NOBALL (V-weapon) HQ are hit; 600+ fighters escort the bombers, carry out armed reconnaissance of communication and enemy movements, attack rail lines, rolling stock, marshalling yards, bridges, supply dumps, and cover the beach area.

Again three new Fw 190s were lost in training accidents at JG 1 although no combat missions were flown. III./JG1 was finished re-fitting and ordered to move from its base at Wunstorf to new positions near Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. When Generalmajor Adolf Galland and Oberst Gordon Gollob--JG 52's and JG 77's former Geschwaderkommodore who by that time had advanced to occupy a leading position in Galland's Fighter Staff--arrived for an inspection at Wunstorf shortly before III./JG 1 was to be sent back to Normandy, they were introduced to a motley crew. As usual, Galland was mostly interested in each pilot's number of individual victories. Hptm. Alfred Grislawski was the leading scorer in his unit. His 125 confirmed victories were way ahead of Hptm. Burckhardt's sixty-nine and Ofw. Herbert Kaiser's sixty-five. Hptm. Woitke reported twenty-six personal victories to Galland. Then there was Ofw. Friedrich Zander, a veteran from JG 54 Grünherz on the Eastern Front with thirty-one marks on his killboard, and Ofw. Leo Barann-- a Home Defense veteran who had shot down eight heavy bombers before he was injured in the spring of 1944. Of the remainder, only half a dozen could report between three and five victories each. Only few of the pilots that left Wunstorf that day would ever see their homeland again. One of its precious veterans nevertheless was left behind as the others departed for France. Hptm. "Lutz" Burckhardt, Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 1, had another attack of the malaria that he had caught in North Africa in early 1943. He was treated in hospital.

The Stab of JG 3 moved from its base at Evreux to new positions near St. Andre.

The Fliegerverbindungsoffizier (Flivo) of Army Group G requested the assignment of a Flivo for a special undertaking planned with support from Geschwader Bongart. There were large-scale German operations against the Resistance in the St. Claude area. 31 Luftwaffe sorties were flown against the resistance. Geschwader Bongart flew no sorties but lost two aircraft on this day. Three German bombers were destroyed at Chateauroux airfield.

Reichsmarschall Göring issued an order that because of the recent high rate of loss of indispensable combat leaders, all Luftwaffe leaders could no longer fly combat missions unless the following numbers of aircraft were available for support; Staffelkapitän required six aircraft, Gruppenkommandeur needed fifteen aircraft and Kommodoren needed forty-five supporting warplanes.

 

[syscom3]

6 JULY 1944

GERMANY: 42 Liberator bombers of the RAF's No. 205 Group attack Feuresbrunn Airfield with the loss of 13 aircraft. During the night, two Liberators attack targets of opportunity.

229 B-24s bomb the dock area at Kiel, Germany and one hits a target of opportunity; three B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 168 P-51s one of which is lost.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: An armed U.S. merchant tanker, en route from Cartagena, Colombia, to New York City, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-516 about 152 nm nw of the Dutch island of Aruba; eight of the 72-man crew and Armed Guard perish.

WESTERN FRONT: Field Marshal Gunther Hans von Kluge replaces Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt as the German Commander in Chief West.

US 8th Air Force: Mission 455: In the morning, missions are flown to France: 800 bombers and 224 fighters are dispatched to bomb 18 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; 556 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 133 B-24s bomb; escort is provided by 141 P-38 Lightnings and 83 P-51 Mustangs; they claim 4-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; a P-38 is lost.

Mission 456: In the late afternoon 73 B-17s and 148 B-24s strike six V-weapon sites and supply installations, three railroad bridges, a highway bridge, and an airfield in northern France. Escort is provided by 443 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; one P-47 is lost. Afterwards a squadron of P-47s dive-bombs three airfields in the Conches area. 212 P-38s and P-47s, fly fighter-bomber missions against rail and road traffic in the Paris area and claim 11-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; two P-47s are lost).

Mission 457: Seven B-17s drop leaflets in Belgium and France during the night. Twenty B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions; a B-24 is lost. A C-47 Skytrain makes the first landing at a secret airstrip in the Ain, France, area.

In France during the morning, about 500 Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20s bomb bridges and rail lines at eight locations; in the afternoon five targets are attacked, including bridges, fuel dumps, railroad tracks, and a V-weapon location; 15+ fighter groups escort bombers, fly armed reconnaissance of rail lines, roads, and marshalling yards, damaging or destroying tracks, trains, a tunnel, a building, and a supply dump; fighters also cover the beach and bomb and strafe troop concentrations and gun positions.

While flying a FW 190F-8, Hptm. Friedrich Wilhelm Strakeljahn, Gruppenkommandeur of II./SG 4 and formerly a Staffelkapitän of 14.(Jabo)/JG 5, suffered a direct hit from anti-aircraft fire west of Macuty, near Dünaburg, and was killed. For the young pilots of 14.(Jabo)/JG 5, Hptm. Strakeljahn was an important figure. According to one of these men;

"Hptm. Strakeljahn was like a father to us - he was a very good officer".

He was buried at Daugavpils in Latvia.

The personnel of II./JG 11 were on the move again when they were transferred from Mondesir to the airfield at Wunstorf and became a part of the 5 Jagddivision.

In 1943, the 21 year old Per Hiul. a fugitive from Denmark, was employed as an aircraft mechanic by the Luftwaffe at the aerodrome at Alborg, with the intentions of stealing an aircraft and fly it to England. Having had no flying training he learned how to fly by watching the procedures of the German pilots on the ground and when he was in the air with them. Hiul was stopped once after having started the engines of a plane but fortunately for him the Germans thought it was an accident and he continued working. Some months later he was moved to the airfield at Kastrup, north of Copenhagen. Here he made his second attempt of stealing an aircraft while working at the repair shops. On the morning of the 6 July 1944, while German mechanics were testing engines, he climbed into a Heinkel He 111 hoping that the noise from the engines would hide his intentions. With some difficulty he got the Heinkel started and taxied to the runway and took off, missing a building by only a few inches. This was the first time he ever flew a plane. In a few minutes he was over Sweden, but his troubles were not over. Swedish anti aircraft guns opened fire at him over Helsingborg. He tried to signal by tipping the wings but to no avail. The plane was hit and the steering controls damaged, causing it to pitch downward. He climbed back through the fuselage of the aircraft and that probably saved his life. Impacting in a corn field, the plane was totally destroyed and Hiul knocked unconscious. He woke up with fuel dripping down on his face, and having suffered no serious injuries, he hurried away from the wreck. Despite his protests he was hospitalised for eight days for observation. After having left the hospital he made contact with the Danish resistance, and for the reminder of the war, he ferried saboteurs and refugees across the sound between Denmark and Sweden. His escape was not without personal cost. His parents were arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned for three months before they were released. After the war Hiul worked as an interpreter for the British and American forces before he went into the merchant marines as an officer.

MEDITTERRANEAN: In Italy, the British Eighth Army (Leese) along with the Polish 3rd Division captured Osimo 20 miles south of Ancona. Fw. Leo Sliwa of 5./JG 77 was killed in a flying accident. He had eight victories.

The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 530+ B-17s and B-24s to attack the following targets:
- 125 bomb the oil storage facilities at Porto Marghera.
- 114 bomb the oil refinery at Trieste.
- 78 attack Aviano; 45 hit oil storage facilities and 33 bomb the airfield.
- 55 bomb the railroad bridge at Latisana
- 53 bomb the marshalling yard at Verona.
- 53 bomb the steel works at Bergamo.
- 52 bomb the railroad bridge at Carsarsa.
- 49 bomb the railroad viaduct at Aviso.
- 1 bombs the airfield at Vincenza.


EASTERN FRONT: The First Belorussian Front captures Kovel which is 70 miles east of Lublin.

Soviet artillery begins a massive barrage on the Finnish positions in morning. Despite this the infantry and tank attack formations are succesfully destroyed by Finnish counter-barrage. Artllery battle goes on for the whole day, until the Soviets are able to mount another attack in evening. They break succesfully through Finnish positions and are able to capture some ground around the strategically important PyšrŠkangas, but are pushed out by counterattacks by midnight. The Soviet attack commences at 6 pm. It's main aim is again PyšrŠkangas, where the defending I/IR 35 is forced back. Col. Y. Hanste alerted his reserves, and orders I/IR 12 to attack from west, Separate Battalion 16 from east and I/IR 35 from north. The Finnish counter-attack, supported by more than 13 artillery battalions, starts at midnight, and the lost positions at PyšrŠkangas are recaptured by 3 am. on 7 July.

NORTH AMERICA: While riding on a bus from Camp Hood, Killeen, Texas, Lieutenant Jackie Robinson of the U.S. Army, refuses to give up his seat to a white man. He is court martialed for refusing the order of a civilian bus driver to move to the back of the bus and is acquitted.

In Hartford, Connecticut, 169 people, including many children, are killed when a fire breaks out in the main tent of the Ringling Bros.and Barnum Bailey Circus.

UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that 2,754 flying bombs had been launched against Britain since 13 June, causing 2,752 fatalities.

 

[syscom3]

7 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: Jewish statesman Georges Mandel is executed at Fontainebleau, France, by the Milice on the orders of Vichy police chief, Darnand. Mandel is a former justice minister under Reynaud and anti-collaborationist.

US VIII, VII and XIX Corps are up against heavy opposition on a line from Haye du Puits to just east of the Vire River. Attacks by the US VII Army (Bradley) in the Carentan area were blunted by violent German counter-attacks. HMS 'Rodney' bombards German positions around Caen.

In France, 100+ Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders bomb a rail bridge near Tours, and targets of opportunity in the Lisieux and Beuzeville areas; 500+ fighters fly escort and area cover, carry out armed reconnaissance of communication and troop activity, and bomb railroads, rolling stock, marshalling yards, ammunition dumps, and bridges in frontline areas and wide areas of western France.

USAAF's Eighth Air Force Mission 459: Six B-17s drop leaflets in France and Belgium during the night.

475 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers based in Italy attack five targets in France: 233 bomb the U-boat base at Toulon; 4 aircraft are lost. 146 hit the marshalling yard at Montpellier. 89 attack the marshalling yard at Beziers; 1 aircraft is lost. 6 bomb the marshalling yard at Marseilles. 1 bombs the marshalling yard at Sete.

RAF Bomber Command mounted its first attack against German troop positions in support of the Allied forces in Normandy (Operation Charnwood). A total of 467 aircraft (283 Lancasters, 164 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitoes attacked German positions in front of the Canadian 1st and British 2nd Armies north of Caen. Intercepting the forces were elements of NJG 2, NJG 3, NJG 4, NJG 5, JG 301 and NJGr. 10.

Another RAF night-time mission as 208 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos, mainly from No 5 Group but with some Pathfinder aircraft, attacked a flying-bomb storage dump in a group of tunnels (formerly used for growing mushrooms) at St Leu d'Esserent. The bombing was accurate on the mouths of the tunnels and on the approach roads, blocking access to the flying bombs stored there. German night fighters intercepted the force and 29 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos were lost. No 106 Squadron lost 5 of its 16 Lancasters on the raid and No 630 Squadron lost its commanding officer, Wing Commander WI Deas, who was flying his 69th operation.

106 aircraft of Nos 1, 3, 5 and 9 No 3 Groups made a diversionary sweep almost to the coast of Holland, along with 7 Mosquitos of No 5 Group dropping 'spoof' markers in support of the St Leu d'Esserent raid, and 32 Mosquitos to Berlin. Two Mosquitos were lost from the Berlin raid and one aircraft was lost from a Resistance flight. During these missions, Fw. Manfred Gromoll from 3./JG 301 shot down two Lancasters in his Bf 109 G/U2.

MEDITERRANEAN: The US 34th Division liberate Pignano, Italy.

20 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bomber attack the industrial area at Dubnica.

97 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers based in Italy attack three targets in Yugoslavia: 53 attack the airfield at Zagreb. 43 bomb the marshalling yard at Zagreb. 1 hits the airfield at Banja Luka.

85 RAF Liberators of No. 205 Group bomb the marshalling yard at Verona, Italy.

UNITED KINGDOM: German submarine 'U-678' is sunk about 19 nm (36 km) SSW of Brighton, England, by RCN destroyers HMCS 'Ottawa' and 'Kootenay' and RN corvette HMS 'Statice'. All hands on the U-boat (52-men) are lost.

EASTERN FRONT: This morning a Soviet attack against the I/IR 35 at PyšrŠkangas is repulsed with the aid of artillery. The enemy stages another attempt at 3 pm. (a prisoner claimed that this attack was launched by a whole division), but is also repulsed. A few more Soviet attacks are prevented in the evening by Finnish artillery. Unsuccesful Finnish counterattacks to capture back the lost ground in the Finnish bridgehead. Finnish troops in northern Karelia (north of Lake Ladoga) get new orders to withdraw to defend the U-position. This is the position where the deciding battles in northern Karelia will be fought later in the month.

GERMANY: BLITZLUFTSCHLACHT von OSCHERSLEBEN: The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions. Mission 458: 1,129 bombers and 756 fighters are dispatched to attack synthetic oil plants, aircraft assembly plants and engine works, airfields and an equipment depot, marshalling yards railway station and railway repair shops in Germany; 37 bombers and six fighters are lost: Of 373 B-24s, 102 hit Lutzkendorf and 64 hit Halle oil plants, 90 hit Bernburg and 73 hit Aschersleben aircraft plants and eight hit targets of opportunity; they claim 39-5-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 28 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 224 P-38 Lightnings, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs; they claim 46-1-16 Luftwaffe aircraft; a P-38 and three P-51s are lost. Of 303 B-17s, 64 hit Bohlen and 51 hit Merseburg oil plants, 67 hit Kolleda and 32 hit Lutzkendorf Airfields, 22 hit targets of opportunity and 16 hit Gottingen marshalling yard; two B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 185 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 9-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 3-0-1 on the ground; a P-47 and a P-51 are lost. Of 453 B-17s, 114 hit Leipzig/Taucha, 79 hit Leipzig/Mockau, 35 hit Leipzig/Heiterblick and 15 hit Leipzig/Abtnaundorf oil plants, 46 hit Leipzig bearing industry, 35 hit Kolleda Airfield, 19 hit Leipzig Station and seven hit Nordhausen; seven B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 247 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 20-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground.

The Sturmgruppe employed a new tactic for the first time against the Allied bomber formations. The Luftwaffe reasoned that the escorting Allied fighters couldn't protect such a large formation, especially at the mid point of the bomber stream so a Gefechtsverband or battle formation, was conceived consisting of a Gruppe of Sturmbock Fw 190s protected by two Gruppen of Bf 109s modified with uprated engines and reduced armament, that would attack the bomber streams at different locations along their length. On this date they got their chance to test the theory. German units encountered by the USAAF fighter groups were Stab/JG 300 (Fw 190s), I./JG 300 (Bf 109s), II./JG 300 (Fw 190s), IV.(Sturm)/JG 3 (Fw 190s), I./ZG 26 (Me 410s), II./ZG 26 (Me 410s), III./JG 300 (Bf 109s), and II./JG 5 (Bf 109s), as many as 175 single engine and 125 twins in all, unleashed their attacks against the center of the column. Major Walter Dahl led his forces in behind a Group of Liberators without any interference from escorts. The Gefechtsverband attacked the middle section of the stream, a box of Liberators of the 492nd Bomb Group which, as luck would have it, were temporarily without fighter cover. The Sturmgruppe closed on the Low Squadron, as Hptm. Wilhelm Moritz split his force into its three component Sturmstaffeln and directed them against different parts of the enemy formation. From six o'clock the German fighters fell on the Group's low left squadron like a sledgehammer. Lt. Walther Hagenah was one of the German pilots who took part in the attack;

" My Staffel was in position about 1,000yd behind 'its' squadron of bombers. The Staffel leader ordered his aircraft into line abreast and, still in close formation, we advanced on the bombers. We were to advance like Frederick the Great's infantrymen, holding our fire until we could see 'the whites of the enemy's eyes'.''

In about a minute the Sturmbock pilots had shot down eleven B-24s, almost the entire squadron. Major Dahl commented on the battle,

". . . Hptm. Moritz's Sturmgruppe is off to my left and Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Peters and his II./JG 300, former night-fighters and flying instructors, old experienced pilots, are behind me. The Bf 109 escorts of Hptm. Stamp's first Gruppe JG 300 are top cover, 'Holz-auge' . . . The first flashes of fire appear from the bomber's gun turrets. Only seconds now before all hell breaks loose. With hands clasped around the control column and throttle I concentrate on the approaching bomber in my gun sight. With engines screaming we pile into the formation . . . Twice we were able to form up for a Sturm attack as Stamp's escorts continue to hold off the enemy fighters . . . flying back to Illesheim I know we have achieved a great success and we fly back over the field waggling our wings!"

The German press lauded this as a victory over the Allies. The success of the Sturmgruppe IV./JG 3 in downing a squadron of heavy bombers over Oschersleben was feted as a great air victory in the Nazi media. By the standards of the time the first Sturm assault in Gruppe strength had been a highly successful operation for the Luftwaffe. General Galland hurriedly visited Illesheim to assess the success of the days fighting. Awards were presented to the successful pilots. Moritz's men were mentioned the next day in the 'Wehrmachtsbericht'.

453 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers based in Italy attack five targets in Germany; the bombers and fighter escorts claim 50+ aircraft shot down during fierce battle with 275-300 fighters mainly in the Vienna-Budapest area: 162 bomb the I.G. Farben synthetic oil facility at Blechhammer South; 10 aircraft are lost. 122 bomb the I.G. Farben synthetic oil facility at Blechhammer North; 8 aircraft are lost. 106 bomb the Deschowitz synthetic oil facility at Odertel; 8 aircraft are lost. 62 bomb the I.G. Farben synthetic oil facility at Blechhammer North using radar; 1 aircraft is lost. 1 hits the city of Ober Gloglau.

 

[syscom3]

8 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: The British Second Army (Dempsey) began a major attack (Operation Epsom) to capture Caen. 2500 tons of bombs have been dropped by 450 RAF bombers as part of the preliminaries. US forces coordinate an attack to the west. The British enters the outskirts of Caen.

In France, about 280 Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders bomb V-weapon HQ at Chateau-de-Ribeaucourt, numerous strongpoints in the Caen battle area, rail bridges at Mantes-La-Jolie, Saumur, Nogent-le-Roi, and Caen and (late in evening) fuel dumps in Rennes and a bridge at Nantes; fighters escort the bombers and fly armed reconnaissance throughout wide areas of France, concentrating on the frontline area; targets hit include marshalling yards, bridges, ammunition and supply dumps, troop concentrations and tanks.

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions:
Mission 460: 1,029 bombers and 714 fighters, in four forces, are dispatched to hit bridges, tunnels, rail targets and NOBALL (V-weapon) sites in France; only 462 aircraft bomb due to bad weather; nine bombers and a fighter are lost: 1. Of 331 B-24s dispatched, 14 hit Schore Bridge, nine hit Welle Bridge, one hits Orsel Airfield and one hits a target of opportunity; escort is provided by 266 P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs; they claim 20-0-19 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; a P-51 is lost. 2. Of 304 B-17s dispatched, 61 hit Poix Airfield, 49 hit V-1 sites, 37 hit Etaples Bridge, 13 hit a road junction, 12 hit Abbeville Airfield and 11 hit Etaples choke point; four B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 36 P-47 Thunderbolts. 3. Of 130 B-24s dispatched, 71 hit V-1 sites, 13 hit St Vallery en Caux Airfield and 11 hit Abbeville railroad junction. 4. Of 264 B-17s dispatched, 21 hit Jaigle, 20 hit Barenton and ten hit Chandai rail junctions, 11 hit Nantes/Gassicourt Bridge, 11 hit Nantes railroad bridge, nine hit railroad tracks at Yvetot, 11 hit Nogent and six hit Rouen marshalling yards, 24 hit Conches and 11 hit St Andre de l'Eure Airfields and 25 hit targets of opportunity; five B-17s are lost. Forces 3 and 4 are escorted by 286 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground. 86 P-47s bomb St Andre de l'Eure Airfield without loss.

Mission 461: Four B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night. 17 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions.

A technical malfunction in one of the Fw 190s of JG 1 at Semalle removed it from combat, reducing the number of available Focke-Wulfs. Geschwader Bongart was asked to do something quickly about the enemy airfield at Vassieux-en-Vercors, 16 km north of Die. The Geschwader Bongart flew six sorties during the day.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet 1st Byelorussian Front (Rokossovsky) recaptured Baranovichi northwest of Brest-Litovsk. Hptm. Diethelm von Eichel-Streiber and his III./JG 51 were the next to leave Pinsk to Russian forces and transferred to Kowno.

This morning the Soviets attack again the Finnish positions at TŠhtelŠ, west of PyšrŠkangas and Ihantala, but are repulsed. A rested and refitted Soviet 286th Division tries to attack at Vakkila and Ihantala, but its attempts are prevented by Finnish artillery.

GERMANY: The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force attacks targets in the Vienna Austria area; 520+ B-17s and B-24s attack refineries at Vosendorf and Korneuburg, the airfield at Zwolfaxing, Markersdorf, and Munchendorf, and marshalling yard and oil storage at Vienna/Floridsdorf, and the airfield at Veszprem; fighters fly 200+ sorties in support of the bomber missions which are opposed by 100+ fighters; 14 US aircraft are lost; heavy bombers and fighters claim 50+ fighters shot down. Scrambled into the battle were II./JG 27 from Fels am Wagram and I./JG 300 from Herzogenaurah, both flying Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6s. Joining the Messerschmitts were the Hungarian JGr. 101 "Puma", whose pilots claimed one B-24 without loss, I./ZG 76 claiming one P-38 fighter, but the Zerstörer Gruppe lost thirteen men with two others wounded from a loss of nine aircraft, II./ZG 1 and by I./ JG 302.

Hitler ordered that production should cease of all aircraft that Germany could do without at this stage of the war. Along with the fuel shortage, this order eventually caused several Kampfgruppen to disband. Among the first bomber units ending their combat careers were KG 3 'Blitz' under Major Fritz Auffhammer and Major Wilhelm Stemmler's KG 77. Oblt. Erich von Selle's ZG 1 and Oblt. Robert Kowalewski's ZG 76 were also disbanded. The combat units were not the only groups to feel the pinch. Transportgeschwader 5 under Oberst Guido Neundlinger was disbanded as well.

Several single-engined fighter units were moved to help in the Defense of the Reich. The pilots and crew of I./JG 3 under Hptm. Ernst Laube moved from the airbase at Wunstorf to the airfield at Gütersloh while those of III./JG 3 led by Major Walther Dahl were transferred from Francheville to Feldflugplatz C south-east of Chartres. The Stab of JG 4 under Major Gerhard Schöpfel was transferred from Ansbach to Bad Lippspringe flying Fw 190As.

 

[syscom3]

9 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: 3rd Canadian and 1st British Division enter Caen and the Carpiquet Airfield.

Montgomery launched a massive air assault against Caen in hopes of clearing the way for an attack the following morning. Four hundred fifty heavy aircraft participated, dropping 2,500 tons of bombs, but the airmen negated most of the effect by releasing their loads well back from the forward line to avoid hitting their own troops. As a result, the city incurred heavy damage but German defenses went largely unscathed. In the two days of desperate fighting that followed, the Germans fought back viciously.

In France, of 250+ Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20 Havocs dispatched, bad weather prevails and about 60 bomb targets including a rail bridge, crossing, overpass and a highway bridge at Ablis, Orleans, Vendome, and Montfort-sur-Risle; fighters escort IX Bomber Command bombers, provide area cover over the battle area, and bomb and strafe gun positions, vehicles, rail cars, bridges, and tanks.

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies three missions:
Mission 462: during a morning mission 150 B-17s are dispatched to bomb bridges and airfields in France but cloud cover causes the bombers to hit targets of opportunity; 68 hit Chalonnes Bridge, 36 hit Chateaudun Airfield, 12 hit Bouchemaine Bridge, 12 hit Chalonnes highway bridge and 12 hit Le Creusot Bridge; one B-17 is lost. Escort is provided by 55 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs; a P-47 and a P-51 are lost.

Mission 463: 104 B-24s and 77 B-17s are dispatched to hit CROSSBOW (V-weapon) sites in France but encounters poor weather; Only 37 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites; 12 B-17s hit St Omber Longuenesse Airfield and three hit targets of opportunity; a B-24 is lost. Escort is provided by 158 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft. 90 P-38 Lightnings strafe the Moulin-Nevers-Tours area claiming 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; a P-38 is lost .

Mission 464: During the night, five B-17s drop leaflets in France. 37 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

MEDITTERRANEAN: The US 88th Division liberates Volterra, Italy. French units advance on Paggibonsi, Italy.

The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy flies its first Pathfinder-led mission to Rumania; 222 B-17s and B-24s bomb Xenia and Concordia Vega oil refineries at Ploesti. P-38s and P-51s fly escort while other P-51s sweep the Ploesti area during the attacks. But the depletion of fighter units from the area to Germany left only I./JG 53, 10./JG 301 and II./JG 51 and the night-fighting unit IV./NJG 6 to defend the oil fields along with a few Rumanian fighter units, a total of about fifty Bf 109s. The bombers and fighters claim destruction of 14 of the 40-50 opposing fighters; six USAAF aircraft are shot down.

EASTERN FRONT: A quiet day at Ihantala. Enemy artillery is still active today and tomorrow, but there are no more serious Soviet attempts to achieve a breakthrough. Border JŠger Battalion 2 and the 36th AT-gun Company are transferred to Vuosalmi (east of Ihantala at the sector of Lt. Gen. Hjalmar Siilasvuo's III Corps), where the Red Army is now trying to break the Finnish line after its failure at Ihantala.

This day is considered to be the last of the Battle of Tali-Ihantala. It has ended in a Finnish defensive victory. Tali-Ihantala was the most serious Soviet attempt to break the Finnish line, and the greatest battle in the Scandinavian military history. The VKT-line, the third and last Finnish line of defence, had budged but not broken. With German help, Finns were able to stop the Soviet offensive and save their independence.

After it in the early days of July became clear to the Soviet leadership that the Finnish line at Ihantala will hold, they changed their point of main effort in the Karelian Isthmus to Bay of Viipuri and Vuosalmi, where they also ultimately failed. At the same time Finns were also fighting a crucial battle in northern Karelia (north of Lake Ladoga). These battles would also merit postings as detailed as these had been, but Tali-Ihantala was the first, greatest and most important. It showed it was possible to stop the Red Army for good.

At Tali-Ihantala several factors favoured Finns. Soviet formations, while still receiving substantial reinforcements, were operating at the end of long lines of supply. On the other hand the Finnish lines of supply were relatively short, and the worst deficiencies in the equipment were being remedied. Germans had supplied Finns with amounts of the new infantry AT-weapons, Panzerfausts and Panzerschrecks, and Finns soon found out that these weapons were ideal for the Finnish terrain. (The first delivery of these weapons was received already in April 1944, but in one of those moments of utter stupidity some staff officer decided that secrecy was the prime consideration and these weapons were stored. Only very few men received training in these AT weapons before the Soviet offensive.) The relatively short range of these weapons was not a major drawback, because in the rugged Finnish terrain (especially so at Ihantala) the infantry could fight the tanks at very short ranges. Also the Finnish AA defences had been strengthened.

A major factor in the Finnish victory was the artillery. At the closing stages of the battle the Finnish Army had more than 20 artillery battalions present, and they were used to a devastating effect. Often the artillery alone was enough to disperse the enemy troops formed for an attack. Thanks to the pioneer work of General of Artillery Vilho Nenonen the Finnish artillery had one of the most efficient artillery fire-control systems of the day. It made possible for one forward observer to rapidly call the fire of several artillery battalions.

But the Soviet commanders were in a hurry. Viipuri had been captured on 20 June as planned, but after that the Soviet offensives had been repulsed. The main effort was made at Tali-Ihantala, but it soon became clear that the going was a lot tougher than expected. The commanders were lagging behind the timetable, and they were aware that if they aren't able to break the Finnish line, the point of main effort would be switched elsewhere. Consequently the Soviet attacks in the latter stages of the battle were hastily planned and ill-executed.

Finnish losses at Tali-Ihantala between 25 June and 9 July were 1101 KIA, 6264 WIA and 1096 MIA. Soviet losses in the same period are estimated at 5000 KIA and 14 000 WIA. Finns and Germans claimed almost 300 aircraft shot down during the battle.

Around this time the Soviet High Command Stavka decided to concentrate all the forces available against Germany. For the Soviet Union the war against Finland had always been a side-show, and now the drive to Berlin has far greater priority. Forcing Finland to surrender had proved far more difficult that had been estimated, and finally Stalin concluded it's not worth the cost. Although the Red Army will occasionally probe the Finnish defences (in mid-August 1944 two Soviet divisions were encircled and destroyed near Ilomantsi, northern Karelia, when they were trying to flank Finnish defences), there will be no more large-scale operations against Finland.

The demand for an unconditional surrender was quietly dropped. A peace will be negotiated.

GERMANY: The Kommodore of JG 300 and with III./JG 3, Major Walter Dahl received a phone call from Reichsmarschall Göring to congratulate him on his success over Oschersleben. Göring told him;

"I'm proud of you Dahl, you and your men have shown that the Luftwaffe is still a force. . . Dahl, I'm giving you the order to move your Geschwader as quickly as possible! I don't care how you do it but I want you south of the Donau before the Americans can hit back . . ."

By the next morning the Sturmgruppe began transferring to the airfield at Memmingen with the escorting wings or Begleitgruppen moving also. I./JG 300 along with 2./JG 51 under Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Gerhard Stamp moved to Bad Wörishofen and II./JG 300 under Hptm. Erhard Peters began transferring to Holzkirchen.

UNITED KINGDOM: Heinkel He 111s of III./KG 3, led by Major Martin Vetter, began air-launching the V-1 flying bombs over England for the first time. The weapons were launched at night by the specially modified Heinkel He111 aircraft, operated initially by the third Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 3 (KG 3) and subsequently by Kampfgeschwader 53 (KG 53).The bombers flew at about 300 feet to avoid British coastal radar then, nearing the launch point, climbed to 1,700 feet at 200 mph. Once the flame-spitting bomb was launched the bomb crews conducted a high speed turn to put as much distance as they could from the now highly visible weapon. Air-launched V1 attacks continued until KG 53 ceased operations due to fuel shortages on 14 January 1945.

 

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10 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: British VIII Corps begins an attack toward Evrecy, France. Units of the British Second Army entered Caen which has been reduced to a heap of rubble due to the preceding heavy aerial and artillery bombardments by the Allies.

In France, USAAF Ninth Air Force fighters bomb and strafe gun positions, bridges, a rail overpass, infantry concentrations, and highway junctions, and cover the battle area.

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 465: Six B-17s drop leaflets in France and the Netherlands during the night while 12 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

The crew of II./JG 1 had completed its training and were ready to fly combat operations. Leaders of the Gruppe were Oblt von Kirchmayr as Gruppenkommandeur, Lt. Voight, Staffelkapitän of 4 Staffel, Lt. Fritz Wegner Staffelkapitän of 5 Staffel, Ofw. Reinhard Flecks Staffelkapitän of 6 Staffel and FhjFw. Günther Heckmann Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 51.

EASTERN FRONT: Hitler refuses Model's (Heeresgruppe Nord) request to position Heeresgruppe Mitte behind the Dvina. The Red Army began three major offensives into the Baltic States: the 2nd Byelorussian Front moved northwest from Vitebsk, the 3rd Byelorussian Front attacked west from Psovsk, and the Leningrad Front drove southwest toward Narva.

 

[syscom3]

11 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: The US 9th Division holds against a counterattack by Panzerlehr Division, sw of St jean de Daye. The British supported by heavy naval gunfire capture Hill 112, sw of Caen.

The first combat missions of the re-equipped II./JG 1 ended in one Fw 190 lost in combat and two more Focke-Wulfs destroyed due to technical malfunctions. JG 3 lost several pilots when Uffz. Gerhard Pankalla of 7./JG 3 was shot down and killed. He had five aerial victories. Lt. Dieter Zink of 9./JG 3 was also shot down but survived and was made a prisoner of war. He ended his combat career with twelve victories. Meanwhile the Stab of JG 3 again moved to new positions at Dreux from the airfield at St. Andre.

Geschwader Bongart aircraft flew forty-five sorties, undertaking weather, defensive and armed reconnaissance, as well as attacks on the Resistance.

EASTERN FRONT: Finnish counter-attacks at Vuosalmi, fail to destroy the Soviet bridgehead on the northern shore of the River Vuoksi. Finns retreat slightly and regroup for defence. From this day on there are attack and counter-attacks, but the Soviet forces are unable to widen their bridgehead. Fighting goes on until the middle of July, and then stagnates into positional warfare.

Stavka orders the Leningrad Front to cease offensive operations on Karelian Isthmus. The strategic aims of the operation (ultimately the occupation of South Finland and forcing an unconditional surrender) has not been reached, and the drive to Berlin has much greater priority. First hints of this are given by Finnish radio-intelligence, and is later confirmed by patrols operating behind the enemy lines who observe trains loaded with tanks and other equipment, going back to east.

The Red Army captured the remnants of the encircled 4.Armee (35.000 men).

Fw. Bernhard Johannes, a seventeen victory Experte with 1./SG 10 was killed in action. The crews of IV./JG 51 were again moved, leaving the airfield at Dubno and arriving at the airbase at Lublin.

GERMANY: The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions.
Mission 466: 1,176 bombers and 795 fighters in three groups attack targets in Germany; 20 bombers and four fighters are lost: 1. 371 B-17s hit the Munich marshalling yard, Passing electrical station and a tire factory and three hit targets of opportunity; a B-17 is lost. Escort is provide by 209 P-38s, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs without loss. 2. Of 340 B-17s, 183 hit the BMW factory at Munich and 106 hit the Munich marshalling yard; three B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 166 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; a P-51 is lost. 3. Of 435 B-24s, 291 hit Munich, 55 hit Munich/Riem Airfield, 29 hit Augsburg, eight hit Eppingen and one hits a bridge on the Autobahn; 16 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 324 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; a P-47 and two P-51s are lost.

Mission 467: During the night, six B-17s drop leaflets on France. Twenty nine B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

In France, Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders strike fuel dumps at Foret d'Andaine, Chateau-de-Tertu, Flers, and Foret d'Ecouves; NOBALL (V-weapon) sites at Chateau d'Helicourt and Chateau d'Ansenne; and a rail bridge at Bourth; fighters escort the bombers, patrol the battle area, and attack trains, gun positions, ammunition dumps, and other targets in the areas around Lessay, Periers, Saint-Lo, Lonrai, Tours and Folligny.

MEDITERRANEAN: Bad weather curtails the bomber effort by the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy; the only target attacked is the harbor at Toulon, France, where 87 B-24s hit jetties, oil stores, a nearby telegraph cable factory, barracks, repair shops, an adjoining marshalling yard, and submarines in drydock.

NORTH AMERICA: US President Roosevelt says:

"If the people command me to continue in office ... I have as little right as a soldier to leave his position in the line."

 

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12 JULY 1944

EASTERN FRONT: Idritsa falls to Yeremenko's troops on the Eastern Front.

Uffz. Helmut Bauhuber of 9./JG 51 was killed in combat. He had thirteen victories.

The Soviet Union informs the Swedes that it is willing to discuss peace with Finland.

WESTERN FRONT: Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., son of President Theodore Roosevelt and Assistant Division Commander, 4th Infantry Division, dies of a heart attack in Normandy, France. He was 56. Roosevelt was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Normandy on 6 June 1944. The citation for the medal reads,

"Citation: for gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, in France. After two verbal requests to accompany the leading assault elements in the Normandy invasion had been denied, Brigadier General Roosevelt's written request for this mission was approved and he landed with the first wave of the forces assaulting the enemy-held beaches. He repeatedly led groups from the beach, over the seawall and established them inland. His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete unconcern at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Although the enemy had the beach under constant direct fire, Brigadier General Roosevelt moved from one locality to another, rallying men around him, directed and personally led them against the enemy. Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strong points and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties. He thus contributed substantially to the successful establishment of the beachhead in France."

The medal was posthumously awarded on 28 September 1944. Roosevelt was not assigned as the assistant division commander of the 4th Infantry Division. This, despite the long held belief that he was. An examination of First Army records of the time reveal that he was assigned to First Army. There were two brigadier generals assigned to the 4th, one as Division Artillery commander and the other as assistant division commander.

The US forces are just 2 miles from St. Lo in France. The US First Army (Bradley) advancing south from the Carentan area toward St. Lo was slowly gaining ground against fierce resistance by the German 7.Armee (Dollmann).

In France, 300+ USAAF Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders fly morning and afternoon missions against fuel dumps at Foret d'Andaine and Foret d'Ecouves, military concentrations at Foret de Cinglais, rail bridges at Merey, Cinq Mars-la-Pile, Saumur, Nantes, and Nogent-le-Roi, and other rail and road targets; fighters furnish escort, cover the battle area, and fly armed reconnaissance over wide areas, attacking rail lines south and west of Rambouillet, bridges and fuel dump in the Nantes vicinity, trains and military transport at Vitry-le-Francois, and grounded aircraft south of Chateaubriant, bridges at Craon, Le Mans, Pontorson, Mayenne, south of Rennes, north of Angers, and Tours, rail traffic south of Fougeres, and infantry and artillery positions near Periers.

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies three missions.
Mission 468: 131 B-24s, escorted by 144 Royal Air Force Spitfires, are dispatched to bomb ten CROSSBOW (V-weapon) sites in the Rouen, France, area but abort because of a thick blanket of low cloud over the target area.

Mission 469: 1,271 bombers and 803 fighters are dispatched to bomb Munich, Germany; 1,124 bombers bomb the city of Munich, 16 hit Enstingen and ten hit targets of opportunity; 24 bombers are lost. Escort is provided by 717 P-38 Lightnings, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs.

Mission 470: During the night, six B-17s drop leaflets in France.

The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 420+ B-24s to attack targets in southeastern France, scoring numerous hits on Nimes and Miramas marshalling yards and cutting rail lines at the Theoule-sur- Mer bridge and Var River bridge in Provence; around 50 enemy fighters oppose the missions; the bombers and escorting fighters claim 14 shot down; seven USAAF aircraft are lost.

Hptm. Otto Meyer of IV./JG 27 was listed as missing in action. He had twenty-one kills. His place as Gruppenkommandeur was taken by Hptm. Hanns-Heinz Dudeck.

Twenty-eight aircraft of Geschwader Bongart flew weather and defensive reconnaissance. Four aircraft from II./KG 100 also flew against the resistance. Geschwader Bongart flew a total of 35 sorties.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation MALLORY MAJOR is conducted by Twelfth Air Force North American B-25 Mitchells and Martin B-26 Marauders against bridges spanning the Po River in Italy. The bridges were attacked on 12, 13, 14 and 15 July and was deemed a success and terminated on the 15th.

The night-fighting unit IV./NJG 6 has a new Gruppenkommandeur, when Major Gerhard Friedrich replaced Hptm. Karl Hadeball, who was transferred to another night-fighting unit on 7 July.

UNITED KINGDOM: In the U.K.: Two Gloster Meteor Mk. I jet fighters are delivered to the RAF's No. 616 Squadron at Culmhead, Somersetshire, England. By the end of August, the squadron has transitioned from Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk. VIIs to Meteors becoming the first operational Allied jet fighters squadron.

GERMANY: Because of the success of the Oschersleben battle, II (Sturm)./JG 4, a new 'Sturmbock' Gruppe was formed, commanded by Major Günther von Kornatzki, known as the father of the Sturmgruppe idea. Many pilots from von Kornatzki's old Sturmstaffel 1 who had not joined IV(Sturm)./JG 3, volunteered for the new Sturmgruppe including Oblt. Othmar Zehart, Lt. Rudolf Metz, and Lt. Werner Peinemann. Other pilots were taken from the Ju 88 Gruppe with ZG 1 and were hastily retrained on the Fw 190 Sturmbock. Formed at Salzwedel from I./ZG 1, other members of the Gruppe included Uffz. Erich Keller, Ofhr. Franz Schaar, Uffz. Günther Jung, Uffz. Siegfried Zuber, Oblt. Hans-Martin Markhoff, Uffz. Kurt Scherer and Uffz. Herbert Chlond. Another Gruppe added to JG 4, the III Gruppe led by Hptm. Friedrich Eberle, was formed using units from III./ZG 1 and Ergänzungsstaffel / ZG 1. The unit was based at Rotenburg flying Bf 109Gs.

The other existing Sturmgruppe, IV (Sturm)./JG 3 along with the escort Messerschmitts of JG 300, moved to their new airbase at Memmingen and began operations. The airfield was home to I./ZG 101 and was also used by the Messerschmitt company to test fly the Me 210 and Me 410 Zerstörer aircraft on its concrete runway.

 

[syscom3]

13 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: The US offensive toward St. Lo has ground to a halt. Plans for operation Cobra are being formed.

In France, bad weather prevents Ninth Air Force bomber operations and restricts the fighters; fighters fly armed reconnaissance in the Sens-Montargis area, hitting rail and highway traffic, warehouses, barracks, and armored cars and tanks; rail lines and bridges are hit in the Saint-Florentin- Dreux-Evreux- Chartres- Mamers-Gassicour t areas; IX Tactical Air Command fighters furnish area cover, bomb troop concentrations, vehicles, and gun positions in the Lessay-Coutances area, and attack rail traffic west of Angers, a landing field west of Alencon, a marshalling yard at Vendome, and a bridge at Tours.

MEDITERRANEAN: The French Corps is attacking 20 miles south of Florence, Italy.

The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 581 bombers to attack targets in northeastern Italy; B-17s hit marshalling yards at Mestre and railroad bridges at Latisana, Pinzano al Tagliamento and Venzone; B-24s bomb marshalling yards at Brescia, Mantova and Verona, and oil storage at Porto Marghera and Trieste; P-38s and P-51s fly escort; other P-51s carry out a sweep over the Po River Valley.

EASTERN FRONT: In the East, the Red Army recaptured Vilna in Lithuania, and continued its advance into eastern Galicia. The retreat before the Russian advance continued for Luftwaffe units when II./JG 11 was forced to give up its new airfields at Karmelawa and moved to airfields at Zamocz-Mokre and eventually to Deblin-Irena and finally by the end of the month settled at Radom. Although the Gruppe was moving across the battlefront, two Staffeln, the 10./JG 11 and 11./JG 11 were redesignated as part of the Geschwader known as Kommando Skagerrak. The Focke-Wulfs of 10./JG 11 were led by Hptm. Erich Viebahn and were based at Lonrai for the month of July. The 11./JG 11 under Oblt. Herbert Christmann was based at Lister flying Bf 109Ts with a detachment stationed at Kjevik. The unit was recently disbanded from flying night-fighter duties under Staffelkapitän Oblt. Rolf Jacobs and based at Aalborg in the north. Both Staffeln became subordinated to 5 Jagddivision.

UNITED KINGDOM: The last of the LST carrying the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division from Normandy put into Southampton. In the Normandy campaign just passed the division had taken 4,670 casualties. Among the six divisions of VII Corps this was exceeded only by the casualties taken by 4th Infantry Division. On August 17, 1942 when he assumed command of the 101st, Major General William C. Lee told the soldiers of the division that;

"The 101st . . . has no history but it has a rendezvous with destiny."

The soldiers of the 101st had kept faith with General Lee and had met their first rendezvous.

Early in the morning, ten V-1 flying bombs were launched on London but six of the bombs suffered failures that caused them to fall harmlessly into the sea short of the English coast.

The Luftwaffe night-fighter force suffered a serious setback. During the night of 12 / 13 July the crew of "4R+UR", a Ju 88G-1 of 7./NJG 2 became hopelessly lost. Uffz. Hans Mackle had been looking for RAF mine laying Stirlings and suffered a compass failure. Eventually he homed in on a radio beacon which seemed to be in the right direction. At 04.25 hours the Junkers made a wheels-down landing on the Woodbridge emergency landing strip. The pilot was completely lost and had apparently been flying on a reciprocal course to that intended. When he sighted Woodbridge, he believed himself to be near Berlin, and being very nearly out of petrol he decided to land immediately. He had, in fact, so little fuel and oil, that it was impossible, subsequently, to obtain any samples for analysis. He brought the vital and previously unknown SN-2 radar and FuG 227 Flensburg to RAF Woodbridge, Suffolk, England along with the FuG 220, FuG 16 zY, FuG 10P short-range R/T and long-range W/T and FuB1 2F blind-approach. Because of this, the Allies were able to develop defensive measures against the radar units, including removing the 'Monica' units from their Lancaster bombers and to modify 'Window' to jam the Lichtenstein SN-2. The night-fighter force never really was able to overcome this setback.

GERMANY: The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 471: 1,043 bombers and 609 fighters in three forces are dispatched to bomb targets in Germany; ten bombers and five fighters are lost: 1. Of 399 B-17s, 356 bomb Munich, six bomb the railroad at Munich and three hit targets of opportunity; four B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 292 P-38 Lightnings, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs; they claim 2-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; a P-38 and a P-47 are lost. 2. Of 278 B-17s, 139 bomb Munich, 100 hit an aircraft engine plant at Munich and three hit targets of opportunity; they claim 11-4-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; five B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 170 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; a P-51 is lost. 3. Of 366 B-24s, 298 hit Saarbrucken marshalling yards and three hit targets of opportunity; a B-24 is lost. Escort is provided by 81 P-51s; a P-51 is lost.

The Sturmbocks of IV (Sturm)./JG 3 flew their first mission from their new airfield at Memmingen. Flying against USAAF 8th AF with escorting Gruppen of JG 300, the Sturmgruppe had some success against the four-engined bombers.

Twenty eight B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

NORTH AMERICA: The 21-minute U.S. Army documentary "Liberation of Rome" is released in the U.S. This short film depicts the successful Allied advance into Rome, freeing it from German control during World War II.

 

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14 JULY 1944

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet ambassador to Sweden, Alexandra Kollontay (who already played an important role in the negotiations that ended the Winter War in 1940) lets it to be known that Soviet Union is still prepared to discuss peace with Finland. Thus Soviets no longer demand unconditional surrender.

The Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front (Konev) began a new offensive in the south. The forces of the 1st Byelorussian Front captured Pinsk.

Losses continued for Eastern front pilots. Hptm. Edwin Thiel, a Ritterkreuz holder with JG 51 was killed in combat. Hptm. Thiel was one of the more successful Experten of JG 51 with seventy-six victories but Oblt. Rudolf Trenkel of 2./JG 52 claimed his 100th victory.

UNITED KINGDOM: In England, with the conversion of the 55th Fighter Group from P-38 Lightnings to P-51 Mustangs, the USAAF's Eighth Air Force acquires a majority of P-51 groups to provide longer-range high-altitude escort for the heavy bombers. Conversion to P-51s will continue until by the end of the year every group except one will be equipped with them.

The night of 13-14 July 1943, FL/Lt Bunting, RAF No.85 Squadron flying a Mosquito XII on a night interception patrol shot down a Me 410 from V./KG 2. The aircraft turned over on its back and dived vertically into the sea. It was the first Me 410 to be destroyed over Britain.

WESTERN FRONT: Two USAAF's Eighth Air Force missions are flown to France:
Mission 472: In a morning mission 319 B-17s drop 3,700 containers of supplies to French interior forces in southern France; they claim 5-2-2 Luftwaffe aircraft. Escort is provided by 465 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51s; they claim 4-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft. Again flying with the JG 300 escorting Messerschmitts, the fighters of IV (Sturm)./JG 3 intercepted formations of bombers from the USAAF 8th AF.

Mission 473: During the evening 131 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields; 54 hit Montdidier Airfield and 39 hit Peronne Airfield; 40 other B-24s fail to bomb because of failure of blind-bombing equipment. Escort is provided by 79 P-38s and P-51s.

Ninety four P-38s fly fighter-bomber missions against rail targets east and southeast of Paris; they claim 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; a P-38 is lost.

In France, weather again curtails operations by the USAAF's Ninth Air Force; 62 B-26s and A-20 Havocs, using Oboe, bomb a railway embankment at Bourth and rail bridge at Merey; fighters provide escort and fly armed reconnaissance over widespread areas of northwestern France, attacking bridges, trains, rail lines, and military transport targets; 85 enemy fighters give battle near Brezolles and Alencon; six fighters are claimed by US fighters, against five U.S. aircraft; the IX Tactical Air Command strafes and bombs defended positions ahead of the US First Army; and fighters cut rail lines in the L'Aigle-Alencon area, bomb troop concentrations near Periers, and marshalling yards at Chateaudun and Aube-sur-Rile.

Over the Normandy front, Major Karl Borris flew his first mission with I./JG 26 since returning to the Geschwader. On a sweep over Paris Major Borris and I Gruppe bounced two Squadrons of P-47 Thunderbolts from the USAAF 358 FG. Five Thunderbolts were shot down for a loss of only one Fw 190 whose pilot bailed out and returned to base on the ground.

Over Caen JG 1 and JG 5 encountered Mustangs and Spitfires. The Mustangs belonged to the 67th Recon. group and was one of a pair. Lt. Steve Canner and Cpt Rusten were on the way back from a route reconnaissance of the Mortagne area when they were jumped from above by over fifty Fw 190s. The section immediately took evasive action in an attempt to lose the 190s, but Lt. Canner's P-51 was hit repeatedly by 20 mm fire and went down. JG 1 claimed three P-51s and two Spitfires, while I./JG 5 claimed two Spitfires. Obstlt. Herbert Ihlefeld of Stab./JG 1 claimed a Spitfires and a Mustang while Hptm. Alfred Grislawski of 8./JG 1 reached 127 kills with a Mustang shot down near Falaise. Others claiming kills were Fw. Kutzera from 9./JG 1, Uffz. Schröder of 2./JG 5 and Ofw. Leo-Lothar Barann of 7./JG 1.

MEDITERRANEAN: The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 430+ B-17s and B-24s to attack four oil refineries at Budapest and Petfurdo, Hungary and the marshalling yard at Mantua, Italy; P-51s and P-38s provide escort; P-51s fly an uneventful sweep of the Budapest area; and in Italy, P-38s strafe trains north of La Spezia and dive-bomb Ghedi Airfield.

The 14th FG engaged eight German and two Hungarian fighters and lost five P-38s. From the German side, I./JG 302, II./JG 27, II./ZG 1 and III./ZG 26 claimed the planes. 4./ZG 1 lost one Bf 110, which was shot down by the Lightnings over Hungary. One crewmember, Uffz. Franz Friess was killed and one wounded.

GERMANY: The jet bombers of the new re-formed 3./KG 51 suffered its first Me 262 fatality when Stabsfeldwebel Moosbacher crashed during a practice bombing run over the waters of the Ammersee.

 

[syscom3]

15 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: American forces had reached the outskirts of St. Lo, but the garrison holding the town refused to yield. In a battle that inflicted carnage reminiscent of World War I, the Germans gave ground only gradually, house by house. Elements of the US 1st Army reach the outskirts of Lessay. From here to the Taute River, the advance was halted for regrouping.

In an unusual tactic, the RAF sent Lancaster night bombers in a daylight raid to bomb targets at Nevers south of Paris. After dealing with Luftwaffe fighters and making the target, the Lancasters were bounced by fighters of III./JG 26 on the return flight. Five RAF Lancasters were shot down including a victory for Uffz. Heinz Gehrke of 11./JG 26.

A new weapon was introduced to I./JG 26. The 21cm rocket mortar shells used in 1943 were now mounted under the wings of the Gruppe's Focke-Wulfs and were to be used to break up the heavy Allied bomber formations and against armour on the Normandy front. Most of the pilots disliked the rockets and the heavy tubes because they reduced the performance of their warplanes.

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions.
Mission 474: 169 P-38 Lightnings and P-47 Thunderbolts make fighter-bomber attacks on enemy transport southeast of Paris; two P-38s and a P-47s are lost.

Mission 475: Six B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.

Twenty seven B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to France during the night.

In France, weather cancels most operations by the USAAF's Ninth Air Force but 4 B-26 Marauders (92 others abort) hit the L'Aigle rail bridge during the afternoon; three fighter-bombers fly an uneventful sweep; and fighters of the IX Tactical Air Command fly area cover and bomb infantry, artillery, a marshalling yard, railroad, and a bridge in the Saint-Lo, Argentan, and Falaise areas.

X. Fliegerkorps provided two anti-partisan sorties. Geschwader Bongart flew patrols and dropped bombs on the Resistance in the Vassieux-en-Vercors – La Chapelle-en-Vercors area, flying twelve sorties.

Lt. Otto Bach of 5./JG 1 was appointed Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 1. Fritz Wegner, another JG1 pilot, remembers the day he was assigned to 5./JG 1 as a fresh recruit;

"I was nominated as wingman to Oberfeldwebel Otto Bach. He came straight to the point: being a green pilot, I only had one thing to do - remain glued to him. 'You get on my wing and stay there.' It wasn't always very easy, but both our lives depended on it. So we would go through the masses of Viermots. I, thinking we would fall to the bursts of steel, he showing me not only the way to attack, but also the way to survive."

Thanks in part to Bach's willingness to mentor his young comrade, Wegner would survive the war.

MEDITTERRANEAN: The British 8th Army begins an attack on Arezzo, Italy with 2 divisions. To the west, the US 5th Army advanced toward Leghorn. The French Expeditionary Corps captured Castellina.

In Rumania, 600+ USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s based in Italy bomb four oil refineries in the Ploesti area and the Teleajenul pumping station; P-51s and P-38s fly 300+ escort sorties. The Luftwaffe units in the area tried to stem the bomber formations but were only able to fly a total of fifty sorties during this raid and the previous one on 9 July.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet Second Baltic Front captures Opochka which is 30 miles north of Idritsa. Other Russian forces advance west and southwest of Vilna.

The crews of III./JG 51 under Hptm. Diethelm von Eichel-Streiber left their airfield at Kowno and flew to a new airbase at Cuniow. The Gruppe was soon joined by the personnel of IV./JG 51 under Major Heinz Lange who left the airfield at Lublin and flew their Messerschmitts to Cuniow. Lt. Franz Trowal of 8./JG 77 was shot down and killed. He had six aerial victories.

Soviet forces try to breack the Finnish U-line in Northern Karelia. Heaviest fighting is around Nietjervi, where Finnish 5th Div and 15th Brigade start counter-attack in afternoon. The battle rages for two days, until on 17 July Finns are able to recover all lost positions.

 

[syscom3]

16 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: Forces of US 1st Army continued attacking near St. Lo. Elements of British 2nd Army advanced toward Hottot-les-Bagues and Evrecy.

In France, about 375 USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20 Havocs, during morning and evening operations, bomb strongpoints in the Saint-Lo area, bridges in the frontline area, and bridges and a fuel dump southeast of Rennes. Fighters escort the bombers and fly armed reconnaissance over the frontlines in the Chateaudun-Orleans- Tours areas.

USAAF's Eighth Air Force Mission 477: Five B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.

Twenty four B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

Lt. Karl-Heinz Elsner of Stab III./JG 2 went missing in action. He had five victories. And Obfhr. Erhard Nolting of Stab IV[Stürm]./JG 3 was shot down and injured but later died of his wounds on this date. He had seven victories with JG 3. But the 'Udet' Geschwader's most serious loss was Lt. Friedrich Wachowiak when he was shot down and killed. Lt. Wachowiak was a Ritterkreuz holder with 120 aerial victories.

UNITED KINGDOM: The London Polish government publishes a paper claiming territory in East Prussia, Danzig and the Polish Corridor for postwar Poland.

Another Me 410 from V./KG 2 was shot down by RAF No.85 Squadron.

MEDITERRANEAN: Arezzo, Italy falls to the British 8th Army. Elements of the British 13th Corps crossed the Arno River as the German forces fell back. Allied forces were making only slow progress against German positions of the Gothic Line south of the Arno river.

EASTERN FRONT: Southwest of Vilna, the Soviet 1st and 3rd Byelorussian Fronts converged to capture Grodno. To the south, the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced toward Lvov on a 300-mile frontage. The Russian advance forced the Eastern front Luftwaffe units to retreat again. The Stab of JG 51 left the I Gruppe at Krzewica and transferred to a new airbase at Lemberg. JG 51 lost another pilot when Oblt. Heinz Venth of 10./JG 51 was shot down and killed having achieved seventeen victories, all with the Eastern Front Geschwader.

GERMANY: The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions.
Mission 476: 1,087 bombers and 712 fighters are dispatched to hit targets in Germany; eleven bombers and three fighters are lost: 1. Of 407 B-17 Flying Fortresses dispatched, 213 hit an aircraft engine plant at Munich, 54 hit Augsburg, 52 hit Stuttgart and 50 hit two targets of opportunity; they claim 2-3-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; ten B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 240 P-38 Lightnings, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs; a P-51 is lost. 2. Of 238 B-17s dispatched, 206 hit Stuttgart and two hit a target of opportunity; a B-17 is lost. Escort is provided by 214 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; a P-51 is lost. 3. 407 B-24s hit the marshalling yards at Saarbrucken. Escort is provided by 169 P-38s and P-47s; a P-38 is lost.

In Austria, around 380 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers based in Italy attack oil and aircraft targets in the Vienna area, bombing Munchendorf Airfield, Winterhafen oil depot, Vienna marshalling yard, and the Wiener Neudorf engine factory; P-51s and P-38s fly 150+ sorties in escort while 132 other P-51s sweep the Vienna area; 100+ Luftwaffe fighters oppose the raids. Ten USAAF aircraft are lost and several others are missing; USAAF claims of fighters shot down total 30+.

 

[syscom3]

17 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: Feldmarschal Erwin Rommel, after visiting the battlefield at Bourgebus Ridge, is severely wounded by a strafing attack. Feldmarschal Kluge assumes Rommel's duties. Rommel's party leaves Dietrich's headquarters at 4:00 p.m. for his Chateau headquarters at La Roche Guyon, France. In his Horsch automobile are Cpl. Daniel, Rommel's long-time driver, Major Neuhaus, Obergefreiter Holke, an air lookout, and Capt. Lang, Rommel's aide. Nearing Livarot from the west, they turn south-southeast, towards Vimoutiers, instead of continuing on through the town. Cpl. Daniel's left arm and shoulder are shattered by a 20mm cannon shell. He looses control of the Horch and it skids across the road, hitting a tree stump, and turns over in a ditch. Rommel, hit in the face by glass and shrapnel, was thrown from the Horch, landing on the road. He hit his head, some 20 yards behind where the car stopped. Neuhaus was hit on his revolver holster and the impact broke his pelvis. It is 45 minutes before Rommel gets some aid. He was initially taken back to Livarot, where he was treated for his wounds. Rommel and Daniel were moved to a Luftwaffe military hospital (Luftwaffenmnortlaz asrett) in Bernay, 25 miles away. Cpl. Daniel was given a blood transfusion, but later slipped into a coma and died that night from his wounds. The aircraft involved was an RAF Spitfire sortie of two aircraft. This sortie was led by SL J.J. "Chris" Le Roux, a South African ace with 23 aircraft kills recently deployed to Normandy from the Med theatre. SL "Chris" Le Roux himself went missing over the English Channel a few weeks later, and probably never knew he had taken Rommel out of action.

Forces of the US 1st Army penetrated into the town of St. Lo.

In France, with operations limited by weather, 69 Ninth Air Force B-26s hit fuel dumps at Rennes while 37 A-20 Havocs strike fuel dumps at Bruz and a marshalling yard at Dol-de-Bretagne; fighters escort transports, fly area cover, attack fuel dumps and landing field at Angers, dive-bomb defenses at Coutances in support of the US First Army, attack Nevers marshalling yard, and hit troop concentrations in support of the First Army assault in the Saint-Lo area.

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies three missions.
Mission 478: In the morning 670 bombers and 472 fighters are dispatched to hit tactical targets in France; one bomber and a fighter are lost. Escort for the two groups is 433 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; a P-47 is lost; elements of four fighter groups afterwards strafe ground targets, claiming 23 locomotives, 18 trucks, and 55 train cars destroyed. 1. Of 331 B-17s dispatched, 37 hit Joigny la Roche, 36 hit Jussy, 35 hit Auxerre, 35 hit Peronne, 33 hit Ham-sur-Somme, 32 hit Anizy-le-Chateau, 25 hit Frevent, 12 hit Tergnier and 11 hit Eu Bridges; 12 hit Doullens road junction, 12 hit Hesdin fuel dump, 12 hit Frevent railroad and road junction, 11 hit Laon marshalling yard and 15 hit targets of opportunity; a B-17 is lost. 2. Of 339 B-24s dispatched, 58 hit Rilly la Montagne dump, 52 hit Belfort marshalling yard; 36 hit Gien, 34 hit Coulanges, 34 hit Neuvy-sur-Loire, 32 hit Sully, 30 hit Nanteuil and 10 hit Le Soulons Bridges; 11 hit St Dizier Airfield and five hit targets of opportunity.

Mission 479: During the evening 34 B-17s and 106 B-24s attack 12 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area. Escort is provided by 209 P-51s.

Mission 480: Five B-17s drop leaflets in France and the Netherlands during the night.

Sixteen B-24s participate in CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 162 B-24s to attack targets in France, i.e., a marshalling yard and railroad bridges at Avignon and railroad bridges at Arles and Tarascon; P-51s and P-38s provide escort.

Personal Memory: Today is to be my first mission as pilot in Command and I am tutoring a new crew on their first mission It will be my 25th mission during which I flew 23 missions as Beiser's copilot and one mission as tail gunner on the lead plane. Today we will bomb a railroad bridge at St. Quentin, France and 1st Lt. H. C. Clark was to be my first "student." My main job was to brief them on what to expect and to learn how to get into formation etc. Nearly always at 'bombs away' a crew member would shout in the intercom,

'They're shooting rockets at us!

' No,' I would explain, 'those are the sky markers from the lead plane to let us know where the target is.'

At Molesworth each B-17 was loaded with two, 2000 pound bombs which we carried on the belly. We were flying a "New" B-17 with the tail number, 43-666 and naturally named "Full House" from that tail number. We were supposed to drop 72 bombs on the bridge but one of mine did not release because of a rack switch snafu, so we had no choice but to bring it home. The other 71 bombs missed the target and fell alongside the approaches to the bridge, digging some impressive ponds. We saw a little flak in the distance but the mission was a milk run except for my having to make my first PIC landing with two thousand pounds of bomb off to one side. Lt. Clark was a little concerned but I assured him he wouldn't notice it (I Hoped). Since I'm still here the reader can see that I made it without the bomb doing what they are designed to do.

During a sweep of the Caen area in the afternoon, III./JG 26 was bounced by Allied fighters and a large dogfight ensued. Major Mietusch of JG 26 who had returned from hospital, was shot down in his Bf 109G 'White 20' by an RAF Spitfire. He bailed out but was unable to return immediately to his base. Later in the afternoon, the III./JG 26 encountered more Allied fighters near Evreux from the USAAF 354 FG. Two P-51 Mustangs were shot down but the III Gruppe also lost two pilots.

HMS 'Formidable', 'Indefatigable' and 'Furious', escorted by HMS 'Duke of York', raid the 'Tirpitz' at Kaafiord, Norway. The Germans are successful in concealing their ship with smoke.

EASTERN FRONT: USS 'Twiggs' (DD-127), commissioned as HMS 'Leamington' (G-19) on 23 Oct. 1940, as part of the bases-for-destroyers deal, is transferred to Russia as 'Zhguchi'. Returned to the RN on 15 Nov. 1950 she was then hired for the film "The Gifthorse". She was the last Town class destroyer at sea under her own power.

In the East, the Soviet First Guards Tank Army reached the River Bug, the old border between Poland and the USSR. At Moscow, 57,000 German prisoners of war captured in Belorussia, including several generals, were paraded through the center of the city. Alfred Schenkelberg of JG 54 was killed in air battles against the Soviets. He had five victories. Uffz. Robert Müller of 11./JG 5 was listed as missing in action. He had eleven victories.

NORTH AMERICA: In the U.S., the freighter SS 'E.A. Bryan' carrying ammunition explodes at the ammunition depot in Port Chicago, California; the freighter SS 'Quinalt Victory', which is adjacent, also explodes. A total of 322 people, including 250 black seaman loading ammunition, are killed in the explosions. Survivors refuse to go back to work loading ships and 50 black sailors are charged with mutiny and convicted by court martial.

 

[syscom3]

18 JULY 1944

WESTERN FRONT: The British and Canadian begin a major attack east of Orne River to the south. They are heading for the high ground beyond Caen. This is Operation Goodwood. Montgomery hopes is will lead to a break out from Normandy. It features heavy bomber support from more than 2200 aircraft. In response Kluge increased the concentration of German troops around the city, adding two armored divisions that might have done invaluable work against Bradley in the bocage. As a result, seven panzer divisions and four heavy tank battalions guarded Caen while only two panzer divisions confronted the Americans. Even those forces were sorely depleted. The Germans in Normandy had sustained casualties of more than 100,000 enlisted men and 2,360 officers killed and wounded.

US XIX Corps has almost completed the capture of St. Lo, France.

In France, 400+ USAAF 9th AF B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs hit various military targets in support of the ground forces in the Caen area, and later in the day bomb rail and highway bridges beyond the frontlines; large number of fighters fly escort, dive-bomb gun positions at Rouen and Mantes-la-Jolie, hit military targets in the Chartres area (using rockets), attack gun positions, bridges, and other targets in the Benney-Alencon- Saint-Lo area, and fly armed reconnaissance and fighter sweeps over wide areas of northern and western France.

The USAAF's 8th AF in England flies Mission 481: Part 1. 644 B-24s are dispatched, in conjunction with Ninth Air Force and RAF Bomber Command, to bomb enemy equipment and troop concentrations in support of the assault by the British Second Army in the Caen area; 249 hit Solier, 146 hit Frenouville, 139 hit Troarns, 23 hit Hubert la Folie and 12 hit the Mezidon marshalling yard; a B-24 is lost; 90 RAF Spitfires fly uneventful support for the B-24s.

25 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France during the night; a B-24 collides with an RAF aircraft over France and is lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: Elements of the US IV Corps begin an attack on Leghorn on the west coast of Italy. The Poles capture Ancona.

EASTERN FRONT: On the Eastern Front, the First Belorussian Front near Kovel begins an offensive; the Third Baltic Front advances toward Ostrov and Pskov, while the First Ukraine Front is beginning to make progress towards Lvov after two days on the offensive.

Lt. Friedrich Puchberger of 7./JG 52 was shot down and taken prisoner. He had seventeen aerial victories. Another pilot from 7./JG 52, Erich Hartmann reached 250 kills when he destroyed three Russian Il-2 Sturmoviks during the day. He became the fourth Luftwaffe pilot (three of them from the JG 52 Geschwader) to reach this score.

At Lemberg, the Stab of JG 51 moved yet again to airfields at Stryj.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: 'U-286' Type VIIC Sank the first time 3-17-1944 in the Baltic Sea east of Rügen after collision with 'U-1013'. 26 survivors. Raised and repaired and returned to duty. Today a Norwegian Mosquito aircraft (Sqdn 333/K) attacked the boat, causing damages and killing 1 man and wounding 7 more. The boat reached Kristiansand, Norway on the same day.

GERMANY: The USAAF's 8th AF in England flies Mission 481 Part 2: 1,394 bombers and 476 fighters are dispatched to hit targets in Germany: Of 291 B-17s dispatched, 107 hit the Kiel port area, 55 hit the Hemminstedt oil refinery and 54 hit Cuxhaven. Escort is provided by 48 P-38 Lightnings and 84 P-51 Mustangs without loss. Of 459 B-17s dispatched, 377 hit the Peenemunde experimental establishment, scientific HQ at Zinnowitz, and marshalling yards at Stralsund; three B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 297 P-38s and P-51s; they claim 21-0-12 Luftwaffe aircraft; three P-51s are lost .

The USAAF's 15th AF in Italy dispatches 200 B-24s and B-17s to attack Memmingen Airfield and the Dornier aircraft works at Manzell, Germany, and Casarsa della Delizia railroad bridge in Italy; 250-300 fighters oppose the formations attacking targets in Germany, beginning the interception at the northern Adriatic coast, continuing to the targets and back as far as the Brenner Pass.

The special-equipped planes of Sturmgruppe IV./JG 3 again attacked the B-17s in the new, apparently successful tactic of 7 July. 45 Fw 190A-8/R-2s from IV(Sturm)./JG 3 and the escorts from JG 300 were scrambled to intercept the Allied formations. Gruppenkommandeur Willi Moritz misjudged his first approach and passed underneath a squadron of B-17s that were then blasted out of the sky by aircraft of Hptm. Horst Haase's 2./JG 51, now attached to the Sturmgruppe. Hptm. Haase shot down his 49th warplane. Uffz. Oskar Romm, flying with 12./JG 3, destroyed two B-17s and a P-51 while Lt. Willi Unger claimed one B-17. Lt. Walther Hagenah claimed one bomber. Less experienced pilots were also successful. Lt. Karl-Dieter Hecker of 15./JG 3 destroyed his 5th four-engined bomber. Lt. Werner Gerth destroyed two bombers while former Sturmstaffel 1 pilots Fw. Willi Maximowitz and Fw. Gerhard Vivroux both claimed their 9th victories.

At first, Staffelkapitän Hptm. Hans Weik's 10 Staffel of JG 3, were unable to form up as they came across the fighter escort. Breaking away on his own to attack a relatively unprotected squadron of B-17s, Hptm. Weik shot down a B-17 for his 36th victory. But his plane was hit by return fire from the bombers and was badly wounded. Hans Weik explained what motivated him during the spring and early summer of 1944 as he faced daily the massed ranks of B-17s;

.." Simple answer: I was 19 years old, we flew fast fighters and we saw how 1000 bombers ruined a whole city within a few minutes...a lot of us had sisters or other relatives living in the cities. So, it was very easy to attack a Viermot .. "

Lt. Walther Hagenah took his place as Staffelkapitän.

Other pilots also fell. Obgefr. Erich Erck of 11./JG 3, who shot down two of the bombers, was bounced by escorting P-51 Mustangs and killed. Another pilot from 12 / JG 3, Fw. Otfried Baisch was also shot down and killed. Also killed were Herbert Michaels, having only 8 aerial victories and Ofw. Robert Roller of 6./JG 3 with 13 victories. JG 300 lost Rudolf Scharfenberg with 5 victories. Another slightly unusual casualty was Uffz. Oskar Romm who dropped out of the battle with blood streaming from his nose apparently due to a problem equalizing air pressure at the high altitude the Sturmangriff took place. He was subsequently put on light duties until September as part of his medical treatment.

But the casualty list didn't stop there. In fact B-24 Liberators of the 483rd BG, 15th Air Force were even then swinging in to unload their cargoes over the field at Memmingen - from where the Sturm fighters had minutes before got airborne. As bombs rained down on the field there were heavy casualties amongst ground personnel still out in the open. 170 ground personnel were killed and 50 aircraft were destroyed or damaged. Lt. Karl-Heinz von den Steinen of 11./JG 3 took off but had to return because of problems with his Zusatz tank and was on the ground when the Allied bombers raided the airfield. Also on the ground was Major Walter Dahl, Kommodore of JG 300 and of IV (Sturm)./JG 3 who was startled by the bombers,

"...the noise of the air raid sirens is slowly drowned by the approaching drone of bomber engines! I pull on some trousers over my pajamas. My driver Matton rushes in out of breath as the first explosions go off. The building is shaking. Damn close! We dash outside to my car, gun the engine and with squealing tires we tear off. People are running around in panic as bombs rain down. The air is filled with the sound of engines, the bark of the flak guns and the crashing of collapsing buildings. There is a small wood just off the airfield. We jump out and throw ourselves to the ground. After what seems like an eternity the sound of the bombers recedes and we drive back to the field to be confronted with some terrible sights. Dead and dying are lying around, mostly civilians. We try to help those still alive. Our accommodation blocks are in ruins, where my room was, just an enormous hole. . . . We are able to follow on the radio the air battle then raging as the Geschwader under Hptm. Moritz registers kill after kill. II / JG 300 also shoots down many bombers."

Total loses for the Allies amounted to 20 aircraft lost while the Allies claimed to have shot down 66 Luftwaffe fighters. On the German side this second Sturm attack was hailed as an even greater victory than the first Sturm battle over Oschersleben and Hptm. Moritz and his Sturmgruppe were again named in the OKW daily report. News of the award of the Ritterkreuz to Kommandeur Moritz following his 41st victory was also announced.

The remaining jet fighters of EKdo 262 suffered an enormous loss when its commander, Hptm. Werner Thierfelder was killed in action. No one knows exactly how he died and several stories circulate that either he was killed attacking heavy bombers raiding Bavaria or shot down during an anti-reconnaissance mission to intercept highflying Spitfires and Mosquitoes. Hptm. Thierfelder, a former ZG 26 Zerstörer pilot, had twenty-seven victories at the time of his death. Hptm. Horst Geyer, an eighteen victory Experte from JG 51, took his place as Gruppenkommandeur.