Tuesday, October 31, 1944. Rescued.

Pvt. Fred T. Huff, 698 Pulaski St., Athens, Ga., one of the soldiers in an American infantry battalion trapped behind German lines.for six days in the Belmont sector, France, eats while waiting for transportation to the rear area for a rest. 31 October, 1944.

U.S. Infantrymen who were cut off by the Germans for six days in the Belmont sector, France, file down the road after being relieved. 31 October, 1944. 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry, 36th Infantry Division.

Bearded Lt. Martin J. Higgins, 29 Garrison Ave., Jersey City, N.J., left, receives a warm handshake from Lt. Charles O. Barry, 120 West St., Williamstown, P.A., when he rejoins his unit in the Belmont sector after being cut off by the Germans for six days. Lt. Higgins was one of the officers with a battalion cut off by the Germans. France. 31 October, 1944.  Note the M1 Carbine has a grenade launching attachment.  1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division.

The Royal Air Force raided Gestapo headquarters at the Aarhus University in Denmark  The goal was to destroy Gestapo records to aid the Danish resistance.  The raid was conducted, as an earlier on in France had been, with Mosquitos.

The Germans evacuated Salonika.  Remaining Aegean German garrisons were trapped.

German Army Group North was trapped on the Courland Peninsula.

T/5 Miles J. Wermager, center, of Magnomen, Minn., a member of a cavalry unit near Monschau, Germany, receives his first piece of chicken since D-Day from T/4 Frank F. Leichtman, left, of Bresho, S.D. 31 October, 1944.

Complete to a flute, turban, and ersatz snake, TeC 5 Hernry Vin Roten, seated, of Brooklyn, N.Y., muses fellow GIs and pretty guests from the nearby French town of Toul at a Halloween party given by members of an air evacuation holding station. 3rd Army Air Evac. Holding Station. 31 October, 1944.

Last edition:

Monday, October 30, 1944. Pvt. Ross.

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Today in World War II History—October 31, 1939 & 1944

Today in World War II History—October 31, 1939 & 1944: 85 Years Ago—Oct. 31, 1939: British children are advised not to go “guising” (trick-or-treating) due to the blackout. New York World’s Fair closes.

Tuesday, August 24, 1943. Crossing the Dneiper

Heinrich Himmler was named Reichsminister of the Interior, replacing Wilhelm Frick.  Himmler was in the ascendant as Germany turned increasingly towards the most radical elements of its Nazi ideology.

The Quebec Conference closed.

Sarah Sundin notes:

Today in World War II History—August 24, 1943: Danish resistance group Holger Danske blows up Forum Hall in Copenhagen. Southeast Asia Command is authorized under Adm. Lord Louis Mountbatten

She also notes that German foreign service agent Fritz Kolbe met with US OSS agent Allen Dulles in Switzerland for the first time, where he'd start to supply Dulles with diplomatic cables.

He survived the war and found that after it, he had a very hard time making a living as the Germans despised him for his actions.  This was a common German reaction post-war in that those who had acted on conscience in various ways against the Nazi regime were not admired in post-war West Germany.

He died in 1971 at age 70 in Switzerland from gall bladder cancer.

A new Southeast Asia Command was authorized with Adm. Lord Louis Mountbatten as is Supreme Allied Commander.

By some accounts, the Battle of the Dnieper opened on this day in 1943 with a new Soviet offensive to regain the east bank of that river.