[Homer_J_Simpson]

Trap on Seine Set (Middleton) – 2-4
German Bastion Falls and Americans on Way to Paris (photos) – 3
War News Summarized – 4
Allies Capture St. Maximin, 25 Miles above Marseille (Sedgwick) – 5
The ‘Mad Colonel’ of St. Malo is Now a Prisoner (photo) – 6
Stalin Bid to Poles (Daniell) – 7
Red Army Lunges toward Lomzha – 8-9
German Rocket Fighter Planes Called Fastest Aircraft in Use – 9
The Flying Bomb-II (Baldwin) – 10
The Texts of the Day’s Communiques on Fighting in Various Zones – 11-13
Germans Scuttle Fleets in France – 13

The News of the Week in Review
“This is the Hour when We Must Throw into Battle the Last Little Ounce of Strength”-German Broadcast (map) – 14
Battle of France – 15-17
Fifteen News Questions – 18
Our Pacific Strategy Nears Its Final Stage (Shalett) – 19-20
Allied Armies Drive Ahead in the Battle of Europe (map) – 21
Great Battles Rising to a Climax in Europe (Baldwin) – 22
“Two-Pronged Attack Does It” (cartoon) – 23
Answers to Fifteen News Questions – 23

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1944/aug44/20aug44.htm#

Germans defending Riga
Sunday, August 20, 1944 www.onwar.com

On the Eastern Front... In Latvia, Soviet attacks continue. Naval support from the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen assists Army Group North in holding a Soviet advance near Riga. In the south, a large-scale artillery barrage during the night heralds a new Soviet offensive. The 2nd Ukrainian Front (Malinovsky) advances south from Jassy and the 3rd Ukrainian Front advances southwest from Tiraspol. The Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies, on the right and left flanks of German 6th Army are the initial targets of the assault.

On the Western Front... During the night, the last elements of German 5th Panzer and 7th Armies to escape the Falaise pocket filter through Allied line around Chambois and St. Lambert. Some 70-80 miles to the east, the US 3rd Army captures crossings over the Seine River at Mantes Grassicourt, 30 miles west of Paris. To the southwest of Paris, the US 20th Corps (also part of US 3rd Army) enters Fontainbleau.

In Occupied France... Marshal Petain is arrested by Germans in Vichy for refusing to go to an area safe from the Allied advance. The French resistance forces (FFI) claim to control 8 departments.

In Liberated France... General de Gaulle arrives.

In New Guinea... Americans announce that Japanese resistance on Biak Island has ended. The Japanese have suffered 4700 killed and 220 captured. US casualties are listed at 2550.

[henkster]

Interesting blurb about drilling for oil on Alaska’s North Slope. The existence of oil had been known in Alaska’s North Slope for years before this. Naval Petroleum Reserve #4 was created there during the Harding Administration to provide a strategic oil reserve for the Navy.

[henkster]

Here is the last situation map I'll post for a while. The Normandy battle is over; not much will happen outside of a pursuit until we get to Market-Garden.

Today's map shows the 5th Armored Division's sweep behind the Germans to deny them crossings over the Seine. It also shows a closed pocket at Falaise with some attempts to break out. The question mark over the pocket shows Jodl and Hitler recognize that there are no organized units of any real combat value there. The note "bisher 20" below the pocket means "previously 20." That means the pocket contains what's left of what was once 20 divisions in the German Order of Battle.

Note that outside the pocket, the map shows "10 Div (davon 6 abgekämpft)." That translates as "10 divisions, of which 6 are fought out," or lacking any combat value. Four divisions, or their effective equivalent, is all the Germans recognize as being left of the wreckage of two armies.

I will try to post a map recap of the campaign in a day or two.