Posted on 10/06/2014 4:40:10 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1944/oct44/06oct44.htm#
Canadians attack towards the Scheldt
Friday, October 6, 1944 www.onwar.com
On the Western Front... The Canadian 2nd Corps (part of Canadian 1st Army) begins attacking remaining German forces south of the Scheldt, between the Leopold Canal and the southern bank of the river around Breskens. Flooded terrain contributes to a lack of progress.
Over Germany... There are heavy day and night raids on Berlin.
http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/9/06.htm
October 6th, 1944 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: No.6 (RCAF) Group, RAF Bomber Command, deploys its largest sortie of the war with 523 aircraft involved.
Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions.
* Mission 667: 1,271 bombers and 784 fighter are dispatched to hit industrial targets in northern Germany; with one exception, all attacks are visual; 19 bombers and 4 fighters are lost:
- 447 B-17s are dispatched to hit Stargard Airfield (199), aircraft factories at Neubrandenburg (73) and Stettin (12); targets of opportunity are Stralsund (110), Kappeln (36), Freienwalde (1) and other (1); 1 B-17 is lost. Escort is provided by 180 P-51s; they claim 3-1-3 aircraft in the air and 30-0-14 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost.
- 418 B-17s are dispatched to Berlin to hit a munitions dump at Berlin/Spandau (144), aircraft factories at Berlin/Spandau (138) and tank factory at Berlin/Tegel (100); 10 hit a target of opportunity. 17 B-17s arelost. Escort is provided by 363 P -51s; they claim 15-0-5 aircraft; a P-51 is lost.
- 406 B-24s are dispatched to hit Harburg/Rhenania oil refinery (121) with PFF methods, munitions dump at Hamburg/Glinde (89) and aircraftfactories at Hamburg/Klockner (79) and Wenzendorf (46); targets of opportunity are Stade Airfield (29), the Hamburg area (8), Nordhoz Airfield (2), Bremervorde (1) and Ottersberg (1); a B-24 is lost. Escort is provided by 156 P-47s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air.
* Mission 668: 6 B-24s and 4 B-17s drop leaflets in Germany, the Netherlands and France during the night without loss.
This is the USAAF’s largest mission to date. In the first significant fighter actions of the month, 8th and 9th AF fighter pilots down 22 GAF fighters over Germany between 1100 and 1650 hours. (Jack McKillop and Skip Guidry)
WESTERN EUROPE:300+ Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20 Havocs hit marshalling yards, barracks, and ammunition dump at Hengelo, the Netherlands and Duren, Germany and bridges at Arnhem, the Netherlands and Aldenhoven, Germany; in Germany, fighters fly armed reconnaissance in the Dusseldorf, Aachen, Trier, Dieuze, and Koblenz areas, sweeps and patrols in forward areas, attack railroads in the Dorsel area, and support the First, Third, and Seventh Armies’ forces in eastern France and western Germany.
BELGIUM: In the Canadian First Army area, II Corps opens an assault on the Breskens Pocket south of the Scheldt between the Leopold canal and the river near Breskens, while the Canadian 3d Division forces the Leopold Canal north of Maldegem and establishes a small bridgehead against stubborn resistance. Due to flooded conditions the going is slow.
NETHERLANDS: In the British Second Army area, attacks by the Canadian II Corps begin south of the Scheldt between the Leopold canal and the river near Breskens. Due to flooded conditions the going is slow. The costly effort to clear the Peel Marshes comes to an end as the U.S. 7th Armored Division breaks off the attack; the division has gained less than 2 miles (3,2 kilometers) in this operation and is still within the British zone.
During the night of 6/7 October, four RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Texel Island.
FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army’s XX Corps area, heavy German fire fails to dislodge the Americans from the slag pile to the northwest of Metz. Task Force Warnock, which is strengthened by elements of 3d Battalion, 2d Infantry Regiment, and the 7th Combat Engineer Battalion, prepares to renew the attack on Fort Driant tomorrow.
In the U.S. Seventh Army’s VI Corps area, the 3d Infantry Division continues the battle for Vagney and clears the Germans from positions astride the Tendon-Le Tholy road.
In the French First Army’s II Corps area, German counterattacks prevent French forces from progressing against the heights north of the Moselle River and isolate forward elements.
GERMANY: In the U.S. First Army’s XIX Corps area, Lieutenant General Charles Corlett, Commanding General of the corps, issues orders late in the day, as the corps’ West Wall bridgehead is being firmly established, halting further advance until link-up has been made with VII Corps. The 2d Armored Division, instead of driving east to secure crossings of the the Roer River is to maintain their current positions on the north flank of the bridgehead while assisting the 30th Infantry Division to push southeast. Combat Command B, 2d Armored Division, is stopped by the Germans on the left flank less than 1,000 yards (914 meters) from Geilenkirchen; on the right, they take the villages of Beggendorf and Waurichen, the latter northeast of Uebach. Combat Command A joins the 117th Infantry Regiment in an attack to the southeast that receives close air support and overruns the crossroads hamlet about halfway between Uebach and Alsdorf; a Combat Command A column thrusts east almost to Baesweiler. Task Force Cox of the 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, undergoes a counterattack that overruns four pillboxes before it is checked; these are later recovered. The Germans are again aided by massed artillery fire, but after a day’s action offer less resistance. In the VII Corps area, 39th and 60th Infantry Regiments of the 9th Infantry Division attack at 1130 hours after preparatory bombardment, in the Huertgen Forest toward Schmidt against tenacious opposition.
During the day, the USAAF Eighth Air Force dispatches 1,271 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators and 784 fighteto hit industrial targets in northern Germany; with one exception, all attacks are visual; 19 bombers and four fighters are lost: 163 hit Stargard Airfield, 146 bomb a power plant at Stralsund, 140 attack the Spandau aircraft engine factory in Berlin, 137 bomb the Spandau ordnance depot in Berlin, 129 hit the Rhenania oil refinery at Hamburg, 89 each bomb the Glinde ordnance depot at Hamburg and the Tegel-Altmarkisches armored vehicle factory in Berlin, 79 bomb the Klockner aircraft engine factory at Hamburg, 73 bomb the Focke Wolfe Fw 190 assembly plant at Neubrandenburg, 54 hit the Me 262 assembly plant at Wenzendorf, 36 hit the Luftwaffe training school at Stargard, 31 attack Stade Airfield, 12 bomb the Heer armored training school at Stettin, three each bomb Nordholz Airfield and miscellaneous targets and one each attack targets of opportunity at Bremervord and Ottesberg. During the night of 6/7 October, six B-24s and four B-17s drop leaflets over Germany. The escort fighters claim 19-1-8 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 30-0-14 on the ground. ((Skip Guidry and Jack McKillop)
During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 320 aircraft, 254 Halifaxes, 46 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to attack the Holten synthetic oil plant at Sterkrade and the Buer synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen; 145 bomb the former and 147 hit the latter. Both raids take place in clear conditions and the bombing is considered to be accurate. Nine aircraft are lost, four Halifaxes and two Lancasters at Gelsenkirchen and three Halifaxes at Sterkrade.
During the night of 6/7 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 523 aircraft, 248 Halifaxes, 247 Lancasters and 28 Mosquitos, to bomb Dortmund; 483 aircraft bomb the city. No. 6 (RCAF) Group provides 293 aircraft 248 Halifaxes and 45 Lancasters, the greatest effort by the Canadian group in the war. This raid opens a phase which some works refer to as “The Second Battle of the Ruhr.” Five aircraft, two Canadian Halifaxes, two Lancasters and a Mosquito, are lost, less than 1 per cent of the force raiding this Ruhr target on a clear night. The Pathfinder marking and the bombing were both accurate and severe damage is caused, particularly to the industrial and transportation areas of the city, although residential areas also suffered badly. The second major raid of the night is against Bremen. A total of 253 aircraft, 246 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos carry out the last of 32 major Bomber Command raids on Bremen during the war; 246 aircraft bomb the city with the loss of five Lancasters. The raid, based on the No 5 Group marking method, is an outstanding success. Severe damage is caused to the AG Weser shipyard, the two Focke-Wulf factories, the Siemens Schuckert electrical works and other important war industries. The “transport network” is described as being seriously disrupted. (It is interesting to note the increased efficiency and hence destructive power of Bomber Command at this time. Bremen, with its shipyards and aircraft factories, had been the target for many carefully planned Bomber Command raids earlier in the war and is the target for one of the much publicized 1942 1,000-bomber raids. Now this raid by no more than a quarter of the total strength of Bomber Command, hardly mentioned in the history books, has finished off Bremen and this city need not be attacked by Bomber Command again.) Other raids during the night consisted of 20 Mosquitos bombing Berlin, ten hitting Ludwigshafen and two attacking Saarbrücken. Mining missions for the night were ten aircraft laying mines in the Heligoland Bight and five in the Weser River.
U-3022 is laid down.
HUNGARY: Soviets cross the border into Czechoslovakia and launch an offensive near Arad.
ESTONIA: Soviet forces of the Leningrad Front land on Oesel (Saarema) Island, off the coast of Estonia, and begin clearing the island.
BALTIC SEA: Finnish Navy units arrive to support landings to Tornio.
ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the South African 6th Armoured Division takes Mt. Vigese in a surprise attack under cover of a heavy mist, and pushes on toward Mt. Stanco. In the IV Corps area, Task Force 92 begins a protracted struggle in the coastal sector for Mt. Cauala. In the II Corps area, the 168th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Div finishes clearing the left flank of corps, the Germans having withdrawn from Hill 747; the 133d Infantry Regiment, faced with difficult supply problems, presses toward the Monterumici hill mass. In the 91st Infantry Division zone, the 362d Infantry Regiment attacks the German delaying line based on Mt. Castellari. The 85th Infantry Division continues their attack with the 338th and 337th Regiments; the 338th pushes toward Castelnuovo di Bisano and La Villa. The 88th Infantry Division continues their efforts to take Hill 587. In the British XIII Corps area, the 3d Brigade of the 1st Division, attacking in the evening, gains a precarious hold on slopes of Mt. Ceco.
In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps postpones their general assault across the Fiumicino River for 24 hours. The 20th Brigade, Indian 10th Division, makes a preliminary attack toward Mt. Farneto, the dominating feature northwest of Sogliano, pushing through Strigara and gaining the crest before dawn of 7 October.
Weather cancels all bombing operations but 35 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s strafe airfields at Sedhes, Megalo Mikra, Megara, Eleusis, and Tatoi, and 55 P-51s strafe Kalamaki airfield in Greece.
GREECE: Thirty five USAAF Fifteenth Air Force P-38 Lightnings strafe airfields at Sedhes, Megalo Mikra, Megara, Eleusis, and Tatoi while 55 P-51 Mustangs strafe Kalamaki airfield.
BURMA: 20+ Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts bomb troop concentrations in Mawlu and Bilumyo and damage an approach to bridge at Seywa; 8 B-25s attack bridges at Hsenwi, damaging the main bridge but causing little harm to bypass bridges. Transport operations continue on large scale in the CBI.
CHINA: 12 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb Wucbou and attack boats and other targets of opportunity in the Canton area; and 50+ P-40s and P-51 Mustangs on armed reconnaissance over areas of China south of the Yangtze River attack rivercraft, bridges, town areas, troop concentrations and targets of opportunity along the north French Indochina coast.
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt”> Roosevelt’s personal representative to China, Major General Patrick J. Hurley, delivers to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek President Roosevelt’s reply, in which the President agrees to recall General Joseph Stilwell but declines to put another U.S. officer in command of Chinese troops. General Stilwell will command Chinese troops in Burma and in Yunnan Province of China but will be relieved of responsibility for lend-lease matters.
FRENCH INDOCHINA: Fifty plus USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s and P-51 Mustangs on armed reconnaissance over areas of China south of the Yangtze River attack rivercraft, bridges, town areas, troop concentrations and targets of opportunity along the north French Indochina coast.
VOLCANO ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan Island hit Iwo Jima in harassment attacks during the night of 6/7 October.
MARSHALL ISLANDS: A Seventh Air Force B-24 from Kwajalein Atoll bombs a heavy gun battery on Emidj Island, Jaluit Atoll. During the night of 6/7 October, 3 B-24s bomb Wake Island.
EAST INDIES: Far East Air Forces P-38s hit Kaoe Airfield and shipping near Djailolo on Halmahera Island. In the Ceram Island-Amboina, Ambon Island-Boeroe, Sunda Island area B-25s and P-38s attack Namlea on Buru Island, Waai on Celebes Island, Amahai on Ceram Island, and several small craft.
NEW GUINEA: In Dutch New Guinea, P-47s bomb Kaimana.
U-168 (Type IXC) is sunk at 0130hrs in the Java Sea, at position 06.20S, 111.28E, by a torpedo from the Dutch submarine HNLMS Zwaardvisch (A British T Class construction). 23 dead, 27 survivors. The Zwaardvisch took aboard five survivors, the remaining 22 are passed to a fishing boat with instruction to land them in Japanese controlled territory. This duly occurs and the crew are landed in a village on south coast of Java near to Soerabaja (modern day JogJakarta). The German base commander is notified by the Kempi Tai, and drove, along with the Japanese commander, to see his men. The Japanese commander berated the Germans for allowing themselves to be captured - something a Japanese would never do. (Jim Paterson)
The boat was intercepted, after the allies, through code breaking efforts, learned of its exact position and time of arrival at several navigation points. After that it was a very simple ambush. (Alex Gordon)
CAROLINE ISLANDS: On Angaur Island in the Palau Islands, particularly heavy fire is placed on the Japanese pocket at the northwestern tip of the island, and the 322d Infantry Regiment feints an attack, luring the Japanese into exposed positions.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS West York is commissioned.
U.S.A.: Baseball!
Submarine USS Tench is commissioned.
Frigate USS Uniontown is commissioned.
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-270 was commissioned at New York with LTJG O. T. Fretz, Jr. as her commanding officer. She departed New York, 26 October 1944 for the Southwest Pacific where she operated during the war. She was decommissioned and her Coast Guard crew removed 10 October 1945.
Coast Guard manned Army vessel FS-318 was commissioned at Camden NJ with LT R. S. Graves, USCGR as her first commanding officer. He was succeeded on 29 September l945 by LTJG Richard S. True, USCGR. She departed New York on 21 November 1944 for the Southwest Pacific, where she operated during the war. She was decommissioned on 14 October.
General Kuroda relieved of his command for devoting more time to his golf,reading and personal matters than to the execution of his official duties. Is there a modern comparison to a president perhaps?
“Our Palau Dead 1,022”
Most from the First Marine Division.
I wonder if Churchill is satisfied that we’re invading Greece and the Balkans now.
“U-168 (Type IXC) is sunk at 0130hrs in the Java Sea, at position 06.20S, 111.28E, by a torpedo from the Dutch submarine HNLMS Zwaardvisch (A British T Class construction). 23 dead, 27 survivors. The Zwaardvisch took aboard five survivors, the remaining 22 are passed to a fishing boat with instruction to land them in Japanese controlled territory. This duly occurs and the crew are landed in a village on south coast of Java near to Soerabaja (modern day JogJakarta). The German base commander is notified by the Kempi Tai, and drove, along with the Japanese commander, to see his men. The Japanese commander berated the Germans for allowing themselves to be captured - something a Japanese would never do.”
This would make a pretty good movie, too... The Dutch, the Germans, the Japanese...
Yes, very interesting episode. All it needs is some Australians!
The Germans are clearly cooperating with the Japanese, their allies, in prosecuting the war against common enemies when fighting the Americans, British or Dutch.
It would have been more complex had the U-168 been targeting Soviet-flagged shipping on the Seattle-Vladivostok run. The United States Navy would have been within it’s rights to attack the U-168 in support of it’s Soviet ally, and against a warship from an enemy nation. Had the U-168 been sunk by the Americans in such an engagement, and survivors fallen into Japanese hands, would the Japanese have been required to intern the crew, instead of repatriating them?
The really interesting question is: What were the rules of engagement for a Japanese skipper or aviator, if they encountered an American destroyer attacking a German U-Boat when the Americans were defending a Soviet-flagged freighter from attack by that U-boat?
Things were not quite so simple as to who were friends and who were enemies.
The British finally return to Greece. This will be a major development in keeping Greece from turning communist after the war.
I have visited Italy a number of times but it was generally sunny and warm. I had no idea how much rain they get in the winter until following these daily dispatches.
I guess the way you could tell they were allies was that instead of beheading the Germans, they just berated them.
Or they didn’t put them on a POW ship in waters infested with US subs where they knew they would likely be sunk as we have seen so often in the past few months!
I know it’s purely hindsight, but every time I see a dispatch where Churchill is hell bent for leather in pursuit of Stalin entering the war against Japan I wince. Sure would have helped had they just stayed out.
The Times will go far toward giving Americans the impression the Mao’s commies are more “agrarian reformers” than “real communists.” And considering the alternative was a thoroughly corrupt and incompetent Nationalist regime, it was natural to look for something else.
As a nation, we’ve never understood China. We think or want it to be something it’s not. It’s still that way. Americans would be well served to think of China in terms of China’s own proverb:
“We can always fool the foreigner.”
No atomic bombs yet. The war against Japan was expected to last for several more years. It seemed critically important at the time to get the Soviets to declare war on Japan.
Of course, Churchill would be voted out of office before the final campaign against Japan.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
