September 20th, 1944 (WEDNESDAY)
NETHERLANDS: Arnhem: After four days and three sleepless nights, Allied paratroopers are holding out in spite of heavy shelling and repeated attacks by infantry and Panzers. But the British are fighting in scattered units, with radio links disrupted, by trees and tall buildings. Ground-to-air radio contact has also been disrupted and this has led to RAF resupply drops falling on zones still held by the enemy.
The command post in the Hartenstein Hotel is out of contact with the 150 men holding the northern end of the road bridge. All attacks across the bridge by German armoured cars and half-tracks have been repelled, but food, water and ammunition are running low.
In an operation dogged by misfortune, the British battle plan has fallen into German hands; it was found in a crashed glider. So when Brigadier John Hackett's 4th Parachute Brigade arrived, the enemy was waiting and picked off the men as they hung helplessly beneath their parachutes.
The planned link-up with the beleaguered paratroopers has been mounted by the Guards Armoured Division, driving north from the Dutch border. Americans paras captured the Maas bridges, but were unable to gain the next crossing over the Waal, which is the south branch of the Lower Rhine, until the Guards arrived to link up at Nijmegen. A concerted drive from there towards Arnhem has since encountered strong Panzer resistance.
Market Garden: The U.S. 101st Airborne Division:
At 0615
German infantry and tanks attack the road leading from the south bank of the Wilhelmena Canal at Zon. The attack in beaten off by US Infantry and British
Armour. It closes the road for several hours. The division CP displaces from Zon
to St. Odenrode. 1/501 attacks west to seize Dinther and expand width of
corridor. (Jay Stone)
The British Guards Armoured Division and U.S. 82nd Airborne Division:. The
Grenadier Group with the 2/505 under command continues to attack through
Nijmegan to seize the southern end of the railroad and road bridges across the
Waal. 3/504 of the 82 Airborne is given the mission of crossing the Waal River
in wood and canvas boats of XXX Corps Royal Engineers, seizing the northern bank
and then securing the northern end of the road bridge. Support will be provided
by RAF Typhoons, 30 tanks of the 2nd Battalion Irish Guards and 100 Field
Artillery and mortar tubes. The river is 400 yards wide with flat areas of from
200 to 800 yards on the northern bank and a 15 to 20 foot dyke.
But first, the place chosen for the crossing needed to be cleared of enemy. This entailed clearing the German defenses dominated by the Valkhof which is a fort that had been selected by the Roman Second Legion as the key to Nijmegen and which now housed cleverly sited SS infantry and anti-tank defenses. This house-by-house clearing was done by infantry of the 1st Grenadier Guards and D Company 505 PIR with tanks in support commanded by Captain Neville.
Shortly after this battle started, II Falschirm Corps mounted a seven-battalion assault on 82nd Airborne positions, driving the Americans out of Wyler, Mook and Beek on the southeastern sector of the Allied stronghold. General Gavin appealed to the Coldstream Guards for tank support and got it. He became totally pre-occupied with events on that sector and learned of events of the river crossing assault only second hand.
H-Hour is set
for 1500. At 1430, with the boats still en route, it is too late to reschedule
the support of the Typhoons and they arrive overhead and fire rockets and
machine guns at the northern bank. Ten minutes later the boats arrive and the
men of 3/504 and the engineers begin assembling them. Each boat should have
eight paddles, some have two. Of the 32 assault boats delivered, 6 are destroyed
by artillery before being unloaded from the truck. The boats are assembled and carried over the open
bank to the water. As the boats begin the crossing they are taken under fire by
German machine guns and mortars. Of the remaining 26 boats that begin the
assault carrying 3rd Battalion commanded by Major Julian A Cook, only 11 return
to pick up the second wave. Combat Engineers of C Company, 307th US Airborne
Engineer Battaloi, 82nd Airborne Division, ferry anti-tank guns across the
river to protect the parachute infantry from armoured attack. The assault goes
in at 1500 following a smoke bombardment which is lifted to fire HE at the
German positions. Over 100 British and American guns fire this bombardment while
two squadrons of Irish Guards tanks fire in support, shooting at anything and at
any time, paying particular attention to the 20mm flak emplacements in the
Fortress West. Mortars and artillery engage the Germans but
this does not stop their fire which continues to fall on 3/504. As the first
boats reach the shore the men attack toward the dyke and the bridge while the
boats return for more soldiers. The engineers made five trips across the river
in order to bring the 3/504 across. Initially the Germans on the northern end of
the road bridge resist but with the pressure from 3/504 and the Grenadier Group
from the south they break and run north from their positions and from the
bridge. Many are cut down by American fire. By 1700 the northern end is secured
and by 1900 British and Americans reach the southern end of the bridge. A
platoon of No. 1 Squadron, 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards crosses the bridge and
links up with the Americans who have established a beachhead with a depth of 1/4
mile. The Guards move to Lent but are ordered to remain there because they have
no infantry with them. For much of the night of 20/21 the only Germans between
them and the south bank of the Lower Rhine are a few pickets. (Jay Stone)
In the two actions which secured the bridge the resistance of the Germans
was fierce and Allied casualties were heavy especially within the 3/504 which
lost half of the of the soldiers who made the river crossing. (Jay Stone)
Commentary: In the circumstances the decision by General Horrocks not to
order the advance of the Guards Armoured was wise. The division was strung out
over the road to the south and several of its units, particularly infantry, had
been committed to assist the 82nd and 101st in their missions. Still, the 1st
Airborne was dying at Arnhem and one has to ask what was the plan to relieve it
after the bridge was crossed. The short answer is that there was no plan.
General Adair, the commander of the Guards Armoured was surprised at the road
over which his division would have to travel to Arnhem. This, despite the fact
that there were aerial photographs of the position of the 1st Airborne at Arnhem
available. Surely a photo reconnaissance mission of the road could have been
flown at the time the Arnhem mission was flown. It should have been flown before
Market Garden began. British soldiers had fought hard, died and accomplished
much but their senior commanders had not done their homework. (Jay Stone)
1st Airborne Division: Attacks by German tanks and infantry continue
against the position of 2 Para on the northern side of the Arnhem Bridge. Almost
all of the buildings which it occupies are rubble and wounded fill the cellars.
At 1000 hours communications between division headquarters and the elements of 1
Para Brigade headquarters at the bridge are establish. General Urquhart tells
Colonel Frost that XXX Corps is expected to arrive within hours. He does not say
how many hours. XXX Corps is still south of the Waal. Colonel Frost is wounded
during the afternoon. In the evening a two hour truce is arranged and the
Germans take the severely wounded from the cellars and make them prisoners.
Colonel Frost remains with his battalion as do lightly wounded paras. The
Germans take advantage of the truce to move into positions around the British
positions. The situation for 2 Para is, indeed, grave. (Jay Stone)
The situation for the remainder of the division is also grave. Germans have
established positions on three sides of the division which has its back to the
river and holds a shallow horseshoe shaped beachhead centered on the division CP
in the vicinity of Osteerbeek. (Jay Stone)
In the air, 679 USAAF Eighth Air Force P-38s, P-47s and P-51s are
dispatched to support the First Allied Airborne Army in the Arnhem and Nijmegen
areas of the Netherlands; 644 aircraft strafe and bomb ground targets; intense
light flak claims 1 P-51 plus 1 P-38, 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 damaged beyond repair
and 3 P-47s and 4 P-51s damaged; air attacks aid ground troops in taking
valuable bridges in the area and in the advance toward Arnhem.
Arnhem: L/Sgt John Daniel Baskeyfield (b.1922), South Staffs Regt., was wounded but fired an anti-tank gun alone; he later crawled to another, scoring a direct hit before he was killed. (Victoria Cross)
Arnhem: Lt. John Hollington Grayburn (b.1918), Parachute Regt., inspired his men with his supreme courage, despite wounds from which he died. (Victoria Cross)
Wing-Commander Guy Gibson, awarded a Victoria Cross for leading the spectacular raid against three Ruhr dams last year, died when his Mosquito crashed near the village of Steenbergen. At his own request he had left a desk job to go on a raid against a German communications centre at Rheydt in the Ruhr. He acted as a pathfinder and master bomber for a Lancaster force. It is thought that his aircraft either developed engine trouble or was shot down by flak, and it seems that he was flying too low for him or his navigator, Sqn-Ldr J. B. Warwick DFC, to parachute out.
Gibson had seemed untouchable - the only survivor out of 25 aircrew who enlisted at the same time. He had narrow escapes flying Blenheims before Dunkirk. After the Battle of Britain he flew night fighters on 99 missions in two months, destroying six enemy planes. He also crash-landed between trees with a wounded crewman. As a bomber pilot he was on the first 1,000-plane raid against Cologne before the "Dambuster" epic; after leading the attack, he stayed to protect others. Aged 25, he won a DSO and DFC as well as his VC.
USAAF: STRATEGIC OPERATIONS: 679 US Eighth Air Force P-38s, P-47s and P-51s are dispatched to support the First Allied Airborne Army in the Arnhem and Nijmegen areas of the Netherlands; 644 aircraft strafe and bomb ground targets; intense light flak claims 1 P-51; air attacks aid ground troops in taking valuable bridges in the area and in the advance toward Arnhem.
In the Canadian First Army's 2 Corps area, Polish armor overruns Hulst and Axel.
BELGIUM: In the Canadian First Army's 2 Corps area, Polish armor overruns Hulst and Axel.
FRANCE: Cap Blanc-Nez, Normandy: 646 Allied bombers drop 5,600 high explosive bombs on two hours on the German guns.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command sent 646 aircraft, 437 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes and 40 Mosquitos, to attack German positions around Calais; 633 bomb the target. Visibility is good and the bombing is accurate and concentrated. One Lancaster is lost.
In the U.S.. Third Army area, the boundary between XII and XV
Corps is adjusted to give Foret de Vitrimont, Luneville, and Foret de Parroy to
the XV Corps. In the XX Corps area, the 10th and 2d Regiments, 5th Infantry
Division, renew efforts to take Pournoy-la-Chetive and Coin-sur-Seille despite
weather conditions unfavorable for air support and diminishing supply of
artillery ammunition; 2d Battalion of the 10th Infantry, reinforced,
seizes Pournoy-la-Chetive but is greatly disorganized in the process; 1st
Battalion of the 2d Infantry, against fire from Sillegny, overruns Coin-sur-Seille.
CCA, 7th Armored Division, replaces badly mauled CCR in front of Sillegny and,
together with CCB, attacks toward the Seille; bypassing Sillegny, CCA reaches
the river, where it comes under heavy fire; CCB also reaches the river but falls
back under fire. In XII Corps area, 80th Infantry Division elements
push into Bois de la Rumont. The Germans counterattack 134th Infantry
Regiment troops of 35th Infantry Division and recover Agincourt; the l37th
Infantry Regiment attempts in vain to drive through Foret de Champenoux to
Amance plateau but the artillery ammunition supply runs out. CCA, 4th Armored
Division, begins an attack northeast toward Sarreguemines but, upon reaching
Hampont on the left and the Dieuze area on the right, returns to the Arracourt
region because of another enemy tank attack, this time by only 8 tanks, all of
which are knocked out. The area will be systematically mopped up before the
offensive is continued. Small tank duels occur as CCA sweeps through Ley and
Moncourt. CCB continues efforts to advance in the Chateau-Salins area, where
secondary routes are impassable. In XV Corps area, the 313th Infantry Regiment
of the 79th Infantry Division drives through Luneville and turns southeast in an
effort to outflank enemy's Meurthe River line; the 34th reaches the Meurthe
southeast of Luneville, where it comes under heavy fire. The French 2d Armored
Division patrols from their current positions; CCL moves east to rejoin main
body as the 45th Infantry Division of the Seventh Army draws up to the Moselle.
In U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, Lieutenant General Lucien K Truscott
orders corps to cross the Moselle River and seize communications centers in the
Vosges Mountains to open the way to the Alsatian Plain and the Rhine River. The
45th Infantry Division upon crossing the Moselle at Epinal, is to seize
Rambervillers and Baccarat and force the Saverne Gap. The 36th
Infantry Division is to cross the Moselle in the Eloyes area and take St Die
near Saales Pass. The 3d Infantry Division is to cross the Moselle in the Rupt
area and seizes Gerardmer near the Schlucht Pass. The 36th begins a
reconnaissance in force of the proposed Moselle crossing site near Remiremont.
The site near Eloyes is reported to be suitable, and the 141st Infantry
Regiment moves forward to it during the night of 20-21 September. To the left,
the 45th moves up to the Moselle in the Remiremont area. On the
corps’ right flank, the 3d is advancing toward the river.
The French 1st Army now holds the sector to the right of the U.S.
Seventh Army, the 2d Corps taking up positions in new sector to the left of the
1st Corps.
In the air, USAAF Ninth Air Force fighters provide air cover for the US XV
and XX Corps in the Nancy area.
GERMANY: In The U.S.
First Army's XIX Corps area, the assault on the West Wall is postponed because
of unfavorable flying conditions. Other deterring factors are the very short
supply of arty ammunition and exposed left flank of corps. In the VII Corps
area, the enemy decides to go on the defensive instead of counterattacking as
planned. CCA, 3d Armored Division, is methodically clearing the Muensterbusch
area; Task Force Hogan, is moving forward stealthily, and takes the enemy on
Weissenberg Hill by surprise and gains the crest of this much fought over prize;
Task Force Mills and CCB, secures positions on the Donnerberg River under a
smoke screen but is hit hard by the enemy when smoke disappears. 1st
Battalion of the 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, attached to the
60th Infantry Regiment, drives east from Zweifall to Weisser Weh
Creek, near the village of Huertgen. A battalion of the 6oth, to the right,
attempts to drive southeast from Zweifall in order to cut the
Lammersdorf-Huertgen highway at Germeter but makes little headway. In the V
Corps area, IX Tactical Air Command again assists corps in maintaining
positions.
In the air, about 40 USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26s hit the marshalling yard
at Trier and defensive positions at Herbach to complicate rail transportation
and aid in the Allied ground attack on Aachen; fighters fly air cover for the US
V and VII Corps in western Germany near the Dutch boundary, and fly armed
reconnaissance over the Bonn, Mannheim, Hamburg, Koblenz, and Ruhr Valley
areas.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb three targets: 111 bomb Malacky Airfield, 28 bomb the Apollo oil refinery at Bratislava and 28 bomb a synthetic oil refinery at Bratislava.
MEDITERRANEAN
The British 8th Army enters the Republic of San
Marino, in their drive up the Italian peninsula.
HUNGARY: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24s escorted by P-38s and P-51s bomb five targets: 117 bomb the marshalling yard at Hatvan; 56 bomb the railroad bridge at Szob; 56 bomb the South railroad bridge and 53 bomb the North railroad bridge both in Budapest; and 54 bomb the marshalling yard at Gyor. Two B-17s are lost.
During the night of 20/21 September, 58 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Hegyeschalom; four aircraft are lost.
ITALY: In the British Eighth
Army area, the battle for the Rimini Line ends as the Germans withdraw, during
the night of 20-21 September, behind the Marecchia River under cover of a
drenching rain. In the 5 Corps area, San Marino, in the small independent
Republic of San Marino, falls to the Indian 4th Division. The 46th Division
holds La Torraccia against counterattacks. The 1st Armoured Division joins the
56th Division in the fight for Ceriano ridge, where the enemy continues to
resist tenaciously throughout the day before withdrawing. In the Canadian I
Corps area, the Canadian 1st Division battles the encircled enemy at
San Fortunato, frustrating German efforts to break out.
In the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, Regimental Combat Team 6 of the
Brazilian Expeditionary Force gains positions on Mount Prano but cannot reach
the crest. The 1st Armored Division regroups in order to release CCA to the II
Corps: the 37th Infantry Division, whose 1st Battalion
relieves the 14th Armored Infantry Battalion, takes command of the CCA zone. The
South African 6th Armoured Division extends its left flank to a road northeast
of Pescia; reinforces the right flank in the Mt. Moscoso area. In the II Corps
area, the 91st and 85th Infantry Divisions continue to pursue the enemy toward
the Santerno River. 337th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division,
crosses it east of Firenzuola at San Pellegrino. The 362d Infantry Regiment,
91st Infantry Division, gets into position for an assault on the Futa Pass, the
3d Battalion pushing across an anti-tank ditch near San Lucia. The Corps'
reserve division, the 88th, is ordered to attack through right flank of the 85th
Infantry Division down the Santerno valley toward Imola on 21 September. In the
British 13 Corps area, the enemy withdrawal from Casaglia Pass permits the 1st
Division to push rapidly eastward toward the Indian 8th Division.
In the air, the USAAF’s XII Fighter Command, Twelfth Air Force, begins
operations in support of the U.S. Fifth Army; weather again grounds medium
bombers and severely restricts fighters which fly uneventful reconnaissance
missions.
INDIA: The All-India Congress begins today in Bombay and continues until 23 September. Under the leadership of Mohandas K. Gandhi and Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru, they consider the British government's offer of India autonomy. The delegates call the plan unsatisfactory and demand the British to "quit India."
BURMA: US Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts hit the Kadu rail siding Nyaungbintha, Indaw, and troops at Hkaungtung; 3 B-25s weathered out of the Bhamo area hit alternates at Indaw; C-47 Skytrains continue large-scale operations to several points in the CBI.
CHINA: U.S. General Joseph Stilwell learns that his plan for the defense of Kweilin has been accepted by Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and issues orders accordingly.
27 US Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb Lingling, Chuanhsien, and Kiyang and hit targets of opportunity throughout the Chuanhsien area; 100+ P-51 Mustangs and P-40s on armed reconnaissance over wide areas of southeastern China attack troops, horses, trucks, shipping, and other targets of opportunity, particularly concentrating on areas around Chuanhsien, Lingling, Kiyang, Changsha, and Yiyang.
PALAU ISLANDS: On Peleliu, the
firm Japanese defense of the central ridge system on western arm virtually halts
forward movement of the 1st and 7th Marines. The 1st Marines is so depleted in
strength that 7th Marines relieves all its troops but those along West Road. The
5th Marines is mopping up eastern arm.
On Angaur, Major General Paul J Mueller declares organized resistance at an
end as the Army’s 321st Infantry Regiment drives to the southern end
of island and begins mopping up scattered Japanese. The Japanese remaining on
Angaur are concentrated in northwestern part of the island and are prepared for
a prolonged defence of a broad, deep, bowl-shaped depression in the Lake Salome
area. The 322d Infantry Regiment tries to reach the bowl from different
directions, but makes little headway. Airdrome construction is begun in the
southern part of the island.
WESTERN PACIFIC: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-25s
pound Nauru Island.
MARIANA ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh
Air Force P-47s from Saipan bomb and strafe gun positions on Pagan Island.
MARSHALL ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24s
bomb Jaluit Atoll.
NEW GUINEA: USAAF Far East Air Forces fighter-bombers hit AA guns and targets of opportunity at Moemi and Ransiki Airfields and hit a supply dump further east along the Orai River.
NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: On
Morotai, the beachhead perimeter has been expanded to provide space for
additional airfield construction, extending about 1,000 yards (914 meters) north
of the original site and some 10,000 yards (9.14 kilometres) east along the
shore to the Sabatai River.
In the air, despite poor weather over Celebes Island, the USAAF’s Far East
Air Forces attacks the Menado area and B-24s hit Mapanget and Sidate Airfields
and supply dumps and other targets of opportunity. On Halmahera Island, B-24s
hit Djailolo and A-20s and P-47s during the night of 19/20 September strike Kaoe
Airfields. B-24s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers, striking during the night of 19/20
September and during the day, pound airfields at Amahai on Ceram Island, Namlea
on Buru Island, Liang and Laha on Amboina Island, the town of Lautem on Timor
Island, and several targets of opportunity. During the night of 20/21 September
a few B-24s again hit the Menado and Sidate area on Celebes Island.
No. 14 RAAF Airfield Construction Squadron begins work on Wama airfield. (Mike Alexander)
NORTH PACIFIC: A lone Seventh Air Force B-24 on armed reconnaissance, bombs Marcus Island.