World War II in real time

Day 1875 of World War II, October 29th 1944

Eastern Front

Soviet Karelian Front stops advance and hands responsibility to the Norwegian Resistance.

End of a huge tank battle near Debrecon, three Soviet corps are badly handled.

The Slovak insurgent army is dissolved into smaller units which carry out guerilla attacks.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of France

Photo: General view of a tank destroyer maintenance area, somewhere in France. 29 October, 1944



Western Front (1944) - Liberation of the Netherlands

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, October 29th 1944



On Beveland, the Canadian 2nd Division reaches Goes in the ongoing battle for the Scheldt by Canadian 1st Army. Inland, Breda falls to the Polish 1st Armored Division.

Photo: Infantry of 51st Highland Division and Sherman tanks near Udenhout, 29 October 1944



Photo: Infantry of 51st Highland Division are carried into battle aboard Sherman tanks near Udenhout, Holland, 29 October 1944



Western Front (1944) - Siegfried Line campaign

Photo: Pvt. Harry Stockow, Canton, Ill., loads a captured German mortar (35 lb projectile). 29 October, 1944



Air War over Europe

358 RAF aircraft - 194 Lancasters, 128 Halifaxes, 36 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups attacked 11 different German ground positions on Walcheren. Visibility was good and it was believed that all the targets were hit. 1 Lancaster lost.

59 RAF Mosquitos to Cologne and 6 to Mannheim, 55 Mosquitos on Serrate and Intruder patrol. No aircraft lost.

US Ninth Air Force: About 170 B-26s and A-20s bomb rail bridges at Mayen, Konz-Karthaus, and Euskirchen, Germany and Ellern and Moerdijke, the Netherlands; fighters fly escort to bombers, sweeps, defensive patrols, armed reconnaissance over wide areas of E France, the Netherlands, and Germany, bomb rail targets and bridges, and fly cover for the US XIX Corps in Belgium.

US Fifteenth Air Force: In Germany, 35 of over 155+ B-24s dispatched with fighter escort, bomb Munich W marshalling yard; the remainder and 670 other bombers, dispatched against targets in S Germany, abort the mission due to bad weather. In Austria, 30 P-38s, after escort duty, strafe communications lines from Wels to Kienberg destroying 17 locomotives and several other road and rail transportation targets.

37 RAF Lancasters - 18 from No 9 Squadron, 18 from No 617 and a film unit aircraft from No 463 Squadron - were dispatched from Lossiemouth in Scotland to attack the battleship 'Tirpitz', which was now moored near the Norwegian port of Tromso. The removal of the Lancasters' mid-upper turrets and other equipment and the installation of extra fuel tanks, giving each aircraft a total fuel capacity of 2,406 gallons, allowed the Lancasters to carry out this 2,250 mile operation. A weather reconnaissance Mosquito had reported the target area free of cloud and the Lancasters formed up at a lake near the bay in which the 'Tirpitz' was moored and commenced their attack. Unfortunately the wind had changed and a bank of cloud came in to cover the battleship 30 seconds before the first Lancaster was ready to bomb. 32 aircraft released Tallboy bombs on the estimated position of the battleship but no direct hits were scored. 1 of No 617 Squadron's Lancasters, which was damaged by flak, crash-landed in Sweden and its crew were later returned to Britain.

In Belgium, HQ 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group and the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron move from Luxembourg, Luxembourg to Le Culot with F-6s.

Italian campaign

US Twelfth Air Force: In Italy, weather again restricts operations; XXII Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers fly 15 sorties against railroad targets in the Po Valley.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, fighters in support of Chinese ground forces blast hill positions in the Lungling and Mangshih areas; others damage a bridge at Sinshih, bomb Kweiyi and Paoching, hit railroad targets between Siaokan and Sinyang, and strafe airfields at Chingmen, Tangyang, and Ichang.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 80+ fighter-bombers again attack a wide variety of targets including troop concentrations, bridges, supply dumps, and numerous targets of opportunity at Kawlin, Wingnang, Hsenwi, Bhamo, Shwegu, Kyungon, Tugyaung, Yebyangale, Henu, and Kayin.

BURMA

On the Salween front, the Chinese Expeditionary Force, closely supported by the USAAF Fourteenth Air Force, renews an offensive, attacking toward Lung-ling with the Chinese 200th Division in the lead. The Japanese have been thinning out.

In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the British 36th Division, having paused briefly at Mawpin, resumes southward drive down the railroad corridor.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): 19 B-24s from Saipan bomb Chichi Jima. 2 B-24s from Guam strike Yap .

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: HQ 13th AF moves from Noemfoor to Morotai . The 63d and 64th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 403d Troop Carrier Group, based on Biak begin operating from Wakde and Noemfoor respectively with C-47s

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO

Twenty Australian Beauforts attack Rabaul on New Britain Island.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

USAAF Far East Air Forces fighter-bombers and B-25s, operating in small forces, are active against airfields, antiaircraft positions, and targets of opportunity on Halmahera Island.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force fighter- bombers hit Ransiki Aerodrome while fighter-bombers, A-20s, and B-25s bomb Utarom (Kaimana) Aerodrome and Soeli and strafe targets of opportunity throughout the Utarom-Kaimana area.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1944)

In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area on Leyte, the 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, takes the lead in a drive to Jaro, reaching the town at 1700 hours after having cleared opposition en route to Galotan. In the XXIV Corps area, the 381st Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division, takes Labir and Catmon Hills with ease. The 17th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division continues an attack toward Dagami and breaks into the southern part of the town.

From Burauen, the 32d Infantry Regiment moves without incident along Highway 1 to Abuyog, the 7th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, preceding it, pushes on toward Baybay.

Naval Operating Base, Leyte, and Naval Air Station, Samar, are established.

TG 38.2 (Rear Admiral Gerald F. Bogan) attacks Japanese airfields in the Manila area and shipping in Manila Bay, damaging heavy cruiser Nachi. During Japanese air attacks on the fast carriers operating off Leyte, a kamikaze crashes Intrepid (CV-11), 15°07'N, 124°01'E.

Photo: The Japanese heavy cruiser Nachi under attack by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft off Manila, Philippines, on 29 October 1944



Photo: The Japanese heavy cruiser Nachi is hit by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft off Manila, Philippines, on 29 October 1944



During Japanese air attacks on the fast carriers operating off Leyte, a kamikaze crashes into one of the port gun tubs of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid killing ten men and wounding six.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): On Paramushiru 4 B-25s on reconnaissance hit Tomari Cape buildings and a freighter which is left listing.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 168, OCTOBER 29, 1944

Amplifying reports on the second battle of the Philippine Sea, although still subject to revision as more information is received, indicate an over­whelming victory for the Third and Seventh United States Fleets. The Japan­ese fleet has been decisively defeated and routed. The second battle of the Philippine Sea ranks as one of the major sea battles of World War II in the Pacific‑together with the Battle of the Coral Sea, May 4‑8, 1942; the Battle of Midway, June 3‑6, 1942 ; the Battle of Guadalcanal, November 12‑15, 1942 ; and the first battle of the Philippine Sea, June 19, 1944.

Movements of major Japanese fleet units northward from the Singapore area were detected on October 21 and 22 (West Longitude Date). Submarine scouts sighted the enemy force, sank two Atago Class heavy cruisers and severely damaged a third. Ships of the Third Fleet were moved into position to the eastward of the Philippines off Surigao Strait, San Bernardino Strait, and the Poillo Islands. On October 23 carrier searches discovered two strong enemy naval forces moving eastward, one through the Sibuyan Sea and the other through the Sulu Sea.

Photographs by carrier aircraft showed that the force moving eastward through the Sibuyan Sea included five battleships, thought to be the Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, Kongo and Haruna; eight cruisers, two Mogami, two Tone, two Nachi, one Atago, one Noshiro; and 13 destroyers. The force moving eastward through the Sulu Sea consisted of two battleships of the Yamashiro Class, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and seven or eight destroyers.

AS soon as the presence of the two enemy fleet forces in the Philippine Islands was discovered on October 23, Hellcat fighters, Avenger torpedo planes and Helldiver dive bombers from the Third Fleet carriers were launched to attack both forces. In the Sibuyan Sea, one battleship and one cruiser were severely damaged and set afire and may have sunk. Three other battleships received bombs and torpedoes; three other heavy cruisers received bombs and torpedoes; and one light cruiser was torpedoed, capsized and sank. In the Sulu Sea bomb hits were made on both battleships. Cruisers and de­stroyers were strafed with rockets and machine guns.

Meanwhile, to the eastward of the Philippines, enemy shore‑based aircraft were attacking our carriers. In the aerial battle that ensued, more than 150 enemy aircraft were shot down. Our losses, on which exact figures are not yet available, were light. In this attack, the carrier Princeton was hit by a bomb which caused a bad fire. Later the Princeton's magazine blew up and the ship was so badly damaged that she had to be sunk by our own forces.

Also on the afternoon of October 23, a land‑based Navy search plane dis‑covered the presence of an enemy carrier force approximately 200 miles off Cape Engano of Northern Luzon, heading south. This force consisted of 17 warships including a large carrier, believed to be of the Zuikaku Class; three light carriers of the Chitose and Zuiho Classes; two battleships of the Ise Class with fight decks aft; a heavy cruiser of the Mogami Class; a light cruiser of the Noshiro Class; three cruisers of the Kiso Class; and six de­stroyers.

To meet this serious threat the Commander, Third Fleet, concentrated several of his carrier task groups and started northward at high speed for a dawn attack.

These units of the Third Fleet steamed north at full speed through the night and caught the enemy so completely by surprise on the morning of October 24 that there was no effective air opposition. Later in the forenoon enemy carrier aircraft which had been refueled ashore in the Philippines flew out to join their ships which had already met disaster. The enemy planes arrived too late to get into the fight and 21 were shot down by our combat patrols. In this action, the following destruction was inflicted upon the enemy:

Sunk:

One carrier of the Zuikaku Class, sunk by carrier aircraft. One light carrier of the Zuiho Class, crippled by carrier aircraft and later sunk by the gunfire of cruisers and destroyers. Two light carriers of the Chitose Class, sunk by carrier aircraft. One light cruiser or large destroyer sunk by gunfire. One destroyer sunk by carrier aircraft. One cruiser was severely damaged by carrier aircraft and was sunk during the night by a submarine.

Damaged:

One battleship hit by 2‑4 torpedoes and many bombs. One battleship hit by bombs. Three cruisers damaged by bombs and gunfire. Four destroyers bombed, strafed or hit by gunfire.

None of the Third Fleet ships engaged with the enemy carrier force were damaged. The Third Fleet in this phase of the action lost 10 planes, eight pilots and 10 aircrewmen, all shot down by antiaircraft fire. Before all the damaged enemy ships could be tracked down and destroyed the engage­ment was broken off to proceed to the assistance of Seventh Fleet carrier escort groups then under attack off Samar Island.

The enemy force of battleships, cruisers and destroyers which had been attacked in the Sibuyan Sea had sortied through the San Bernardino Strait in spite of damage inflicted by our carrier aircraft, and had attacked units of the Seventh Fleet off Samar Island during the morning of October 24. In the ensuing battle, most of the enemy's heavy ships were badly damaged by Seventh Fleet units assisted by carrier aircraft from the Third Fleet. One cruiser of the Mogami Class was seen to sink and one destroyer was left dead in the water. The enemy force ran northwest from the scene of the action and during the early hours of darkness passed westward through the San Bernardino Strait. About 2 a.m. a straggling cruiser was sunk by gun­fire of the Third Fleet.

Meanwhile the southern enemy force had crossed the Sulu Sea, the Min­danao Sea, had attempted to pass through the Surigao Strait, and met the Seventh Fleet in a night action October 24‑25. As announced by the Com­mander in Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, all units of this enemy force were sunk or decisively defeated.

On October 25, carrier aircraft of the Third Fleet were launched against the crippled and damaged enemy fleeing westward through the Sibuyan Sea. Damage done to the enemy during the retirement of the enemy forces from San Bernardino Strait by the combined efforts of the Third and Seventh Fleets and shore‑based aircraft of the Southwest Pacific Area included one Mogami Class cruiser sunk off Mindoro Island, one Noshiro Class cruiser sunk south of Mindoro Island, one battleship possibly sunk, and three other battleships and three other cruisers further damaged.

The total damage inflicted on the Japanese fleet during the period Octo­ber 22‑27, 1844, included:

Sunk:

Two battleships
Four carriers
Six heavy cruisers
Three light cruisers
Three small cruisers or large destroyers
Six destroyers

Severely damaged and may have sunk:

One battleship
Three heavy cruisers
Two light cruisers
Seven destroyers

Escaped in a damaged condition:

Six battleships
Four heavy cruisers
One light cruiser
Ten destroyers

During the same actions the losses sustained by United States Naval forces were one light carrier (Princeton), two escort carriers, two destroyers, one destroyer escort and a few lesser craft.

The following battleships seriously damaged at Pearl Harbor took part in these actions: West Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, California, and Penn­sylvania. The new carriers Lexington, Wasp and Hornet also participated.

In all these actions, United States submarines played a highly important part and are credited with sinking and damaging several enemy warships‑­both before and after the air and sea battles on October 23, 24 and 25.

Much of the credit for the destruction inflicted on the Japanese fleet goes to the Naval airmen who gallantly and relentlessly pressed their at­tacks home with telling effect.

PACIFIC

Japanese guardboat No.3 Kyoei Maru is also lost on this date off Luzon; although the agent of her demise is unspecified, it is most likely Navy carrier-based aircraft, given the level of U.S. naval aviation activity in that area.

PB4Y (VPB 115) sinks Japanese tanker Itsukushima Maru off Brunei Bay, 05°04'N, 119°47'E. Destroyer Shigure rescues survivors.

Japanese army tanker Kokko Maru is sunk by RAAF mine off Balikpapan, Borneo, 01°17'S, 116°48'E.

U.S. aircraft sink Japanese guardboat No.16 Kiku Maru at Rabaul.

U.S. freighter John A. Johnson is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-12 1,000 miles northeast of Oahu, 29°36'30"N, 141°43'W, and is abandoned when she breaks in two. I-12 surfaces, shells the wreck, setting both halves ablaze, before bearing down on the lifeboats and rafts and firing on them with machine guns and pistols. These brutal actions result in the death of 4 of the 41 merchant sailors, the Army security officer and 4 of the 28-man Armed Guard.

Day 1877 of World War II, October 31st 1944

Eastern Front

German Army Group North is cut off in the Courland Peninsula in Lithuania.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of the Netherlands

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, October 31st 1944



Canadian forces begin amphibious crossings and attacks on Walcheren Island.

Map: map of Walcheren Island, 31 October 1944



Western Front (1944) - Liberation of Belgium

The 9th Brigade of the Canadian 3rd Division enters Knock-sur-Mer. Allied forces take the peninsula of South Beveland, Belgium.

Air War over Europe

1 RAF Wellington carried out a signals patrol and 1 Hudson flew a Resistance operation.

US Eighth Air Force: Mission 695: 3 B-17s and 5 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.

US Ninth Air Force: Weather forbids bomber operations and limits fighters; the XII and XIX Tactical Air Commands fly patrols, sweeps, and armed reconnaissance over E France and W Germany; the XII Tactical Air Command also supports US Seventh Army elements in the Metz, France area. In Belgium, the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Sandwieler, Luxembourg to Le Culot with F-6 and P-51s.

Cologne: 493 RAF aircraft - 331 Lancasters, 144 Halifaxes, 18 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups. 15 further Mosquitos carried out a feint attack just before the main raid. 2 Lancasters lost. This was another Oboe-marked attack through thick cloud. Most of the bombing fell in the southern districts, with Bayental and Zollstock, according to the local report, being the hardest hit, although damage was not as severe as in other recent raids.

49 RAF Mosquitos to Hamburg, 4 to Saarbrücken and 2 to Schweinfurt, 36 RCM sorties, 59 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.

Italian campaign

US Twelfth Air Force: In Italy, B-26s hit a bridge and causeway at Nervesa della Battaglia and bridges at Montebello and Piazzola sul Brenta; fighter-bombers attack guns and positions in the battle area S of Bologna in the Apennines, and communications and shipping targets in the Po Valley and on the Po River.

US Fifteenth Air Force:p-38s fly photo and weather reconnaissance; 174 B-24s, dispatched against a target in Yugoslavia, are forced to return because of weather. The 885th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), Fifteenth Air Force (attached to Mediterranean Allied Air Forces), arrives at Brindisi, Italy from Algeria with B-17s and B-24s (the squadron transports supplies to partisans and drops leaflets in the MTO).

Photo: Fascist Italian Alpine soldiers, captured by Brazilians waiting to be interrogated in Viareggio, Italy, Oct. 31, 1944



Battle of the Mediterranean

German forces withdraw from Salonika. Remaining German island garrisons are now trapped. During recent weeks, numerous German troops on the islands in the Aegean have been removed by small vessels, despite Allied patrols.

Battle of the Baltic Sea

'U-475' fired a Gnat at an escort vessel off Osmussaari in the Baltic Sea, observed a hit after 8 minutes 13 seconds and the sinking of the ship. The vessel attacked was probably the SB-2.

German occupied Denmark

Gestapo Headquarters, the Shell House in Aarhus, is destroyed by a precision bombing raid by the RAF. The objective of the attack is to destroy as many records as possible, to aid resistance members.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy transport USS President Monroe (AP-104) docked at San Francisco, California (USA) on 31 October 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 4T



Photo: The U.S. Navy high-speed transport USS Barr (APD-39) underway on 31 October 1944



Pacific War

INDIA-BURMA

The 427th Night Fighter Squadron arrives at Pandaveswar, India from Italy with P-61s (first mission is 23 Nov).

BURMA

In the British Fourteenth Army area, IV Corps headquarters returns from India and opens near Imphal with the Indian 19th Division under command about this time.

In the Northern Area Combat Command (NCAC) area, the British 36th Division, against stiffening resistance, reaches Mawlu.

CEYLON

Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command (SEAC), having returned to Kandy from meetings with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Cairo, Egypt, at or near this time proposes to the Combined Chiefs of Staff that:

(1) Phases 1 and 2 of Operation CAPITAL (the attack across the Chindwin River to Mandalay, Burma) be completed;
(2) That Arakan and Akyab, Burma, be cleared (Operations ROMULUS and TALON, respectively) in order to release the main body of XV Corps for use elsewhere;
(3) A forward base on the Kra Isthmus (the narrow neck of the Malay Peninsula in southwester Thailand, between the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Thailand) be seized in March 1945;
(4) That Rangoon, Burma, be taken after the 1945 monsoon; and
(5) That Malaya be invaded regardless of the monsoon.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 6 P-51s hit shipping targets of opportunity at Swatow and Amoy; about 70 fighters support Chinese ground forces by pounding positions in the Lungling area; 4 B-25s and 12 P-40s bomb a railroad bridge at Pengpu.

Major General Albert C. Wedemeyer assumes command of U.S. Forces, China Theater (USFCT) and Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-shek His primary task is to conduct air operations from China, with logistical support from the India-Burma Theater.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): In Buram, 60+ P-47s attack occupied areas and supply areas at Namun, Bhamo, and Nakang, and railroad bridges, locomotive shelters, and rolling stock along the Kyaikthin-Naba line; 2 B-25s attack targets of opportunity from Katha to Bhamo along the Irrawaddy River.

SAIPAN

(Seventh Air Force): During the night of 31 Oct/l Nov a B-24 on a snooper mission from Saipan Island bombs Iwo Jima.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

On Halmahara Island, Netherlands East Indies, USAAF East Air Forces P-47s and A-20s bomb Kairatoe Airfield and Sahoe village B-25s and P-40s hit Loloda and Soasioe. P-47s and A-20s bomb Kairatoe Airfield and Saharoe village on Celebes Island. B-25s and P-40s hit Loloda and Soasioe in the Moluccas Islands.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-38s and A-20s, concentrating on airfields, attack Samate, Jefman and Sagan Aerodrome, and Doom Island.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1944)

In the U.S. Sixth Army’s XXIV Corps area, the 96th Infantry Division is mopping up the Catmon Hill sector. The 32d Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, starts from Abuyog toward Baybay.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 4 B-25s score direct hits on a cannery at Tomari Cape on Paramushiru and leave nearby buildings burning; 1 of 2 B-25s hit by AA heads for and safely lands in the USSR.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, N. D. COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 552, OCTOBER 31, 1944

Pacific and Far East.

1. U. S. submarines have reported the sinking of 18 vessels, including one combatant ship, as a result of operations against the enemy in these waters, as follows:

3 medium cargo transports
1 large transport
2 small cargo transports
1 destroyer
4 small cargo vessels
5 medium cargo vessels
1 medium tanker
1 small auxiliary

2. These actions have not been announced in any previous Navy Depart­ment communiqué.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 170, OCTOBER 31, 1944

A conservative recapitulation of enemy aircraft losses during the past two months from August 30 to the present, reported by the Third and Seventh Fleets (the latter operating under General MacArthur) shows that 1,462 planes were shot down in the air and 1,132 destroyed on the ground, making a grand total of 2,594 destroyed by Pacific Fleet carrier aircraft. In addi­tion, 252 planes were probably destroyed or damaged. Our own losses during this period were approximately 300 carrier planes, with pilot and aircrew losses considerably less because of rescue operations which saved many lives.

The enemy suffered its greatest losses during the following periods: Sep­tember 9‑24 in Philippines by Third Fleet, shot down, 362; destroyed on ground, 584.

October 10‑16 in Nansei Shoto Islands, Philippines, and Formosa by Third Fleet, shot down, 528; destroyed on ground, 304; damaged, 59.

October 17‑18 in Philippines by Third Fleet, shot down, 55; destroyed on ground, 31; damaged, 55.

October 22‑27 in second battle Philippine Sea, by Third and Seventh Fleets, shot down, 392; destroyed on ground, 31; damaged, 20.

Liberators of the Seventh Air Force bombed shipping in Chichi Jima Harbor in the Bonins on October 28 (West Longitude Date). Other Liber­ators bombed barges at Haha Jima on the same day.

Search planes of Fleet Air Wing One carried out strafing and bombing attacks on five small cargo ships at Kita Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands. One of the ships was sunk, one was badly damaged and one was set ablaze.

On October 28 Corsair fighters of Marine Air Wing Two strafed Instal­lations at Rota Island. Antiaircraft fire was intense. The next day Corsairs again bombed Rota, hitting the airfield; while Thunderbolts of the Seventh Air Force bombed Pagan Island.

Seventh Air Force Liberators bombed the airfield and gun positions on Yap Island on October 27 and 28. Corsair fighters of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing strafed barges at Yap on October 28. Antiaircraft fire was meager.

PACIFIC

Submarine Gabilan (SS-252) sinks Japanese oceanographic research vessel No. 6 Kaiyo Maru off Murotosaki, Japan, 32°50'N, 134°21'E.

Submarine Guitarro (SS-363) attacks Japanese convoy and sinks cargo ship Komei Maru and army cargo ship Komei Maru off Botolan Point, Luzon, 15°17'N, 119°50'E, and although damaged by the concussion generated by the explosion of one of these two ships, remains on patrol.

Submarine Nautilus (SS-168), en route to Mios Woendi after completing her clandestine mission (23, 24, and 27 October), finishes the destroyction of submarine Darter (SS-227), aground on Bombay Shoal (09°26'N, 116°56'E) since 24 October, to prevent the boat from falling into enemy hands.

Submarine Sterlet (SS-392) sinks Japanese merchant tanker Takane Maru, damaged the day before by Salmon (SS-182) and Trigger (SS-237), southwest of Kyushu, 30°09'N, 132°45'E.

British submarine HMS Stoic sinks two Japanese sailing vessels, 07°40'S, 114°13'E, and bombards warehouses and fuel tanks at Jangka Island.

Motor gunboat PGM-9 bombards Japanese targets on Aguijan Island, Marianas.

Other Japanese casualties include landing ship T.131 damaged by aircraft, northeast of Panay; and auxiliary submarine chaser Uruppu Maru is sunk by aircraft, near Mindoro Island.

Day 1879 of World War II, November 2nd 1944

Eastern Front

Partisan forces capture Zadar in Croatia.

The Soviet Army enters the southeastern suburbs of Budapest.

The German 2nd Panzer Army consolidates its position along the Drina River to the west of Belgrade.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of France

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, November 2nd 1944



In the British Second Army's VIII Corps area, Combat Command A of the U.S. 7th Armored Division begins limited attacks to clear the Germans from Canal du Nord.

In the U.S. Third Army area, Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, Commanding General 12th Army Group, while visiting Army headquarters, asks if Third Army can begin an offensive alone, since the First Army cannot attack until British release two U.S. divisions; he is told that Third Army can attack on 24-hour notice. The Third Army offensive will begin when weather conditions permit softening of enemy; in the event of poor weather conditions, XII Corps will attack on 8 November.

In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, elements of VI Corps begin relieving the French 2d Armored Division in the southeastern part of the XV Corps sector, but French retain positions along the Blette River for some days to come. Pushing northward northwest of St Die, the 15th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. 3d Infantry Division takes Nompatelize without opposition, but the Germans still holds La Salle, to the south.

In the French First Army area, General Jean de Lattre commander of the First Army, is charged with conduct of Operation INDEPENDENCE, the French offensive toward Belfort.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of the Netherlands

The Canadian 1st Army continues the battle of the Scheldt. Intense fighting is recorded on the island of Walcheren. Elements of the British 52nd Division capture Flushing. To the rear, on the English Channel coast, Zeebrugge and Heyst are cleared of German resistance. Meanwhile, British 7th Armored Division (an element of British 2nd Army) begins new attacks and achieves a limited advance. Forces of US 3rd Army launch a new attack as well.

Photo: Churchill tanks of 6th Guards Tank Brigade with infantry of the 6th Gordon Highlanders, 15th (Scottish) Division, in the Netherlands, 2 November 1944



Photo: Churchill tanks of 6th Guards Tank Brigade move up in support of 15th (Scottish) Division during the assault on Liesel, 2 November 1944



British Field Marshal Montgomery, commander of the 21st Army Group, orders extensive regrouping after Schelde Estuary and southwestern Holland are cleared in preparation for offensive by British Second Army to destroy the German bridgehead west of the Maas River as prerequisite for the Rhineland battle.

Western Front (1944) - Siegfried Line campaign

In U.S. First Army's V Corps area, the 28th Infantry Division, after an hour-long artillery preparation, begins a drive on Schmidt: the 112th Infantry Regiment, with tank support, seizes Vossenack Ridge, but the main effort by rest of regiment to drive southeast from Richelskaul toward Kommerscheidt and Schmidt is stopped at once; the 109th Infantry Regiment gets elements to the woods line overlooking Huertgen on the north flank, but 110th Infantry Regiment is unable to advance on the south flank.

Air War over Europe

Bad weather curtails operations of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force but six aircraft bomb the Moosbierbaum synthetic oil refinery in Vienna and one bombs Klagenfurt.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 698: 1,174 bombers and 968 fighters in five forces are dispatched to hit synthetic oil installations in central Germany and rail targets at Bielefeld; an estimated 500 Luftwaffe fighters meet the bombers at Merseburg and the USAAF claims 163/40/52 Luftwaffe aircraft; 40 bombers and 16 fighters are lost: 571 bombers hit the I. G. Farben synthetic oil refinery at Merseberg; 131 bomb the Rauxel synthetic oil refinery at Castrop; 120 attack the Schildesche railroad viaduct at Bielefeld while 31 hit the Brake railroad viaduct; 119 hit synthetic oil refinery at Sterkrade; 35 hit the industrial area at Bernburg; 23 bomb the industrial area at Halle; 20 each attack the marshalling yards at Bielefeld and Rheine; and 24 bomb targets of opportunity.

VIII Fighter Command fighter pilots down a record 136 Luftwaffe fighters over Germany between 1210 and 1415 hours.

During the day, 183 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters carry out a G- H attack on the Meerbeck oil plant at Homberg. Large fires and a thick column of smoke are seen. Four Lancasters are lost.

During the night of 2/3 November, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 699: Three B-17s and five B-24s drop leaflets over Germany.

During the night of 2/3 November, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 992 aircraft, 561 Lancasters, 400 Halifaxes and 31 Mosquitos, to attack Düsseldorf; 946 bomb the target with the loss of 11 Halifaxes and eight Lancasters. This heavy attack falls mainly on the northern half of Düsseldorf. More than 5,000 houses are destroyed or badly damaged, seven industrial premises are destroyed and 18 are seriously damaged, including some important steel firms. This was the last major Bomber Command raid of the war on Düsseldorf. In other attacks by Mosquitos, 41 aircraft hit Osnabrück, six bomb Hallendorf, two each attack Brunswick and Duisburg, and one hits Hannover.

In Germany, 147 USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers of the 9th Bombardment Division, with fighter escort, attack rail bridges at Mayen, Euskirchen, Bullay, Konz-Karthaus, and Trier. Fighters attack bridges, fly armed reconnaissance and night patrol, and provide support for ground forces in frontline areas.

Italian campaign

The U.S. Fifth Army issues instructions, confirming verbal orders of 30 October, for future operations during the current winter lull, calling for the consolidation of the Bologna salient and limited action on its flanks.

In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps remains in place because of tenuous communication lines.

Clouds over the Po Valley prevent USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bomber operations; XXII Tactical Air Command aircraft are also grounded due to unserviceable fields and bad weather over Italian battle areas.

Battle of the Mediterranean

With the withdrawal of the Germans from Florina and Salonika, only rear-guard forces remain south of the Yugoslav border.

Off Zara, Croatia, Yugoslavia, in the northern Adriatic, British escort destroyers HMS Avon Vale (L 06) and Wheatland (L 122) sink German torpedo boat TA-20 (and two corvettes, all ex-Italian vessels.

United Kingdom

Headquarters USAAF Eighth Air Force is ordered to increase the size of the 406th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), VIII Fighter Command, the night leaflet squadron, as the liberation of Europe and the conquest of Germany accelerate.

German occupied Poland

The order issued by Heinrich Himmler, Reichsfuhrer- SS and Head of the German Police, on 26 October arrives at Auschwitz concentration camp: "I forbid any further annihilation of Jews." Upon his further orders, all but one of the crematoriums are dismantled, the burning pits covered up and planted over with grass, and the gas pipes and other equipment shipped to concentration camps in Germany. The single remaining crematorium is for the disposal of those who die of natural causes and the gassing of about 200 surviving members of the Sonderkommando. The final solution is formally over. Yet tens of thousands of Jews will continue to die of brutality and neglect.

Canada

Defence Minister J.L. Ralston resigns as Minister of National Defence over the issue of conscription (drafting) for overseas service. Lieutenant General Andrew McNaughton replaces him with a specific mandate to solve the conscription issue but he will prove unable to find a solution.

United States

President Roosevelt sends Donald M. Nelson, the former chief of the War Production Board, to reorganize Chinese war production.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): 100+ P-40s, P-51s, and P-38s on armed reconnaissance over SW and SE China and N French Indochina attack targets of opportunity in the Lungling and Mangshih, China area, knock out bridge at Dara, Thailand and hit Nantingshun and Pinglo, China; in China, the fighter- bombers also damage 4 factories at Kweilin, hit tanks and troop concentrations N of town, attack targets of opportunity near Pinglo, Tahsu and E of Yungfu, and the airfield, barracks, town area, and trains at Gia Lam, French Indochina. In China, the 11th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st BG (Medium), moves from Yang Tong to Yangkai with B-25s; the detachment of the 491st Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st BG (Medium), operating from Liuchow with B-25s, returns to base at Yangkai.

BURMA

In the British Fourteenth Army's XXXIII Corps area, the Indian 5th Division reduces the Japanese strongpoint, known as Vital Corner, below Tiddim, with assistance of air and artillery bombardment.

10th AF: In Burma, 80+ P-47s hit a variety of targets; the fighter-bombers bomb a bridge at Ho-hko, support ground forces at Myothit, bomb supply dumps at Namdaungmawn, personnel and supply areas at Naungletgyi and Mawtaung, knock out a bridge at Meza, hit nearby railroad cars, attack airfields at Nawnghkio and Sinlanzu and strike boats and boxcars S of Katha; 8 B-25s knock out 2 bridges at Tangon and Tantabin; a single B-25 bombs Indaw; transports fly 268 sorties to forward areas;
HQ Tenth AF moves from New Delhi, India to Myitkyina. In India, the 6th Fighter Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, based at Asansol, India with P-47s, sends a detachment to operate from Cox's Bazar; the 317th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, arrives at Sylhet from the US with C-47s.

SAIPAN

7th AF: 11 Saipan Island, Mariana Islands-based B-24s bomb Chichi Jima Island; 3 from Guam Island, on armed reconnaissance, hit Marcus Island in the North Pacific Ocean.

MARIANA ISLANDS

20th AF: 17 Mariana Islands-based B-29s bomb the submarine pens on Dublon Island, Truk Atoll, Caroline Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force] The 17th Reconnaissance Squadron (Bombardment), 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group, arrives at Tacloban from Biak Island with B-25s; the 432d Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group, arrives at Dulag from Biak with P-38s. The 17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), arrives on Morotai Island from Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands with B-25s and F-5s (detachments are operating from Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands and Sansapor).

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

During the night of 2/3 November, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Makassar on Celebes Island, concentrating on the wharf area.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1944)

With the clearance of the entire Leyte Valle, the U.S. Sixth Army completes the second phase of the battle for Leyte Island. In the X Corps area, the 1st Cavalry and 24th Infantry Divisions forces converge on undefended Cangara, near the northern entrance to Ormoc Valley, and make contact. In the XXIV Corps area, the 382d Infantry Regiment of the 96th Infantry Division relieves the 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, in the vicinity of Dagami and engages the Japanese west of Dagami. The 32d Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, reaches Baybay, on the coast, at 2200 hours.

USAAF Far East Air Force B-24s over Ormoc Bay, Leyte Island, attack a Japanese convoy, sinking an army cargo ships; P-38s hit smaller shipping in Ormoc Bay, strafe vehicles from Ormoc to Valencia on Mindanao Island, and bomb San Enrique; on Mindanao Island. B-25s attack Matina, Libby, Davao and Likanan Airfields.

(USN) Patrol planes of the 7th Fleet attack Caldera Point Seaplane Base. Several of the Japanese seaplanes receive direct hits, others were damaged.

MARIANA AND PAULAU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

As weather conditions improve in the Palau Islands, the 323d Infantry Regiment of the 81st Infantry Division opens an attack to complete the reduction of the Umurbrogol Pocket on Peleliu Island but makes little headway.

ALASKA

In the Kurile Islands, 4 B-24s bomb Suribachi on Paramushiru Island and Onnekotan Island; 4 B-25s on a photo and offensive sweep bomb targets at Torishima Island and Hayakegawa setting fire to 15 buildings, including a cannery.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 172, NOVEMBER 2, 1944

A single enemy PT boat on the night of October 26 (west Longitude Date) attempted to attack one of our beaches on Peleliu Island in the South­ern Palaus where cargo unloading was in process. A torpedo is thought to have been launched but it did no damage. There were a few personnel cas­ualties, however, from enemy machine gun fire from the vessel. The PT boat was sunk as it tried to escape northward.

Corsairs of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing bombed and strafed ship­ping installations and oil storage areas on Koror Island in the Northern Palaus on October 30. A second group of Corsairs hit trucks and barges at Babelthuap Island on the same day.

The airfield at Yap Island was bombed and strafed by Corsairs of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing on October 30.

A single Navy search Liberator bombed targets on Iwo Jima through meager antiaircraft fire on October 30.

Seventh Air Force Thunderbolts strafed installations and gun positions on Pagan Island on October 31.

Neutralization raids against enemy‑held positions in the Marshall Islands continued on October 30.

PACIFIC

USAAF B-24s and P-38s (13th Air Force) attack Japanese reinforcement convoy (TA Operation, Second Phase) unloading reinforcements at Ormoc Bay, sinking army cargo ship Noto Maru, 10°30'N, 125°00'E. The rest of the convoy, however, returns safely to Manila.

Submarine Barbero (SS-317), despite presence of escort vessel, sinks Japanese army cargo ship Kuramazan Maru in Makassar Strait, 04°30'S, 118°20'E.

Submarine Pomfret (SS-391) attacks Japanese convoy between Formosa and Luzon, sinking transport Hamburg Maru damaging transport Atlas Maru in Luzon Channel, 20°20'N, 121°30'E.

British submarine HMS Tantalus attacks Japanese Singapore-to-Manila convoy SIMA-04 one day after its departure, sinking cargo ship Hachijin Maru and damaging submarine chaser Ch 1 about 225 milee east of Singapore, 00°48'N, 107°43'E.

British submarine HMS Terrapin sinks netlayer Kumano Maru in Strait of Malacca, 01°30'N, 103°00'E.

Japanese army cargo ship No.2 Tateyama Maru is sunk by aircraft, 13°16'N, 99°46'E.

Day 1881 of World War II, November 4th 1944

YouTube (Stalin says, "Bring me Budapest!")



Eastern Front

Szolnok, south-east of Budapest, falls to the Soviets in their advance to Cegled which is 40 miles from the capitol of Hungary. Here they halt, held up by stiff resistance, rain and exhaustion.

In Yugoslavia, Partisan forces take Sebenico.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of the Netherlands

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, November 4th 1944



Elements of British 1st Corps (part of Canadian 1st Army) continues to advance toward the Maas estuary with the capture of Geertruidenberg. The fighting on Walcheren continues.

Photo: Churchill tank of 4th Grenadier Guards near Moostdijk, 4 November 1944



Western Front (1944) - Liberation of Belgium

British minesweepers reach Antwerp in the ongoing effort to clear the port and approaches. Most Allied supplies continue to be landed in Normandy at this time.

Western Front (1944) - Siegfried Line campaign

A German counterattack recovers Schmidt from the US 1st Army.

Air War over Europe

176 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group were dispatched to Solingen but the raid was not successful and the bombing was badly scattered. 4 Lancasters lost.

Bochum: 749 RAF aircraft - 384 Halifaxes, 336 Lancasters, 29 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 23 Halifaxes and 5 Lancasters were lost; German night fighters caused most of the casualties. No 346 (Free French) Squadron, based at Elvington, lost 5 out of its 16 Halifaxes on the raid. This was a particularly successful attack based upon standard Pathfinder marking techniques. Severe damage was caused to the centre of Bochum. More than 4,000 buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. Bochum's industrial areas were also severely damaged, particularly the important steelworks. This was the last major raid by Bomber Command on this target.

Dortmund-Ems Canal: 174 RAF Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of No 5 Group. 3 Lancasters lost. The Germans had partly repaired the section of the canal north of Münster after the No 5 Group raid in September, so this further attack was required. The banks of both branches of the canal were again breached and water drained off, leaving barges stranded and the canal unusable. A report from Speer to Hitler, dated 11 November 1944, was captured at the end of the war and described how the bombing of the canal was preventing smelting coke from the Ruhr mines reaching 3 important steelworks - 2 near Brunswick and 1 at Osnabrück. In his post-war interrogation, Speer stated that these raids on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, together with attacks on the German railway system, produced more serious setbacks to the German war industry at this time than any other type of bombing.

43 RAF Mosquitos to Hannover and 6 to Herford, 39 RCM sorties, 68 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost. The No 100 Group Mosquitos claimed 4 Ju88s and 2 Me110s destroyed and 2 other night fighters damaged, possibly their most successful night of the war.

2 missions are flown. Mission 700: 1,160 bombers and 890 fighters are dispatched in 6 forces to make PFF attacks on the oil industry in W Germany; 5 bombers and 2 fighters are lost: 1. 228 B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil plant at Neunkirchen (151); secondary targets hit are the marshalling yards at Saarbrucken (35) and Neunkirchen (13); 5 B-17s are damaged. Escort is provided by 76 of 77 P-47s and 50 Ninth AF P-51s without loss. 2. 210 of 222 B-24s hit the Misburg oil plant at Hannover; 3 B-24s are lost and 93 damaged; 28 airmen are MIA. Escort is provided by 371 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 3. 257 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Harburg oil plant at Hamburg (23; targets of opportunity are the aviation industry at Nordholz (9) and other (2); 9 B-17s are damaged. Escort is provided by 124 of 139 P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 4. 186 of 193 B-17s hit the Rhenania oil plant at Hamburg; 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 61 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 18 MIA. Escort is provided by 110 P-51s without loss. 5. 91 of 119 B-17s hit the Welhun oil plant at Bottrop; 26 others hit the secondary, the marshalling yard at Hamm; 24 B-17s are damaged. Escort is provided by 37 of 40 P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost. 6. 133 of 141 B-24s hit Gelsenkirchen/Nordstern without loss. Escort is provided by 50 of 54 P-47s. Mission 701: 3 B-17s and 6 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

In Germany, 218 B-26s and A-20s hit the Trier ordnance depot, Baumholder, and Eschweiler gun positions; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, attack railroads, bridges, and other targets, and support the US XIX Corps in the Aachen area. In France, the 556th, 557th, 558th and 559th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 387th Bombardment Group (Medium), move from Chateaudun to Clastres with B-26s.

US Fifteenth Air Force):715 B-17s and B-24s with fighter escorts pound oil storage at Regensburg and marshalling yards at Munich and Augsburg, Germany, the main marshalling yard and a benzol plant at Linz, Austria, a troop concentration at Podgorica, Yugoslavia, as well as attacking several alternate targets and scattered targets of opportunity including marshalling yards at Wels and Kufstein, Austria, Erding Airfield, Germany, railroad targets in and near Rosenheim, Germany, and the towns of Strass and Muhldorf, Austria.

Italian campaign

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, 200o+ B-25s and B-26s of the 42d Bombardment Wing (Medium) hit railway and road bridges in the Brenner Pass; 130+ B-25s of the 57th Bombardment Wing strike communications in the W Po Valley, cutting at least 4 bridges; fighters and fighter-bombers of XXII Tactical Air Command concentrate on communications targets and trains in the Po Valley and defenses in the battle area S of Bologna; some XXII Tactical Air Command aircraft hit guns on the N Italian coast, some hit a rocket launching site and communications N of battle area, and 4 P-47s bomb a Milan hotel where Adolf Hitler is rumored to be staying.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Destroyers Benson (DD-421) and Woolsey (DD-437) bombard German gun emplacements in Cap Ampeglio area.

Arctic naval operations

Submarine HMS Venturer, under command of the highly-decorated Lt Jimmy Launders, left Dundee on Operation Hangman to resupply clandestine observers reporting shipping movements along the Norwegian Coast. Chalmers was at the periscope when he saw the conning tower of a U-boat surface a few hundred yards away, and called Launders to the control room. In a snap attack lasting six minutes, Chalmers handled the boat while Launders fired four torpedoes to sink U-771. Next day Venturer resumed its mission, entering Andfjord by night in clear windless weather to land its stores by rubber dinghy. Chalmers was awarded the DSC.

United States

Field Marshal Sir John Dill, the head of the British Inter-Service Mission to Washington, dies. Dill was a Corps commander (1 Corps) in the BEF and rose to be (Chief of the Imperial General Staff). He was renowned as a brilliant staff officer, but struck down by illness from the end of 1941, hence the sideline to Washington where he died.

The first report is received of a Japanese balloon SW of San Pedro, California; the US Navy recovers some apparatus, envelope, and rigging.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 34 P-40s, P-51s, and P-38s attack road traffic and other targets of opportunity in the Mangshih and Lungling areas; 4 P-38s bomb the pass near Menghsu, blocking the highway.

BURMA

The British 5th Indian Division captures Kennedy Peak.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 17 P-47s pound Shwebo Airfield while 6 others bomb stores of guns and ammunition at Mong Yaw.

SAIPAN

(Seventh Air Force): 18 Saipan Island-based B-24s bomb Iwo Jima airfields; 2 others, on shipping reconnaissance, bomb Naha Jima. 2 B-24s on armed reconnaissance from Guam Island bomb Marcus Island. 16 P-47s bomb landing strip on Pagan. The 316th Troop Carrier Squadron, VI Air Service Area Command, arrives at Kahuku AAB, Hawaii from the US with C-47s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: In the Philippine Islands, B-24s pound Alicante Airfield on Negros Island; the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, arrives at Dulag from Biak with F-5s. The detachment of the 17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), ceases operating from Sansapor with F-5s and returns to base on Morotai.

PHILIPPINES CAMPAIGN (1944)

On Leyte, American forces advance west of Dagami around "Bloody Ridge".

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 6 B-24s strike the airfield, buildings, and offshore shipping at Suribachi and Kurabu on Paramushiru Island.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 174, NOVEMBER 4, 1944

Corsairs of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing bombed and strafed targets on Yap Island and in the Northern Palaus on November 1 (West Longitude Date). Two small cargo ships were heavily damaged near Babelthuap, while barges and trucks were destroyed at both Babelthuap and Yap.

Seventh Air Force Thunderbolts bombed Pagan Island on November 2, destroying a twin‑engine bomber as it neared the airfield. Corsairs of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing strafed gun emplacements at Rota Island on the same day.

Seventh Air Force Liberators bombed the airstrip and installations at Marcus Island on November 1, repeating the attack the next day.

A single PBY of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed Nauru Island on the night of November 1‑2. Antiaircraft fire was inaccurate.

Corsairs of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing continued to neutralize enemy‑held positions in the Marshall Islands on November 2.

PACIFIC

Submarines Bream (SS-243), Guitarro (SS-363) and Ray (SS-271) attack Japanese convoy off western Luzon, all three team up to sink transport Kagu Maru off Dasol Bay, 15°55'N, 119°44'E. Guitarro torpedoes landing ship T.111, 15°56'N, 119°44'E.

Submarine Sailfish (SS-192) damages Japanese destroyer Harukaze and landing ship T.111 in Luzon Strait, 20°08'N, 121°43'E. Although damaged by aerial bombs, 20°09'N, 121°43'E, the submarine remains on patrol; Patrol Boat No.38 takes the damaged Harukaze in tow and brings her into port.

British submarine HMS Terrapin attacks Japanese convoy in Malacca Strait, and sinks minesweeper W.5, 03°14'N,99°50'E.

U.S. freighter Frank J. Cuhel is damaged by friendly fire while anchored off Tacloban, Leyte; the explosion of a shell wounds one of the 500 troops being transported by the ship, and 2 of the 28-man Armed Guard. During Japanese air attack shortly thereafter, freighter Cape Constance is damaged when a kamikaze, having been hit by the heavy fire being put up by the Armed Guard gunners, explodes over the ship and scatters wreckage. Only the Armed Guard officer is wounded during the attack; there are no other casualties among the 41-man merchant complement and the 28-man Armed Guard.

Day 1883 of World War II, November 6th 1944

Eastern Front

In Yugoslavia, Partisan forces enter Monastir. The partisans, under the leadership of Tito, now control most the Greek-Yugoslavian border area.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of France

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, November 6th 1944



In France, the 92d and 94th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 439th Troop Carrier Group, move from Lonray to Chateaudun with C-47s; the 306th Troop Carrier Squadron, 442d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Peray to St-Andre-de-L'Eure with C-47s.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of the Netherlands

Attacks by forces of the Canadian 2nd Corps (part of Canadian 1st Army), on Walcheren, result in the capture of Middleburg.

Photo: Troops of 8th Royal Scots advance into Moostdijk, 6 November 1944



Photo: A Bren gunner of the 1st Gordon Highlanders in action near Nieuwkuik, 6 November 1944



Air War over Europe

US Eighth Air Force: Mission 704: 1,131 bombers and 802 fighters in 6 forces make PFF attacks on the oil industry in W Germany; 5 bombers and 5 fighters are lost: 1. 291 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Harburg (142) and Rhenania (138) oil refineries at Hamburg; 3 others hit the Lubeck oil refinery at Hamburg; 4 B-17s are lost and 103 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 36 MIA. Escort is 238 of 258 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 2. 262 B-17s are dispatched to hit the aviation industry at Neumunster (23); 231 hit the secondary, the Neumunster marshalling yard; 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 10 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA. Escort is 93 of 102 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 3. 215 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Mittelland Canal at Minden; 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 31 damaged; 10 airmen are MIA. 43 of 44 P-47s escort without loss. 4. 101 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Bottrop oil refinery; 12 others hit the secondary, the marshalling yard at Hamm; 39 B-17s are damaged. 257 of 271 P-51s escort without loss. 5. 143 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Sterkrade oil refinery (134); 1 other hit Vreden; 27 B-24s are damaged. 40 of 43 P-51s escort claiming 0-0-1 aircraft; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 6. 119 B-17s are dispatched to hit the benzol oil plant at Duisburg (65); 43 hit a target of opportunity, the marshalling yard at Rheydt; 18 B-17s are damaged. 51 of 54 P-47s escort without loss. 30 P-51s of the Scouting Forces patrol the area without loss.

US Ninth Air Force: Weather grounds the 9th Bombardment Division; fighters, during armed reconnaissance, attack railroads and bridges; the IX Tactical Air Command also supports ground forces in the Schmidt, Germany area.

Gelsenkirchen: 738 RAF aircraft - 383 Halifaxes, 324 Lancasters, 31 Mosquitos. 3 Lancasters and 2 Halifaxes lost. This large daylight raid had, as its aiming point, the Nordstern synthetic-oil plant. The attack was not well concentrated but 514 aircraft were able to bomb the approximate position of the oil plant before smoke obscured the ground; 187 aircraft then bombed the general town area of Gelsenkirchen.

235 RAF Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attempted to cut the Mittelland Canal at its junction with the Dortmund-Ems Canal at Gravenhorst. The marking force experienced great difficulty in finding the target. The crew of a low-flying Mosquito - pilot: Flight Lieutenant LCE De Vigne; navigator: Australian Squadron Leader FW Boyle, No 627 Squadron - found the canal and dropped their marker with such accuracy that it fell into the water and was extinguished. Only 31 aircraft bombed, before the Master Bomber ordered the raid to be abandoned. 10 Lancasters were lost.

128 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group to the new target of Koblenz, making a night G-H attack. 2 Lancasters lost. This was a successful raid with most of the damage being caused by a large area of fire in the centre of the town. The British Bombing Survey Unit later estimated that 303 acres, 58 per cent of the town's built-up area, were destroyed.

48 RAF Mosquitos to Gelsenkirchen, 18 to Hannover, 11 to Rheine and 8 to Herford, 32 RCM sorties, 82 Mosquito patrols, 12 Lancasters minelaying off Heligoland. 4 aircraft lost - 1 Mosquito from the Gelsenkirchen raid, 2 Mosquito Intruders and 1 RCM Fortress.

Italian campaign

US Fifteenth Air Force: In Austria, 580+ fighter- escorted B-17s and B-24s bomb the Moosbierbaum oil refinery and Vienna S ordnance depot, alternate targets of Maribor, Yugoslavia marshalling yard, the Kapfenberg steel works and the Deutsch Wagram and Graz marshalling yards, and the railroad power sub station at Bolzano, Italy.

US Twelfth Air Force: In Italy, medium bombers strike electric transformers and converters, railway bridges and railway fills on the rail line through the Brenner Pass; fighter-bombers and fighters again hit troops and gun positions in the battlelines S of Bologna and communications targets N of the battle area.

Destroyer 'Plunkett' (DD-431) shells German troop concentrations and pillboxes. She carries out shore bombardment against gun emplacement south of Ventimiglia.

Egypt

In Cairo, Lord Moyne, British Resident Minister in the Middle East, dies after being shot by Zionits terrorists. The assassins, Eliahou Bet-Zouri and Eliahou Al Hakim, both in their early twenties, are members of the Stern Gang then under the control of Yitzhak Shamir.

Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin renounces the neutrality pact between the Soviet Union and Japan.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 16 P-40s pound the Mangshih and Lungling areas; 15 others hit buildings and other targets of opportunity at Wanling, Burma and around Chefang and Kweihsien; the detachment of the 21st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Fourteenth AF, operating from Liuchow with F-5s, returns to base at Kunming.

The Japanese threat to Kunming, which is besieged, is by now a matter of serious concern to the U.S. Army’s China Theater headquarters.

BURMA

In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the 64th Regiment of the Chinese 22d Division crosses the Irrawaddy River and overcomes light opposition in Shwegugale.

Photo: Men of the 36th Infantry Division advance through a banana grove in Burma, 6 November 1944



INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): AAF, India-Burma Sector, China- Burma-India Theater is redesignated AAF, India-Burma Theater. In Burma, 70+ P-47s, sweep airfields at Anisakan, Onbauk, Shwebo, Kin, and Kawlin; destroy and damage bridges at Hinlong, China and Wingkang; bomb the town of Mawtaung and marshalling yard at Kanbalu; hit boxcars at Wuntho and Meza, boats along the Irrawaddy River from Katha to Twinnge, and attack several scattered targets of opportunity; 28 P-47s fly combat patrols S of Myitkyina; 8 B-25s bomb the military area at Namun and supply dump at Mansi; large-scale transport operations continue; the 165th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, moves from Tamu to Yazagyo with UC-64s and L-5s.

SAIPAN

(Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Saipan bomb shipping at Okimura and Higashi-minato and hit Ani Jima. During the night of 6/7 Nov a snooper mission is flown over Iwo Jima airfields; the dispersal areas and runways are bombed. Beginning on this date and continuing through 24 Dec 44, B-24s on Saipan Island fly 24 missions to lay 170 mines in several anchorages throughout the Bonin Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: The 822d Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 38th BG (Medium), moves from Biak to Morotai with B-25s.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO

Twenty three Australian Beauforts attack Japanese positions in the Wide Bay area on New Britain Island.

BONIN AND VOLCANO ISLANDS

The blockading of the Nanpo Shoto region, which includes the Bonin and Volcano Islands, by mining begins as Project MIKE commences. USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24s, fly from Guam and stage through Isely Field, Saipan, where the mines are loaded and fuel tanks topped off. The B-24s lay 10 mines off Chichi Jima. Continuing through 24 December 1944, B-24s on Saipan fly 24 missions to lay 170 mines in several anchorages throughout the Bonin Islands.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Malili on Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies.
Australian B-25s sink a Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser off Soemba Island, Netherlands East Indies.

Submarine Gurnard (SS-254) lays mines off western Borneo.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1944)

On Leyte Island, the X Corps is ordered by Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, Commanding General Sixth Army, to drive as quickly as possible down Highway 2 to secure Ormoc. The 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, probes Breakneck Ridge in preparation for an attack southward. Forward elements of the 3d Battalion are forced back to beach near Colasian by intense Japanese fire. The 1st Battalion attempts in vain to get into position to support assault on Breakneck Ridge. In XXIV Corps area, the 382d Infantry Regiment of the 96th Infantry Division clears all but isolated pockets on Bloody Ridge, despite well-prepared Japanese positions.

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 strike the airfields at Lahug on Cebu Island and Fabrica on Negros Island while fighter-bombers attack Palompon on Leyte Island, a bridge north of Valencia on Mindanao Island, and barges in Ormoc Bay, Leyte Island.

TF 38 (Vice Admiral John S. McCain) resumes strikes against Luzon; TG 38.3 planes sink Japanese transport T.139, Silanguin Bay, 14°35'N, 120°55'E. Planes from carrier Ticonderoga (CV-14), in TG 38.3, sink tanker Marifu Maru, previously damaged by submarine Flier (SS-250) on 13 June 1944, in Mariveles harbor, 14°26'N, 120°29'E.

Photo: U.S. Navy Commander Air Group 80, Commander Albert O. Vorse, discusses the results of the 6 November 1944 fighter raid on Manila with Rear Admiral Arthur W. Radford, right, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)



CAROLINE ISLANDS

Photo: U.S. Navy 3rd Fleet warships and auxiliaries anchored at Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands, shortly after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, on 6 November 1944. The battleships USS New Jersey (BB-62) and USS Iowa (BB-61) are in the center and at right. Five Essex-class carriers are moored in line in the upper center



ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, 4 B-25s bomb Torishima Island, score a hit on a large building, sink two nearby barges, and probably hit other shipping targets; about 20 fighters intercept, downing 1 B-25; the B-25s claim 3 victories.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 176, NOVEMBER 6, 1944

Catching the enemy apparently by surprise, carrier‑based Hellcat fighters, Avenger torpedo planes and Helldiver dive bombers of the Third Fleet bombed airfields, shipping and ground installations in Southern Luzon on November 4 (West Longitude Date). Preliminary reports show that much damage was done in Manila Harbor, and at five airfields in the vicinity.

Over Clark Field our fighters were intercepted by 80 enemy planes, of which 58 were shot down. Enemy air opposition became less effective during the remainder of the day, but an additional 25 enemy interceptors were shot down over other targets. Five more enemy planes were shot down in the vicinity of Third Fleet carriers and three more were destroyed by our night fighters over Clark Field. More than 100 planes on the ground were also destroyed during the operation. Our losses have not yet been reported.

Over Manila there was only light opposition. Shipping in the Harbor was heavily bombed, with preliminary reports showing the following results one heavy cruiser burning and left in a sinking condition from several bomb and torpedo hits. One light cruiser damaged. Three destroyers damaged. Several cargo ships damaged. One subchaser sunk (off Lubang Island).

At Clark Field, oil storage areas, shops, and hangars were bombed and set afire. At Batangas Field, Lipa Field, Lagaspi Field, and Lubang Field, ground installations were heavily damaged.

Venturas of Fleet Air Wing Four strafed targets at Tori Shima, an island east of Paramushiru in the Kuriles on November 4. Eleven aggressive enemy fighters intercepted our planes and shot one of them down. Eleventh Air Force Liberators bombed installations at Kurabu Zaki on the southern tip of Paramushiru and started several fires. Antiaircraft fire was moderate.

Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force bombed two 180 foot enemy transports at Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands on November 4. Results were not observed. Other Liberators hit Haha Jima on the same day. Our planes were intercepted by two enemy fighters, one of which was damaged.

Catalinas of Fleet Air Wing One attacked targets on Koror Island in the Northern Palau Islands on November 3. On November 4, Corsairs of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing bombed and strafed airfields on Babelthuap Island and started fires in the Northern Palau Islands. Other Corsairs of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing strafed the airstrip on Yap Island.

Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed Wake Island on November 1. Enemy defense installations and airstrips were attacked. Anti­aircraft fire damaged two Venturas, but none of our pilots or crewmen was injured. There was no enemy air opposition.

Seventh Air Force Liberators attacked air defenses and enemy shipping at Marcus Island on November 3 and 4. Two Liberators were damaged by anti­aircraft fire.

Corsairs of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing bombed Nauru on Novem­ber 4. One small explosion was observed. Enemy antiaircraft fire was intense but inaccurate. A single Catalina of Fleet Air Wing Two attacked Nauru the night of November 4.

Corsairs and Dauntless dive bombers of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing continued neutralization raids on the Marshall Islands on November 4.

PACIFIC

Submarines Guitarro (SS-363), Bream (SS-243), and Raton (SS-270) each torpedo Japanese heavy cruiser Kumano west of Lingayen, 16°11N, 119°44'E. Kumano is towed to Santa Cruz, Luzon (see 9 November 1944). Guitarro is damaged by depth charges, 15°54'N, 119°44'E, but remains on patrol.

The blockading of the Nanpo Shoto region, by mining, begins as PROJECT MIKE commences. USAAF B-24s (42d Bomb Squadron), fly from Guam and stage through Isely Field, Saipan, where the mines are loaded and fuel tanks topped off. The B-24s lay 10 mines off Chichi Jima.

RAAF Mitchells sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 118 off Soemba Island, N.E.I., 09°38'S, 120°17'E.

Day 1885 of World War II, November 8th 1944

Eastern Front

(US Fifteenth Air Force):In Yugoslavia, 34 B-24s bomb troop concentrations at Mitrovica, Prijepolje, and Sjenica. Heavy cloud over the targets forces 70+ others to abort.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of France

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, November 8th 1944



The US 3rd Army begins a new offensive around Metz and to the south. US 3rd Army launches an offensive towards the Sarre river. During the day, the Seille River is crossed, and Nomony captured.

Western Front (1944) - Liberation of the Netherlands

Map: The Battle of the Scheldt, 2 October-8 November 1944



German resistance on Walcharen ceases and the garrison survivors surrender to the forces of the Canadian 1st Army.

Photo: 6-pdr anti-tank gun of the 4th Hallamshires, 49th Division, guarding the road to Willemstad, Holland, 8 November 1944



Air War over Europe

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 705: 690 bombers and 890 fighters are dispatched to make a PFF attack on Merseburg oil plants and Rheine marshalling yard; bad weather causes the recall of 350+ bombers; 3 bombers and 11 fighters are lost: 1. 267 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Leuna oil plant at Merseburg (193); 2 others hit a target of opportunity; 9 of 12 B-17s fly as a screening force; 3 B-17s are lost and 85 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 27 MIA. Escorting are 752 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 2-0-1 aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground; 2 P-47s and 9 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 2 P-51s are damaged beyond repair. 2. 145 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Rheine marshalling yard (77); targets of opportunity are Enschede (8), Nordhorn Canal (8) and other (1); 15 B-24s are damaged. Escorting are 36 of 37 P-47s without loss. 3. 266 B-17s dispatched to hit the Leuna oil plant at Merseburg are recalled due to weather. 11 of 14 P-51s fly a scouting missions without loss. Mission 706: 5 B-17s and 12 B-24s (2 abort) drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss.

(US Ninth Air Force): Weather cancels operations against military depots and troop concentrations in Germany, and fortified positions in France; a mission against rail bridges in Germany is recalled due to weather; fighters fly escort, attack railroads, bridges, factories, supply dumps, and command posts; the IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands support the US 28th Infantry Division in the Schmidt, Germany area (V Corps begins withdrawing the Kall River bridgehead) and Third Army elements start an assault on enemy fortifications in the Metz, France area.

136 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group attacked the Meerbeck oil plant at Homberg. 1 Lancaster lost. The raid opened well and 2 large fires were seen but smoke then concealed the target and later bombing was scattered.

59 RAF Mosquitos to Herford and 50 to Hannover, 4 RCM sorties, 24 aircraft on Resistance operations. 2 Stirlings on Resistance work were lost.

(US Eighth Air Force): The transfer of training functions from VIII Air Force Composite Command to combat groups is completed; the VIII AF Composite Command ceases to function as personnel are attached to the Air Disarmament Command (Provisional) by the US Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF). The airfield at Denain/Prouvy, France is assigned to HQ Eighth AF; this is the first step in establishing an VIII Air Force Services Command Service Center on the European continent so that Eighth AF can service and administer its own aircraft and personnel in the area.

256 RAF Lancasters and 21 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups to attack the Wanne-Eickel oil refinery. Cloud over the target was found to reach 21,000 ft and the skymarkers dropped by the Oboe Mosquitos disappeared as soon as they ignited so the Master Bomber ordered the force to bomb any built-up area. The town of Wanne-Eickel reports only 2 buildings destroyed, with 4 civilians and 6 foreigners killed. It must be assumed that other towns in the Ruhr were hit but no details are available. 2 Lancasters lost.

Italian campaign

British 8th Corps (part of British 8th Army) launches new attacks south of Forli.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, medium bombers strike the rail line in the Brenner Pass and other lines running into Italy from the NE and bomb bridges in the C and W Po Valley, damaging several and destroying the bridge at Mantua; fighters and fighter-bombers hit communications in the Bologna area, but concentrate most of their operations against bridges and rail lines in the Parma area in an effort to disrupt battle area supply lines.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Photo: Men of 2nd Parachute Brigade disembarking from landing craft at Salonika (Greece), 8 November 1944



United Kingdom

After the German propagandist Joseph Goebbels publicly announces the V2 rocket campaign on Britain, Prime Minister Churchill admits that the mysterious explosions in southeast England, in recent weeks, are in fact the result of the missile strikes.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Leland E. Thomas (DE-420) off New York City (USA) on 8 November 1944. She left New York bound for the Pacific on 10 November 1944. Note that she was repainted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Jesse Rutherford (DE-347) off New York City (USA) on 8 November 1944. Jesse Rutherford was part of CortDiv 76 and left the Atlantic for duty in the Pacific on 10 November 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Austin (DE-15) at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 7 November 1944. Circles mark recent alterations



Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In S China and N French Indochina 2 B-25s hit railroad tracks at Lohochai, China and 2 others hit tracks at Duc Tho, French Indochina. 4 P-51s blast road machinery near Muse, Burma. 15 B-25s, 13 P-40s and P-51s pound storage buildings, villages, and other targets of opportunity throughout the Mangshih, China area.

BURMA

British Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Commander South East Asia Command (SEAC), issues a directive calling for Operation ROMULUS (the Arakan part of Operation CAPITAL), to clear the Arakan coastal sector.

In the British Fourteenth Army's XXXIII Corps area, the Indian 5th Division finishes clearing the Japanese from the region south of Tiddim with the unopposed occupation of Fort White, previously a Japanese strongpoint.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 80+ P-47s support ground forces in the Mawlu area, bomb personnel, supplies, and communications facilities at Tunhong, Chaungdauk, and Kutkai, gun positions at Hsipaw, the Man Hpa town area, Kawlin Airfield and targets of opportunity along the Kawlin-Pinwe railroad; 8 B-25s knock out the Bawgyo railroad bridge. 270+ transports fly sorties to forward areas. In India, a detachment of the 5th Fighter Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, begins operating from Fenny with P-47s; the detachment of the 6th Fighter Squadron (Commando), 1stAir Commando Group, operating from Cox's Bazar return to base at Asanol.

SAIPAN

(Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Saipan Island hit shipping at Chichi Jima and Haha Jima Islands. A single B-24 on a snooper mission bombs Iwo Jima during the night of 8/9. P-47s attempt a fighter sweep over Pagan but must abort because of bad weather.

BONIN AND VOLCANO ISLANDS

A USN Task Group bombards airstrips and shore batteries on Iwo Jima.

(Twentieth Air Force): 17 B-29s are airborne against the airfield on Iwo Jima; 6 manage to bomb through a hole in the cloud cover; others fail to bomb the target; enemy aircraft drop phosphorus bombs on the formations, damaging 1 B-29; 1 B-29 ditches, the first aircraft lost by the XXI Bomber Command on a combat mission.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: The 12th Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, based at Sansapor begins operating from Morotai with P-38s. The 424th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 307th BG (Heavy), that has been operating from Noemfoor with B-24s, returns to base on Wakde.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

On Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-25s bomb Langoan Airfield on the northeast tip of the island while P-38s on sweeps over the Kendari area on the southeast corner of the island and hit parked aircraft, shipping, the nickel mine, and other targets of opportunity. On Halmahera Island, B-25s attack Kaoe Airfield on the northeast corner of the island and Hate Tabako Airfield in the Moluccas Islands.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Wickes (DD-578) at Hollandia (since 1962: Jayapura), Humbolt Bay, Dutch New Guinea, on 8 November 1944



PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1944)

The Japanese land another division at Ormoc, Leyte Island, about this time and send it into the mountains of central Leyte.

In the U.S. X Corps area, the 24th Infantry Division’s 21st Infantry Regiment, despite a raging typhoon, continues attack on Breakneck Ridge but cannot force the Japanese back. The 19th Infantry Regiment succeeds in clearing the ridge, which has been barring its advance, but is still short of Hill 1525; elements move 1,000 yards west to occupy the next ridge. The 21st Infantry Regiment drives to Hill 1525. In the XXIV Corps area, patrols of 382d Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Divison, locate a Japanese force about 2,600 yards west of Patok.

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24s again hit Alicante (Escalente) Airfield in the northeastern section of Negros Island.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): An 8-aircraft shipping sweep is cancelled due to weather.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 178, NOVEMBER 8, 1944

Eleven enemy aircraft raided Saipan and Tinian Islands shortly after midnight on November 6 (West Longitude Date), causing no damage or per¬sonnel casualties. Three planes were shot down by antiaircraft fire while a fourth was probably destroyed.

Seventh Army Air Force Liberators dropped bombs on an airfield and revetments at Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands on November 6. A large fire resulted and two twin engine bombers on the ground were probably destroyed. A Navy search Liberator also bombed Iwo Jima on November 5.

Thunderbolts of the Seventh Army Air Force attacked Pagan Island twice on November 6, rocketing and strafing installations.

Corsairs of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing attacked enemy barges and small craft in the Northern Palau Islands on November 6.

Seventh Army Air Force Liberators bombed antiaircraft gun positions and a radio station on Marcus Island on November 6.

Navy search Venturas of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed and strafed gun positions, airstrips and ground installations on Wake Island on November 6. Large fires were started.

Neutralization raids were made over the Marshalls on November 6 by Corsairs of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing.

PACIFIC

Submarine Growler (SS-215) is sunk, probably by Japanese destroyer Shigure, patrol-escort vessel Chiburi, and Coast Defense Vessel No.19 off Mindoro.

Submarine Gunnel (SS-253) attacks Japanese convoy off west coast of Luzon, and sinks torpedo boat Sagi about 60 miles west of Lingayen Gulf, 16°09'N, 118°56'E.

Submarine Hardhead (SS-365), despite proximity of two escorts, sinks Japanese tanker Manei Maru about 90 miles southwest of Manila, 13°30'N, 119°25'E.

Submarine Queenfish (SS-393) attacks Japanese convoy off southern Kyushu, and sinks cargo ship Hakko Maru and auxiliary submarine chaser Ryusei Maru near Uji Gunto, 31°10'N, 129°39'E.

Submarine Redfin (SS-272) attacks Japanese convoy in South China Sea, and sinks merchant tanker No.2 Nichinan Maru, 14°00'N, 116°48'E.