Sunday, June 4, 1944. The Fall of Rome, Overlord postponed, the capture of the U-505.

Rome fell to the Allies, with the first elements of the 5th Army from the 88th Infantry Division entering the city in the evening.  It was the first of the (former) Axis capitals to fall to the Allies.

Injured U.S. solder outside of Rome, June 4, 1944.  The soldier is wearing paratrooper boots, although he's not a paratrooper, but rather a tanker.

The historic city center remained intact, as the Germans had ignored Hitler's order to blow up the bridges over the Tiber.

While there wasn't much fighting on the way into Rome, there was some.  Here, US troops rush past a burning Tiger tank.

RAF Group Captain James Stagg, a meteorologist, recommended postponing Operation Overlord by one day due to predicted bad weather, which Gen. Eisenhower agreed to, resulting in ships which had left port being recalled.

The weather itself was actually very nice on the morning of June 4 and Stagg's prediction, which also predicted a break in the weather on June 6, was based on barometric pressure readings from a single ship stationed 600 miles west of Ireland.  His prediction would prove to be absolutely correct.

Weather conditions for the massive operation had to be optimal, something difficult for the English Channel, given the huge number of vessels the operation involved as well as the planned nighttime drops.  Postponing the mission was risky, given the massive assembly of men in ships, some of which had departed, and Field Marshall Montgomery urged the mission to go ahead in spite of the weather report.  But Eisenhower deemed proceeding in bad weather a higher risk, which given the deterioration throughout the day, was correct.

The bad weather ultimately caused Rommel to feel secure in returning to Germany for his wife's birthday.  Remaining German commanders in Brittany went to a training exercise on June 5, the feeling generally being that weather conditions had become so horrible that an invasion was impossible.

In Medieval times, victory in battle that was suddenly favored by the weather was attributed to God.  In modern times, such things are often scoffed at, but it's worth noting that this news and the decision came on a Sunday, putting the invasion fleet to rest, sort of, on that day, and preventing going forwarded into a weather disaster which would have kept the airborne from departing for targets on this night.

US troops that were not part of the invasion force continued training in the United Kingdom.

Men of the 2nd Infantry Division, training at St. Donat's Castle in Wales.

The U-505 was captured by the U.S. Navy, further aiding the Allied codebreaking effort which was already well advanced, as the boat was captured with its Enigma machine and code material entact.

Last prior edition:

Saturday, June 3, 1944. Rome declared an open city.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, German SS, German Wehrmacht, Horse Racing, Medicine, Operation Overlord, Personalities, Rome, World War Two