Friday, November 10, 1944. The Explosion of the Mount Hood.

The USS Mount Hood, an ammunition ship, exploded at Seeadler Harbor at Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, killing all on board and damaging 22 other ships.

Imperial Japanese forces took U.S. airfields in China as part of Operation Ichi-Go.  The Japanese were gaining ground in China.

The Germans rounded up over 50,000 Dutch me in Rotterdam as slave labor, and effectively as hostages.

"Sgt. Sam S. McNealy, Morgantown, N.C., stands watch by his machine gun during the first snowfall of the year in this sector of the western front. 1st Army, Monschau, Germany. 10 November, 1944."

Last edition:

Thursday, November 9, 1944. Sorge meets his end.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Army, Battle of Leyte, Battle of Metz, British Army, Espionage, Imperial Japanese Army, Imperial Japanese Navy, Italy, Japan, USSR, World War Two

Today in World War II History—November 10, 1939 & 1944

Today in World War II History—November 10, 1939 & 1944: 80 Years Ago—Nov. 10, 1944: Japanese take US Fourteenth Air Force air bases at Kweilin and Liuchow in their drive through southern China.

Wednesday, August 16, 1944. Closing the Falaise Pocket.

American armor rolls into the town of Dreux, France, as the Americans continue their rapid advance for Paris. The smoke of battle hangs low and the road is strewn with wrecked German armor. 16 August, 1944.

US forces entered Chartres.  US forces also advanced towards Argentan and Alençon, in pursuit of the German forces fleeing the Falaise pocket.  Falaise itself was liberated by the Canadians.   Montgomery attempted to close the  Falaise pocket with an attack from Trun, which Bradley believes to be too late.  Polish troops in the British 1st Corps crossed over the Dives.

Pfc. Ciro B. Iadavaio, Brooklyn, N.Y., and T/4 Ira W. Myer, Louisville, Kentucky, of the crew of the hospital ship "Marigold" getting their first printed news of the invasion on the southern coast of France as nurses from the 93rd Evacuation Hospital load aboard to be taken to the new invasion front. 16 August, 1944. Naples, Italy.

The French 2nd Corps landed in southern France.

Walter Model replaced Günther von Kluge as Oberbefehlshaber West.

The Wehrmacht launched Operation Doppelkopf as a counteroffensive in the East.

The Red Army reached Ossow outside of Moscow, but had to withdraw under a German counterattack.

The Battle of Studzianki ended in a victory for Polish and Soviet forces.

The Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou ( 桂柳會戰) commenced between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Nationalist Chinese.

The US froze Argentine gold assets in the US due to failure to cooperate against the Axis.

Cheyenne experienced record railroad traffic due to war transportation of troops. (Wyoming State Historical Society calendar).

Last edition:

August 15, 1944. Operation Dragoon. The added invasion of France

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Army, Battle of Port Cros, boats and ships, Canadian Army, Commandos, France, German Army, German Kriegsmarine, Operation Dragoon, Operation Overlord, U.S. Navy, Women, World War Two

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

The Japanese took Hengyang, China.  The vastly outnumbered Chinese forces had held out for six weeks.

German panzer ace SS-Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann was killed when his tank was hit by fire from a Canadian tank and the ammunition within it detonated, killing the entire crew.

The British buried the bodies of the tankers in unmarked graves at the location, which is not surprising as the crew would have been just another group of dead Germans to them.  In 1983, German authorities recovered the bodies and reburied them in a German military cemetery in France.

Wittmann had cult status within Nazi Germany and has since retained it with German armor fans.  He died during Operation Totalize which was seeing large-scale success.

The possible encirclement of the German forces as a possibility began to be noticed by Omar Bradley, with Falaise already noticed as a focal point.  Bradley brought it to Eisenhower's attention on this day.

Greek partisans attacked German forces, with the aid of the SAS, aat Damasta in Crete. Predictably, the action resulted in severe German reprisals.

The United States and United Kingdom signed the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement in Washington, D.C.  The agreement, which would have regulated the petroleum industry globally, fell apart and was never ratified by the U.S. government due to petroleum industry opposition.

The HMCS Regina was sunk north of Trevose Head by the U-667.

The somewhat bizarre Ju 287 jet bomber made its first flight.

Only two would be made and the project was then cancelled.

Last edition:

Monday, August 7, 1944. German counter attack.

Labels: Army, Automobiles, Battle for Brest, British Army, Brittany, Canadian Army, German Wehrmacht, Kodiak Island, Normandy Breakout, Operation Bluecoat, Operation Lüttich, Operation Totalize, World War Two

Thursday, June 22, 1944. The GI Bill signed into law.

President Roosevelt signing the GI Bill.

Franklin Roosevelt signed the Serviceman's Readjustment Act, popularly called the G. I. Bill, into law.

People are fond of claiming that this event or that event, particularly associated with wars, changed the course of history, but in the case of the US, this event really did.   The act provided a massive set of benefits, including educational benefits, for returning servicemen.  In force, in its original form, until 1956, the GI Bill caused the boom in post-war university education which brought entire demographics into universities for the very first time, and made college education common.  It helped cause the massive boom into the entry into the white collar world by many demographics, and also created the semi Federally funded upper education system we now have.

The direct, and indirect, causes of the GI Bill would be a massive subject.  Everything from the post-war economic boom that continued into the 1960s, to today's educational system, to the end of European American ethnic ghettos, can be traced to it.  It was not only transformative, but the unintended consequences roll on to the present day.  It was one of the most successful liberal government programs of all time.

Some other looks at this major act:

June 22, 1944: President Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs the G.I. Bill

Today in World War II History—June 22, 1944

Noted in yesterday's entry, when the event commenced, the Luftwaffe staged a massive two-hour raid on the field at Poltava.  The Soviet anti-aircraft defense response was huge, but totally ineffective.  The Soviets refused to allow U.S. fighters to take off during the raid.  Numerous aircraft were destroyed on the ground, and the stored munitions and aviation fuel were destroyed.

By Pauli Myllymäki / Suomen Armeija - http://sa-kuva.fi/neo2?tem=webneo_image_download&lang=FIN&id=7aa7d225602342102e0ce9d1f822470d&archive=&name=155142Image record page in Finna: sa-kuva.sa-kuva-143177, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36745916

The Finns prevailed against the Red Army in the Battle of Tienhaara on the Karelian Isthmus.

On the same day, however, the massive ground offensive in Operation Bagration began.  It started off three years to the day from Operation Barbarossa.

A massive assault, Bagration would bring the Red Army into Germany itself, although only barely in the form of entering East Prussia's border.  The Red Army would advance to the gates of Warsaw, however.  The offensive effectively wiped out all of Germany's Operation Barbarossa gains and returned Germany to the territorial position it was in, in the east, on June 21, 1941.  The Baltic States found themselves, at the end of it, about 60% occupied by the Soviets.

It would prove to be one of the most remarkable offensives of the war.  Still, almost as remarkable, was the German resistance which kept the offensive from simply overrunning the Wehrmacht and ending the war.

The British prevailed at Kohima.

The Battle of Hengyang (衡陽保衛戰) a siege defense of the city by the Nationalist Chinese Army, began.  It would turn into an epic battle.

Fighting continued on Biak.

Pvt. Andy Hamilton, Vincentown, New Jersey; Pvt. Chester Klovas, Chicago, Ill.; Pfc. Harry Reynolds, Loogoote, Ind.; gun crew of the .50 caliber machine gun is credited with half of 109 Japanese slain on Biak Island on 22 June 1944.

Fighting continued in Saipan as well.

The I-185 was sunk near Saipan by American destroyers.

Weather improved over the English Channel and repairs on artificial ports commenced.  Howver, the the port of Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer was so badly damaged, it was abandoned.

Fighting at Cherbourg continued, as did the fighting near Caen.

Twenty seven year old German fighter ace Maj. Josef Wurmheller, with 102 kills to his name, was killed himself when his FW-190 collided with his wingman, Feldwebel Kurt Franzke, during aerial combat with USAAF Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and RCAF Spitfires near Alençon.

Unlike some high ranking German fighter aces, Wurmheller's victories were mostly in the west, with a large number of Spitfires included.

Navy working uniform, June 22, 1944.

 Specialist (R)2c Jeanne Henry, attached to the Office of Naval Officer Procurement, in New York City. Shown: Overcoat (front). This optional item as uniform is worn as an alternative to the raincoat in cold seasons. The white muffler also is optional. Released June 22, 1944.

The Appalachian Tornado Outbreak began and would carry into the following day.  Over 100 people were killed.

Last prior edition:

Wednesday, June 21, 1944. Operation Bagration commences with artillery.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Imphal, France, German Luftwaffe, Italy, Operation Bagration, Operation Forager, Operation Frantic, Operation Overlord, Red Army, Royal Navy, Saipan, U.S. Air Force, Weather, World War Two

Friday, May 26, 1944. Striking out for the airbases.

It was my father's 15th birthday.

Because everyone who would know is now dead, I'm not entirely sure of the timeline, so his birthday may have been observed in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, or Casper, Wyoming.   I think Casper is more likely.

A major Japanese offensive was launched in China against American airbases in the southeast of the country.  Around 620,000 Japanese troops were involved in the action.

The British 10th Corps captured Roccasecca; the Canadian 1st Corps captured San Giovanni and reached the Liri River; the US 2nd Corps reached Priverno.

The U-541 stopped the Portuguese liner Serpa Pinto, which was carrying Jewish refugees to Canada.  387 passengers were removed from the boat, but nine hours later allowed back on board, all but two spending that time in lifeboats.  Three died in the event, including a 16-month-old baby.

German submariners have been glorified in the West, but in reality they were often ardent Nazis.

While establishing it with certainty has not been done, William H. Calbreath, age 93, died. The coal dealer was reputedly the model for the Cream of Wheat cook that was its marketing logo for many years.

Sarah Sundin has a lot of interesting things about today in World War Two on her blog, including the advance on Rome and staging for D-Day: Today in World War II History—May 26, 1944

Last prior edition:

Thursday, May 25, 1944. Japanese victory at Henan, Operation Rösselsprung in Yugoslavia, Breakthrough at Anzio.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Anzio, Battle of Henan, China, Chinese National Army, Italy, Operation Ichi-Go, Operation Rösselsprung

Thursday, May 25, 1944. Japanese victory at Henan, Operation Rösselsprung in Yugoslavia, Breakthrough at Anzio.

Japanese troops in Henan.

The Japanese won the Battle of Central Henan in China.  During the battle, Chinese peasants in the Henan area acted as sort of a third independent agrarian forces, attacking the Nationalist Chinese Army and the Japanese. Actions against the Nationalist army were in spired by the 1938 Yello River Flood of the late 1930s and the famine of 1942.

The Germans began a combine air and ground assault on the headquarters of the Yugoslav Partisans at Drvar.  The offensive included German mountain troops, SS paratroopers (all regular German paratroopers were in the Luftwaffe) and Yugoslav collaborationist.

SS Paratroops grather for Operation Rösselsprung, the counter partisan offensive in Yugoslavia.

I hadn't been aware of the existence of a SS paratrooper battalion, but there was one, which showed the increasing importance of the SS in the German forces late in the war.  

An operation like this, also, demonstrates the degree to which the Germans were losing control of Yugoslavia.

Repaired US tank in Italy returns to action.

The Fifth Army broke through to the Anzio beachhead and captured Cisterna.

Sgt. Joe Petrowski of the 337th Inf. Regt., examining sights on an 88mm gun abandoned by the Germans. Terracina area, Italy, 25 May, 1944.

Last prior edition:

Wednesday, May 24, 1944. Hitler to Caesar.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Aircraft, boats and ships, German Army, Italian Navy, Italy, World War Two

Saturday, April 22, 1944. American landings at Hollandia and Aitape.

US troops on Aitape, April 22, 1944.  This is a curious photograph for a number of reasons, including that all of the men in the immediate foreground are carrying M1 Carbines rather than M1 Garands.  Further, the solider closes to the camera is wearing paratrooper boots.  This would somewhat make me suspect that they are Rangers, but I don't know of Rangers landing at Aitape.

U.S. forces began landed in Western New Guinea in Operations Reckless (Hollandia) and Operation Persecution (Aitape).

Surprisingly, the Japanese were ill prepared for the operation, and the landings rapidly gained a foothold.

The Marshalls campaign ended with the US taking Ungelap.

The Japanese took Chengchow in China.

Combined, the day's event in the Far East demonstrated the interesting nature of the war at the time, and the problems confronting the Japanese.  The Japanese were advancing in China and on the Burmese Indian frontier, but losing territory rapidly in the Pacific, where they effectively had no means of stopping the flow of events.  Gaining enough ground on the Asian mainland to force a conclusion to the overall war was rapidly becoming impossible, as was defending what it had taken in the Pacific in order to advance that original goal.

Mesovouno was subject to German mass killings for the second time, the first time being in October 1941.

Mussolini met with Hitler and his entourage to complain about German caused problems in the Italian Social Republic, which the Germans didn't really care about.

The Kingdom of Afghanistan drove rebel Mazrak Zadran and his followers into the hills.  He was in rebellion in support of a rival claimant to the Afghani throne.

Last prior edition:

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

1940s, 1944, Battle of Gurba, Battle of Imphal, Bretton Woods, Charles de Gaulle, Economics, France, Free French, Italy, New Guinea, Royal Air Force, Ukraine, Ukrainian National Army, Women, World War Two

Wednesday, April 19, 1944. Operation Ichi-Go.

 Operation Ichi-Go commenced in China.

Japanese plans for the offensive, which would be a largely successful Japanese effort.

Control of the ground at the end of the war.

The massive and highly successful offensive was designed, in no small measure, to help force a conclusion to the war in China, something perhaps best demonstrated by its alternative Japanese name, Tairiku Datsū Sakusen (大陸打通作戦), "Continent Cross-Through Operation"). It would gain a huge amount of ground, and demonstrate the importance of the war on the mainland to the Asian conflict.  It's specific goas were to link railways in Beijing and Hankou in northern China to the southern Chinese coast at Canton and spare shipping and avoid American submarines; to take the airfields in Sichuan and Guangxi to preclude U.S. bombing of Taiwan and the Japanese mainland; and to destroy elite Nationalist units to cause the Nationalist government to collapse.

It was ambitious and would be, late war though it was, the largest military campaign of the Japanese war against China.  Japan committed 80% of their forces in China, some 500,000 men, as well as 100,000 horses, 1,500 artillery pieces, and 800 tanks.

700,000 Nationalist Chinese troops were eliminated from combat in the operation, which would continue into October.

The Allies launched Operation Cockpit, an operation that featured all of the principal Allied forces in the East, the same being an air assault on Sabang Indonesia.

The RAF mined the Danube.

 

Sarah Sundin notes, on her blog:

Today in World War II History—April 19, 1944 In the US, shortening, salad & cooking oils are removed from rationing, but butter & margarine are still rationed. Read more: “Make It Do—Rationing of Butter, Fats & Oils in World War II.”

Congress extended the Lend Lease Act.  Apparently the 78th Congress was a little more active than the 119th.

The 1944 NFL Draft was held, and the first draft pick was Angelo Bertelli, who was drafted by the Boston Yanks.  It wouldn't matter, Bertelli was already slated to enter the Marine Corps.

Canadian Gérard Côté won the Boston Marathon.

Côté winning the 1940 Boston Marathon.

He was serving in the Canadian Army at the time, and took leave to run in the race, sponsored by a Montreal restaurateur.  While the Canadian Army, which initially used him as a physical education instructor, and then stationed him in a munitions plant, had been proud of his status as Canada's premier runner, it had taken heat for perceived preferential treatment that he received, and reacted negatively to his taking leave and running in the race. Côté was shipped to the UK and served the rest of the war in Europe, winning three English marathons during that time period.

Last prior edition:

Tuesday, April 18, 1944. 4,000 tons v. 53.

1940s, 1943, Battle of Kohima, boats and ships, Catholic, Crimea, Eastern Front, German Luftwaffe, London England, Operation U-Go, Royal Air Force, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, World War Two