Monday, October 9, 1944. The Fourth Moscow Conference Commences.

The Fourth Moscow Conference began, with Churchill, Stalin (of course), and W. Averell Harriman in attendance.  The Allies, knowing that victory was coming, discussed post war Europe.

Polish delegates attended some of the meetings.

As odd as it may seem, to many in Germany, the coming defeat was not yet a mental reality.  There's a lesson in there about believing what you want to believe, in spite of the evidence.

The St. Louis Cardinals took the 1944 World Series in the sixth game.

Infantrymen take break in fighting to enjoy coffee and doughnuts offered by Red Cross girls of Clubmobile "General Lee" somewhere in Luxembourg. 9 October, 1944.

The Canadian 3d Division landed at Breskens on the south bank of the Scheldt.

A U.S. task force bombarded Marcus Island.

 French Naval Minister Jacquinot, accompanied by ranking French naval officers, inspects a tank destroyer unit of the 2nd Free French Armored Division, manned by French marines, somewhere in France. 9 October, 1944.

Last edition:

Sunday, October 8, 1944 Passing of Fr. Nicolò Cortese and Wendell Willkie

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Friday, May 19, 1944. Dewey take the GOP nomination.

155s firing on Wadke Island, May 19, 1944.

The Allies took Gasta Itri, Monte Grande, Pico and n the Aquino airfield, in the Liri Valley.

Task Group 58.2 raided Marcus Island.

B-17 Donna Mae II seconds before a bomb dropped from a B-17 above her, under which she had drifted, struck her horizontal stabilizer and caused the plane to go straight down, killing the entire crew.

The Republican primary process concluded with the Oregon Primary.  Dewey was the nominee.

Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the original Star Wars, was born.

Last prior edition:

Thursday, May 18, 1944. Monte Cassino ends.

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Tuesday, August 31, 1943. Debut of the F6F.

Grumman F6Fs made their combat debut.

The fighter was a leap in Navy fighter technology, joining the Corsair as a new generation of flattop launched fighter aircraft.  The plane would be responsible for approximately 2/3s of the Japanese aircraft shot down by the U.S. Navy during World War Two.

The carrier born first use was in a day-long raid on Marcus Island.

Radar equipped F6F's would remain in service until 1954, completing their service as night fighters.

On the same day, the 14th Air Force bombed Gia Lam, Co Bi, Ichang Airfiled, Stonecutters Island and the Yoyang rail yards.  The 5th Air Force hit trages in Saint George Channel and the Dutch East Indes.

Stalin issues the following order to General Rokossovsky

Troops of the Central Front, breaking through strongly fortified enemy defense lines in the area of Sevsk by a decisive attack, on August 30 captured the town of Glukhov and Rylsk and entered the Northern Ukraine.

In the fighting for the liberation of the towns of Sevsk, Glukhov and Rylsk from the German invaders, the troops which distinguished themselves were Guards tankmen commanded by, Lieutenant-General of Tank Troops Korchagin, tankmen commanded by Major-General Ruchenko, troops commanded by Lieutenant-General Cherny-kovsky, Lieutenant-General Batov, and Lieutenant-General of Tank Troops Bogdanov, and airmen commanded by Lieutenant-General of Aviation Rudenko.

To mark the victory they have won, the divisions and artillery formations which exceptionally distinguished themselves in the fighting for Glukhov, Rylsk and Sevsk are to have the following titles conferred upon them. The name of "Glukhov" is to be conferred on the 70th Guards Red Banner Infantry Division, the 226th Infantry Division, the 23rd Tank Brigade and the 1st Guards Artillery Division.

The name of "Rylsk" is to be conferred on the 121st Infantry Division and the 112th Infantry Division.

The name of "Sevsk" is to be conferred on the 69th Red Banner Infantry Division, the 103rd Tank Brigade, the 43rd Motorized Brigade, the 255th Independent Tank Regiment, the 68th Heavy Artillery Brigade and the 100th Red Banner Heavy Artillery Brigade.

Henceforth these formations are to be named the 70th Guards Red Banner Glukhov Infantry Division, the 226th Glukhov Infantry Division, the 23rd Glukhov Tank Brigade, the 1st Glukhov Guards Artillery Division, the 121st Rylsk Infantry Division, the 112th Rylsk Infantry Division, the 69th Red Banner Sevsk Infantry Division, the 60th Sevsk Infantry Division, the 103rd Sevsk Tank Brigade, the 43rd Sevsk Motorized Brigade, the 255th Sevsk Independent Tank Regiment, the 68th Sevsk Heavy Artillery Brigade and the 100th Red Banner Sevsk Heavy Artillery Brigade.

In the name of our country, our capital Moscow will to-day, August 31, at 20.30 Moscow time, salute our glorious troops who liberated the towns of Glukhov, Rylsk and Sevsk, with twelve artillery salvoes from 124 guns.

For distinguished military services and skilful operations I express my thanks to all troops led by you who have taken part in the fighting for Sevsk, Glukhov and Rylsk, and above all to the 70th Guards Red Banner Glukhov Infantry Division commanded by General Butev, the 226th Glukhov Infantry Division commanded by Colonel Vitrenko, the 1st Guards Glukhov Artillery Division commanded by Major-General of Artillery Godin, the 23rd Glukhov Tank Brigade commanded by Colonel Demidov, the 121st Rylsk Infantry Division commanded by Major-General Ladygln, the 112th Rylsk Infantry Division commanded by Colonel Gladkov, the 69th Red Banner Sevsk Infantry Division commanded by Colonel Kuzadkov, the 60th Sevsk Infantry Division commanded by. Colonel Babilensky,,. the 103rd Sevsk Tank Brigade commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Khalayev, the 103rd Sevsk Motorized Brigade commanded Major-General Barinov, the 655th Sevsk Independent Tank Regiment commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Mukin, the 68th Sevsk Heavy Artillery Brigade commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Vassilev, the 100th Red Banner Sevsk Heavy Artillery Brigade commanded by Colonel Kuznetsov, the 6th. Guards Infantry Division., commanded by Major-General Ahoprienko, the 322nd Infantry Division commanded by Colonel Losenko, the 150th Independent Tank Brigade commanded by Lieutenant-General Griumov, the 178th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment commanded by Colonel Fedov, and air formations commanded by Major-General of Aviation Denisov, Major-General . of Aviation Antoshin, Major-General of Aviation Kravatsky, Colonel Komarov and Colonel Budilev.

Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the fight for the freedom and independence of our Motherland! Death to the German invaders!

Troops of the western front recently broke through the strongly fortified enemy defence line and, developing their offensive in the Smolensk direction, yesterday, August 30th, captured the' town of Yelnya, a strategically important large junction of roads and the most important centre of resistance of the enemy defences in the Smolensk direction.

In the fighting for the town of Yelnya the following distinguished themselves: Guards tankmen commanded by Major-General Burdeinov, troops commanded by Lieutenant-General Gordov, by Major-General Krylov, by Lieutenant-General Trubnikov, airmen commanded by Marshal of Aviation Golovanov and Lieutenant-General of Aviation Gromov.

To mark the victory won .by our troops at the town of Yelna, the name of Yelna will be conferred on the 29th Guards Red Banner Infantry Division, the 25th Tank Brigade, the 26th Tank Brigade, the 23rd Guards Independent Tank Brigade and the 119th Independent Tank Regiment, which distinguished themselves in the fighting for the town of Yelna. They will henceforth be named the 29th Guards Red Banner Yelna Infantry Division, the 76th Yelna Infantry Division, the 25th Yelna Tank Brigade, the 26th Yelna Tank Brigade, the 23rd Guards Yelna Independent Tank Brigade.

In the name of our country, our capital Moscow, to-day, August 31, at 19.00 hours Moscow time, will salute with twelve artillery salvoes from 124 guns our glorious troops who have won victory at the town of Yelna.

For distinguished military service and skilful manoeuvring I express my thanks to all the troops you command who participated in ‘ the operations in the Smolensk direction, and above all for the skilful operations by the 29th Guards Red Banner Yelna Infantry Division commanded by Lieutenant-General Stuch-enko, to the 26th Yelna Infantry Division commanded by Colonel Babayan, the 25th Yelna Tank Brigade commanded by Colonel Shevchenko, the 26th Yelna Brigade commanded by Colonel Nester-ov, the 23rd Guards Yelna Independent Tank Brigade commanded by Colonel Kalinin, the 119th Yelna Independent Tank Regiment commanded by' Lieutenant-Colonel Losik and the 63rd Infantry Division commanded by Colonel Lapkin.

Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the fight for the freedom and honour of our Motherland! Death to the German invaders!

It's interesting how Stalin would urge "eternal glory" for a state which didn't recognize eternity in any meaningful sense. 

On his day, the Red Army took  Glukhov and Rylsk.

The Civil Air Patrol's coast patrol ceases, given as the U-boot threat has been so reduced in recent months.

Wednesday, March 4, 1942. Counterstrikes

Today in World War II History—March 4, 1942: Two Japanese H8K flying boats bomb Pearl Harbor—no damage. Aircraft from USS Enterprise strike Marcus Island in South Pacific.

From Sarah Sundin's blog.

If you were fighting the war, of course, it was a horrible day. . . if fighting was going on, which it was all over the world. But in terms of huge events, well, it was just another day in the war in some ways.

Operation K, the flying boat raid, had significant aspirations but was a flop.  It didn't do much, other than to remind everyone that Hawaii was still within Japanese air range.

H8K.  This one was in its last moments later in the war, just before the U.S. Navy, which took this photo, shot it down.

The round trip flight engaged in by the two Japanese aircraft from the Marshall Islands was nearly 5,000 miles in extent.

Marcus Island is the easternmost island of the Japanese archipelago and is extremely isolated.   The US bombed it repeatedly during 1942 and 1943, but never occupied it.

The remote island was first discovered by the Portuguese in 1694.  They didn't make a specific recordation of the location of the island, however, and it was not sighted again until British/Australian mariner Bourn Russell spotted it in 1830, noting that it was not on his charts, which of course it was not.  It was next sighted by an American evangelical mission to the Hawaiian islands in 1864. The first effort to occupy it commenced by a private Japanese expedition in 1886.

The United States and Japan both claimed the island early on, and in 1902 the US dispatched a warship to enforce its claims, but withdrew when it found the island occupied by the Japanese and a Japanese warship patrolling nearby.  The Japanese withdrew the civilian population in 1933 and made the island a military installation with a weather station and an airstrip.

The island was transferred to the United States in 1952, but in 1968 the US gave it back but continued to occupy it, having a substantial radio station there, whose antenna can be seen in the photo posted above from 1987.  The Coast Guard occupied the island until 1993, and then it was transferred to the Japanese Self Defense Force.