September 19th, 1944 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
USAAF EUROPE
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS: The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 642: 796
B-17s, in 2 forces, are dispatched against marshalling yards in western Germany;
weather prevents about half from bombing primary targets but most manage to bomb
targets of opportunity; 7 bombers and 1 fighter are lost.
- - 100 B-17s and 61 P-51s takeoff from bases in the USSR and
bomb the marshalling yard at Szolnok, Hungary and continue to bases in Italy.
- - 172 P-51s supporting the First Allied Airborne Army in
the Netherlands engage 100+ fighters, claiming 23-4-14; 6 P-51s are lost
TACTICAL OPERATIONS: In Germany, US Ninth Air Force
B-26s hit marshalling yards in the Duren area to prevent reinforcements from
reaching the Aachen area by rail; IX Tactical Air Command supports the US V
Corps in repelling a counterattack at the Wallendorf bridgehead, supports
Operation MARKET-GARDEN and flies armed reconnaissance in western Germany. XIX
Tactical Air Command escorts A-20s and B-26s, flies cover both for MARKET-GARDEN
and in the Brest and Nancy, France areas, and armed reconnaissance over Metz,
Germany area.
Submarine HMS Vagabond launched.
NETHERLANDS: Operation Market-Garden: The British XXX Corps links up with the US 101st Airborne at Eindhoven. The British paratroops repeated attempts to reach the battalion at the Arnhem bridge fail.
The 2nd Battalion of the 1st
Parachute Brigade continues to hold out in the houses on the northern end of the Arnhem bridge. Disaster is closing in on Lieutenant Colonel Frost's battalion
after 50 hours of fighting. While some men of the 1st Airborne Division's other
battalions had been able to infiltrate the German lines surrounding his
battalion, no battalions had broken through.
The Polish parachute drop had not materialized and XXX Corps had not appeared.
Casualties filled the cellars of the houses from which the battalion was
fighting. Many of them were in flames and some positions had been overrun. At
1900 two 60 ton Tiger tanks moved toward the bridge and began firing into the
positions of the battalion. Frost wondered how long he could hold on.
At 0600 British engineers complete the Bailey bridge over the Wilhelmena Canal at Zon and at 0610 the Grenadier Group of the Guards Armoured moves across the bridge. The Grenadier Guards move off with the armoured cars of the Household Cavalry leading. The Household Cavalry easily outdistance the tanks and arrive at Grave shortly after 0800. Reconnaissance indicates that the road bridge at Neerbosch is unusable, but finds, with the help of the US Airborne troops that a second bridge at Heuman is available. The armoured car group arrives at Grave at 0830 where it halts because General Browning, commander the British Airborne Corps, wants to see the two battalion commanders at his CP five miles to the east to discuss a new plan of action. Consultations are held with General Gavin and a combined plan is made. The much slower tanks catch up at 1000. When they return the column moves north again. The 82nd Airborne has been unable to secure either the road or the railroad bridge over the River Waal at the northern end of Nijmegen. The Grenadier Group with the 2/505th of the 82nd under command is assigned the mission of moving through Nijmegan and seizing both the rail bridge and the road bridge.
By 1200 they move swiftly through the 101st Airborne sector of the Market-Garden corridor, enter the suburbs of Nijmegen, and link up with elements of the 82nd Airborne. To the north of the city the great bridge over the Waal, the last water obstacle before the Neder Rhine and Arnhem, is still in German hands. A force of the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards and the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry is ordered to seize the bridge.
This force, more properly described as tanks of 3 Squadron, 2 Grenadier Guards, infantry from 2 Company 1 Grenadier Guards plus Companies E and F of 2nd Battalion 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment was detailed to capture the Post Office (from where Dutch Resistance had indicated the bridge demolition controls were located) and the road bridge.
The western force, detailed to capture the rail bridge had 5 tanks from 3 squadron, 2nd Grenadier Guards, one platoon of carrier borne infantry of the 1st Grenadiers plus D Company of 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment.
Both attacks went in at 1600. The western force was stopped 200 yards from the bridge and spent the night (of 19th September) essentially surrounded by German forces which they had pushed through, but the eastern force captured the Post Office which they found was not the demolitions centre as reported.
Major General James Gavin, commanding general of the 82nd, then proposed that a battalion of the 82nd make an assault crossing across the Waal in small boats to be provided by XXX Corps. Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, commanding the British Airborne Corps approved. The attack is scheduled for 1300 on the 20th and the call goes out for the boats.
Once the crossing is made downstream from the bridges and the paratroopers have secured the northern end of the road bridge the British will attack from the southern end and cross the bridge. The attack is to be supported by artillery, tank fire and close air provided by RAF Typhoons. Securing the bridge will remove the last bridge obstacle south of Arnhem, 11 miles to the north.
The first bridge was reportedly captured by 1600 and the second fell at 1700.
However, according to Captain Neville, his force had crossed the rail bridge by late morning but only made contact with the American paratroopers when they arrived there later that afternoon. He had been unable to communicate with anyone on the south bank and therefore continued to fight towards the north end of the road bridge. (Stuart Millis)
Some 40 miles south in the sector of the 101st Airborne, the 502nd Parachute Infantry along with two battalions of the 327th Glider Infantry with the 321st Glider Field Artillery in direct support had, on the third day of a battle begun by one company of the 502nd, secured the village of Best two miles northwest of Zon. The howitzers of the 321st, which had landed earlier in the day were the first to reach the division in Holland. While the lead elements of XXX Corps were in Nijmegen units of the corps were still on the road in the sector of the 101st. German artillery had damaged vehicles on the road and these were now causing delays in the rear. In addition the Germans had attacked Zon and had been repulsed. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep the corridor open. This afternoon Montgomery's 48 hours had elapsed. (Jay Stone)
Luftwaffe aircraft bomb Eindhoven killing 200. This causes much damage along the main supply route of XXX Corps. Streets are blocked which causes delays in getting equipment and supplies forward. This exacerbates the already difficult problem that XXX Corps has in supplying its forward elements along one narrow corridor that is sometimes under German attack.
82 Airborne. General Browning, commander of the British Airborne Corp warns General Gavin, of the 82nd, the "Nijmegan Bridge must be taken today. At the latest tomorrow." General Gavin is so hard-pressed to keep the road open and to maintain the security of his 120 square mile area, especially the landing zones that he is unable to get sufficient combat power to Nijmegan and so to secure the bridge. To accomplish this, the plan as stated above is devised.
101st Airborne. In his planning to secure a crossing over the Wilhelmena Canal General Taylor, commander of the 101st had given the mission of securing the bridge over the canal at Best four miles east of Zon. to the commander of the 502 Parachute Infantry. He assigned one company to the task. The bridge is blown but there are strong German forces in and around the town and they must be defeated since they are a threat to the road. What was a one company mission on the 17th now requires the commitment of two battalions of the 502nd, two battalions of the recently arrived 327th Glider Infantry Regiment a squadron of British tanks and British Artillery support. The attack went in and German resistance quickly collapsed. More than 1,000 prisoners were taken and 300 Germans killed.
Other elements of the division defeated German attacks at several points of the road and kept it open for XXX Corps units.
At 1400 the gliders carrying the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment and most of the Division Artillery land. Several gliders have not arrived due to poor visibility en route and enemy anti-aircraft fire.
Observers on the roof of the schoolhouse in Zon watch the gliders approach and land. It is obvious that in the two days since the initial landings the Germans have moved additional AA units into place on the route along which more airborne units would approach.
Several gliders and C-47 tugs are shot down as they make the approach.
At 1830 the division CP and the bridge at Zon are attacked by German tanks. Many rounds were fired at both targets from the south side of the canal. This was an attempt to cut the road and damage the bridge. The tanks were driven off by a combination of fire from anti-tank guns of the 325th Glider Infantry and bazooka fire from headquarters personnel.
1st Airborne Division. The buildup of German forces facing the 1st Airborne continues. At all places the British face infantry supported by tanks, assault guns, large and small calibre anti-aircraft guns in a ground fire mode, and various other armoured vehicles. The British must face this with PIATs and any 6 pounder or 17 pounder AT guns available and there are not many available. In addition, communications within the division is almost non-existent.
North of the DZ, LZ area the 4th Parachute Brigade attacks to seize the high ground and then advance on Arnhem from the north. The brigade takes heavy casualties and the attack is driven back. German forces advancing from the east attack the 1st Battalion The Border Regiment which is to the rear of the 4th Para Brigade. The brigade is now in danger of being cut off from the rest of the division and is ordered back. With a solid enemy line on the east and positions being established by him on the northern and western portions of the divisions zone the enemy is forming a box.. The division with its back to the river will face the enemy on three sides.
Attempts to break through to the bridge and relieve are unsuccessful. Late on the 18th the commanders of the 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, 1 Para and 11 Para had devised a plan for their three battalions to attack towards the bridge at 0400 hours on the 19th. Because of a lack of communications commanders at brigade and division level do not know of this plan. In addition, the commander of 1 Para who was not with the other three commanders plans to attack toward the bridge in the morning. All of the four attacks are beaten back by the Germans with heavy British casualties.
At the bridge 2 Para and the other small units with it are being decimated. German tank and artillery fire is destroying the buildings in which they are located. White phosphorous shells from artillery fire has set some of the buildings on fire. In addition to the fire from the south, the battalion must now face tank fire from the north.
Some buildings on the northern approaches to the bridge are becoming rubble. Casualties mount and they are placed in the cellar where they receive minimal, if no treatment. Medical supplies, as well as ammunition are running low. At 1400 hours the 48 hours set as the time for XXX Corps units to arrive at the bridge has passed. These units are through Nijmegan but have not crossed the last bridge before Arnhem. (Jay Stone)
"At 1600 hours on the 19th [of September 1944], the Grenadier Group [Guards Armoured Division] with the 2nd Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry [of the 82nd Airborne Division] under command, moved off to carry out the first attack on the road and railway bridges [over the River Waal at Nijmegan]. But, as has already been recounted, the attack failed in the face of resolute defence by [SS-Haupstrumfuhrer Leo Herman] Reinhold's SS battle group and the Americans suffered 150 killed and 600 wounded.
Arnhem: Flt-Lt David Samuel Anthony Lord (b.1913) flew his crippled DC-3 to drop supplies which had failed to fall on his first run. He told his crew to bale out and died when the plane crashed in flames. (Victoria Cross)
Arnhem: Capt. Lionel Ernest Queripel (b.1920), Royal Sussex Regt., displayed great bravery in nine hours of bitter fighting. He stayed to cover his men's withdrawal and was never seen again. (Victoria Cross)
Nijmegen: Civilians shave the heads of women who associated with Nazis during the occupation.
One hundred seventy two USAAF Eighth Air Force P-51 Mustangs supporting the First Allied Airborne Army engage 100+ German fighters, claiming 23-4-14; six P-51s are lost.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatched 56 aircraft, 28 Lancasters, 27 Halifaxes and a Mosquito, to attack the Domburg coastal battery but are recalled. A Halifax crashes in England.
FRANCE
: In the U.S. Ninth Army area, VIII Corps under General Middleton,
successfully concludes the Brittany campaign as the 8th Infantry Division
finishes clearing the Crozon Peninsula and captures German Major General der Fallschirmtruppe
Hermann Bernhard
Ramcke, fortress commander of
Brest.
In the 6th Army Group area: Commanders conference is held at Lyon to plan for future operations. The French Army B is renamed the French 1st Army.
GERMANY: Rastenburg: In an attempt to ensure that the army obeys the Nazi Party, Hitler orders all commanders to take advice from Gauleiters.
In the U.S. First Army's XIX Corps area, the U.S. 2d Armored Division drives through Gangelt toward Geilenkirchen, forcing a salient between two German armies, but the Germans restore contact during counterattacks. Corps faces the West Wall and prepares to attack it tomorrow.
During the night of 19/20 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatched 227 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos of Nos 1 and No 5 Groups to the twin towns of Mönchengladbach/Rheydt; 233 bombed the target with the loss of four Lancasters and a Mosquito lost. Bomber Command claimed severe damage to both towns, particularly to Mönchengladbach. The Master Bomber for this raid is Wing Commander Guy Gibson, VC, DSO, DFC flying a Mosquito from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, England, where he is serving as Base Operations Officer. Gibson's instructions over the target are heard throughout the raid and gave no hint of trouble, but his aircraft crashed in flames, according to a Dutch eyewitness, before crossing the coast of Holland for the homeward flight over the North Sea. There are no German fighter claims for the Mosquito; it may have been damaged by flak over the target or on the return flight, or it may have developed engine trouble. It is possibly flying too low for the crew to escape by parachute. Gibson and his navigator, Squadron Leader JB Warwick, DFC are both killed and are buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Steenbergen-en-Kruisland, 13 kilometers (8 miles) north of Bergen-op-Zoom. Theirs are the only graves of Allied servicemen in the cemetery.
U-328
commissioned,
U-2347 and
U-3519 laid down.
DENMARK: A five-day strike begins in protest against German deportations.
HUNGARY: One hundred USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and 61 P-51 Mustangs takeoff from bases in the U.S.S.R. and 91 B-17s bomb the marshalling yard at Szolnok and continue on to bases in Italy.
During the night of 19/20 September, 85 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Szekesfehervor.
FINLAND: The peace treaty between Finland and Soviet Union is signed today at noon. The negotiations have been long and difficult, and what little hopes the Finnish negotiators had of modifying the conditions are bashed by the leader of Soviet delegation, Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov.
Finnish delegation, led by PM Hackzell had arrived Moscow already on 7 Sept, but they had to wait a week while the Soviets and British are negotiating what kind of conditions shall be presented (British actually manage to persuade the Soviets to halve the amount of reparations demanded). The first meeting is on 14 Sept, but there's further delay as PM Hackzell suffers brain hemorrhage and is paralysed; Foreign Minister Carl Enckell is sent to Moscow to replace Hackzell. On the evening of 18 Sept Molotov presents an ultimatum: Finns has to accept the Soviet demands by the noon of 19th, or the hostilities would be started again.
The main points of the treaty are:
- the territories lost in 1940 are again ceded to Soviet Union as is Petsamo in far north. The peninsula of Porkkala (uncomfortably near to Helsinki!) is leased to Soviet Union for 50 years as a naval base (Khrustsev gives it back in 1956)
- Finland pays US $300 million as war reparations - that is in uninflated 1938 US dollars ("We have no intention of letting you to gain any benefit of the war." comments Molotov; the reparations are paid by 1952)
- Finland agrees to banish all German troops from the country
- Finland agrees to prosecute all war-criminals and those deemed guilty of initiating the war and allying Finland with Germany.
There's also many minor points, like freeing the political prisoners, disbanding all "hitlerite" organisations, limiting the size of the armed forces etc. A Soviet-dominated Allied Supervisory Committee is situated at Helsinki to ensure that Finland will comply with the treaty.
The so-called Autumn Manoeuvres, the orchestrated German withdrawal and Finnish advance in northern Finland, begin. The advance is arranged in such a way that Finns arrive always one day after Germans have left. This phase of the Lappland War will be short, however. The Soviets soon smell the rat and demand real action. Meanwhile the civilian population in the areas manned by Germans are being evacuated to Sweden.
ESTONIA: Troops of the Soviet Third Baltic Front overrun Valga, on the Estonian--Latvian border. Other Soviet forces are approaching Tallinn and Riga.
As the Soviet Army advances, the Germans are desperately trying to destroy the evidence of the mass torture and murder that they have inflicted on occupied countries. With the Red Army on the brink of liberating the Klooga concentration camp, the SS today slaughtered all but 85 of the 3,000 forced labourers. Half of them were Jewish, the rest Estonian political prisoners and Soviet PoWs. Strangely enough, no captured Germans, or even local people, will own up to knowing anything about the camps in their midst.
U.S.S.R.: Baltic Fleet, Ladoga Lake and Chudskoe Lake Flotillas: MS "T-379" - unknown case, on Tallin stead (later raised and used as a stationary TS) . (Sergey Anisimov)(69)
YUGOSLAVIA: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators based in Italy attack two railroad bridges: 48 bomb the bridge at Mitrovica and 48 bomb the bridge at Kraljevo while 70 P-38 Lightnings provide target area cover.
ITALY: In U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, two antiaircraft battalions reach Montrone on the coast and Pietrasanta, northeast of Montrone.
In Br Eighth Army area, 10 Corps continues to battle the Rimini Line, meeting particularly stubborn opposition in the vicinity of Ceriano, but the 46th Division succeeds in breaching the line during night of 19/20 September at Torraccia after crossing the Ausa River at Serravalle.
Bad weather grounds USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers; fighter-bombers hit guns and defensive positions along the Gothic Line and attack roads and bridges in the Bologna area.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: German submarine U-407 is sunk south of Milos, in position 36.27N, 24.33E, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Troubridge and HMS Terpischore and the Polish destroyer Garland. 48 of the 53 men aboard the submarine survive.
NORWEGIAN SEA: German submarine U-867 is sunk northwest of Bergen, Norway in position 62.15N, 01.50E, by depth charges from an RAF Liberator of No 224 Squadron based at Milltown, Morayshire, Scotland. All 60 hands on the U-boat are lost.
BURMA: 18 US Tenth Air Force B-24s fly fuel to Liuchow and Chengkuing, China. C-47Skytrains transports fly 100+ sorties carrying men and supplies to several CBI locations.
CHINA: US President Franklin D Roosevelt and British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill send a message to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek advising him
of the decisions made at the Quebec Conference. President Roosevelt also sends a
personal letter via Stilwell, telling Chiang to stop vacillating and starting living by his
promises; the letter is not very diplomatic and Chiang is furious.
28 US Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb Lingling, Lengsbuitang,
Chuanhsien, Sinning, and Shanhsien; 150+ P-40s and P-51Mustangs pound numerous
targets of opportunity during armed reconnaissance flights from the Tungting
Lake-central Yangtze River area to the South China Sea; and the fighter-bombers
particularly concentrate on road transport in the Changsha area and supply
dumps, buildings, and trucks near Sintsiang.
JAPAN: In the Kurile Islands, 2
US Eleventh Air Force B-25s fly a shipping sweep over Tomari Cape; and 4 B-24s
off to strike Kurabu Cape turn back due to weather and mechanical failures.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: Mt Umurbrogol on Peleliu is the scene of heavy fighting and fierce resistance by the dugin Japanese to the advance of the Marines. Another island of the Palaus, Angaur is also the scene of fierce fighting.
On Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, the Japanese on the peaks of central ridge continues to hold up the 1st and 7th Marine Regiments; however, elements of 1st, advancing along East Road, push through Asias village. The 5th Marine Regiment secures the eastern arm of the island with little difficulty.
On Angaur Island in the Palau Islands, the Army's 81st Infantry Division commits four battalions the main effort of clearing southern Angaur and splitting Japanese forces there. Little opposition is met as assault forces establish a line across southern Angaur from Garangaoi Cove eastward, but some resistance is bypassed on the southeastern coast.
BONIN ISLANDS: 29 US
Seventh Air Force B-24s based on Saipan Island blast shipping at Chichi Jima
Island. 24 P-47s bomb and strafe AA positions and storage areas on Pagan Island.
3 B-24s on snooper and armed reconnaissance missions bomb Iwo Jima and Marcus
Islands.
EAST INDIES: On Morotai Island in the Halmahera
Islands of the Netherlands East Indies, work is begun on a bomber airstrip, Wama
Airfield at Gotalalamo. The existing fighter base, Pitoe Airfield, becomes known
as Moratai or Pitu Airfield.
Striking all principal targets in the northeastern Celebes Islands, Netherlands East Indies, US Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, and P-38 Lightnings hit the Amoerang port area, Menado fuel tanks and shipping personnel areas and antiaircraft guns at Mapanget and Sidate, bivouac, supply areas, and lookout towers along Lembeh Strait, Langoan Airfield, and Kakas rest camp. On Halmahera Island during the night of 19/20 September, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and P-47 Thunderbolts strike Kaoe Aerodrome while B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, and fighter-bombers, attack airfields at Amahai Airfeild on Amahai Island, Namlea Seaplane Base on Buroe Island, Liang (Laha, Ambon East) on Ambon Island, the town of Lautem on Dutch Timor Island, and several targets of opportunity.
No. 61 Airfield Construction Wing of the RAAF along with the wing headquarters and No. 14 Airfield Construction Squadron go ashore at Pitu Bay on Morotai. (Mike Alexander)
U.S.A.: The first production Consolidated B-32 is delivered. The first aircraft crashes today with a nosewheel collapse.
The first production Boeing F-13 photo reconnaissance version is delivered. (Mike Yared)(283)
Hyde Park, New York: Churchill left President Roosevelt's family home here today after a three-day conference at which they reached an important agreement about atomic energy. They flatly rejected suggestions by the Danish physicist Niels Bohr that atomic secrets should be made public and the bomb put under international control. They agreed on "full collaboration" between Britain and the US on atomic energy after the war - and they decided that the bomb might be dropped on Japan after a warning.
Top songs on the pop music charts are "I'll Walk Alone" by Dinah Shore; "Swinging on a Star" by Bing Crosby; "Time Waits for No One" by Helen Forrest; and "A Soldier's Last Letter" by Ernest Tubb.
Submarine USS Macabi launched.
Destroyer escort USS McClelland commissioned.