September 11th, 1944 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: In England, the US Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions: Two missions are flown. Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of bombers attacking a target.
- Mission 623: 1,131 bombers and 440 fighters, in 3 forces,
are dispatched to hit synthetic oil plants and refineries in Germany; they
encounter an estimated 525 Luftwaffe fighters; 40 bombers and 17 fighters are
lost; the USAAF claim 115-7-23 aircraft in the air and 42-0-43 on the
ground.
(1) B-17s bomb oil refineries at Bohlen (75), Chemnitz (75), Brux (39) and
Ruhland (22); the Chemnitz force is an Operation FRANTIC force that along with
64 P-51 Mustangs, continues on and lands in the USSR; targets of opportunity are
a tire plant at Fulda (66), a marshalling yard at Fulda (40) and 16 others; they
claim 12-16-1 aircraft; 16 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 252 P-51s; they
claim 57-2-12 aircraft in the air and 26-0-25 on the ground; 4 P-51s are
lost.
(2) B-17s attack oil refineries at Merseburg (111) and Lutzkendorf (96); targets
of opportunity hit are Eisennach (71), Labejum (12), Rossla (6) and 25 others;
they claim 1-1-2 aircraft; 13 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 247 P-47
Thunderbolts and P-51s; they claim 13-0-1 aircraft in the air and 4-0-2 on the
ground; 3 P-51s are lost.
(3) B-24s hit an engine factory at Hannover (88), oil refineries at Misburg (87)
and Magdeburg (33) and an ordinance depot at Magdeburg (27); targets of
opportunity hit are Magdeburg (70), Stendal (45), Diepholz (9) and 3 others;
they claim 4-8-1 aircraft; 10 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 164 P-38
Lightnings and P-51s; they claim 45-5-10 aircraft in the air and 12-0-16 on the
ground; 10 P-51s are lost.
- Mission 625: 6 B-17s drop leaflets on France and Germany during the night.
- 38 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.
BELGIUM: US 1st Army units take Malmedy.
NETHERLANDS: RAF Bomber Command dispatched seven Mosquitos to bomb Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk; three aircraft bomb the target.
FRANCE: In northern France, the British I Corps attacks Le Havre after a RAF raid.
Dijon is liberated in the south of France.
Orleans: Nearly 20,000 Germans surrender to the 83rd US Infantry Division.
In northern France, the USAAF Ninth Air Force continues tactical support of ground forces: 358 B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs, escorted by fighters, in support of the US Third Army, hit gun positions and strongpoints in the Metz area;, and support Third Army ground forces in the Metz area; fighters also support ground forces in the Brest area.
In southern France, the US AAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy limits operations to supply mission by 54 B-24s to Lyons due to bad weather.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 218 aircraft, 105 Halifaxes, 103 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos, to attack German positions outside Le Havre; 171 aircraft bombed the target. The bombing is carried out accurately in conditions of good visibility but the Master Bomber ordered the final wave to cease bombing because of smoke and dust. None are lost.
LUXEMBOURG: The U.S. First Army
under Major General Courtney Hodges enters Luxembourg City and the
liberation of the Grand Duchy from German occupation is completed. Lieutenant
Colonel Edgar Jett is placed in charge of maintaining order and restoration of
public services.
In northern FRANCE and GERMANY,
the US Ninth Air Force continues tactical support of ground forces. 358 B-26s
and A-20 Havocs, escorted by fighters, in support of the US Third Army, hit gun
positions and strongpoints in the
Metz area; in GERMANY, fighters fly armed reconnaissance over the Lissendorf and Duren areas, and support Third Army ground forces in the Metz area; armored reconnaissance elements of this Army cross into Germany, the first Allied unit to do so; fighters also support ground forces in the Brest, France area.
GERMANY: Trier: American forces resuming their advance in the central sector today crossed the Germany/Luxemburg border north of Trier and began probing the Siegfried Line defences. In the north, other American forces crossed the Dutch border at Maastricht and are poised for a thrust on Aachen.
The first US unit to enter Germany was a recon element of the US 5th Armored Division ("Victory"), specifically Troop B, 2nd Platoon, 85th Cavalry at Stolzembourg.
"While the division was moving its units up to the border on 11 Sept., an order was sent out to the reconnaissance troops. It instructed them to cross into Germany as soon as possible and find out whether or not Wehrmacht soldiers were manning the pillboxes. In CCB's zone, Captain Kenneth M. Hayes, commander of Troop B, 85th Cavalry Sq., assigned areas to his reconnaissance platoons to carry out this order. A few members of the 2nd Platoon, a patrol in charge of Sgt. Warner W. Holzinger, were the first Allied soldiers to enter Germany in World War II. It was 4:30 in the afternoon of 11 September when they crossed into the Reich at Stolzembourg. In addition to Sgt. Holzinger, this patrol consisted of: Cpl. Ralph E. Divin, T/5 Coy T. Locke, Pfc.William McColligan, Pfc.George F. McNeal, Pfc. Jesse Stevens. Sgt. Holzinger said, "When we started out on our mission, we took my radio peep with us to keep in touch with 2nd platoon and with headquarters. We worked our way down to Stolzembourg. From the citizens we learned there were no enemy soldiers in the vicinity. I have been thankful many times I could speak German." (287) (Russell Folsom)
The British Second Army has broken out of its Albert Canal bridgehead, and advance units are moving into the Netherlands. A British spokesman said that during the operation more Germans were killed and more enemy equipment destroyed than in any one day since the Normandy landings began.
The roads into Germany are now packed with trucks, motor cars, and even bicycles, carrying soldiers and civilians fleeing the countries they have occupied for four years. These refugees are flooding into the Rhineland with atrocity stories, creating alarm and despondency among local people.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 379 aircraft, 205 Halifaxes, 154 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to attack three synthetic oil plants; 121 bomb the Klocknerwerke plant at Castrop Rauxel; 116 hit the Chemischewerke plant at Kamen; and 114 attack the Nordstern plant at Gelsenkirchen. The first two targets are clearly visible and are accurately bombed but the Nordstem plant is partially protected by a smoke-screen which hindered bombing and prevented observation of the results. The three forces are escorted by 26 squadrons of fighters, 20 squadrons of Spitfires and three each of Mustangs and Tempests. No German fighters are encountered. Five Halifaxes and two Pathfinder Lancasters are lost from the Nordstem raid and a Lancaster is lost from each of the other raids. These loss are caused by flak or by 'friendly' bombs.
During the night of 11/12 September, RAF Bomber Command sends 226 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos to bomb Darmstadt; 234 aircraft bombed the city with the loss of 12 Lancasters, 5.3 per cent of the Lancaster force. A previous attack in August had failed to harm Darmstadt but, in clear weather conditions, the group's marking methods produced an outstandingly accurate and concentrated raid on this almost intact city of 120,000 people. A fierce fire area is created in the centre and in the districts immediately south and east of the centre. Property damage in this area is almost complete. Casualties are very heavy. The Darmstadt raid, with its extensive fire destruction and its heavy casualties, is held by the Germans to be an extreme example of RAF “terror bombing” and is still a sensitive subject because of the absence of any major industries in the city. Bomber Command defended the raid by pointing out the railway communications passing through Darmstadt; the directive for the offensive against German communications had not yet been issued to Bomber Command, although advance notice of the directive may have been received. Darmstadt is simply one of Germany's medium-sized cities of lesser importance which succumbed to Bomber Command's improving area-attack techniques in the last months of the war when many of the larger cities are no longer worth bombing. A second target during the night is Berlin which is hit by 42 Mosquitos. Seventy six Halifaxes and Lancasters are dispatched on mine laying missions during the night: 17 laid mines in the Kiel area, 16 off Swinemunde, nine off Kattegat and seven in the Fehmarn Channel. Two Lancasters are lost off Swinemunde.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Thirty nine USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb a synthetic oil refinery at Brux using H2X radar. This is part of Operation FRANTIC that along with 64 P-51 Mustangs, continues on and lands in the U.S.S.R.
NORWAY: The Royal Navy midget submarine X-24 carried out a successful attack on a floating dock at Bergen, Norway. This was the second attack on the harbour by X-24 - she had survived a previous operation on 14 April 1944, when she had sunk a large merchantman and put the coaling wharf out of use for the rest of the war. Once again towed to the area by the submarine HMS Sceptre, X-24 laid two mines under the dock, which broke it in two and damaged two ships moored alongside. X-24 is preserved at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport, the only remaining X-boat.
ITALY: The US 5th Army continues to advance. Pistoia is liberated by South African units of the British XIII Corps. In Italy, the US Twelfth Air Force continues tactical operations. B-26s hit defensive positions as US Fifth Army elements push through northern Italian mountain passes toward Gothic Line defenses; B-25s bomb railroad bridges at Vigevano and Canneto sull'Oglio and supply areas; fighter-bombers and fighters attack roads, railroads, guns, supply areas, bridges, and other targets at Vernio, and in the Alessandria, Turin, Piacenza, and Milan areas.
The US Fifteenth Air Force in Italy limits operations to supply mission by 54 B-24s to southern France due to bad weather.
FINLAND: The Finns and the Germans start secret negotiations about the German withdrawal from northern Finland at Rovaniemi. The Soviet-imposed deadline for the German withdrawal is only four days away, and it is evident the Germans are unable to leave Finland in time. However, both armies are willing to avoid bloodshed, and agreement is reached. Germans would retreat according to a prearranged plan, destroying roads and bridges, while Finns would advance slowly to areas already abandoned by Germans. The slow rate of Finnish advance could be excused by the German policy of scorched earth. While the negotiations are going on, the Swedish government has already agreed to receive the Finnish civilian population wishing to leave the German occupied areas.
BURMA 23 US Tenth Air Force B-24s fly fuel to Kunming, China; numerous other transport flights throughout the CBI continue.
CHINA: 12 US Fourteenth Air Force P-40s blast trucks along Burma Road and around Lungling; 59 P-40s and P-51s hit river shipping, railroad targets, troop concentrations, supply dumps, and other targets of opportunity in the Canton-Tungting Lake area.
KURILE ISLANDS: 4 US Eleventh Air Force B-25s on a shipping search sink a small craft off Shimushu Island; 2 other B-25s fly a search mission for a B-25 (which force-landed in USSR on 9 September but is still reported as missing).
VOLCANO ISLANDS: Saipan-based B-24s of the USAAF Seventh Air Force bomb Iwo Jima and damage a Japanese cargo vessel; difficulties encountered in attempting to tow the damaged craft result in her being scuttled.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC: US Far East Air Force B-24s hit airfields at Galela and Miti on Halmahera Island. B-25s bomb Kairatoe Airfield and village on Celebes Island and Boela Airfield on Ceram Island while P-38s hit airfields at Namlea on Buru Island and Amahai and oil tanks at Boela, Ceram Island. A-20s and B-25s hit Kaoe Airfield on Halmahera Island and scattered targets of opportunity. In New Guinea, A-20s strike Otawiri, Sagan, Nabire, and Urarom Airfields while fighter-bombers hit airfields and AA guns at Manokwari and Ransiki.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: PALAU ISLANDS: Carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Group 38.4 continue preinvasion attacks on airfields and Japanese installations; they also sink a Japanese cargo ship 2 miles (3,2 kilometres) off the coast. During the night, USAAF Thirteenth Air Force radar-equipped B-24s attack the airfields and defensive positions.
MARIANA ISLANDS: The USN destroyer USS Ellet (DD-398) bombards supply dumps on Aguijan Island.
AUSTRALIA: British submarine HMS/M Porpoise (N 14) sails from Freemantle, Western Australia, with a 23-man commando party participating in Operation RIMAU, an attack on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbor. This raid emulated Operation JAYWICK in September 1943 when Australian commandoes attacked shipping in Singapore. However, unlike the previous attack this attack fails. The submarine successfully drops the commandos at their start point, but then things go wrong; the commandos are discovered, and in engagements with the Japanese, 13 men are killed or die of wounds. The remaining ten are captured. On 7th July 1945, the ten men are executed by the Japanese.
PACIFIC OCEAN: US submarines sink the Japanese transports RAKUYO MARU and KACHIDOKI MARU killing 1,274 Allied PoWs en-route from Singapore to Formosa.
USN submarines also sink four other Japanese ships: (1) USS Albacore (SS-218) sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser off Kyushu, Japan; (2) USS Finback (SS-230) sinks an army cargo ship and a merchant cargo ship north of Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands; and (3) USS Pargo (SS-264) sinks an auxiliary netlayer in the Java Sea, Netherlands East Indies.
CANADA: The Octagon Conference at Quebec begins hosted by Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King at the Chateau Frontenac. Churchill and Roosevelt with their staffs meet to discuss overall strategy of the war. The plans for continued attacks in Italy and Northern Europe are not changed. British attacks in Burma are approved. British Fleet participation in the Pacific is approved for the final campaigns against the Japanese. This conference will last until the 16th.
U.S.A.: Destroyer escort USS Grady commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German submarine U-855 is listed as missing in the area west of Bergen, Norway. The 56-men aboard the sub are lost.