Monday, July 24, 1944. Marines land on Tinian.

The U.S. Army took Saint-Lô.

Marines landed on Tinian in the Marianas.  The landings featured the use of napalm, the first time it had been used in the Pacific.

Unsuccessful so far, the Red Army commenced another Narva Offensive.  The Red Army captured Lubin and overran the location of the Majdanek Concentration Camp.

Operation Cobra, the planned American offensive designed to break out of the bocage country, was postponed for 24 hours due to bad weather.

The RAF damaged the U-239 in an air raid on Kiel, and she never returned to service.

Last edition:

Sunday, July 23, 1944. The Lwów Uprising

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Saint-Lô, Canadian Army, German SS, July 20 Plot, Lwów Uprising, Operation Overlord, Operation Tempest, Polish Home Army, Red Army, USSR, World War Two

Sunday, July 23, 1944. The Lwów Uprising

The Lwów Uprising by the Polish Home Army began.  The uprising was a success in that it took large portions of the city as the Soviets arrived, but a failure in that the Soviets arrested the political leadership of the city,  and then conscripted or arrested the Polish combatants.

The Red Army took Pskov, the last major town of the prewar USSR to be liberated, meaning that the Soviets were now fighting off of their soil, for the most part.

The last inmates at Treblinka were murdered.

The SS launched a manhunt for members of the July 20 plot.

The Canadian First Army became operational in Normandy.

US troops outside of Saint-Lô.  The soldier closest to the camera is a NCO, identifiable by the horizontal stripe on his helmet, and is carrying a M3 "Grease Gun".

Last edition:

Saturday, July 22, 1944. Changes in governments.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Bretton Woods, Italy, Japan, Operation Cobra, Operation Frantic, Operation Goodwood, Operation Overlord, Poland, Polish Army, Red Army, The Holocaust, World War Two

Wednesday, July 19, 1944. The start of the Democratic Convention.

 

Opening of the Democratic Convention.

A couple of big items are reported by Sarah Sundin:

Today in World War II History—July 19, 1944

Friday, July 19, 2024 by Sarah Sundin

These include the beginning of the 1944 Democratic Convention and the 5th Army taking Livorno, Italy.

President Roosevelt had no real opposition to his nomination. The big question was who would be his vice president.

The Battle of Verrières Ridge in Normandy south of Caen, with two Canadian divisions pitted against three SS divisions.

Troops of the 29th Infantry Division in Saint-Lô.

Saint-Lô was taken by U.S. troops.

The Red Army entered Latvia.

The Ōi was sunk by the USS Flasher.

Last edition:

Tuesday, July 18, 1944. Tojo out.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Saint-Lô, British Army, Imperial Japanese Army, Japan, Normandy, Operation Bagration, Operation Goodwood, Operation Overlord, Polish Army, Red Army, World War Two

Tuesday, July 18, 1944. Tojo out.

British armor, July 18, 1944.

Hideki Tojo was removed premier of Japan and resigned as Chief of Staff of the Army.

Gen. Kuniaki Koiso and Adm. Yonai were chosen to form a new cabinet.  Gen. Umezu became the Army Chief of Staff.

The Red Army launched the Lublin-Brest Offensive.

The British launched Operation Goodwood to expand out from Caen, making costly advances.  The action has, as one of its goals, keeping German forces committed against the British so they do not redeploy against US forces.

The US 19th Corps occupied Saint-Lô.  

The Polish 2nd Corps took Ancona, Italy.

Abandoned German tanks, Italy.

The U-672 was sunk by the HMS Balfour.

Last edition:

Monday, July 17, 1944. The Port Chicago Disaster

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Nietjärvi, Battle of Saint-Lô, Battle of Vuosalmi, Disaster, Erwin Rommel, Personalities, Port Chicago Explosion, Prisoners of War, Racism, Second Battle of Odon, U.S. Navy, World War Two

Monday, July 17, 1944. The Port Chicago Disaster

The Port Chicago (California) Disaster occured.

The Port Chicago Disaster: 320 American Lives Forever Remembered

Port Chicago – The Explosion

Navy History Matters

Port Chicago – The most solemn memorial you’ll never visit

From the Corps of Engineer's item above:

On July 17, 1944, at 10:18 p.m., 320 sailors and civilians were killed instantly when the ship they were loading with bombs and munitions suddenly exploded. The incredibly powerful explosion destroyed two ships. Only small fragments remained of the ship being loaded, another nearby that was filled with flammable fuel was tossed more than 500 yards from the pier and rendered into scrap. The simultaneous explosion of all the munitions and fuel produced a massive fireball that lit the night sky and threw white-hot debris nearly 12,000 feet in the air. Windows on homes and businesses shattered throughout the Bay Area, reportedly as far away as San Francisco 30 miles to the west.

More than 200 of those killed that night were enlisted African American soldiers who were loading the ships, working for a military that was, at the time, racially segregated. The explosion and following events led to the largest Naval mutiny in U.S. history. More than 250 anxiety-ridden soldiers, many still in shock, refused to continue to load ammunition since no changes or improvements to operating procedures were made. Adding insult to injury, the black soldiers were not allowed the same post-incident “survivors’ leave” that the white officers they worked for received.

Threatened with a court martial unless they returned to loading ammunition, most of the black soldiers reluctantly went back to work, but 50 soldiers refused.  According to accounts in The Port Chicago Disaster, many of the sailors were still in shock, troubled by the memory of the horrible explosion.

“Everybody was scared,” one survivor recalled. “If somebody dropped a box or slammed a door ... Everybody was still nervous.”

The 50 black soldiers who refused to return were consequently put on trial and found guilty of organized mutiny. All of the men were dishonorably discharged and handed sentences ranging from eight to 15 years in jail. However, when the war ended just two months later, the harsh sentences were reduced to 17 months.

Led by attorney Thurgood Marshall, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) relentlessly pushed to have the verdict for the Port Chicago 50 overturned.

The British prevailed in the Second Battle of Odon.

An RAF Spitfire of the RCAF piloted by Charley Fox strafed a random German command car that turned out to be carrying Erwin Rommel.  Rommel was wounded and taken out of commission for a while.  His driver was killed. Kluge takes temporary command.

Fox was a humble man and upon being identified as the pilot in later years expressed regret for the killing, as he accepted the stories that Rommel was planning to participate in the July 20 plot.  He worked in a shoe factory after the war and died in an automobile accident, ironically, in 2008.

The U.S. Army penetrates the perimeter of Saint-Lô

Napalm was used for the first time in an Army Air Force raid conducted by P-38s on on a fuel depot at Coutances, near  Saint-Lô.

The Royal Navy attempted a raid on the Tipitz in Norway but it was unsuccessful.

The Finns prevailed in the Battles of Vuosalmi and Nietjärvi.

57,600 German prisoners of war captured by the Red Army were marched through Moscow.

Japanese Admiral Nomura replaced Shmada as Minister of the Navy.

The U-347 and U-361 were sunk by the RAF.  The I-166 was sunk in the Strati of Malacca by the Royal Navy.

The British government announced a plan for the mass construction of housing following the war.

Franklin Roosevelt announced he would leave the choice of his running mate to the Democratic Convention.

Last edition:

Sunday, July 16, 1944. Polish claims and a great escape.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Army, Artillery, Battle of Saint-Lô, Bretton Woods, British Army, Italy, Operation Dragoon, Operation Overlord, Polish Government in Exile, Prisoners of War, Red Army, World War Two

Sunday, July 16, 1944. Polish claims and a great escape.

US 155 crew loads gun, July 16, 1944, near Saint-Lô, where US progress was slow.

The Polish Government in Exile claimed German territory in East Prussia, Danzia and the Polish Corridor.

The Red Army took Grodno.

British forces took Arezzo, Italy and cross the Arno.

U.S. anti tank gun crew clearing area of snipers, July 16, 1944, Italy.

Sarah Sundin reports that the Allied Sixth Army Group was created and Jacob Devers placed in command, in anticipation of the invasion of Southern France, Operation Dragoon.

Today in World War II History—July 16, 1944

She also reports on an amazing escape from the Japanese.

In case you wondered, Bretton Woods was still going on, and the alcohol supply was holding out.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 15, 1944. A second von Stauffenberg attempt.

Labels: Battle of Nietjärvi, British Army, Claus von Stauffenberg, French Army, Guam, Italy, July 20 Plot, Nationalist Chinese Army, New Guinea, Normandy, Operation Overlord, Second Battle of Odon, World War Two

Sunday, July 9, 1944.

The Battle of Saipan ended in a U.S. victory.

Canadian and British forces took Caen.

The Battle of Saint-Lô began.

US troops entering Haye Du Puis.

The Finns prevailed in the Battle of Tali–Ihantala, although some local attempts at Red Army advances would continue.  On July 12, the Red Army began to withdraw troops from the area to redeploy them against the Germans elsewhere.

The US 88th Division took Voterra, Italy.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 8, 1944.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, British Army, Canadian Army, Catholic, Christianity, German SS, Operation Bagration, Operation Charnwood, Operation Overlord, Red Army, religion, Saipan, The Holocaust, World War Two