October 14th, 1944 (SATURDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions against targets in GERMANY:
* Mission 676: 211 bombers and 258 fighters make GH attacks on 2 targets in GERMANY: a fighter is lost:
- 90 B-17s hit a marshalling yard at Saarbrucken. Escort is provided by 105 P-51s.
- 117 B-24s hit Kaiserslautern. Escort is provided by 148 P-51s with the loss of 1.
* Mission 677: 1,040 bombers and 491 fighters are dispatched to make PFF attacks on Cologne; 5 bombers are lost:
- 326 B-17s bomb the Gereon marshalling yard and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 141 P-51s.
- 127 B-24s bomb the Gremberg marshalling yard and 121 bomb the Eifelter marshalling yard; 9 others hit Euskirchen; 3 B-24s are lost.
Escort is provided by 177 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
- 314 B-17s hit the secondary target, the Gereon marshalling yard; 1 other hits a target of opportunity. Escort is provided by 151 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
Minesweeper HMS Flying Fish is commissioned.
BELGIUM: In the Canadian II Corps area, the land approach to Breskens Pocket from the east is secured by the Canadian 3d Division at Isabella, on the tip of the Savojaards Plaat.
FRANCE: In the French First Army’s II Corps area, the 3d Algerian Division finishes clearing Foret de Gehan and takes Cornimont, but by this time is so weakened that the offensive is broken off.
After downing two Bf 109s, near St. Dizier, at 1310 hours, Capt. Joseph L. Lang, 334 FS/4th FG, USAAF, is killed in aerial combat. He was an ace with 7.833 kills (Skip Guidry)
Bad weather grounds the Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-26s; fighters escort a leaflet mission, fly sweeps and rail cutting operations, armed reconnaissance over eastern France and western Germany, and support the US Third Army.
GERMANY: Ulm: At his home on the Danube near Ulm, Field Marshal Rommel receives two visitors, generals from Hitler's Staff. He is told of his suspected complicity in the events of July 20 and given two choices. A public trial or suicide with a state funeral and guarantee of immunity from persecution for his wife and family. Soon afterwards he went upstairs to his wife. When he came down he said to his son Manfred: "I have just had to tell your mother that I shall be dead in a quarter of an hour."
Germany's most popular general has been linked to the July ploy against Hitler; the Fuhrer told him that if he took poison his family would not be arrested. His death is announced as being caused by the wounds suffered June 17th.
In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division continues to make slow progress in Aachen and on Observatory Hill. The 9th Infantry Division commits elements of 47th Infantry Regiment to insure safety of Road Junction 471 in the Huertgen Forest.
1,013 RAF raiders drop 3,574 tons of bombs on Duisburg.
During the day, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies two missions to Germany consisting of 1,251 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators and 749 fighter escorts. No Luftwaffe fighters were seen. This was part of Operation HURRICANE (see below). Two marshalling yards in Cologne were bombed, 642 aircraft hit the Gereon yard and 248 bombed the Eifeltor yard. Three other targets were: 118 aircraft hit the marshalling yard at Kaiserslautern, 90 bombed the marshalling yard at Saarbrucken and nine attacked the Euskirchen industrial area. Five bombers and one fighter are lost.
During the day, the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombs two synthetic oil refineries: 102 aircraft bomb the I.G. Farben North refinery in Blechhammer and 81 bomb the Deschowitz refinery in Odertal.
Yesterday, Sir Arthur Harris, Air Officer Commanding Bomber Command, received the directive for Operation HURRICANE: 'In order to demonstrate to the enemy in Germany generally the overwhelming superiority of the Allied Air Forces in this theatre ... the intention is to apply within the shortest practical period the maximum effort of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command and the VIII United States Bomber Command against objectives in the densely populated Ruhr.' Bomber Command had probably been forewarned of the directive because it was able to mount the first part of the operation soon after first light on 14 October. No heavy bombers had flown on operations for 48 hours and 1,013 aircraft, 519 Lancasters, 474 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitos, were dispatched to Duisburg during the day with RAF fighters providing an escort. Nine hundred fifty seven bombers dropped 3,574 tons (3 242 metric tonnes) of high explosive and 820 tons (744 metric tonnes) of incendiaries on Duisburg; 14 aircraft are lost, 13 Lancasters and a Halifax; it is probable that the Lancasters provided the early waves of the raid and drew the attention of the German flak before the flak positions were overwhelmed by the bombing. (Andy Etherington)
During the night of 14/15 October, RAF Bomber Command continues Operation HURRICANE by dispatching 1,005 aircraft, 498 Lancasters, 468 Halifaxes and 39 Mosquitos, to attack Duisburg again in two forces two hours apart; 941 aircraft dropped 4,040 tons (3 665 metric tonnes) of high explosive and 500 tons (454 metric tonnes) of incendiaries during the night. Five Lancasters and two Halifaxes are lost. Nearly 9,000 tons (8 165 metric tonnes) of bombs had thus fallen on Duisburg in less than 48 hours. Local reports are difficult to obtain. The Duisburg Stadtarchiv does not have the important Endbericht, the final report. Small comments are available: "Heavy casualties must be expected." "Very serious property damage. A large number of people buried." "Thyssen Mines III and IV: About eight days loss of production." "'Duisburg-Hamborn: All mines and coke ovens lay silent." A second targets hit tonight is Brunswick with 233 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos. The various diversions and fighter support operations laid on by Bomber Command were so successful that only one Lancaster was lost from this raid. Bomber Command had attempted to destroy Brunswick four times so far in 1944 and the RAF finally achieved that aim on this night, using their own marking methods. It was Brunswick's worst raid of the war and the old centre was completely destroyed. A local report says "the whole town, even the smaller districts, was particularly hard hit." It was estimated by the local officials that 1,000 bombers had carried out the raid. Other raids included 20 Mosquitos to Hamburg and 16 Mosquitos to Berlin, eight Mosquitos to a railroad factory in Mannheim and two to Lohausen Airfield in Dusseldorf.
U-2354 and U-3024 are laid down.
During an air raid on Libau 2 men from U-717 were killed and 3 more wounded. [Matrosenobergefreiter Walter Steube, Maschinenobergefreiter August Grodonk].
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: During the day, the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombs targets of opportunity: 31 bombers hit the marshalling yard at Bratislava and four aircraft attack miscellaneous targets; no aircraft are lost.
HUNGARY: During the day, the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombs 15 targets in the country: 57 bomb the marshalling yard at Nove Zamky, 29 bomb a railroad bridge at Komarom, ten bomb a marshalling yard at Celldomolk, eight bomb a target of opportunity at Borzavar, six bomb the city of Papa, two bomb the marshalling yard at Nagykaniza and nine bomb individual targets. No aircraft are lost.
ITALY: In the British Eighth Army area, II Polish Corps takes command of the X Corps sector and troops on the left flank of army with orders to drive on Forli. V Corps continues to clear heights east of the Savio, the 46th Division seizing Mt. dei Pini, beyond Carpineta. In the Canadian I Corps area, the 1st Division takes the village of Bulgaria while elements of the New Zealand 2d Division clear St. Angelo, during the night of 14/15 October.
Bad weather cancels all Twelfth Air Force medium bomber operations; 100+ fighters and fighter-bombers pound troop concentrations, gun positions, supplies, bridges, roads, and rail lines south of Bologna where hard fighting is taking place in the Monterumici, Livergnano, and Gesso ridge areas.
The Fifteenth Air Force sends 317 B-17s and B-24s to bomb oil refineries at Blechhammer and Odertal, Germany, and several targets of opportunity including marshalling yards at Bratislava and Nove Zamky, Czechoslovakia, and in Hungary, Komarom and the Nove Zamky railroad bridges, Borzavar industrial area, and Ugod military garrison; escorting fighters strafe airfields, rail and road traffic and other targets of opportunity in the target areas; 52 B-24s bomb a railroad bridge and marshalling yard at Maribor, Yugoslavia; 54 P-51s on a strafing mission in the Balaton Lake area of Hungary attack airfields at Szekesfehervar and Seregelyes; 55 P-38s escort Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force C-47 Skytrains carrying airborne forces to Megara Airfield, Greece.
YUGOSLAVIA: Soviet and Yugoslavia forces are converging on the capital Belgrade, which is encircled.
The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombs three targets: in Maribor, 48 bombers attack a railroad bridge and six hit a marshalling yard, four bombers are lost. A single aircraft bombs the industrial area of Legrad.
GREECE: Athens is liberated by
British and Greek forces landed earlier at the Pireaus.
It was a sight that would have delighted Byron. Here, in the shadow of the
Acropolis, was an English earl leading a small number of British troops and an
ever-growing band of Greek partisans into the heart of this tortured city.
Colonel Earl Jellicoe, a legend among Greek guerrillas, and his men have marched
over 28 miles of demolished roads from the airfield at Megara which they
captured a few days ago.
The main British occupation force, Operation Manna, landed in Megara today. An enormous fleet of RN and Greek cruisers and destroyers, under the command of Rear-Admiral J. M. Mansfield, is disembarking two British brigades. First, they face the major task of feeding this city. Tins of bully beef, given readily by British soldiers, are being traded for gold in the black market. Electricity and water supplies were blown up by the Germans before they left, and a call has gone out for engineers to rebuild them.
The second task for the British is to maintain law and order in a country facing the threat of civil war. Churchill fears that in the absence of a properly-constituted government, communists will step into the power vacuum left by the Germans. The communist "National Army of Liberation" (ELAS) and the nationalist EDES faction have been squaring up for a fight for years. Few walls in Athens are now without the red and blue propaganda of the opposing force.
More British landings on Corfu.
Fifty five USAAF Fifteenth Air Force P-38 Lightnings escort Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force C-47 Skytrains/Dakotas carrying British airborne forces to Megara Airfield.
BURMA: Transport aircraft fly 200+ sorties, delivering men and supplies to various points in the CBI.
CHINA: 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), flies to eastern China, where the Chinese are preparing to take the offensive.
32 Fourteenth Air Force P-51 Mustangs and P-40s on armed reconnaissance attack troops, town areas, and river traffic around Samshui, Mangshih, Kweiping, Hsinganhsien, Konghow and Tajungchiang.
JAPAN: 4 Eleventh Air Force B-25s bomb and strafe buildings at Otomae Bay, in the Kurile Islands.
FORMOSA: The US attack has destroyed 321 Japanese aircraft and 40 destroyers, for the loss of 71 US planes, two destroyers and a carrier.
The aircraft of Task Force 38 again attack Japanese installations on Formosa. The Japanese have reinforced the island with hundreds of aircraft drawn from the carrier fleet and these aircraft fly 419 sorties during the day. They attack the ships and damage three, one severely. The aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CV-19) is attacked by 2 aircraft; the first one drops a bomb off Hancock's port bow a few seconds before the carrier's guns splashed her into the sea but a bomb from the second aircraft penetrates a gun platform but exploded harmlessly in the water. The light cruiser USS Reno (CL-96) is struck by a torpedo bomber which explodes on the cruiser's main deck aft. Though Turret Six was partially incapacitated by the explosion, the turret captain succeeded in maintaining his fire against the attacking planes and ships. The most severely damaged is light cruiser USS Houston (CL-81) which is attacked by 4 aircraft; AA gunners shoot down 3 but the fourth aircraft manages to put a torpedo in her engine room, causing loss of power. The ship retires in tow to Ulithi. At this juncture, heavy air attacks on TF 38, together with enemy radio propaganda broadcasts that reflect a vast overestimation of the destruction wreaked by attacking Japanese aircraft, prompts Commander Third Fleet to withdraw TG 38.2 (Rear Admiral Gerald F. Bogan) and TG 38.3 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) to the eastward to set upon any important Japanese fleet units that would attempt to finish off the "crippled remnants" of TF 38. The enemy, however, does not take the bait.
During the day, USN aircraft damage a coast minelayer and 2 auxiliary submarine chasers and shoot down 80+ IJN aircraft.
The XX Bomber Command flies Mission 10 to Formosa: 103 Chengtu, China, based B-29 Superfortresses bomb the Okayama aircraft plant and adjacent airfield on Formosa; 12 more hit last-resort targets and targets of opportunity; this is the first Twentieth Air Force mission during which 100+ B-29s attack targets and the first of a series of missions against Formosa in conjunction with the US invasion of Leyte Island, Philippine Islands. Two B-29s are lost.
P-47s on a sweep over Pagan Island in the Marianas bombing and strafing storage caves.
WAKE ISLAND: A USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 from the Marshall Islands bombs Wake Island during the night of 14/15 October. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
MARCUS ISLAND: Three USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators on armed reconnaissance from Saipan Island, Mariana Islands, bomb Marcus 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.
EAST INDIES: Far East Air Forces B-24s again bomb oil refineries and associated industries in the Balikpapan, Borneo, area; others bomb Pombelaa mine on Celebes Island. A-20s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers again hit Laha Airfield on Ambon Island and Haroekoe Airfield on Haroekoe Island.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Airstrikes from US TF 38 on Aparri Airfield on Luzon, PI.
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: The U.S. III Amphibious Force, with elements of the Leyte, Philippine Island invasion force that have reached Manus Island from Hawaii aboard, sail for Leyte.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: In the Palau Islands, Rear Admiral George Fort, Commander of the Western Attack Force, turns over control of all operations in the Palaus to Rear Admiral John Hoover, heading Forward Area Central Pacific (Task Force 57). On Peleliu Island, the 81st Infantry Division prepares to relieve the 1st Marine Division at the Umurbrogol Pocket while defending the eastern arm of the island, recalling 2d Battalion of the 321st Infantry Regiment from offshore islands. On Angaur Island, the attack and occupation phase is terminated by the III Amphibious Corps, although a pocket still remains at the northwestern tip of the island. The fighting continues on this island where Admiral Fort announced a complete occupation on September 30.
PACIFIC OCEAN: 3 USN and an RN submarine sink an IJA transport, a merchant cargo ship, 2 merchant tankers and a communications vessel.
- In the Sulu Sea, USS Angler (SS-240) sinks a Japanese army transport about 37 nautical miles (68 kilometers) northwest of Culasi, Panay, Philippine Islands, in position 11.53N, 121.39E.
- In the South China Sea, USS Bonefish (SS-223) sinks a Japanese merchant cargo ship about 29 nautical miles (54 kilometers) west-northwest of Lingayen, Luzon, Philippine Islands, in position 16.12N, 119.45E.
- USS Dace (SS-247) sinks two Japanese merchant tankers and damages a merchant ore carrier about 142 nautical miles (264 kilometers) west-southwest of Ponape Island, Caroline Islands, in position 06.05N, 115.55E.
- British submarine HMS/M Sturdy (P 248) sinks a Japanese communications vessel in the Gulf of Boni, south of Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: Lieutenant General Holland Smith, Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, designates Major General Harry Schmidt, Commanding General, Fifth Amphibious Corps, as Landing Force Commander (Commander Task Group 56.1) for the Iwo Jima operation and directs him to prepare plans.
CANADA: In Ottawa, Ontario, Defence Minister James L. Ralston returns from Europe and makes a speech urging conscription (drafting) for service overseas.
While escorting convoy GONS-33, River
class frigate HMCS Magog (K 673) is torpedoed by U-1223
(Oberleutnant zur See Albert Kneipe) in the mouth of the St.Lawrence River,
49.12N 67.19W.
There are three killed. Although towed back to port with forty-feet of her stern blown off,
she was never repaired. (Alex Gordon)(108)
U.S.A.: Two songs reach Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. The first is ")There'll Be A) Hot Time In The Town Of Berlin (When The Yanks Go Marching In)" by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. This song, which debuted on the charts on 23 September 1944, was charted for 14 weeks, was Number 1 for 6 weeks and was ranked Number 6 for the year 1944. Tied for first place was "I'll Walk Alone" by Dinah Shore. The song is from the motion picture "Follow The Boys" starring Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Orson Welles, Dinah Shore, W.C. Fields, Jeanette MacDonald, The Andrew Sisters and Sophie Tucker. This song, which debuted on the charts on 12 August 1944, was charted for 24 weeks, was Number 1 for 4 weeks and was ranked Number 12 for the year 1944.
Submarine USS Lagarto is commissioned.
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-527 was commissioned at Chicago with LT Gil K. Phares, USCGR, as commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific and Western Pacific areas. On 1 August 1945, she was moored at Tacloban, Leyte loading food and ordnance supplies for the Army Base at Agusun, Macjalar Bay, Mindanao for which she departed next day, arriving on the 3rd. Unloading, begun on the 4th, was completed on the 7th and she departed Macajalar Bay on the 9th returning to Tacloban on the 10th. On the 26th she began loading supplies for the Army Base at Cebir City, Cebu, for which she departed on the 28th, anchoring there on the 30th. Such a month's routine was typical of the activity of the FS vessels in this area.
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-547 was commissioned at Los Angeles, CA with LT E. M. Harrison, USCGR as commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific and Western Pacific areas. On 11 April 1945, the FS-547 was sent from Manila to San Jose, Mindoro, being loaned out by USASOS for an indefinite period. Her duties were to deliver rations, fuel and equipment to units of the Philippine Army, formerly guerrillas, located at various ports in the Visayan area, to ports administered by the P.C.A.U #7, to transport Philippine Army troops from time to time and make any and all incidental trips which the 8th Army saw fit to set up. They ran one main monthly supply trip about the second week of each month that required about a week or ten days, to which three to five extra trips were added, all of shorter duration. The usual itinerary was from Margarin Bay (port of San Jose, Mindoro) to Romblon, Romblon Island, to Balanacan (Port of Boac, Marinduque, Island) to Calapan (Capital of Mindoro Province) to Lubang, Lubang Island and back to Mangarin Bay. Two to four days were spent at their base port, ordinarily to perform ship maintenance and repair as well as to procure ship's rations and supplies. She was decommissioned 27 October 1945.
GREENLAND: The U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers USCGC Eastwind (WAG-279) and Southwind (WAG-280) capture the German weather and supply vessel Externsteine 800 miles (1 482 kilometers) south of North Pole off Shannon after a brief fire-fight. There are no casualties. The Coast Guardsmen christened their prize-of-war "USS Eastbreeze" and placed a prize crew aboard consisting of 36 men. After sailing with the Greenland Patrol for three weeks, Eastbreeze sailed on to Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., where the USN renamed it as USS Callao (IX-205). The Externsteine/Eastbreeze/Callao is the only enemy surface vessel captured at sea by U.S. naval forces during the war. The Eastwind and Southwind had gone farther north and returned under their own power than any vessel ever before. Finally, this naval battle had taken place farther north than any previous battle, laurels enough for the Greenland Patrol.