Sunday, December 24, 1944. The high water mark of the German offensive.

The highwater mark of Wacht am Rhein was reached at Celles.  By the end of the day, the Germans had exhausted their offensive capabilities.

Gen. Frederick Castle performed the actions that resulted in his winning a posthumous Medal of Honor.

He was air commander and leader of more than 2,000 heavy bombers in a strike against German airfields on 24 December 1944. En route to the target, the failure of 1 engine forced him to relinquish his place at the head of the formation. In order not to endanger friendly troops on the ground below, he refused to jettison his bombs to gain speed maneuverability. His lagging, unescorted aircraft became the target of numerous enemy fighters which ripped the left wing with cannon shells, set the oxygen system afire, and wounded 2 members of the crew. Repeated attacks started fires in 2 engines, leaving the Flying Fortress in imminent danger of exploding. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the bail-out order was given. Without regard for his personal safety he gallantly remained alone at the controls to afford all other crewmembers an opportunity to escape. Still another attack exploded gasoline tanks in the right wing, and the bomber plunged earthward, carrying Gen. Castle to his death. His intrepidity and willing sacrifice of his life to save members of the crew were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.

Race riots broke out between black and white Marines on Guam.

The U-486 sank the Belgian troopship Léopoldville in the English Channel, killing 763 American soldiers and 56 crew. 

V1s killed 42 in Manchester, England.

Anti German and anti fascist Hungarian politician Endre Kálmán Bajcsy-Zsilinszky was executed.

Today In Wyoming's History: December 24:  1944   All beef products are again being rationed. New quotas are introduced for most other commodities as well.

Last edition:

Saturday, December 23, 1944. German command worries.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Arizona, Bastogne, Battle of Leyte, Battle of the Bulge, Christmas, Gerd von Runstedt, Prisoners of War, Siege of Bastogne, U.S. Air Force, World War Two

Thursday, August 10, 1944. Stiffening German resistance in the East, Advancing in the West, Pacific victory.

The Battle of Narva ended in a German defensive victory while the Battle of Tannenberg Line ended in a German tactical victory.

The Tartu Offensive began in Estonia.

The British took Vimont.   The US 20th Corps took Nantes.  Fearing encirclement from Canadian and US forces, the Germans pulled back near Mortain.

Frenchmen of the town of Angers celebrate their liberation by burning the swastika that long flew over their town in the town Awuare.

After a frontal attack routed the Nazis from Angers, tanks with infantrymen walking alongside, move through the town.

The Battle of Guam ended in an American victory.

July 20 plotter Berthold Alfred Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was executed.

The U-608 was scuttled after being damaged by a RAF B-24 and the Royal Navy sloop Wren.

Lsat edition:

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.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Studzianki, Battle of Vyborg, Douglas MacArthur, Finnish Army, France, Franklin Roosevelt, Gypsies, Normandy Breakout, Pacific, Philippines, Poland, Red Army, The Holocaust, World War Two

Tuesday, August 2, 1944. Murder of the Gypsies.

The last of the gypsies were murdered at Auschwitz.  4,200 people were murdered.

In their memory, this is Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma.

Clearly seeing which way the wind was blowing, Turkey broke off diplomatic relations with Germany.

The Germans launched 316 V-1s on London.  100 reached the city.

Pfc. Joseph A. Calvello of New York City, N.Y., examines the sponge rubber interior of a Russian tire found on a 4.5 cm. anti-tank gun left behind by the retreating Germans in France.

The Allies ceased air strikes on French bridges as the pace of Allied advances increased.

The newly activated 3d Army reached Dinan and the outskirts of Rennes.  The 1st Army captured Villedieu.

The USS Fiske was sunk in the Atlantic by the U-804.  

German midget submarines attacked Allied shipping in the Channel and sank two vessels, including the HMS Quorn.  Of the 58 German Marder submarines used in the attack, only 19 survived.

Fighting continued on Guam, and in Warsaw.

The Arado Ar 234 B Blitz made its first combat flight, a reconnaissance mission over the Allied beachhead in Normandy.

Last edition:

Monday, August 1, 1944. The Warsaw Uprising Starts.

Saturday, July 29, 1944. Guam, Tinian, Aitape and Normandy.

Today in World War II History—July 29, 1944 On Guam, US Marines clear Orote Peninsula and take Orote Airfield.

Japanese resistance was increasing on Tinian, with the US now in control of half of the island.

The last Japanese resistance was eliminated on Biak, while U.S. forces pulled back at Afua near Aitape due to effective Japanese attacks.

The U.S. 1st Army advanced everywhere in Operation Cobra.

Last edition:

Friday, July 28, 1944. The U.S. Army advances in Normandy.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Aircraft, Armor, Army, Catholic, Normandy, Operation Bagration, Operation Cobra, Operation Overlord, Poland, Red Army, Tinian, United States Marine Corps, World War Two

Friday, July 21, 1944. Landings on Guam.

Following up on the dramatic events of the day prior, German troops poured into Berlin.

Ludwig Beck, 64, Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, 39, and  Claus von Stauffenberg, 36, were executed for their role in the July 20 plot.

Guderian succeeded Kurt Zeitzler, who had suffered a nervous breakdown, as Chief of Staff of the German Army.

US Marines and soldiers of the US Army commenced landing on Guam.  Initial Marine landings met with very little opposition.

The Japanese mounted attacks on US positions at Aitape.

The French Expeditionary Corps was withdrawn from the line in Italy in preparation for Operation Dragoon.

The U-212 was sunk sought of Brighton by the Royal Navy.

Harry S. Truman was nominated by the Democratic Party to run as Roosevelt's Vice President for 1944.

Last edition:

Thursday, July 20, 1944. The July 20 Plot.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, 1944 Election, Adolf Hitler, Battle of Narva, Claus von Stauffenberg, Franklin Roosevelt, German Resistance Movements, Heroes, July 20 Plot, Mussolini, Operation Valkyrie, World War Two

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

Claus von Stauffenberg attempted an assassination attempt on Hitler for the second time, this time at the Wolf's Lair, but Hitler left the meeting that was targeted early and von Stauffenberg hurriedly recovered the bomb.

After this attempt, the only criteria on going forward with the plan was that Hitler be present.

The Second Battle of Odon began with a British offensive in their sector of Normandy.

The French took Poggibonsi in Italy.

The Battle of Nietjärvi began with a Red Army attack on Finnish positions.

The SAS raid on Symi ended in an Allied victory, achieving more than it had set out to do, including the wasteful deployment of German resources. 

Japanese troops commenced atrocities on Guam, killing 16 out of 30 people of the village of Merizo.   They herded them into a cave and threw in hand grenades.

Task Force 74 bombarded Japanese positions near Aitape, New Guinea.

The U-319 was sunk by a B-24 of the RAF in the North Sea.

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe, 53, famous French aviator, died from the after effects of Gestapo torture while he was held by the Germans.

Chinese soldiers march to front crossing treacherous Salween River by means of temporary suspension bridge, July 15, 1944.

Actor Jan Michael Vincent was born in Denver, the son of a serviceman.

Last edition:

Friday, July 14, 1944. Bastille Day.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, actors and actresses, Bastille Day, Disaster, Druze, Franklin Roosevelt, Holidays, Red Army, the spoken word, The written word, Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. Navy, World War Two

Friday, June 16, 1944. Executions.

Heavy fighting continued on Saipan.

Knocked out Japanese tanks, June 16, 1944.

Beachheads on Saipan were linked, with combat featuring heavy artillery duels by both sides.

US battleships hit Guam, but the invasion of the island was postponed due to the approach of a Japanese fleet, which later turned to link up with a second one.

Carrier task forces raided Iwo Jima, Chichi Jima and Haha Jima.

The Treaty of Vis was signed in Yugoslavia in an attempt by the Western Allies to merge the Yugoslavian government in exile and the Communist partisans in the field.  The treaty provided for an interim post-war government.

The British 21st Army Group in Normandy advanced everywhere along its front.  The U.S. 1st Army crossed the Douvre and captured St. Saveur.

King George VI visited British troops in France.

The U.S. 9th Infantry Division liberated Orglandes.

US troops in Normandy reading their mail.

244 V-1 rockets hit London.

The British 8th Army took Foligno and Spoleto, Italy.   The US 5th Army took Grosseto.

French historian Marc Bloch, age 57, was shot by the Gestapo due to his work for the French Resistance.

George Stinney, a 14-year-old African American convicted of murder of two white girls, was executed in the electric chair, the youngest American to suffer that fate.

His conviction has since been vacated, not that it does him any good, on the basis that he did not receive a fair trial.

Another item on this from Uncle Mike:

June 16, 1944: A Southern State Executes a Black 14-Year-Old

Last prior edition:

Thursday, June 15, 1944. Saipan.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Army, British Army, Canada, German Wehrmacht, Imperial Japanese Army, Operation Forager, Operation Overlord, Politics, Saipan, Saskatchewan, Socialism, United States Marine Corps, World War Two

 

Drill sergeant shoots first perfect score at Army marksman course