World War II 1944 Chronology

2,500 women trample guards & floorwalkers to purchase 1,500 alarm clocks announced for sale in a Chicago IL department store. Since the beginning of World War II, alarm clocks had become precious commodities.

Ref: 5

The Russians reach the Rumanian border.

Ref: 2

British drop 3000 tons of bombs during an air raid on Hamburg, Germany.

Ref: 36

Nazi Germany occupies Hungary.

Ref: 5

Mar 19

The German 352nd Infantry Division deploys along the coast of France.

Ref: 2

Mar 19

Nazis occupy Hungary (Jewish pop. 725,000). Eichmann arrives with Gestapo "Special Section Commandos."

Ref: 35

Mar 19

The U.S. awoke to a sound it hadn�t heard much for years on this day -- the sound of alarm clocks. Since the beginning of World War II, alarm clocks had become precious commodities. They went on sale once again on this day in Chicago, IL.

Ref: 4

Mar 21

General Eisenhower postpones S France invasion until after Normandy.

Ref: 5

Mar 22

600+ 8th Air Force bombers attack Berlin.

Ref: 5

76 Allied officers escape Stalag Luft 3 (Great Escape).

Ref: 5

President Roosevelt issues a statement condemning German and Japanese ongoing "crimes against humanity."

Ref: 35

The Gestapo rounds up over 300 innocent Italians in Rome and shoots them to death, in reprisal for a bomb attack that killed 33 German policemen.

Ref: 2

811 British bombers attack Berlin.

Ref: 5

Mar 25

German troop executes 335 residents of Rome.

Ref: 5

Mar 25

RAF Sergeant Nickolas Alkemade survives a jump from his Lancaster bomber from 18,000 feet without a parachute. He suffers a broken ankle.

Ref: 5

Mar 26

705 British bombers attack Essen

Ref: 2

Mar 30

The U.S. fleet attacks Palau, near the Philippines.

Ref: 2

Mar 30

British Bomber Command sends 781 aircraft to bomb Nuremberg, Germany. During their flight, about 200 German fighter planes shoot down 94. The attack on Nuremberg is ineffective.

Ref: 5

Mar 31

Hungary orders all Jews to wear yellow stars.

Ref: 5

Apr 01

20 American planes drop 400 bombs on Schaffhausen, Switzerland, mistaking it for German territory.

Apr 01

Japanese troops conquer Jessami, East-India.

Ref: 5

Apr 02

Soviet forces enter Romania, one of Germany's allied countries.

Ref: 2

Apr 02

CPI-leader Palmiro Togliatti returns to Italy.

Ref: 5

Apr 03

British dive bombers attack battle cruiser Tirpitz.

Ref: 5

Apr 04

British troops capture Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

Ref: 5

Apr 04

De Gaulle forms new regime in exile, with communists.

Ref: 5

Apr 05

140 Lancasters bomb airplane manufacturer in Toulouse.

Ref: 5

Apr 07

General Montgomery speaks to Generals about invasion plan.

Ref: 5

Apr 08

Soviet troops begin an offensive to liberate Crimea.

Ref: 36

Apr 10

Soviet forces liberate Odessa from Nazi's.

Ref: 5

Apr 11

RAF bombs census bureau in The Hague.

Ref: 5

Apr 12

The U.S. Twentieth Air Force is activated to begin the strategic bombing of Japan.

Ref: 2

Apr 13

The American government requests Sweden to unconditionally stop exporting ball bearings, and special steel machinery to Germany.

Apr 14

The Freighter "Fort Stikene" explodes in Bombay India, killing 900.

Ref: 5

Apr 14

General Eisenhower becomes head commander of allied air fleet.

Ref: 5

Apr 16

The destroyer USS Laffey survives horrific damage from attacks by 22 Japanese aircraft off Okinawa.

Ref: 2

Apr 17

Japanese begin their last offensive in China, attacking U.S. air bases in eastern China.

Apr 19

Allied fleet attack Sabang Sumatra.

Ref: 5

Apr 22

Allies launch major attack against the Japanese in Hollandia, New Guinea.

Ref: 2

Apr 22

Hitler & Mussolini meet at Salzburg.

Ref: 5

Apr 24

The first B-29 arrives in China, over the Hump of the Himalayas.

Ref: 2

Apr 24

RAF bombs Munich.

Ref: 5

Apr 26

The first B-29 attacked by Japanese fighters, one fighter shot down.

Ref: 5

Apr 28

Exercise "Tiger" ends with 750 US soldiers dead in D-Day rehearsal after their convoy ships were attacked by German torpedo boats.

Ref: 5

Apr 28

Stalin meets Polish/US priest S Orlemanski.

Ref: 5

Apr 29

RCN destroyer Athabaskan sinks in the English Channel, after receiving hits from German destroyers.

May 01

Surprise attack on Weteringschans Amsterdam, fails.

Ref: 5

May 01

The Messerschmitt Me 262, the first combat jet, makes its first flight.

Ref: 2

May 05

Russian offensive against Sebastopol Krim.

Ref: 5

May 06

The Red Army besieges and captures Sevastopol in the Crimea.

Ref: 2

May 07

German assault on Tito's hideout in Drvar Bosnia.

Ref: 5

May 08

Rudolf H�ss returns to Auschwitz, ordered by Himmler to oversee the extermination of Hungarian Jews.

Ref: 35

May 08

33 communist resistance fighter sentenced to death.

Ref: 5

May 08

U-575 sinks Asphodel.

Ref: 5

May 09

Russians recapture Crimea by taking Sevastopol.

Ref: 5

May 09

Dutch resistance fighter Gerard Musch arrested.

Ref: 5

May 09

The German destroyer Elbing sinks in the English Channel after shelling from RCN destroyer Haida, and three other British and Canadian ships.

May 10

Chinese offensive in West-Yunnan

Ref: 2

Operation Diadem is launched. The 4th British Division and the 8th Indian Division break through the Gustav Line in Italy.

Ref: 36

(late night) The British 8th Army begins an assault on Monte Cassino, Italy.

Henk Hos resistance fighter, executed at 37.

Ref: 5

Slomp Resistance fighter (Frits de Zwerver) freed from Arnhem prison.

Ref: 5

Allied forces launched a major offensive in central Italy.

Ref: 70

Opposition group surprise attack post office washer.

Ref: 5

Germans surrender in the Crimea.

Ref: 36

900+ 8th Air Force bombers attack Zwikau, Bohlen & Br�x.

Ref: 5

Krim purged of Nazi troops.

Ref: 5

Secret Police arrest Gerrit Van de Peat.

Ref: 5

May 13

Allied forces in Italy break through the German Gustav Line into the Liri Valley.

Ref: 2

May 14

British troops occupy Kohima.

Ref: 5

May 14

91 German bombers harass Bristol.

Ref: 5

May 14

General Rommel, Speidel & von St�lpnagel attempt to assassinate Hitler.

Ref: 5

May 15

Eisenhower, Montgomery, Churchill & George VI discuss D-Day plan.

Ref: 5

May 15

Germans withdraw to the Adolf Hitler Line.

Ref: 36

Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java.

Ref: 4

Chinese/US armed forces take Myitkyina Airport, Burma.

Ref: 5

Operation Straightline: Allies land in Netherlands New-Guinea.

Ref: 5

Military police attack gypsies.

Ref: 5

General Eisenhower sets D-Day for June 5th.

Ref: 5

Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java.

Ref: 5

Chinese/US arm forces take Myitkyina Airport, Burma.

Ref: 5

Operation Straightline: Allies land in Netherlands New-Guinea.

Ref: 5

May 18

The Allies finally capture Monte Cassino in Italy.

Ref: 2

May 18

Polish 2nd Army corps captures convent of Monte Cassino Italy.

Ref: 5

May 18

Expulsion of more than 200,000 Tartars from Crimea by Soviet Union begins, they are accused of collaborating with the Germans.

Ref: 5

May 19

240 gypsies transported to Auschwitz from Westerbork Netherlands.

Ref: 5

May 19

German defense line in Italy collapsed.

Ref: 5

May 21

Hitler begins attack on English/US "terror pilots".

Ref: 5

American forces at Anzio launch a drive on Rome.

British/Canadian troops occupy Pontecorvo Italy.

Ref: 5

(dawn) In Italy, the 1st Canadian Corps begins an attack on the Hitler Line.

Operation-Buffalo: Allied jailbreak out Anzio-bridgehead.

Ref: 5

Chinese counter offensive at Hunan front.

Ref: 5

May 24

Enver Hoxha becomes head of Albania anti fascists.

Ref: 5

May 24

Icelandic voters sever all ties with Denmark.

Ref: 5

May 25

The Germans retreat from Anzio.

Ref: 36

May 25

Partisan leader Tito escapes Germans surrounding Bosnia.

Ref: 5

May 26

82nd Airborne division D-day-landing at La Haye du Puits to Ste M�re Eglise.

Ref: 5

May 27

Allies land on Biak Island, Indonesia (operation Horlicks).

Ref: 5

May 27

Japanese advance in Hangkhou China.

Ref: 5

May 29

British troops occupy Aprilia Italy.

Ref: 5

May 30

Transport nr 75 departs with French Jews to Nazi-Germany.

Ref: 5

May 31

In Italy, Canadian forces occupy Frosinone.

May 31

Allied breakthrough in Italy.

Ref: 5

Jun 02

Allied "shuttle bombing" of Germany begins, with bombers departing from Italy and landing in the Soviet Union.

Ref: 2

(early) Supreme commander of Allied troops in Europe Dwight Eisenhower postpones the D-Day assult on Europe to June 6, due to bad weather.

Formations of the US 5th Army seize the Tiber bridges, beginning the fall of Rome.

Ref: 5

Two companies of the 1st Regiment of the Special Service Force enter the city limits of Rome, Italy, making them the first Allied troops in Rome; American forces take Rome.

Ref: 5

First submarine captured & boarded on high seas-U 505.

Ref: 3

The U-505 becomes the first enemy submarine captured by the U.S. Navy.

Ref: 2

(4:15 AM) Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower approves the D-Day launch of June 6. (evening) Over 1,000 aircraft drop over 5,000 tons of bombs on French coastal batteries. None are destroyed. (9:15 PM) BBC radio broadcasts a message directed at the French, telling them to listen for important instructions to follow soon. This alerts the Germans, but little is done.

Two companies of the 1st Regiment of the Special Service Force enter the city limits of Rome, Italy, making them the first Allied troops in Rome; American forces take Rome.

Ref: 36

The first mission by B-29 Superfortress bombers occurs as 77 planes bomb Japanese railway facilities at Bangkok, Thailand; 1 plane lost due to engine failure.

Ref: 2

Formations of the US 5th Army seize the Tiber bridges, beginning the fall of Rome.

Jun 06

D-Day: Operation Overlord lands 400,000 Allied American, British, and Canadian troops on the beaches of Normandy in German-occupied France. D-day's Mighty Host.

Ref: 2

Jun 06

CBS radio saluted America�s war doctors with The Doctor Fights, presented for the first time this day.

Ref: 4

Jun 09

Soviet offensive against the Finnish front begins.

Ref: 36

Jun 10

Nazis liquidate the town of Oradour-sur-Glane in France.

Ref: 36

Jun 10

The U.S. VII and V corps, advancing from Normandy's beaches, link up and begin moving inland.

Ref: 2

Jun 11

US carrier-based planes attack Japanese airfields on Guam , Rota, Saipan and Tinian islands, preparing for the invasion of Saipan. The Greatest Aircraft Carrier Duel.

Ref: 2

Jun 12

Rosenberg orders Hay Action the kidnapping of 40,000 Polish children aged ten to fourteen for slave labor in the Reich.

Ref: 35

Jun 13

10 V-1 (Fieseler Fi-103) Buzz Bombs are launched from France to England. These are the first of many.

Ref: 36

Jun 14

Boeing B-29 bombers conduct their first raid against mainland Japan.

Ref: 2

Jun 14

French General de Gaulle debarks at Courseulles, France, ready to take control of a Provisional Government of France.

Jun 15

U.S. Marines invade Saipan in the Mariana Islands. (XDG, p 4A, 6/15/2000)

Ref: 83

Jun 15

The first bombing raid on Japan since the Doolittle raid of April 1942, as 47 B-29s based in Bengel, India, target the steel works at Yawata. (XDG, p 4A, 6/15/2000)

Ref: 83

Jun 18

The US First Army breaks through the German lines on the Cotentin Peninsula and cuts off the German-held port of Cherbourg.

Ref: 2

Jun 19

The "Marianas Turkey Shoot" occurs as U.S. carrier-based fighters shoot down 220 Japanese planes, while only 20 American planes are lost.

Ref: 2

Jun 22

Operation Bagration begins (the Soviet summer offensive).

Ref: 36

Jun 22

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of Rights, authorizing a broad package of benefits for World War II veterans.

Ref: 70

Jun 23

In one of the largest air strikes of the war, the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force sends 761 bombers against the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.

Ref: 2

Jun 24

(or the 25th?) Royal Canadian Air Force sinks German submarine U-1225. Flight Lieytenant David Hornell later (posthumously) receives the Victoria Cross for his efforts.

Jun 27

Allied forces capture the port city of Cherbourg, France.

Ref: 2

Jul 03

Soviets capture Minsk.

Ref: 36

Jul 03

The U.S. First Army opens a general offensive to break out of the hedgerow area of Normandy, France.

Ref: 2

Jul 04

Canadian 8th Brigade and Royal Winnipeg Rifles advance to seize Carpiquet village and airfield in France. The "Blitzmaedel" (German Women's Army Corps) evacuate the Hotel Moderne in Paris, France.

Jul 05

The Japanese garrison on Numfoor, New Guinea, tries to counterattack but is soon beaten back by US forces.

Ref: 2

Jul 05

Canadian Chiefs of Staff recommend that scorched earth plans be cancelled.

Jul 08

Japanese withdraw from Imphal.

Jul 08

Operation Charnwood begins near Caen, France.

Jul 09

British and Canadian troops enter Caen, France.

Ref: 36

Jul 09

German forces are ordered to withdraw across the Orne River.

Jul 09

American forces secure Saipan from the Japanese. (XDG, p 4A, 7/9/2000)

Ref: 83

Jul 12

The Swedish government promises to cut exports to Germany by 60% for four months, in return for compensation from Allies.

Jul 15

Field-Marshal Gunther von Kludge and Field-Marshal Rommel meet with Adolf Hitler, and recommend negotiating for peace.

Jul 15

Greenwich Observatory damaged by WW II flying bomb.

Ref: 5

Jul 16

Soviet troops occupy Vilna, Lithuania, in their drive towards Germany.

Ref: 2

Jul 17

An explosion at the Port Chicago munitions center at 10:19 p.m. broke windows in San Francisco. 322 people were killed and 1000 injured in the worst military loss of life in the U.S. during WW II. The blast was felt as far away as Nevada.

Ref: 37

Jul 17

Convoy HXS-300, with 167 ships, sails from New York bound for Ireland, under Canadian escort. It is the largest convoy of the war, and no ships are lost in transit.

Jul 17

Field Marshall Erwin Rommel is wounded when an Allied fighter strafes his staff car in France.

Ref: 2

Jul 18

Operation Goodwood begins, a British air and armored attack on Caen, France. Three British armoured divisions begin an assault to poke a hole in the German defence line via the Orne River bridgehead.

Jul 18

U.S. troops reach St. L�.

Ref: 36

Jul 18

Hideki Tojo was removed as Japanese premier and war minister because of setbacks suffered by his country in World War II.

Ref: 70

Jul 19

British and American governments turn down Eichmann's ransom demand of May 16.

Jul 19

U.S. Marines invade Guam in the Marianas.

Ref: 5

Jul 19

German Panther and Panzer tanks launch a counterattack on British and Canadian positions south of Caen, France.

Jul 20

A joint Canadian-American scientific report on potential use of chemical-warfare in taking Japanese-held islands refuses to recommend the use of gas over conventional high explosives.

Jul 20

In Rastenburg, East Prussia, in Hitler's war headquarters, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg purposely breaks an acid capsule, releasing the acid to slowly break a wire holding back the firing pin of a two-pound home-made bomb designed to assassinate Adolf Hitler and many of his senior staff. Amazingly, only a stenographer is killed, and three others die later of wounds. Several, including Hitler, are slightly wounded. Colonel von Stauffenberg is shot by a firing squad later that night. (XDG, p 4A, 7/20/2001)

Ref: 83

Jul 20

US invades Japanese-occupied Guam in WW II.

Ref: 5

Jul 21

U.S. Army and Marine forces land on Guam in the Marianas.

Ref: 2

Jul 21

(before dawn) SS personnel in Paris are released, as the failed Operation Valkyrie putsch collapses.

Jul 21

Operation Goodwood, in Caen, France, ends.

Jul 22

Hitler directs German commander of Paris, France, to destroy the city.

Jul 22

Soviets set up Polish Committee of National Liberation.

Ref: 5

Jul 22

Fifty Greek resistance men simultaneously hanged by Nazis in Athens.

Ref: 10

Jul 23

US forces invade Japanese-held Tinian in WW II.

Ref: 5

Jul 23

Soviet troops take Lublin, Poland as the German army retreats.

Ref: 2

Jul 24

Soviet troops liberate first concentration camp at Majdanek where over 360,000 had been murdered.

Ref: 35

Jul 24

The first few tanks of Allied forces arrive in Paris.

Jul 24

U.S. Marines invade Tinian.

Ref: 4

Jul 25

(through the 30th) Operation Cobra (U.S. troops break out west of St. L� in Normandy).

Ref: 36

Jul 25

First jet fighter used in combat (Messerschmitt 262).

Ref: 5

Jul 25

German commander of Paris, France, Von Choltitz surrenders the city to Allied armies.

Jul 27

First British jet fighter used in combat (Gloster Meteor).

Ref: 5

Jul 27

U.S troops complete the liberation of Guam from the Empire of Japan.

Ref: 2

Jul 28

Soviet troops take Brest-Litovsk. U.S. troops take Coutances.

Ref: 36

Jul 29

The Soviet army takes Kovno, the capital of Lithuania.

Ref: 2

Jul 31

In France, Operation Bluecoat begins. British Bomber Command and US 8th Air Force support the British 2nd Army on the American flank in Flanders.

Jul 31

The Soviet army takes Kovno, the capital of Lithuania.

Ref: 2

Aug 01

U.S. troops reach Avranches.

Ref: 36

Aug 01

The Polish underground begins an uprising against the occupying German army, as the Red Army approaches Warsaw.

Ref: 2

Aug 01

Chief of Nazi SS and Gestapo Heinrich Himmler issues order to kill 20,000 gypsies at Auschwitz.

Ref: 10

Aug 03

U.S. and Chinese troops take Myitkyina after a two month siege.

Aug 03

Lieutenant-General Kenneth Stuart, Chief of Staff at Canadian Military Headquarters, London, England, assures the Canadian government that there are sufficient reserve troops for the duration of the war.

Aug 04

In Canada, the Prime Minister tells the House of Commons that no act of subversion or sabotage had been found before or during the war by the Japanese Canadians. However, disloyal Japanese Canadians would be deported to Japan, and no further Japanese immigration would be allowed. Also, a set quota of dispersed Japanese Canadians would be allowed to return to the west coast of British Columbia.

Ref: 35

Aug 04

General H.D.G. Crerar, commander of the First Canadian Army, reports to the Canadian Military Headquarters in London that there is a severe shortage of infantry reserves.

Aug 04

RAF pilot T. D. Dean becomes the first pilot to destroy a V-1 buzz bomb when he tips the pilotless craft's wing, sending it off course.

Ref: 2

Aug 07

RAF pilot T. D. Dean becomes the first pilot to destroy a V-1 buzz bomb when he tips the pilotless craft's wing, sending it off course.

Aug 07

The 1st Canadian Army attacks German positions toward Falaise, France.

Aug 07

German forces launch a major counter attack against U.S. forces near Mortain, France.

Ref: 2

Aug 08

The US First Army breaks through the German lines on the Cotentin Peninsula and cuts off the German-held port of Cherbourg.

Ref: 2

Aug 08

American troops complete the capture of the Mariana Islands.

Ref: 4

Aug 09

U.S. troops win Guam from the Japanese killing 17,000 and taking 500 prisoners. WWII

Ref: 10

Aug 10

During World War Two, American forces overcame remaining Japanese resistance on Guam.

Ref: 70

Aug 11

The United States grants the French Committee of National Liberation status of temporary authority in civil affairs in France.

Aug 11

German troops abandon Florence, Italy, as Allied troops close in on the historic city.

Ref: 2

Aug 14

In Canada, authority is given to proceed with anthrax bombing trials at Suffield, Alberta.

Aug 15

Hitler forbids Army Group B from breaking out of the Falaise pocket.

Aug 15

As part of Operation Anvil, American and British gliders take off from Italian airbases, and land in the Argens River Valley, behind German lines.

Aug 15

Operation Dragoon begins (the Allied invasion of Southern France).

Ref: 36

Aug 17

The mayor of Paris, Pierre Charles Tattinger, meets with the German commander Dietrich von Choltitz to protest the explosives being deployed throughout the city.

Ref: 2

Aug 17

The mayor of Paris, Pierre Charles Tattinger, meets with the German commander Dietrich von Choltitz to protest the explosives being deployed throughout the city.

Ref: 2

Aug 18

Over 4,000 French political prisoners are released from prisons in Paris, France, by their German guards, under a deal worked out between Swedish Consul-General Raoul Nordling and German commander of Paris, von Choltitz.

Aug 19

In Paris, France, underground resistence groups launch a revolt against their German captors.

Ref: 36

Aug 19

The Falaise to Argentan gap in France is loosely closed, trapping large German forces.

Aug 19

(and 20th) Soviet offensive in the Balkans begins with an attack on Romania.

Ref: 36

Aug 20

United States and British forces close the pincers on German units in the Falaise-Argentan pocket in France.

Ref: 36

Aug 23

German SS engineers begin placing explosive charges around the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Ref: 2

Aug 23

Romanian Prime Miniaster Ion Antonescu is dismissed by King Michael, paving the way for Romania to abandon the Axis in favor of the Allies. (National Day 1944-1990). (XDG, p 4A, 8/23/2000)

Ref: 83

Allied troops led by French General Jacques Leclerc liberate Paris. General de Gaulle arrives in Paris.

Ref: 36

Romania declares war on Germany. (XDG, p 4A, 8/25/2000)

Ref: 83

The Red Ball Express, an American supply outfit for Patton's 3rd Army, is initiated.

In Italy, the 1st Canadian Division crosses the Metauro River.

Ref: 9

Aug 28

In Paris, France, de Gaulle orders the Free French I and all other Resistance organizations to disband.

Aug 28

German forces in Toulon and Marseilles, France, surrender to the Allies.

Ref: 2

Aug 29

15,000 American troops marched down the Champs Elysees in Paris as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis. (XDG, p 4A, 8/29/2000)

Ref: 83

Aug 29

Slovak uprising begins.

Ref: 36

In Italy, two Canadian brigades cross the Foglia River, and cross the Gothic Line.

Former Paris Military Governor Colonel-General Heinrich von Stolpnagel is hanged.

The Germans abandon Bulgaria, Soviets enter Bucharest.

Ref: 5

Ploesti, the center of the Rumanian oil industry, falls to Soviet troops.

Ref: 2

Aug 31

The British Eighth Army penetrates the German Gothic Line in Italy

Ref: 2

Aug 31

The Russians capture Bucharest.

Ref: 36

Aug 31

Canada ceases production of anthrax for Britain at Grosse Ile, Quebec. The American operation takes over production at their plant for Britain.

Sep 01

(through the 4th) Verdun, Dieppe, Artois, Rouen, Abbeville, Antwerp and Brussels are liberated by the Allies.

Ref: 36

Sep 02

Troops of the U.S. First Army enter Belgium.More than 6,000 trucks of the Red Ball Express kept gasoline and other vital supplies rolling in as American troops and tanks pushed the Germans back toward their homeland.

Ref: 2

Sep 02

In Italy, the Gothic Line is completely broken, and the 1st Canadian Corps advances to the River Canea.

Sep 02

Pisa is liberated.

Sep 03

Belgium is liberated.

Sep 03

The U.S. Seventh Army captures Lyons, France.

Ref: 2

Sep 03

Troops of the U.S. First Army enter Belgium.

Sep 04

The Belgian port of Antwerp falls to the the British 2nd Army.

Ref: 2

Sep 04

Finland and the Soviet Union agree to a cease-fire.

Ref: 36

Sep 05

The Russians declare war on Bulgaria.

Sep 05

Allies liberate Brussels.

Ref: 5

Sep 05

Germany launches its first V-2 missile at Paris, France.

Ref: 2

Sep 06

During World War II, the British government relaxes blackout restrictions and suspended compulsory training for the Home Guard.

Sep 07

A Finnish deligation including new prime minister Hackzell negotiates for peace with Soviets in Moscow.

Sep 08

The first V-2 missles are launched from Holland against Britain.

Ref: 5

Sep 09

Allied forces liberate Luxembourg.

Ref: 5

Sep 09

Bulgaria liberated from Nazi control (often referred to as the invasion of Bulgaria by Russia) (National Day).

Ref: 5

Sep 11

American troops enter Luxembourg.More than 6,000 trucks of the Red ball Express kept gasoline and other vital supplies rolling in as American troops and tanks pushed the Germans back toward their homeland.

Ref: 2

Sep 11

President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Canada at the second Quebec Conference.

Ref: 5

Sep 12

The Canadian First Army liberates LeHarve. (Ref: "The Marshall Cavandish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War II", ISBN 0-85685-955-9 (Vol 7), 1985)

Sep 12

U.S. Army troops enter Germany for the first time, near Trier. (XDG, p 4A, 9/12/2000)

Ref: 83

Sep 13

U.S. troops reach the Siegfried Line.

Ref: 36

Sep 15

U.S. troops invade Morotai and the Paulaus.

Sep 17

Nearly 2000 American CG-4A and 700 British Horga and Hamilcar gliders are launched from southern England, landing along 60 miles of road in Holland, leading into Germany. This is the start of the failed Operation Market Garden.

Ref: 36

Sep 17

Battle of Arnhem begins;largest airborne invasion-3 divisions of Anglo-American troops.

Ref: 10

Sep 19

In Canada, the Toronto Globe and Mail publishes a report by Major Connie Smythe accusing Canadian forces of lacking replacements, and that reinforcements are poorly trained.

Sep 19

Finland and the Soviet Union sign an armistice, ending the conflict between their countries.

Sep 21

Allied forces enter Rimini in Italy.

Sep 21

U.S. troops of the 7th Army, invading Southern France, cross the Meuse River.

Ref: 2

Sep 22

The Canadian First Army liberates Boulogne. (Ref: "The Marshall Cavandish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War II", ISBN 0-85685-955-9 (Vol 7), 1985)

Sep 24

Canadian Defence Minister James Ralston leaves Canada for a personal inspection of the Canadian forces in Europe, to determine if accusations of over-used men and poorly trained recruits are true.

Sep 25

Ending of the Battle of Arnhem, WWII

Ref: 10

Sep 26

Estonia is occupied by the Soviets.

Ref: 36

Sep 27

Thousands of British troops are killed as German forces rebuff their massive effort to capture the Arnhem Bridge across the Rhine River in Holland.

Ref: 2

Sep 28

Battle of Arnhem, Germans defeat British airborne in Netherlands.

Ref: 5

Sep 29

Soviet troops invade Yugoslavia.

Ref: 5

Sep 30

Calais reoccupied by Allies.

Ref: 5

Oct 01

The Canadian First Army liberates Calais. (Ref: "The Marshall Cavandish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War II", ISBN 0-85685-955-9 (Vol 7), 1985)

Oct 01

The Soviets enter Yugoslavia.

Oct 01

The U.S. First Army begins the siege Aachen, Germany.

Ref: 2

Oct 02

Nazi troops crushed the two-month-old Warsaw Uprising, during which 250,000 people were killed.

Ref: 70

Oct 03

U.S. troops cracked the Siegfried Line north of Aachen, Germany, during World War II.

Ref: 70

Oct 03

German troops evacuate Athens, Greece.

Ref: 2

Oct 04

The Allies land in Greece.

Oct 06

The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division begins an attack on the Scheldt's southern shore, to cross the Leopold Canal.

Oct 10

(through the 29th) Soviet troops capture Riga.

Ref: 36

Oct 11

The 1st Canadian Infantry Division returns to active duty in Italy. The 5th Canadian Armoured Division in Italy is put into reserve.

Oct 11

U.S. air raids against Okinawa.

Oct 13

British and Greek advance units land at Piraeus during World War II. (XDG p 4A, 10/13/2000)

Ref: 82

Oct 13

American troop ener Aachen, Germany. (XDG, p 4A, 10/13/2000)

Ref: 83

Oct 13

Greek patriots retake Athens; 3� year Nazi occupation ends.

Ref: 10

Oct 14

The Allies liberate Athens.

Ref: 36

Oct 14

German Field Marshal Rommel, suspected of complicity in the July 20th plot against Hitler, is visited at home by two of Hitler's staff and given the choice of public trial or suicide by poison. He chooses suicide and it is announced that he died of wounds.

Ref: 36

Oct 15

The German battleship Tirpitz leaves Kaafjord, Norway, heading for a final resting place near Troms�.

Oct 16

The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division takes Woensdrecht at the entrance to South Beveland.

Oct 17

Eichmann arrives in Hungary.

Ref: 35

Fourteen B-29s based on the Marianas attack the Japanese base at Truk.

Ref: 2

Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia during World War II.

Ref: 70

Lt. General Joseph Stilwell is recalled from China by president Franklin Roosevelt.

Ref: 2

Canadian Defence Minister Ralston returns to Canada after touring Canadian forces in Europe. He urges the prime minister to impose conscription to help supply properly trained replacement soldiers on the battlefield. Ralston reports that a further 16,000 trained infantry are required.

Oct 19

The Navy announced that black women would be allowed into Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (the WAVES)

Ref: 70

Oct 19

US forces land in Philipines.

Ref: 5

Oct 20

The Yugoslav cities of Belgrade and Dubrovnik were liberated during World War II.

Ref: 70

Oct 20

US first army wins battle of Aachen.

Ref: 5

Oct 20

Gen. Douglas MacArthur stepped ashore at Leyte in the Philippines, 2 1/2 years after he'd said, "I shall return."

Ref: 70

Oct 21

During WWII, US troops capture Aachen, the 1st large German city to fall.

Ref: 5

Oct 22

Chuck Yeager shoots down 5 German ME-109's in a single day.Ref

Oct 23

Soviets enter East Prussia.

Oct 23

The beginning of the four-day Battle of Leyte Gulf results in a decisive U.S. Naval victory.

Ref: 64

Oct 23

Soviet army invades Hungary.

Ref: 5

Oct 24

The aircraft carrier USS Princeton is sunk by a single Japanese plane during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Ref: 2

Oct 24

88 B-29s bomb Tokyo.

Ref: 2

Oct 24

Allied forces seal off the South Beveland isthmus near the port of Antwerp, Belgium.

Oct 25

The Japanese are defeated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the world's largest sea engagement. From this point on, the depleted Japanese Navy increasingly resorts to the suicidal attacks of Kamikaze fighters.

Ref: 2

Oct 26

The 4-day Battle of Leyte Gulf concludes with a decisive US naval victory over Japan. At this point, the Japanese Navy ceases to exist as a powerful and organized force.

Ref: 3

Oct 27

U.S. Navy defeats Japanese at Leyte, Phillipines Islands. WWII.

Ref: 10

Oct 28

The first B-29 Superfortress bomber mission flies from the airfields in the Mariana Islands in a strike against the Japanese base at Truk.

Ref: 2

Oct 29

Soviet troops complete the capture of Riga.

Ref: 36

Oct 30

Last use of gas chambers at Auschwitz.

Ref: 35

Oct 31

Allied forces take the peninsula of South Beveland, Belgium.

Nov 01

Canadian Prime Minister replaces Ralston with General McNaughton as Minister of Defence.

Nov 03

The south shore of the Scheldt River is freed of German forces.

Nov 04

Axis forces in Greece surrender.

Nov 05

In Canada, newly appointed Minister of Defence Andrew McNaughton makes his first public speech, favoring voluntary enlistment over forced conscription. His audience is unimpressed with his stand.

Nov 06

Middelburg, capital of Walcheren island, is freed from German occupation.

Nov 08

Allied forces secure the entire island of Walcheren.

Nov 08

In Canada, Prime Minister Mackenzie King makes a national appeal on radio to soldiers to volunteer for overseas duty. Public reaction is negative.

Nov 11

Iwo Jima is bombarded by the U.S. Navy.

Nov 11

Private Eddie Slovik is convicted of desertion and sentenced to death for refusing to join his unit in the European Theater of Operations.

Ref: 2

Nov 12

U.S. fighters wipe out a Japanese convoy near Leyte, consisting of six destroyers, four transports and 8,000 troops.

Ref: 3

Nov 12

The German battleship Tirpitz is sunk in a Norwegian fjord

Ref: 3

Nov 16

The Red Ball Express, an American supply outfit for Patton's 3rd Army, is terminated.

Nov 20

French troops drive through the 'Beffort Gap' to reach the Rhine.

Ref: 36

Nov 22

In Canada, the Army High Command threatens to resign if the government does not impose conscription to send soldiers into overseas battle. In a cabinet meeting Prime Minister King announces that the request for volunteers for overseas duty had failed. With a risk of District Officers Commanding threatening to resign, the only option left was mandatory conscription. The cabinet agrees to set a limit of 16,000 troops. Defence Minister McNaughton recommends to Cabinet that 16,000 conscripted soldiers be sent to fight in Europe.

Nov 23

(3 PM) In Canada, an Order-in-council approved by the Governor-General, is read in the House of Commons, imposing conscription of 16,000 soldiers for overseas duty.

Nov 24

Eighty eight B-29s made the first heavy bomb strike on Tokyo. Ref

Nov 24

The French capture Strasbourg.

Ref: 36

Nov 25

Himmler orders the destruction of the crematories at Auschwitz.

Ref: 35

Nov 27

Leningrad liberated from Germany in 880 days with 600,000 killed.

Ref: 5

Nov 27

Gigantic explosion in England as 1,500 two-ton blockbuster bombs accidentally detonate in Staffs.

Ref: 10

Nov 28

The first shipment of supplies reach Antwerp by convoy, a new route for the Allies.

Ref: 2

Nov 29

Albania liberated from Nazi control (National Day).

Ref: 5

Dec 01

Canadian forces join the 8th British Army in a battle for the Lombardy Plain in Italy.

General George S. Patton's troops enter the Saar Valley and break through the Siegfried line.

Ref: 2

General De Gaulle arrives in Moscow.

Ref: 5

German troops seize Betuwse dikes.

Ref: 5

US 95th Infantry division occupies bridge at Saar.

Ref: 5

JW Ummels Dutch resistance fighter (House of Saxon-Nazi), dies.

Ref: 5

Dec 03

US 5th Armour division occupies Brandenburg H�rtgenwald.

Ref: 5

Dec 03

British order to disarm, causes general strike in Greece.

Ref: 5

Dec 04

In Greece, a civil war starts when the National People's Liberation Army of the National Liberation Front begins armed fighting against British troops and Greek government forces. Athens is placed under martial law.

Ref: 36

Dec 04

Germans destroy Rhine dikes, Betuwe flooded.

Ref: 5

Dec 05

The Special Service Force is disbanded.

Dec 05

Assault battalions of the Royal Canadian regiment and the Hastings and Prince Edward regiment attempt to establish a bridgehead on the Lamone river in Italy.

Dec 05

German troops rob all the silver coin in Utrecht.

Ref: 5

Dec 06

US 95th Infantry division reaches Westwall.

Ref: 5

Dec 08

The United States conducts the longest most effective air raid of the Pacific island of Iwo Jima.

Ref: 2

Dec 10

Nine Dutch citizens hanged by Nazis.

Ref: 5

Dec 10

German counter attack at Dillingen-bridgehead at Saar.

Ref: 5

Dec 13

During World War II, the U.S. cruiser Nashville was badly damaged in a Japanese kamikaze suicide attack that claimed 138 lives.

Ref: 5

Dec 14

German occupiers forbid use of electricity in parts of Holland.

Ref: 5

Dec 14

Congress establishes rank of General of the Army (5-star general).

Ref: 5

Dec 14

Begin(ning) Liese-Aktion: werving of labor force for Germany.

Ref: 5

US Congress gives General Eisenhower his 5th star.

Ref: 5

The battle for Luzon in the Philippines begins.

Ref: 2

Hizbu'allah (Arm forces for Allah) forms.

Ref: 5

US troops land on Mindoro.

Ref: 5

The Battle of the Bulge, the final major German counteroffensive of World War II, began. Initially, the Nazi commanders were able to thrust deep into Allied territory in North and East Belgium, a 75-mile front, choosing a time when foggy, rainy weather prevailed. The Allies were taken by surprise, but recovered and repulsed the Nazi offensive by January 1945.

Ref: 4

General Eisenhower's clerk Rickey marries corporal Pearlie

Ref: 5

German V-2 strikes Antwerp bioscope (638 kill)

Ref: 5

US 2nd Infantry division occupies "Heartbreak Crossroads" Wahlerscheid

Ref: 5

Waffen SS murder 81 U.S. POWs at Malmedy.

Ref: 36

U.S. Major General Henry C. Pratt issues Public Proclamation No. 21, declaring that, effective January 2, 1945, Japanese-American "evacuees" from the West Coast could return to their homes.

Ref: 3

US destroyers sink in storm off Philippines, 790 killed.

Ref: 5

The U.S. Army Air Force begins preparations for dropping the Atomic Bomb by establishing the 509th Composite Group to operate the B-29s that will deliver the bomb.