Wednesday, August 9, 1944. Finns battle Soviets to a draw, Horror at the Łódź Ghetto, Yes to MacArthur and the Philippines, Third Army at Le Mans, Smokey the Bear and Sam Elliot arrive on the scene.

Soviet IS2 moving through forest near Vyborg past wounded Red Army troops.

The outnumbered Finns fought the Red Army to a draw in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, which concluded on this day.

The Battle of Studzianki began in Poland as a German counter offensive.

The Germans began the liquidation of the Łódź Ghetto, which would result in 60,000 Jews and some Roma being deported to Auschwitz.

MacArthur received a letter from Roosevelt endorsing MacArthur's plan to make the Philippines the next priority for the Allies in the Pacific.

Sgt. Robert Becker and Sgt. Joe Flores, members of an armored unit, and both from New York City, bring in their first German prisoner in the battle around Brest, France, August 9, 1944.

The 3d Army liberated Le Mans.

The French Provisional Government ordered the Republic restored and Vichy laws nullified.

120th FA in New Guinea, August 9, 1944.

The very first Smokey the Bear poster appeared.

Actor Sam Elliot was born in Sacramento, California.

Last edition:

Tuesday, August 8, 1944. Hengyang falls, Wittmann killed, Falaise noticed.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Hengyang, British Army, Canadian Army, Falaise Pocket, Imperial Japanese Army, Nationalist Chinese Army, Operation Ichi-Go, Operation Totalize, Second Sino-Japanese War, World War Two

Monday, July 10, 1944. The Third German Palestinian Exchange.

242 Jewish individuals arrived in Palestine under the Third German Palestinian Exchange, a peculiar event that's almost forgotten.  Under the odd arrangement, Jews in occupied Europe were exchanged for Germans in Palestine, most of whom were "Templer Germans".

The Templer Germans were residents of settlements that had been established in Palestine during Ottoman rule in 1868 and continued on into the 20th Century.  Originally part of the German Pietist Templer movement, the Nazi Party made a heavy effort to Nazify the colonies after they came to power in Germany.  Their numbers decreased over time, and never numbered more than 2,000.  They were declared enemy aliens by the British at the start of World War Two, and many were interned in Australia.  The British, however, brokered a deal in which 1,000 Templers were exchanged for 550 Jews, most of whom had Palestinian connections.  After the Second World War, the remaining members came under heavy pressure, with their leader at the time being assasinated, to leave newly founded Israel.

I have to note that being deported to Germany in this time frame would be an epic bummer, although like Italian colonies in Libya, and French ones in Algeria, the small German settlements in Palestine were not long for the world.

Enduring a second blitz, 41,000 mothers and children left London for countryside billets to avoid V1 bombs.

Having taken D-Day objective Caen, the British moved towards expanding their lines under stuff resistance.

The Finns won a second battlefield victory in two days, this time prevailing at Vyborg Bay.

The Battle of Driniumor River began near Aitape, New Guinea with a Japanese assault of Allied positions there.

The SS Duilio, interned at Trieste, was sunk by Allied aircraft.

Last edition:

Sunday, July 9, 1944.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Saint-Lô, Battle of Tali–Ihantala, British Army, Caen France, Canadian Army, Continuation War, Italy, Operation Charnwood, Operation Forager, Operation Overlord, Saipan, World War Two

Thursday, June 29, 1944. Epsom stalls.

Pitch fighting occured between the British and the Germans as the Germans counterattacked forces that had gained ground due to Operation Epsom. The German attacks had been anticipated.  British losses, however, had been so high that Gen. Montgomery was contemplating halting the offensive.

German troops at La Hague surrendered to American troops.

BAR gunner Pfc. Floyd Rogers, 24, of Rising Star, Texas.  He was already credited with killing 27 German soldiers, some of whom were snipers.  Not too surprisingly, he'd be killed in action on July 12.  Of note, his BAR has had the bipod removed, which was typical, meaning that it was being used as an automatic rifle as originally designed, rather than as a light machinegun.  He's wearing a helmet cover, which is generally seen in US troops in Europe only during the early stages of Operation Overlord, although his cover is of an unusual pattern.  He's also wearing his cotton utility uniform over his wool service uniform.

Operation Bagration's initial objectives were reached.

The Battle of Vyborg Bay commenced between the Finns and the Soviets.

The Red Army liberated Petrozavodsk Concentration Camp, a Finnish concentration camp holding Russians.   The Finns had created these installations in anticipation of population exchanges with the Russians.

They were different from the German camps as their purpose was different, but wartime conditions did make conditions harsh in them and fostered malnutrition and disease.

The headquarters of the BBC World Service, Bush House, was hit by a V1.

The U-478 was sunk by Allied aircraft off of the Faroe Islands.

Two Marines from Texas on Saipan.

Last prior edition:

Wednesday, June 28, 1944. Nazi Germany begins to swallow its generals.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, French Resistance Movements, German Army, German Wehrmacht, Operation Bagration, Personalities, Red Army, Vichy France, World War Two