This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[syscom3]

17 SEPTEMBER 1944 SUNDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Miniature submarine X-8 is scuttled in the Norwegian Sea after it has been found necessary to jettison both her explosive side cargoes which have flooded. There are no casualties. X-8, and five other miniature submarines are being towed to Northern Norway to undertake attacks on the German battleships Scharnhorst and Tirpitz and the heavy cruiser Lützow. One of the group had been lost with its passage crew the previous day.

German submarine 'U-855' (Type IXC/40) missing since 11 September in the area west of Bergen, Norway. 56 dead (all crew lost). The boat is returning from a weather reporting patrol when she possibly hit a mine on or about the 17 September in the Iceland-Faroes mine barrage.

WESTERN FRONT: The British I Corps starts to clear the Schelde Estuary in order to open the port of Antwerp. In northern France, the Canadian 3rd Division, with strong air and artillery support, begins a six-day battle for Boulogne, making slow progress against strong fortifications. The US VIII Corps continues the battle for Brest.

In southern France, the US Seventh Army's French II Corps makes contact with the US Third Army's French 2d Armored Division near Bains-les-Bains, southeast of Epinal.

The USAAF Ninth Air Force XIX Tactical Air Command supports the US VIII Corps in the Brest area.

One hundred two USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers deliver supplies from England to Chartres but bad weather hampers all but eight of 54 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s flying supplies from Italy to southern France.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 762 aircraft, 370 Lancasters, 351 Halifaxes and 41 Mosquitos, to attack German positions around Boulogne; 688 aircraft dropped more than 3,000 tons of bombs in preparation for an attack by Allied troops. The German garrison surrendered soon afterwards. A Halifax and a Lancaster lost. In a second mission, 27 Lancasters and five Mosquitos attacked a V1 rocket depot at Eikenhorst without loss.

Operation MARKET-GARDEN: US Army General George S. Patton's Third Army, driving hard, had run off the French maps and were advancing on the German city of Aachen, the first German territory to come under attack. Hitler was determined to hold the city, but the Allies' increasing supply problems stopped Patton cold. He was sure that given more gas, he could advance on Berlin. Montgomery was given authorization to try his narrow advance. Holland had been under German occupation for four years, and he believed that the German forces there were weak. If airborne units could land and hold key bridges, he could send a heavy armored force racing through Holland and sweep around to take Berlin before the end of the year. The plan, "Operation Market-Garden", called for the largest airborne drop in military history. Three Allied divisions would be involved. The US Army 101st Airborne would drop on Eindhoven and take the canal crossings at Veghel. The US Army 82nd Airborne would land on bridges over the Maas and Waal Rivers. 60 miles behind the German lines, the British 1st Airborne, then later the Polish 1st Airborne Brigade, would be dropped on the Rhine bridges at Arnhem. This was the "Market" plan. UK General Brian Horrocks, commanding the XXX Corps, would dash up these Allied-held river crossings to relieve the 1st Airborne in the "Garden" phase of the operation.

On the morning of September 17, 1944, the airborne landings began, and the Dutch population, confident that they were about to be liberated, watched from their rooftops. The Germans were even in awe of the force that was descending on them. The same morning the XXX Corps began to advance.However, this plan was frustrated by the presence of the 9. and 10. SS Panzerdivisions in the area selected for the assault. Working up a single road, the Germans poured fire down on the tanks and vehicles, and the assault was stalled almost as it began. Allied air support was inadequate, and the Germans recovered quickly. The British 1st Airborne "Red Devils" had dropped five miles from their target, and could only take the North side of the bridge. Worse, they had dropped on part of a Panzer division, and were beating back tank attacks from across the Rhine. Units were cut off, and the division commander, Major General "Roy" Urquart, was out of touch with his men for thirty-six critical hours.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 637 supporting Operation MARKET-GARDEN: 875 B-17s are dispatched to bomb 117 flak batteries and installations and an airfield, all in the Netherlands; 815 B-17s attack the primaries and six hit Eisenach; two B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 141 P-51s; a P-51 is lost. USAAF Eighth Air Force dispatches 503 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s to escort aircraft of the First Allied Airborne Army. The fighters bomb and strafe flak positions and other ground targets, encountering intense flak and about 30 fighters; they claim 7-0-0 aircraft in the air, 1-0-0 on the ground and the destruction of 107 flak positions; six P-47s and seven P-51s are lost.

The USAAF Ninth Air Force supports the US 2d and 5th Armored Divisions and 4th Infantry Division in the Netherlands, and participates in Operation MARKET-GARDEN. Between 17-26 September, the US IX Troop Carrier Command, assigned to the First Allied Airborne Army, supports Operation MARKET-GARDEN as follows:
- Aircraft dispatched: 3,996 of which 3,634 are successful
- Gliders dispatched: 1,899 of which 1,635 are successful
- Losses: 98 aircraft and 137 gliders
- Troops dropped or landed: 30,481
- Vehicles dropped or landed: 1,001
- Artillery weapons dropped or landed: 463
- Tons of equipment, including fuel, dropped or landed: 3,559

In support of Operation Market Garden during the day, RAF Bomber Command sent : 112 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos to attack three targets: 34 aircraft bombed coastal installations at Westkapelle, 32 hit gun emplacements at Biggerkerke and 30 attacked gun emplacements at Flushing. During the night of 17/18 September, 241 aircraft made two diversionary sweeps, one to the Dutch coast and one into the Netherlands, in order to draw up German fighters from Southern Holland. This intention is not achieved. No aircraft lost.

After gaining his seventy-fifth victory and flying a Bf 109G "Black 25", Major Klaus Mietusch of JG 26 was shot down and killed in the vicinity of Rath-Aldekerk by the American ace Lt. William Beyer of the USAAF 376 FS/361 FG. Major Mietusch had 75 victories with 60 Western Front kills including 16 four-engined bombers. He was shot down ten times during his career. Hptm. Paul Schauder took his place as Gruppenkommandeur of III Gruppe.

GERMANY: The US 30th Infantry Division crosses the German border east of Simpelveld.

The USAAF Ninth Air Force's XIX Tactical Air Command flies armed reconnaissance over the Trier and Saarbrucken areas and IX Tactical Air Command flies armed reconnaissance in the Dusseldorf, Duren, Cologne, and Linz/Rhine areas.

During the night of 17/18 September, RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bombed two targets: 42 hit Bremen and six bombed Dortmund.

EASTERN FRONT: B-17s and B-24s of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy attack five targets in the Budapest area in an attempt to hit Germany's principal remaining oil supply and to aid the Soviets and other friendly forces on the southern front: 209 aircraft bomb the Rakos marshalling yard, 72 bomb the Ferencvaros marshalling yard, and 40 attack the Kobanya marshalling; two oil refineries are hit with 55 aircraft bombing the Shell refinery and 48 hitting the Magyar refinery. Eight other aircraft bomb the Baja railroad bridge as a target of opportunity.

MEDITERRANEAN: Twenty two bombers return from Cairo, Egypt, to Italy with Allied airmen formerly imprisoned in Bulgaria while two B-17s, escorted by 41 P-51 Mustangs, evacuate wounded airmen from Czechoslovakia to Italy.

In the mountains south of the Po Valley, the US II Corps break through the Gothic Line at Il Giogo Pass, take Monte Altuzzo and Pratone, finish clearing Monte Veruca, and gain the crest of Monte Monticelli. During the night of 17/18 September, the Germans begin a withdrawal from the Gothic Line.

During the night of 17/18 September, 92 RAF heavy bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the Brescia West marshalling yard.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25s hit troop concentrations in the British Eighth Army battle area in the vicinity of Rimini; B-25s also bomb rail bridges in the western Po Valley, while fighter-bombers operating in the Po Valley attack rails, roads, rolling stock, road bridges, motor transport and other targets.

Bombers in Italy bomb two marshalling yards: eight aircraft hit the Vincovici marshalling yard and five bomb the Osijek marshalling yard. One other bomber attacks a railroad bridge.

The last UK-USSR -Italy-UK shuttle mission (Operations FRANTIC) is completed as 72 USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17s and 59 P-51s fly without bombs from Italy to the UK; two B-17s and a P-51 abort and a P-51 crash lands southwest of Paris; 70 B-17s and 57 P-51s land safely in the UK.

NORTH AMERICA: While British airborne troops are landing at Arnhem, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill travels by train to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's home at Hyde Park, New York. From Hyde Park he returns to New York City where he boards the RMS 'Queen Mary' for the voyage home to England. Upon his return he immediately prepares to leave for Moscow.

 

[syscom3]

18 SEPTEMBER 1944 MONDAY

WESTERN FRONT: 8th AF: The US Eighth Air Force in England flies 3 missions.
- Mission 639: 248 B-24s drop supplies to the First Allied Airborne Army in the Netherlands; intense flak downs 7 B-24s. 500+ P-38s, P-47s and P-51 Mustangs escort the B-24s and escort C-47s of the First Allied Airborne Army as the second troop echelon is dropped in the Netherlands to participate in heavy fighting around the Arnhem area; 2 fighter groups strafe rail and highway traffic and 50+ fighters bomb flak positions; 100+ Luftwaffe fighters attack; USAAF claims 29-0-1 aircraft in the air; 20 fighters are lost.
- Mission 640: In the last Operation FRANTIC mission, 107 B-17s drop 1,248 containers of supplies to Polish forces in Warsaw, fewer than 250 are picked up the Polish Home Army; 1 B-17 is lost; escort is provided by 137 P-51s (64 P-51s continue to the USSR), they claim 4-0-0 aircraft in the air and 3-0-6 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.
Some of the P-51s are provided by the 361st Fighter Group. One of these aircraft is flown by Major. Urban L. (Ben) Drew. As the 361st approached its break-off point south of Sweden, Drew saw a twin-engine bogey skimming the water off the German coast. He is given permission to investigate and, with two wingmen, headed for the deck, where he destroyed an He-111 bomber. Climbing back up, he spotted "the biggest aircraft I had ever seen" sitting on the water at a seaplane base. The six-engine aircraft he and his wingmen spotted was later acknowledged to be a BV-238 V1, a new very-long-range transport and reconnaissance flying boat that had just finished its operational tests.
- Mission 641: 8 B-17s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.
9th AF: Weather cancels all US Ninth Air Force bomber activity; less than 100 fighters support US VII Corps in western Germany and fly cover in the area of Brest, France, where organized resistance comes to an end.

The British XXX Corps links with the Us 101st Airborne Division at Eindhoven and Veghel in Operation Market-Garden. They continue their advance towards Nijmegen and Arnhem. Their plan is to meet the US 82nd at Nijmegen and the British 1st at Arnhem. Throughout the night of 17-18 September soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade had fought with the Germans for the Arnhem bridge. Both sides attacked, the Paras south to seize then entire bridge and the Germans north to eliminate the 2nd Battalion.

MEDITERRANEAN : The US Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 463 B-17s and B-24s, some with fighter escort, to hit marshalling yards at Subotica and Szeged, Hungary and railroad bridges at Novi Sad and Belgrade, Yugoslavia and Szob, and Budapest, Hungary; fighters maintain cover over the Budapest area.

US Twelfth Air Force B-25s continue to hit troop concentrations and gun positions, in support of the British Eighth Army forces which open an assault on defenses in the Rimini area; despite bad weather B-26s and P-47s maintain attacks on bridges, rail lines, and transportation in the Po Valley.

GERMANY: 'U-2338' launched. 'U-3018' laid down.

EASTERN FRONT: A force of B-17s drops 1,284 containers to the Polish Home Army, under siege, in Warsaw. Due to the distance, the bombers must make a 1 way trip and land at Soviet airfields. This will be the only supply drop allowed by the Soviets. Only 228 of the containers fall in Polish-held territory. The rest are lost.

NORTHERN FRONT: Finns prepare to start hostilities against Germans in northern Finland. Three divisions (among them the one and only Panzer Division) and two brigades are transferred from eastern border and given orders.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: After being damaged by a Liberator (Sqn 224/R) 'U-1228' suffered Schnorchel damage which resulted in a CO2 poisoning of its crew. One man died.

'U-925' listed as missing in the North Atlantic or Arctic Sea north of Britain after 24 August 1944. No explanation exists for its loss. 51 dead (all hands lost).

On 18 September 1944 on 1900hrs, a lookout on destroyer ORP 'Garland' spotted an enemy U-boat. The U-boat was promptly attacked, but without any result. Later four British destroyers, HMS 'Troubridge', 'Terpsichore', 'Brecon' and 'Zetland', joined the Polish destroyer and started the hunting which lasted for 10 hours. On 0600hrs the following day the U-boat surfaced and was spotted again by the Polish destroyer, this time the attack, 10 depth charges, was deadly. The German U-boat 'U-407' was sunk. The survivors were picked up by 'Garland' as war prisoners.

 

[syscom3]

19 SEPTEMBER 1944 TUESDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: While on her first patrol, German submarine 'U-867' is sunk about 150 nautical miles (279 kilometers) northwest of Bergen, Norway, by depth charges from an RAF Liberator Mk. V, aircraft of No. 224 Squadron based at Milltown, Morayshire, Scotland; all 60 crewmen are lost.

NORTHERN FRONT: Troops of the Soviet Third Baltic Front overrun Valga, on the Estonian--Latvian border. Other Soviet forces are approaching Tallinn and Riga.

The peace treaty between Finland and Soviet Union is signed in Moscow today at 1200 hours local. The Finnish delegation, led by Prime Minister Antti Hackzell had arrived Moscow already on 7 September, but they have to wait a week while the Soviets and British are negotiating what kind of conditions shall be presented (British actually manage to persuade the Soviets to halve the amount of reparations demanded). The first meeting is on 14 September, but there's a further delay as Prime Minister Hackzell suffers a brain hemorrhage and is paralyzed; Foreign Minister Carl Enckell is sent to Moscow to replace Hackzell. On the evening of 18 September, Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs Viachislav M. Molotov presents an ultimatum: Finns have to accept the Soviet demands by the 1200 hours local today, or the hostilities would be started again. The main points of the treaty are:
- The territories lost in 1940 are again ceded to Soviet Union as is Petsamo in far north. The peninsula of Porkkala (uncomfortably near to Helsinki!) is leased to Soviet Union for 50 years as a naval base (Khruschev will give it back in 1956)
- Finland pays US$300 million (UK£74 million) as war reparations - that is in uninflated 1938 US dollars ("We have no intention of letting you to gain any benefit of the war." comments Molotov; the reparations are paid by 1952)
- Finland agrees to banish all German troops from the country
- Finland agrees to prosecute all war-criminals and those deemed guilty of initiating the war and allying Finland with Germany.
- There are also many minor points, like freeing the political prisoners, disbanding all "hitlerite" organisations, limiting the size of the armed forces etc. A Soviet-dominated Allied Supervisory Committee is situated at Helsinki to ensure that Finland will comply with the treaty.
The so-called Autumn Maneuvres, the orchestrated German withdrawal and Finnish advance in northern Finland, begin. The advance is arranged in such a way that Finns arrive always one day after Germans have left. This phase of the Lappland War will be short, however. The Soviets soon smell the rat and demand real action. Meanwhile the civilian population in the areas manned by Germans is being evacuated to Sweden.

WESTERN FRONT: In the U.S. Ninth Army area, VIII Corps successfully concludes the Brittany campaign as the 8th Infantry Division finishes clearing the Crozon Peninsula and captures German Major General Hermann Bernhard Ramcke, fortress commander of Brest. In the 6th Army Group area: Commanders conference is held at Lyon to plan for future operations. The French Army B is renamed the French 1st Army.

Operation MARKET GARDEN: In the British Second Army area, poor weather conditions sharply curtail airlift and support of ground forces fighting around Arnhem. The British XXX Corps. At 0600 hours local, British engineers complete the bridge over the Wilhelmena Canal at Zon and at 0610 hours the Grenadier Group of the Guards Armoured moves across the bridge. The group arrives at Grave at 0830 hours where it halts because General Browning, commander the British Airborne Corps, wants to see the two battalion commanders at his command post 5 miles (8 kilometers) to the east.

One hundred seventy two USAAF Eighth Air Force P-51 Mustangs supporting the First Allied Airborne Army engage 100+ German fighters, claiming 23-4-14; six P-51s are lost.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatched 56 aircraft, 28 Lancasters, 27 Halifaxes and a Mosquito, to attack the Domburg coastal battery but are recalled. A Halifax crashes in England.

GERMANY: In the U.S. First Army's XIX Corps area, the U.S. 2d Armored Division drives through Gangelt toward Geilenkirchen, forcing a salient between two German armies, but the Germans restore contact during counterattacks. Corps faces the West Wall and prepares to attack it tomorrow.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 642: 796 B-17 Flying Fortresses, in two forces, are dispatched against marshalling yards in western Germany; weather prevents about half from bombing primary targets but most manage to bomb targets of opportunity; seven bombers and a fighter are lost. (1) B-17s hit targets of opportunity, i.e., marshalling yards at Koblenz (87), Dillenburg (39), Limburg (37) and Darmstadt (24); bridges at Limburg (35), Koblenz (25) and a bridge over the Rhine River at Koblenz (13); and Wiesbaden (38), Wetzlar (14), the railroad line at Koblenz (13) and Wiesbaden Airfield (12); four B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 131 P-47s and P-51 Mustangs; a P-47 is lost. (2) B-17s bomb marshalling yards at Hamm (186) and Soest (32) and Dortmund/Unna depot (64); other targets hit are marshalling yards at Raesfeld (11), Wesel (9), Rheine (6) and Munster (3); Dillenburg (11), Emmerich (7), Hamm (5), Osnaburck (2) and others (6); three B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 109 P-47s and P-51s.

During the night of 19/20 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatched 227 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos of Nos 1 and No 5 Groups to the twin towns of Mönchengladbach/ Rheydt; 233 bombed the target with the loss of four Lancasters and a Mosquito lost. Bomber Command claimed severe damage to both towns, particularly to Mönchengladbach. The Master Bomber for this raid is Wing Commander Guy Gibson, VC, DSO, DFC flying a Mosquito from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, England, where he is serving as Base Operations Officer. Gibson's instructions over the target are heard throughout the raid and gave no hint of trouble, but his aircraft crashed in flames, according to a Dutch eyewitness, before crossing the coast of Holland for the homeward flight over the North Sea. There are no German fighter claims for the Mosquito; it may have been damaged by flak over the target or on the return flight, or it may have developed engine trouble. It is possibly flying too low for the crew to escape by parachute. Gibson and his navigator, Squadron Leader JB Warwick, DFC are both killed and are buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Steenbergen- en-Kruisland, 13 kilometers (8 miles) north of Bergen-op-Zoom. Theirs are the only graves of Allied servicemen in the cemetery.

EASTERN FRONT: One hundred B-17s and 61 P-51s takeoff from bases in the U.S.S.R. and 91 B-17s bomb the marshalling yard at Szolnok and continue on to bases in Italy.

MEDITERRANEAN : B-24s based in Italy attack two railroad bridges: 48 bomb the bridge at Mitrovica and 48 bomb the bridge at Kraljevo while 70 P-38s provide target area cover.

During the night of 19/20 September, 85 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Szekesfehervor.

In U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, two antiaircraft battalions reach Montrone on the coast and Pietrasanta, northeast of Montrone. In Br Eighth Army area, 10 Corps continues to battle the Rimini Line, meeting particularly stubborn opposition in the vicinity of Ceriano, but the 46th Division succeeds in breaching the line during night of 19/20 September at Torraccia after crossing the Ausa River at Serravalle.

Bad weather grounds USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers; fighter-bombers hit guns and defensive positions along the Gothic Line and attack roads and bridges in the Bologna area.

German submarine 'U-407' is sunk about 73 nautical miles (136 kilometers) north-northwest of Iráklion, Crete, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS 'Troubridge' and 'Terpischore' and the Polish destroyer ORP 'Garland' (H 37); 48 of the 53 crewmen survive. The boat is on her 12th patrol and has been credited with sinking four ships for a total of 34,068 tons and damaging three others for a total of 24,107 tons.

 

[syscom3]

20 SEPTEMBER 1944 WEDNESDAY

WESTERN FRONT: In the Canadian First Army's 2 Corps area, Polish armor overruns Hulst and Axel.

In the U.S. Third Army area, troops of the 5th Infantry Division seize Pournoy-la-Chetive and overrun Coin-sur-Seille. 80th Infantry Division elements push into Bois de la Rumont. The Germans counterattack and recover Agincourt; the 35th Infantry Division attempts in vain to drive through Foret de Champenoux to the Amance plateau but the artillery ammunition supply runs out. Elements of the 79th Infantry Division drive through Luneville and turns southeast in an effort to outflank German's Martha River line.
In U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, Lieutenant General Lucien K Truscott orders corps to cross the Moselle River and seize communications centers in the Vosges Mountains to open the way to the Alsatian Plain and the Rhine River. The 45th Infantry Division upon crossing the Moselle at Epinal, is to seize Rambervillers and Baccarat and force the Saverne Gap. The 36th Infantry Division is to cross the Moselle in the Eloyes area and take St Die near Saales Pass. The 3d Infantry Division is to cross the Moselle in the Rupt area and seize Gerardmer near the Schlucht Pass. The 36th begins a reconnaissance in force of the proposed Moselle crossing site near Remiremont. The site near Eloyes is reported to be suitable, and a regiment moves forward to it during the night of 20/21 September. The French 1st Army now holds the sector to the right of the U.S. Seventh Army, the 2d Corps taking up positions in new sector to the left of the 1st Corps.

In the air, USAAF Ninth Air Force fighters provide air cover for the US XV and XX Corps in the Nancy area.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sent 646 aircraft, 437 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes and 40 Mosquitos, to attack German positions around Calais; 633 bomb the target. Visibility is good and the bombing is accurate and concentrated. One Lancaster is lost.

In the air, 679 USAAF Eighth Air Force P-38s, P-47s and P-51s are dispatched to support the First Allied Airborne Army in the Arnhem and Nijmegen areas; 644 aircraft strafe and bomb ground targets; intense light flak claims a P-51; air attacks aid ground troops in taking valuable bridges in the area and in the advance toward Arnhem.

GERMANY: In the U.S. First Army's XIX Corps area, the assault on the West Wall is postponed because of unfavorable flying conditions. Other deterring factors are the very short supply of artillery ammunition and exposed left flank of corps. In the VII Corps area, the Germans decide to go on the defensive instead of counterattacking as planned. In the V Corps area, IX Tactical Air Command again assists corps in maintaining positions.

In the air, about 40 B-26s hit the marshalling yard at Trier and defensive positions at Herbach to complicate rail transportation and aid in the Allied ground attack on Aachen; fighters fly air cover for the US V and VII Corps in western Germany near the Dutch boundary, and fly armed reconnaissance over the Bonn, Mannheim, Hamburg, Koblenz, and Ruhr Valley areas.

EASTERN FRONT: B-17s bomb five targets: 117 bomb the marshalling yard at Hatvan; 56 bomb the railroad bridge at Szob; 56 bomb the South railroad bridge and 53 bomb the North railroad bridge both in Budapest; and 54 bomb the marshalling yard at Gyor. Two B-17s are lost.

B-24s bomb three targets: 111 bomb Malacky Airfield, 28 bomb the Apollo oil refinery at Bratislava and 28 bomb a synthetic oil refinery at Bratislava.

During the night of 20/21 September, 58 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Hegyeschalom; four aircraft are lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: In the British Eighth Army area, the battle for the Rimini Line ends as the Germans withdraw, during the night of 20/21 September, behind the Marecchia River under cover of a drenching rain. In the British 5 Corps area, San Marino, in the small independent Republic of San Marino, falls to the Indian 4th Division. The 46th Division holds La Torraccia against counterattacks. The 1st Armoured Division joins the 56th Division in the fight for Ceriano ridge, where the continues to resist tenaciously throughout the day before withdrawing. In the Canadian I Corps area, the Canadian 1st Division battles the encircled Germans at San Fortunato, frustrating German efforts to break out.

In the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, Regimental Combat Team 6 of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force gains positions on Mount Prano but cannot reach the crest. In the II Corps area, the 91st and 85th Infantry Divisions continue to pursue the Germans toward the Santerno River. 337th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, crosses it east of Firenzuola at San Pellegrino. In the British 13 Corps area, the Germans withdrawal from Casaglia Pass permits the 1st Division to push rapidly eastward toward the Indian 8th Division.

In the air, the USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Fighter Command begins operations in support of the U.S. Fifth Army; weather again grounds medium bombers and severely restricts fighters which fly uneventful reconnaissance missions.

 

[syscom3]

21 SEPTEMBER 1944 THURSDAY

NORTHERN FRONT: Finnish military intelligence begins to execute Operation STELLA POLARIS. In the following days the personnel, equipment and archives of the military intelligence is transferred covertly by sea to Sweden, so that under no circumstances they would fall in the Soviet hands. Many of the officers involved use the intelligence they have to secure jobs in the Swedish and diverse western Allied intelligence services.

WESTERN FRONT: In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 5th Infantry Division remains in place because of an ammunition shortage and the 10th Infantry Regiment, suffers heavily under continuous German fire and repeated counterattacks against Pournoy-la-Chetive. In the XII Corps area, the 134th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division, recovers Agincourt in bitter fighting; the 137th is still held up in Foret de Champenoux. The 4th Armored Division, continues sweeping its zone, taking Eures and Coincourt with ease and reaching the canal to the south. In the XV Corps area, the 313th Infantry Regiment of 79th Infantry Division, leaving a battalion at Luneville where fighting continues in the streets, drives southeast along the Meurthe River, clearing Moncel and halting under fire at the edge of Foret de Mondon; against heavy fire, the 3d Battalion of the 314th Infantry crosses the Meurthe River near St Clement but is unable to advance across open ground leading to Foret de Mondon and withdraws after dark.

In the U.S. Seventh Army area, the VI Corps begins crossing the Moselle River. On the left flank, the 157th Infantry Regiment (-) of the 45th Infantry Division, having shuttled to the Epinal area, begins crossing XV Corps' bridge at Chatel, during the night 21/22 September, and moves to Vaxoncourt; the 3d Battalion, with the task of clearing Thaon before crossing, gets patrols into the town and wades the river near Igney. The Germans are delaying advance of 3d Infantry Division toward the Moselle.

In the French 1st Army area, the 2d Corps, which has been reinforced for the coming offensive, is moving forward to gain contact with the Germans.

One hundred twenty two USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers transport supplies from England to Lille.

Operation MARKET GARDEN: U.S. 101st Airborne Division: The British VIII and XII Corps of the British Second Army move north onto the flanks of the U.S. 506th Parachute Infantry and take over responsibility for the area. Other regiments conduct local attacks in order to widen the corridor. The U.S. 82d Airborne Division continues to defend their area. British Guards Armoured Division must now advance from its forward positions, in the vicinity of Lent, over an 11 mile (18 kilometer) road which is built to a height of six feet (1,8 meters) above the surrounding ground. The division will have to continue to advance on a one tank front as it did south of Nijmegan. There is a difference now. The tanks will not be able to deploy off the road when resistance is met. Only infantry can do this. At dawn five hours before the Guards Armoured Division attack began, 2 Parachute Battalion has an effective strength of 150 men holding positions on the northern end of the Arnhem Bridge. At 0900 hours SS panzer grenadiers overrun the positions of the battalion and soldiers, out of ammunition, have to surrender.

The same morning, howitzers of the British 64th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, begin firing in support of the remainder of the division in its perimeter centered on the division command post in the Hartenstein Hotel. The fires are controlled by the Commander Royal Artillery, 1st Airborne Division, using his radio. He had also been in contact with his observers at the bridge until they, too, are overrun. 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade is attached to the British 1st Airborne Division. Its drop in the area has been delayed for two days by bad weather at airfields in the U.K. On the run up to its dropping zone less than 2 miles south of Driel, 0.5 miles south of the river, the aircraft carrying the paratroopers is attacked by Luftwaffe fighters and anti-aircraft fire. At 1508 hours Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski, its commander, goes out the door of his C-47. The drop zone and the men dropping are under fire from the Germans. They assemble and look for the ferry which they are supposed to use to cross the river to the British side. They are unable to locate it. Promised rafts to carry them across the river do not arrive.

In the air, 90 USAAF Eighth Air Force P-47s and P-51s support the First Allied Airborne Army's C-47 Skytrains dropping supplies and paratroops of the Polish 1st Brigade near Driel; they encounter about 50 Luftwaffe fighters, claiming 20-0-2; three P-47s are lost.

GERMANY: In the U.S. First Army's XIX Corps area, the West Wall offensive is again postponed because of weather conditions. In the VII Corps area, Combat Command A of the 3d Armored Division completes the mop up of the Muensterbusch area; in Combat Command B's sector, Task Force Mills, leaving the defense of Donnerberg to Task Force Lovelady, drives into the town of Donnerberg, a suburb of Stolberg, gaining a precarious foothold. The V Corps authorizes the withdrawal of the Wallendorf bridgehead. This is accomplished before dawn of 22 September, using a ford since the Germans have destroyed the Wallendorf bridges. The USAAF's IX Tactical Air Command, Ninth Air Force, gives unusually effective air support.

In the air, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 644: 486 bombers are dispatched to hit targets in western Germany using pathfinder force methods; two bombers are lost: (1) 154 B-17 Flying Fortresses escorted by 39 P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs, are dispatched to hit the synthetic Opau oil plant at Ludwigshafen and two others hit targets of opportunity; (2) 153 B-17 Flying Fortresses, escorted by 34 P-51s, are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard at Mainz; and (3) 179 B-24 Liberators, escorted by 44 P-51s, are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard at Koblenz while 12 others hit targets of opportunity.

The USAAF Ninth Air Force dispatches 79 B-26s and A-20s to bomb marshalling yards at Gerolstein, Pronsfeld, and Ebrang; fighters escort the bombers, fly armed reconnaissance over the Bonn, Koblenz, Karlsruhe, Cologne, and the Strasbourg area, and support the US First and Third Armies in western Germany and eastern France; the IX Tactical Air Command is exceptionally effective in aiding the V Corps withdrawal from the Wallendorf bridgehead; during the evening IX Air Defense Command fighters patrol the Luxembourg-Chaumont , France area.

MEDITERRANEAN: German forces of Army Group E evacuate the Peloponnes peninsula.

During the night of 21/22 September, 71 RAF heavy bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack the Salonika port area.

In the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, Regimental Combat Team 6, Brazilian Expeditionary Force, tries unsuccessfully to take Mt Prano. The South African 6th Armored Division reaches Serra. In the II Corps area, the 338th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, seizes Firenzuola; the 339th Infantry Regiment takes Mt Frena and Mt Coloreta. The 91st Infantry Division, to the west, gets advance elements of 361st and 363d Infantry Regiments to the Santerno River; the 362d, against rear-guard opposition, clears St Lucia and Mt Gazzari and enters Futa Pass, but the Germans retain the hill dominating it to west. On the left flank of the corps, the 133d Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division at last clears Torricella Hill. On the right flank of the corps, the 88th Infantry Division is committed through the right flank of the 85th Infantry Division and, with the 349th Infantry Regiment on the left and 350th on right, starts quickly down the Santerno valley toward Imola. In the British 13 Corps area, the 1st Infantry Division is half way between Crespino and Marradi. The 6th Armoured Division takes Mt Peschiena.

The British Eighth Army pursues the retreating Germans toward the Marecchia River. 5 Corps finds the Ceriano ridge abandoned and gets patrols to the river before dawn of 22 September. The strength of the 1st Armoured Division and 56th Division is so badly depleted that the divisions must be reorganized. The 56th Division is ordered to withdraw from the line on 22 September. In the Canadian I Corps area, the British 4th Division gets patrols across the Marecchia River during the night 21/22 September. The Canadian 1st Division mops up the San Fortunato position and establishes a bridgehead across the Marecchia River west of Rimini; the attached Greek 3d Mountain Brigade, having cleared the airfield south of Rimini, enters the coastal city, from which the Germans have withdrawn.

In the air, bad weather and unserviceable landing grounds cancel all USAAF Twelfth Air Force operations.

The small [24 square mile] San Marino republic in central Italy declares war on Germany.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers bomb four transportation targets: 46 hit the railroad bridge at Novi Sad; 26 bomb the marshalling yard at Brod; two bomb the marshalling yard at Vincovici; and one bombs the marshalling yard at Subotica and 42 P-38 Lightnings dive-bomb the Osijek marshalling yard . Two C-47 Skytrains, with eight P-51 Mustangs escorting, evacuate Fifteenth Air Force personnel from Yugoslavia to Italy.

USAAF heavy bombers attack six transportation targets: 103 bomb the marshalling yard at Debrecen; 56 bomb the marshalling yard at Bekescaba; 54 hit the railroad bridge at Baja; 32 attack the railroad bridge at Tiza Fured; 21 bomb the railroad bridge at Kiskore; and ten hit miscellaneous railroad targets. Two bombers are lost.

 

[syscom3]

22 SEPTEMBER 1944 FRIDAY

WESTERN FRONT: In the Canadian First Army's 2 Corps area, the 3d Division receives the surrender of the 9,500 German troops of the Boulogne garrison. The 4th Armoured Division has cleared as far north as the Leopold Canal and on the right flank has reached the Schelde Estuary. With the capture of Terneuzen by Polish armor, the Germans are confined to "Breskens Pocket," the region north of the Leopold Canal and west of Savojaards Plaat.

General Dwight D Eisenhower, Commander in Chief Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, conferring with his top commanders at Versailles, gives top priority to the opening of the Schelde approaches to Antwerp, Belgium, since a deep-water port is needed in order to sustain the main Allied offensive of enveloping the Ruhr from the north. The offensive is to be conducted by 21 Army Group, assisted by the U.S. First Army. The boundary between 21 and 12th Army Groups is adjusted, effective 25 September, to extend northeast from Hasselt, the Netherlands, through Bree, Ween, Deurne, and Venray (all to 12th Army Group) to the Maas River at Maashees and along the river to the original boundary north of Maastricht. This boundary change gives XIX Corps of the U.S. First Army a corridor west of the Maas that contains more than 500 square miles and includes the extensive swampland of the Peel Marshes To secure this corridor, XIX Corps is to have two new divisions, the 29th Infantry Division from Brest and the 7th Armored Division from the Moselle River sector near Metz. Since supply requirements of the Ruhr offensive are to be met fully first, the U.S. Third Army is to limit its action to that permitted by the supply situation.

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the Germans evacuates Cheminot, since it has become an untenable pocket between XX and XII Corps.

In XII Corps area, Combat Command B, 6th Armored Division, circling west and south from Foret de Gremecey to take the Germans in the Amance area from the rear, clears strongly occupied Armaucourt. The 134th Infantry, 35th Infantry Division, attacks into the Bois de Faulx at noon; 137th Infantry pushes through rest of Foret de Champenoux, from which the Germans flees under air and artillery attack, abandoning the Amance plateau. Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division, halts German tank-infantry attack toward Moyenvic in the region west of Juvelize and inflicts heavy losses on the Germans. In the XV Corps area, the French 2nd Armoured Division crosses the Meurthe River between Flin and Vathimenil, during the night of 22/23 September, and patrols through the southern part of Foret de Mondon to La Vezouse R at Benamenil but is driven back.

In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 157th Infantry of the 45th Infantry Division maintains a bridgehead at Igney while the 179th Infantry crosses the Moselle at Arches and clears Archettes; the 180th Infantry continues to clear Epinal, from which the Germans begin withdrawing. The 36th Infantry Division finishes clearing Eloyes and is attacking Remiremont.

108 B-24s fly fuel to France. 68 B-24s fly a supply mission to southern France.

NORTHERN FRONT: Soviet forces capture the capital Tallinn.

The first Soviet members of the Allied Supervisory Committee arrive in Helsinki. The mission of the Committee is to see that Finns comply with the terms of the Interim Peace Treaty concluded at Moscow three days earlier. A small British contingent arrives later.

Lieutenant General Hjalmar Siilasvuo is nominated to conduct the campaign against the Germans in northern Finland. His plan is to strike behind the German back by invading Tornio, the northernmost point of the Gulf of Bothnia, by sea. Finland breaks diplomatic relations with Japan.

GERMANY: The U.S. First Army goes on the defensive along most of its line. XIX Corps postpones an offensive against West Wall indefinitely. In the VII Corps area, the Germans make an all-out counterattack
against the 9th Infantry Division, at Schevenhuette but are driven back with extremely heavy losses. V Corps remains on the defensive.

In the air, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 645: 661 bombers are dispatched to hit the Henschel armored vehicle and motor vehicle factories at Kassel bombing by pathfinder methods; 453 B-17s are dispatched; 410 hit the primary, ten hit Wetzlar and seven hit targets of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 268 P-51s; 1 is lost.

Weather grounds USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers but fighters attack railroads, supply and ordnance depots, and strongpoints, and fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance over the Cologne, Dusseldorf, Aachen, Koblenz, Trier, Bonn, Mannheim, and Strasbourg areas.

B-17s and B-24s bomb six targets, five of them in Munich: in Munich,
108 bomb Riom Airfield; 100 bomb the industrial area; 82 bomb a marshalling yard; 50 bomb the BMW aircraft engine plant making engines for the Fw 190 fighter; and 25 bomb Oberweisenfeld Airfield.

MEDITERANEAN: 76 B-24Ss bomb the marshalling yard at Larissa. One heavy bomber bombs the airfield at Formia.

In the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, the South African 6th Armoured Division is ordered forward in pursuit since the Germans appear to be withdrawing from positions above Pistoia. The II Corps virtually completes operations against the Gothic Line and is ready for the drive north to the Radicosa Pass and northeast to Imola. The 362d Infantry, 91st Infantry Division, completes the reduction of Futa Pass defenses; other elements of the 91st Infantry Division establish outposts across the Santerno River. The 91st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, screening the left flank, finds Vernio abandoned by the Germans. In the British 13 Corps area, the Indian 8th Division completes the occupation Giogo di Villore without opposition.

In the British Eighth Army area, 5 Corps, with the Indian 4th Division on the left, the 46th Division in the center, and the 1st Armoured Division on the right, attacks across the Marecchia River, during the night of 22/23 September, and begins the struggle for ridges north of the river. The 56th Division withdraws from the line; its 168th Brigade ceases to exist as a fighting unit. In the Canadian I Corps area, the British 4th Division establishes a bridgehead across the Marecchia River on the left flank of the corps, and the 5th Armoured Division prepares to attack through it. The New Zealand 2d Division takes command of the coastal sector, releasing the Canadian 1st Division and attached Greek 3d Mountain Brigade for a welcome rest.

The USAAF Twelfth Air Force, operating north of the Italian battle area, sends medium bombers to bomb road and rail bridges, while fighter-bombers continue hitting roads, railroads, and transportation, and support ground forces. During the night of 22/23 September, 60 RAF heavy bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the pontoon bridge at San Benedetto.

UNITED KINGDOM: The last USAAF FRANTIC mission ends as 84 B-17s and 51 P-51s of the Eighth Air Force return to the UK from Italy; the remaining aircraft return on 8 October.

 

[syscom3]

23 SEPTEMBER 1944 SATURDAY

WESTERN FRONT: Canadian units cross the Escaut canal during their advance to clear the north bank of the Scheldt.

In the U.S. Third Army's XII Corps area, the 35th Infantry Division clears Bois de Faulx of German rear guards, capturing many. In the XV Corps area, the 79th Infantry Division clears Foret de Mondon. A French patrol crosses the La Vezouse River and takes Domjevin but the Germans restore positions along the river. After nightfall, the final German remnants fall back across the river to organize a new defense line. In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 36th Infantry Division finishes clearing Remiremont and begins crossing the Moselle. The 3d Infantry Division, reaches the Moselle across from Rupt and about midnight begins crossing over a bridge, which is found to be intact. In the French 1st Army area, General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny revises his plan of attack as a result of Lieutenant General Lucian K Truscott's decision to make the main effort with the U.S. Seventh Army while French forces provide flank protection. He calls for an offensive limited in strength to one combat command of the French 1st Armored Division and one regimental combat team of the French 1st Infantry Division. The armor is to attack on an axis Melisey-Le Thillot; the infantry is to conduct diversionary attacks.

162 USAAF Eighth Air Force B-24s fly a TRUCKIN' mission to France delivering fuel. Fighters support the US Third Army in the Chateau-Salins area.

The fighting in Arnhem continues between the Allied paratroops and the Germans. The British XXX Corps continues attacks in its attempts to advance.

559 USAAF Eighth and Ninth Air Forces P-38s, P-47s and P-51s bomb and strafe flak positions and other ground targets in two landing zones in the Nijmegen area, immediately preceding the arrival of the remainder of the US 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions and the Polish 1st Brigade; the P-38s are flown by Eighth and Ninth Air Force units; they engage 150+ Luftwaffe fighters; the USAAF claims 27-2-6 aircraft in the air; four P-47s and ten P-51s are lost.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sent 50 aircraft, 34 Halifaxes, ten Mosquitos and six Lancasters, to bomb coastal batteries at Domburg; 49 bombed the target without loss. One particularly large explosion is seen.

NORTHERN FRONT: Soviet Army troops reach the Gulf of Riga at Paernu.

GERMANY: B-26s and A-20s sent against targets in are recalled due to weather; fighters support the US First Army in western Germany, escort bombers (recalled), and fly armed reconnaissance over wide areas.

During the night of 23/24 September, RAF Bomber Command sent 549 aircraft, 378 Lancasters, 154 Halifaxes and 17 Mosquitos, to bomb Neuss; 492 aircraft bombed the target with the loss of five Lancasters and two Halifaxes. Bomber Command's report states that most of the bombing fell in the dock and factory areas. In a second raid, 136 Lancasters and five Mosquitos are sent to bomb the banks of the two parallel branches of the Dortmund-Ems canal at a point near Ladbergen, north of Munster, where the level of the canal water is well above the level of the surrounding land. Ninety nine aircraft bombed the Munster Aqueducts with the loss of 14 Lancasters, more than 10 per cent of the Lancaster force. Despite the presence of 7/10ths cloud in the target area, breaches are made in the banks of both branches of the canal and a 6-mile (9,7 kilometer) stretch of it is drained. Most of this damage is caused by two direct hits by 12,000 pound (5 543 kilogram) Tallboy bombs dropped by aircraft of No 617 Squadron at the opening of the raid. In a third raid, 113 aircraft, 107 Lancasters, five Mosquitos and a Lightning, carried out a supporting raid on Handorf Airfield the local German night-fighter airfield just outside Munster; one Lancaster is lost. No photographic reconnaissance flight is carried out after this raid. Sixty five aircraft also bombed Münster itself; the town records 100 high-explosive bombs but no fatal casualties. Two other raids are flown by Mosquitos, 42 bombing Bochum and six bombing the Rheine marshalling yard.

MEDITERRANEAN: The British Special Boat Squadron, Mediterranean, is dropped on Araxos, on the northwest coast of the Peloponnesus Peninsula, to seize an airfield, from which retreating Germans can be harassed, and to occupy Patras.

In the U.S. Fifth Army's II Corps area, the 34th Infantry Division, with the capture of Montepiano, is through the Gothic Line. In the British XIII Corps area, the 1st Division occupies Poggio Cavalmagra and pushes on toward Palazzuolo on the left and Marradi on the river. The Indian 8th Division occupies Mt Villanova. In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps is vigorously engaged with the Germans north of the Marecchia River on a delaying line San Arcangelo-Poggio Berni-Montebello. The Canadian I Corps continues to pursue the Germans toward the Uso River.

In the air, several missions are aborted by bad weather but USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack several railroad bridges in the Po River Valley; fighter-bombers hit guns and rail and road targets in the battle area. B-24s attack seven railroad targets: 118 bomb the Piave Ponte di Piave railroad bridge, 61 bomb the Casarsa railroad bridge, 14 bomb the South railroad bridge at Pinzano, 13 each bomb the Nervesa and Latisana railroad bridges and ten bomb the Venzone railroad bridge.

One hundred thirty B-17s, escorted by P-38s and P-51s, bomb the synthetic oil refinery at Brux. Four bombed visually and 126 used H2X radar. Ten B-17s, escorted by P-38s and P-51s bomb the marshalling yard at Wels.

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet troops reach the Hungarian border after capturing Arad.

 

[syscom3]

24 SEPTEMBER 1944 SUNDAY

WESTERN FRONT: In the Canadian First Army's British I Corps area, the Canadian 2d Division establishes a bridgehead across the Antwerp-Turnhout Canal south of St Leonard. Elements of the 49th Division reach Turnhout. In the British Second Army's I Airbourne Corps area, two companies of the 43d Division cross the Neder Rijn in assault boats during the night of 24/25 September but are unable to reach the British-held perimeter at Hartestein. Polish forces on the south bank lack assault boats for crossing. Lieutenant General B. G. Horrocks, Commanding General XXX Corps, issues and within a few hours revokes an order for the 43d Division to prepare to cross at Renkum. In the XXX Corps area, other elements of the 43d Division continue to fight for Elst and Bemmel. Continuing attacks toward Veghel, the Germans cut the highway northeast of the village of Koevering, between St Oedenrode and Veghel. In the VIII Corps area, Deurne falls to the 11th Armoured Division.

In the U.S. Third Army area, General George S Patton, in accordance with an order from General Dwight D Eisenhower, halts offensive operations for an aggressive defense, calling for limited actions, as supplies permit, to improve defensive positions. In the XII Corps area, Combat Command B, 4th Armored Division, holds its perimeter between Chateau-Salins and Fresnes-en-Saulnois against determined tank-infantry attacks that USAAF Ninth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts help repulse. Heavy German fire continues from Foret de Chateau-Salins, however. The Germans lost about 300 dead and 11 tanks in this action.
In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 45th Infantry Division, seizes Girmont and continues clearing Epinal. The 36th Infantry Division takes St Ame, east of Remiremont. The 3d Infantry Division clears Rupt of snipers and expands its bridgehead to include La Roche and Maxonchamp.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 188 aircraft, 101 Lancasters, 62 Halifaxes and 25 Mosquitos, to bomb German tactical positions at Calais; 127 bomb the target. The German positions are completely covered by cloud at 2,000 feet (610 meters) and most of the 127 bombed Oboe-aimed skymarkers, but some aircraft came below cloud to bomb visually. Seven Lancasters and a Halifax are shot down by light flak, which is very accurate at such a height.

B-24s fly a TRUCKIN' mission delivering fuel to France.

GERMANY: Weather grounds USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers. The XIX Tactical Air Command supports the 7th Armored Division of the US Third Army in eastern France and flies armed reconnaissance over eastern France and western Germany. The IX Air Defense Command flies night patrols from Paris to Aachen, Germany.

MEDITERRANEAN: RAF personnel land at Araxos by sea and together with the Special Boat Squadron move northeast to Patrai. [Araxos is located in Western Greece about 126 miles (203 kilometers) west of Athens.] Commander of Land Forces, Adriatic, controls this operation.

Two German Type VIIC submarines, 'U-565' and 'U-596', are scuttled in Skaramanga Bay near Salamis; Salamis is located about 14 miles (22 kilometers) west of Athens. Both submarines had been damaged by bombs from USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s. Five men had been killed in 'U-565' and one in 'U-596'. The wreck of 'U-596' is blown up on 30 September 1944 (?).

B-24s, with fighter escort, bomb five targets: 117 hit Tatoi Airfield at Athens, 84 bombed Kalamaki Airfield at Athens, 58 bomb the West marshalling yard at Salonika, 52 attacked the port area at Scaramanga and 52 bombed Eleusis Airfield at Athens.

In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the South African 6th Armoured Division sends the 11th Armored Brigade north along Highway 6620 to St Ippolito while the rest of the division pursues the Germans up Highways 64 and 66. In the II Corps area, the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, driving toward Mt Bastione, gains the crest of Mt Coroncina and holds it against counterattack; and overruns Roncobilaccio. The U.S. 88th Infantry Division runs into strong resistance at Mt Acuto and undergoes vigorous counterattacks as it continues toward Imola. In the British XIII Corps area, the 1st Division takes Palazzuolo and Marradi, but the Germans are holding out on Mt Gamberaldi. The 6th Armoured Division advances to St Benedetto in Alpe, on Highway 67. In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps secures the heights north of the Marecchia River from Montebello to Poggio Berni to St Arcangelo, and the 46th Division, in the center, establishes a bridgehead across the Uso River, taking Camerano on the far bank.

In the air, weather cancels USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium and light bomber operations; fighter-bombers support ground forces, bombing and strafing strongpoints, troop concentrations, and frontline communications targets.

 

[syscom3]

25 SEPTEMBER 1944 MONDAY

WESTERN FRONT: Helmond and Deurne, east of Eindhoven, Holland, fall to the British 2nd Army.
British paratroops in Arnhem will begin evacuation across the Rhine tonight by boat. 2400 will cross tonight. In the British Second Army's I Airborne Corps area, it is decided to withdraw the bridgehead north of the Neder Rijn in the Arnhem sector under cover of darkness, 25/26 September. Leaving the wounded behind, the British 1st Airbourne Division starts crossing the river, some by ferry and others swimming. The U.S. 101st Airborne and British 50th Divisions partially envelop the enemy's roadblock near Koevering, and the Germans abandon it after nightfall. 30 Corps clears Elst and Bemmel. 8 Corps takes Helmond and Gemert, northeast of Eindhoven and makes patrol contact with 30 Corps in the St Antonis area. In the U.S. First Army area, XIX Corps takes responsibility for the corridor containing the Peel Marshes from the British, who by this time have cleared it as far as the Nederweert-Wessem Canal except for triangular position about Wessem. The Belgian 1st Brigade, although attached to British 8 Corps, holds outposts south of the canal within a new zone of the corps.
The U.S. 7th Armored Division from the U.S. Third Army and the U.S. 29th Infantry Division from Brest, France, are to be employed by the corps in clearing the new sector. In the VII Corps area, elements of the 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, fighting in the forest on the southern flank of the corps, are by this time so weakened that they are almost incapable of continuing the battle.

In the Canadian First Army's 2 Corps area, the 3d Division, having moved up to Calais from Boulogne, begins an all-out assault after preparatory bombardment. Polish armor is moving from the east flank of 2 Corps to the east flank of the British I Corps. In the U.S. Third Army area, General George S Patton lists the priorities for limited attacks. In the XX Corps area, the 5th Infantry Division, extending southward, completes relief of the 7th Armored Division and withdraws to a new main line of resistance, pulling back its outpost line. Corny and Pournoy-la-Chetive, secured at great cost, are abandoned in the retrograde movement. The 83d Infantry Division, tasked with clearing rear guards from the northern flank of the corps west of the Sauer and Moselle Rivers, reaches the west bank of the Moselle River at Remich. Task Force Polk then moves south to the Thionville area. In the XII Corps area, the 35th Infantry Division is relieving the 6th Armored Division (-) in the Foret de Gremecey sector. In powerful counterattacks against the salient held by Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division, a German Fifth Panzer Army column drives through Marsal and Moyenvic to Vic-sur-Seille where contact is made with the German First Army. The enemy also thrusts sharply at other points of Combat Command A's perimeter and overruns Moncourt; Combat Command B turning over its positions west of Chateau-Salins to the 35th Infantry Division, moves to the south of Combat Command A, between Rechicourt and the canal. In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 45th Infantry Division completes clearing Epinal. The 36th Infantry Division is attacking toward Bruyeres and Tendon and the 3d Infantry Division takes over St Ame area from 36th Infantry Division. In the French 1st Army area, the 2d Corps opens a limited offensive with the 1st Armored Division, whose third combat command has now joined it, and the 1st Infantry Division. Progress is limited because of firm opposition.

176 B-24s on a TRUCKIN' mission fly fuel to France; 1 B-24 is lost. The USAAF Ninth Air Force's IX Air defence Command flies night patrols from Paris east to Luxembourg and the German border.

GERMANY: Mission 647: 1,306 bombers and 622 fighters are dispatched to attack marshalling yards in western Germany and the synthetic oil plant at Ludwigshafen bombed by the Pathfinder Force; 5 bombers and 3 fighters are lost.
(1) 400 B-17s, escorted by 200 P-51s, bomb the Opau oil plant and the marshalling yard at Ludwigshafen; 46 others hit targets of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost;
(2) 410 B-17s, escorted by 210 P-38s and P-51s, bomb the Frankfurt industrial area and 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s and 2 fighters are lost; and
(3) 257 B-24s, escorted by 157 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s, bomb the Mosel and Rhein marshalling yards at Koblenz; 1 P-51 is lost.

Due to bad weather, no bomber missions are flown by the USAAF Ninth Air Force but the fighters fly cover for U.S. First Army units in western Germany, dive-bombs rail lines, and armed reconnaissance over the Trier-Koblenz- Aachen area.

Berlin: Allied Intelligence has a poor opinion of some of the new recruits appearing in the front line facing the Allies in the west - "policemen ... boys of 16 and men with duodenal ulcers have been taken prisoner recently". Hitler's new recruits are likely to be of yet poorer calibre. The formation of the new "home guard", the Volkssturm, was announced today. It will be organized by Nazi Gauleiters under the direction of Himmler and Bormann. Hitler's mistrust of his generals is such that he believes that the Nazi Party, rather than the military, will mount the final defence of Germany. The Volkssturm will be operational next month. On paper, the Fuhrer still has ten million men in his armed forces, seven and half million of them in the army. Most are scattered across Europe, in the Baltic states, the Balkans, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and northern Italy, instead of coming to the defence of the Reich. Many of the regular formations assigned to home defence, and identified as divisions, are of no more than battalion strength.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: A Crewmember of 'U-1221' committed suicide. Matrosengefreiter Emil-Heinz Motyl jumped overboard in the North Atlantic after a punishment for sleeping on the watch.

MEDITERRANEAN: In the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, Task Force 92, consisting of the 370th Infantry of the 92d Infantry Division and Combat Command B of the 1st Armored Division, takes command of the zone previously held by the 1st Armored Division. Elements of the South African 6th Armoured Division move to Mt. Casciaio, west of Mt. Coroncina, and relieve the 34th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop of the task of screening the left flank of II Corps. In the II Corps area, the 34th Infantry Division progresses slowly toward Mt. Bastione on the left flank of the corps. The 91st Infantry Division takes Mt. Beni, below Mt. Oggioli, on the right but makes little headway on the left under fire from Mt. Bastione. The 338th Infantry, 85th Infantry Division, attempts to outflank the enemy on Mt. Canda by attacking first toward Torre Poggioli to the northeast, but is unable to gain this objective; the 3d Battalion, 339th Infantry, tries to assist the attack on Torre Poggioli but is stopped by opposition from Montarello. The boundary between the 85th and 88th Infantry Divisions is altered in preparation for a strong effort by the 88th Infantry Division on 26 September to break through the last heights before Imola. The 337th Infantry, 85th Infantry Division, takes responsibility for Mt. la Fine, releasing the 349th Infantry, 88th Infantry Division. The British 13 Corps battles for the heights commanding Palazzuolo, Marradi, and San Benedetto. Several attempts by the 1st Division to take Mt. Gamberaldi fail. The Indian 8th Division begins an attack on Mt. di Castelnuovo, where the enemy resists strongly. The 6th Armoured Division, previously ordered to the Eighth Army front, is directed to remain in place and contain enemy on right flank of corps. In the British Eighth Army's 5 Corps area, the Indian 4th Division is delayed in crossing the Uso River on the left flank of corps by fire from Cornacchiara on the far bank, but the enemy withdraws during the night of 25/26 September. The 46th Division expands its Uso bridgehead toward Canonica. The 1st Armoured Division, after establishing a bridgehead across the Uso at San Arcangelo and Highway 9, is relieved there by the 56th Division. In the Canadian I Corps area, the 5th Armoured Division secures a bridgehead across the Uso River.

Medium bombers and A-20s cancel operations due to bad weather; fighter-bombers hit barracks areas, railroads, roads, and transportation in or near Bologna, Bozzolo, Parma, Castelfranco Veneto, and Canneto sull'Oglio, and in the immediate battle areas as the US Fifth Army meets strong opposition, especially in the vicinity of Mt Bastione, and near Torre Poggioli, Mt Gamberaldi, and Mt Castelnuovo.

51 B-24s, with P-51s and P-38s providing target cover and close escort, bomb Piraeus, Skaramanga, and Salamis harbors in Greece.

EASTERN FRONT: Haapsalu, is captured by the Soviet Army. Partisan forces liberate Banja Luka.

Three U-boats, 'U-711', 'U-739' and 'U-957' attacked and destroyed the Soviet radio station Sterlingova at Novaja Sjemla. Five men were captured.

 

[syscom3]

26 SEPTEMBER 1944 TUESDAY

WESTERN FRONT: In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, Major General Walton Walker orders a limited attack on Fort Driant to begin on 27 September, regardless of weather. The U.S. XIX Tactical Air Command begins daily attacks on the Metz forts. The 3d Battalion, 359th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division, makes a limited attack to clear road between Gravelotte and St Hubert's Farm in preparation for a large-scale attack. In the XII Corps area, the 4th Armored Division slightly reduces its mail line of resistance on the right flank of the corps in order to improve defensive positions, and the enemy quickly moves into Juvelize and Coincourt without opposition. Both divisions makes a vain effort to close up to the Seille River line in a limited attack against well-dug-in enemy: elements of the 318th Infantry attempt unsuccessfully to take Mt St Jean while the 317th Infantry force makes a futile effort to push into Moivron. The 35th Infantry Division completes the relief of the 6th Armored Division in the Foret de Gremecey area, the6th Armored Division becoming corps reserve, although Combat Command B is still linking the 80th and 35th Infantry Divisions in the Leyr corridor. The enemy begins a series of attacks to regain Foret de Gremecey in the evening, driving in the 35th Infantry Division's outposts.

In the British Second Army's I Airborne Corps area, daylight halts withdrawal of the 1st Airbourne Division; about 300 remain on north bank of the Neder Rijn; some of these later escape southward. Those who attempted to seize and secure the "Bridge Too Far," members of the British 1st Airborne Division, withdrew from their last positions, vicinity of Oosterbeek, west of Arnhem, to the south bank of the Lower Rhine. The British had taken 10,095 men north of the river; 2,490 came back. In the next month the 506th Parachute Infantry would bring back a few more of their airborne comrades. Although MARKET-GARDEN has not accomplished the major objectives of gaining a bridgehead beyond the Neder Rijn, outflanking the West Wall, securing positions from which to attack the Ruhr, or bringing about the collapse of the enemy in this area, it has gained valuable ground and improved the Allied positions. Both U.S. Infantry Divisions are still badly needed. The 101st Airborne Division front is stabilized as engineers remove mines and reopen the St Oedenrode-Veghel road.

In the air, 320 USAAF Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-38s (Ninth Air Force), P-47s and P-51s support the First Allied Airborne Army in the Netherlands; they claim 32-1-8 aircraft in the air; 1 P-38 is lost.

165 B-24s fly a TRUCKIN' mission carrying fuel to France. The USAAF Ninth Air Force tactical fighters support the US First Army in the Bonn area and cuts rail lines west of the Rhine River and hits fortifications near Metz.

GERMANY: In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, to ease pressure on the weak battalion of the 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, in the Huertgen Forest, the 60th Infantry commander moves two Battalions, an attached battalion of 39th Infantry and his reserve Battalion, southward from the contested ridge to cut Lammersdorf- Huertgen highway at its junction with the road leading northwest to Zweifall.

In the air, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 648: 1,159 bombers and 432 fighters are dispatched to hit rail targets and armored vehicle factories in western Germany; 9 bombers and 2 fighters are lost:
(1) 383 B-17s, escorted by 134 P-51s, bomb the marshalling yard and steel industry at Osnabruck; other targets hit are Rheine Airfield and Hesepe Airfields: 2 B-17s are lost;
(2) 274 B-24s, escorted by 138 P-51s, bomb the marshalling yard at Hamm and 1 hits Liesborn; 3 B-24s and a P-51 are lost;
(3) 381
B-17s, escorted by 133 P-51s, bomb the armored vehicle factories at Bremen and 13 bomb Bremerhaven; 4 B-17s and a P-51 are lost.

EASTERN FRONT: Auschwitz-Birkenau: Dr. Josef Mengele presides over a "selection" of a thousand children, fixing a board to a post and sending all who fail to reach it straight to the gas chambers.
The Germans recapture the Mokotow district of Warsaw.

Soviet forces occupy Estonia.

MEDITERRANEAN: During a meeting at General Sir Henry Wilson's headquarters at Casecta, an agreement between the exiled Greek government and various guerrilla leaders is reached. The arrangements call for the orderly reoccupation of Greece with British Lieutenant General R.M. Scobie controlling all guerrilla forces operating within the country. Security battalions, i.e., political police formed to eliminate ELAS bands (the Communist Hellenic People's Army), are outlawed. This staves off a threat of a Greek civil war. With German withdrawal from Greece seemingly imminent, the danger of a clash between the extreme left-wing ELAS party and the neo-fascist EDES appeared inevitable. ELAS is well-armed and disciplined, and the possibility that Greece might fall under the Soviet mantle after the war is causing Churchill grave concern.
The conference was called by General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, supreme Allied commander Mediterranean. The ELAS commander General Safaris and General Zervas of EDES have agreed to serve under the exiled premier, George Papandreou, on his return. It is a fragile truce, however. Both antagonists have laid claim to large areas of Greece, and they have had three years in which to prepare for civil war.

Like Caesar's legions before it, the British Eighth Army crossed the Rubicon river today - this time in the opposite direction. The Allies are fighting hard on the flanks of the bridgehead opened on the Gothic Line, threatening to break out on the northern plains in full force along the eastern flank of the Apennines. General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, the Allied Mediterranean C-in-C, has sent congratulations to the Allied armies, "I hope that the crossing of the Rubicon will lead, as with a famous commander in the past, to a decisive victory and the destruction of Kesselring's army," he wrote.

In the British Eighth Army's 5 Corps area, the Indian 4th Division establishes a bridgehead across the Uso River in the vicinity of Cornacchiara but meets firm resistance from the heights beyond when trying to expand the bridgehead. The 46th Division crosses additional elements over the Uso and secures Canonica. The 56th Division advances along Highway 9 from San Arcangelo to positions about halfway to Savignano. In the Canadian I Corps area, the Canadian 5th Armored Division enlarges their bridgehead across the Uso. A brigade of the New Zealand 2d Division reaches the Uso in the coastal sector. The Greek 3d Mountain Brigade Group is attached to the New Zealand 2d Division and takes up positions on right flank. US advisers parachute down to set up an intelligence network for the Italian partisans.

In the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, Task Force 92 begins their advance along the Serchio valley north of Pescia. Continuing along Highway 6620 on the right flank, elements of the South African 6th Armoured Division reach the slopes of Mt. Gatta. The division halts the advance of the 24th Guards Brigade up Highway 66 northwest of Pistoia but continues up Highway 64 with the 12th Motorized Brigade. In the II Corps area, the 34th Infantry Division meets strong opposition in the Bruscoli-Gambellate Creek area. The 91st Infantry Division, with the capture of Mt. Freddi, is ready to attack Mt. Oggioli. The 85th Infantry Division again attacks unsuccessfully toward Torre Poggioli, employing the 1st Battalions of the 338th and 339th Regiments; the 2d Battalion of the 338th tries in vain to take Sambuco; the 3d Battalion, 339th, seizes Montarello. The 88th Infantry Division takes Mt. Pratolungo on the left, pushes toward Castel del Rio in the center, and on the right takes Mt. del Puntale. The 1st Armored Division, less Combat Command B, is gradually being committed to protect the exposed right flank of the corps. In the British 13 Corps area, the 1st Division continues a futile frontal assault on Mt. Gamberaldi and at night begins moving elements toward Mt. Toncone in an effort to outflank the enemy. The Indian 8th Division suspends their attack on Mt. di Castelnuovo. On the right flank of the corps, the 6th Armored Division's 61st Brigade drives along Route 67 to Bucconi without opposition.

During the night of 25/26 September, A-20s bomb targets of opportunity in the Po Valley; throughout the day B-25s and B-26s pound rail and road bridges in the eastern and northwestern parts of the Po Valley while fighter-bombers and fighters of the XII Fighter Command attack road nets, rails, motor transport, and supply points at many locations in the valley.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German submarine 'U-871' is sunk northwest of the Azores, in position 43.18N, 36.28W, by depth charges from an RAF Fortress of No 220 Squadron based at Lagens in the Azores. All hands, 69 men, on the U-boat are lost.

 

[syscom3]

27 SEPTEMBER 1944 WEDNESDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the North Sea, the British destroyer HMS 'Rockingham' [G-56, ex USN USS 'Swasey' (DD-273)] struck a mine and sank in tow about 52 nautical miles (96 kilometers) southeast of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in position 56.30N, 01.00W, while acting as target ship for aircraft training. While returning to Aberdeen, poor navigation brought her into the defensive minefields off the east coast of the United Kingdom, and after striking a mine 'Rockingham' is abandoned and sank with the loss of one life. USS 'Swasey' (DD-273), commissioned as HMS 'Rockingham' (G-58 ) on 26 November 1940, part of the destroyers-for- bases deal.

WESTERN FRONT: British Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, General Officer Commanding 21st Army Group, orders Canadian General Henry Crerar, General Office Commanding First Canadian Army, to clear the Schelde, the navigable river running through Antwerp, as quickly as possible.

In U.S. Third Army's XX. Corps area, the 5th Infantry Division begins limited attacks against Fort Driant, the outer bastion of Metz barring the northern approach to the city; after ineffective aerial bombardment at low level. In the XII Corps area, massed German tanks again attempt to drive in 4th Armored Division's salient, making main effort on the southern flank where they succeed in taking Hill 318, southeast of Arracourt, which commands road to Nancy; subsidiary thrusts at Bezange-la-Petite and Xanrey are largely contained. The 35th Infantry Division, holding the Fort de Grmecey salient, undergoes sharp counterattacks. German columns push toward Grmecey and Pettoncourt from Chambrey, reaching the latter. When reinforcements from the 35th Infantry Division arrive, the Germans fall back toward Chambrey. Other German forces make limited penetration into the northeastern edge of the forest after infiltrating from Fort de ChateauSalins, but most of lost ground is recovered.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 341 aircraft, 222 Lancasters, 84 Halifaxes and 35 Mosquitos, to attack positions in the Calais area; 323 aircraft bombed. The target areas are covered by cloud but the Master Bomber brought the force below this to bomb visually. The attacks on the various German positions are accurate and only one Lancaster is lost. German aircraft make large-scale but futile efforts to destroy Nijmegen bridges.

During the day, 73 RAF Bomber Command Halifaxes fly petrol (gasoline) carrying flights from the U.K. to Melsbroek Airfield in Brussels. 163 B-24 Liberators on a TRUCKIN' mission carry fuel from the U.K. to France.

Fighters fly armed reconnaissance, cover U.S. First and Third Army forces in western Germany and eastern France and later fly night patrols in Belgium, Luxembourg, and western German areas. In France, nearly 300 B-26s and A-20s abort missions due to weather; 8 manage to bomb a target at Foret de Parroy.

NORTH AMERICA: Canadian Defense Minister James Layton Ralston leaves Montreal, Quebec, on a flight to Europe to check reports of Canadian infantry shortages.

NORTHERN FRONT: The organized German resistance on mainland Estonia is over. The Soviets land on Vormsi Island west of Haapsalu.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 650: 1,192 bombers and 678 fighters, in three forces, are dispatched to hit industrial and transportation targets in western Germany using Pathfinder Force (PFF) methods for all targets; 28 bombers and two fighters are lost.
(1) 421 B-17s hit a secondary target (Cologne) and ten others hit Blatzheim; escort is provided by 221 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-0 aircraft in the air.
(2) Two hundred fourteen B-17s bomb the Opau oil refinery at Ludwigshafen while 171 bombed Mainz; four others hit targets of opportunity; two B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 212 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air.
(3) Two hundred forty eight B-24s attack the Henschel aircraft plant at Kassel; 35 also hit Gottingen; they claim 5-3-0 aircraft; 26 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 207 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 25-0-6
aircraft in the air and 5-0-1 on the ground; two P-51s are lost.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 175 aircraft, 96 Halifaxes, 71 Lancasters and eight Mosquitos, to attack the Ruhroel AG synthetic-oil plant in the Welheim suburb of Bottrop; 134 bombed the target and 21 bombed the city. The target is almost entirely cloud-covered and most of the bombing is aimed at Oboe skymarkers, although a few aircraft are able to bomb through small breaks in the cloud. Explosions and black smoke are seen. No aircraft lost. In another mission, 171 aircraft, 143 Halifaxes, 21 Lancasters and seven 7 Mosquitos, attempted to bomb the Sterkrade oil plant; only 28 aircraft bombed the main target, through thick cloud; 49 aircraft bombed alternative targets, most of them aiming at the approximate position of Duisburg. No aircraft are lost.

During the night of 27/28 September, RAF Bomber Command sent 217 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos in the only major raid carried out by Bomber Command during the war on Kaiserslautern; 167 aircraft bombed the target and a Lancaster and a Mosquito are lost. Mosquito attacks during the night included 45 aircraft bombing Kassel, two bombed Aschaffenburg and two hitting Heilbronn.

MEDITERRANEAN: German forces of Army Group E evacuate western Greece.

In U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, The South African 6th Armoured Division column, moving along Highway 64, reaches Collina. In II Corps area, the 85th Infantry Division reaches the crest of Torre Poggioli and clears Sambuco. In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the Canadian I Corps issues instructions for future action of troops upon relief, scheduled to begin on 29 September, by the Polish II Corps. It is subsequently decided to employ the Polish II Corps in another sector and keep the Canadian I Corps in cthe oastal zone. Forward elements of corps are approaching the Fiumicino River. St. Mauro di Romagna and La Torre are cleared of Germans.

In the air during the day bad weather cancels medium bomber operations and restricts the XII Fighter Command; yet fighter-bombers effectively support the US Fifth Army, especially on Monte Oggioli, blasting defensive positions, troop concentrations, roads, and motor transport, and cutting rail lines between Parma and Piacenza.

EASTERN FRONT: Cluj is the scene of heavy fighting due to repeated German counterattacks.

 

[syscom3]

28 SEPTEMBER 1944 THURSDAY

WESTERN FRONT: During the day, 75 RAF Bomber Command Halifaxes deliver petrol (gasoline) from the U.K. to Melsbroek Airfield in Brussels. A TRUCKIN' mission is flown to France with fuel by 194 B-24s of the USAAF's Eighth Air Force.

USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers hit the defended area of Foret de Parroy; fighters escort bombers, attack railroads west of the Rhine River. During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 494 aircraft, 230 Lancasters, 214 Halifaxes and 50 Mosquitos, to attack four German positions at Calais and six battery positions at Cap Gris Nez; approximately 50 aircraft are allocated to each position. Only 68 aircraft bombed at Calais before the Master Bomber cancelled the raid because of worsening cloud conditions and only 198 (of 301) aircraft bombed at Cap Gris Nez. No aircraft are lost. Calais surrendered to the Canadian Army soon after this raid and all the French Channel ports are thus in Allied hands, although most of the facilities required extensive clearance and repair. This, and the continuing presence of German troops along the River Scheldt between Antwerp, Belgium, and the sea, would cause the Allied ground forces serious supply difficulties for several more weeks. The Canadian 3rd Division pushes into Calais and takes the Citadel. The Canadian commander refuses a German request that Calais be declared an open city but agrees to 24 hour truce to allow evacuation of civilians. A U.S. Third Army directive places Metz first on the priority list.

In the British Second Army area, the Germans make a particularly strong counterattack against the Eindhoven-Arnhem salient in a futile effort to take highway bridge at Nijmegen.

USAAF Ninth Air Force fighters fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance in the Arnhem area (from which British airborne troops have relinquished their hold because of strong German opposition).

NORTHERN FRONT: The first Finnish offensive action against the retreating Germans in northern Finland takes place today, as the troops of Jager Battalion 5 clash with the Germans near Pudasjarvi. This comes as a complete surprise to the Germans, who have been under the impression that the Finns are still honoring the agreement that Finns will only advance once the Germans have left a given locality. Many POWs are taken

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 652: 1,049 bombers and 724 fighters, in three forces, attack oil and military vehicle factories in central Germany using Pathfinder Force means; 34 bombers and seven fighters are lost.
(1) B-17s attack the Rothensee oil refinery at Magdeburg (23); 359 hit the secondary at Magdeburg and 35 hit targets of opportunity; 23 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 263 P-38s and P-51s; they claim 24-0-13 German aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; five P-51s are lost.
(2) B-17s bomb the Leuna oil refinery at Merseburg (301); ten others hit targets of opportunity; ten B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 212 P-51s; they claim 2-1-0 aircraft in the air; a P-51 is lost.
(3) B-24s hit the Henschel motor transport plant at Kassel (243); one hits a target of opportunity; one B-24 is lost; escort is provided by 171 P-47s; a P-47s is lost.

USAAF Ninth Air Force fighters attack the Koblenz, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim areas, and support US First and Third Armies in eastern France and western Germany.

During the night of 28/29 September, RAF Bomber Command sends Mosquitos to attack various targets: 44 bomb Brunswick, four bomb the marshalling yard at Heilbronn, two bomb Heilbronn and Aschaffenburg, and individual aircraft bomb Obernburg and Partenstein.

MEDITERRANEAN: In the U.S. IV Corps area, Task Force 92 gains control of east-west Highway 12 and takes Lucchio. The II Corps finds that the Germans have abandoned former strongpoints in the Radicosa Pass. In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the Canadian I Corps reaches positions generally along the Fiumicino River. A company of the Canadian 5th Armoured Division crosses but is wiped out by the Germans. Operations, except for patrolling, are almost at a standstill after this because of heavy rains and flooding.

Weather grounds US Twelfth Air Force A-20 Havocs and medium bombers; fighter-bombers, operating on a reduced scale bomb Bologna and hit roads and rail lines at four locations.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet Army begins an offensive from western Bulgaria and Romania toward Belgrade.

 

[syscom3]

29 SEPTEMBER 1944 FRIDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: While on her first patrol, German submarine U-863 is sunk about 579 nautical miles (1 072 kilometers) east-southeast of Recife, Brazil, by depth charges from two PB4Y-1 Liberators of USN Bombing Squadron One Hundred Seven (VB-107) based on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic; all 69 crewmen are lost.

WESTERN FRONT: During the day, 72 RAF Bomber Command Halifaxes fly petrol (gasoline) from the U.K. to Melsbroek Airfield in Brussels.

In the Canadian First Army's II Corps area, an armistice for the withdrawal of civilians interrupts the battle at Calais. In the U.S. Third Army area, Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Commanding General Third Army, approves a plan for XX Corps to attack Fort Driant again, beginning on 3 October.

In the British Second Army area, German swimmers damage bridges at Nijmegen with submarine charges, but the bridges are soon repaired. XII Corps reaches line of the Hertogenbosch-Oss railroad southwest of Nijmegen.

NORTHERN FRONT: The Russian Eighth Army lands units on Muhu Island in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Estonia. German forces withdraw to the island of Saaremaa to the west of Muhu..

GERMANY: Over four hundred B-26s and A-20s hit marshalling yards and rail sidings at Prum, Euskirchen, and Bingen, dragon's teeth antitank defenses near Webenheim, and marshalling yards, rail sidings, warehouses and barracks at Julich and Bitburg; 1,500+ fighters escort the bombers, hit railroads, fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance over wide areas of the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, eastern France, and in western Germany as far east as Frankfurt/Main.

During the night of 29/30 September, 39 RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bombed Karlsruhe and nine Lancasters laid mines in the Heligoland Bight in the south-east corner of the North Sea and four laid mines in the Kattegat, a bay of the North Sea bounded by Denmark and Sweden..

MEDITERRANEAN: About 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Bologna is the massif of Monte Sole, part of the Apennine range. Around this area are dozens of small villages and towns, Marzabotto, Sperticano, Cerpiano, San Martino, Creda and Casaglia to name but a few. When Italy surrendered to the Allies on 8 September 1943, Fascist and German troops continued their harassment of these poor mountain people. Forming themselves into small partisan groups, augmented by deserters from the Italian and German armies (ex Soviet POWs) their strength grew to around 1,200 men. Calling themselves the Stella Rossa (Red Star) they confined their activities to sniping, derailing freight trains and the occasional ambush. In their efforts to subdue the Stella Rossa, the German SS often raided small villages and shot hostages. This only increased the determination of the partisans to commit more attacks on the enemy and for the Germans to shoot more hostages. As the British and Americans fought their way north, the SS formed up for a mass attack on Monte Sole. At dawn today, the SS attacked. At Creda, the SS surrounded a barn where a group of partisans were hiding. All the men, women and children of Creda, were assembled in the barn and after their valuables and money is confiscated they are machine-gunned, grenades and incendiary bombs are thrown in and the group, about 90, are left to burn. This scene is repeated at every tiny village and farmlet as the SS units continue their march. Soon, hundreds of fires could be seen on and around Monte Sole, each one a funeral pyre. During the three days of the rastrellamento (29 September to 1 October) a total of around 1,830 men, women and children, are brutally murdered by the SS and 420 houses burned. When the SS murder squads move on, the killing continues as relatives of the victims, searching for the bodies of their loved ones, stepped on the deadly mines laid by the SS. Their commander, one-armed SS Major Walter Reder, an Austrian national, is later arrested by the Americans in Salzburg and handed over to the British who in turn pass him over to the Italians. In 1951, in an Italian military court in Bologna, Walter Reder is sentenced to strict life imprisonment in the military prison at Gaeta. He is released in 1985 and dies six years later in 1991.

In the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, elements of Regimental Combat Team 6, Brazilian Expeditionary Force, take Stazzema; In the U.S. II Corps area, the 34th Infantry Division repels a counterattack on the left at Montefredente and on the right reaches Fornelli. In the British XIII Corps area, the Germans withdraw from Mont di Castelnuovo. The British Eighth Army is hampered all along line by heavy rains and flooding. V Corps advances on its right flank during the night of 29/30 September, taking Savignano and Castelvecchio ridge without opposition, as Germans make limited withdrawal. Patrols cross the Fiumicino River.

A-20s and medium bombers are again grounded by weather; fighter-bombers, hampered by weather, fly 52 sorties in the afternoon, cutting rail lines leading south from Milan.

NORTH AMERICA: The Mexican government agrees to pay US$24 million (US$ 250 million in 2003 dollars) with three percent interest for the U.S. oil company property the Mexicans had expropriated in 1938. This agreement marked the conclusion of the tensions between the U.S. and Mexican governments over Mexico's petroleum policies.

 

[syscom3]

30 SEPTEMBER 1944 SATURDAY

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German "Milch Cow" submarine 'U-1062' left Bergen, Norway, on 3 January 1944 with 39 torpedoes to supply the Monsun boats in the Far East. The boat made it to Penang, Malaysia, on 19 April. 'U-1062' unloaded the torpedoes and left Penang for Europe on 6 July but is intercepted by a USN escort carrier group, consisting of the escort aircraft carrier USS 'Mission Bay' (CVE-59) and destroyer escorts, in the central Atlantic today. TBM-3 Avengers of Composite Squadron Thirty Six (VC-36) in USS 'Mission Bay' drop sonobuoys and destroyer escort USS 'Fessenden' (DE-142) homes in on sonobuoy indications and sinks her with depth charges about 685 nautical miles (1 268 kilometers) west-southwest of the Portugese Capre Verde Islands in position 11.36N 34.44W. All 55 hands on the U-boat are lost. The U-boat was on her third patrol.

WESTERN FRONT: The Canadian First Army continues its attack north and west of Antwerp. B-26 Marauders bomb the Arnhem road bridge with poor results.

Bomber Command sends 74 Halifaxes to deliver fuel to Melsbroek Airfield in Brussels. One hundred sixteen USAAF Eighth Air Force B-24 Liberators fly a TRUCKIN' mission carrying fuel from the U.K. to France.

In the Canadian First Army's II Corps area, the Canadian 3d Division resumes their attack on Calais after the armistice ends at 1200 hours. Organized resistance ceases by the evening and mopping up is begun. In the British I Corps area, the Polish 1st Armoured Division takes Merxplas, northwest of Turnhout. In the U.S. Third Army's XII Corps area: In a desperate attempt to recover Fort de Grémecey, the Germans make a strong attack against both flanks of the 35th Infantry Division's perimeter, breaching lines of 134th and 137th Infantry Regiments within the forest. So grave is the situation that the corps commander, at about 1420 hours, orders the 35th Infantry Division to fall back behind the Seille River after dark, but Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Commanding General Third Army, directs a counterattack by the 6th Armored Division to restore the situation. The 35th Division committing its last reserves, manages to hang on and Germans begin a planned withdrawal. In The U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, the 79th Infantry Division continues to meet strong opposition in Fort de Parroy area. Elements of the French 2d Armoured Division assist the U.S. 45th Infantry Division of the VI Corps in their attack on Rambervillers.

A group of Dutch resistance fighters ambush four German soldiers near the small Dutch village of Putten The attack goes wrong and three of the soldiers escape to raise the alarm, the fourth being kept hostage. The German commander of the area, General Heinz Helmuth von Wuhlisch, orders all inhabitants arrested and the village burned down. Thirty nine are arrested immediately and lined up on the square. Hoping to save the 39 men, the resistance group release the hostage, Lieutenant Eggert. It makes no difference, all the other men in the village are rounded up and together with the 39 men on the square, forced to board a train bound for the Reich. In all, 589 men from the village are transported to Germany for forced labour. Only 49 are alive at the end of the war. Luckily, of the 600 or so houses in Putten, "only" 87 were burned down.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 655: 834 bombers and 629 fighters, in three forces, are dispatched to make pathfinder force attacks on marshalling yards and airfields in western Germany; eight bombers are lost.
(1) 257 B-17s hit Bielefeld marshalling yard; four B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 240 P-47s and P-51s.
(2) 206 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Hamm; 12 hit targets of opportunity at Munster; a B-24 is lost; escort is provided by 170 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s.
(3) 35 B-17s attack the marshalling yard at Munster and 14 Handorf Airfield at Munster; 239 bomb targets of opportunity at Munster; three B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 177 P-47s and P-51s.

RAF Bomber Command Missions:
- During the day, 139 aircraft, 108 Halifaxes, 21 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos, attempt to attack the Holton synthetic oil plant at Sterkrade but the target is cloud-covered and only 24 aircraft attacked the main target; 103 aircraft bomb the general town area of Sterkrade. One Halifax lost.
- During the day, 136 aircraft, 101 Halifaxes, 25 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos, encounter similar conditions at Bottrop in their attempt to bomb the Welheim synthetic oil refinery. Only four aircraft attempt to bomb the oil plant; the remainder of the force bombed the estimated positions of various Ruhr cities. No aircraft lost.
- During the night of 30 September/1 October, 45 of 46 Mosquitos dispatched bomb Hamburg.

MEDITERRANEAN: In the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, Regimental Combat Team 6 of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (BEF) advances its right flank to Fornoli, at the junction of the Serchio River and Lima Creek. In the U.S. II Corps area, the 351st Infantry Regiment of the 88th Infantry Division seizes Mont Cappello after hard fighting but other troops on Mont Battaglia are almost driven off by further German attacks. The Corps is now ready for drive on the Po Valley and Bologna, although wearied by recent fighting and hampered by heavy rains. In the British XIII Corps area, the Indian 8th Division, reaches San Adriano, on the road to Faenza. In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the Indian 4th Division clears the Germans from Tribola while the British 46th Division takes Montalbano and patrols as far as the Fiumicino River. The V Corps begins a general attack during the night of 30 September/1 October. The Indian 4th Division takes Mont Reggiano and Borghi before dawn, but the British 46th Division in the center and the 56th Division on the right are unable to force the Fiumicino River.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25s bomb road and railroad bridges in the Po Valley at Piacenza, Voghera, Sesto Calende, Lonate Pozzolo, Galliate, Cittadella, Borgoforte, and Tortona; B-26s hit fuel dumps at Cremona, and bridges at Padua, Turbigo, and San Nazzaro; XII Fighter Command fighters hit motor transport, rail lines, roads, bridges, and rolling stock in the Po Valley.

During the night of 30 September/1 October, 41 heavy bombers of RAF No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the pontoon bridge at San Benedetto.

EASTERN FRONT: Germans recapture Zoliborz district of Warsaw.

Troops of the Soviet Third Ukrainian Front, having secured the Iron Gate, the Turnu-Severin- Orsova area in Romania, where the Danube River passes through the Transylvanian Alps, cross the Danube in force and push toward Belgrade.

 

[Njaco]

1 OCTOBER 1944 SUNDAY

MEDITERRANEAN: British Commandos land at Poros. Greek troops land at Mitilini, Lemnos and Levita.

HQ 5th Photographic Reconnaissance Group and the 15th, 23d and 32d Photographic Reconnaissance Squadrons are assigned to HQ Fifteenth AF, completing the full establishment of 21 heavy bomber groups, 7 fighter groups, and 1 reconnaissance group, as authorized in the War Department directive of 23 Oct 43. Weather permits only photo and weather reconnaissance missions.

In Italy, the US 2nd Corps (part of US 5th Army) attacks northward in the direction of Bologna. General McCreery takes over command of the British 8th Army, in Italy. The former commander, General Leese, is assigned to command Allied Land Forces, Southeast Asia.

In Italy, B-25s and B-26s attack bridges, fuel dumps, factory, and barracks in C and W Po Valley, including 3 attacks on Piacenza while XII Fighter Command's A-20s hit a fuel dump and bivouacs and fighter-bombers blast guns and communications in the mountainous battle areas between Florence and Bologna; the 416th Night Fighter Squadron, 62d Fighter Wing, moves from Rosignano to Pisa with Mosquitos.

WESTERN FRONT: 2 RAF Liberators and 1 Wellington on signals investigation patrols, 6 Hudsons on Resistance operations, 73 Halifaxes on petrol-carrying flights. No aircraft lost.

The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division begins an advance north of Antwerp, Belgium, to close the eastern end of the South Beveland isthmus.

In France, HQ 50th Troop Carrier Wing moves from Exeter, England to Le Mans; the 99th and 301st Troop Carrier Squadrons, 441st Troop Carrier Group, move from Villeneuve/Vertus to
St Marceau with C-47s.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 657: 9 of 10 B-17s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Belgium during the night.

In France, HQ XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) locates advance HQ at Arlon; weather prevents bomber operations; a few fighters fly armed reconnaissance over E France and wide
areas of W Germany and patrol the battle areas; night patrols are flown over E France and Luxembourg; HQ 36th Fighter Group moves from Athis to Juvincourt; HQ 371st Fighter Group and the 406th Fighter Squadron move from Perthes to Dole/Tavaux with P-47s; the 553d Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 386th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Great Dunmow, England to Beaumont-sur-Oise with B-26s; the 573d, 574th and 575th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 391st Bombardment Group (Medium), move from Matching, England to Roye/Amy with B-26s. In Belgium, HQ 84th Fighter Wing moves from Vermand, France to Arlon; HQ 404th Fighter Group and the 506th, 507th and 508th Fighter Squadrons move from Juvincourt, France to St-Trond with P-47s; HQ 474th Fighter Group moves from Peronne, France to Florennes; the 125th Liaison Squadron, Ninth Air Force (attached to Ninth Army), moves from Rennes, France to Arlon with L-5s. In Luxembourg, HQ 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group moves from Le Mans, France to Luxembourg City. In Belgium, during Oct 44, HQ IX Fighter Command moves from Charleroi to Verviers.

German army and naval units defending the fortress of Calais behind Allied lines surrender to British forces.

GERMANY:48 RAF Mosquitos to Brunswick, 8 each to Heilbronn and Krefeld and 6 each to Dortmund and Koblenz, 2 RCM sorties. No aircraft lost.

 

[Njaco]

2 OCTOBER 1944 MONDAY

WESTERN FRONT: British bombers drop leaflets on Walcheren island, warning of imminent flooding from breaching walls. 3 RAF Liberators and 2 Wellingtons on signals investigation patrols, 8 Hudsons on Resistance operations, 71 Halifaxes on petrol-carrying flights. No aircraft lost. 34 RAF Mosquitos to Brunswick, 7 to Pforzheim and 4 each to Dortmund and Frankfurt, 3 RCM sorties, 39 Mosquito patrols, 1 aircraft on a Resistance operation. No aircraft lost.

The US 1st Army (part of US 12th Army Group) launches an offensive against the German-held Siegfried Line between Aachen, to the south, and Geilenkirchen, to the north.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 660: 2 B-17s, escorted by 15 P-51s, drop leaflets on Dutch island during the day.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 661: 5 B-24s and 3 B-17s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.

US Ninth Air Force HQ XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) goes into operation along with the US Ninth Army (this new Tactical Air Command is formed from elements of the IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands).

US Ninth Air Force fighters fly armed reconnaissance (and later night patrol) over Belgium, E France, and W Germany and support the US First, Third, and Seventh Armies in E France and W Germany.

In Belgium, HQ IX Tactical Air Command moves advanced HQ from Janoulx to to Verviers maintaining the close association with the US First Army;

HQ 368th Fighter Group and the 395th, 396th and 397th Fighter Squadrons move from Laon, France to Chievres with P-47s; the 428th, 429th and 430th Fighter Squadrons, 474th Fighter Group, move from Peronne, France to Florennes.

In France, HQ 386th Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 552d, 554th and 555th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) move from Great Dunmow, England to Beaumont-sur-Oise with B-26s. In Luxembourg, the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Montrevil, France to Sandwieler with F-6s.

GERMANY: 2 US Eighth Air Force missions are flown: Mission 658: 887 B-17s and 549 fighters are dispatched to make PFF attacks on industrial targets at Cologne and Kassel, Germany; 2 B-17s are lost: 305 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Bettenhausen ordnance depot at Kassel (129); targets of opportunity are Kassel (143), Fritzlar Airfield (12) and other (1); 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 89 damaged; 5 airmen are WIA. Escort is provided by 228 P-47s and P-51s without loss.

458 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Henschel motor vehicle plant at Kassel (384); targets of opportunity are Wiesbaden (31), Gesecke (9) and other (17); 2 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 144 damaged; 16 airmen are KIA, 1 WIA and 20 MIA. Escort is provided by 219 P-47s and P-51s without loss.

110 of 124 B-17s hit the Ford motor vehicle plant at Cologne; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 36 damaged. Escort is provided by 53 P-47s and P-51s without loss.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 659: 308 B-24s are dispatched to make a PFF attack on the marshalling yard at Hamm (266); targets of opportunity are Handorf Airfield (29) and Munster (1); 2 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 144 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 18 MIA. Escort is provided by 212 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA), 2 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged; 1 pilot is KIA.

US Ninth Air Force 9th Bombardment Division strikes the industrial area of Ubach and defended positions at Herbach.

EASTERN FRONT: The Warsaw uprising, led by the Polish Home Army (AK), comes to an end. An estimated 200,000 Poles have died in the fighting. Most of central Warsaw is in ruins.

MEDITERRANEAN: US Fifteenth Air Force: Unfavorable weather again cancels bombing missions and limits operations to weather reconnaissance. The
885th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), Fifteenth AF (attached to Mediterranean Allied Air Forces), begins a movement from Maison Blanche, Algeria to Brindisi, Italy with B-24s (the squadron transports supplies to partisans and drops leaflets in the MTO).

US Twelfth Air Force: In Italy, weather grounds medium bombers and restricts fighters to reconnaissance and patrols; during the night of 1/2 Oct A-20s bomb targets of opportunity in the Po Valley; HQ 27th Fighter Group and the 522d, 523d and 524th Fighter Squadrons move from Loyettes, France to Tarquinia with P-47s.

 

[Njaco]

3 OCTOBER 1944 TUESDAY

WESTERN FRONT: North of Aachen, elements of US 1st Army (part of US 12th Army Group) break through the German forces holding the Siegfried Line. The allies begin a 60-hour truce at Dunkirk to allow the evacuation of civilians. The US Third Army resumes its attack on Fort Driant, Metz for the next 10 days.

252 RAF Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos commenced the attack on the sea walls of Walcheren island. Coastal gun batteries at Walcheren dominated the approaches to the port of Antwerp, whose facilities could handle 40,000 tons per day of much needed supplies when ships could safely use the approaches. The intention was to flood the island, most of which was reclaimed polder below sea level. The flooding would submerge some of the gun batteries and also hamper the German defence against eventual ground attack. The target for this first raid was the sea wall at Westkapelle, the most western point of Walcheren. The main bombing force was composed of 8 waves, each of 30 Lancasters, with marking provided by Oboe Mosquitos and Pathfinder Lancasters, with the whole operation being controlled by a Master Bomber. The attack went well and a great mass of high-explosive bombs, mainly 1,000- and 500-pounders but with some 4,000-pounders, forced a gap during the fifth wave of the attack. Later waves widened the breach until the sea was pouring in through a gap estimated to be 100 yards wide. 8 Lancasters of No 617 Squadron which were standing by were not needed and carried their valuable Tallboy bombs back to England. No aircraft were lost from this successful operation.

German V-2 rocket launches against London are resumed.

US Ninth Air Force fighters fly armed reconnaissance over W Germany, hit railroads W of the Rhine River, and support the US Third Army in the Metz, France area. The IX Air Defense Command continues night patrols.

In Belgium, HQ 70th Fighter Wing moves from Marchais, France to Liege; HQ 303d Fighter Wing moves from Vermand, France to Arlon.

In France, HQ 98th Combat Bombardment Wing (Medium) moves from Chartres to Laon/Athies; the 23d Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, moves from Athis to Juvincourt with P-47s; and the 405th Fighter Squadron, 371st Fighter Group, moves from Perthes to Dole/Tavaux with P-47s.

GERMANY: The Me 262 jet fighter squadron 'Kommando Nowotny' becomes operational. A total of 40 jets are deployed at a base near Osnabruck but during the first half of October no fewer than 10 will be either destroyed or damaged.

43 RAF Mosquitos to Kassel, 6 each to Aschaffenburg and Pforzheim, 5 to Münster and 4 to Kamen, 1 RCM sortie, 19 Intruder patrols. No aircraft lost.

US Eighth Air Force: 2 missions are flown: Mission 662: 1,065 bombers and 753 fighters make PFF and visual attacks against airfields and industrial targets in Geramny; 3 bombers and 4 fighters are lost: 1. 380 B-17s are dispatched to hit Giebelstadt Airfield (49); targets of opportunity are Nurnberg (256), Ludwigshafen (13), Ulm (11) and others (24); 130 B-17s are damaged; 2 airmen are WIA. Escort is provided by 260 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 2-0-0 aircraft on the ground; 4 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA0 and 1 is damaged beyond repair. 228 B-17s are dispatched to hit motor vehicle facotry at Nurnberg (198); 10 others hit Ottingen Airfield; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 63 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 4 WIA and 28 MIA. Escort is proivded by 227 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair. 119 B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil refinery at Wesseling (87); targets of opportunity are Cologne (26) and 1 other; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 51 damaged. Escort5 is provided by 24 of 24 P-47s. 338 B-24s are dispatched to hit Gaggenau (139) and Lachen/Speyerdorf (111) visually; secondary targets hit are Offenburg marshalling yard (19) and Pforzheim Airfield (19); targets of opportunity are Speyer Airfield (30) and Lachen (2); 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 38 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA. Escort is provided by 188 P-38s and P-47s. For the defenders, JG 76 losses include 2 pilots missing and 2 wounded, 2 victories being credited to the French Spitfire pilot Capt. Mangin.

US Ninth Air Force: 220+ B-26s and A-20s sent to bomb targets at Durena and Aldenhoven, Germany, and Arnhem, the Netherlands are recalled because of weather.

EASTERN FRONT: In the Baltic, Soviet forces seize the Hiiuma Island off the coast of Estonia.

A Soviet aircraft attacked 'U-711' in the Arctic Sea, but the U-boat crew was able to drive it off.

MEDITERRANEAN: "A" Flight of the 121st Liaison Squadron, AAF, MTO, moves from Lyons to Vittel, France with L-4s and L-5s (squadron is based at Pomigliano, Italy).

In Italy, US Twelfth Air Force medium bombers continue to pound road and rail bridges and fuel dumps in the Po Valley; A-20s, fighter-bombers, and fighters of the XII Fighter Command hit fuel dumps, rail lines, and transportation in the Valley and support US Fifth Army forces in the battle areas in the N Apennines S and SW of Bologna and N of the Arno River Valley; the 4th Troop Carrier Squadron, 62d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Galera Airfield to Malignano Airfield with C-47s.

 

[Njaco]

4 OCTOBER 1944 WEDNESDAY

WESTERN FRONT: German forces counterattack elements of US 1st Army (part of US 12th Army Group) that have broken through the Siegfried Line defenses. The American forces hold the attack.

HMCS 'Chebogue' (K 317) (T/A/LtCdr M.F. Oliver, RCNR) was hit by a Gnat from 'U-1227', while escorting the convoy ONS-33 as part of the Escort Group C-1. The badly damaged frigate was taken in tow by HMCS 'Chambly' (K 116) (T/Lt S.D. Taylor, RCNR) and escorted by HMCS 'Arnprior' (K 494) (T/Lt S.D. Thorn, RCNVR) and HMS 'Ribble' (K 525) (T/A/LtCdr A.B. Taylor, RCNR) to Port Talbot where she was declared a total loss. Broken up in February 1948.

German U-boats had been forced out of the Biscay ports following the Allied liberation of France and Bergen was one of several Norwegian ports now being used as the forward operating bases for the U-boats. The pens at Bergen were being enlarged with an influx of German technicians and a large labour force. 93 Halifaxes and 47 Lancasters of RAF Nos 6 and 8 Groups were dispatched to attack Bergen, most of the aircraft being allocated to the pens but 14 Halifaxes and 6 Lancasters were ordered to bomb individual U-boats known to be moored in the harbour. 12 Mosquitos of RAF No 100 Group acted as a long-range fighter escort. The raid appeared to be successful and only 1 Lancaster was lost. 7 bombs hit the U-boat pens, causing little structural damage because of the thickness of the concrete roof, but the electrical-wiring system in the pens was completely put out of action. Nearby ship-repair yards were seriously damaged. 3 U-boats were damaged by the bombing but they did not sink. 3 other small ships were hit; two of them sank and the third the German auxiliary 'Schwabenland', had to be put in dry dock for repair.

6 RAF Mosquitos to Pforzheim and 5 to Heilbronn, 4 RCM sorties, 36 Mosquito patrols, 47 Lancasters and 31 Halifaxes minelaying off Oslo and in the Kattegat, 15 aircraft on Resistance operations. 4 aircraft were lost - 1 Mosquito from the Heilbronn raid and 2 Lancasters and 1 Halifax from the minelaying operations.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 664: 5 B-24s and 4 B-17s drop leaflets in the Low Countries, France and Germany during the night.

US Ninth Air Force Bombers drop leaflets in the Metz and Saint-Die, France and Saarburg, Germany areas; fighters support the US First and Third Armies in W Germany and E France, escort B-26s, and fly armed reconnaissance in forward areas, attacking rail and military targets. In Belgium, HQ 365th Fighter Group and the 386th, 387th and 388th Fighter Squadrons move from Juvincourt, France to Chievres with P-47s.

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet troops of 3rd Ukrainian Front capture Pancevo on the north bank of the Danube River, east of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Other Soviet troops reach Vladimirovac and link up with partisan forces nearby.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Greece, Allied forces land on the Peloponese near Patras. Other forces occupy Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

In Italy, around 400 other heavy bombers, attack the rail line in the Trento-Mezzaselva area covering 50+ miles (80+ km) of the Brenner route, Aviano Airfield, Avisio viaduct, and railroad and road bridges at Pinzano al Tagliamento, Pordenone, Latisana, Casarsa della Delizia, Mezzocorona, Ora, and San Dona di Piave. In Greece, 39 P-51s strafe Tatoi, Kalamaki, and Eleusis Airfields. Other P-51s escort Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force (MATAF) C-47s and fly reconnaissance.

In Italy, weather restricts US Twelfth Air Force medium bombers to attacks on 2 bridges at Bistagno and Villafranca d'Asti; fighter- bombers closely support ground forces fighting in the Loiano-Quinzanod'Oglio- Sassoleone areas, and hit communications N of the battle areas; HQ 47th Bombardment Group (Light) and the 84th, 85th and 86th Bombardment Squadrons (Light) move from Follonica to Rosignano Airfield with A-20s; HQ 79th Fighter Group and the 86th and 87th Fighter Squadrons move from Southern France to Iesi with P-47s.

GERMANY: 327 US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, with fighter escort, bomb the Munich W, Germany marshalling yard.

 

[Njaco]

5 OCTOBER 1944 THURSDAY

WESTERN FRONT: (US Eighth Air Force): General Order 507 implements the decision of 15 Sep to assign staff officers of HQ VIII Fighter Command to HQ Eighth AF to represent units in administrative functions, thus eliminating the administrative and operational control from HQ VIII Fighter Command and placing it under HQ Eighth AF; this is necessitated by the transfer of fighter groups to Bombardment Divisions.

(IX Troop Carrier Command): HQ 442d Troop Carrier Group and the 303d and 304th Troop Carrier Squadrons move from Weston Zoyland, England to Bonnetable and Peray, France respectfully, with C-47s.

(US Ninth Air Force): 330+ B-26s and A-20s dispatched against targets in Arnhem, the Netherlands and Aldenhoven and Duren, Germany are recalled; fighters hit pillboxes along the Westwall, support ground forces of the XV Corps in France, fly armed reconnaissance in the Prum, Bonn, Koblenz, Trier and Landau, Germany areas, hit targets along the Rhine-Marne Canal, and during the night of 5/6 Oct fly patrol in Belgium, E France, and W Germany. In Belgium, the 493d Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Group, moves from Cambrai/Niergnies, France to St Trond with P-47s. In France, the 22d Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, moves from Athis to Juvincourt with P-47s.

The Canadians enter Holland. Allied forces cross the Belgian-Dutch border north of Antwerp. During the night (October 5-6), an attempted German raid off the coast of the Scheldt, using mini-submarines results in a loss of 36 of the attacking boats.

GERMANY: 2 US Eighth Air Force missions are flown: Mission 665: 1,090 bombers and 733 fighters are dispatched to hit industrial targets, airfields and railways in W Germany; 9 bombers and 5 fighters are lost: 1. 348 B-17s dispatched hit targets of opportunity at Cologne (248), Brechten (27), Dortmund (14) and Coblenz (11) using GH and H2X; 3 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 156 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 16 MIA. Escort is provided by 181 of 193 P-51s; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 2. 360 B-24s are dispatched to hit Lippstadt Airfield (175), Rheine marshalling yard (107) and Paderborn Airfield (28) visually; targets of opportunity hit are Herford marshalling yard (8) and Lipperode Airfield (2); 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 7 damaged. Escort is provided by 260 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 15-0-7 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 3 P-47s and 1 P-51 damaged. 3. 382 B-17s are dispatched to hit Munster/Loddenheide Airfield (235) and Munster/Handorf Airfield (68) using PFF means; targets of opportunity hit are the Rheine marshalling yard (10) and other (2); 6 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 190 damaged; 6 airmen are WIA and 55 MIA. Escort is provided by 234 P-47s and P-51s without loss. Mission 666: 8 of 10 bombers drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

227 RAF Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of No 5 Group attempted to bomb Wilhelmshaven through 10/10ths cloud. Marking and bombing were all based on H2S and the raid appeared to be scattered. 18 Lancasters did not join in the main attack but bombed a group of ships seen through a break in the cloud over the sea. Wilhelmshaven's diary only states that 12 people died. 1 Lancaster lost.

5 RCM sorties, 5 aircraft on Resistance operations. No losses.

531 RAF Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups on the first major RAF raid to Saarbrücken since September 1942. 3 Lancasters lost. The raid was made at the request of the American Third Army which was advancing in this direction; the intention was to cut the railways and block supply routes generally through the town. The bombing was accurate and severe damage was caused in the main town area north of the River Saar, the area through which the main railway lines ran. Damage was particularly severe in the Altstadt and Malstatt districts.

20 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin and 26 to 5 other German targets, 36 RCM sorties, 47 Mosquito patrols, 10 Halifaxes minelaying off Heligoland and 9 Mosquitos of No 8 Group minelaying in the Kiel Canal. No aircraft lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: Allied forces occupy Patras.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 4/5 Oct A-20s bomb targets of opportunity in the battle area in the mountains S of Bologna and N of the Arno River Valley; during the day weather grounds medium bomber wings and the XII Fighter Command; the 8th Troop Carrier Squadron, 62d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Galera Airfield to Malignano Airfield with C-47s; the 85th Fighter Squadron, 79th Fighter Group, moves from Southern France to Iesi with P-47s.

EASTERN FRONT: In the Baltic, Soviet forces land on Saaremaa Island. German forces withdraw, under pressure, toward the Syrve peninsula. Meanwhile, Soviet forces continue their advance in the Baltic states. German Army Group North is under pressure by Soviet forces approaching Riga.

 

[syscom3]

6 OCTOBER 1944 FRIDAY

WESTERN FRONT: In the Canadian First Army area, II Corps opens an assault on the Breskens Pocket, while the Canadian 3d Division forces the Leopold Canal north of Maldegem and establishes a small bridgehead against stubborn resistance.

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, heavy German fire fails to dislodge the Americans from the slag pile to the northwest of Metz. Task Force Warnock, which is strengthened by elements of 3d Battalion, 2d Infantry Regiment, and the 7th Combat Engineer Battalion, prepares to renew the attack on Fort Driant tomorrow. In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 3d Infantry Division continues the battle for Vagney and clears the Germans from positions astride the Tendon-Le Tholy road. In the French First Army's II Corps area, German counterattacks prevent French forces from progressing against the heights north of the Moselle River and isolate forward elements.

In the British Second Army area, attacks by the Canadian II Corps begin south of the Scheldt between the Leopold canal and the river near Breskens. Due to flooded conditions the going is slow. The costly effort to clear the Peel Marshes comes to an end as the U.S. 7th Armored Division breaks off the attack; the division has gained less than 2 miles in this operation and is still within the British zone.

During the night of 6/7 October, four RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Texel Island.

Three hundred plus USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20s hit marshalling yards, barracks, and ammunition dump at Hengelo, the Netherlands and Duren, Germany and bridges at Arnhem, the Netherlands and Aldenhoven, Germany; in Germany, fighters fly armed reconnaissance in the Dusseldorf, Aachen, Trier, Dieuze, and Koblenz areas, sweeps and patrols in forward areas, attack railroads in the Dorsel area, and support the First, Third, and Seventh Armies' forces in eastern France and western Germany.

NORTHERN FRONT: Soviet forces of the Leningrad Front land on Oesel (Saarema) Island, off the coast of Estonia, and begin clearing the island.

GERMANY: In the U.S. First Army's XIX Corps area, Lieutenant General Charles Corlett, Commanding General of the corps, issues orders late in the day, as the corps' West Wall bridgehead is being firmly established, halting further advance until link-up has been made with VII Corps. The 2d Armored Division, instead of driving east to secure crossings of the the Roer River is to maintain their current positions on the north flank of the bridgehead while assisting the 30th Infantry Division to push southeast. Combat Command B, 2d Armored Division, is stopped by the Germans on the left flank less than 1,000 yards from Geilenkirchen; on the right, they take the villages of Beggendorf and Waurichen, the latter northeast of Uebach. Combat Command A joins the 117th Infantry Regiment in an attack to the southeast that receives close air support and overruns the crossroads hamlet about halfway between Uebach and Alsdorf; a Combat Command A column thrusts east almost to Baesweiler. Task Force Cox of the 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, undergoes a counterattack that overruns four pillboxes before it is checked; these are later recovered. The Germans are again aided by massed artillery fire, but after a day's action offer less resistance. In the VII Corps area, 39th and 60th Infantry Regiments of the 9th Infantry Division attack at 1130 hours after preparatory bombardment, in the Huertgen Forest toward Schmidt against tenacious opposition.

During the day, the USAAF Eighth Air Force dispatches 1,271 B-17s and B-24s and 784 fighters to hit industrial targets in northern Germany; with one exception, all attacks are visual; 19 bombers and four fighters are lost: 163 hit Stargard Airfield, 146 bomb a power plant at Stralsund, 140 attack the Spandau aircraft engine factory in Berlin, 137 bomb the Spandau ordnance depot in Berlin, 129 hit the Rhenania oil refinery at Hamburg, 89 each bomb the Glinde ordnance depot at Hamburg and the Tegel-Altmarkisches armored vehicle factory in Berlin, 79 bomb the Klockner aircraft engine factory at Hamburg, 73 bomb the Focke Wolfe Fw 190 assembly plant at Neubrandenburg, 54 hit the Me 262 assembly plant at Wenzendorf, 36 hit the Luftwaffe training school at Stargard, 31 attack Stade Airfield, 12 bomb the Heer armored training school at Stettin, three each bomb Nordholz Airfield and miscellaneous targets and one each attack targets of opportunity at Breme rvord and Ottesberg.

During the night of 6/7 October, six B-24s and four B-17s drop leaflets over Germany. The escort fighters claim 19-1-8 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 30-0-14 on the ground.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 320 aircraft, 254 Halifaxes, 46 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to attack the Holten synthetic oil plant at Sterkrade and the Buer synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen; 145 bomb the former and 147 hit the latter. Both raids take place in clear conditions and the bombing ias considered to be accurate. Nine aircraft are lost, four Halifaxes and two Lancasters at Gelsenkirchen and three Halifaxes at Sterkrade.

During the night of 6/7 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 523 aircraft, 248 Halifaxes, 247 Lancasters and 28 Mosquitos, to bomb Dortmund; 483 aircraft bomb the city. No. 6 (RCAF) Group provides 293 aircraft 248 Halifaxes and 45 Lancasters, the greatest effort by the Canadian group in the war. This raid opens a phase which some works refer to as "The Second Battle of the Ruhr." Five aircraft, two Canadian Halifaxes, two Lancasters and a Mosquito, are lost, less than 1 per cent of the force raiding this Ruhr target on a clear night. The Pathfinder marking and the bombing were both accurate and severe damage is caused, particularly to the industrial and transportation areas of the city, although residential areas also suffered badly. The second major raid of the night is against Bremen. A total of 253 aircraft, 246 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos carry out the last of 32 major Bomber Command raids on Bremen during the war; 246 aircraft bomb the city with the loss of five Lancasters. The raid, based on the No 5 Group marking method, is an outstanding success. Severe damage is caused to the AG Weser shipyard, the two Focke-Wulf factories, the Siemens Schuckert electrical works and other important war industries. The "transport network" is described as being seriously disrupted.
(It is interesting to note the increased efficiency and hence destructive power of Bomber Command at this time. Bremen, with its shipyards and aircraft factories, had been the target for many carefully planned Bomber Command raids earlier in the war and is the target for one of the much publicized 1942 1,000-bomber raids. Now this raid by no more than a quarter of the total strength of Bomber Command, hardly mentioned in the history books, has finished off Bremen and this city need not be attacked by Bomber Command again.)
Other raids during the night consisted of 20 Mosquitos bombing Berlin, ten hitting Ludwigshafen and two attacking Saarbruecken. Mining missions for the night were ten aircraft laying mines in the Heligoland Bight and five in the Weser River.

MEDITERRANEAN: Thirty five USAAF Fifteenth Air Force P-38s strafe airfields at Sedhes, Megalo Mikra, Megara, Eleusis, and Tatoi while 55 P-51s strafe Kalamaki airfield.

In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the South African 6th Armoured Division takes Mt. Vigese in a surprise attack under cover of a heavy mist, and pushes on toward Mt. Stanco. In the IV Corps area, Task Force 92 begins a protracted struggle in the coastal sector for Mt. Cauala. In the II Corps area, the 168th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Div finishes clearing the left flank of corps, the Germans having withdrawn from Hill 747; the 133d Infantry Regiment, faced with difficult supply problems, presses toward the Monterumici hill mass. In the 91st Infantry Division zone, the 362d Infantry Regiment attacks the German delaying line based on Mt. Castellari. The 85th Infantry Division continues their attack with the 338th and 337th Regiments; the 338th pushes toward Castelnuovo di Bisano and La Villa. The 88th Infantry Division continues their efforts to take Hill 587. In the British XIII Corps area, the 3d Brigade of the 1st Division, attacking in the evening, gains a precarious hold on slopes of Mt. Ceco. In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps postpones their general assault across the Fiumicino River for 24 hours. The 20th Brigade, Indian 10th Division, makes a preliminary attack toward Mt. Farneto, the dominating feature northwest of Sogliano, pushing through Strigara and gaining the crest before dawn of 7 October.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet Army launches an offensive near Arad.