October 13th, 1944 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
Destroyer HMS Zebra commissioned.
Minesweeper HMS Cheerful commissioned.
BELGIUM: The first of 1,600 German V-2 rockets explodes in Antwerp at 0945 hours local killing 32 people. During the next five months, V-2s will kill or wound 4,000 Allied servicemen and civilians near Antwerp but inflict little damage on the seaport's facilities.
NETHERLANDS: In the British Second Army's VIII Corps area, the 3d Division attacks from Overloon toward Venray, 3 miles (4,8 kilometers) distant, against strong German opposition.
FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army area, XX Corps' plan for a stronger assault on Maizières-lès-Metz is abandoned as a result of Third Army order freezing all artillery ammunition above 3-inch (76.2 millimeter).
In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, the 79th Infantry Division, working eastward from Fort de Parroy, takes Emberménil.
GERMANY: The US 1st Division enters Aachen from the east. A street fight for the city begins.
Aachen: American artillery and infantry today battered their way into the industrial suburbs of Aachen, Germany's most westerly city. Infantry preceded by fighter bombers acting as airborne artillery were opposed by 150 Luftwaffe fighters, of which a dozen were shot down, and by suicidal counter-attacks on the ground against a high ridge east of the city held by the Americans. At dusk, patrols probing into the debris found only fires, rubble and bodies until they came to the city centre, where fighting flared afresh.
Aachen saw the enthronement of 37 German emperors; now it occupies a key position on the Siegfried Line. Flames rising from it can be seen 40 miles away in Cologne. As the first major German centre to be invaded, it will not be surrendered without a bitter battle.
In the U.S. First Army's XIX Corps area, the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division, having turned over positions west of the Wurm River at Kerkrade to 1104th Combat Engineer Group, takes over the attack to close the Aachen gap: reinforced by tanks from 2d Armored Division, the 116th begins frontal assaults against Wuerselen on a narrow front that invites concentrated German fire; little progress is made during this and the next two days. In the VII Corps area, the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division begins an all-out assault on Aachen: while the 2d Battalion fights from house to house within the city, the 3d Battalion pushes to the base of Observatory Hill, one of three heights commanding the city from the north, the others being Salvator Hill and the Lousberg. Aachen saw the enthronement of 37 German emperors; now it occupies a key position on the Siegfried Line. Flames rising from it can be seen 40 miles (64 kilometers) away in Cologne. In the Huertgen Forest, the 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, gains its objective, Road Junction 471; the 39th Infantry Regiment seals off German penetration and begins a drive to recover lost ground. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
The I.G. Farben South synthetic oil refinery at Blechhammer is attacked by 267 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers; 15 aircraft are lost.
During the night of 13/14 October, RAF Bomber Command sends 57 Mosquitos to Cologne (55 bomb) and four to Stuttgart (three bomb) without loss. A report from Cologne shows that bombs are scattered across the city, causing mostly minor damage.
U-2533 laid down.
WESTERN EUROPE: 9th Bombardment Division A-20 Havocs and B-26s hit bridges at Saarlouis, France, Roermond and Venlo, the Netherlands, and Euskirchen and Mayen, Germany, plus several targets of opportunity.
Escorting fighters also fly armed reconnaissance over the areas of Metz, France, and extensively over western Germany, attacking railroads and other targets, and support the US First, Third, and Seventh Armies.
AUSTRIA: The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombs three targets in Vienna: 89 bomb the North marshalling yard, 89 bomb the Florisdorf oil refinery and 41 bomb the OMW vehicle factory with the loss of 26 aircraft. Fifteen aircraft also hit the Main marshalling yard at Graz and one hits the Parndorf Airfield.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Three targets are attacked by USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers: nine hit the Hranice marshalling yard, five bomb the Val Mezirici marshalling yard and two attack the Bohumin oil refinery.
HUNGARY: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack eight targets: 145 bomb the Banhida marshalling yard, 57 hit the Szekesfehervar marshalling yard, ten attack the Varpolata marshalling yard, six hit the Papa marshalling yard and one bombs the Papa airfield, six bomb the Mor marshalling yard, two bomb the Maribor marshalling yard and eight attack seven individual targets.
During the night of 13/14 October, 72 bombers of RAF No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack the Szekesfehervor marshalling yard with the loss of two aircraft.
LATVIA: Soviet troops of Second and Third Baltic Fronts overrun Riga, capital of Latvia and important naval base on the Gulf of Riga. This success, coupled with a recent drive to the Baltic in the Memel area of Lithuania, has trapped a large German force in western Latvia. The Soviet offensive on the Baltic front is soon suspended.
U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Stalin promises Churchill that the USSR will declare war on Japan once Germany has been defeated.
ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the 12th Motorized Brigade of the South African 6th Armoured Division renews the attack on Mt. Stanco early in morning after artillery preparation and, assisted by a diversionary thrust to the east of Grizzana, captures their objective; Combat Command B, on the left flank, takes Bombiana, on Highway 64. In the II Corps area, the 34th Infantry Division partially outflanks the Germans on the Monterumici hill mass from the east. The Germans hold on the Livergnano area is beginning to weaken under blows of the 91st Infantry Division and artillery and aerial bombardment. The 361st Infantry Regiment of the 91st Infantry Division gains Hill 603, above Livergnano, and the village of Casalino, northwest of Livergnano. The 337th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, at last takes Hill 578 and reduces opposition on the Monterenzio hill mass. A battalion of the 350th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, crosses the Sillaro River west of Hill 339, during the night of 13/14 October, and drives northward through a weak spot in the German defenses; the 351st Infantry Regiment thrusts toward Mt. Spadura from Gesso ridge until stopped by counterattack. In the British XIII Corps area, the 78th Division begins an attack on Mt. la Pieve.
In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the Indian 10th Division takes Sorrivoli but is held up near Mt. delle Vacche. The 46th Division seizes Carpineta, during the night of 13/14 October. In the Canadian I Corps area, some elements of the New Zealand 2d Division are held up by a strongpoint at St. Angelo, but others patrol to the Rigossa River.
Weather cancels all Twelfth Air Force medium bomber operations except for attacks on 4 targets (bridges and supply dumps) in the battle area south of Bologna; fighter-bombers support US Fifth Army operations more successfully in the area, hitting gun emplacements, troop concentrations, supply dumps, bridges, and vehicles.
GREECE: A major British and Greek force lands advance units at Piraeus.
Troops of the British 9th Commando and Squadron B of the Greek Sacred Regiment land at Piracus and secure Kalamata Airfield in preparation for the main landing on 15 October. The rest of the 4th Parachute Battalion and a Royal Engineer force are dropped at Megara; after securing the airfield these forces move overland to Athens and Kalamata without opposition. The USAAF 51st Troop Carrier Wing, Twelfth Air Force, participates in British occupation of southern Greece (Operation MANNA) during the period 13-18 October, taking in personnel and equipment.
Six aircraft of RAF No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group drop leaflets over Greece during the night of 13/14 October.
BURMA: 38 Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts strike Okkyin, Yebyangale, and Theinlon, and hit troops in the Myothit area; 8 P-47s support ground forces in the Mohnyin area, 12 attack and considerably damage Wanling bridge and 4 hit targets of opportunity in the area. Transports fly 280+ sorties hauling troops and supplies to CBI terminals.
CHINA: Major General Patrick Hurley, U.S. Presidential Representative to Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek, recommends to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt that U.S. General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General U.S. China-Burma-India Theater, Chief-of-Staff to Chiang Kai Shek, Deputy Allied Supreme Commander of the South East Asia Command (SEAC), and Commanding General of the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC), be relieved and that another U.S. officer be named to command the Chinese Army.
138 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s and P-51 Mustangs on numerous armed reconnaissance missions throughout southern China and into western Burma attack troop areas, rivercraft, town areas, bridges, trucks, and other targets of opportunity; 71 of the fighter-bombers hit targets in the Kweiping area while the others attack targets around Chuanhsien, Litou, Shepchung, Tengyun, Lungfukwan, Kingshan, Mangshih, and Chefang.
JAPAN: 4 Eleventh Air Force B-25s bomb Kurabu Airfield and bomb and strafe buildings on Tomari Cape on Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands, scoring hits on canneries, warehouses, and barracks; later, 4 B-24s photograph and bomb targets at Kashiwabara.
WESTERN PACIFIC: Aircraft from the USN's Task Force 38 attack targets on Formosa for the second day in a row. Opposition is very light and 947 sorties are flown. At twilight, Task Group 38.4 is attacked by 4 low-flying "Betty" bombers (, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers) carrying torpedoes; one is shot down by an F6F Hellcat pilot, 2 are shot down by ship AA fire but the fourth crashes the aircraft carrier USS Franklin's (CV-13) deck abaft the island structure, slides across the deck and into the water on her starboard beam. USS Franklin is damaged but remains on station. In another attack, the heavy cruiser USS Canberra (CA-70) is struck below her armor belt at the engineering spaces by an aerial torpedo which blows a huge, jagged hole in her side and killed 23 of her crew instantly. Before damage control could isolate the compartments, some 4,500 tons of water rushed in to flood her after fireroom and both engine rooms, which brought the cruiser to a stop. The ship is taken in tow and retires to Ulithi.
Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan bomb Yap Island, Caroline Islands.
A USN submarine sinks a Japanese merchant tanker off Nha Trang, French Indo China.
USS Barbel sinks a destroyer at 29-38 N, 127-27 E at about 0600.
USS Begall sinks an attack transport at 11-53 N, 109-17 E (Japanese give location as 11-53 N, 109-17 E) at about 0900.
USS Permit sinks a patrol vessel at 07-15 N, 151-45 E at about 1500. (Skip Guidry)
NAURU ISLAND: B-24s from the Marshall Islands bomb Truk Atoll and Gilbert Islands-based B-25s bomb Nauru Island.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: On Peleliu Island, Palau Islands,, Regimental Combat Team 321 is alerted to relieve the marines at Umurbrogol Pocket, where some progress is being made against the west side. On Angaur Island, the 322d Infantry Regiment begins a final push to eliminate Japanese pocket on the north of the island.
USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Saipan bomb Yap Island Islands while B-24s from the Marshall Islands bomb Truk Atoll.
NEW GUINEA: The U. S. 7th Fleet and troop transports carrying the 7th, 24th and 96th Infantry and 1st Cavalry Divisions sail from Hollandia, New Guinea, and the nearby Admiralty Islands. Their destination is Leyte in the central Philippines. General Headquarters issues instructions for the capture of an air base in San Jose area of Mindoro Island, from which further operations against the Philippines will be supported and small shore-to-shore operations will be conducted to deceive the Japanese on Luzon. For this task, the U.S. Sixth Army forms the Western Visayan Task Force under Brigadier General William C. Dunckel during early November. The force eventually consists primarily of Regimental Combat Team 19 of the 24th Infantry Division and the 503d Parachute Regimental Combat Team, a separate unit. The 21st Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division, less the 3d Battalion, is allocated as the reserve force; the 3d Battalion is to conduct deceptive operations.
Far East Air Forces B-25s bomb Menado on Celebes Island and the surrounding area. P-38 Lightnings hit AA positions, enemy concentrations, and other targets in the northeastern Celebes and Halmahera Islands. A-20s and fighter-bombers attack Boela on Ceram Island, oil installations and airfields at Amahai on Ceram Island, Kairatoe on Celebes Island, and Namlea on Buru Island.
A RN submarine sinks 2 Japanese merchant coasters Kosei Maru and Hansei Maru in Gulf of Boni, south of Celebes.
U.S.A.: Submarine USS Thornback commissioned.
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-271 was commissioned at New York. Her first commanding officer was Lt. Pettus Kaufman, USCGR. He was succeeded 26 April 1945 by LTJG N. S. Hobart, USCGR. She departed New York on 2 November 1944 for the Southwest Pacific where she operated during the war. She was decommissioned 27 September 1945.
The top songs on the pop music charts are: "Till the End of Time" and "If I Loved You�" by Perry Como, "Along the Navajo Trail" by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters and "ou Two Timed Me One Time Too Often" by Tex Ritter.