World War II in real time

Day 1827 of World War II, September 11th 1944

Eastern Front

Thirty nine USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17s bomb a synthetic oil refinery at Brux using H2X radar. This is part of Operation FRANTIC that along with 64 P-51s, continues on and lands in the USSR.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of France

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, September 11th 1944



In northern France, the British I Corps attacks Le Havre after an RAF raid.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of Belgium

The US First Army units takes Malmedy.

Photo: A nurse working with the Belgian resistance bandages a minor wound for a British soldier in Antwerp, 11 September 1944



Western Front (1944) - Liberation of Luxembourg

The US First Army under Major General Courtney Hodges enters Luxembourg City and the liberation of the Grand Duchy from German occupation is completed. Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Jett is placed in charge of maintaining order and restoration of public services.

Western Front (1944) - Siegfried Line campaign

Armored reconnaissance elements of the US Third Army cross into Germany, the first Allied unit to do so.

Air War over Europe

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 218 aircraft, 105 Halifaxes, 103 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos, to attack German positions outside Le Havre; 171 aircraft bombed the target. The bombing is carried out accurately in conditions of good visibility but the Master Bomber ordered the final wave to cease bombing because of smoke and dust. None are lost.

RAF Bomber Command dispatched seven Mosquitos to bomb Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk; three aircraft bomb the target.

In northern France, the USAAF Ninth Air Force continues tactical support of ground forces: 358 B-26s and A-20s, escorted by fighters, in support of the US Third Army, hit gun positions and strongpoints in the Metz area;, and support Third Army ground forces in the Metz area; fighters also support ground forces in the Brest area. USAAF Ninth Air Force fighters fly armed reconnaissance over the Lissendorf and Duren areas.

In southern France, the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy limits operations to supply mission by 54 B-24s to Lyons due to bad weather.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 623: 1,131 bombers and 440 fighters, in 3 forces, are dispatched to hit synthetic oil plants and refineries in Germany; they encounter an estimated 525 Luftwaffe fighters; 40 bombers and 17 fighters are lost; the USAAF claim 115-7-23 aircraft in the air and 42-0-43 on the ground. B-17 targets are (number in parenthesis indicates number of aircraft bombing): I. G. Farben synthetic oil refineries at Merseburg (111) and Lutzkendorf (85); Braunkohle synthetic oil refinery at Bohlen (75), Chemnitz (74) and Schwartzhelde synthetic oil refinery at Ruhland (22); targets of opportunity are a tire plant at an aircraft engine factory at Eisenach (81); Fulda (64), a marshalling yard at Fulda (42), Labejum (12), Rossla (6) and 41 others. B-24 targets are Misburg oil refinery at Hannover (87) and a tank factory at Hannover (84), the Friedrichstadt ordinance depot at Magdeburg (60); targets of opportunity hit are the industrial area at Magdeburg (70), Stendal Airfield (45), Diepholz Airfield (9) and three others.

The Allied formations first made a decoy run towards Berlin to deceive the Luftwaffe fighters then headed for their targets. But close to 500 German fighters intercepted the formations. First to reach the bombers shortly after 12.00 hours were the Fw 190s of JG 4 including those of the new Sturmgruppe II, the specially armed fighters used for destroying the four-engined bombers. The first section of JG 4, II (Sturm)./JG 4 led by Gruppenkommandeur Major von Kornatzki, barreled into the bomber formations head-on from the six o’clock position out of the sun and destroyed six bombers immediately. The rest of the fighters soon engaged the bombers along with P-51 Mustangs of the Allied escorting force. Intercepting were elements from JG 3, JG 53, JG 300 and JG 76. Uffz. Schubert of 1./JG 400 claimed a B-17 near Brandis. Altogether forty-five B-17s were shot down including fourteen out of thirty-six aircraft of the USAAF 100th BG and the whole lower box of the 350th BS. Four P-51s of the USAAF 55th FG were also destroyed and three pilots of the 355th FG crashed. The fighters of JG 4 lost ten Fw 190s and Bf 109s shot down with twenty-one pilots killed. The Sturmbock pilots suffered an almost 50% casualty rate in the day’s operations.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 379 aircraft, 205 Halifaxes, 154 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to attack three synthetic oil plants; 121 bomb the Klocknerwerke plant at Castrop Rauxel; 116 hit the Chemischewerke plant at Kamen; and 114 attack the Nordstern plant at Gelsenkirchen. The first two targets are clearly visible and are accurately bombed but the Nordstem plant is partially protected by a smoke-screen which hindered bombing and prevented observation of the results. The three forces are escorted by 26 squadrons of fighters, 20 squadrons of Spitfires and three each of Mustangs and Tempests. No German fighters are encountered. Five Halifaxes and two Pathfinder Lancasters are lost from the Nordstem raid and a Lancaster is lost from each of the other raids. These loss are caused by flak or by 'friendly' bombs.

During the night of 11/12 September, RAF Bomber Command sends 226 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos to bomb Darmstadt; 234 aircraft bombed the city with the loss of 12 Lancasters, 5.3 per cent of the Lancaster force. A previous attack in August had failed to harm Darmstadt but, in clear weather conditions, the group's marking methods produced an outstandingly accurate and concentrated raid on this almost intact city of 120,000 people. A fierce fire area is created in the centre and in the districts immediately south and east of the center. Property damage in this area is almost complete. Casualties are very heavy. The Darmstadt raid, with its extensive fire destruction and its heavy casualties, is held by the Germans to be an extreme example of RAF “terror bombing” and is still a sensitive subject because of the absence of any major industries in the city. Bomber Command defended the raid by pointing out the railway communications passing through Darmstadt; the directive for the offensive against German communications had not yet been issued to Bomber Command, although advance notice of the directive may have been received. Darmstadt is simply one of Germany's medium-sized cities of lesser importance which succumbed to Bomber Command's improving area-attack techniques in the last months of the war when many of the larger cities are no longer worth bombing. A second target during the night is Berlin which is hit by 42 Mosquitos. Seventy six Halifaxes and Lancasters are dispatched on mine laying missions during the night: 17 laid mines in the Kiel area, 16 off Swinemunde, nine off Kattegat and seven in the Fehmarn Channel. Two Lancasters are lost off Swinemunde.

Italian campaign

The US Fifth Army continues to advance in Italy. Pistoia is liberated by South African units of the British XIII Corps.

Photo: A Churchill IV (NA 75) tank of 25th Tank Brigade passes through the narrow streets of Montefiore, 11 September 1944. NA 75 versions of the Churchill were fitted with 75mm guns from salvaged Sherman tanks



In the air, the US Twelfth Air Force continues tactical operations. B-26s hit defensive positions as US Fifth Army elements push through northern Italian mountain passes toward Gothic Line defenses; B-25s bomb railroad bridges at Vigevano and Canneto sull'Oglio and supply areas; fighter-bombers and fighters attack roads, railroads, guns, supply areas, bridges, and other targets at Vernio, and in the Alessandria, Turin, Piacenza, and Milan areas.

North Sea operations

In the North Sea, the German submarine 'U-855', is listed as missing in the area west of Bergen, Norway with all 56 crewmen. The cause is unknown. She is on her first patrol.

German occupied Poland - Warsaw Uprising

German attack on Upper Czerniakow starts. AK units forced to abandon their most advanced outposts. Attacks halted on Ksiazeca Street – the only connection between Czerniakow and City Centre.

Finish/German relations

The Finns and the Germans start secret negotiations about the German withdrawal from northern Finland at Rovaniemi. The Soviet-imposed deadline for the German withdrawal is only four days away, and it is evident the Germans are unable to leave Finland in time. However, both armies are willing to avoid bloodshed, and agreement is reached. Germans would retreat according to a prearranged plan, destroying roads and bridges, while Finns would advance slowly to areas already abandoned by Germans. The slow rate of Finnish advance could be excused by the German policy of scorched earth. While the negotiations are going on, the Swedish government has already agreed to receive the Finnish civilian population wishing to leave the German occupied areas.

Canada

The Octagon Conference at Quebec City, Quebec begins. British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with their staffs, meet to discuss overall strategy of the war. The plans for continued attacks in Italy and Northern Europe are not changed. British attacks in Burma are approved. British Fleet participation in the Pacific is approved for the final campaigns against the Japanese. This conference will last through 6 September.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy large cruiser USS Alaska (CB-1) underway on 11 September 1944



Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): 12 P-47s hit roads, towns, and general targets of opportunity in the Bhamo, Burma and Tengchung and Lungling, China areas; 23 B-24s fly fuel to Kunming, China; numerous other transport flights throughout the CBI continue. Detachments of the 2d and 4th Combat Cargo Squadrons, 1st Combat Cargo Group, based at Sylhet, India, begin operating from Yunnani, China with C-47s.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 18 B-24s blast a storage area at Manling; 30 B-25s bomb Tunganhsien and Kiaotow and hit targets of opportunity in the Lingling area; 12 P-40s blast trucks along Burma Road and around Lungling; 59 P-40s and P-51s hit river shipping, railroad targets, troop concentrations, supply dumps, and other targets of opportunity in the Canton-Tungting Lake area.
AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): Saipan -based B-24s bomb Iwo Jima and hit shipping off Chici Jima. P-47s pound Pagan with strafing attacks and rockets.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s hit Galela Airfield and Miti on Halmahera. B-25s bomb Kairatoe Airfield and village on Celebes and Boela Airfield while P-38s hit airfields at Namlea on Buru and Amahai and oil tanks at Boela Ceram . A-20s and B-25s hit Kaoe Airfield on Halmahera and scattered targets of opportunity; the 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Tadji to Biak with P-40s. Lost on a ferry flight is B-25D "The Wolf Pack" 41-30099.

MARIANA AND PAULAU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

In the Palau Islands, carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Group 38.4 continue preinvasion attacks on airfields and Japanese installations ; they also sink a Japanese cargo ship 2 miles (3,2 kilometers) off the coast. During the night, USAAF Thirteenth Air Force radar-equipped B-24s attack the airfields and defensive positions.

The USN destroyer USS Ellet bombards supply dumps on Aguijan Island.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

On the Vogelkop Peninsula in Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs strike Nabire, Otawir, Sagan and Utarom Airfields while fighter-bombers hit airfields and antiaircraft guns at Manokwari and Ransiki.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED SINGAPORE

British submarine HMS/M Porpoise (N 14) sails from Freemantle, Western Australia, with a 23-man commando party participating in Operation RIMAU, an attack on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbor. This raid emulated Operation JAYWICK in September 1943 when Australian commandoes attacked shipping in Singapore. However, unlike the previous attack this attack fails. The submarine successfully drops the commandos at their start point, but then things go wrong; the commandos are discovered, and in engagements with the Japanese, 13 men are killed or die of wounds. The remaining ten are captured. On 7th July 1945, the ten men are executed by the Japanese.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, four US Eleventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells on a shipping search sink a small craft off Shimushu Island; two other B-25s fly a search mission for a B-25 (which force-landed in USSR on 9 September but is still reported as missing).

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 114, SEPTEMBER 11, 1944

Carrier‑based aircraft of the Pacific Fleet struck at enemy airfields and other military objectives at Mindanao Island in the Philippines on September 8 (West Longitude Date). The airfields at Del Monte, Valencia, Cagayan, Buayan, and Davao were bombed and strafed. In these attacks two enemy aircraft were encountered near our carriers, five were encountered over Cagayan, and one over Davao. All were shot down. Approximately 60 enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Barracks, warehouses, and hangars were hit at the several airdromes attacked. Enemy waterfront installations at Matins, Cagayan, and Surigao were also bombed.

A convoy was discovered off Hinatuan Bay consisting of 32 loaded coastal cargo ships and 20 sampans. This convoy was brought under attack by Pacific Fleet cruisers, destroyers, and carrier aircraft, and all of the enemy ships were destroyed. In addition, enemy shipping found in Sarangani Bay and Davao Gulf, and near Cagayan and Surigao was attacked, resulting in the sinking or probable sinking of 16 small cargo ships, one medium cargo ship, one patrol craft, and many sampans, and setting fire to two small cargo ships, and at least 17 sampans. Our aircraft losses in the operations were very light. There was no damage to our surface ships.

More than 80 tons of bombs were dropped and numerous rockets fired by carrier aircraft in attacking the Palau Islands on September 9. Antiaircraft emplacements and other defense installations were attacked on Angaur, Peleliu, and Koror Islands. Numerous fires were started at Koror. A de­stroyer and a cargo ship, believed to have been heavily damaged in previous raids, were attacked again. We lost seven fight personnel in these attacks.

Liberators of the Eleventh Army Air Force bombed Paramushiru Island in the Kuriles on September 9, and Liberator search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four attacked the island again before dawn on September 10. In the first attack several enemy fighters unsuccessfully attempted to intercept our force, and one fighter was damaged. A convoy discovered underway near Paramushiru was bombed by Eleventh Army Air Force Mitchells on September 9.

Runways and air facilities at Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands were hit with 37 tons of bombs by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators on September 9. Antiaircraft was moderate to intense. Seven to ten enemy fighters intercepted. Of this group five or six were destroyed, one probably destroyed and one dam­aged. Three Liberators were damaged. On September 8 a single Liberator bombed the airfield at Iwo Jima while a Navy search plane bombed and strafed a small tanker west of Iwo Jima, leaving it aflame and probably sinking.

A single plane bombed Pagan on September 8 while fighter planes attacked Rota on September 9. There was no interception at either place.

Seventh Army Air Force Mitchells bombed the airfield and defense instal­lations at Ponape on September 8. Antiaircraft ranged from intense to meager. Seventh Army Air Force Liberators hit the airstrip and antiaircraft gun positions on Nauru the following day.

Further neutralization raids were carried out against enemy‑held positions in the Marshalls on September 8 and 9. Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force and Corsair fighters and Dauntless dive bombers of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing hit gun positions, ammunition dumps and bivouac areas on Wotje, Mille and Jaluit.

PACIFIC

Submarine Albacore (SS-218) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 165 off Kyushu, 32°20'N, 131°50'E.

Submarine Finback (SS-230) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Hassho Maru and merchant cargo ship No.2 Hak_n Maru north of Chichi Jima, 27°45'N, 140°40'E.

Submarine Pargo (SS-264) sinks Japanese auxiliary netlayer Hinoki Maru in Java Sea, 06°17'S, 116°24'E.

USAAF B-24 aircraft bomb Iwo Jima, damaging Japanese cargo vessel No.8 Saiwai Maru; difficulties encountered in attempting to tow the damaged craft result in her being scuttled.

Japanese cargo ship No.1 Horai Maru is sunk by aircraft two miles off Palau.