World War II in real time

Day 1800 of World War II, August 14th 1944

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +68

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, August 14th 1944



The closing of the Falaise pocket is finally ordered. To do this, the Canadians are launching their own operation, called Tractable, which aims to close the major escape route of the Germans, located in the area near the town of Falaise. The British 53rd Infantry Division, three Canadian divisions (2nd and 3rd Infantry, 4th Armored Division), and the 1st Polish Armored Division, are on the offensive after heavy bombing, north and south of Falaise. The 12th ss Panzer Division has difficulty in arresting the Allies.

Photo: Vehicles of the 3rd Canadian Division advancing on Bretteville-le Rabet, France, towards Falaise as part of Operation Tractable, August 14, 1944





The 1st and 21st divisions S.S. Panzer, who gradually retreated at the time of the attack to leave the Falaise pocket, launched a counter-offensive north-west towards Soulangy. But the Allies pushed back the attacks while the 1st Polish Armored Division progressed east of Falaise to cut the retreat of the German divisions.

Photo: 5.5-inch gun firing near Vallee, 14 August 1944




German officers continually received Hitler’s orders, who forbid any retreat towards the east, and who required the officers to defend their positions.

Air War over Europe

In France, the US Ninth Air Force sends A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders with fighter escort to hit several highway and rail bridges, junctions and sidings mostly beyond the battlelines to delay and complicate the German retreat; fighters fly armed reconnaissance over the Falaise, Broglie, and Chartres areas, and support ground forces, especially 7 armored and infantry divisions, over wide areas of northern and western France; a XIX Tactical Air Command squadron uniquely effects the surrender of a number of German ground troops, Germans on roads being strafed by the squadron northeast of Carrouges wave white flags, whereupon the planes buzz the road and shepherd the enemy troops into a column which then proceeds to US lines to surrender.

Eleven Fw 190s and six Bf 109s were lost with locations such as near Chartres, near Evreux, Ballancourt, Houdan, Nogent Le Rotrou, Mareuill sur Ourcq, Fere Champenoise, and Illiers. At 1025 hours 2/Lt. George M. Rhodes Jr. of 100th FS claimed an Fw 190 in the Toulon area. Fliegerdivision 2's losses during the day had been an aircraft of 1.(F)/33 damaged by bombing and two Ar 196 of 2./128 destroyed and one damaged by a Mosquito at Perpignan.

In England, the US Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions. Mission 552: 1,183 bombers and 429 fighters, in 4 forces, are dispatched to attack 9 airfields, 2 aero engine factories, 1 oil plant, 2 bridges, 2 rail junctions and other secondary and targets of opportunity in southwestern Germany, eastern France, and the Bordeaux, France region; 2 bombers and 1 fighter are lost (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking the target). (1) B-24s attack 3 airfields in France, Lyon/Bron (10 8 ), Dijon/Longvi (83) and Dole/Evaux (70); 2 bridges Anizy (46) and Fismes (34); and 12 B-24s hit Liart rail junction and 1 hits a target of opportunity; escort is provided by 92 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs. (2) B-24s bomb French rail junctions at Saintes (3 8 ) and Angouleme (3 8 ); escort is provided by 40 P-51s. (3) B-17s dispatched to Germany hit Ludwigshafen (144), Mannheim (110) and Sandhofen Airfield at Mannheim(72) ; 4 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 88 P-51s; (4) B-17s dispatched to Germany hit airfields at Hagenau (92), Metz/Frascaty (72), Florennes (24), Chievres (9); Stuttgart/Echterdin gen (72), Kaisereslautern (46), Sindelfingen (12), Trier (10) and targets of opportunity (16); escort is provided by 168 P-51s that claim 10-0-11 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost. Mission 553: 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft. 37 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France; 1 B-24 is lost. 136 P-38s and P-47s fly fighter-bomber missions in the Paris area; claiming 3-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-38 and 2 P-47s are lost.

The US Twelfth Air Force in Italy dispatches medium bombers to hit coastal defenses while fighter-bombers pound various gun positions, tracks, enemy HQ, and targets of opportunity in the Toulon-Nice area; fighters strafe radar installations and targets of opportunity along the south coast as Operation DRAGOON forces approach.

The US Fifteenth Air Force in Italy sends 540 B-24s and B-17s to bomb gun positions in the Toulon, France and Genoa, Italy areas as the Operation DRAGOON (the invasion of southern France) convoy heads for the French Mediterranean coast; 145 P-38s and P-51s strafe radar installations at several coastal points.

Italian campaign

Photo: Aircrew of No. 16 Squadron SAAF and No. 227 Squadron RAF sitting in front of a Bristol Beaufighter at Biferno, Italy, prior to taking off to attack a German headquarters building in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, 14 August 1944



Battle of the Atlantic

The German submarine 'U-618' is sunk in the Bay of Biscay west of St. Nazaire, in position 47.22N, 04.39W, by depth charges from the British frigates HMS 'Duckworth' and HMS 'Essington' and by depth charges from an RAF Liberator of No. 53 Squadron based at St Eval, Cornwall, England. All hands on the U-boat, 61 men, are lost.

Tank landing ship LST-921 is sunk by German submarine U-667 about 11 miles southwest of Hartland Point, England, 51°05'N, 04°47'W.

German occupied Poland - Warsaw Uprising

AK Chief Commander Gen. Tadeusz Komorowski 'Bor' calls on AK local units by radio to come to Warsaw's aid. In the Old Town, insurgents destroy two tanks. In City Centre, they effectively fight off all attacks, seizing food storehouses on Ceglana Street. In Powiśle, combatants win a German SS Viking division's armored military vehicle.

Photo: German armored fighting vehicle SdKfz 251 captured by the Polish insurgents, from 8-th "Krybar" Regiment, on Na Skarpie Boulevard on August 14, 1944 from 5th SS 'Viking' division. This picture taken on Tamka Street. The insurgents gave the vehicle name "Gray Wolf" and used it in attack on Warsaw University



United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy stores ship USS Calamares (AF-18) off the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, California (USA), on 14 August 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 8F



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, B-25s bomb Mohnyin and Indaw; 18 P-51s pound targets in the Myothit area; 46 other fighter-bombers hit various N Burma targets including Naba junction, the active area near Pinbaw, a building and targets of opportunity at Thaikwagon, a command post at Hopin, a motor pool at Nansiaung Forest, ammunition and other supplies in the Mohnyin area, and bridges S of Bhamo one of which is slightly damaged; and the 2d Troop Carrier Squadron, 443d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Dinjan, India to Shingbwiyang with C-47s.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 24 B-25s blast Lungling while 16 P-40s hit a fortified pass and targets of opportunity to the S; 12 B-25s bomb the railroad yards at Siangtan; 31 P-40s and P-51s hit the railroad yards, river shipping, and general targets of opportunity at Hengyang; 13 P-40s attack Tengchung; 13 others hit trucks, troops, and rivercraft at Pailochi and Sinying and 4 bomb a bridge at Hsenwi.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): The Seventh Air Force is reorganized as a "mobile tactical airforce" retaining only units that will function in the combat area; the VII Bomber Command includes the 11th, 30th and 494th Bombardment Groups (Heavy), and the 41st Bombardment Group (Medium); the VII Fighter Command includes the 15th, 21st (in Hawaii) and 318th Fighter Groups and the 6th Night Fighter Squadron; the recently activated VII Air Service Area Command is composed of 4 service groups; and the 9th Troop Carrier and 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadrons assigned directly to HQ Seventh Air Force. Saipan-based B-24s bomb Iwo Jima and B-25s hit Pagan and P-47s hit Rota Island. From the Marshall Islands, B-25s hit Ponape Island and B-24s bomb Wotje Atoll. HQ VII Bomber Command moves from Kwajalein to Saipan.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s and B-24s attack Ternate, AA positions, oil dumps, barracks, supply areas, and other targets throughout the Halmahera Islands. In New Guinea, B-24s pound the airfield at Babo while A-20s and fighter-bombers, along with Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft, blasting bivouac, and troops at Terabu, Kaiten, and Wewak Point; and the 33d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 22d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Nadzab to Owi with B-24s.

ALASKA

In the Aleutians, the USN's Task Force 94 sorties from Attu to sweep the Kurile Islands but weather forces the ships to return to port.

PACIFIC

Submarine Bluefish (SS-222) sinks Japanese tanker Shinpo Maru, previously damaged by Puffer (SS-268) on 12 August, off Golo Island, 13°39'N, 120°22'E.

Submarine Cod (SS-224) sinks Japanese landing ship T.129 in Banda Sea, about 40 miles south of Boeroe Island and 80 miles southwest of Ambon Bay, 04°17'S, 126°46'E.

Submarine Croaker (SS-246) sinks Japanese gunboat No.7 Daigen Maru southwest of Inchon, Korea, 37°25'N, 125°12'E.

Submarine Ray (SS-271) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant cargo ship Zuisho Maru off northwest coast of Borneo, 03°51'N, 112°58'E, and damaging cargo vessel Uga Maru, 03°51'N, 112°58'E (see 21 August).

Japanese cargo ship Miikesan Maru is sunk by mind laid by USAAF B-24 (14th Air Force) off Takao, Formosa, 22°00'N, 120°00'E.

Day 1802 of World War II, August 16th 1944

Eastern Front

Soviet forces reach Ossow, only 7 miles northeast of Warsaw. However, a counterattack by German forces compels the Soviet troops to withdraw.

Soviet Premier Josef Stalin announces the Soviets will give no help to the "reckless" Warsaw uprising by the anti-Communist Polish Home Army.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +70

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, August 16th 1944



The Americans are still advancing towards the east of Argentan and Alençon, in pursuit of the German forces fleeing the Falaise pocket. The encircled soldiers have received the order of general withdrawal from Hitler. Orléans and the Loire are reached on August 16 by the 12th corps belonging to the 3rd Army of General Patton, while Chartres and Dreux are also occupied respectively by the 20th Corps and the 15th Corps.

The progression of the Canadians and the Poles north of Argentan continues: Falaise is finally liberated by the 2nd Corps belonging to the 1st Canadian Army led by General Crerar. On the evening of August 16, the 21st Army group commanded by General Montgomery controlled the localities of (from west to east): Condé-sur-Noireau, part of the town of Flers, Saint-Denis, Pont-d‘Ouilly, and heavy fighting continues near the village of Trun.

However, at 3:30 pm, General Montgomery ordered the closure of the pocket from the village of Trun, whereas Bradley believes it is already too late and that a large part of the German forces have already withdrawn towards the Seine river.

The Allies are also preparing a new operation, called Paddle, which will break the German lines east of Caen. The beginning of this offensive is planned for 17 August, and must be carried out in particular by the Belgian brigade of Colonel Piron. The first Belgian soldier of the Piron Brigade was killed on 16 August: Edouard Gerard, 20, fell in Sallenelles.

Air War over Europe

The US Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 557: 8 of 8 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.

In France, the US Ninth Air Force dispatches about 130 B-26s and A-20s, with fighter escort, to hit a Foret de Roumare ammunition dump and rail bridges at Pont-Audemer, Thibouville, Brionne, Nassandres, and Le Bourg; fighters give air cover to an armored division and infantry forces, and fly patrol and armed reconnaissance over northern and western France.

The US Eighth Air Force in England flies 2 missions. Mission 556: 1,090 bombers and 692 fighters, in 4 forces, are dispatched to make visual attacks on oil refineries and aircraft plants in central Germany; 23 bombers and 3 fighters are lost (number in parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking). (1) B-17s hit Delitzsch air depot (102), the aviation industry at Schkeuditz (92) and Halle (60) and the oil industry at Bohlen (8 8 ); other targets are Naumburg (15), Halberstadt Airfield (13) and targets of opportunity (9); they claim 6-4-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 10 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 246 P-47s and P-51 Mustang; they claim 15-1-6 Luftwaffe. (2) B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil industry at Rositz (105) and Zeitz (101); 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 6 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 166 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-47s are lost. (3) B-24s are dispatched to Halberstadt Airfield (51); 10 others hit Quedlinburg Airfield and 1 hits a targets of opportunity; escort is provided by 42 of 46 P-38 Lightnings. (4) B-24s are dispatched to hit the aviation industry at Dessau (99), Kothen (71) and Magdeburg/Neustadt (67) and the oil industry at Magdeburg/Rothensee; 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 156 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 12-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost.

461 RAF “heavies” attempted to destroy industrial centers and harbors. In addition, 89 Lancaster were diverted for “Gardening” – setting mines in Stettin’s and Kiel’s Bays. Four aircraft were lost before reaching the Stettin, one over target from RAF 630.Sqn, plus two of the “gardeners” from RAF 57.Sqn and 97.Sqn, lost at 01.33 hours.

The US Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bombs targets in Germany and France. In Germany, 89 B-24s, with fighter escort, bomb a chemical works at Friedrichshafen.

Battle of the Atlantic

Tank landing ship LST-391 is damaged by mine off Cherbourg, 49°38'N, 01°37'W.

Battle of the Mediterranean - Operation Dragoon

The French II Corps lands and passes forward through the US lines in the South of France. Adolf Hitler orders the withdrawal of all German forces in southern France.

Photo: Southern France Invasion, August 1944: USS LST-4 approaches the shore at Yellow Beach, Pampelonne, Var (France), 16 August 1944. A LCVP from the attack transport USS Samuel Chase (APA-26) is in the right foreground



Off southern France, motor torpedo boats PT-202 and PT-218 are sunk by mines, Gulf of Frejus, 43°23'N, 06°43'E; motor minesweeper YMS-24 is sunk by mine, 43°25'N, 06°43'E; submarine chaser SC-525 is damaged; infantry landing craft LCI-951 is damaged by mine off YELLOW Beach. USAAF L-4 Piper Cubs, launched from tank landing ships, spot gunfire for light cruiser Marblehead (CL-12).

In support of the landings in Southern France (Operation Dragoon): US Twelfth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers continue to blast enemy defenses and communications on the beaches and in the invasion area of southern France; A-20s hit lights and vehicles during the night of 15/16 August from north of the beachhead to the Rhone River and during the day raid ammunition stores; medium bombers pound Rhone River bridges and gun positions throughout the general area. 42 US Fifteenth Air Force P-51s escort MATAF C-47 Skytrains on a supply dropping mission to the beachheads.

In support of the landings in Southern France (Operation Dragoon): 108 US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s, supporting attack railroad bridges at Saint-Vallier, Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny, Grenoble, and Isere-Valence.

German occupied Poland - Warsaw Uprising

The number of units in the Old Town drops below 5,000 soldiers, who defend an area of about 10 square kilometers. The Germans seize the Water Filters Station and block the water supply network. Poet and AK soldier Tadeusz Gajcy 'Topor' perishes on Leszno Street. The Russians stop their assault on Warsaw.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Tulagi (CVE-72) underway off Gould Island, outside Boston Harbor, Massachusetts (USA), on 16 August 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Design 4A. Note the Beechcraft SNB on the flight deck



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Kendall C. Campbell (DE-443) underway in the Atlantic Ocean off New York City (USA) on 16 August 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 22D. The photo was taken by a blimp os squadron ZP-11



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, as the last Japanese resistance in India ceases, 16 B-25s bomb Indaw; 20 P-51s hit airfields at Lashio, Nawnghkio, Shwebo, Anisakan, and Onbauk; 37 P-40s and P-51s hit strong points, pillboxes, and machinegun positions in the Pinbaw area; 19 P-47s and P-51s attack targets of opportunity at Katha, a bridge S of Bhamo, the town of Tagwin, railroad targets of opportunity between Naba and Hopin, an enemy-held monastery, and an ammunition dump at Pegu; and the 9th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, based at Barrackpore, India, sends a detachment to operated from Tingkawk Sakan with F-5s.

INDIA

In India, the last IJA troops retreat to Burma.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 18 B-25s bomb the Wanling area and warehouses while 12 hit the Chaling area and warehouses at Siangtan; 90 P-40s and P-51s hit bridges, fortified positions, troops, trucks, rivercraft, supplies, gun positions, and other targets of opportunity in the Hsenwi and Lungling areas and in the widespread area around Tunating Lake and the Yangtze River.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Saipan hit Chichi Jima and Pagan. Marshall Island-based B-24s bomb Truk Atoll.

HAWAII

Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) departs Pearl Harbor on 16 August 1944 with her newly applied dazzle Camouflage Measure 33 Design 4A. On deck are aircraft of Carrier Air Group 20. Bombing Squadron VB-20 was the first to operate the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver from the Big E



UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 510, AUGUST 16, 1944

1. Fifty‑seven tons of bombs were dropped on defense installations at Eten and Moen Islands in Truk atoll by 7th AAF Liberators on 13 August (west longitude date). Seven to nine enemy fighters intercepted and one of these was destroyed and 3 damaged. All of our planes returned although several suffered damage. There were no casualties.

2. Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed the airstrips at Nauru on 13 and 14 August, and on 13 August a Catalina harassed bivouac areas at Wotje and Maloelap. On 14 August Mitchell bombers of the 7th AAF attacked the airfield and gun positions at Ponape, and on the same day Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters hit coastal defense positions r at Mille atoll. All of our planes returned from these operations.

PACIFIC

Submarine Croaker (SS-246) sinks Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Taito Maru west of Korea, 36°16'N, 125°49'E.

Day 1804 of World War II, August 18th 1944

Eastern Front

Soviet troops of 3rd Baltic and Leningrad Fronts advance to the north and south of Lake Peipus. In southern Poland, Soviet forces of 1st Ukrainian Front capture Sandomierz on the west bank of the Vistula River.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +72

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, August 18th 1944



The nine-kilometer corridor, located near Chambois and which still allows the German forces to escape to the east, is gradually reduced by the Allied soldiers. But since the beginning of the evacuation of the German troops towards the Seine river on 13 August, nearly 55,000 men managed to retreat, about 40 per cent of the German forces threatened at the beginning of the encircling maneuver.

This is why the Allied forces do not directly close the pocket south of Falaise, but try to catch the German troops eastward. However, there are still several thousand German soldiers, surrounded in their pockets, who have not yet reached the town of Falaise. These units, accompanied by tanks and cannons, were bombarded day and night by the allied artillery and aviation. The German situation in Normandy is disastrous: the roads in the pocket are encumbered with wrecks and bodies and the rout is total.

Operation Paddle continues east of Caen and the last Germans who were positioned east of the Orne river are driven on the other side by the paratroopers of the 6th British airborne division, while to the north, Belgian soldiers of the Brigade Piron liberated the village of Merville after having delivered the locality of Franceville the day before.

Photo: German prisoners of war captured at Saint-Malo being escorted by US Army soldiers, August 18, 1944



Air War over Europe

The US Eighth Air Force in England flies 3 missions (numbers in parenthesis are numbers of bombers attacking): Mission 561: B-24s bomb Amy Airfield at Roye, France (42) and 10 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 96 P-51 Mustangs. Mission 562: 720 bombers and 242 fighters, in 3 forces, are dispatched against bridges, airfields, fuel dumps and an aircraft engine factory in France and Belgium; 2 bombers and 1 fighter are lost. (1) B-17s bomb bridges at Namur (37), Liege/Benoit (36), Huy (35), Yvoir (35), Liege/Seraing (26), Vise (25) and Maastricht (24); 13 hit Tongres marshalling yard, 12 hit Eindhoven Airfield and 12 hit targets of opportunity; escort is provided by 99 P-38 Lightnings and P-51s; they claim 46-0-15 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38 is lost. (2) B-24s attack airfields at Metz (7 8 ), Nancy/Essey (70), Woippy (60) and Laneureville (35); escort is provided by 38 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost. (3) B-17s hit St Dizier Airfield (116), Pacy-sur-Armancon (39) and Bourran (3 8 ); 1 other hits a target of opportunity; escort is provided by 93 P-51s; they claim 2-0-3 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost. Mission 564: 7 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.

At 0600 hours, KG 26 reported a Mustang attack on Valence in the course of which one Ju 88 and a gantry crane were destroyed. Local communications were in a poor state, with the bridge between Valence and Montélimar destroyed and the road bridge at Valence again bombed and destroyed. At 0830 hours, Lt. Nicholson of 111th TRS destroyed a Ju 88 on the deck southeast of Orgon. Two Bf 109s were seen in the Montélimar area by Mustangs of the same unit but no contact was made and at 1430 hours P-38s of 14th FG saw two Bf 109s attacking a Supermarine Walrus amphibian but the Germans flew off as the Americans approached.

Italian campaign

Five heavy bombers of the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy visually bomb the port area of Lom without loss.

Heavy bombers of the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bomb five targets: 273 bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti (48 using H2X radar and the rest visually) with the loss of seven aircraft; 102 bomb the Steauea Oil Refinery at Campina with the loss of one aircraft; two bomb a highway, another a railway and one bombs the marshalling yard at Craiova.

Heavy bombers of the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bomb four targets without loss: 87 bomb Alibunar Airfield; two bomb the railroad at Kraljevo; one bombs the marshalling yard at Lapovo; and one bomb a railroad line.

Photo: Spitfires of the No 352 (Y) Squadron RAF, aka Balkan Air Force. Spitfires before first mission on August 18, 1944, from airport Canne - Italy



Battle of the Atlantic

'U-107' is sunk west of La Rochelle, in position 46.46N, 03.49W, by depth charges from an RAF Sunderland Mk III of No 201 Squadron based at Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. All hands, 58 men, on the U-boat are lost.

'U-621' is sunk of La Rochelle, in position 45.52N, 02.36W, by depth charges from the RCN destroyers HMCS 'Ottawa', HMCS 'Kootenay' and HMCS 'Chaudiere'. All 56 men on the U-boat are lost.

Battle of the Mediterranean - Operation Dragoon

In southern France, the US Twelfth Air Force sends medium bombers to blast coastal guns in the Toulon area and shipping in Toulon harbor; fighter-bombers closely support beachhead troops, hit rolling stock and rail lines, and generally disrupt communications as the US VI Corps overruns the primary defenses in the coastal area of southeastern France; fighters maintain beachhead patrols and area cover for the bombers.

Off southern France, amphibious force flagship Catoctin (AGC-5) is damaged by JU-88, 43°17'N, 06°38'E; the JU- 88 had followed closely behind USAAF P-38s and an RAF Beaufighter during an air raid alert. Elsewhere off the beachheads minesweeper Steady (AM-118) is damaged when a broken fire main floods jamming equipment compartment, and destroyer MacKenzie (DD-614) is damaged by operational casualty (starboard engine) during attack on submarine contact. U.S. freighter Albert A. Michelson is damaged off St. Tropez, by bomb during German air raid; while there are no casualties among the 27-man Armed Guard, 5 of the 43-man merchant complement are wounded badly enough to warrant their being left in a shoreside hospital for treatment.

Photo: French battleship Strasbourg (left) and capsized cruiser (possibly La Galissonnière) (right) after U.S. bombing attack of 18 August 1944



German occupied Poland - Warsaw Uprising

Heavy bombing of the Old Town from the morning. Fierce clashes in the region of St. John's Cathedral, including hand-to-hand fighting. In the afternoon, German envoys raise a white flag to Polish positions near Saski Garden and deliver a letter from Gen. Erich von dem Bach Zelewski to the uprising commander with a capitulation proposal to the AK. 'Bor' orders that the letter remain unanswered.

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 16 P-47s and P-51s knock out a road bridge, attack town areas, and hit general targets of opportunity in the Bhamo area; 4 P-47s knock out both approaches to a bridge in Hsenwi; a troop concentration in Moda is pounded by 15 P-47s and P-51s and an A-36; 39 P-47s, P-40s and P-51s closely support ground forces in various Pinbaw area sectors; 8 P-47s sweep Lashio Airfield, strafing several targets of opportunity.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 12 B-25s bomb storage areas at Mangshih; 6 pound a storage area at Changsha; 60+ P-40s, P-51s, and P-38s on armed reconnaissance attack troops, town areas, bridges, and other targets of opportunity in E Burma; Lashio, Burma; the Tengchung, Lungling, and Mangshih areas; and in the Tungting Lake-C Yangtze River area at points including Yoyang, Chaling, Yuhsien, Hengshan, Chuchou, and Hsuchang.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): P-47s from Saipan Island bomb and strafe Pagan.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Armed reconnaissance missions continue over wide stretches of the SWPA including Ambon-Ceram, Palau Islands, and Halmahera Islands; several targets of opportunity are attacked. In New Guinea, fighter-bombers and A-20s pound troops and a storage area at Suain and hit defensive lines near Sarmi. The detachment of the 419th Night Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, operating from Los Negros with P-61s, returns to base on Guadalcanal. Lost is F-5 44-23227.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 515, AUGUST 18, 1944

1. Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands was attacked by 7th AAF Liberators on 16 August (West Longitude Date). Buildings, storage facilities, and in­stallations near the airfield were bombed. Several enemy fighters were air­borne but did not succeed in intercepting our force. Antiaircraft fire was meager. All of our aircraft returned. On the night of 15‑16 August a single Liberator bombed Iwo.

2. Fighter planes attacked Rota and Pagan Islands on 16 August, bomb­ing and strafing gun positions and the airstrips. Antiaircraft fire was light at Rota and moderate at Pagan.

3. Warehouse areas on Dublon Island in Truk atoll were bombed by 7th AAF Liberators the same day, causing large explosions and fires. One of six intercepting fighters was shot down, and 3 were damaged. Antiaircraft fire was moderate.

4. Nauru Island was attacked by Navy Venturas on 16 August, while Corsair fighters and Dauntless dive bombers of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing hit defense installations at Mille atoll in the Marshalls on the same day.

PACIFIC

Submarine Hardhead (SS-365) sinks Japanese light cruiser Natori about 200 miles east of Samar, P.I., 12°29'N, 128°49'E; accompanying fast transport T.3 continues on for Palau. Destroyers Uranami and Kiyoshimo rescue most of Natori's survivors (See 31 August and 12 September 1944).

U.S. submarines Rasher (SS-269) and Redfish (SS-395) encounter Japanese convoy HI 71 off west coast of Luzon. Rasher sinks escort carrier Taiyo, transport Teia Maru, cargo ship Eishin Maru at 18°16'N, 120°21'E, and oiler Teiyo Maru southwest of Cape Bojeador, 18°09'N, 120°13'E, and damages transport Noshiro Maru southwest of Cape Bojeador, 18°09'N, 119°56'E; Redfish damages merchant tanker Eiyo Maru west of Luzon Strait, 20°28'N, 121°04'E.

Submarine Ray (SS-271) sinks Japanese merchant tanker Nansei Maru off southern tip of Palawan, 08°48'N, 117°02'E.

Dutch submarine Zwaardvisch sinks Japanese vessel Kim Hup Soen in Strait of Malacca, 04°00'N, 99°32'E.

Japanese destroyer Samidare is damaged when she runs aground on Velasco Reef, north of Palau, Carolines (see 26 August).

Day 1806 of World War II, August 20th 1944

Eastern Front

A major Soviet offensive begins near Jassy and Tiraspol. This involves a massive artillery bombardment from Malinovsky's Second Ukraine Front and Tolbukhin's Thrird Ukraine Front. The defense is by the 3rd and 4th Rumanian Armies and the German 6. Armee, which contains many Rumanian troops. This is General Freissner's Army Group South Ukraine.

Stavka devised a plan that had three main objectives. The first and most important was the destruction of German forces in Romania. Politically, the new offensive was designed to knock Romania out of the war, then Soviet troops would advance into Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, outflanking the Germans and, hopefully, forcing Hungary to sue for peace. Finally, there was the economic objective. The Ploesti oil fields had to be seized. To accomplish these objectives the Soviets planned to strike in a pincer movement designed to isolate and destroy Army Group South Ukraine.

The sun rose blood-red when the Soviet offensive opened with a huge artillery bombardment from the massed guns of Malinovsky's Second Ukrainian Front. The shells fell without mercy on the surprised Romanians for 11 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, the positions of the 6. Armee and Third Romanian Army also came under a heavy barrage. Shells and bombs from the preliminary barrage had forced the men of Maj. Gen. Erick von Bogen's 302nd Infantry and Brig. Gen. Friedrich Blümke's 257th Infantry divisions deeper into their trenches. As the bombardment lifted, the roar of tank engines and the bloodcurdling Russian war cry could be heard from the enemy lines. Massed Soviet infantry formations soon charged on the German positions.

The combination of Soviet artillery, tank and air power proved too great for most of the Romanian divisions. While the 6. Armee managed to hold most of its sector, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies continued to melt away. The Red Army Air Force ruled the skies, and the two air armies supporting Malinovsky and Tolbukhin flew an estimated 3,000 sorties on the opening day of the attack. In comparison, Luftflotte 4, commanded by Maj. Gen. Paul Deichmann, could muster only 43 bombers, 57 ground support aircraft and 72 fighters to help stem the Russian tide.

Although the Germans had stood up to the initial Soviet attacks, a feeling of doom began to creep through the ranks. Once again the 6. Armee was in danger of being encircled. At General Johannes Friessner 's Army Group South Ukraine headquarters, when the Soviets' opening moves were realistically assessed, it soon became clear that the battle to hold the frontier was already lost. The few German divisions interspersed among the Romanian armies could do little to stop the Soviet onslaught, and they were themselves in danger of being surrounded.

Two hundred twelve USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s bomb the I.G. Farben oil refinery at Oswiecim with the loss of one aircraft.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +74

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, August 20th 1944



The encirclement of the German forces is finished south-east of Falaise. The troops and vehicles had to take a narrow corridor of some kilometers between Trun, Saint-Lambert and Chambois, which was constantly bombarded by the Allied air force and artillery. The disruption of the retreat is indescribable: the steaming carcasses of vehicles, the bodies of the Germans and horses used for their evacuation litter the roads and rivers, offering a terrifying spectacle of a failed army: more than 200 tanks, near 100 artillery guns and as many other vehicles are destroyed. Some bridges over the Dives river still allow the survivors of the 2nd Panzer, 10th Panzer SS and 116th Panzer divisions to flee. To borrow them, the wounded and the wrecks of vehicles are thrown into the ditches and into the river.

Map: 20 August 1944. The Poles on Hill 262N and the Canadians in St Lambert positioned to intercept the eastward movement of German forces from the Falaise Pocket and exact a heavy toll on passing units. Supported by attacks from outside the pocket, the Germans fail to dislodge the Poles from their position on the ridge



From 19:00 to 19:20, the Germans are allowed to evacuate their wounded. Once this period has passed, the fighting resumes.

However, if the Axis situation in Normandy is disastrous and three German generals are captured, many units still manage to escape to the east, and rejoin the Seine river, despite the incessant attacks by aviation, benefiting from morning mists to cross the Canadian, Polish and American lines.

Photo: A Sherman Firefly and other vehicles in the village of Putanges, 20 August 1944



Photo: A Sherman observation tank leads a column of Sexton self-propelled guns through the shattered village of Putanges, 20 August 1944



To the east of Caen, as part of operation Paddle, the British commandos attacked the villages of Dozulé and Brucourt, supported by the Belgian soldiers of the Piron Brigade. The Belgian brigade is at the gates of Cabourg, it has liberated on the way Le Hôme and Varaville.

Photo: General Charles de Gaulle, President of the French Committee of National Liberation, speaks to the people of Cherbourg from the balcony of the City Hall during his visit to the French port city on August 20, 1944



Western Front (1944) - Liberation of Paris

As barricades began to appear, Resistance fighters organized themselves to sustain a siege. Trucks were positioned, trees cut down, and trenches were dug in the pavement to free paving stones for consolidating the barricades. These materials were transported by men, women, and children using wooden carts. Fuel trucks were attacked and captured. Civilian vehicles were commandeered, painted with camouflage, and marked with the FFI emblem. The Resistance used them to transport ammunition and orders from one barricade to another.

Italian campaign

Seventy six USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the oil refinery at Dubrova without loss.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack three targets: 94 aircraft bomb the marshalling yard at Szolnok, 88 bomb Rakoczifalva Airfield at Szolnok with the loss of two aircraft, and six bomb the city of Szeged.

Battle of the Atlantic

'U-984' is sunk about 44 nautical miles (81 kilometers) west of Brest, France, in position 48.16N, 05.33W, by depth charges from the RCN destroyers HMCS 'Ottawa' (H 31, ex HMS Griffin), 'Kootenay' (H 75, ex HMS Decoy) and 'Chaudiere' (H 99, ex HMS Hero). All hands on the U-boat, 45 men, are lost.

German submarine 'U-188' is scuttled at the U-boat base in Bordeaux when it is unable to escape the Allied advance.

'U-1229' is sunk about 315 nautical miles (584 kilometers) south of St. Johns, Newfoundland, in position 42.20N, 51.39W, by depth charges and rockets from three TBM Avengers and two FM Wildcats of Composite Squadron Forty Two (VC-42) in the US escort aircraft carrier USS 'Bogue' (CVE-9). Forty one of the 59 U-boat crewmen survive.

German submarine 'U-413' is sunk about 28 nautical miles (53 kilometers) south of Brighton, Sussex, England, in position 50.21N, 00.01W, by depth charges from the RN escort destroyer HMS 'Wensleydale' (L 86) and the destroyers HMS 'Forester' (H 74) and 'Vidette' (D 4 8 ). Only one of the 46 crewmen of the U-boat survived.

Battle of the Mediterranean - Operation Dragoon

In southern France during the night of 19/20 August, US Twelfth Air Force A-20s attack lights and motor transport from the battleline northwest to the Rhone River; B-26s, joined by fighter-bombers and fighters, hit coastal defense guns in the Toulon area, while B-25s bomb Rhone Valley bridges and airfields achieving especially good results at the airfield near Valence.

Photo: Invasion of Southern France, August 1944. LCTs and LCMs landing supplies on the beach west of St. Rafael, on "D" plus five, 20 August 1944. LCTs present include LCT-198 and LCT-559. Matted ramp in foreground is for DUKW Amphibious Trucks



German submarines U-178 and U-188 and UIT 21 (ex- Italian) are scuttled to avoid capture at Bordeaux, France.

Black Sea campaign

German submarine 'U-9' is sunk at 1030 hours local at the seaport of Constanta on the Black Sea, in position 44.10N, 28.38E, by bombs from Soviet aircraft.

German occupied Poland - Warsaw Uprising

In City Centre, battalion Kilinski captures the strategically situated building of the Polish Telephone Joint Stock Company (PAST-a), to win considerable supplies of weapons and ammunition and taking 115 hostages. The seizure was one of the insurgents' major successes.

Photo: Insurgents from "Kiliński" Battalion on barricade at Zielna street watch burning PASTa building at 37/39 Zielna Street, 20 August 1944



Photo: German POW captured in "PAST" building on August 20, 1944



Photo: Warsaw Uprising: Insurgents from "Kiliński" battalion after securing "PAST" building, at Zielona Street on August 20, 1944: standing with machine gun Edward Mortko "Tumry", next on the right - Bernard Zieliński "Połabski", behind - on the left Zbigniew Maliński "Sławicz", on the right - Kazimierz Zagórski "Barbara," August 20, 1944



German occupied France

Marshal Petain is arrested by Germans in Vichy for refusing to go to an area safe from the Allied advance.

The French resistance forces (FFI) claim to control 8 departments.

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 24 P-47s and P-51s fly close support strikes for ground forces immediately S of Thaikwagon; 4 P-51s hit targets of opportunity at Myintha and Aledaw; and the detachment of the 88th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group, operating from Myitkyina with P-47s returns to base at Shingbwiyang.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 4 B-25s and 7 P-40s damage buildings and a pontoon bridge and strafe about 30 sampans in the Hengyang area; 13 P-40s hit buildings, trucks, and river shipping in the Hengshan area; and 60+ P-40s and P-51s attack numerous trucks, rivercraft, and general targets of opportunity at Tingka, Anjen, Yangtien, S of Yoyang, between Hankow and Chinchiang, and between Sinshih and Changsha.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS

(Twentieth Air Force): 61 Chengtu, China-based B-29s bomb the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata, Japan during the day, followed by 10 more during the night of 20/21 Aug, 5 hitting targets other than the primary. Intercepted by 87 JAAF fighters. In addition to the twin-engine fighters of the 4th FR, these included Ki-84s of the 16th Flying Brigade (51st and 52nd FRs), Ki 61s of the 59th FR and a few (Ki-43s fighters of the 48th FR. The Japanese navy was represented by 33 Zero fighters and four Gekko night fighters from 352nd Kokutai. Japanese army fighters claimed 12 sure victories for two fighters lost. Navy fighters claimed four including two by Lt (j.g.) Sachio Endo whose Gekko went down in a crash landing with Endo surviving. B-29 claimed 15 Japanese fighters destroyed. 14 B-29s are lost, including 1 to AA and 4 to enemy aircraft (1 by air-to-air bombing and 1 by ramming); B-29 gunners claim 17 air victories. Lost are: B-29 42-24474, B-29 "Praying Mantis" 42-6286 , B-29 "O'Reily's Daughters" 42-6264.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): Saipan based B-24s hit Yap for the first time. A B-24 bombs Alamagan Island, Mariana Islands while P-47s pound Pagan Island. Marshall Islands-based B-24s bomb Truk Atoll.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb the town and airfield at Namlea, Buru Island and others pound personnel areas and warehouses at Tobelo, Halmahara Island. In New Guinea, B-25s bomb Langgoer Airfield; P-39s hit Windissi and enemy shipping off Manokwari while P-40s pound gun positions, buildings and stores at Manokwari; other P-40s support ground forces by hitting troop concentrations at Napido; A-20s and fighter-bombers hit a personnel center near Marubian, supplies at Wom, and numerous targets during coastal sweeps in the Wewak general area; and the 23d and 31st Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy), move from Momote Airfield to Wakde Island with B-24s. The 528th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 380th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Fenton to Darwin with B-24s.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

MacArthur announces that the fighting has ended on Biak, New Guinea. Japanese casualties are 4,700 KIA and 220 POW. US casualties total 2550 KIA and WIA.

AUSTRALIA

Photo: The U.S. Navy submarine tender USS Euryale (AS-22) underway at sea on 21 August 1944. She was based at Manus, Admirality Islands, from 28 May to 11 August 1944 and returned to Brisbane, Australia on 16 August 1944 to load passengers, torpedoes, ammunition and general cargo. She then proceeded to Fremantle, Australia, where she arrived on 28 August 1944



ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): In the Aleutian Islands, 4 B-25s fly a negative shipping sweep.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 517, AUGUST 20, 1944

1. Nauru Island was attacked on 17 August (West Longitude Date) by Mitchell medium bombers of the 7th AAF and Ventura search planes of Group 1, Fleet Air Wing Two. Venturas again hit Nauru on 18 August. The airfield and gun emplacements were bombed. Antiaircraft fire was meager.

2. Rota and Pagan Islands in the Marianas were bombed and strafed by fighters on 17 and 18 August. Moderate antiaircraft fire was encountered.

3. Mille and Wotje in the Marshall Islands were bombed on 17 and 18 August by Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.

4. All of our planes returned from these operations.

PACIFIC

RAAF aircraft damage small Japanese cargo vessel Kairyu Maru, Menado Bay, 00°49'N, 127°38'E.

RAAF Beaufighters sink small Japanese cargo vessel No.3 Yamada Maru off north coast of Ceram.

USAAF B-24s (14th Air Force) sink Japanese army tanker Chuko Maru near Hong Kong, 22°23'N, 115°34'E.

Day 1808 of World War II, August 22nd 1944

Eastern Front

The Red Army recaptured Jassy on the Dnestr river in the southern Ukraine. Two mechanized corps were thrown into the battle to widen the gap between the Third Romanian Army and the Sixth Army. Romanian units caught in the path of the advancing mechanized corps were either cut to ribbons or surrendered en masse. Unless he could get permission to retreat, General Maximilian Fretter-Pico knew his Sixth Army was doomed. The order finally came during the evening, but it was already too late.

The Soviet break through to Jassy convinces Romania's King Michael to sign an armistice with the Allies and concede control of his country to the USSR.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +76

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, August 22nd 1944



As Paris uprising by the inhabitants continues and intensifies, French general Leclerc, commander of the 2nd Armored Division, is ordered to make his way to the French capital, while the Americans of the 79th Infantry division established a bridgehead beyond the Seine river in the Mantes area, despite the attacks of the German 49th Infantry Division.

The Germans, who are still trying to retreat behind the Seine, are now attacked by hundreds of American tanks between Vernon (captured by the 79th Infantry) and Le Neubourg. Their flight, however, is covered by the era of the troops in disarray, which limits the Allied advance by opposing a fierce resistance despite their disastrous situation.

North-east of Caen, the 1st Belgian Group of Colonel Jean Piron, which is subordinate to the 6th British Airborne Division, reaches Villers-sur-Mer, after having liberated Cabourg the day before, and is also at the gates of Deauville.

Photo: A British soldier examines an abandoned German Opel Maultier self-propelled Nebelwerfer, in the Falaise-Argentan area, 22 August 1944



Air War over Europe

In the air over northern France, US IX Bomber Command operations are cancelled because of weather however, fighters fly sweeps, provide air cover for 2 infantry and 1 armored division, strafe numerous military and transportation targets, and fly armed reconnaissance from Evreux to Troyes.

In the air over southeastern France, weather restricts operations by the US Twelfth Air Force; A-20 Havocs hit motor transport in the Nice area during the night of 21/22 August and hit industrial buildings during the day; fighters hit motor transport west of the Rhone River and in scattered parts of southeastern France.

Three targets are bombed by the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy: The Deschowitz synthetic oil facilities at Odertal is the target for 150 B-17 Flying Fortresses: 97 bomb visually and 53 use H2X radar to bomb. Five aircraft are lost. The I.G. Farben synthetic oil facilities at Blechhammer is the target for 114 B-24 Liberators: 66 bomb visually and 48 use H2X radar to bomb. Fourteen aircraft are lost. One aircraft bombs a marshalling yard as a target of opportunity.

Vienna is the target for 269 B-24 Liberators of the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy: 150 bomb the Lobau oil refinery, 96 bomb the Korneuburg oil refinery and 23 bomb the Vienna oil refinery with the loss of 18 aircraft. All bombing is visually.

Italian campaign

During the night of 22/23 August, 50 RAF Liberators of No. 205 Group bomb a marshalling yard at Miskolc with the loss of three aircraft.

During the night of 22/23 August, an RAF Liberator of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group drops leaflets on Milan.

Battle of the Atlantic

Whilst refueling some of convoy JW.59 (Loch Ewe, Scotland, to the Kola Fjord, U.S.S.R.) escorts, the Canadian-manned escort aircraft carrier HMS 'Nabob' [D 77, ex USN 'Edisto' (CVE-41)] is torpedoed by German submarine 'U-354' (Kapitanleutnant Hans-Jurgen Sthamer) about 422 nautical miles (782 kilometers) north of Tromso, Norway, in position 71.42N, 19.11E. Although the torpedo struck aft causing considerable damage, 'Nabob' is able to make the 1100+ natucial mile (2 000+ kilometre) return trip to Rosyth, Scotland, U.K., but is not repaired and subsequently broken up. 'Nabob' had just participated in a Home Fleet attack on 'Tirpitz', and was returning from that operation.

Frigate HMS 'Bickerton' (K 466) is torpedoed in the same attack. There are 38 casualties. Although the ship was salvageable the force commander did not wish to be burdened by two crippled ships and since HMS 'Nabob' was the more valuable unit, 'Bickerton' was scuttled by destroyer HMS 'Vigilant' (R 93).

German submarine 'U-344' is sunk about 61 nautical miles (113 kilometres) west-northwest of Bjornoya (Bear) Island, Norway, in position 74.54N, 15.26E, by depth charges from a RN Swordfish Mk III in the escort aircraft carrier HMS 'Vindex' (D 15). All hands on the U-boat, 50-men, are lost.

RN minesweeper HMS 'Loyalty' (J-217, ex-HMS Rattler) is torpedoed and sunk by 'U-480' (Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Joachim Forster) about 45 nautical miles (83 kilometers) south-southwest of Brighton, Sussex, England, in position 50.09N, 0.41W. This is about 11 nautical miles (20 kilometres) southeast of the position that 'U-480' torpedoed and sank the Canadian corvette HMCS 'Alberni' (K 103) yesterday. 'Loyalty' sinks within seven minutes with the loss of 20 of her crewmen.

Battle of the Mediterranean - Operation Dragoon

German officer Heinz Stahlschmidt blows up a bunker full of detonators, effectively preventing the destruction of Bordeaux by the retreating German army. Heinz Stahlschmidt had three ships sunk under him and he survived all three. He stayed behind and settled in Bordeaux after the war.

In the air over southeastern France, weather restricts operations by the US Twelfth Air Force; A-20 Havocs hit motor transport in the Nice area during the night of 21/22 August and hit industrial buildings during the day; fighters hit motor transport west of the Rhone River and in scattered parts of southeastern France.

Arctic naval operations - Operation Goodwood

2 British escort carriers and 3 fleet carriers, HMS 'Duke of York' and supporting escorts of the Home Fleet under Admiral Moore sail toward Norway. Their mission, the German battleship 'Tirpitz' in Kaafiord. The air attacks are heavily attacked on approach and the raid today is unsuccessful with heavy British losses.

Photo: Operations in northern waters. In the foreground is HMS Bickerton, with HMS Kent and HMS Trumpeter. Photograph taken shortly before HMS Bickerton was torpedoed, 22 August 1944



Photo: British naval personnel moving bombs along the deck of an aircraft carrier prior to "bombing up" a Vought Corsair aircraft during the Operation Goodwood attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz, 22 August 1944



Photo: The Royal Navy during the Second World War Fairey Barracuda aircraft on board HMS FORMIDABLE during the Operation Goodwood attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz in August 1944. The escort cruiser HMS BERWICK is in the background, 22 August 1944



Photo: The damaged HMS Nabob proceeding homewards under her own steam, her stern low down in the water. She was hit by a torpedo during an operation in northern waters. Despite her damaged condition, Nabob turned homeward with a skeleton crew and reached her base after sailing 1070 miles at a steady ten knots, 22 August 1944



German occupied Poland - Warsaw Uprising

A second attack on Gdanski Station at 2 a.m. fails. Insurgents suffer huge losses, some units withdraw to Kampinos. In City Centre, AK scores another success, the capture of so-called small PAST-a, taking 76 captives, liberating 20 hostages and winning three cars and a considerable amount of weapons and ammunition.

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): P-51s and P-47s fly 53 sorties against Tengchung, China in support of attacking Chinese forces. In Burma, 28 P-47s attack buildings, supply dumps, troops, and gun positions near Ingyingon, Nansankyin, and Pinlon; 8 P-47s strafe targets of opportunity between Tingka, China and Bhamo; 2 rocket-firing P-51s seriously damage several buildings at Aledaw; and 9 B-25s bomb Hopin.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 11 P-40s and P-38s hit bridges and road targets around Tingka, Mangshih, Loiwing, and Pangpying; and 6 others attack a landing strip and river traffic at an island near Foochow.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): Saipan based B-24s bomb airfields on Yap and Pagan; P-47s also pound the airfield on Pagan and AA emplacements. Kwajalein-based B-24s hit Mille Atoll.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Fighter-bombers continue to blast supply and personnel targets in Manokwari and the surrounding areas; fighter-bombers again hit N coastal areas, including shipping facilities at Wewak, barge terminal on Mushu, and trains and troop positions at various coastal points; and the 370th, 371st, 372d and 424th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 307th Bombardment Group (Heavy), move from Los Negros to Wakde with B-24s.

JAPAN

The Japanese government announces decrees conscripting women between 12 and 40 for war work.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 519, AUGUST 21, 1944

1. Yap Island in the western Carolines was bombed by Liberators of the 7th AAF on 19 August (West Longitude Date). The airfield and adjacent installations were bombed. No attempt was made to intercept our force, and antiaircraft fire was meager.

2. On the same day our aircraft obtained direct hits on gun emplace­ments and the dock at Pagan Island, and bombed Alamagan Island in the Marianas. Intense antiaircraft fire was encountered at Pagan Island.

3. Nauru Island was attacked on 18 and 19 August by Ventura search planes of Group 1, Fleet Air Wing Two, hitting runways and gun positions. In the Marshall Islands on 19 August, Wotje and Mille atolls were bombed and strafed by Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing against light opposition.

4. All of our aircraft returned from these operations.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 520, AUGUST 21, 1944

1. Paramushiru Island in the Northern Kuriles was attacked by Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four on 19 August (West Longitude Date). The airfields were bombed and strafed. Three enemy fighters were airborne but did not attempt to intercept our force. Antiaircraft fire was moderate.

2. Mopping up operations have continued in the Marianas since 9 August (west longitude date). During the period 11‑17 August an additional 593 Japanese were killed on Guam Island. We lost 12 killed and 61 wounded in action during this period. With these additional losses inflicted on the enemy, plus the number buried and not previously announced, 14,067 of the enemy have been killed in the Guam campaign through 17 August, and more than a hundred made prisoner. During the same period an additional 187 Japanese were killed on Saipan Island, and 15 prisoners of war were taken, at a cost to us of 5 wounded and 1 missing. A total of 25,144 of the enemy had been buried through 16 August on Saipan. On Tinian Island 201 Japanese were killed during the period 11‑17 August, and 15 prisoners taken. We lost 5 killed in action and 11 wounded in action. Enemy dead on Tinian now number 5,745.

PACIFIC

Submarine Bowfin (SS-287) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking army cargo ship Tsushima Maru in the Nansei Shoto, 29°30'N, 129°30'E.

Submarines Haddo (SS-255) and Harder (SS-257) encounter three Japanese escort vessels off the mouth of Manila Bay. Haddo sinks Sado 35 miles west of Manila, 14°15'N, 120°05'E; Harder sinks Matsuwa and Hiburi about 50 miles west-southwest of Manila, 14°15'N, 120°05'E. Loss of the trio of escorts in one day prompts the Chief of Staff, 1st Surface Escort Unit, to lament candidly: "Escort vessels, whose prime duty it is to attack and sink enemy submarines, have themselves been being sunk by enemy subs. This year alone a total of 13 have been sunk and three badly damaged. In addition, the Kusagaki, Matsuwa, Sado and Hiburi have been sunk one after the other just recently." The situation mirrors the plight of Japanese antisubmarine operations.

Submarine Pintado (SS-387) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant tanker No.2 Tonan Maru (see 10 October 1942) 200 nautical miles southeast of Shanghai, 29°52'N, 125°22'E.

Submarine Spadefish (SS-411) attacks Japanese convoy, damaging tanker No.2 Hakko Maru in Luzon Strait, 18°48'N, 120°46'E; the tanker takes refuge in Passeleng Bay. Subsequent efforts to salvage her prove unavailing as the tanker will break up in heavy swells on 18 September.

Submarine Tang (SS-306) sinks Japanese army cargo ship No.2 Nansatsu Maru off Mikizaki, 34°01'N, 136°21'E.

British submarine HMS Statesman sinks Japanese army cargo ship No.5 Sugi Maru (ex-Panamanian Gran) off Port Blair, 11°41'N, 92°47'E; escorting torpedo boat Kari and submarine chaser Ch.9 carry out unsuccessful counterattacks.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Kanzaki Maru is sunk by aircraft off east coast of Korea, 36°01'N, 129°41'E.

Day 1810 of World War II, August 24th 1944

Eastern Front

The German Heeresgruppe Sud Ukraine, under Freissner, has been shattered by Russian attacks and the defection of the Romanian forces attached. Kishinev falls to the Soviets. German forces in the area of Kishinev on the Southern front were surrounded by the Red Army. Although some gaps remained in the Soviet line guarding the Prut River, units of the IV Guards Mechanized Corps and the XVIII Tank Corps were able to link up, ensuring that most avenues of escape were effectively blocked. The encirclement of the 6.Armee was nearly complete.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +78

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, August 24th 1944



The 5th American Armored Division is still making difficult progress in the Eure region, precisely in the area of Elbeuf and Louviers. The Germans, leaving the left bank of the Seine river, ordered a rear guard to halt the Allied advance for a while, thus enabling them to rejoin the right bank of the Seine, and then reform. This German rear-guard poses many problems to the Americans, who do not have organized units in front of them, and the allied aviation ends its day with weak results, because of this lack of coordination within the German divisions in rout.

East of the Orne river, the Belgian motorized units of the Piron brigade arrive at the center of the localities of Honfleur, Pont-l’Evêque, while the last defenders of Deauville and Trouville surrender.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of Paris

In the evening, the 2nd Free France Armored Division of General Leclerc enters Paris by the south. The Parisians, who have been rising for several days, welcome as heroes the French-controlled Sherman tanks, which reach the Town Hall at 9.20 pm.

Air War over Europe

In the air, weather cancels a USAAF IX Bomber Command mission against 4 fuel dumps north of the Seine River; fighters give air cover to ground forces, mainly for 3 armored and 2 infantry divisions, bomb Seine River bridges, and fly armed reconnaissance along the Seine and around Troyes, Orleans, and Tours; about 270 C-47 Skytrains fly supply and evacuation missions.

During the night of 23/24 August, USAAF Twelfth Air Force A-20s hit motor transport and targets of opportunity in the Rhone Valley; during the day, medium bombers bomb bridges at Montpelier, Avignon, and Lunel and score direct hits on gun positions in the Marseilles area; and fighters bomb and strafe gun positions, vehicles, roads and bridges throughout southeastern France.

In the air, the USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England dispatches 1,319 bombers and 739 fighters in four forces on visual attacks on strategic targets with some PFF on targets of opportunity; 26 bombers and 4 fighters are lost. (1) 433 B-24s are dispatched to attack aviation industry targets Waggum and Querum Airfields in Brunswick, Langenhagen Airfield in Hannover an oil refinery at Misburg; (2) 451 B-17s are dispatched to hit Merseburg oil refinery, Weimar and Kolleda Airfields and targets of opportunity; (3) 383 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil industry targets at Ruhland and Freital while 15 hit targets of opportunity; and (4) 43 B-24s hit Walther Airfield at Kiel while 3 others hit Hemmingstedt Airfield and 2 hit targets of opportunity. (5) 132 aircraft bomb the synthetic oil refinery in Brux while seven others bomb the industrial area; two aircraft are lost.

Photo: Slugging Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 15th Air Force attacked the Pardubice Airdrome in Czechoslovakia, on 24 August 1944, rendering the field unserviceable. A formation drops its load of fragmentation bombs on the target



Photo: Giant column of smoke casts its shadow across the Czechoslovakia landscape as B-24 Liberators of the 15th A.A.F. come off the target area of the Pardubice oil refinery on August 24, 1944. Returning crewmen reported good concentration of bombs in the target area



Photo: Huge clouds of smoke billow up as planes of the 2nd Bombardment Group, 49th Bombardment Squadron, 15th Air Force carry out an attack on the airdrome at Pardubice, Czechoslovakia on August 24, 1944



Italian campaign

The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bombs three targets: 158 bomb the airfield at Pardurice while 110 hit the oil refinery in the same city; another 100 bomb the oil refinery at Kolin; 13 bombers are lost. 62 bomb the railroad bridge at Ferrara; individual bomber hit the railroad at Bordeno and Formignana and a target of opportunity at Polesella; two aircraft are lost. Forty nine heavy bombers visually bomb the railroad bridge at Szeged [Hungary] without loss. Fifty one visually bomb a marshalling yard at Vincovici [Yugoslavia].

During the day, medium bombers of the USAAF's Twelfth Air Force bomb bridges at Solignano Nuovo, and Castel del Rio. During the night of 23/24 August, USAAF Twelfth Air Force A-20s hit motor transport and targets of opportunity at Genoa, Milan, and Turin while 74 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the Main marshalling yard at Bologna.

Battle of the Atlantic

'U-445' (Type VIIC) is sunk about 148 nautical miles (274 kilometres) west of Saint-Nazaire, France, in position 47.21N, 05.50W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS 'Louis' (K 515, ex USN DE-517). All 53 crewmen on the U-boat are lost.

Battle of the Mediterranean - Operation Dragoon

US forces liberate Cannes and Antibes on the Riviera and Arles on the Rhone River while the Germans evacuate Bordeaux however, the Germans occupy fortified bunker positions on the Gironde estuary west of the city.

Destroyer Rodman (DD-456) is incapacitated by inoperative 5-inch director, off southern France.

Motor torpedo boat PT-555 is damaged by mine at Cap Couronne bouy; a French vessel attempting to rescue crew is mined as well, 43°19'N, 05°30'E.

Arctic naval operations

German submarine U-354 (Type VIIC) is sunk about 238 nautical miles (441 kilometres) north-northwest of Murmansk, USSR, in position 72.49N, 30.41E, by depth charges from the British sloops HMS Mermaid (U 30) and Peacock (U 96), the frigate HMS Loch Dunvegan (K 425) and the destroyer HMS Keppel (D 84). All 51 crewmen on the U-boat are lost.

Finland

Finnish President Mannerheim and the cabinet unanimously decide to seek peace with Soviet Union. It is agreed that the decision can't be postponed even if Germany is continuously providing Finland with war material and Hitler hasn't reacted to Mannerheim's message to Keitel that Finland will stay in the war only as long as it is in her interest to do so.

German occupied Poland - Warsaw Uprising

Insurgents ward off numerous attacks on the Old Town's southern barricades. The Germans are dislodged from Radziwillow Palace on Bielanska Street. In City Centre, the grouping Belt recaptures the area between Marszałkowska and Poznanska Streets.

Photo: Group of insurgents from kompania "Koszta" with flame throwers in front of "Ulrich's" store at 11 Moniuszki Street, corner of 128 Marszałkowska Street



United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy high-speed transport USS Brooks (APD-10) in San Francisco Bay, California (USA), on 24 August 1944



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 9 B-25s bomb Kangon; 3 P-47 flights support British troops NE of Pinbaw, hitting forces and gun emplacements near Namyin Te and Nansankyin; 4 P-47s bomb Nankan; and 4 P-51s strafe vehicles along the Shweli River and bomb a storage area S of Hopin.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, town areas, river and road traffic, railroad targets, and other targets of opportunity in or near Hengyang, Chuchou, Siangtan, and Yangtien are attacked by 8 B-25s and 25 P-40s; 19 other P-40s hit similar targets of opportunity at Yungeheng, Anjen, along the C Yangtze River, and S of Mangshih; and the 528th Fighter Squadron, 311th Fighter Group, moves from Tingkawk Sakan, Burma to Shwangliu with P-51s.

MARINA AND PALAU ISLANDS CAMPIGN

(Twentieth Air Force): The advanced air echelon of Brigadier General Emmett O'Donnell Jr's HQ 73d Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) arrives in the Mariana Islands with B-29s, the first Twentieth AF contingent to arrive; the ground echelon arrives by water on 16 Sep

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Shipping in Lembeh Strait, Celebes Island, is attacked by B-25s, while B-24s bomb Lolobata Airfield on Halmahera. HQ 307th Bombardment Group moves from Los Negros to Wakde; the 100th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), Thirteenth Air Force [attached to 42d Bombardment Group], moves from Stirling to Sansapor but continues operating from Hollandia with B-25; and the 340th and 341st Fighter Squadrons, 348th Fighter Group, move from Wakde to Noemfoor with P-47s.

SAIPAN

(Seventh Air Force): Saipan Island-based P-47s pound Aguijan and Pagan Islands. Marshall Island-based B-24s bomb Truk Atoll while B-25s hit Nauru Island.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

A British naval force including carriers HMS Victorious and Indomitable, and battleship HMS Howe, under Admiral Moody, attack Padang in SW Sumatra.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 528, AUGUST 24, 1944

1. Paramushiru Island in the northern Kuriles was bombed by Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four on 20 August (West Longitude Date). Direct hits were obtained in storage areas, a small vessel offshore was sunk aped another damaged. One of 7 intercepting enemy fighters was shot down. Antiaircraft fire was meager, and all of our aircraft returned.

2. Yap Island in the western Carolines was attacked by 7th AAF Liber­ators on 22 August. Bivouac areas and facilities near the airfield were bombed through meager antiaircraft fire.

3. Pagan and Rota Islands in the Marianas were attacked by our air­craft on 21 and 22 August, and Aguijan Island was hit on 22 August.

4. Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed Nauru island on 21 and 22 August, concentrating on the airstrips.

5. Neutralization raids against enemy positions in the Marshalls continued, with Corsair fighters and Dauntless dive bombers of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing striking at Wotje on 21 and 22 August and at Mille atoll on 21 August.

PACIFIC

Submarine chaser SC-1009 is damaged by grounding off Kahului, Maui, T.H.
Submarine Harder (SS-257) is sunk by Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No. 22 off west coast of Luzon, 15°50'N, 119°43'E.

Submarine Ronquil (SS-396) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking army cargo ship No.3 Yoshida Maru off Keelung, Formosa, 25°29'N, 123°15'E, and merchant cargo ship Fukurei Maru off Sankaku Island, 25°13'N, 121°49'E.

Submarine Sailfish (SS-192) attacks Japanese convoy in Luzon Strait, sinking transport Toan Maru, 21°23'N, 121°37'E.

Submarine Seal (SS-183) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Tosei Maru off southeast coast of Hokkaido, 42°30'N, 144°05'E.

British carrier force attacks Padang, Sumatra, sinking Japanese merchant cargo ship Shiretoko Maru off the harbor and damaging Senko Maru and Chisho Maru.

Japanese casualties include minelayer Itsukushima is damaged by aircraft off Menado, N.E.I.

Japanese auxiliary vessel Senko Maru is damaged by aircraft north of Boetoeng harbor.

Japanese army cargo ship No.21 Kongo Maru is sunk by aircraft, Philippine location unspecified.

Day 1812 of World War II, August 26th 1944

YouTube (The Liberation of Paris)



Eastern Front

The Russian advance reaches the Danube River east of Galati, Romania. The German army in southeast Europe now began to disintegrate as division and regimental commanders took their own initiative in seeking avenues of escape. As soon as dawn broke, the rain of steel began anew as Soviet ground-attack aircraft set upon the columns of retreating Germans. Brigadier General Werner von Eichstadt, commanding the 294.Infantriedivision, and Maj. Gen. Hans de Salengre-Drabbe of the 384.Infantriedivision were both killed during the retreat while General Postel and General Erich von Bogen of the 302.Infantriedivision were wounded. In other areas, small groups of Germans found breaks in the Soviet lines and fled farther west. However, the majority of the 6.Armee was caught in a vise that continued to compress the pocket relentlessly. The bulk of the 6.Armee remained trapped near the Prut River, with smaller pockets encircled near Vulcani and Stalinesti.

Western Front (1944) - Battle of Normandy - D-Day +80

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, August 26th 1944



From 26 to 29 August, the Germans continued to cross the Seine river on floating bridges north and south of Paris. They are followed directly by US and British troops, who chase the defeated soldiers to prevent them from regrouping and counter-attacking. But it was without counting on the German rear-guards that prevented the Allies from advancing in safety and favoring the withdrawal of the Wehrmacht and Panzer armies.

Northeast of Caen, paratroopers of the 6th Airborne Division, backed by soldiers belonging to Colonel Piron’s Belgian brigade, liberated the last villages still in the hands of German forces in Normandy. On 26 August, the village of Conteville is liberated and the Belgian armored units manage to enter the localities of Saint-Maclou, Toutainville and Pont-Audemer, gradually evacuated by the German defenders who destroy the bridges during their retreat, set fire to the reserves and the prisons.

Motor torpedo boats PT-511, PT-514 and PT-520 take part in night engagement (that lasts into the following day) that turns back the last German attempt to reinforce the besieged garrison at Le Havre; the PTs sink German artillery ferries AFP 98 and AFP 108.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of Paris

General de Gaulle returns to Paris to participate in a ceremonial parade.

Photo: General Charles de Gaulle and his entourage set off from the Arc de Triumphe down the Champs Elysees to Notre Dame for a service of thanksgiving following the city's liberation in August 1944



Photo: Crowds of French patriots line the Champs Elysees to view Free French tanks and half tracks of General Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division passes through the Arc du Triomphe, after Paris was liberated on August 26, 1944



Photo: The Campaign in North-west Europe 1944-45 Priest 105mm self-propelled guns of the French 2nd Armoured Division in front of Notre Dame in Paris, 26 August 1944



Photo: Civilians shelter behind Priest 105mm self-propelled guns of the French 2nd Armoured Division as German snipers open fire from buildings in Paris, 26 August 1944



Air War over Europe

The US Ninth Air Force's IX Bomber Command, with fighter escort, strikes fuel dumps at Saint-Gobain, Fournival/Bois- de-Mont, and Compiegne/ Clairoix, and troop and equipment concentrations at Rouen; fighters fly ground forces and assault area cover, and armed reconnaissance in the Rouen, Dijon, Chatillon-sur- Seine and S Loire areas.

The US Eighth Air Force in England flies 7 missions: Mission 575: 359 B-17s attack gun batteries in the Brest, France area; targets are Brest/Pte de St Mathieu (35) and coastal batteries at Kerandieu (27), Cornovailles (21), Brest/Ile Longue (20), Brest/Kerviniov (9) and Brest/Ponscorf (7); targets of opportunity are Brest/Pte des Espagnoles II (21) and Brest/Pte des Espagnoles III (18 ); escort is provided by 48 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost. Mission 577: 9 B-24s fly an AZON bomb mission to Moerdijk rail bridge, the Netherlands but clouds prevent an attack. Escort is provided by 32 P-51s. Mission 578: 37 B-17s are dispatched to hit liquid oxygen plants at La Louviere, Torte and Willebroeck, Belgium but the mission is aborted due to clouds. Escort is provided by 18 P-51s. Mission 579: 3 B-17s fly a special bomb test using Micro H radar against aviation industry targets at Meaulte, France. Escort is provided by 7 P-47s. Mission 580: 3 B-17s fly a Micro H test mission; 2 of the aircraft also drop leaflets. Mission 581: 7 B-24s are dispatched on a radio countermeasures mission to aid the RAF Bomber Command. Mission 582: 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France and Belgium during the night. 183 P-47s and 206 P-51s attack transport targets in Belgium, eastern France and western Germany in an attempt to prevent the escape of German forces; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 2 P-47s and 7 P-51s are lost.

During the night of 25/26 August, the US Twelfth Air Force sends fighter-bombers on armed reconnaissance over the Nice, France area to bomb vehicles and other targets of opportunity, and during the day to bomb ammunition dumps in southeastern France; B-25s and B-26s hit guns in the Marseilles area but several missions into the Rhone Valley are aborted due to bad weather; fighter-bombers and fighters fly armed reconnaissance over southeastern France, attacking rail lines, roads, guns, vehicles, and other targets of opportunity.

The US Eighth Air Force in England flies 1 mission (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking). Mission 576: 588 bombers and 402 fighters, in 3 forces, attack oil refineries, fuel stores and chemical works in Germany; 10 bombers and 3 fighters are lost. (1) B-24s bomb the chemical works at Ludwigshafen (41); secondary targets hit are marshalling yards at Ehrang (33) and Kons/Karthaus (8 ); 11 others hit Alzey and 2 hit other targets of opportunity; 7 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 77 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost. (2) B-17s bomb oil refineries at Gelsenkirchen/ Buer (89) and Gelsenkirchen/ Nordstern (85); 19 hit Deelen Airfield, a secondary target, and 11 hit targets of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 159 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51s without loss. (3) B-24s hit the Dulmen fuel dump (73) and oil refineries at Salzbergen (71) and Emmerich (36); 36 others hit Eindhoven Airfield; escort is provided by 129 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-38 and 1 P-51 are lost.

The US IX Troop Carrier Command is relieved of its assignment to the Ninth Air Force upon transfer of the command and its service organizations from the IX Air Force Services Command to HQ First Allied Airborne Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lewis H Brereton.

Italian campaign

Solid bridgeheads are established by the British 8th Army over the River Metauro in Italy. The German 71.Division falls back in the face of attacks by V Corps.

During the night of 26/27 August, two RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group fly a night leaflet mission over Hungary.

During the day, USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17s visually bomb five railroad targets without loss: 55 bomb the railroad viaduct at Venzone; 54 bomb the railroad bridge at Ferrara, 39 bomb the railroad viaduct at Aviso; 13 bomb the railroad bridge at Latisana and one bombs the railroad bridge at Piave. During the night of 26/27 August, 66 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack German troop concentrations at Pesano without loss.

USAAF Fiftheenth Air Force B-24s visually bomb three targets, two of them in Bucharest: 114 bomb Otoperni Airfield in Bucharest and 114 bomb 114 bomb tactical targets in Bucharest and 20 bomb the ferry at Giurgiu.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s visually bomb two targets without loss: 54 bomb the railroad bridge at Borovnica and one hits the marshalling yard at Nis.

German occupied Poland - Warsaw Uprising

In Mokotow, insurgents in vain try to break the German ring in the vicinity of Łazienki Park to gain a connection with Upper Czerniakow. At night two companies from the Baszta regiment capture the Holy Family of Nazareth convent on Czerniakowska Street, evacuating the nuns, injured and civilians under their care.

Bulgaria

In Sofia... The Bulgarian government announces that it is withdrawing from the war and that German troops will be disarmed.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Luce (DD-522) off Hunters Point, San Francisco, California (USA), on 26 August 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 18D



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Hank (DD-702) upon delivery from Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, New Jersey (USA), 26 August 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 16D



Photo: The U.S. Navy internal combustion engine repair ship USS Leyte (ARG-8) at Baltimore, Maryland (USA), on 26 August 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 6Ax



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): The 490th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st BG (Medium), moves from Kurmitola to Dergaon, India with B-25s.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 3 B-24s bomb a storage area at Amoy; 3 B-25s bomb a barracks area near Wenchow harbor and damage a bridge near Sincheng; 31 fighter-bombers attack railroad targets, troops, sampans, and other targets of opportunity in or near Yangtien, Yungfengshih, Siangsiang, Anjen, Laiyuan, Kinhwa, and Pengtse.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb Koror and Peleliu Airfield. Other B-24s bomb Haroekoe and Liang Airfields on Ambon. In New Guinea, A-20s in close ground support hit troop concentrations in the Sarmi sector; fighter-bombers hit targets of opportunity in the Wewak and Suain areas; P-39s maintain patrols over the W shore of Geelvink Bay; HQ 348th Fighter Group moves from Wakde to Noemfoor; the 6th and 21st Troop Carrier Squadrons, 374th Troop Carrier Group, move from Garbutt Field and Archerfield, Australia respectively to Nadzab with C-47s; and the 823d Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 38th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Nadzab to Biak Island with B-25s.

IWO JIMA

(Seventh Air Force): Saipan Island-based B-24s bomb the airfield on Iwo Jima. P-47s blast AA guns and troops on Pagan and Aguijan. A B-24 on armed reconnaissance bombs Woleai and Yap.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, 3 B-24s hit the Kashiwabara staging area on Paramushiru Island during the early morning, starting several fires; later 6 B-25s strafe and bomb the E coast of the N Kurile Islands, sinking a patrol boat; 1 out of 4 interceptors and one of the B-25s are hit; 7 more B-24s bomb targets on Kashiwabara and on Otomari Cape, including docks, piers, boats, and a fuel dump. 6 P-38s unsuccessfully attempt to intercept 4 unidentified aircraft W of Attu Island.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 531, AUGUST 26, 1944

1. Forty‑seven tons of bombs were dropped on Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands by Liberators of the 7th AAF during daylight on 24 August (West Longitude Date). Three of approximately ten intercepting enemy fighters were destroyed, and one was damaged. Two Liberators were damaged. Antiaircraft fire ranged from moderate to intense.

2. In the Marianas, Rota Island was attacked by our aircraft on 23 August, and Pagan and Aguijan Islands were bombed on 24 August. Gun positions and other defense installations were the targets.

3. A single 7th AAF Liberator bombed barracks on Yap Island in the western Carolines on 24 August, encountering meager anti‑aircraft fire.

4. Nauru Island was attacked by Ventura search planes of Group 1, Fleet Air Wing Two on 23 August, and on 24 August Venturas and 7th AAF Mitchells again heavily bombed the runways, gun positions, and the town.

5. In the Marshalls, Corsair fighters of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing bombed and strafed barracks and gun emplacements at Mille atoll on 23 August.

PACIFIC

Submarine chaser PC(S)-1404 transports a marine reconnaissance party to Aguijan Island; after recovering the leathernecks, she bombards the island.

Light cruiser Boise (CL-47) is damaged when rammed accidentally by harbor tug Heroine, Sydney, Australia.

Submarine tender Pelias (AS-14) is damaged by grounding in San Francisco Bay.

Submarine Batfish (SS-310) causes further damage to grounded destroyer Samidare on Velasco Reef, Palau, 08°30'N, 134°37'E (see 18 August). Submariners observe Japanese blowing up the remainder of the wreckage.

Submarine S-18 (SS-123) is damaged when accidentally rammed by medium landing craft LSM-135, Naval Repair Base, San Diego, California.