5 September 1944

UNITED KINGDOM: London: The Benelux Customs Union, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, is established by the exile governments of these countries. This will eventually lead to the formation of the European Economic Community.

- Mission 605: 739 bombers and 315 fighters are dispatched to southeastern Germany; 6 bombers are lost; during the missions, a P-51 shoots down a Swiss Bf 109 near Dubendorf.
(1) 203 B-17s attack a Stuttgart aero engine plant and 4 attack targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 147 P-51 Mustangs; they claim 19-0-0 aircraft in the air and 14-0-27 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.
(2) 277 B-17s hit a synthetic oil plant at Ludwigshafen and 1 hits a target of opportunity (1); 2 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 155 P-51s; a P-51 is lost; and
(3) 183 B-24s hit the Karlsruhe marshalling yard and 2 bomb targets of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost.

- Mission 606: 143 B-17s make a visual attack on enemy positions in the Brest, France area; 2 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 21 P-51s without loss.

- Mission 608: 7 B-17s drop leaflets in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

- 46 B-24s and 2 C-47s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night; a B-24 is lost.

- VIII Fighter Command fighter-bomber missions: (1) 48 P-38s and 167 P-47s attack transportation targets in western Germany and claim 0-0-2 aircraft in the air and 62-0-30 on the ground; 4 P-47s are lost and (2) 67 P-38s and P-47s attack 3 airfields in the Hanau/Giessen, Germany area and claim 2-0-0 aircraft in the air and 66-0-28 on the ground; a P-38 and 3 P-47s are lost.

ÉIRE: A RN Catalina crashes at Foynes, County Limerick. Foynes, across the River Shannon from present day Shannon International Airport, is the seaplane base used by PanAm and BOAC for flights across the Atlantic to North America.

WESTERN EUROPE: The Germans under von Rundstedt, organize a new Western Front using remnants of Heer units that escaped from Normandy reinforced with teenage and middle-age conscripts and displaced Luftwaffe ground crews and sailors. The new front runs across the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium to Germany's western border, then extends south through Luxembourg and eastern France.

FRANCE: Namur and Charleroi are liberated by the US 1st Army. Germany launches its first V-2 missile at Paris.

In northern France, the U.S. Ninth Army becomes operational taking command of troops on the Brittany Peninsula.

The U.S. 80th Infantry Division, Third Army, attempts to bridge the Moselle River but is rebuffed by new German defenses.

The Canadian 3rd Division moving along the coast, bypasses Boulogne and reaches the Calais area; the Germans are prepared to defend both ports. Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Commanding General of the U.S. Third Army, orders the XII Corps to cross the Moselle River, secure Nancy, and be prepared to continue to Mannheim and the Rhine River.

In the air during the day, 143 USAAF (USAAF) Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses make a visual attack on enemy positions in the Brest, France area; two B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 21 P-51 Mustangs without loss. The supply dump at Bricy Airfield in Orleans is visually bombed by 84 B-17s without loss.

In the air over northern France, 300+ USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs bomb strongpoints in the Brest area and a coastal battery at Pointe du Grand Gouin while fighters hit gun positions and other military targets in the Brest area and fly cover for six armored and infantry divisions.

In the air over southern France, USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighters fly sweeps through the Rhone Valley.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 348 aircraft, 313 Lancasters, 30 Mosquitos and five Stirlings, to carry out the first of a series of heavy raids on the German positions around Le Havre which are still holding out after being bypassed by the Allied advance; 335 aircraft bomb the target. This is an accurate raid in good visibility. A second force of 60 Lancasters and six Mosquitos is sent to bomb gun positions outside Brest, whose garrison is also still holding out; 63 aircraft bomb the target.

BELGIUM: The British 7th Armoured Division captures Ghent but the German continue to hold the northern outskirts for several days. The U.S. 2d Armored Division and the 113th Cavalry Group push deep into the country to a general line from Brussels to Gembloux. Namur and Charleroi are liberated by the US First Army. (John Nicholas)

During the night, seven USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses visually drop leaflets over the country.

NETHERLANDS: "Dolle Dinsdag" (Mad Tuesday): The Dutch people celebrate their liberation, after the English based Dutch radio claims on Sep. 4 that allied forces have crossed the border between Antwerp and Breda. Because of the quick advance from Normandy through France and Belgium to Antwerp, liberated on Sep 4, and the collapse of the German army, expectations are that the Netherlands will be liberated in a very short time. Along the roads people await the allied columns to advance, dressed in their best clothes, carrying flowers and waving flags. Before that they see columns of Germans and Dutch collaborationists flee the country.

Rumours are spread rapidly and become pure fantasy: in Rotterdam is heard that Breda is liberated, In Amsterdam they know that the Allies are already in The Hague. The Rotterdam harbour is probably in the hands of the Dutch resistance and the allies have dropped thousands of paratroopers near Zwolle, in the northeast.

Resistance people come out in the open and arrest alleged collaborators. In some cities resistance and Germans fight each other.

In the late afternoon it becomes clear that the celebrations are premature and time will tell that they were *very* premature. Not a single allied soldier or vehicle comes even near the Dutch border. It will take the allies weeks of heavy fighting to make it to the Great Rivers in November. The north of Holland has to live through the Hunger Winter until May 1945.

How did this all start, then? Why did Dutch radio claim that the allies had crossed the border?

On Sep 4 the allies liberated Antwerp, a few dozen miles from the Dutch border. In the evening news a journalist had prepared a speech for the Dutch Prime Minister in exile, Mr. Gerbrandy. In that speech was written that the allies were *nearing* the Dutch border, which was changed by the PM himself in 'crossed the border'. He claims to have had that message from a trusted source, a resistance man in Breda.

The BBC next took over the message, and the next morning (Sep 5) the Dutch radio even claimed Breda had been liberated. After this message however the radio never mention it again and is silent about allied advances.

There are several theories about how this all occurred. One of them tells that British reconnaissance were seen close to the border, and mistakenly held for advancing troops. Another is about an overheard radio transmission between a British unit and its headquarters. This unit supposedly was in Brasschaat, just north of Antwerp, on the road to Breda. When asked where they were, they answered that the were on the Bredabaan (Breda Road) in front of the 'Cafe Breda'. By naming Breda twice one could easily think the unit was actually there.

GERMANY: During the night of 5/6 September, 41 of 43 RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb the city of Hannover without loss.

HUNGARY: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack five transportation targets: 106 B-17 Flying Fortresses visually bomb the North Railroad Bridge in Budapest while 51 attack the South Railroad Bridge; 93 B-24 Liberators bomb the Szolnok railroad bridge; 85 B-24s bomb the railroad bridge at Szob; and one aircraft bombs a target of opportunity.

During the night of 5/6 September, four RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group lay mines in the Danube River.

POLAND: Warsaw: Against all odds the Poles are still holding out in Warsaw despite the efforts of SS General Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, and expert in crushing revolts. The Poles, girls and boys as young as ten among them, are defending every street, every house, every pile of rubble with enormous courage. The sewers have become their lines of communications, cellars their operating theatres.

Stalin still refuses to help, despite impassioned pleas from Churchill and from Roosevelt, who will not land American supply aircraft of Russian airstrips without Stalin's permission. The Soviet Army is in a difficult position across the Vistula, facing three strong Panzer divisions and with its own supply lines overstretched in the rear. But the Poles accuse Stalin of holding back for political reasons.

U.S.S.R.: The Soviet Union declares war on Bulgaria. Bulgaria declares war in return, their attempts to stay out of the war have been unsuccessful.

During Operation Zeppelin, an attempt to destroy strategically important targets around Moscow, an Arado 232B-0 transport carrying troops intent on sabotage hits a tree and catches fire near Moscow. (21)

Arctic Ocean: U-362 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the Kara Sea near Krakovka, about 33 nautical miles west-northwest of Lomonsovo, Russia, by depth charges from the Soviet minesweeper T-116. 51 dead (all crew lost). This is the boats seventh patrol but she is not credited with sinking any ships. (Alex Gordon)

The Finnish peace delegation arrives in Moscow. Hostilities have ceased for 2 days. The Finnish delegation won't leave until the 7th of September, and the hostilities have been suspended since the 4th/5th for the duration of negotiations. (Mikko Härmeinen & Gene Hanson)

YUGOSLAVIA: A USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberator bombs the marshalling yard at Subotica and during the night of 5/6 September, seven RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group lay mines in the Danube River.

ITALY: The British 8th Army continues strong attacks on Coriano and Gemmano ridges. The German forces hang on. Lucca falls to the US IV Corps.

The British V Corps and Canadian I Corps continues strong attacks on Coriano and Gemmano ridges in Italy. The German forces hang on. The U.S. 1st Armored Division takes Lucca and the South African 6th Armoured Division gets forward elements to Monsummano and clears part of Mount Albano. Meanwhile the Germans pull back from positions north of Florence.

Medium bombers of the USAAF (USAAF) Twelfth Air Force again strike, with excellent results, road and rail bridges in the Po Valley while fighter-bombers blast rail lines and rolling stock south of the river; fighters support the limited ground force advance in preparation for a major assault on the Gothic Line.

Ninety nine USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the railroad bridge at Ferrara while during the night of 5/6 September, 56 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack the marshalling yard at Ferrara.

CHINA: Twenty one USAAF (USAAF) Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators fly fuel to Kunming and numerous other cargo and troop carrier sorties are flown to various terminals in the China-Burma-India theater.

Twenty five USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack Kiyang and Hengyang and cause considerable damage in both towns and at the Hengyang Airfield; six others attack trucks and other targets of opportunity at the Siangtan ferry crossing, near Hengyang and Kiyang, in the Lingling and Yoyang areas, and at Samshui; and two more B-25s bomb Kowloon shipyards. Twenty six P-40s attack concentrations of river junks, troops and horses in the Kiyang-Wangyang area; and other fighter-bombers, operating individually or in flights of two to ten aircraft, hit a variety of targets of opportunity throughout the Hengyang, Kiyang, Yungfengshih, and Lishui area.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, small-scale pre-dawn strikes by USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators hit Kendari Airfield on Celebes Island while fighter-bombers attack Galela and nearby villages on Halmahera Island, Moluccas Islands. Almost 60 B-24s bomb Langoan Airfield on Celebes Island while a sizeable B-25 force bombs Djailolo Airfield, several villages, and Kaoe antiaircraft positions on Halmahera Island, all.

NEW GUINEA: Replying to the request by Australian General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief Allied Land Forces Southwest Pacific and Commander-in-Chief Australian Military Force, for the use of the Australian 6th Division at Aparri, Philippine Islands, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, says that the intelligence estimate of enemy strengths in northern Luzon ‘is over-generous’ and that there would be little opposition. His plan is that when the 6th Division has accomplished its task at Aitape, Northeast New Guinea, it would be brought to the Philippines, where it would be landed in the Lingayen Gulf to participate in the final drive to Manila. This would probably occur in March, 1945.

In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force fighter-bombers hit Soepiori Peninsula villages and Waren and Moemi Aerodromes near Ransiki.

USAAF OPERATIONS IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): 20 Saipan Island-based B-24s bomb Iwo Jima. Gilbert Islands-based B-25s attack Nauru and Ponape Islands.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberator flies an armed reconnaissance flight over Yap Island.

MARCUS ISLAND: A USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberator flies an armed reconnaissance flight over the island. The island is located in the North Pacific about 768 nautical miles (1 422 kilometers) west-northwest of Wake Island and is used as a refueling point for Japanese aircraft en route to the Central Pacific.

MARIANA ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts make strafing and rocket attacks on antiaircraft positions on Pagan Island.

PALAU ISLANDS: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24s hit Peleliu Airfield on Peleliu Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Allied submarines sink two Japanese ships: (1) USS Albacore (SS-218) sinks a merchant cargo ship north of Muroto Saki, Japan, and (2) HMS Tantivy sinks a merchant cargo ship off Sumatra.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Australian minesweeper HMAS Kiama (J 353) lands a reconnaissance party of 13 Australian Imperial Force officers (from New Guinea Force and the 5th Division), 12 RAAF officers, 73 other ranks and ten natives at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain Island.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-198 was commissioned at New Orleans with her first commanding officer being Lt. J. J. Grant, USCGR. He was succeeded 3 October 1945, by LTJG Charles W. Shannon, USCG. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area including Leyte, etc.