This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

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28 AUGUST 1944 MONDAY

WESTERN FRONT: In northern France, US Lt.General Leonard T. Gerow, Commanding General V Corps, in a letter to French General Pierre Joseph Koening, Military Governor of Paris, turns over the city to the French. The US First Army crosses the Marne River at Meaux while the US Third Army (Patton) rumbles 50 miles (81 kilometres) and closes in on Chalons-sur- Marne and Vitro-le-Francois. Patton's tanks and trucks are only 140 miles (225 kilometres) from the French-German border but are running out of diesel fuel and gasoline.

In northern France, the USAAF Ninth Air Force dispatches B-26s and A-20s, escorted by fighters, to bomb fuel dumps at Doullens, Barisis-aux- Bois, an ammunition dump at Querrieu, an ammunition and fuel dump at Compiegne/ Foret de Laigue, and an alcohol distillery and fuel storage depot at Hamm; fighters escort about 400 C-47 Skytrains on supply and evacuation runs, attack airfields at Bourges and Peronne, support ground forces, and fly armed reconnaissance from Amiens to east of Dijon.

In southern France, French troops led by General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny eliminate German resistance in Marseilles and Toulon, France's biggest Mediterranean ports, and the German forces surrender. Marseilles's liberation is a godsend for the Allies, who badly need an undamaged French seaport. During the next three months, one-third of Allied supplies and equipment will be offloaded in Marseilles and forwarded to Eisenhower's armies. The German 11.Panzerdivision is cut off, south of Montelimar in the Rhone Valley. In attacking to the north they take severe losses from artillery and air strikes.

In southeastern France, USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25s bomb railroad bridges in the Lyon area while fighter-bombers hit vehicles in the Rhone Valley.

The first Me-262 to be lost to direct enemy action was shot down near Brussels. Einsatzkommando Schenk suffered its only combat aircraft loss of the war when a flight of four P-47s from the USAAF 78th FG bounced Ofw. Hyronimus 'Ronny' Lauer near Brussels, Belgium who crashed his Me 262 trying to escape the Allied fighters. Ofw. Lauer survived.

EASTERN FRONT: A new government in Hungary takes office. Headed by Colonel-General General GŽza Lakatos, they announce their readiness to negotiate with the Russians.

The Third Ukraine Front takes Braila on the Danube. Units of the Second Ukraine Front drive into Transylvania through the Oituz Pass in the Carpathian Mountains.

MEDITERRANEAN: The British Eighth Army continues to gain ground toward the Gothic Line with the Polish 2 Corps reaching the Arzilla River. During the night of 28/29 August, elements of the 8th Indian Division capture Tigliano, north of Pontassieve.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-26 Marauders destroy several airplanes at Villafranca di Verona Airfield and a bridge at Parma; fighter-bombers bomb and strafe roads and bridges in the battle area north of the Arno River and hit shipping in Imperia and Savona harbors.

B-24s of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force attack four targets: 59 bomb the railroad bridge at Ora, 40 bomb the railroad viaduct at Aviso, ten bomb the railroad bridge at Peschiera Del Grade and nine bomb the highway bridge at Zambana. Two aircraft are lost.

During the night of 28/29 August, 50 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb troop concentrations at Pesano.

B-24s of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy attack three targets: 105 bomb the marshalling yard at Miskolc, 103 bomb the Szony Oil Refinery at Komarom, and 84 bomb the Szajol Railroad Bridge at Szolnok. Two aircraft are lost.

A B-24 LIberator of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bombs the marshalling yard at Subotica.

During the night of 28/29 August, nine RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group mine the Danube River.

UNITED KINGDOM: A USAAF Douglas (Model DC-4A) C-54A-1-DC, msn 10276, USAAF serial number 42-72171, crashes into a residential area at 0100 hours local in poor visibility while attempting to land at RAF Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, after a trans-Atlantic flight. All 20 aboard the aircraft and five people on the ground are killed.

GERMANY: One hundred fifty five B-17s of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bomb the Moosbierbaum benzine refinery at Vienna without loss.

The commander of Luftflotte 6, Generaloberst Robert Ritter von Greim, was awarded the Schwertern, becoming the ninety-second soldier so honored.

Hptm. Wilhelm Fulda was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 302, replacing Hptm. Richard Lewens who had left on 20 August.

 

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29 AUGUST 1944 TUESDAY

WESTERN FRONT: General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, directs that the main effort against the Germans will be made in the north.

In northern France, the 15,000 men of the U.S. 28th Infantry Division parade down the Champs ElysŽes in Paris at the request of Charles de Gaulle. Due to the extensive barricading of streets in the city, the parade serves the dual purpose of moving the 28th Division through Paris, and toward combat positions east of the city. For the first time in US military history, soldiers marched straight from a parade, into combat within 24 hours. Meanwhile, the US 5th Infantry Division captures Reims while the assault on Brest continues against unabated resistance.

Bad weather allows only minimum bomber and fighter operations by the USAAF Ninth Air Force; B-26s attack a fuel dump while a few fighters fly sweeps over northwestern France; 100+ C-47 Skytrains complete supply and evacuation missions.

In southern France, organized German resistance at Loriol and Livron ends.

US Marine Corps detachments from the heavy cruiser USS 'Augusta' (CA-31) and light cruiser USS 'Philadelphia' (CL-41) accept the surrender of two German-held islands in Marseilles Harbor and disarm the garrisons.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighters attack targets in the Rhone Valley.

MEDITERRANEAN: The British 6th Armoured Division reaches Consuma while the Canadian 1st and British 5th Corps thrust to the Foglia RIver, behind which the Germans are moving reinforcements.

In the air, medium bombers of the USAAF Twelfth Air Force hit four bridges and a viaduct in northeastern Italy while A-20s hit a fuel station; fighter-bombers hit roads and bridges in northern Italy and support ground forces in the Arno River Valley; P-47s fly medium bomber escort and armed reconnaissance, claiming 100 vehicles destroyed.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force visually bombs two targets: 54 bomb the railroad bridge at Ferrara with the loss of two aircraft and 28 bomb the railroad bridge at Salcano.

During the day, the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy visually bombs four targets: (1) 47 bomb the marshalling yard at Szeged and (2) 30 bomb the railroad bridge at Szeged; (3) 38 bomb the marshalling yard at Szolnok with the loss of one aircraft; and (4) and 26 bomb the marshalling yard at Czegleb.

During the day, the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bombs four targets: (1) 178 aircraft bomb the tank factory at Ostrave Moravaska (126 using H2X radar) with the loss of 12 aircraft; (2) 26 bomb the marshalling yard at Ostrave Moravaska using H2X radar; (3) 26 bomb the industrial area at Ostrava Moravaska using H2X; and (4) 32 bomb the oil refinery at Bohumin (27 using H2X) with the loss of five aircraft.

During the day, 28 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers visually bomb the railroad bridge at Borovnica while six others bomb the marshalling yard at Subotica.

EASTERN FRONT: The British and US governments recognize the Polish Home Army (AK) as a responsible belligerent. The Germans refuse to accept this and the fighting in Warsaw continues. Soviet and Polish Communists announce the finding of 1.5 million dead around the area of the Majdanek concentration camp.

Soviet troops capture Constanta, the Black Sea port.

The Soviet government announces that it cannot accept or recognize Bulgarian neutrality which was claimed on 26 August.

The Soviet government replies to the Finnish offer to start the peace negotiations. Before the negotiations can begin, Finland has to immediately and publicly sever all relations with Germany and demand all German troops to be withdrawn from the country by the 15 September. If the Germans fail to comply, they have to be disarmed and handed over to the Allies (=Soviets). The next day Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim, President of the Republic and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces, decides to accept the Soviet conditions. The Parliament, whose agreement is needed to affirm the acceptance, is set to decide on the matter on the 5 September.

During the night of 29/30 August, two RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group mine the Danube River.

During a daylight mission with IV(Sturm)./JG 3, Uffz. Willi Unger destroyed two B-17 Flying Fortresses around Trenein in Slovakia.

GERMANY: 189 Lancasters of the RAF 5th Bomber Group attacked Königsberg again wiping out 41% of the city and 20% of the industrial installations. Bomber crews reported significant interceptions by night fighters. Fifteen Lancasters were lost. 402 Lancasters and a single Mosquito of the RAF 1st, 3rd, 6th and 8th Bombing Groups attacked Stettin. Twenty-three Lancasters were lost, but the bombs destroyed sectors of the city which had survived previous bombings. One Lancaster was attacked by a night fighter and with heavy damage was diverted to Sweden. Victorious night fighter pilots to make claims over both Stettin and Königsberg were Fw. Irmscher of 12./NJG 5, Oblt. Breitfeld of 9./NJG 5, Major Werner Hoffmann of Stab I./NJG 5, Fw. Schäfer of Eins.St./NJG 102, Oblt. Scholl of Eins St./NJG 102, Oblt. Ernst Drünkler of 1./NJG 5 and Oblt. Peter Ehrhardt of 8./NJG 5. Lt. Kurt Welter of 1./NJG 10 brought down four RAF Lancaster four-engined bombers to bring his score to twenty-seven victories.

 

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30 AUGUST 1944 WEDNESDAY

NORTH AMERICA: Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis' Union Nationale Party returns to power in Quebec. Duplessis is the 16th premier of Quebec.

WESTERN FRONT: French General deGaulle's Provisional French Government is established in Paris. In northern France, the Canadian 2nd Division captures Rouen after suffering heavy casualties. The British XII Corps advances 25 miles (40 kilometers) to Gournay. The US XIX Corps drives rapidly northeast against light resistance reaching positions less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Beauvais while the VII Corps captures Laon. Elements of the US Third Army continue their assault on Brest while other units drives east toward the Meuse River and towards Verdun.

In the air over northern France, about 75 USAAF Ninth Air Force A-20s and B-26s bomb a fuel dump near Arques-la-Bataille, Rouxmesnil-Bouteill es, and gun positions around Ile de Cezembre; weather grounds the fighters.

In southern France, US Seventh Army elements drive through Nice to Beaulieu without opposition.The US VI Corps' next objective is Lyon and the Forces Francaises de l'Interieur (FFI or French Forces of the Interier, i.e., the underground) units within Lyon are alerted to assist the French and US columns when they arrive in the city; and elements of the French Army B captures Nimes and Montpellier.

USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s from England bomb eight V-weapon sites using radar: 45 bomb the site at Fiefs, 38 attack Flers, 37 bomb Crepieul, 22 hit Haute Maisnil, 19 bomb Cauche D'Ecques, eight bomb Fleury, five hit Villiers L'Hopital, and four attack Coubronne. Nine bombers also visually bomb a supply dump at Bricy Airfield in Orleans.

Johannes Antonius Kuhn was a Dutch National who, while flying a Douglas DB-8A, was shot down by a Bf 110 of II./ZG 1 on 10 May, 1940 and later joined the Luftwaffe, flying new or repaired aircraft from factories to front-line units.. Kuhn was based at Langendiebach and he regularly had to take-off in He 111s of TG 30 participating in supply flights for the German pockets of resistance on the Atlantic coast. The ferry pilots had to accept the risk of allied intruder fighters spoiling for a fight. Many pilots were shot down due to this cause. When the ferried aircraft finally reached the airfields, they were then likely to become targets for allied bombers. He decided to desert. To do so he had to wait for a favorable moment, which presented itself on 30 August 1944. He was flying one of fourteen FW 190A-8s being sent to reinforce JG 26 at Brussels-Melbroek. Kuhn was flying Werknummer 171747. At 11:30 hours he took off for Belgium. He passed Aachen and Ostend and then headed west, flying close to many ships as he crossed over the North Sea. So as not to run the risk of being shot down by British flak, he did not head for a known aerodrome, but managed to put his aircraft down in open country near Monkton in Kent. It was a good landing and his aircraft suffered only minor damage. It would receive the serial 'AM230' and would be on displayed to the public at Farnborough in 1945, then went to the Science Museum in London in 1946. It was later scrapped. As for Kuhn he remained a POW in Great Britain until 1949.

GERMANY: In the afternoon, USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17s attack five targets without loss: (1) 327 bomb the Borgward armored fighting vehicle plant in Bremen using H2X radar; (2) 284 hit the Krupp U-Boat shipyard at Kiel; (3) one bombs a target of opportunity at Bassen; (4) one bombs the industrial area in Bremen; (5) three others attack targets of opportunity.

MEDITERRANEAN: The Allied commander, British General Sir Harold Alexander, plans a bluff to crack the Germans' Gothic Line and liberate northern Italy. Alexander begins with an attack on the eastern end of the Gothic Line. Next week, Americans will attack the western end in an apparent main assault. The British will then make a second attack in the east. Alexander's three-punch strategy will be a partial success. The British Eighth Army begins an attack on the main defenses of the Gothic Line against stiffening resistance. Two brigades of the First Canadian Corps cross the Foglia River and fight their way through the German Gothic Line toward Rimini.

Heavy bombers of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy visually bombs three targets: (1) 78 bomb a railroad bridge at Cuprija; (2) seven bomb the marshalling yard at Novi Sad; and (3) one bombs the marshalling yard at Brod.

EASTERN FRONT: Ploesti, the center of the Romanian oil industry, falls to troops of the Soviet Second Ukrainian Front, cutting off more than half of Germany's oil supplies. A new Romanian regime declares war on Germany.

Ofw. Rudolf 'Rudi' Rademacher with 1./JG 54 was transferred to 1./Jagdgruppe Nord based at Sagan, to undertake instructing duties. Despite his training duties Rademacher was able to engage in aerial combat and claimed five enemy aircraft shot down, including four four-engined bombers and P-47, during his stay with the unit.

 

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31 AUGUST 1944 THURSDAY

WESTERN FRONT: In northern France, the Canadian 4th Armoured Division drives quickly to Forges and Buchy. The British 11th Armoured Division captures Amiens and seizes the bridge across the Somme River intact. The US XIX Corps captures Chantilly, Creil, Pont Ste Maxence, Verberie and Compiegne. Operations against Brest are temporarily suspended by the US VIII Corps while elements of the US XX Corps establishes across the Meuse at Verdun.

In the air, 99 USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20s bomb an ammunition dump at Foret d'Arques and gun positions at Ile de Cezembre; fighters fly armed reconnaissance in the Amiens, Saint-Quentin, Albert, and Arras areas, ground forces cover for 3 armored divisions, battleship cover, and also dive-bomb Ile de Cezembre.

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 594: 34 bombs visually bomb the supply depot at Bricy Airfield in Orleans. During the night of 31 August/1 September, six B-17s drop leaflets in France and 37 B-24 Liberators and C-47 Skytrains fly CARPETBAGGER missions.

In southern France, U.S. troops find Briancon free of Germans and the VI Corps speeds up the Rhone Valley toward Lyon.

MEDITERRANEAN: The attack of the British 8th Army against the Gothic Line continues. There are some successes. West of the British Eighth Army, the US VI Corps follows up on a German withdrawal along the Arno River in Italy.

The USAAF's Twelfth Air Force dispatches B-25s and B-26s to attack railroad bridges in the Po Valley, cutting the bridge at Mira.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighter-bombers attack communications targets.

EASTERN FRONT: Bucharest falls to the Russian Second Ukraine Front. The Soviets immediately begin the round-up of members of the 'Fascist' Antonescu government.

B-17s of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy commence Operation REUNION (the evacuation of US airmen interned in Romania); 38 B-17s evacuate more than 700 of the 1,100 US airmen from Bucharest (which falls to the Soviet Army today) to Bari, Italy. This operation is the brainchild of Romanian airmen and civilians who concentrate the Americans at a Romanian Air Force Base while contacting HQ Fifteenth Air Force in Italy by flying a high-ranking USAAF POW to Italy in a Romanian Air Force Bf-109. Everyone involved realizes that the operation must be kept secret from both the Germans and the Soviets. Meanwhile 45 P-51 Mustangs strafe the airfield at Reghin.

Ninety seven P-51 Mustangs of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy strafe airfields at Oradea and Kecskemet.

Allied aerial reconnaissance reported a large concentration of German aircraft at Saschsich-Regen airfield. Forty-eight P-51s of the 52nd FG took off to attack these, led by Lt Col Boedeker. As the P-51s of the 5th Fighter Squadron approached the airfield, they encountered three FW 190s in the landing pattern and shot them down (one was later reclassified as a probable). The bulk of the engagement took place around the Saschsich-Regen airfield being used by II./JG.52 and other units. An element of six Bf-109G of II./JG-52 led by Hptm Helmut Lipfert of 6./JG 52 and including Lt. Otto Fönnekold of 5./JG 52 attacked the 52nd FG which was attacking the airfield. The 2nd Fighter Squadron and 4th Fighter Squadron then joined the action. The Bf-109s shot down four P-51s but lost five Bf-109s, the only survivor being Hptm Lipfert, who claimed one P-51. The German dead were Uffz Heinz Krah, who shot down one Mustang, Ofhr. Nikolaus Schroder, Lt. Hans Otto Junge, Uffz Fritz Zaubitzer, and Lt. Otto Fönnekold. Lt. Fönnekold a 136-kill ace was killed by a P-51 Mustang while landing after shooting down three P-51s. A couple of other Luftwaffe and even Romanian airplanes were also shot down by trigger-happy Mustangs en-route to and from their target. A Ju 52/3m was shot down in air combat over that area and Gefr. Günter Stender of 6./JG 52 was also killed in combat.

 

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1 SEPTEMBER 1944 FRIDAY

UNITED KINGDOM: German submarine 'U-247' is sunk about 76 nautical miles west-southwest of Plymouth, Devonshire, England, UK, in position 49.54N, 05.49W, by depth charges from the Canadian frigates HMCS 'St John' (K 456) and 'Swansea' (K 32 8 ). All hands, 52-men, on the U-boat are lost.

The British corvette HMS 'Hurst Castle' (K 416) is hit by one torpedo fired by German submarine 'U-482' at 0722 hours GMT and sinks off the coast of Ireland, about 41 nautical miles northwest of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in position 55.27N, 08.12W. The corvette is escorting tanker convoy CU-36 (Caribbean to U.K.). There are no casualties, 105 survivors are rescued by the British destroyer HMS 'Ambuscade' (D 3 8 ).

HQ of the USAAF's IX Troop Carrier Command comes under administrative control of HQ US Strategic Air Forces in Europe and under operational control of HQ First Allied Airborne Army, to increase efficiency, especially for planning, training, and preparation of airborne operations. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force now can deal directly with all elements of an airborne force through a single unified command instead of through various army groups and air forces, e.g., 12th and 21st Army Groups, USAAF Ninth Air Force, and RAF components.

EASTERN FRONT: In Bulgaria, Prime Minister Dobri Bozhilov is replaced by Constantine Muraviev.

The Finnish government receives an ultimatum from the Soviet Union, stating that Finland has to accept the Soviet terms for starting the peace negotiations (as stated on the 29 August) by 2 September, or the hostilities will go on. Parliament, originally set to decide on the matter on 5 September, is hurriedly called to convene at 1800 hours local tomorrow.

German submarine U-23 enters Constanta harbor and fires three torpedoes at 0230 hours local; one torpedo hits the stern of the Romanian steamer SS Oituz causing the ship to sink. The ship is later re-floated and declared a total loss. U-23 left her attack position at 0400 hours and laid a mine barrage in Constanta roads near Tuzla lighthouse. No vessels are reported lost on the barrage.

WESTERN FRONT: The serious German collapse had caused bitter debate among senior Allied Generals. US.General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander, Supreme Headquarter Allied Expeditionary Force, favors a broad front strategy. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Commander of the 21st Army Group, advocates a single thrust strategy. This debate will continue for several months.

In northern France, the Canadian 2d Division liberates Dieppe and the port is reopened within a week. The US 12th Army Group, commanded by Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, is transferred to the direct command of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) from the command of British General Bernard Montgomery. Elements of the US Third Armored Division advances quickly through Vervins to La Capelle. Meanwhile, the US Third Army, commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton, is practically immobilized by an acute shortage of fuel. An enforced lull allows the German to build up fortifications behind the West Wall. The US VIII Corps continues preparations for renewing an all-out assault on Brest when ammunition is more plentiful.

In southern France, the French II Corps continues toward Lyon and captures Serriers and Firminy.

The first and most destructive phase of the V1 campaign, the bombardment of the United Kingdom from bases in the Pas de Calais, came to an end with the launch of the final weapon at 0400 hours. This initial phase of V-1 operations ended as the ground launching sites were being overrun by the Allies. Between 13 June and 1 September 1944, no fewer than 8,617 V1s had been fired at the United Kingdom from northern France.

In the air over northern France, USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s attack fortifications in the Brest area which artillery fire had been unable to reduce; escorting fighters fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance in northern and eastern France, and fly cover for six divisions in the Amiens, Saint-Quentin, Cambrai, Reims, and Verdun areas and the Brussels, Belgium area.

Twenty seven USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers visually bomb the V2 supply dump at Bricy Airfield in Orleans.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 121 aircraft, 97 Halifaxes, 15 Mosquitos and nine Lancasters, to bomb two V2 rocket storage sites: 56 bomb La Pourchinte, 31 bomb the North site at Lumbres and 26 hit the South site at Lumbres without loss. Both raids are successful, the Lumbres attack particularly so.

Three USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17s fly a Micro H mission to attack a fuel dump in the Bois del la Haussiere; escort is provided by two P-51s.

GERMANY: Azon-equipped USAAF Eighth Air Force B-24s hit the Ravenstein railroad bridge without loss; escort is provided by 15 P-51 Mustangs. One B-17 bombs a railroad junction at Hallach.

During the night of 1/ 2 September, 34 of 35 RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos dispatched bomb the port at Bremen without loss.

Blohm and Voss finally launched the first flight of the BV 155, a plane with a convoluted past. Originally a design of Messerschmitt, the BV 155 was given to Blohm and Voss after it was felt the Messerschmitt factory was overloaded with work. What followed were numerous fights between the two companies over the design of the new interceptor bomber. The delays and redesigns only help in slowing production so that at the time of the Allied victory, the BV 155 had only gone so far as the V4 series of prototypes.

MEDITERRANEAN: Because of Allied successes on other fronts, German Heeresgruppe F is forced to begin withdrawing from Greece and islands in the Ionian and Aegean Seas. The main withdrawal route, the rail line through Skoplje and Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is so effectively hit by heavy bombers of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force during the first half of September that an aerial withdrawal of German troops is begun from airfields in the Athens area. All three airfields are made unserviceable by USAAF attacks during the latter half of the month.

The US Fifth Army begins pursuing the Germans across the Arno River. The British V and Canadian I Corps penetrate the main defenses of the Gothic Line on Mounts Gridolfo and Tomba di Pesaro, commanding the Foglia River valley.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25s score excellent results against road and railroad bridges north and northeast of Venice; fighter-bomber and fighters bomb and strafe roads, troop concentrations, supply dumps, and German HQ in the battle area north of Florence, and fly armed reconnaissance from Ventimiglia along the coast to La Spezia. During the night of 1/2 September A-20s hit a pontoon bridge and targets of opportunity in the Po Valley; and fighter-bombers blast roads, bridges and gun emplacements in Po Valley, docks at Savona, and shipping off shore.

Twenty six USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers visually bomb the Pisani railroad bridge at Bora without loss.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s visually bomb five targets: (1) 52 bomb the marshalling yard at Debrecen; (2) 51 bomb the marshalling yard at Szajol; (3) 31 bomb the railroad bridge at Szolnokl (4) 25 bomb the railroad bridge at Mezotur; and 11 bomb the marshalling yard at Berettyo Ujfalu. Two B-24s are lost.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers visually bomb five targets: (1) 56 B-24s bomb the railroad bridge at Mitrovica; (2) 56 bomb the railroad bridge at Mesgrada; (3) 55 bomb the railroad bridge at Kraljevo; (4) 55 B-17s bomb the airfield at Nis; and (5) 17 bomb the marshalling yard at Novi Sad.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The US Coast Guard gunboat, USCGC 'Northland' (WPG-49), locates the German weather ship 'Kehdingen' off Great Kodeyey Island and gives chase. The crew of the weather ship scuttles it to avoid capture. Also in the area is the German U-boat 'U-703' which attempts to attack USCGC 'Northland' but is blocked by ice.

NORTH AMERICA: Selective Service announces that no men over 26 years old will be drafted (conscripted) during the rest of 1944.

Project Bumblebee (as it is later known) came into being as the USN's Bureau of Ordnance reports that a group of scientists from Section T of the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) are investigating the practicability of developing a jet-propelled, guided, anti-aircraft weapon. Upon completion of the preliminary investigation, a developmental program is approved in December by the Chief of Naval Operations. In order to concentrate upon the guided missile phase of the anti-aircraft problem, the OSRD and Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, completed withdrawal, also in December, from the proximity fuse program which thus came completely under the Bureau of Ordnance.

 

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2 SEPTEMBER 1944 SATURDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: While tracking Convoy RA 59A (Kola Fjord, U.S.S.R. to Loch Ewe, Scotland) in the Norwegian Sea, German submarine 'U-394' was sunk about 270 nautical miles (500 kilometers) northwest of Bodr, Norway, by rockets and depth charges from a Swordfish Mk. III of the British Fleet Air Arm No. 825 Squadron in escort aircraft carrier HMS 'Vindex' (D15) and the destroyers HMS 'Keppel' (D 84) and Whitehall (D 94) and the sloops HMS 'Mermaid' (U 30) and 'Peacock' (U 96); all 50 crewmen in the U-boat were lost. This was the boats second patrol; she was not credited with any sinkings.

WESTERN FRONT: The US VII Corps and XIX Corps gets advance elements into Belgium and drive toward Tournai. In northern France, the British XXX Corps continues northward so rapidly that the planned drop of airborne forces in the Tournai area was not necessary. The US V Corps continues steadily northeast, overrunning Noyon and St. Quentin until ordered to halt. The US Third Army was still immobilized for lack of fuel but the VIII Corps continues to batter the outer defenses of Brest. Elements of the US 83d Infantry Division invade Ile de Cezembre, which surrenders.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force, holds a commanders conference and outlines plans for the US Third Army and V Corps of the US First Army to drive to the West Wall (the Siegfried Line) after the supply situation improves.

In southern France, the US 36th Infantry Division halts just east and southwest of Lyon to permit the French II Corps to take the city. So far, 190,000 men; 220,000 tons of supplies; and 41,000 vehicles have been landed.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 596: 34 P-47s strafe gun positions and road and rail traffic in the Bruges-Ghent- Courtrai- Roulers area. Thirty six USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17s in England attack a supply dump at Bricy Airfield in Orleans. Two B-24s and two C-47 Skytrains fly CARPETBAGGER missions over France during the night of 2/3 September.

Sixty four of 67 Lancasters of the RAF Bomber Command bombed ships in Brest harbor in clear visibility. No aircraft were lost.

In northern France, weather grounds USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers but fighters fly armed reconnaissance and area support to ground forces in Belgium and northwestern, northeastern and eastern France.

Fighter-bombers of the USAAF Twelfth Air Force were hampered by poor weather, but hit barracks and rail lines in the Lyon area.

EASTERN FRONT: A Soviet Navy fleet minelayer was sailing with a Romanian minelayer when the Soviet minesweeper BTSC-410 Vzryv was struck by a torpedo at 0622 hours fired by German submarine 'U-19' and sinks about 31 nautical miles southeast of Constanta, Romania, in position 43.51N, 29.12E; she was the last victim of the U-boats in the Black Sea. Since Romania had only recently declared war on Germany, the Soviets accused the Romanian Navy of treachery and complicity in the sinking of this vessel, because the Romanian minelayer was not attacked. On 5 September, the Soviets sited this sinking as an excuse for the seizure of the Romanian fleet.

Prime Minister Antii Hackzell announces the break in diplomatic relations with Germany and demands that all German troops be withdrawn from Finland. Yesterday evening the Finnish government received an ultimatum from the Soviet Union: Finland had to officially accept the Soviet conditions for starting the peace negotiations by the end of 2 September, or the war will go on. The Parliament, originally set to decide on the matter on 5 September, was hurriedly called to convene at 1800 hours today and 157 out of 200 Members of Parliament have been able to gather at Helsinki. Prime Minister Antti Hackzell informs the Parliament of the Soviet demands and recommends the starting of negotiations. One hundred eight vote for the negotiations, 45 against and the peace progress can go on.

(Master Sergeant) Frantisek Cyprich was performing a test flight of Avia B-534.217, at Tri Duby airfield, which was the base for the Combined Squadron. He later reported:

"I had overtaken the Ju 52 over Radvana. I made the first attack from behind - it filled my aim cross - it was in front of me, big as a barn. I was sure that all my bullets would go into the Ju52 but I realized that I must do another type of attack. When I made the second attack, I aimed at one engine and opened fire until I saw smoke coming from the engine. Then I made the same attack against the second engine and after that I saw the Ju 52 coming down. I was very happy that I shot down the first enemy plane during SNP and I was very proud when I landed on our own airfield."

He landed back on base and went to report to Colonel Singlovic. He was however surprised, when he saw instead of his smile only his strict sight. The colonel only had one question:

"Why you didn't force them to land on our base?"

Pilot on the Junkers that Cyprich shot down was fšhadnagy (Lieutenant) Gyšrgy G‡ch, in a Hungarian Junker Ju 52/3m from Magyar LŽgiforgalmi Rt. (MALERT). The co-pilot was Nandor Vermes. This was the first victory of the Slovak National Uprising and the last confirmed air to air kill by a biplane fighter in the Second World War (and probably the world's last). In 1991 after 47 years Frantisek Cyprich and the Hungarian co-pilot Nandor Vermes meet and shook hands.

The Polish Home Army evacuates Warsaw's Old City; 2000 Polish fighters escape through a single manhole and 4 miles (6,4 kilometers) of sewers.

The remnants of German forces surrounded in the Kishinev pocket surrender to the Soviet Army.

MEDITERRANEAN: The U.S. IV Corps crosses elements over the Arno River and clears the northern part of Pisa. A partial breakthrough and advance of several miles was achieved by Canadian forces of the British Eighth Army. The advance reaches the Conca River to the west of Cattolica. San Giovanni was liberated. Polish forces have effectively liberated Pesaro. Despite the arrival of German reserve forces these actions demonstrate the destruction of the German Gothic Line.

B-25s of the USAAF Twelfth Air Force bomb three bridges in the Po Valley.

During the night of 2/3 September, 66 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Ferrara with the loss of two aircraft.

B-24s of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy visually bomb seven transportation targets: (1) 109 bomb the railroad bridge at Kraljevo; (2) 58 bomb the south marshalling yard at Nis; (3) 55 bomb the railroad bridge at Mitrovica; (4) 55 bomb the main marshalling yard at Nis; (5) 51 bomb the west marshalling yard at Nis; (6) 29 bomb the highway bridge at Supovac; and (7) 26 bomb the marshalling yard at Mitrovica. Only one bomber was lost. The escort fighters begin low-level attacks: 27 P-38s dive-bomb the Cuprija road bridge while 57 P-38s and 112 P-51 Mustangs strafe roads and railways in the Nis and Belgrade areas; other P-51s escort Nis and Supovac bombing missions.

 

[syscom3]

3 SEPTEMBER 1944 SUNDAY

WESTERN FRONT: British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery orders the British Second Army to drive speedily to the Rhine River and secure a crossing. The British Guards Armoured Division drives into Brussels and blocks the exits from the city while the U.S. 3d Armored Division captures Mons.

German Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt assumes command of the German armies in the West.

The US First Army (Hodges) reaches the border of Luxembourg. The fleeing Germans are suffering huge losses. Hodges's troops surround and will soon capture 30,000 troops near Mons. Tournai and Abbeville are liberated by the 21st Army Group and the US Third Army crosses the Moselle River.

In southern France, the commander of the US 36th Infantry Division orders his men to halt and allow the French 1st Infantry Division to liberate Lyon, France's third-largest city. Most of the German 19.Armee have managed to withdraw northward.

USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20s supporting ground troops pound strongpoints and bridges in the Brest area; fighters fly armed reconnaissance, ground support, and sweeps in northern and eastern France, Belgium, and western Germany.

USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 601: 391 B-17s make a visual attack on 16 gun batteries and defensive installations in the Brest area; 2 B-17s are lost; escort was provided by 15 P-51s without loss but bad weather cancels fighter-bomber mission by 50 P-38s against strongpoints in the same area. A second mission was flown by 61 aircraft against a supply dump at Bricy Airfield in Orleans. Eighth Air Force P-47s strafe transportation targets in Namur.

JG 54's Hptm. Emil Lang, known as "Bully" to his comrades, battled several USAAF P-47s over St. Trond. Dogfighting down to a level of seven hundred feet, he was hit in his hydraulic system, which released his landing gear. Unable to maneuver, he was quickly shot down and killed. Hptm. Lang had 173 kills, most of those victories on the Eastern Front.


GERMANY: In the air, 325 B-17s of the USAAF Eighth Air Force using H2X radar to bomb the I.G. Farben synthetic oil plant at Ludwigshafen and one hits a target of opportunity. P-47s strafe transportation targets at Cologne.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatched 675 aircraft, 348 Lancasters, 315 Halifaxes and 12 Mosquitos, to carry out heavy raids on six airfields: 112 aircraft hit Soesterberg, 112 bomb Venlo, 112 attack Volkel, 104 hit Gilze-Rijen, 103 bomb Eindhoven and 88 bomb Deelen. All raids are successful and only one Halifax was lost from the Venlo raid.

Oblt. Erich Sommer of Sonderkommando Götz (III./KG 76) and his Ar-234s and their airfield at Volkel were plastered by 100 RAF Lancasters in a daylight raid. The Ar-234s were then withdrawn further back to Germany. By this time, Ar-234Bs were available for operational use and the prototypes were no longer needed.

Hitler became enraged at the Luftwaffe and berated the General der Flieger Werner Kreipe. During his torrent, the Führer dismissed all those in the Luftwaffe that he considered to have failed to defend the country .

MEDITERRANEAN: The British 46th Division cross the River Conca River while the Canadian 5th Armoured Division clears Misano.

In the air, USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack railroad and road bridges in the western Po Valley while fighter-bombers blast motor transport and rolling stock in the Turin area.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers visually bomb three rail targets: 58 bomb railroad bridge at Szeged while one bombs a marshalling yard in the same city and 54 bomb the railroad at Szajol.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers visually bomb four transportation targets: (1) in Belgrade, 98 bomb the Sava railroad bridge and (2) 54 bomb the Pancovo railroad bridge; (3) 54 bomb the ferry at Smederevo; and (4) one bombs the Subotica marshalling yard.

UNITED KINGDOM: In England, Lieutenant Ralph Spalding, USN, and a radio operator of the Special Air Unit, Fleet Air Wing Seven (FAW-7), takes off in a TORPEX laden PB4Y-1 Liberator from Fersfield, Norfolk, sets the radio controls and then parachutes to the ground. Ensign James M. Simpson, USNR, in a PV-1 Ventura, takes control and flies the PB4Y to attack German submarine pens on Helgoland Island. Unfortunately, the PV-1 crew loses sight of the Liberator in a rainstorm and it crashes into a barracks and industrial area on Dune Island. A second attempt was later made with Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., USNR, at the controls of a PB4Y-1 but the aircraft explodes before Kennedy and the radio operator can bail out and Project APHRODITE was then cancelled.

 

[syscom3]

4 SEPTEMBER 1944 MONDAY

WESTERN FRONT: The British 11 Armoured Division drives into Antwerp and clears the city except for the northern suburbs and the dock area. Antwerp's docks are undamaged, but the Germans control part of the 70-mile (113 kilometre) waterway leading to the city. The British liberate Lille in northern France while Lieutenant General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army refuels, storms across the Moselle River and pushes toward Nancy, capital of the French province of Lorraine.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, states the general objectives of the Allied armies. The Canadian First Army and British Second Army along with the US First Army are given the task of advancing toward the Ruhr. The US Third Army will drive to the Saar.

In southern France, the US VI Corps and French II Corps continue their advance on Besancon and Dijon while the US 45th Infantry Division captures Bourg-en-Bresse.

In the air, weather prevents bomber activity; fighters fly armed reconnaissance over Belgium, eastern France, Luxembourg, and eastern and central Germany, and defensive night patrols over western and northwestern France. Three USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers hit a supply dump at Bricy Airfield in Orleans. During the night of 4/5 September, 44 USAAF Eighth Air Force aircraft fly CARPETBAGGER missions over France.

During the night of 4/5 September, nine RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Steenwijk Airfield without loss.


EASTERN FRONT: The Russian-Finnish cease fire is agreed to and is effective immediately. A delegation leaves Finland for Russia to negotiate the Peace Treaty. The Finnish troops cease hostilities at 0700 hours as ordered, but the Soviet troops keep on fighting until tomorrow morning. The reason is in Prime Minister Hackzell's oversight making the Finnish agreement to Soviet conditions public. As he accidentally forgot to mention that Finland will break the relations with Germany, the Soviet view is that Finland hasn't fulfilled all the conditions. The matter is clarified, but the time this hassle takes delays the sending of Soviet orders to cease hostilities, and most of the Soviet formations receive them late.

Brasnov and Senaia are taken by the Soviet Army.

GERMANY: During the night of 4/5 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 43 Mosquitos to bomb Karlsruhe; 42 attack the target without loss.

MEDITERRANEAN: The US Fifth Army issues final orders for the attack on the Gothic Line.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s hit several road and railroad bridges and tunnel in the Po Valley while fighter-bombers strike pontoon bridges, roads, bridges, and motor transport in preparation for an Allied ground assault on the Gothic Line.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s visually bomb six targets: 165 attack the U-boat base at Genoa; 59 hit the railroad bridge at Latisana; 58 attack the railroad bridge at Casarsa; 56 hit the railroad viaduct at Aviso; 53 bomb the North marshalling yard at Trento; and at Ora, 51 hit the railroad bridge and 48 bomb the marshalling yard.

During the night of 4/5 September, 65 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Ravenna.) Six USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack highways.

 

[syscom3]

5 SEPTEMBER 1944 TUESDAY

EASTERN FRONT: In the Kara Sea, German submarine 'U-362' (Type VIIC) is sunk about 33 nautical miles (62 kilometers) west-northwest of Lomonosovo, Russia, USSR, by depth charges from the Soviet minesweeper T-116. All 51 crewmen are lost. This is the boats seventh patrol but she is not credited with sinking any ships.

The Finnish peace delegation arrives in Moscow. Hostilities have ceased for 2 days. (Gene Hanson) The Finnish delegation won't leave until the 7th of September (more info then), and the hostilities have been suspended since the 4th/5th for the duration of negotiations.

The Soviet Union declares war on Bulgaria. Bulgaria declares war in return, their attempts to stay out of the war have been unsuccessful.

UNTERNEHMEN ZEPPELIN: During the night two secret agents boarded an Arado Ar 232B of KG 200 and took off for Moscow. Their mission, codenamed "Operation ZEPPELIN", was to assassinate Stalin. Nothing was heard from the plane until an agent reported that the plane had crashed and the agents scattered. Some of the crew were able to make it back to friendly lines but the two agents were captured.

A German-Hungarian counterattack in the area of Klausenburg in Romania failed.

WESTERN FRONT: The British 7th Armoured Division captures Ghent but the German continue to hold the northern outskirts for several days. The US 2d Armored Division and the 113th Cavalry Group push deep into the country to a general line from Brussels to Gembloux. Namur and Charleroi are liberated by the US First Army. The Canadian 3rd Division moving along the coast, bypasses Boulogne and reaches the Calais area; the Germans are prepared to defend both ports. Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Commanding General of the US Third Army, orders the XII Corps to cross the Moselle River, secure Nancy, and be prepared to continue to Mannheim and the Rhine River. The US 80th Infantry Division, Third Army, attempts to bridge the Moselle River but is rebuffed by new German defenses.

In northern France, the U.S. Ninth Army becomes operational taking command of troops on the Brittany Peninsula.

The Germans under Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, Commander-in-Chief West, organize a new Western Front using remnants of Army units that escaped from Normandy reinforced with teenage and middle-age conscripts and displaced Luftwaffe ground crews and sailors. The new front runs across the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium to Germany's western border, then extends south through Luxembourg and eastern France.

During the night, seven USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17s visually drop leaflets over the country.

The Benelux Customs Union, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, is established by the exile governments of these countries. This will eventually lead to the formation of the European Economic Community.

Six of 12 RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos dispatched to bomb Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk hit the target.

In the air over northern France, 300+ USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20s bomb strongpoints in the Brest area and a coastal battery at Pointe du Grand Gouin while fighters hit gun positions and other military targets in the Brest area and fly cover for six armored and infantry divisions.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 348 aircraft, 313 Lancasters, 30 Mosquitos and five Stirlings, to carry out the first of a series of heavy raids on the German positions around Le Havre which are still holding out after being bypassed by the Allied advance; 335 aircraft bomb the target. This is an accurate raid in good visibility. A second force of 60 Lancasters and six Mosquitos is sent to bomb gun positions outside Brest, whose garrison is also still holding out; 63 aircraft bomb the target.

In the air over southern France, USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighters fly sweeps through the Rhone Valley.

143 USAAF (USAAF) Eighth Air Force B-17s make a visual attack on enemy positions in the Brest, France area; two B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 21 P-51 Mustangs without loss. The supply dump at Bricy Airfield in Orleans is visually bombed by 84 B-17s without loss.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force bombs seven targets: (1) 237 B-17s use H2X radar to bomb the I.G. Farben synthetic oil plant at Ludwigshafen and 85 bomb the lubricating oil facilities ; (2) 203 B-17s attack Unterturkhheim aircraft engine factory at Stuttgart; (3) 185 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Karlsruhe;
(4) four aircraft bomb targets of opportunity; (5) individual aircraft bomb targets of opportunity at Gemersheim, Hockenheim and Ludwigshafen. During the missions, a Swiss Air Force Bf 109 is shot down by a P-51 Mustang near Dubendorf.

During the night of 5/6 September, 41 of 43 RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb the city of Hannover without loss.

After retreating across France and Belgium, Einsatzkommando Schenk was ordered to return to the 3rd Staffel of I./KG 51, now fully equipped with Me 262s and based at Rheine. But two aircraft were retained by Major Schenk to test the new nose-mounted TSA (low-level and dive) bomb-aiming device. This small unit was sometimes jokingly known as 'Kommando Edelweiss'. The rest of the experimental unit of jet Me 262 pilots, EKdo 262 at Lechfeld, continued to prowl the skies. Lt. Alfred Schreiber, an ex-ZG 26 Zerstörer Experte, downed a Spitfire PR XI of the USAAF 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group over Stuttgart.

MEDITERRANEAN: The British V Corps and Canadian I Corps continues strong attacks on Coriano and Gemmano ridges in Italy. The German forces hang on. The US 1st Armored Division takes Lucca and the South African 6th Armoured Division gets forward elements to Monsummano and clears part of Mount Albano. Meanwhile the Germans pull back from positions north of Florence.

Medium bombers of the USAAF (USAAF) Twelfth Air Force again strike, with excellent results, road and rail bridges in the Po Valley while fighter-bombers blast rail lines and rolling stock south of the river; fighters support the limited ground force advance in preparation for a major assault on the Gothic Line.

Ninety nine USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the railroad bridge at Ferrara while during the night of 5/6 September, 56 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack the marshalling yard at Ferrara.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack five transportation targets: 106 B-17s visually bomb the North Railroad Bridge in Budapest while 51 attack the South Railroad Bridge; 93 B-24s bomb the Szolnok railroad bridge; 85 B-24s bomb the railroad bridge at Szob; and one aircraft bombs a target of opportunity.

During the night of 5/6 September, four RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group lay mines in the Danube River.

A USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberator bombs the marshalling yard at Subotica and during the night of 5/6 September, seven RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group lay mines in the Danube River.

UNITED KINGDOM: Heinkel He111s of III./KG 3 launched nine V-1 flying bombs on the cities of London, Southampton and Gloucester. The Air-launched bombs were less accurate than the ground launched and this was shown to good effect when not one of the weapons hit Gloucester and the craters south of Southampton, caused by the bombs, covered an area so large that it was recorded as an unsuccessful strike at Portsmouth.

 

[syscom3]

6 SEPTEMBER 1944 WEDNESDAY

WESTERN FRONT: British forces capture Namur, Ghent and Courtrai while the US VII Corps advances on Liège. In northern France, the Canadian II Corps reaches the English Channel north of Calais and just south of Boulogne while the US Third Army crosses the Moselle River. British forces capture Armentieres.

In southern France, the French II Corps enters Chalons-sur- Saòne while the U.S. VI Corps advances towards Besancon.

In southern France, during the day, weather grounds the USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Tactical Air Command aircraft except for a few fighters based in France which fly armed reconnaissance over the Belfort, Dijon, and Colmar areas, destroying or damaging numerous motor transport and railroad cars and several locomotives, field guns, trailers, and a tank.

In northern France, USAAF (USAAF) Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20s hit Brest area strongpoints, a coastal battery at Pointe du Grand Gouin, defenses at Saint-Pierre- Quilbignon, and a Brest area bridge; fighters hit Brest area gun positions and ammunition dump and fly cover for several armored and infantry divisions.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 344 aircraft, 311 Lancasters, 30 Mosquitos and three Stirlings, to bomb bombed German fortifications and transportation targets at Le Havre ; 271 actually bomb without loss. Three RAF Bomber Command Halifaxes lay mines off Texel Island.

B-17s of the USAAF's Eighth Air Force bomb the supply dump at Bricy Airfield at Orleans.

III./KG 53 started with the Umrüstung for V-1 missions in Nieder-Seyfersdorf near Grottkau in Schlesien. III.KG 3 moved to Münster-Handorf for V-1 operations. Meanwhile, parts of KG 53 trained for V-1 drop flights too.

GERMANY: During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 181 aircraft, 105 Halifaxes and 76 Lancasters, to bomb Emden; 180 aircraft bomb the target. This is the first large raid to Emden since June 1942; it is also the last Bomber Command raid of the war on this target. The force is provided with an escort, first of RAF Spitfires and then of USAAF P-51s. The bombing is accurate and Emden is seen to be a mass of flames, but no local report is available other than a brief note which states that several small ships in the harbor are sunk.

During the night of 6/7 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 32 Mosquitos to Hamburg and six to Emden; 29 bomb Hamburg and six bomb Emden. Four Halifaxes lay mines in the River Ems.

Another pilot of EKdo 262 began his jet victory scoreboard. Ofw. Hubert Göbel, an ex-JG 301 pilot, downed a Mosquito PR XVI of RAF No. 540 Squadron.

MEDITERRANEAN: The Japanese ambassador to Italy reports back to Tokyo that partisan activity, especially around Turin and the Franco-Italian border, has widened, despite German purges. This information is intercepted by British intelligence and decoded, reassuring the British forces fighting within Italy that they are not alone in fighting the Germans. By war's end, Italian guerrillas control Venice, Milan, and Genoa, but at considerable cost. All told, the resistance lost some 50,000 fighters.

During the night of 6/7 September, 51 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the North marshalling yard at Bologna with the loss of one aircraft. USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s bomb three rail targets at Oradea: 56 attack the East marshalling yard, 55 bomb the West marshalling yard, and 28 bomb the Sebes Koros River railroad bridge. Meanwhile, two bombers, with fighter escort, evacuate interned U.S. airmen from Bucharest.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack two targets: 111 hit the marshalling yard at Nyiregyhaza and one bombs Kiskun Airfield. During the night of 6/7 September, ten RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group mine the Danube River.

During the day, USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s visually bomb five targets: 77 bomb tactical targets at Leskovac; 59 bomb the East marshalling yard at Novi Sad and 57 bomb the South marshalling yard; 54 bomb the East railroad bridge in Belgrade; and 25 bomb the marshalling yard at Leskovac.

During the night of 6/7 September, seven RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group mine the Danube River while another aircraft drops leaflets.

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet troops capture Ostroleka only 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the border of East Prussia. The Soviet advance through Romania reaches the border with Yugoslavia at Turnu-Severin on the Danube.

UNITED KINGDOM: Blackout and other civil defense measures in Britain are relaxed. Compulsory training and drills for the British Home Guard are ended by the war office.

NORTH AMERICA: The USN awards a contract to McDonnell Aircraft Corporation for the development of the Gargoyle or LBD-1, a radio controlled low-wing gliding bomb fitted with a rocket booster and designed for launching from carrier-based dive-bombers and torpedo planes against enemy ships.

 

[syscom3]

7 SEPTEMBER 1944 THURSDAY

WESTERN FRONT: The British Second Army and the US First Army reach the Albert Canal and elements of the US 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) cross the canal near Hasselt while elements of the US VII Corps approach Liege. In northern France, the US.Third Army's second attempt to take Metz in is thwarted by hard-fighting Germans.

In southern France, troops of the US 3d Infantry Division enter Besancon.

Bad weather grounds the bombers of the USAAF Ninth Air Force but fighters provide air cover for the US 8th and 29th Infantry Divisions. Weather cancels all USAAF Twelfth Air Force flying in France.

Stab./LG 1 was placed under Luftflotte 3's command and would operate as "Gefechtsverband Helbig". The following units were subordinated to the Geschwader HQ; III./KG 51, NSG 2, Ops. Detachment I./KG 51, who would operate until the arrival of the Me 262 Gruppe and the remaining units of Einsatzgruppe KG 101 who were a Mistel Staffel. Oberst Helbig was LG 1's Kommodore. The order was given for IX. Fliegerkorps to be transferred to airfields in the Reich together with a list of subordinate bomber Gruppen, many of which (but not all) became KG(J)s. Other Gefechtsverbands operating under 3. Jagddivision were Gefechtsverband JG 4 with Stab/JG 4, I./JG 3, III./JG 300, II./JG 77, III./JG 53; Gefechtsverband 'Spaete' with III./JG 11 and IV./JG 54, conducting Jabo missions and Gefechtsverband JG 11 with Stab/JG 11, II./JG 27 and I./JG 76.

EASTERN FRONT: The Bulgarian government declares war on Germany. The Hungarians declares war on Romania.

The Finnish peace delegation leaves for Moscow. Prime Minister Antti Hackzell acts as the chairman of the delegation, the other members are Minister of Defence General of Infantry Karl Rudolf Walden, Chief of General Staff General of Infantry A. Erik Heinrichs and Lieutenant General Oscar P. Enckell (brother of Foreign Minister Carl Enckell), Special envoy of the Commander in Chief. They cross the Fenno-Soviet frontline in Juustila, and arrive at Moscow in the evening.

The Finnish government inquires whether the Swedish government can receive some 100 000 Finnish refugees from northern Finland. The Swedes reply in affirmative. When the Finns later in autumn initiate hostilities against the Germans in northern Finland, this Swedish help in taking care of the civilian population proves invaluable.

MEDITERRANEAN: The US II Corps completes preparations for an attack, but the German withdrawal during the night of 7/8 September to the Gothic Line itself from delaying positions on the hills around Florence makes the first phase of the assault unnecessary.

Weather cancels all flying in Italy except for weather reconnaissance by a few P-47s.

 

[syscom3]

8 SEPTEMBER 1944 FRIDAY

WESTERN FRONT: In northern France, the Canadian 2d Division captures Dunkirk while the 4th Armoured Division reaches the outskirts of Bruges and Polish armor reaches Thielt. The US 2d, 8th and 29th Infantry Divisions of the US Ninth Army begin an all-out assault on Brest at 1000 hours local. The German 106.Panzerbrigade counterattacks the troops of the US 90th Infantry Division but becomes disorganized and is virtually wiped out losing 30 tanks, 60 half-tracks and almost 100 other vehicles. The enemy pocket in Briey surrenders to units of the U.S. XX Corps. The US VII Corps captures Liege. The Canadian First Army captures Nieuwpoort (Nieuport) and Oostende (Ostend). The U.S. 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) drives almost to Maastricht and patrols the Albert Canal in Belgium. German troops withdraw from Luxembourg to positions behind the Siegfried Line.

The Belgian government, exiled in London for the past four years, returns to Brussels.

In southern France, the 1st Airborne Task Force captures Menton and drives to the Italian border. The French 1st Armoured Division captures Autun. The Germans are beginning to withdraw from the Baume-les-Dames area to avoid being encircled.

During the night of 8/9 September, two of three RAF Mosquitos bomb Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk.

One hundred ten USAAF's Eighth Air B-24s fly a TRUCKIN' (supply) mission from the U.K. to Bricy Airfield at Orleans.

In northern France, the weather prevents USAAF Ninth Air Force bomber missions. Fighters fly cover for troops in the Brest area and for the US 2d, 5th, 8th, and 29th Infantry Divisions, and the XX Corps area; escort troop movements and fly defensive patrols while several hundred C-47s fly supply and evacuation missions.

In southern France: USAAF Twelfth Air Force A-20s fly supply missions to an airfield near Lyon; fighters strafe the Belfort area, hitting 10 trains with good results, and blast a horse-drawn vehicle convoy near Strasbourg.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 333 aircraft, 304 Lancasters, 25 Mosquitos and four Stirlings, to bomb German positions at Le Havre but the weather is bad, with a low cloud base, and only 109 aircraft bombed, with indifferent results. Two Lancasters are lost. The four Stirlings on this raid are the last Bomber Command Stirlings to carry out a bombing operation.

This morning, another rocket landed on the outskirts of Paris, France. By coincidence today Britons are told by Duncan Sandys, a junior minister, that the attack by V1 flying bombs is virtually over "except possibly for a few last shots." The launching sites near Calais, France, have been captured, but a small number of V-1s are still being air-launched by Heinkel bombers over the North Sea. In the 80 days since they began, 2,300 V-1s got through to London, killing 5,475 people, injuring 16,000 and destroying 25,000 houses.

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet troops cross the border into Bulgaria, ostensibly because of Bulgaria's refusal to declare war on Germany.

GERMANY: The USAAF's Eighth Air Force flies Mission 611: 1,070 bombers and 349 fighters in three forces are dispatched to hit industrial; attacks are visual at the primary targets; ten bombers are lost: 344 B-17s, escorted by 88 P-51s, bomb the I.G. Farben synthetic oil refinery at Ludwigshafen with the loss of five aircraft and three others bomb the industrial area in the city; 243 B-24s, escorted by 82 P-51s, bomb the Karlsruhe marshalling yard with the loss of four B-24s and a P-51; 309 B-17s, escorted by 144 P-51s,hit the Kastelan ordinance depot at Mainz; 22 bomb the industrial area at Neuweid; 13 bomb the industrial area at Rudesheim; and nine other aircraft hit targets of opportunity.

During the night of 8/9 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches Mosquitos to two targets: 44 of 45 Mosquitos dispatched bombed Nuremberg and four of six bombed Emden.

With the Nazi empire under extreme pressure on all fronts on land and in the air, the German Air Ministry acknowledged Germany's desperate circumstances by issuing a requirement for a new jet fighter that would be simple, cheap, and easy to build in large quantity. The aircraft would be built in such quantities that little maintenance would be required, as a defective aircraft could simply be discarded and replaced with a new one. The Air Ministry called this aircraft the "Volksjäger", or "People's Fighter". Such a measure made some sense under the circumstances, but there were those in the Nazi leadership, including Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, who went further, believing that this new fighter would be piloted by Hitler Youth. These adolescents would be given elementary pilot training by flying gliders based on the Volksjäger, and then would immediately be put behind the controls of the fighter itself to sink or swim in flight operations and air combat. Generalleutnant Adolf Galland, in command of the Luftwaffe's fighter force, bitterly opposed the Volksjäger, as he felt it would divert resources from existing aircraft programs, particular the Messerschmitt 262 jet fighter. He was supported in his objections by Willi Messerschmitt and Focke-Wulf's Kurt Tank. As the Volksjäger proposal was backed by Reichsmarschall Göring and Armaments Minister Albert Speer, the objections were overruled. The Air Ministry requirement specified a single-seat fighter, powered by a single "BMW-003" turbojet engine with 800 kilograms (1,760 pounds) thrust. The aircraft was to weigh no more than two tonnes (4,400 pounds), making it a featherweight in the air combat environment. Maximum speed was specified as 750 KPH (466 MPH) at sea level; operational endurance was to be at least a half hour; and the takeoff run was to be no more than 500 meters (1,640 feet). Armament was specified as either two 20 millimetre cannon with 100 rounds per gun, or two 30 millimetre cannon with 50 rounds per gun. The Air Ministry specified that proposals were to be submitted no later than 20 September. The Volksjäger was to be ready to go into full production by New Year's Day, 1945. All major German aircraft manufacturers were sent the requirement, and all were interested.

MEDITERRANEAN: Soviet troops are now 26 miles (41,8 km) inside Greece.

Units of the US Fifth Army cross the Serchio River and enter Vecchiano without opposition. The flooded Arno River prevents the South African 6th Armoured Division from crossing reinforcements. The British Eighth Army continues its attacks on Gemmano and Coriano ridges in Italy. Two days of rain have seriously interrupted operations. These attacks are heavily fought and the positions remain in German possession.

During the night of 8/9 September, 71 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the canal at Ravenna.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force P-51s escort RAF Beaufighters to Trieste, Italy.

Three hundred fifty four USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s escorted by P-38s bomb transportation targets: 103 bomb the Sava River railroad bridge in Belgrade; in Nis, 56 bombers attack the West marshalling yard and 48 hit the North marshalling yard; in Sarjaevo, 54 bomb the West marshalling yard and 15 hit the main marshalling yard; 41 bomb the Sava River railroad bridge at Brod;

Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force C-47 Skytrains fly evacuation missions to Bucharest, Romania, and return to Italy carrying Allied POWs.

UNITED KINGDOM: The first German A4 (Vergeltungwaffe 2 or V-2) rocket lands on Staveley Road, a quiet suburban road in Chiswick, West London, at 1843 hours, killing three people, seriously injuring 17, destroying six homes and leaving a massive crater. This is one of Hitler's vaunted "vengeance weapons." It is fired, minutes before by Mobile Artillery Section 485 from a mobile launcher from the Koekoeslaan (Cuckoo's Lane) a suburban road of The Hague, in the Netherlands, The explosion, and a second, just 16 seconds later (which lands in open countryside in Epping (north-east of London), but causes no casualties) are heard over much of London. Each sounded like a double thunder-clap followed by the rush of an express train. It has been aimed at the Fire Station in Southwark Bridge Road but missed by 8 miles (13 kilometers). To avoid panic, and against the advice of scientists, no announcement of the new weapon is made. There are rumors that exploding gas mains are responsible.

 

[syscom3]

9 SEPTEMBER 1944 SATURDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: While tracking fast Convoy ONF-252 (U.K. to North America), German submarine 'U-484' is sunk about 156 nautical miles (288 kilometers) west-northwest of Londonderry, County Derry, Northern Ireland, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS 'Porchester Castle' (K 362) and the frigate HMS 'Helmsdale' (K 253); all 52 crewmen are lost. This is the boats first patrol.

German submarine 'U-865', missing since leaving Trondheim, Norway, is reported lost; all 59 men aboard are lost. This is the boats first patrol.

WESTERN FRONT: The U.S 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) enters the Dutch panhandle near Maastricht. Troops of the Canadian 2 Corps moving along the coast enter Ostend and Nieuport.

Prince Felix and Crown Prince Jean enter Luxembourg with U.S. troops.

During the night of 9/10 September, four RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk.

In southern France, Beaune, Le Creusot and Autun fall to French forces in the south of France.

Brigadier General Charles de Gaulle forms a provisional French government that includes Communists. Geogres Bidault is now the Foreign Minister. The Provisional Government of France issued a proclamation abolishing all laws promulgated by the Vichy government.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force in England flies three missions. Mission 613: 68 B-17s fly Operation GRASSY to drop 180 containers of supplies to French Resistance fighters 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Besancon without loss. Escort is provided by 30 of 32 P-51s without loss.

The USAAF Ninth Air Force flies tactical missions in northern France. Fighters fly escort, furnish ground force cover for the US VIII Corps in the Brest area, the 2d, 5th, and 8th Infantry Divisions of the US Third Army's XX Corps area west of Metz, and fly armed reconnaissance in areas around Nancy, and Aachen, Cologne, Koblenz, Bonn, and Saarbrucken, Germany; fighters also hit bridges at Custines and Pompey; 700+ C-47 Skytrains fly missions. B-26 Marauders fly a leaflet mission to coastal France and Belgium.

The USAAF Twelfth Air Force flies tactical missions in southern France. Motor transport and rolling stock are bombed and strafed in eastern France, with particular success in the Belfort-Mulhouse- Freiburg, France areas.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 272 aircraft, 230 Halifaxes, 22 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to Le Havre but, because of poor visibility, the Master Bomber ordered the raid to be abandoned and only 16 aircraft bombed. No aircraft lost.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 614: 1,140 bombers and 435 fighters, in three forces, are dispatched to hit targets in western Germany; the primaries are attacked by both visual and PFF means; 14 bombers and 1 fighter are lost. (1) 284 B-17s bomb the marshalling yard at Mannheim using H2X radar; (2) 248 B-17s bomb the Borsig armament factory at Dusseldorf;
(3) 212 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Mainz using H2X radar; (4) 24 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Worms; and various other targets of opportunity.

During the night of 9/10 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 113 Lancasters and 24 Mosquitos to carry out a devastating raid on the center of Mönchengladbach; 128 aircraft bomb the city without loss. One aircraft bombs Emden. Also, 39 Mosquitos bomb Brunswick.

MEDITERRANEAN: The USAAF Twelfth Air Force flies tactical missions in southern Italy. B-26s achieve excellent results against rail bridges in the eastern Po Valley while B-25s bomb troop concentrations and supply points south of Bologna; fighter-bombers and fighters attack railways and roads in the Po Valley and from Genoa to Turin and motor transport and rolling stock are bombed and strafed in northern Italy.

 

[syscom3]

10 SEPTEMBER 1944 SUNDAY

WESTERN FRONT: Conferring with his commanders in Brussels, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander-in- Chief Supreme Headquarter Allied Expeditionary Force, decides to defer operations to open the port of Antwerp until after Operation MARKET-GARDEN to secure a Rhine bridgehead.

In the British XXX Corps area, the Germans disposed along the Albert Canal continue to offer stiff opposition to Allied forces holding bridgeheads across it. The US 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) crosses the Meuse River at Liege and drives north. Meanwhile the 28th Infantry Division overruns Bastogne, Longvilly, Wiltz, Selange and Arlon. Combat Command A of the US. 5th Armored Division, takes the city of Luxembourg with ease and probes eastward toward German; Combat Command R drives to within 8 miles (13 kilometers) of the German border.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 992 aircraft, 521 Lancasters, 426 Halifaxes and 45 Mosquitos to attack eight different German strong points around Le Havre; 961 aircraft bomb targets. Each target is separately marked by the Pathfinders and then accurately bombed. No aircraft lost.

The British I Corps, after a very strong aerial bombardment during which almost 5,000 tons (4 636 tonnes) of bombs are dropped, and after naval softening of defenses by the British battleship HMS 'Warspite' (03) and the monitor HMS 'Erebus' (I 02), launches an all-out assault on Le Havre at 1745 hours with two divisions penetrating the German defenses.

US VIII Corps closes up to Brest proper and finishes clearing the Le Conquest Peninsula. The XIX Corps advancing northeastward with little difficulty, finds Fort Eben Emael undefended. The US 90th Infantry Division takes Aumetz, Hayange and Algrange. The 5th Infantry Division begins crossing the Moselle River between Noveant and Arnaville about 0200 hours under a smoke screen taking the Germans by surprise. In southern France, the French II Corps reaches Dijon. The XV Corps makes contact with the French II Corps that landed in southern France.

US Lt.General Omar Bradley, Commanding General 12th Army Group, orders the US First Army to break through the West Wall and secure crossings over the Rhine River in the vicinity of Koblenz, Bonn and Cologne; US Third Army is to secure crossings of the Rhine at Mannheim. This offensive is scheduled to open on 14 September.

During the night of 10/11 September, one of two RAF Bomber Command Lancasters lays mines off Texel Island.

Advance HQ, USAAF Ninth Air Force, assigns rail lines approaching the Rhine River from the west, north of Karlsruhe, to be attacked by IX and XIX Tactical Air Command fighters in the first of a series of orders setting up rail interdiction programs to cut lines west and east of the Rhine River in September and early October; changes and additions to targets appear on 12 and 14 September when a list of all lines to be cut is published.

In northern France, about 340 B-26s and A-20s hit strongpoints and ammunition stores at Foret de Haye, Custines rail bridge, and a road bridge over the Mosel River; escorting fighters provide general air cover in the Metz-Nancy area, and support US Third Army ground forces in stemming a counterattack there; 800+ C-47 Skytrains complete supply and evacuation missions; the southern invading forces and those of the Normandy invasion meet.

In the air in southern France, 54 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack Bron supply depot at Lyon. Fighters and fighter-bombers of the USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Tactical Air Command attack communications in the Belfort and Dijon areas, cutting railroads and hitting several trains.


GERMANY: The USAAF's Eighth Air Force flies Mission 619: (1) 1,144 bombers and 570 fighters, in three forces, attack targets in the Stuttgart area: (2) 247 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Ulm using H2X radar; (3) 70 B-17s hit the M.A.N. tank factory at Nurnburg using H2X radar; (4) 140 B-17s hit the Diamler-Benz motor vehicle factory at Gaggenau; (5) 112 B-17s bomb Giebelstadt Airfield; 99 B-24s hit the marshalling yard at Heilbronn; (6) 73 bomb the Diamler-Benz engine factory at Sindelfingen; (7) 69 B-17s bomb the Zuffenhausen Me 262 engine factory at Stuttgart; (8 ) 62 B-17s bomb the Me 262 assembly factory at Furth; (9) 13 B-17s bomb the industrial area at Darmstadt; (10) 12 aircraft each bomb the Zuffenhausen marshalling yard at Stuttgart, and targets of opportunity; and individual aircraft bomb six targets of opportunity. Mission 620: A B-17 flies a mission to trial the GB-4 radio/visual control bomb against a railroad bridge at Duren.

During the night of 10/11 September, 25 USAAF Eighth Air Force B-24s and C-47 Skytrains fly CARPETBAGGER missions.

During the night of 10/11 September, 41 of 47 RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Berlin without loss; one Mosquito bombs Lubeck.

The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 344 B-17s and B-24s to bomb four targets in the Vienna area: 134 bomb the industrial area; 82 hit an oil refinery; 79 bomb the Schwechat synthetic oil refinery; and 50 attack the Ostmark Ordnance Depot. Seventeen aircraft are lost.

The Luftwaffe's current highest scoring Experten, Erich Hartmann of JG 52, with at this time 301 victories, married his girlfriend, Ursula, whose nickname "Usch" Hartmann had painted on his aircraft with a bleeding heart.

Oblt. Müller's Staffel of EKdo 262 began flying operations from Rechlin airbase. A new Sturmgruppe was formed when II (Sturm)./JG 4 was formed led by Oblt. Hans-Günther von Kornatzki, the originator of the Sturmbock idea. The original Sturmstaffel 1 was used to form the new Gruppe.

MEDITERRANEAN: In the US Fifth Army area, the 6th Armored Infantry Battalion takes Villa Basilica and the II Corps opens a drive toward the Gothic Line at 0530 hours with two divisions abreast. The British XIII Corps attacks toward the Gothic Line with three divisions with their main effort on the left in support of the US II Corps.

B-25s and B-26s of the USAAF Twelfth Air Force continue the campaign against railroad bridges in the Po Valley and execute four attacks against supply and ammunition dumps; fighter-bombers hit dumps and communications as the ground assault on the Gothic Line commences during the early morning.

The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 80 B-24s to bomb the port area at Trieste.

Three German submarines, 'U-19', 'U-20' and 'U-23', are scuttled by their crews in the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey in position 41.16N, 31.26E.

 

[syscom3]

11 SEPTEMBER 1944 MONDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the North Sea, the German submarine 'U-855', is listed as missing in the area west of Bergen, Norway with all 56 crewmen. The cause is unknown. She is on her first patrol.

WESTERN FRONT: The US First Army units takes Malmedy. The US First Army under Major General Courtney Hodges enters Luxembourg City and the liberation of the Grand Duchy from German occupation is completed. Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Jett is placed in charge of maintaining order and restoration of public services. In northern France, the British I Corps attacks Le Havre after an RAF raid.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 218 aircraft, 105 Halifaxes, 103 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos, to attack German positions outside Le Havre; 171 aircraft bombed the target. The bombing is carried out accurately in conditions of good visibility but the Master Bomber ordered the final wave to cease bombing because of smoke and dust. None are lost.

RAF Bomber Command dispatched seven Mosquitos to bomb Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk; three aircraft bomb the target.

In northern France, the USAAF Ninth Air Force continues tactical support of ground forces: 358 B-26s and A-20s, escorted by fighters, in support of the US Third Army, hit gun positions and strongpoints in the Metz area;, and support Third Army ground forces in the Metz area; fighters also support ground forces in the Brest area. USAAF Ninth Air Force fighters fly armed reconnaissance over the Lissendorf and Duren areas.

In southern France, the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy limits operations to supply mission by 54 B-24s to Lyons due to bad weather.

12./JG 1 was formed from 1./KG 2, and III./JG 1 now had four Staffeln.

NORTH AMERICA: The Octagon Conference at Quebec City, Quebec begins. British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with their staffs, meet to discuss overall strategy of the war. The plans for continued attacks in Italy and Northern Europe are not changed. British attacks in Burma are approved. British Fleet participation in the Pacific is approved for the final campaigns against the Japanese. This conference will last through 6 September.

EASTERN FRONT: Thirty nine USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17s bomb a synthetic oil refinery at Brux using H2X radar. This is part of Operation FRANTIC that along with 64 P-51s, continues on and lands in the USSR.

The Finns and the Germans start secret negotiations about the German withdrawal from northern Finland at Rovaniemi. The Soviet-imposed deadline for the German withdrawal is only four days away, and it is evident the Germans are unable to leave Finland in time. However, both armies are willing to avoid bloodshed, and agreement is reached. Germans would retreat according to a prearranged plan, destroying roads and bridges, while Finns would advance slowly to areas already abandoned by Germans. The slow rate of Finnish advance could be excused by the German policy of scorched earth. While the negotiations are going on, the Swedish government has already agreed to receive the Finnish civilian population wishing to leave the German occupied areas.

GERMANY: Armored reconnaissance elements of the US Third Army cross into Germany, the first Allied unit to do so.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 623: 1,131 bombers and 440 fighters, in 3 forces, are dispatched to hit synthetic oil plants and refineries in Germany; they encounter an estimated 525 Luftwaffe fighters; 40 bombers and 17 fighters are lost; the USAAF claim 115-7-23 aircraft in the air and 42-0-43 on the ground. B-17 targets are (number in parenthesis indicates number of aircraft bombing): I. G. Farben synthetic oil refineries at Merseburg (111) and Lutzkendorf (85); Braunkohle synthetic oil refinery at Bohlen (75), Chemnitz (74) and Schwartzhelde synthetic oil refinery at Ruhland (22); targets of opportunity are a tire plant at an aircraft engine factory at Eisenach (81); Fulda (64), a marshalling yard at Fulda (42), Labejum (12), Rossla (6) and 41 others. B-24 targets are Misburg oil refinery at Hannover (87) and a tank factory at Hannover (84), the Friedrichstadt ordinance depot at Magdeburg (60); targets of opportunity hit are the industrial area at Magdeburg (70), Stendal Airfield (45), Diepholz Airfield (9) and three others.

The Allied formations first made a decoy run towards Berlin to deceive the Luftwaffe fighters then headed for their targets. But close to 500 German fighters intercepted the formations. First to reach the bombers shortly after 12.00 hours were the Fw 190s of JG 4 including those of the new Sturmgruppe II, the specially armed fighters used for destroying the four-engined bombers. The first section of JG 4, II (Sturm)./JG 4 led by Gruppenkommandeur Major von Kornatzki, barreled into the bomber formations head-on from the six o'clock position out of the sun and destroyed six bombers immediately. The rest of the fighters soon engaged the bombers along with P-51 Mustangs of the Allied escorting force. Intercepting were elements from JG 3, JG 53, JG 300 and JG 76. Uffz. Schubert of 1./JG 400 claimed a B-17 near Brandis. Altogether forty-five B-17s were shot down including fourteen out of thirty-six aircraft of the USAAF 100th BG and the whole lower box of the 350th BS. Four P-51s of the USAAF 55th FG were also destroyed and three pilots of the 355th FG crashed. The fighters of JG 4 lost ten Fw 190s and Bf 109s shot down with twenty-one pilots killed. The Sturmbock pilots suffered an almost 50% casualty rate in the day's operations.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 379 aircraft, 205 Halifaxes, 154 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to attack three synthetic oil plants; 121 bomb the Klocknerwerke plant at Castrop Rauxel; 116 hit the Chemischewerke plant at Kamen; and 114 attack the Nordstern plant at Gelsenkirchen. The first two targets are clearly visible and are accurately bombed but the Nordstem plant is partially protected by a smoke-screen which hindered bombing and prevented observation of the results. The three forces are escorted by 26 squadrons of fighters, 20 squadrons of Spitfires and three each of Mustangs and Tempests. No German fighters are encountered. Five Halifaxes and two Pathfinder Lancasters are lost from the Nordstem raid and a Lancaster is lost from each of the other raids. These loss are caused by flak or by 'friendly' bombs.

During the night of 11/12 September, RAF Bomber Command sends 226 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos to bomb Darmstadt; 234 aircraft bombed the city with the loss of 12 Lancasters, 5.3 per cent of the Lancaster force. A previous attack in August had failed to harm Darmstadt but, in clear weather conditions, the group's marking methods produced an outstandingly accurate and concentrated raid on this almost intact city of 120,000 people. A fierce fire area is created in the centre and in the districts immediately south and east of the center. Property damage in this area is almost complete. Casualties are very heavy. The Darmstadt raid, with its extensive fire destruction and its heavy casualties, is held by the Germans to be an extreme example of RAF "terror bombing" and is still a sensitive subject because of the absence of any major industries in the city. Bomber Command defended the raid by pointing out the railway communications passing through Darmstadt; the directive for the offensive against German communications had not yet been issued to Bomber Command, although advance notice of the directive may have been received. Darmstadt is simply one of Germany's medium-sized cities of lesser importance which succumbed to Bomber Command's improving area-attack techniques in the last months of the war when many of the larger cities are no longer worth bombing. A second target during the night is Berlin which is hit by 42 Mosquitos. Seventy six Halifaxes and Lancasters are dispatched on mine laying missions during the night: 17 laid mines in the Kiel area, 16 off Swinemunde, nine off Kattegat and seven in the Fehmarn Channel. Two Lancasters are lost off Swinemunde.

The first P-51 Mustang to fall to a jet fighter was shot down by Ofw. Baudach flying an Me 262 of EKdo 262 from Lechfeld airbase. The Mustang was from the USAAF 339th FG.

MEDITERRANEAN: The US Fifth Army continues to advance in Italy. Pistoia is liberated by South African units of the British XIII Corps.

In the air, the US Twelfth Air Force continues tactical operations. B-26s hit defensive positions as US Fifth Army elements push through northern Italian mountain passes toward Gothic Line defenses; B-25s bomb railroad bridges at Vigevano and Canneto sull'Oglio and supply areas; fighter-bombers and fighters attack roads, railroads, guns, supply areas, bridges, and other targets at Vernio, and in the Alessandria, Turin, Piacenza, and Milan areas.

 

[syscom3]

12 SEPTEMBER 1944 TUESDAY

WESTERN FRONT: The Polish 1st Armoured Division pushes forward to Lokeren and St Nicholas while the 4th Armoured Division clears the Bruges area and reaches the Leopold Canal. The US 2d Armored Division reconnaissance battalion clears the bridge site along the north bank of the Albert Canal and the bridge is completed there at midnight. Combat Command A of the 2d Armored Division begins crossing the bridge immediately.

In northern France, the German garrison of 12,000 surrenders at Le Harve to the British I Corps. Units of the US Third Army eliminate all resistance west of the Moselle River in the Thionville area and clears Thionville west of the river except for an approach to the main bridge there. The Germans destroy the bridge. At 1200 hours engineers finish bridging the Moselle, thus permitting tanks and tank destroyers of the U.S. 7th Armored Division to cross into the bridgehead. A regiment of the 80th Infantry Division attacks across the Moselle in the Dieulouard area early in the morning and finds the east bank lightly held; another regiment follows just before noon and weapons and vehicles start across later in the day.

In southern France, elements of the French 2d Corps reach the outskirts of Langres.

In northern France, 400+ C-47 Skytrains of the First Allied Airborne Army's IX Troop Carrier Command complete supply and evacuation missions. The USAAF Ninth Air Force flies tactical missions attacking fortifications around Nancy while fighters continue ground support in the French/German border area.

In southern France, the 54 B-24 Liberators of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy fly a supply mission.

Five RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos attack Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk.

Twelve RAF Bomber Command Halifaxes are dispatched to mine Oslo harbor; only one aircraft lays mines and it is lost; the other eleven are recalled.

GERMANY: The USAAF Ninth Air Force flies tactical missions with B-26s and A-20s hitting Westwall fortifications and the Sankt Wendel station, where an armored division and important technicians are to entrain.

Noor Inayat Khan, also known as the SOE agent Madelaine is executed at Dachau concentration camp.

The US 1st Infantry Division thrusts at Aachen Municipal Forest, south of Aachen, where it repels a counterattack. One US 3d Army Division column, driving northeast from Eupen, stops for the night on the edge of Eynattener Wald, within about 1,000 yards (914 meters) of the West Wall; another column probes east from Eupen, some elements reaching the West Wall at Schmidthof and others reaching Roetgen, just short of the West Wall. Major General J. Lawton Collins, Commanding General VII Corps, decides to bypass Aachen, isolating it in conjunction with the XIX Corps, and drive toward the Stolberg corridor. The V Corps begins limited attacks against the West Wall.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 626: For the second day, 888 bombers and 662 fighters, in three forces, are dispatched on a major assault on the German oil industry; they are intercepted by 400-450 Luftwaffe fighters; USAAF claims 81-16-20 aircraft in the air; 35 bombers and 12 fighters are lost. (1) B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb oil refineries at Ruhland (59); targets of opportunity are Lauta (48 ), Plauen (30), Etterwinden (12), Kitzingen (11) and others (20); PFF methods are used for all targets; they claim 14-9-7 aircraft; 19 B-17 Flying Fortresses are lost; escort is provided by 238 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 29-2-4 aircraft in the air and 21-0-16 on the ground; 10 P-51s are lost. (2) B-17s bombing visually attack Magdeburg/Rothensee (144), Magdeburg/Friedrichstadt (73) and Bohlen (35); targets of opportunity are Fulda (46), Molbis (11) and other (8 ); they claim 13-5-5 aircraft; 12 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 236 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 25-0-4 aircraft in the air and 5-0-15 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost. (3) B-24s hit Hemmingstedt (66), Kiel (58 ) and Misburg (34); targets of opportunity are Laharte (38 ), marshalling yard at Northeim (12), Hannover (11), Hemmingstedt (3) and other (3); PFF is used for bombing; 4 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 105 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s without loss. Thirty six B-24 Liberators and C-47 Skytrains are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

During an Allied raid to Magdeburg JG 4 lost fourteen Fw 190's this day with eleven pilots killed, one baled out wounded, one missing and one wounded. Obstlt. Hans-Gunther von Kornatzki, Gruppenkommandeur of the new Sturmgruppe, II(Sturm)./JG 4, and the originator of the Sturmbock concept, was killed in combat. The Major had five aerial victories. Major Rudolf Schroeder was appointed as Gruppenkommandeur.

The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force sends nearly 330 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24s supported by P-38s and P-51s to bomb three targets: 263 B-17s bomb Lechfeld Airfield at Munich; 91 B-24s bomb the Allach engine works producing engines for the FW 190 at Munich; and 78 B-24s bomb the Wasserburg jet aircraft factory.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatched 412 aircraft, 315 Halifaxes, 75 Lancasters and 22 Mosquitos, to attack three synthetic oil plants:141 hit the Buer plant at Gelsenkirchen, 120 hit the Krupp Treibstoff plant at Wanne-Eikel, and 110 hit the Hoesch plant at Dortmund. The Dortmund raid is particularly successful, but smoke-screens prevented observation of results at the other targets. Seven aircraft are lost. In a second raid, 119 Halifaxes and five Pathfinder Lancasters carried out the first raid by RAF heavies on Münster since June 1943; 121 aircraft bombed the target. Two Halifaxes are lost. Many fires are seen but smoke prevented an accurate assessment of the bombing results. A brief report from Münster describes a "sea of fire" in the southern part of the town which could not be entered for several hours and tells of water mains destroyed by high-explosive bombs so that;

"..the firemen could only stand helpless in front of the flames."

The railway station in the heart of the city is one of the targets.

During the night of 12/13 September, RAF Bomber Command sends 378 Lancasters and nine Mosquitos on the last major RAF raid of the war against Frankfurt-am- Main; 366 bomb the city. Seventeen Lancasters are lost, 4.5 per cent of the Lancaster force. The local report says that the raid occurred when many of the city's firemen and rescue workers are away working in Darmstadt. The bombing caused severe destruction in the western districts of the city, which contained many industrial premises. Property damage is extensive. A troop train is hit at the West Station. A second target is Stuttgart with 204 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos dispatched; 211 bomb the target with the loss of four Lancasters. The attack is a success and local reports state that a firestorm occurred. A third target is Berlin with 29 Mosquitos bombing.

MEDITERRANEAN: German troops evacuate Rhodes and other Greek islands in the eastern Mediterranean. The exiled Greek government moves from Cairo, Egypt to Caerta.

The South African 6th Armoured Division continues to gain ground as the Germans fall back to prepared positions of the Gothic Line.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-26s hit defended positions in the central battle sector of the Gothic Line; B-25s pound Po River railroad bridges and attack guns and strongpoints in the battle zone as the Germans fall back to prepared Gothic Line defenses and the rapid Allied advance halts; and fighter-bombers strike at guns, troop concentrations, strongpoints, and flak positions in the Genoa and Milan areas.

During the night of 12/13 September, 84 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb East marshalling yard at Bologna.

EASTERN FRONT: The Germans and Hungarians begin a counter-offensive toward Arad and Temesvar.

The Romanian government signs an armistice, drawn up in Moscow, with the United Kingdom, United States and Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. The agreement commits Romania to co-operate in the war against Hungary and Germany and to pay reparations. The boundary between the USSR and Romania is to be that established by the Soviet-Romanian agreement of 28 June 1940. The Soviets promise to return Transylvania to Romania.

 

[syscom3]

13 SEPTEMBER 1944 WEDNESDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The destroyer USS 'Warrington' (DD-383) and the stores ship USS 'Hyades' (AF-28 ) are caught in the center of a hurricane off the Florida coast in the US In the evening the storm forced the destroyer to heave to while 'Hyades' continues on her way alone. Keeping wind and sea on her port bow, 'Warrington' rode relatively well through most of the night. Wind and seas, however, continued to build during the early morning hours today and 'Warrington' begins to lose headway and, as a result, starts to ship water through the vents to her engineering spaces. The water rushing into her vents causes a loss of electrical power which sets off a chain reaction. Her main engines lose power, and her steering engine and mechanism go out. She wallows there in the trough of the swells continuing to ship water. She regains headway briefly and turns upwind, while her radiomen desperately, but fruitlessly, tries to raise 'Hyades'. Finally, she resorted to a plain-language distress call to any ship or shore station. By noon today, it is apparent that 'Warrington's crewmen could not win the struggle to save their ship, and the order went out to prepare to abandon ship. By 1250 hours, her crew has left 'Warrington'; and she went down almost immediately. A prolonged search by USS 'Hyades', the destroyer escorts USS 'Frost' (DE-144), USS 'Nuse' (DE-145), USS 'Inch' (DE-146), USS 'Snowden' (DE-246), USS 'Swasey' (DE248 ), USS 'Woodson' (DE-359), USS 'Johnnie Hutchins' (DE-360), ATR-9, and ATR-62 rescue only five officers and 68 men of the destroyer's 20 officers and 301 men.

WESTERN FRONT: General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander-in- Chief Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, directs the capture of two objectives: the Ruhr and a deepwater port, either Antwerp or Rotterdam.

In northern France, the German garrison at Brest refuses a request to surrender although the garrison is being steadily compressed on all sides. In the US XII Corps area, the Germans have decided to abandon Nancy in order to mass forces with which to overwhelm the Dieulouard bridgehead. A regiment of the 79th Infantry Division takes Neufchateau.

In southern France, the French 1st Armoured Division takes Langres. In the VI Corps area, the Germans surrender Vesoul and the 45th Infantry Division overruns Villersexel. VI Corps takes more than 1,300 POWs during the day.

First Allied Airborne Army's IX Troop Carrier Command C-47 Skytrains fly numerous supply and evacuation missions.

The USAAF Ninth Air Force's HQ XIX Tactical Air Command accompanies HQ US Third Army HQ to ChaIons-sur- Marne; B-26s fly a leaflet mission to coastal northern France and Belgium; fighters support ground forces in the Brest and Nancy-Metz areas (air-ground coordination being especially effective between XIX Tactical Air Command and French 2d Armored Division in defeating the German move on Vittel. The USAAF Ninth Air Force flies armed reconnaissance over the Cologne, Aachen, Koblenz, Linz/Rhine, and Wahn areas; the XIX Tactical Air Command inaugurates a rail cutting campaign.

GERMANY: The U.S. VII Corps penetrates the West Wall at two points.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force in England flies three missions. Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of aircraft bombing the target. Mission 628: 1,015 bombers and 477 fighters, in three forces, attack oil and industrial targets in southern Germany by visual means; 15 bombers and 8 fighters are lost. (1) B-17s bomb Sindelfingen oil refineries at Stuttgart (109) and Ludwigshafen (74); secondary targets hit are Darmstadt (95) and Wiesbaden (8 ); targets of opportunity hit are Mainz (22), a marshalling yard near Wiesbaden (12) and others (3); four B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 73 P-47s, they claim 6-0-2 aircraft on the ground. (2) B-24s attack Schwäbisch Hall Airfield (65), a munitions dump at Ulm (65) and Weissenhorn (45); a target of opportunity hit is Reichelsheim (1); four B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 99 P-38s and P-51s; they claim 14-0-5 aircraft on the ground; two P-51s are lost; and (3) B-17s hit oil refineries at Merseburg (141) and Lutzkendorf (77); targets of opportunity hit are Giessen (17), Eisenach (12), Altenburg (7), Gera (7) and other (19); they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; seven B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 233 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 33-0-4 aircraft in the air; 6 P-51s are lost. Mission 629: B-24s are dispatched on an Azon mission to the oil refinery at Hemminstedt (6);five hit the secondary target, ammunition dumps at Kropp. Escort is provided by 15 P-51s without loss.

The Allies attacked the II./NJG 6 base at Schwäbisch Hall. Losses at II./NJG 6 included five night-fighter type Ju 88s and some message/radio equipment.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 140 aircraft, 102 Halifaxes, 28 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos to attack the Nordstern synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen; 100 bombed the target and 14 bombed the city. Large explosions are seen through the smoke-screen. 2 Halifaxes lost. In a second raid, 98 Halifaxes and 20 Lancasters are dispatched to attack Osnabrück; 80 aircraft bomb the marshalling yard and 37 bomb the city. The marking and bombing are accurate but no details are available. No aircraft lost.

During the night of 13/14 September, 36 Mosquitos of RAF Bomber Command are sent to Berlin and three to Karlsruhe. All aircraft bomb their targets with the loss of two aircraft bombing Berlin.

Kommodore Dahl of JG 300 brought down a USAAF four-engined bomber by ramming it.

MEDITERRANEAN: The British 8th Army has cleared the Coriano Ridge of German positions in Italy. U.S. forces continue attacking the Gothic line but make little progress against stiff resistance.

US Twelfth Air Force B-25s destroy a bridge at Peschiera del Garda, cutting the Milan-Verona line; B-25s and B-26s bomb guns and defensive positions north of Florence; fighter-bombers attack railroads, rolling stock, and bridges in northern Italy, although a heavy overcast hampers operations in the northwest.

B-24s bomb three targets: 50 bomb the railroad viaduct at Aviso, 28 bomb the railroad bridge at Ora and 27 bomb the railroad bridge at Mezza Corona.

Three USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the railroad at Berzence, Papa Airfield and an industrial area.

EASTERN FRONT: The 2nd Belorussian Front takes Lomza on the Narew River. The Red Army captured the Warsaw suburb of Praha on the east bank of the Vistula. Belated Russian supply drops to the Polish Home Army in Warsaw begin.

B-24s of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombs two targets: 96 B-24s bomb the I.G. Farben oil refinery at Oswiecim and 25 bomb the marshalling yard at Wadowice. The Auschwitz concentration camp is located near Oswiecim and some of the bombs land inside the main camp destroying a barracks, killing 15 SS men and injuring 28. A cluster of bombs is also mistakenly dropped farther west at Birkenau, damaging the railroad but missing the crematoria. One hundred sixteen B-17s bomb the I.G. Farben synthetic oil refinery at Blechhammer while 112 B-24s bomb the Deschowitz synthetic oil refinery at Odertal.

 

[syscom3]

14 SEPTEMBER 1944 THURSDAY

GERMANY: The US Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 632: 2 B-17 control aircraft and 2 B-17 CASTOR drones fly an APHRODITE mission to the oil refinery at Hemmingstedt, Germany; the target is missed.

Lt. Joachim Weber of EKdo 262 adds to his jet score by downing a reconnaissance Mosquito.

'U-2513' and 'U-3008' launched. 'U-2346' laid down.

WESTERN FRONT: C-47s of the First Allied Airborne Army's US IX Troop Carrier Command continue large-scale supply and evacuation missions in France. The US Ninth Air Force activates HQ XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) at Vermand, in anticipation of operating with the US Ninth Army, shortly to join the Twelfth Army Group; Brigadier General Richard E Nugent is Commanding General; about 140 B-26s and A-20s bomb gun emplacements and strongpoints in the Brest area. In southern France, bad weather limits US Twelfth Air Force fighters to a few sweeps.

One of Britain's most successful secret weapons - a midget submarine able to penetrate the best defended waterways - has struck again. This time the target was a big floating dock, blown up in Bergen harbour. Lt. H. P. Westmacott skippered the four-man craft, X24, as it slipped through 30 miles of islands offshore and a minefield and into a fjord to sail at periscope depth to the harbour. After diving to 35 feet to avoid collision with a merchant ship, Westmacott attached delayed-action charges to the target and escaped. It is the second such raid on Bergen by Westmacott in X24.

EASTERN FRONT: Units of the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front enter the Warsaw suburb of Praga. The Soviets attack Heereseruppe Nord with 130 Divisions which was forced to fall back to defensive positions around Riga. General Schorner asks Hitler to let Estonia to go. This time Hitler allows a retreat.

The Finnish peace delegation has waited for a week at Moscow for the negotiations to begin. Delay is caused by disagreements between the Soviets and British over the terms of the interim Peace Treaty (the final treaty will be the one concluded with the Soviet Union, UK and the Dominions at Paris in 1947). Today the two allies finally reach an agreement, and the Fenno-Soviet negotiations are to begin in evening. However, Prime Minister Antti Hackzell, who is the chairman of the Finnish delegation, suffers brain haemorrhage just hours before the first session is to start and is paralysed. Minister of Defence Gen. Rudolf Walden acts as the head of the delegation in the first session. Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Enckell arrives two days later to replace Hackzell.
By this date all German troops have left Southern Finland.

MEDITTERRANEAN: The British 8th Army begins its continued advance, toward the Marano River, after capturing the Gemmano Ridge.

US Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack defensive positions in the east and central parts of the Gothic Line as the enemy fiercely resists, especially at Il Giogo Pass and on Monte Altuzzo; fighter-bombers continue strikes against communications and movement in the Po Valley.

The sailing yacht 'EROS' is torpedoed and sunk by US PT boats off Genoa. She is ex-mercantile, originally built as a yacht for the Rothschild family. 1,019 tons built 1926 in England with some guns. She was seized by the Germans at Toulon in 1942 and redesignated Kriegsmarine Uj.2216 in 1943.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Frigate HMCS 'Waskesiu' departed departed Londonderry with Convoy ONF-253.

Frigate HMCS 'Stettler' attacked by 'U-802' Kptlt Helmut Schmoeckel CO. 'U-802' was a type IXC/40, U-boat, built by Deutsche Schiff und Machinen Bau AG Seebeck Yard Bremen, commissioned 12 Jun 43, in service 23 months, with a record of sinking 1 ship on 14 Sep 44. 'Stettler' together with other frigates were on a routine patrol of Gaspe Passage when they fell within torpedo range of 'U-802'. Assuming a convoy following astern of the sweep, 'U-802' tried to slip through the screen. Asdic sounds surrounded it as the formation zigzagged around its base course in full view of Schmoeckel's periscope;

"Suddenly a destroyer turns bows on at full speed, making black smoke".

Incorrect though his assumption was, Schmoeckel could only conclude in that split second that HMCS 'Stettler' had gained asdic contact and was commencing her attack. Pressed by the apparently threatening frigate slicing through an "absolutely smooth, leaden sea (at approximately) 20 knots" Schmoeckel hastily fired a T-5 acoustic Gnat at a range of 500 m. An "explosion," in the words of the Canadian report, "believed to be a torpedo, occurred 40 yards astern of HMCS 'Stettler' in the ship's wake." The crew of 'U-802' heard their torpedo explode, followed by "the sounds of sinking," and credited themselves with a kill. Lying under protective layers at a depth of 170 m eight minutes after their attack, they listened in safety to the counter-attacks as "destroyers" crossed overhead. 'U-802' rounded Cap de la Madeleine by late afternoon on 15 Sep, and let itself drift eastward with the prevailing set of the Gaspe stream.

 

[syscom3]

15 SEPTEMBER 1944 FRIDAY

WESTERN FRONT: The Canadian 4th Armoured Division establishes a bridgehead across Canal de Derivation near Balgerhoek. In northern France, the US 2d and 29th Infantry Divisions continue to make slow progress at Brest. Units of the Task Force Sebree move into Nancy from Toul without opposition. In preparation for Operation MARKET-GARDEN, the British Second Army crosses the Meuse-Escaut canal. The US First Army takes Eisden and Maastrich.

In southern France, the 6th Army Group becomes operational at 0001 hours local and assumes control of the Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) forces that are in France. At the same time, operational control of the 6th Army Group passes AFHQ to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, a move previous agreed upon between American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander-in- Chief Supreme Headquarter Allied Expeditionary Force, and British General Henry Wilson, Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean. French Army B acquires autonomy and is on a par with the U.S. Seventh Army. French Army B regroups during the next few days for a drive eastward.

Marshal Henri Pétain, the Vichy French head of state and others of his government, are ordered arrested by the government of Brigadier General Charles deGaulle, Prime Minister of the Provisional Government.

In northern France, bad weather prevents US AAF Ninth Air Force bomber operations; the US IX Tactical Air Command supports US First Army troops and in Germany, flies armed reconnaissance around Cologne and from Trier to the Rhine River area; the USAAF XIX Tactical Air Command supports the US Third Army and flies armed reconnaissance in the Nancy-Strasbourg area. HQ XII Tactical Air Command, based in southern France, remains assigned to the USAAF Twelfth Air Force but is put under operational control of the Ninth Air Force.

In southern France, 53 B-24s fly a supply mission from Italy.

Thirty eight Lancasters and a weather reconnaissance Mosquito of RAF Bomber Command had set out on 11 September to fly to Northern Russia in preparation for this raid on the German 45,000 ton battleship 'Tirpitz', which is at anchor in Kaa Fjord in Northern Norway. One aircraft returned to the U.K. and six crash-landed in Russia but their crew members are not seriously hurt. Only 27 Lancasters and a further Lancaster with a cameraman on board are available for the raid on the 'Tirpitz', which eventually took place today. Twenty aircraft are loaded with the 12,000 pound (5 443 kilogram) Tallboy bomb and six (or seven, the records are not clear) carried several 'Johnny Walker' mines, of 400-500 pound (181-227 kilogram) weight developed for attacking capital ships moored in shallow water. The attack caught the 'Tirpitz' by surprise and her smoke-screens are late in starting. One Tallboy hit the 'Tirpitz' near the bow and caused considerable damage. The shock caused by the explosion of this bomb, or possibly from other bombs which are near misses, also damaged the battleship's engines. The Germans decided that repairs to make 'Tirpitz' fully seaworthy are not practicable and she is later moved to an anchorage further south in Norway, but only for use as a semi-static heavy artillery battery. These results of the raid are not known in the U.K. at the time and further raids against 'Tirpitz' would take place. None of the Lancasters are shot down on the raid and all returned safely to the airfield in Russia but one aircraft crashed in Norway while returning to the U.K. two days later with 11 men on board.

During the night of 15/16 September, six RAF Bomber Command aircraft laid mines in Kaa Fjord.

EASTERN FRONT: Today is the deadline by when all Germans should have evacuated Finland. Southern Finland has been evacuated in time, but in Finnish Lappland (where Germans have manned the frontline since 1941) it has been evident all the time that the Germans could not and would not leave in time. That is why Finns and Germans have secretly agreed to orchestrate the German withdrawal so that there would be no fighting. Despite the agreement, this day sees the first bloodletting between the former "Waffenbruderen" . In eastern Gulf of Finland a major battle is fought when Germans launch Operation Tanne Ost, capture of the island of Suursaari (today Gogland or Sur-Sari in Russian possession). After midnight some 2,000 men invade the island. Germans expect to gain the island without a fight but the Finnish defenders, led by Lieutenant Colonel Martti Miettinen, refuse to surrender and fight back. After dawn it's clear the German situation is hopeless. They are pinned down on the beach by the Finnish defenders and are strafed by Soviet fighters who have also driven away the German ships giving fire support to the operation. In the end Germans surrender. They have lost 153 killed and 1,231 POW's (who are later handed over to the Russians). For Finnish political leadership this action is heaven-sent. The peace negotiations are going on at Moscow, and now there's proof that Finns are seriously fighting Germans. It is hoped (vainly) that this would help the negotiators to get a little better deal.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 632: As part of Operation FRANTIC, 110 B-17s are dispatched to drop supplies to Warsaw patriots and then proceed to bases in the U.S.S.R.; a weather front is encountered over the North Sea and the bombers are recalled. Escort is provided by 149 P-51s; two P-51s collide in a cloud and are lost.

During the night of 15/16 September, nine RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Gdynia.

On the Northern front, the Soviets achieved a breakthrough at Narva.

GERMANY: The U.S. 1st Infantry Division almost encircles Aachen. The U.S. 3d Armored Division heads east toward Eschweiler battling the second defense belt of the West Wall, called the Schill Line. Task Force Lovelady of the 3d Armored Division cross the Vicht River upon completion of a bridge and with little difficulty achieves complete breakthrough of West Wall fortifications driving through Mausbach toward Eschweiler.

During the night of 15/16 September, RAF Bomber Command sent 490 aircraft, 310 Lancasters, 173 Halifaxes and seven Mosquitos, to Kiel; 465 bomb the target. Four Halifaxes and two Lancasters are lost. The evidence of returning crews and of photographs caused Bomber Command to record this as "a highly concentrated raid" with "the old town and modern shopping center devastated." Other targets are also bombed: 24 of 27 Mosquitos bombed Berlin with the loss of one aircraft; 7 of 9 Mosquitos bombed Lübeck; and 7 of 8 Mosquitos bombed the marshalling yard at Rheine. Minelaying missions included 13 aircraft mining Kiel Harbor, nine mining off Pillau, nine mining the Fehmarn Channel, six mining the Elbe River and five mining the Kattegat.

Out of numerous proposals for the Volksjäger, only two were chosen. Heinkel had been working on a similar concept for several months, and was able to respond quickly with a proposal with the company designation "P.1073". Blohm und Voss submitted a competing proposal, the "P.211", which was a much more advanced design that looked forward to the next generation of swept-winged jet fighters, such as the F-86 Sabre and the MiG-15.

MEDITERRANEAN: The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bombs four targets in Greece. One hundred nine B-17s bomb Kalamaki Airfield in Athens while 51 bomb the German U-boat base at Salamis; 113 B-24s bomb Tatoi Airfield and 54 bomb Eleusis Airfield, both in Athens. P-38s and P-51s fly escort, target cover, and sweep target areas; the attacks are aimed at hampering the withdrawal of German forces from the area.

The US IV Corps occupies Viareggion. The 6th Regimental Combat Team, Brazilian Expeditionary Force (BEF), under command of Brigadier General Euclydes da Costa, enters the line. These are the first Brazilians to fight on European soil and the first echelon of the Brazilian 1st Infantry Division to arrive, the rest of the division is coming later. The British 1st Division completes the capture of Poggio Prefetto. The British Eighth Army drives quickly toward the Rimini Line while the British 46th Division takes Montescudo.

All USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bomber missions are cancelled or aborted due to weather; fighter-bombers, though restricted by weather, carry out armed reconnaissance against German communications and defensive positions in the Milan-Genoa- Modena-Pistoia areas, as Allied forces (joined on this date by elements of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force) attempt to penetrate German strongholds in the northern Apennines.

Twenty four USAAF Fifteenth Air Force 24 B-24 Liberators begin evacuating aircrews formerly imprisoned in Bulgaria from Cairo to Bari, Italy.

 

[syscom3]

16 SEPTEMBER 1944 SATURDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German submarine 'U-703' is last heard from in the Arctic east of Iceland today, position unknown. All 54 hands on the U-boat are lost.

EASTERN FRONT: In accordance with the terms of the Bulgarian armistice, Soviet forces occupy Sofia. The Soviets begin new attacks toward Tallinn. The Soviets begin new attacks toward Riga. The 3rd Ukraine Front turns west after crossing the Danube River to threaten the retreating Germans from Greece.

NORTH AMERICA: The Second Quebec Conference (Octagon) attended by US President Franklin D Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King and the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) ends. The CCS approves Admiral William F Halsey's plan to move the date of the Leyte invasion from 20 December to 20 October. Agreement is also reached on invading Japan; Kyushu will be invaded in October 1945 and Honshu in December 1945.

WESTERN FRONT: A general strike, by the Danish Resistance, begins. This strike will extend for five days and is a protest against recent deportations by the Germans.

The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 54 B-24s to fly supplies to southern France.

The USAAF Ninth Air Force dispatches 150+ B-26s and A-20s, escorted by fighters, to attack the Bath dike and Arnemuiden road and rail embankment.

During the night of 16/17 September, RAF Bomber Command's main operations are in support of the landings by British and American airborne troops at Arnhem and Nijmegen which took place the following morning. Two hundred Lancasters and 23 Mosquitos bombed three airfields: 54 hit Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk, 51 bombed Hopsten Airfield and 50 attacked Leeuwarden Airfield. A second mission 54 Lancasters and five Mosquitos are sent to bomb a flak position at Moerdlik Bridge; 54 aircraft bombed . The runways of all the airfields are well cratered but there are only near misses at the flak position, although its approach road is cut. 2 Lancasters lost from the Moerdijk raid.

UNITED KINGDOM: The loss of ground launch sites to the advancing Allies forced the Luftwaffe to increase air launched V-1 raids. But these were not always successful due to the Allied defenses and the inaccuracy of the launching. This night fifteen He111s of III./KG 3 took off from northern Germany and launched their bombs over the Thames Estuary. Only nine V-1s were launched successfully. Three were destroyed by British ships or aircraft. Over land, two more were shot down by RAF fighters. Two more bombs landed in open country leaving only two bombs to fall on Greater London – one on Woolwich and the other on Barking. Despite this no launching aircraft were lost and all the Heinkels returned to their airbase.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 635: 178 P-47s and 149 P-51s are dispatched to bomb and strafe the Hannover-Bremen- Osnabruck areas, bomb Ahlhorn Airfield and the Mannheim-Kaiserslau tern area; they claim 6-0-1 aircraft on the ground; a P-51 is lost.

USAAF Ninth Air Force fighters fly sweeps, and armed reconnaissance over Rastatt and Haguenau.

During the night of 16/17 September, RAF Bomber Command attacks four targets: 51 aircraft bombed Hopsten Airfield and another 51 hit Rheine Airfield; 26 of 29 Mosquitos sent to Brunswick bomb the city with the loss of one aircraft; and three of four Mosquitos dispatched to the Hoesch synthetic oil refinery at Dortmund hit the plant.

MEDITTERRANEAN: The territorial demands on Italy by Yugoslavia's Marshal Josip Tito, Commander-in- Chief Yugoslav Liberation Army, including Istria and Trieste, causes dismay among Italians.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack fuel and supply dumps and defensive positions in the Bologna and Rimini areas while fighter-bombers and fighters bomb and strafe rail and road targets north of the battle areas in the northern Apennine Mountains as U.S. Fifth Army forces struggle to break through strong German defenses in the hills north of Prato, along the main Monte Altuzzo ridge, on Monte Veruca, Monte Monticelli, and other mountain positions.