October 4th, 1944 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Blakenhall Crescent in East London, where a German V2 rocket exploded yesterday evening, is the scene of frantic efforts by the rescue teams who dig through the rubble and splintered wood. Eight people are feared to have died.
The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 664: 5 B-24s and 4 B-17s drop leaflets in the Low Countries, France and Germany during the night.
The first Bristol-built Hawker Tempest II fighter (MW 374) flies today. (22)
At 2205 hours Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), Canadian Corvette HMCS Chebogue (K 317) is torpedoed by a Type G7s T5 Zaunköning (GNAT) acoustic torpedo fired from U-1227 (Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Altmeier) and has her stern blown off. She is 550 miles WSW of Cape Clear 49-20N, 24-20W, while escorting slow convoy ONS-33 (U.K. to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada). Seven crewmembers are killed, several are wounded and the propellers are carried away. Taken in tow by corvette HMCS Chambly (K 116) for 900 miles, then HMS MOUNSEY, HMCS RIBBLE and HMS EARNER, she makes Port Talbot in South Wales on October 11, but is paid off on 25 September, 1945 and not repaired. (Alex Gordon and Dave Shirlaw)(108)
Destroyer HMS St. Kitt's is launched.
NORTH SEA: During the night of 4/5 October, 63 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Kattegat, the broad arm of the North Sea between Sweden and Denmark, with the loss of one aircraft.
In Western Europe, Ninth Air Force bombers drop leaflets in the Metz and Saint-Die, France and Saarburg, Germany areas; fighters support the US First and Third Armies in western Germany and eastern France, escort B-26s, and fly armed reconnaissance in forward areas, attacking rail and military targets.
In Southern Europe, 327 Fifteenth Air Force 327 B-17s and B-24s, with fighter escort, bomb the Munich West, Germany, marshalling yard.
BELGIUM: In the Canadian First Army’s British I Corps area, the Canadian Second Division continues west in the region north of Antwerp toward Zuid Beveland, has cleared the Merxem-Eekeren area.
During the night of 4/5 October, eight USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers drop leaflets over the country.
FRANCE: During the night of 4/5 October, ten USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers drop leaflets over the country.
GERMANY: The US 1st Army throws back a German counter attack, north of Aachen where they have passed through the Siegfried Line. In the U.S. First Army’s XIX Corps area, the Germans, having massed reinforcements, counterattack strongly, particularly against Uebach, where they are thrown back by the combined efforts of 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, armor, and artillery. After considerable delay because of enemy attacks, Combat Command B, 2d Armored Division, attacks from Uebach taking objective heights about Hoverhof, 1 mile (1,6 kilometers) north of Uebach, and continuing beyond there to the high ground east of Zweibruggen, and Task Force Disney on the right, gaining about 800 yards (732 meters) toward the Geilenkirchen-Aachen highway at the cost of 11 tanks and heavy casualties. Continuing limited attacks, the 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, takes Breberen, on the far side of Saeffeler Creek. The V Corps changes the target date for West Wall offensive to 10 October. .
Three hundred thirty one USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers bomb the main marshalling yard at Munich; 14 aircraft are lost.
During the night of 4/5 December, five RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Pforzheim, three hit the marshalling yard at Heilbronn with the loss of one aircraft, two attack Heilbronn and one hits Mannheim.
U-2517,
U-2518 and
U-3510 launched
U-2337 commissioned.
YUGOSLAVIA: Units of the Soviet 3rd Ukraine Front capture Pancevo just east of Belgrade on the Danube River. Reaching Vladimirovac, they link with Partisan units there.
During the night of 4/5 October, 21 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group lay mines in the Danube River and 18 bring supplies to the country. This is the RAF's final minelaying sortie in the River Danube. The highly successful campaign severely disrupts Romanian oil exports to Germany.
GREECE: Allied forces land on the Peloponnese near Patras, Other islands in the Aegean are also occupied. Patras will be occupied tomorrow.
39 USAAF P-51s strafe Tatoi, Kalamaki, and Eleusis Airfields. Other P-51s escort Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force (MATAF) C-47s and fly reconnaissance.
NORWAY: Attack on U-boat pens "Bruno" in Bergen, Norway. German U-boats have been forced out of the Biscay, France, ports following the Allied liberation of France and Bergen is one of several Norwegian ports now being used as the forward operating bases. The U-boat pens at Bergen are being enlarged with an influx of German technicians and a large labor force. Between 0515 and 0615 RAF Bomber Command sends 140 aircraft - 93 Halifaxes and 47 Lancasters took off from bases in the UK, Mission: To attack Bergen with 12 Mosquitoes as a long range fighter escort.
0905. From Marineflakguro. Ab.0905 Off. Luftarnung
0910. From Marineflakguro. Ab sofort Fliegeralarm
0924, a lot of anti aircraft firing near Bergen.
0924, 5 aircraft over Bergen, heavy firing.
0925, 4 aircraft is over Bergen.
0925, one aircraft in very high level, going east over Bergen, firing against the aircraft.
0930 The first bombs dropped over the target area.
10.06, From Marineflakguro, Ab. 10.06 Fliegeralarm beendet.
7 bombs hit the target, causing little structural damage because of the thickness of the concrete roof, but the electrical wiring system in the pens is completely put out of action.
A nearby ship-repair yard were seriously damaged. 3 U-boats were damaged including U-228, 3 small ships were hit, two of them sank.
But the attack also spread to civilian areas.
60 houses were destroyed, over 600 people lost their homes.
Civilian casualties are recorded at 2 places was hit but both were tragic.
A school opened only that day after a break received a direct hit in the basement where 2 classes were sheltering. 60 children 2 teachers and 17 air- raid workers killed.
Another shelter in a nearby factory was also hit.
A total of 193 Norwegians was killed during this raid.
The youngest, Laila, was only 3 years old.
7 of the Norwegians were members of the local resistance movement.
It was first 3 months later the Allies managed to damaged the "Bruno",
with Tallboys. They did not destroy it.
The Uboat Pens are still (1999) in use by the Norwegian Navy.
Torstein
During the night of 4/5 October, eleven RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Oslo with the loss of one aircraft.
EUROPE: There are signs that morale among the Allied armies in north-west Europe is not what it was a few weeks ago. A month ago it looked as though final victory was but a few weeks away. Since then there has been the failure at Arnhem, and desperate fighting continues around Aachen and Metz. The German armies have largely recovered from the disasters of the summer and have signalled their intention of fighting every inch of the Allied way forward.
The increased intensity of the fighting has caused a sharp rise in the number of battle fatigue casualties. In this context General Eisenhower has today issued to all combat units a report by the office of the US surgeon general on the subject. This stresses that battle fatigue, or shell shock, as it used to be called in the Great War, is caused by the fear of being killed or maimed, and affects every combat soldier: "Thus psychiatric casualties are as inevitable as gunshot or shrapnel wounds in warfare," says the report.
Battle fatigue can, however, be kept to a minimum through effective and caring leadership and regular rest from combat. Many of the best junior leaders have now become casualties, though, and some divisions have been in action since D-Day. This has happened because commanders are always tempted to use well-proven formations rather than fresh untried troops to tackle key objectives.
The British are more conscious than the Americans of the need to husband their fighting resources. Five years of war have created a manpower crisis, especially in the infantry, and Montgomery is being forced to disband some units in order to maintain others. The Americans, on the other hand, continue to send fresh divisions over to Europe and to keep units in the front line for much longer.
"[T]he danger of being killed or maimed imposes a strain so great that it causes men to break down. One look at the shrunken, apathetic faces of psychiatric patients sobbing, trembling, referring shudderingly to 'them shells' and to buddies mutilated or dead, is enough to convince most observers of this fact."
On the basis of this evaluation, as well as firsthand experience, American commanders judged that the average soldier could last about 200 days in combat before suffering serious psychiatric damage.
British commanders used a rotation method, pulling soldiers out of combat every 12 days for a four-day rest period. This enabled British soldiers to put in 400 days of combat before being deleteriously affected. The Surgeon General's report went on to lament the fact that a "wound or injury is regarded, not as a misfortune, but a blessing." The war was clearly taking a toll on more than just men's bodies.
ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army’s II Corps area, the 133d Infantry Regiment clears Mt. Venere but the 91st Infantry Division is halted short of Loiano by stiff German opposition. The 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, takes Quinzano and reaches the slopes of Mt. Bibele.
In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps orders an attack across the Fiumicino River to begin during the night 6/7 October. Meanwhile, the Indian 10th Division struggles to advance the left flank of the corps to the river, crossing elements over the Uso River early in the day and beginning an assault on the heights (Sogliano al Rubicone-St. Martino ridge) intervening between there and the Fiumicino River.
USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators attack 14 targets: 135 bomb the railroad in the Brenner Pass, 72 hit the railroad viaduct at Aviso with the loss of one aircraft, 56 attack the railroad bridge at Ora, 52 bomb the railroad bridge at Casarsa, 31 hit the railroad bridge at Mezza Corona, 26 attack the railroad bridge at Pordenone, 14 bomb the railroad bridge at Piave Ponte di Piave, 12 each hit the railroad bridges at Pinzano and Bronzolo, six each attack the railroad bridge at Latisana and the airfield at Aviano, five bomb the railroad bridge at Casarsa and one each hit the marshalling yard at Trieste and the airfield at Piave.
Weather restricts Twelfth Air Force medium bombers to attacks on 2 bridges at Bistagno and Villafranca d'Asti; fighter-bombers closely support ground forces fighting in the Loiano-Quinzanod'Oglio-Sassoleone areas, and hit communications north of the battle areas.
BURMA: In the British Fourteenth Army’s XXXIII Corps area, the East African 11th Division overruns Yazagyo in the Kabaw Valley while the Indian 5th Division is closing in on Tiddim.
8 Tenth Air Force P-47s damage approaches to a bridge between Myitkyina and Bhamo; 16 P-47s hit the town of Palwesho; 4 others hit small towns S of Bhamo, including Man The and Hantet.
CHINA: 5 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s hit Hsinantien and areas north of Chefang; 80+ P-40s and P-51 Mustangs continue to attack targets of opportunity during armed reconnaissance over areas of China south of the Yangtze River; and 20+ fighter-bombers hit buildings, troops, and river shipping in the Paoching area.
JAPAN: In the Kurile Islands of Japan, an Eleventh Air Force B-24 weather aborts a photo run off Matsuwa Island; 4 B-25s bomb a freighter and a barge off Shimushu Island; 15-17 fighters intercept and the B-25s score 1 victory.
EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, Commanding General U.S. Sixth Army, declares the Morotai Island operation at an end, although mopping up continues. Japanese dead on Morotai total 102 and 13 prisoners. At least 200 are estimated killed on barges between Morotai and Halmahera Islands. Allied casualties number about 30 killed, 85 wounded, and one missing. Wama Airfield, built by the Australian Nos. 13 and 14 Airfield Construction Squadrons, is put into use by aircraft. A permanent fighter garrison arrives and the USN’s escort aircraft carriers (CVEs) are able to leave.
Far East Air Forces B-25s bomb Sidate and Bolaang-oeki on Celebes Island,. On Halmahera Island, P-40s and B-25s attack Galela and Kaoe Airfields. B-25s and A-20 Havocs on a shipping sweep bomb town and port area of Amboina on Ambon Island, hit a wharf at Halong on Celebes Island, and attack shipping and shore targets of opportunity at various points.
MARCUS ISLAND: Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan Island attack shipping west of Iwo Jima and bomb airfields, the radio station, buildings, and area targets on Marcus, Pagan Islands in the Marianas, and Iwo Jima. P-47s hit gun positions, beach defenses, buildings, and the wharf area on Pagan 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.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: On Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, the 7th Marine Regiment continues attacks on the Umurbrogol Pocket but by end of day, the regiment is so depleted in strength that it is no longer an effective fighting force.
USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from the Marshall Islands bomb the airfield on Moen Island, Truk Atoll.
CANADA: HMC MTB 491 is commissioned. Log: 29th flotilla, "G" Type, 44 tons, 71.75x20.6x5.6ft, 39kts, crew 3/14, 1-6pdr, 2-20mm(1xII) 4-18in TT.
U.S.A.: Former Governor Al Smith of New York dies in New York City; he was the first Roman Catholic nominated for President of the United States by a major party. Smith served four two-year terms as governor, 1919-1921 and 1925-1931. In 1928, Smith won the Democratic nomination, only to encounter bitter opposition from Protestant leaders, prohibitionists, and the Ku Klux Klan. He campaigned aggressively but lost the election to Republican candidate Herbert Hoover.The top songs on the popular charts today are: "Y'll Walk Alone�" by Dinah Shore, "Is You is or is You Ain't (Ma Baby)" by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, "It Had to Be You" by Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest, and "Smoke on the Water" by Red Foley.
GREENLAND: An air patrol reports suspicious activity on Little Koldewey Island, 800 miles (1 287 kilometers) south of the North Pole, and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Eastwind (WAG-279) lands two platoons of soldiers. The German weather station "Edelweiss II" is located and destroyed and three German officers and nine enlisted men are captured.