March 30th, 1944 (THURSDAY)
GERMANY: RAF bombers raid Nuremberg, losing 95 aircraft (64 Lancasters and 30 Halifaxes) out of 795. 545 British crewmen are killed, compared with 69 German civilians and 59 foreign slave workers.
Of the aircraft lost 62 are shot down by German fighters, 14 by flak, 2 are lost in collisions and 16 listed as missing. (Gene Hanson)
P/O Cyril Joe Barton (b.1921), RAFVR, carried out a raid alone in his damaged Halifax MK III (LK 797) of No. 578 Squadron, after three crew baled out in error. He died when his fuelless plane crash landed in Co. Durham. (Victoria Cross)
Berlin: Hitler, furious at the Russian victories in the Ukraine, has sacked two of his field marshals, von Manstein, commanding Army Group South and von Kleist, in charge of Army Group A.
Von Manstein's dismissal is the culmination of a long series of quarrels in which he has refused Hitler's demand that the Wehrmacht should never retreat. Von Manstein, master of the defensive battle, won the last quarrel five days ago when Hitler summoned him to the Berchtesgaden to demand that the army must stand on the line of the river Bug. Von Manstein replied that it was an impossible order, and that the First Panzer Army was in danger of being caught in a Stalingrad-type "cauldron".
Hitler backed down, but now he has had his revenge. He recongnised that von Manstein was a master of manoeuvre, but said that what he wanted was someone who "would dash round the divisions and get the very utmost out of his troops". At the core of the quarrel is Hitler's belief that the army had run away in the Ukraine. In fact it was overwhelmed by the speed and weight of the Russian attack.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA:U-223 (type VIIC) (Oberleutnant zur See Peter Gerlach) is sunk north of Palermo in position 38.48N 14.10E by depth charges from HMS Laforey (which the U-Boat also torpedoes and sinks), HMS Tumult, HMS Hambledon, HMS Blencathra. 23 of the U-Boat crew are lost, but 27 survive. Having attacked HMS Laforey whilst surfaced U-223 then attempted an escape on the surface at 15 knots, but was unable to outrun 2 fleet and 3 escort destroyers. She finally sank by the stern after having been on the receiving end of 27 depth charge/Hedgehog attacks and gunfire. HMS Laforey is the last British warship to be sunk in the Mediterranean by a submarine during WWII. There are 177 casualties and 69 survivors. (Alex Gordon)(108)
BURMA: The Chindits' 16th Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Bernard Fergusson, retreats following its failure to take the main Japanese supply base at Indaw.
Admiralty Islands: US forces occupy Pityilu Island, north of Manus.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: US Marine Photo squadron VMD-254 redeploys to Guadalcanal.
U.S.A.: The motion picture "Cover Girl" opens at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Directed by Charles Vidor, this musical comedy stars Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, Jinx Falkenburg, Eve Arden and Otto Kruger.