Wednesday, December 6, 1944. Japanese paratroopers on Leyte.

The Japanese conducted an airborne landing on Leyte, combined with a ground infantry offensive.

The UK began to return displaced British to their homes, save for areas subject to V-weapon attacks.

Germany began stripping the Netherlands of locomotives and sending them to Germany. They were electric trains.

The RAF conducted strafing runs on communist positions in Greece.

The U-297 was sunk by the RAF.  The HMS Bullen was sunk by the U-775

Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger had its first flight.

Heinkel HE 162, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Dubois Wyoming.

A very late war German fighter, only 120 were made.

Stalin met with General de Gaulle in Moscow.

Last edition:

Tuesday, December 5, 1944. The Royal Navy in the Greek Civil War.

Labels: 1930s, 1939, 1940s, 1944, Army, Battle of Leyte, Blog Mirror, Communism, Crime, Dekemvriana (Δεκεμβριανά), Greece, Greek, Philippines, Red Army, Royal Navy, World War Two

Saturday, October 28, 1944. Slovaks put down, French Resistance ordered to disarm, Bulgaria quits, Day of Liberation of Ukraine from Fascist Invaders (День визволення України від фашистських загарбників).

The Slovak National Uprising came to an end.

Charles de Gaulle ordered French Resistance elements to disarm.

Bulgaria signed an armistice with the Allies.  Bulgarian troops were placed under Soviet command.

Agreement Between the Governments of United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, on the One Hand, and the Government of Bulgaria, on the Other Hand, Concerning an Armistice

The Government of Bulgaria accepts the armistice terms presented by the Government of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom acting on behalf of all the United Nations at war with Bulgaria.

Accordingly the representative of the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, Lieutenant General Sir James Gammell, and the representative of the Soviet High Command, Marshal of the Soviet Union, F. I. Tolbukhin, duly authorized thereto by the governments of the United States of America, the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom acting on behalf of all the United Nations at war with Bulgaria, on the one hand, and representatives of the Government of Bulgaria, Mr. P. Stainov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. D. Terpeshev, Minister Without Portfolio, Mr. N. Petkov, Minister Without Portfolio and Mr. P. Stoyanov, Minister of Finance, furnished with due powers, on the other hand, have signed the following terms:

ARTICLE ONE.

(A) Bulgaria having ceased hostilities with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on September 9, and severed relations with Germany on September 6, and with Hungary on on September 26, hostilities has ceased against all the other United Nations.

(B) The Government of Bulgaria undertakes to disarm the German armed forces in Bulgaria and hand them over as prisoners of war. The Government of Bulgaria also undertakes to intern nationals of Germany and her satellites.

(C) The Government of Bulgaria undertakes to maintain and make available such land, sea and air forces as may be specified for service under the general direction of the Allied ( Soviet) High Command. Such forces must not be used on Allied territory except with the prior consent of the All Government concerned.

(D) On the conclusion of hostilities against Germany the Bulgarian armed forces Bust be mobilized and put on a peace footing under: supervision of the Allied Control Commission.

ARTICLE TWO.

Bulgarian armed forces and officials must be withdrawn within the specified time limit from the territory of Greece and Yugoslavia in accordance with the pre-condition accepted by the Government of Bulgaria on October 11; the Bulgarian authorities must immediately take steps to withdraw from Greek and Yugoslav territory Bulgarians who were citizens of Bulgaria on January 1, 1941, and to repeal legislative and administrative provisions relating to the annexation or incorporation in Bulgaria of Greek or Yugoslav territory.

ARTICLE THREE.

The Government of Bulgaria will afford to Soviet and other Allied forces freedom of movement over Bulgarian territory in any direction if, in the opinion of the Allied (Soviet) High Command, the military situation so require the Government of Bulgaria giving to such movements every assistance with its own means of communication, and at its own expense, by land, water and in the air.

ARTICLE FOUR.

The Government of Bulgaria will immediately release all Allied prisoners of war and internees. Pending further instruction the Government of Bulgaria will at its own expense provide all Allied prisoners of war, internees and displaced persons and refugees, including nationals of Greece and Yugoslavia, with adequate food, clothing, medical services and sanitary and hygienic requirements and also with means of transportation for the return of any such persons to their own country.

ARTICLE FIVE.

The Government of Bulgaria will immediately release, regardless of citizenship or nationality, all persons held in confinement in connection with their activities in favor of the United Nations or because of their sympathies with the United Nations cause or for racial or religious reasons, and will repeal all discriminatory legislation and disabilities arising therefrom.

ARTICLE SIX.

The Government of Bulgaria will cooperate in the apprehension and trial of persons accused of war crimes.

ARTICLE SEVEN.

The Government of Bulgaria undertakes to dissolve immediately all pro-Hitler or other Fascist political, military, para-military and other organizations on Bulgarian territory conducting propaganda hostile to the United Nations and not to tolerate the existence of such organizations in the future.

ARTICLE EIGHT.

The publication, introduction and distribution in Bulgaria of periodical, or non-periodical literature, the presentation of theatrical performances or films, the operation of wireless stations, post, telegraph and telephone services will take place in agreement with the Allied (Soviet) High Command.

ARTICLE NINE.

The Government of Bulgaria will restore all property of the United Nations and their nationals, including Greek and Yugoslav property, and will make such reparation for loss and damage caused by the war to the United Nations, including Greece and Yugoslavia, as may be determined later.

ARTICLE TEN.

The Government of Bulgaria will restore all rights and interests of the United Nations and their nationals in Bulgaria.

ARTICLE ELEVEN.

The Government of Bulgaria undertakes to return to the Soviet Union, to Greece and Yugoslavia and to the other United Nations, by the dates specified by the Allied Control Commission and in a good state of preservation, all valuables and materials removed during the war by Germany or Bulgaria from United Nations territory and belonging to state, public or cooperative organizations, enterprises, institutions or individual citizens, such as factory and works equipment, locomotives, rolling-stock, tractors, motor vehicles, historic monuments, museum treasures and any other property.

ARTICLE TWELVE.

The Government of Bulgaria undertakes to hand over as booty to the Allied (Soviet) High Command all war material of Germany and her satellites located on Bulgarian territory, including vessels of the fleets of Germany and her satellites located in Bulgarian waters.

ARTICLE THIRTEEN.

The Government of Bulgaria undertakes not to permit the removal or expropriation of any form of property (including valuables and currency), belonging to Germany or Hungary or to their nationals or to persons resident in their territories or in territories occupied by them, without the permission of the Allied Control Commission. The Government of Bulgaria will safeguard such property in the manner specified by the Allied Control Commission.

ARTICLE FOURTEEN.

The Government of Bulgaria undertakes to hand over to the Allied (Soviet) High Command all vessels belonging to the United Nations which are in Bulgarian ports no matter at whose disposal these vessels may be, for the use of the Allied (Soviet) High Command during the war against Germany or Hungary in the common interest of the Allies, the vessels to be returned subsequently to their owners.

The Government of Bulgaria will bear full material responsibility for any damage to or destruction of the aforesaid property up to the moment of its transfer to the Allied (Soviet) High Command.

ARTICLE FIFTEEN.

The Government of Bulgaria must make regular payments in Bulgarian currency and must supply goods (fuel, foodstuffs, et cetera), facilities and services as may be required by the Allied (Soviet) High Command for the discharge of its functions.

ARTICLE SIXTEEN.

Bulgarian merchant vessels, whether in Bulgarian or foreign waters, shall be subject to the operational control of the Allied (Soviet) High Command for use in the general interest of the Allies.

ARTICLE SEVENTEEN.

The Government of Bulgaria will arrange, in case of need, for the utilization in Bulgarian territory of industrial and transport enterprises, means of communication, power stations, public utility enterprises and installations, stocks of fuels and other materials in accordance with instructions issued during the armistice by the Allied (Soviet) High Command.

ARTICLE EIGHTEEN.

For the whole period of the armistice there will be established in Bulgaria an Allied Control Commission which will regulate and supervise the execution of the armistice terms under the chairmanship of the representative of the Allied (Soviet) High Command and with the participation of representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom. During the period between the coming into force of the armistice and the conclusion of hostilities against Germany, the Allied Control Commission will be under the general direction of the Allied (Soviet) High Command.

ARTICLE NINETEEN.

The present terms will come into force on their signing.

Done at Moscow in quadruplicate, in English, Russian and Bulgarian, the English and Russian texts being authentic.

OCTOBER 28, 1944.

For the Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom:

Marshal F. I. TOLBUKHIN, representative the Soviet High Command.

Lieutenant General JAMES GAMMELL, representative of the Supreme Allied Commander for the Mediterranean

For the Government of Bulgaria: P. STAINOV, D. Terpeshev N. PETKOV and P. STOYANOV.

Protocol to the Agreement Concerning an Armistice With Bulgaria

At the time of signing the armistice with the Government of Bulgaria, the Allied Governments signatory thereto have agreed to the following:

One.

In connection with Article IX it is understood that the Bulgarian Government will immediately make available certain foodstuffs for the relief of the population of Greek and Yugoslav territories which have suffered as a result of Bulgarian aggression. The quantity of each product to be delivered will be determined by agreement between the three governments, and will be considered as part of the reparation by Bulgaria for the loss and damage sustained by Greece and Yugoslavia.

Two.

The term "war material" used in Article XII shall be deemed to include all material or equipment belonging to, used by, or intended for use by enemy military or pare-military formations or members thereof.

Three.

The use by the Allied (Soviet) High Command of Allied vessels handed over by the Government of Bulgaria in accordance with Article XIV of the armistice and the date of their return to their owners will be the subject of discussion and settlement between the Allied Governments concerned and the Government of the Soviet Union.

Four.

It is understood that in the application of Article XV the Allied (Soviet) High Command will also arrange for the provision of Bulgaria currency, supplies, services, et cetera, to meet needs of the representatives of the Government of the United Kingdom and the United States Bulgaria.

Done at Moscow in triplicate, in English Russian languages, both English and Russian being authentic.

The Battle of Dukla Pass concluded with no practical result.

German actor and director Kurt Gerron was murdered at Auschwitz.

From a female Russian sniper's diary:

October 25-28, 1944

The last territory of what is now Ukraine, but what was then part of Hungary, was cleared of German control.  Hence, today is  the Day of Liberation of Ukraine from Fascist Invaders (День визволення України від фашистських загарбників).

Last edition:

Friday, October 27, 1944. Somewhere in Germany.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Armor, Army, Battle of Leyte, German Wehrmacht, Germany, Luzon, Navy Day, Red Army, Slovak National Uprising, Slovakia, Spanish Civil War, U.S. Navy, World War Two

Saturday, August 26, 1944. De Gaulle in the streets of Paris. Bulgaria calls it quits.

Charles de Gaulle marched in the streets of paris, German sniper fire notwithstanding.

T-Sgt. Kenneth Averill, 563 Marshall St., Hazel Park, Mich., of the 4th Signal Co., 4th Div., gets his welcome personally from a Parisian girl when his unit, with other French and American forces, enters the main section of the French capitol. 26 August, 1944.

Not every Parisian enjoyed the festivities.  Parisian women with recent German boyfriends were brutalized, although the number was undoubtedly far below the numbers that had fraternized during the German occupation.  They were made to bear the guilt of a nation who had resisted heroically, in part, but which had not been free of collaboration.

American and French armor rolls through the Rue De Rivoli, Paris, passing cheering crowds and a knocked-out Nazi tank which fell victim to the gunnery of the tank crews which aided in the liberation of the French capital. 26 August, 1944.

Indeed, France has never reconciled with its complicated history during the war. Thousands of Frenchmen heroically resisted the Germans, including groups as widely divergent as monarchist and communists, but it's also the case that "French" liberation armies included massive numbers of North Africans who saw joining the Free French as a means of bringing their regions into metropolitan France, which they were soon to learn was not the case.

Crowds of Parisians celebrating the entry of Allied troops into Paris scatter for cover as a sniper fires into them from a building on the Place De La Concorde. Although the Germans surrendered the city, small bands of snipers still remained. 26 August, 1944.

Meanwhile, while dwarfed by the Free French formation that had formed during the war, and the regular French units that were now part of the Allied armies, some French volunteers continued to fight on the Eastern front.

The Germans lose more of their supplies. Captured when American and French forces occupied the main parts of the French capital, this stock of German gasoline quickly disappeared as Parisians help themselves outside the former Paris Wehrmacht headquarters on Avenue Kleber, former French tanks taken into German service, now abandoned on location. 26 August, 1944.

The Allies won the Battle of Toulon.

And they were taking back channel islands this late as well.

British paratroopers backed by Belgian infantry and armor, cleared the arears around Caen still in German hands.

Six American airmen were lynched by the townspeople of Rüsselsheim am Main.  Some of the townspeople would find themselves defendants in a war crimes trial after the war.

While this incident resulted in trials, killings of airmen, both in Germany and Japan, were hardly limited to this.

Bugarai announced that it was pulling out of the war and disarming all German troops on its territory.

The Red Army reached the Danube.

The 8th Army crossed the Metauro in Italy.

Adam von Trott zu Solz, 35 years of age, a German lawyer, diplomat and central figure in the 20 July plot, was hung by the Nazis.

Banika "U", Headquarters for Morale Services on the Russell Islands. L-R: Lt. William H. Ireland, Orientation Officer, of Ohio; Pvt. Paul E. Swofford, Assistant in Moral Services, of Ill.; Cpl. Fred D. Scullcy, Assistant in Moral Services, of Indiana; native of the Island; and Lt. John W. M. Rothney, [illegible] officer, of Wisconsin. 26 August, 1944.

Last edition:

Friday, August 25, 1944. Paris, Versailles and Avignon liberated.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Army, Battle for Paris, British Army, Charles de Gaulle, French Army, German Army, Italy, Logistics, New Guinea, Operation Olive, Personalities, Romania, Transportation, Trucks, World War Two

Friday, August 25, 1944. Paris, Versailles and Avignon liberated.

The Battle of Paris ended at 2:30 p.m. when German commander Dietrich von Choltitz surrendered the French capital against orders.

Dietrich von Choltitz with Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque and Jacques Soustelle in the M3 Scout Car.

De Gaulle arrived in the city at 4:00 p.m. to cheering crowds.

Versailles was liberated by French troops.

124 residents of  Maillé, Indre-et-Loire were murdered by the Germans in reprisal for actions by the French Resistance.

The Red Ball Express truck convoy system of emergency supply provision began and would run for 83 days.

US and French forces liberated Avignon without opposition.

The British 8th Army commenced Operation Olive in Italy.

Belgian No. 4 Troop of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando raided Île d'Yeu, which turned out to be unoccupied.

Romania declared war on Germany.

The Germans scuttled the U-18, U-24 and U-178.  The U-667 hit a mine in the Bay of Biscay and sank.  The Z24 was sunk by Allied aircraft.  The U-1000 hit a mine off of Pilau and was damaged beyond repair.

The US prevailed in the Battle of Aitape.

The Japanese destroyer Yūnagi was sunk northeast of Cape Bojeador, Luzon by the USS Picuda.

"Coast Guardsman Kent C. Pompella, boatswain’s mate second class, displays the picturesque facial fashions of the fighting South Sea invader. On his face he sports a 10 months growth of briers and in his ears a pair of shark tooth earrings."  Pompella passed away in January 2000 at the age of 79, a resident of Cloverdale, California.  The last 20 years of his life he ran a hotel in that city, behind which he planted a large garden.  He was a commercial fisherman prior to that.  Earrings in men, it might be noted, were extremely unusual at the time.

Last edition:

Thursday, August 24, 1944. Paris Reached.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Act of 23 August, Battle for Paris, German Army, Nazi Germany, Operation Dragoon, Operation Goodwood, Operation Overlord, Romania, Romanian Army, Royal Navy, technology, U.S. Navy, World War Two

Tuesday, July 11, 1944. Von Stauffenberg's first attempt, Tiger II's first use.

Col. Claus von Stauffenberg carried a bomb with him when summoned to Berchtesgaden on this day in 1944.  He did not carry out the attack as Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler were not present, and the coup planning called on all three to be killed in a single attack, thereby decapitating the Nazi Party.

This requirement would be omitted in future plot attacks.

Hitler determined to relocate to Rastenburg in East Prussia and Stauffenberg was asked Von Stauffenberg to follow him there.

US gun crew in action, July 11, 1944.

The Germans launched a counteroffensive on the Cotentin Peninsula against US forces.  During the day, the U.S. Army itself launches a counteroffensive back against the Germans.  The German effort failed.

Tiger II in France.  By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-721-0398-21A / Wagner / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5413533

The Tiger II was used for the first time during these actions.

A massive tank, the Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B was the second tank in the Germany heavy Tiger series and featured an improved sloping armored design in comparison to the Tiger I.  Pointing the way towards future tank designs, it was an impressive weapon, but mechanically unreliable.  It's notable that the tank, designed in reaction to Soviet armor, was used first on the Western Front.

Pfc. Russell J. Schoonmaker and Pvt. James V. Pappas, July 11, 1944.  Pappas survived the war and became a custom home builder and real estate broker in Indianapolis, where he was from.

The British captured Hill 112 southwest of Caen.

US forces around Aitape are forced to withdraw from the Driniumor River.

Gerald L. Endl preformed the actions that would result in his posthumous Medal of Honor.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Anamo, New Guinea, on 11 July 1944. S/Sgt. Endl was at the head of the leading platoon of his company advancing along a jungle trail when enemy troops were encountered and a fire fight developed. The enemy attacked in force under heavy rifle, machinegun, and grenade fire. His platoon leader wounded, S/Sgt. Endl immediately assumed command and deployed his platoon on a firing line at the fork in the trail toward which the enemy attack was directed. The dense jungle terrain greatly restricted vision and movement, and he endeavored to penetrate down the trail toward an open clearing of Kunai grass. As he advanced, he detected the enemy, supported by at least 6 light and 2 heavy machineguns, attempting an enveloping movement around both flanks. His commanding officer sent a second platoon to move up on the left flank of the position, but the enemy closed in rapidly, placing our force in imminent danger of being isolated and annihilated. Twelve members of his platoon were wounded, 7 being cut off by the enemy. Realizing that if his platoon were forced farther back, these 7 men would be hopelessly trapped and at the mercy of a vicious enemy, he resolved to advance at all cost, knowing it meant almost certain death, in an effort to rescue his comrades. In the face of extremely heavy fire he went forward alone and for a period of approximately 10 minutes engaged the enemy in a heroic close-range fight, holding them off while his men crawled forward under cover to evacuate the wounded and to withdraw. Courageously refusing to abandon 4 more wounded men who were lying along the trail, 1 by 1 he brought them back to safety. As he was carrying the last man in his arms he was struck by a heavy burst of automatic fire and was killed. By his persistent and daring self-sacrifice and on behalf of his comrades, S/Sgt. Endl made possible the successful evacuation of all but 1 man, and enabled the 2 platoons to withdraw with their wounded and to reorganize with the rest of the company.

President Roosevelt announced that the US would recognize the French Provisional Government.

He also confirmed he'd run for President again, if nominated.

The Red Army took the surviving German troops near Minsk prisoner, as Sarah Sundin notes:

Today in World War II History—July 11, 1944

The U-1222 was sunk west of La Rochelle by the RAF.  

Sailors going ashore at Cherbourg.

A A-26B-5 Invader crashed into a government owned trailer park in foggy weather, killing the pilot, navigator, and 17 residents of the park in South Portland Maine.  It's Maine's worst air disaster.

The 12th All Star Game was played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.  The National League beat the American League 7 to 1.

Last edition:

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

Labels: 1860s, 1868, 1940s, 1944, Battle of Vyborg, boats and ships, Caen France, Continuation War, German Palestinian Exchange, New Guinea, Operation Jupiter, The Holocaust, World War Two

Thursday, July 6, 1944. Advances on Eastern Front, Halted on Western Front, Tragedy in Connecticut, Racism at Camp Hood.

Admiral Horthy ordered a halt to the deportation of Hungarian Jews, clearly seeing which way the war was going.  Hungary had not supported this policy initially, but upon being invaded by the Germans early in 1944 Jewish deportation commenced.

The Red Army took Kovel and Svir.

The Polish 3d Division took Osemo, Italy.

The U.S. Army took Namber airfield on Numfoor.

Allied progress was generally halted in Normandy.

De Gaulle arrived in Washington for talks on his administration and forces. Bretton Woods, of course, the boozy conference on post-war economics, was rolling on at the same time.

The tragic Hartford Circus Fire resulted in 167 deaths and 700 injuries in Hartford, Connecticut.  Up to 7,000 people when the tent caught fire, with the cause never being determined.

U. S. Army Lieutenant Jackie Robinson, stationed at Camp Hood, Texas, was instructed to move to a seat farther back in the back of an Army bus and refused, resulting in his court-martialed.  Army buses were not segregated.

Robinson had originally been an enlisted cavalryman who had been sent to OCS, and was now a cavalry officer serving in an armor unit.  His commander, Paul L. Bates, refused to authorize the prosecution whereupon he was transferred to another unit and then charged with multiple offenses, including public drunkenness even though Robinson did not drink.  He was tried in August 1944, and acquitted.

The delay caused by the trial prevented him from going overseas with his unit.  He was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, and served as an army athletics coach before being discharged in November 1944.

Council of war, Saipan, July 6, 1944.

Last edition:

Wednesday July 5, 1944. Third Army in Normandy.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Army, Battle of the Atlantic, boats and ships, Canadian Army, George S. Patton, German Kriegsmarine, Operation Overlord, Operation Windsor, U.S. Navy, World War Two

Wednesday, June 14, 1944. Flag Day

 

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For many years June 14 has been set aside as Flag Day, observed throughout the Nation as a day of earnest rededication to those high principles of humanity and civilization which constitute the foundations of the Republic.

It is not necessary to recite that the stars and stripes of our flag symbolize the patriotic and loyal unity of one hundred and thirty-five million people in a widely diversified land. Nor is it necessary to dwell on the struggles through which we have marched, under that flag, to our present great part in the world's affairs. What we are, and what we do, speak of these things far more eloquently than any words.

Ours is a flag of battles. On the ships of our Navy, in the vanguard of our soldiers and marines, it is carrying liberation and succor into stricken lands. It is carrying our message of promise and freedom into all comers of the world.

Ours is also a flag of peace. Under its protection, men have found refuge from oppression. Under its promise, men have found release from hatreds and prejudice, from exploitation and persecution. It is the flag under which men and women of varied heritage, creed, and race may work and live or, if need be, fight and die together as only free men and women can.

Let us then display our flag proudly, knowing that it symbolizes the strong and constructive ideals—the democratic ideals—which we oppose to the evil of our enemies. Let us display our flag, and the flags of all the United Nations which fight beside us, to symbolize our joint brotherhood, our joint dedication, under God, to the cause of unity and the freedom of men.

Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby ask that on Flag Day, June 14, 1944, the people of our Nation honor especially the members of the armed forces—men and women equally—whose unfaltering devotion to our national ideals has given the Nation's flag a new and hopeful meaning for those struggling against oppression in lands still held by our enemies.

I direct the officials of the Federal Government and I request the officials of the State and local governments to have our colors displayed on all public buildings on Flag Day, and I urge the people of the United States on that day to fly the American flag from their homes, and to arrange, where feasible, for joint displays of the emblems of the freedom-loving United Nations without whose staunch collaboration we could not have hoped for victory.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this 3rd day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-eighth.

Signature of Franklin D. Roosevelt

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT

By the President:

CORDELL HULL

Secretary of State.

Operation Perch concluded in failure.

The U.S. 9th Infantry Division, moving north from Utah, took Quinéville, where the regional German command had been located.

Charles de Gaulle visited the Normandy beachhead.  His touring of French cities proved to be a problem as the large gatherings were signals to the Germans of his presence.

The provisional French government located itself at Bayeux.

A RAF Mosquito shot down a V-1 over the English Channel, the first such victory.

The Battle of Porytowe Wzgórze between Polish and Soviet partisans and the Germans took place, leading to a partisan breakout of a surrounded position, but at high cost.

The British 8th Army captured Orvieto, Terni and Todi in Italy.

B-29s raided Japan for the first time. Four of the aircraft were lost on a 48 plane, ineffective, raid on the Yawata steel works.

The U.S. Navy continued to bombard Saipan and Tinian.

After an extended and costly period of time leading up to it, the U.S. 6th Infantry Division took Lone Tree Hill in New Guinea.

The USS Golet was sunk by ships and aircraft off of Honshu.

Eleanor Roosevelt opened the White House Conference on How Women May Share in Post-War Policy-Making.

Last prior edition:

Tuesday, June 13, 1944. D+7. Heavy fighting in Normandy.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Armor, Battle of Bloody Gulch, Bernard Law Montgomery, Caen France, Carentan France, German Army, Operation Overlord, Operation Perch, Russo Ukrainian War, Waffen SS, Weapons, World War Two

Friday, April 21, 1944. Les Françaises obtiennent le droit de vote.

Black artillerymen of Btry B., 140th FA Bn., 37th Div. Btry firing a 105 on Bougainville. 21 April, 1944.

Charles de Gaulle issued a decree giving French women the right to vote.

It's hard to imagine that the vote came to French women this late.

US troops inspecting German one many torpedo at Anzio.

Japanese troops captured Crete West Hill during the Battle of Imphal.

As Sarah Sundin notes on her blog:

Today in World War II History—April 21, 1944: German Gen. Hans-Valentin Hube is killed in a plane crash at Berchtesgaden; Gen. Erhard Raus replaces him over German First Panzer Army.

She also noted that a massive US task force with up to twenty aircraft carriers had attacked  Hollandia, Wakde, Sawar, and Sarmi, New Guinea from the air in preparation for landings.  D-Day was the following day.

The following statement, a product of Bretton Woods, was released:

Italy formed a coalition government.

The RAF hit Cologne, La Chappelle (Paris), Lens and Ottignies (Brussels).

The Battle of Gurba occured in Ukraine, but it's obscure.  It was an action between the Soviets and the Ukrainian National Army, and relatively large-scale for such an encounter.

Last prior edition:

Thursday, April 20, 1944. Bombs for Hitler's birthday.

1940s, 1944, Adolf Hitler, baseball, Battle of Anzio, Battle of Kohima, boats and ships, German Kriegsmarine, German Luftwaffe, Merrill's Maurauders, Operation U-Go, Personalities, Royal Air Force, U.S. Navy