October 7th, 1944 (SATURDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 669: 1,422 bombers and 900 fighters are dispatched to hit oil installations and armored vehicle plants in Germany; with one exception, bombing is visual; 40 bombers and 11 fighters are lost:
* 142 B-17s hit the oil refinery at Politz; 17 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 93 P-51 Mustangs; they claim 7-0-3 aircraft; a P-51 is lost. * 333 B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil refinery at Ruhland (59); targets of opportunity hit are Zwickau Airfield (60), motor vehicle factory at Zwickau (58), Dresden (30), Freiburg (24) and other (87); 3 B-17s are lost.
Escort is provided by 214 P-51s; they claim 12-0-0 aircraft in the air and 1-0-1 on the ground; 4 P-51s are lost.
* 451 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil refineries at Merseburg/Leuna (129), Lutzendorf (88) and Bohlen (86); targets of opportunity are Bielefeld (51), Hameln (27) and Nordhausen Airfield (24); they claim 11-13-10 aircraft; 16 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 250+ P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51s; they claim 10-0-1 aircraft; a P-47 and a P-51 are lost.
* 489 B-24s are dispatched to hit an armored vehicle plant at Kassel/Henschel (122) and oil refineries at Kassel/Altenbauna (88), Magdeburg/Buckau (62) and Magdeburg/Rothensee (25); targets of opportunity are Clausthal (129), Bergen/Steinfort (10), Hengelo marshalling yard (4) and other (6); 4 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 214 P-38 Lightnings, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 8-0-0 aircraft on the ground; a P-47 and 3 P-51s are lost.
Frigate HMS Emporia commissioned.
BELGIUM: Canadian units cross the Leopold canal into two small bridgeheads.
NETHERLANDS: In the Canadian First Army"s II Corps area, the corps is now responsible for the first phase of operation to open Antwerp, Belgium, port, clearing Zuid Beveland as well as the Breskens Pocket south of the Schelde. The Canadian 3d Division gets reinforcements to north bank of Leopold Canal against strong resistance that prevents bridging.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 121 Lancasters and two Mosquitos to continue the attack on Walcheren Island and the sea walls which were breached near Flushing; 122 aircraft hit the target without loss.
LUXEMBOURG: Patton's Third Army nearly completes the liberation of country when GIs of the 83rd "Thunderbolt" Infantry Division take Echternach near the German border. The Third Army also closes in on Metz, an ancient French border fortress, but suffers heavy casualties.
In the U.S. Third Army"s XX Corps area, Wormeldange is captured by the 331st Infantry Regiment, 83d Infantry Division, and the region west of the Moselle River area is cleared.
FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army’s XX Corps area, the Germans strongly counterattack Company F of the 327th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Divsion, on the slag pile northwest of Maizières-les-Metz. While the Germans are thus engaged, Companies E and G bypass the slag pile and push into the town, clearing the northern half and gaining a foothold in the factory area. The Germans move up reinforcements at night. Task Force Warnock, employing the 1st Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, attacks to expand positions at Fort Driant, making limited progress at great cost; two platoons are cut off and destroyed.
In the U.S. Seventh Army’s VI Corps area, Vagney falls to 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3d Infantry Division.
GERMANY: Rastenburg: Hitler orders German forces to evacuate Greece.
The U.S.30th Infantry Division threaten to isolate Aachen, an industrial city 6 miles (9.65 km) from the Belgian-German border.
In the U.S. First Army’s XIX Corps area, the 30th Infantry Division, assisted by Combat Command of the 2d Armored Divsion, makes substantial gains and takes about 1,000 prisoners: The 117th Infantry Regiment thrusts to Aldsdorf; Combat Command A reaches Baesweiler; the 119th Infantry Regiment, assisted by an air strike on Merkstein, reaches positions across the Wurm River from Kerkrade. This puts the 30th Infantry Division within about 3 miles (4,8 kilometers) of Wuerselen, where contact with the VII Corps is expected to be made. In the VII Corps area, the 9th Infantry Division continues their attack in the Huertgen Forest toward Schmidt. Forward elements reach the edge of woods near Aermeter and Richelskaul, but the main body is held up far behind. In the V Corps area, the 28th and 4th Infantry Divisions advance to the line of departure for the West Wall offensive.
In U.S. Third Army"s XX Corps area, the 3d Battalion of the 329th Infantry Regiment, 83d Infantry Division, takes Echternach, on the west bank of the Sauer River, after nearly a week of fighting.
On this record-setting day, 8th AF heavy bombers mount 1,401 effective combat sorties over Germany. Forty bombers are lost as well as eleven of 521 escorting fighters. 8th AF fighter pilots down 38 GAF fighters over Germany.
1st Lt. Darrell S. Cramer, a P-51 pilot of the 338th FS/55th FG, USAAF, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf 109 (bringing his total to 5.5 destroyed) near Leipzig, Germany at 1215 hours. His victories are 0.5 Japanese and 6.5 German, for a total of 6 destroyed.
1st Lt. Urban L. Drew, a P-51 pilot of the 375th FS/351st FG, USAAF, achieves ace status when he downs two Me 262s (bringing his total to six) over Achmer Airdrome, Germany at 1345 hours. (Skip Guidry)
U-3523 laid
down.
U-3505 commissioned.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 351 aircraft, 251 Halifaxes, 90 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos, to bomb the small German town of Kleve which, together with Emmerich, stands on the approach routes by which German units could threaten the vulnerable Allied right flank near Nijmegen which had been left exposed by the failure of Operation Market Garden; 339 bomb the target with the loss of two Halifaxes. Visibility was clear and the center and north of the town were heavily bombed, although some crews bombed too early and their loads actually fell in the Netherlands near Nijmegen. A second mission consisting of 340 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos carries out an even more accurate attack on Emmerich; 341 aircraft hit the target with the loss of three Lancasters.
Another target was the Kembs Dam. This was another No 617 Squadron special operation. The Kembs Dam on the Rhine, just north of Basle, held back a vast quantity of water and it was feared that the Germans would release this to flood the Rhine valley near Mulhouse, a few miles north, should the American and French troops in that area attempt an advance. The Squadron was asked to destroy the lock gates of the dam. Thirteen Lancasters were dispatched. Seven aircraft were to bomb from 8,000 feet (2 438 meters) and draw the flak, while the other six would come in below 1,000 feet (305 meters) and attempt to place their Tallboys, with delayed fuses, alongside the gates. USAAF Eighth Air Force P-51 Mustangs would attempt to suppress flak positions during the attack. The operation went according to plan with 12 Lancasters attacking the target. The gates were destroyed but two Lancasters from the low force were shot down by flak.
During the night of 7/8 October, 46 aircraft of RAF No 100 Group fly an operation in which various electronic devices and Window are used in an attempt to lure the German night-fighter force into the air to waste its fuel. The feint is made in the direction of Bremen, using the same route as had been used in the raid carried out the previous night. Radio listening stations in England hear the German controllers plotting the supposed force "vigorously," but few night fighters are scrambled. Mosquito Intruders and Serrate aircraft, which are part of the No 100 Group force, then fly on towards Bremen and claimed a Me 110 destroyed and a Ju 88 damaged.
WESTERN EUROPE: HQ Ninth Air Force cancels previous instructions against bombing bridges and opens an attack on all bridges on the US front, except those over the Rhine River. 300+ B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs strike bridges at Arnhem, the Netherlands, and in Germany, bridges at Bullay and Dillingen, a supply depot at Euskirchen, and marshalling yard and warehouse at Hengelo and Trier; and fighters fly bomber escort, sweeps and armed reconnaissance in the forward areas, hitting railroads, barges, and troop concentrations, and support ground forces in eastern France and western Germany.
AUSTRIA: 350+ Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb the Lobau and Schwechat oil refineries and Winterhafen oil depot in the Vienna area. 6 B-17s escorted by 54 P-51s, evacuate US airmen from Czechoslovakia to Italy.
HUNGARY: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators attack ten targets: 157 bomb the Ersekujvar marshalling yard at Nove Zamky, 104 hit the marshalling yard at Komarom, 66 attack Gyor Airfield, 19 bomb the marshalling yard at Szombathely, seven hit the marshalling yard at Zalaegerszeg, three attacked the marshalling yard at Kormend, two bombed the railroad at Celldomolk and six aircraft bomb five targets of opportunity.
NORWAY: U-994 was attacked in Norwegian waters by an aircraft, but the crew replied with anti-aircraft fire and claimed a hit on the plane.
POLAND: Auschwitz-Birkenau: A violent revolt, yet more violently crushed, broke out at noon today during roll-call. Men of the "privileged" Sonderkommando [special commando], whose task is to empty the gas chambers of their dead fellow Jews, incinerate them and then scatter the ashes around the camp, attacked the SS guards with smuggled hammers and pickaxes.
The revolt spread as the Sonderkommandos set fire to their barracks and to Crematorium IV. SS reinforcements arrived immediately wielding machine-guns and hand-grenades against the prisoners' crowbars.
The blazing gas chamber sparked off a mass breakout by Sonderkommandos loading the ovens in the next compound. Crematorium II. They killed three SS men and cut the wire, only to be machine-gunned dead or captured by patrolmen with dogs. The survivors can expect to be killed and burnt.
Northern FINLAND: The German 20.Gebirgsarmee (Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic) retreats in the face of strong Soviet attacks on the Karelian front. (Jack McKillop and Mikke Härmeinen)
Finnish Army starts an attack aimed to encircle and destroy the German troops in the town of Kemi, northern Finland.
ITALY: Weather again grounds the medium bombers but Twelfth Air Force fighter-bombers hit guns and troop concentrations in the battle area, which extends over a wide front south of Bologna in the region of Monte Stanco, Monte Cauala, Monte Castellaro, and Monte Ceei, and communications to the north.
In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the South African 6th Armoured Division gets two companies of Frontier Force Rifles to the crest of Mt. Stanco, where they are out of communication with the main body and are forced back to Prada. In the IV Corps area, Task Force 92 tries in vain to reinforce troops driving on Mt. Cauala with tanks and tank destroyers, but the weapons are unable to cross swollen streams. In the II Corps area, the 133d Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division continues toward the Monterumici hill mass. An attack by 362d Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division, on Mt. Castellari fails. The 338th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, takes Castelnuovo di Bisano but is still short of La Villa; the 337th Infantry Regiment is unable to advance from Hill 566. The 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, continues to their attack on Hill 587 and seizes the ridge below Il Falchetto Hill. In the British XIII Corps area, the 3d Brigade of the 1st Division maintains a weak hold on the slopes of Mt. Ceco. The 19th Brigade, Indian 8th Division, clears Mt. Cavallara.
In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps opens an attack across the Fiumicino River in the evening with a heavy volume of artillery support. The assault is preceded by light and fighter bomber strikes on German positions. The Indian 10th Division and the 46th Division make the attack while the 56th Division simulates an attack in the Savignano area. The 20th Brigade, Indian 10th Division, under heavy German pressure on Mt. Farneto, is unable to gain the initiative, but the 25th Brigade secures positions on the ridge between Roncofreddo and St. Lorenzo. The128th Brigade of the 46th Division seizes Montilgallo and pushes west toward Longiano and south toward St. Lorenzo.
YUGOSLAVIA; One USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bomber attacks the marshalling yard at Pec.
BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the Chines 22d Division, which has been training for the fall offensive since the capture of Myitkyina, begins a movement to Kamaing.
5 Tenth Air Force P-47s bomb supplies and troops at Man Hpa. Large-scale transport operations continue to deliver men and supplies to various points in the CBI.
CHINA: 53 Fourteenth Air Force P-51s and P-40s on armed reconnaissance attack troop concentrations, bridges, river and rail traffic, town areas, and supply dumps around Tunghsiangchiao, Pingnam, Hsinganhsien, Chuanhsien, Lingling, Wuchou, Houmachen, Chiuchiang, and Paoching.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators over Mindanao Island bomb Zamboanga while a P-38 Lightning cover force hits seaplanes, shipping, and other targets of opportunity in the area.
MARCUS ISLAND: Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan Island, on armed reconnaissance, attack Marcus Island and nearby shipping.
EAST INDIES: On Celebes Island, B-25s bomb Langoan, Tompaso, and Tondegesang. P-38s attack Kaoe on Halmahera Island, and hit oil tanks at Boela on Ceram Island. B-25s bomb a storage area at West Amboina, Ambon Island.
NEW GUINEA: Australian General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Military Forces and Commander of Allied land forces in the South West Pacific, Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps and Major General J.H. Cannan, the Quartermaster General, arrive at Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea to plan for the movement of the I Corps from Australia to the Philippine Islands. Blamey then meets with American Lieutenant General Richard Sutherland, Chief of Staff, South West Pacific Area, who tells Blamey that it is not politically expedient for the Australian Imperial Force to be amongst the first troops to land in the Phillipines.
In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-38 Lightnings and B-25 Mitchells strike Doom Island and Babo airfield.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: On Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, ground attacks are temporarily suspended after a futile attempt by the 3d Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, assisted by tanks, to compress the Umurbrogol Pocket.
PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarines sink two Japanese transports, an oiler and a cargo ship.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Area (CINCPOA), publishes a Joint Staff Study that is a basis for the preliminary planning for the invasion of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands.
CANADA: Repair ship HMS Flamborough Head launched Vancouver, British Columbia.
U.S.A.: Baseball!
Destroyer USS Hanson laid down.
Destroyers USS Hawkins and Perkins launched. Destroyer escort USS Alvin C
Cockrell commissioned.
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-202 was commissioned at New Orleans with LT F. G. Markle, USCG, as first commanding officer. He was succeeded by LTJG Kenneth D. Killman, USCGR, who was in turn succeeded by LTJG Armand J.P. White on 2 October 1945. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area including Parang.
USN aircraft paint scheme is changed. A new directive states that all carrier based aircraft, seaplane transports and utility aircraft are to be painted glossy sea blue overall.