9 November 1944

WESTERN EUROPE: Seventy four USAAF Ninth Air Force aircraft of the 9th Bombardment Division attack road junctions, barracks, ordnance arsenals, artillery camps, military storage depot, and other targets in the Dieuze and Faulquemont, France, and Landau and Sankt Wendel, Germany, areas; the IX Tactical Air Command flies sweeps over western Germany and attacks marshalling yard at Duren, Germany, while the XXIX Tactical Air Command escort attacks Rahling, Germany, and an airfield and supports US Third Army elements (two infantry and two armored divisions) as an all-out assault on Metz, France is pushed.

During the night of 9/10 November, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 708: five B-17 Flying Fortresses and 12 B-24 Liberators drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany.

NETHERLANDS: In the Canadian First Army area, the British I Corps finishes clearing the region south of the Maas River. The British II Corps takes over the Nijmegen sector from XXX Corps and assumes command of the U.S. 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions, the Guards Armoured Division, 43d and 50th Divisions and of the 8th Separate Armoured Brigade.

Nancy: Patton has thrown his Third Army across the Moselle on a broad front from Luneville in the south to Thionville in the north. Speaheads striking out north of Thionville have advanced to within two and a half miles of the German frontier.

Despatches from Field Marshal von Rundstedt's HQ say that Patton has deployed 1,000 tanks and 500,000 men. The Germans believe that Patton is delivering the first blow of the Allies' winter offensive.

The fortress city of Metz, which has held Patton up for the past two months, is being enveloped by pincers closing in from north and south. Allied chiefs called up Thunderbolt fighter-bombers to attack Panzers which have been delaying the advance. Cheminot, south of Metz, was captured. On Patton's southern flank, tanks and infantry operating in co-operation with the Seventh Army captured Chateau-Salins, east of Nancy. In this area, Patton has driven seven miles in 72 hours, through rain and snow showers and over roads deep in mud and infested with mines.

The 1,500-foot Delme Ridge, commanding approaches to the Saar, and the last major obstacle before the German border, fell to Patton's men after a scary battle through vineyards and orchards sown with pepperpot mines hanging from tree branches. Guns and ammunition captured on the ridge were soon turned on their former owners, now in full retreat.

In the U.S. Third Army area, the XX Corps launches full-scale attack to encircle and reduce Metz and is assisted by powerful air attacks by USAAF Eighth and Ninth Air Forces on the Metz-Thionville region. At 0330 hours assault battalions of the 359th and 358th Infantry Regiments, 90th Infantry Division, start across the Moselle River at Malling and Cattenom, surprising the Germans and gaining a bridgehead. Since the swollen river and German fire prevent immediate construction of bridges, supporting weapons cannot be crossed. The 359th Infantry Regiment takes Malling, Hunting, Petite-Hettange, Métrich, and Kerling; to the south, the 358th clears Basse Ham and gains hold on the western part of Fort Koenigsmacker; the 357th, crossing later in the day, takes the town of Koenigsmacker without opposition. The 95th Infantry Division expands and strengthens its small Uckange bridgehead, bypassing Bertrange; elements of 377th Infantry Regiment west of the river take the woods north of Semécourt, the slag pile south of Maizires-lès-Metz, Chateau Brieux. The 5th Infantry Division begins an attack across the Seille River south of Metz by footbridge and assault craft: the 2d Infantry Regiment and two battalions of the 10th Infantry Regiment establish a bridgehead 6,000 yards (5 486 meters) deep and 5,000 yards (4 572 meters) wide, the 2d Infantry Regiment on the right taking Cheminot without opposition and the 10th clearing resistance at Hautonnerie Farm. In the XII Corps area, the 80th Infantry Division, assisted by aircraft and advance of friendly forces on its flanks, gains most of the Delme Ridge. The 6th Armored Division crosses the Seille River in the 80th Infantry Division sector in preparation for a drive on Faulquemont; advance party of Combat Command B advances to positions west of Alemont while armored infantry assists the 80th Infantry Division in mopping up the Nomeny area. In the 35th Infantry Division sector, Combat Command B of the 4th Armored Division is committed through the 137th Infantry Regiment, which then follows the armor, and drives forward in two columns, one reaching Hannocourt and the other halting short of Fonteny, where the Germans hold prepared positions. The 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, takes Delme village in conjunction with an attack by the 80th Infantry Division on Delme Ridge; the 320th Infantry Regiment, after clearing the Fresnes area, concentrates on Bois d’Amélécourt and pushes into the forest, where the Germans are well entrenched; the 134th Infantry Regiment is committed to the right with the mission of clearing the eastern part of Fort de Château-Salins. The 104th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division, clears the Germans from Château-Salins; the attached Task Force takes Morville-lès-Vic and continues toward Hampont; the 101st Infantry Regiment is attempting to outflank Hill 310 and seizes Salival. Combat Command A, 4th Armored Infantry Division, is ordered to attack through the 104th Infantry Regiment tomorrow.

In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 100th Infantry Division completes the relief of the 45th Infantry Division and takes over its mission of protecting the north flank of corps and clearing the Raon-l'Etape area west of the Meurthe River. The 103d Infantry Division enters the line in the 3d Infantry Division sector, relieving the 7th Infantry Regiment.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 707: 1,309 bombers and 738 fighters are dispatched to hit front line strongpoints and tactical targets in the Metz and Thionville, France areas; 4 bombers and 5 fighters are lost. Seven hundred fourteen B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators bomb in the Metz area, 37 hit the Thionville area and 16 hit targets of opportunity.

GERMANY: 1st Lt Donald J Gott and 2nd Lt William E Metzger Jr, pilot and co-pilot of the 452nd Bombardment Group, USAAF, will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for valour over Saarbrucken. (Anthony Staunton)

U-3018 launched.

U-3032, U-4704 laid down.

Three hundred sixty three of the USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators dispatched to hit targets in France bomb two targets in Saarbrucken: 329 hit the marshalling yard and 34 bomb the industrial area.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 256 Lancasters and 21 Mosquitos to attack the Wanne-Eickel oil refinery; 248 bomb the target. Cloud over the target is found to reach 21,000 feet (6 401 meters) and the skymarkers dropped by the Oboe Mosquitos disappear as soon as they ignite so the Master Bomber orders the force to bomb any built-up area. The town of Wanne-Eickel reports only two buildings destroyed, with four civilians and six foreigners killed. It must be assumed that other towns in the Ruhr are hit but no details are available; two Lancasters are lost.

During the night of 9/10 November, RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb seven targets: Six hit Pforzheim, five hit Gotha, three attack Kassel and one each attacks Cologne, Rheine, Schwelm and Solingen.

NORWAY: U-485 suffered some damage when it struck bottom off Horten.

In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the U.S. II Corps front is narrowed as the 1st Division of the British XIII Corps takes command of sector previously held by the U.S. 88th Infantry Division and elements of the 85th Infantry Division. In the British XIII Corps area, the Indian 8th Division, pushing northward as the Germans make limited withdrawals, takes Mt. Budriatto.

In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the 4th Division clears German stragglers from Forli. The 46th Division reaches the Montone River at S. Varano, where it is held up by the Germans from opposite bank; a platoon crosses later at Terra del Sole but is isolated and lost.

Bad weather hampers operations by USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers in the Po Valley as seven or nine missions abort; in the two others, bridges in the Valley are hit; fighters and fighter-bombers fly less than 100 sorties, but successfully strike road and railroad bridges in the Bologna-Modena areas.

CHINA: Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, urged by Major General Albert Wedemeyer, commander of the U.S. Forces, China Theater and Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-shek, to order Y-Force troops to exploit the retreat of Japanese from Lung-ling to Mangshih, agrees to do so. After the order is issued, the Chinese XII Group Army (53d, 2d, and 71st Armies) starts toward Mangshih.

Eight USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Mangshih while ten P-38 Lightnings hit targets of opportunity in the Mangshih-Chefang area; six B-25s bomb Kaifeng while six others hit sampans, storage areas, and other targets of opportunity in the Yiyang area; 160 P-40s, P-38 Lightnings, and P-51 Mustangs on armed reconnaissance over wide expanses of southern China attack trucks, gun positions, river and coastal shipping, and other targets of opportunity at or near Pingnam, Kweihsien, Changsha, Yoyang, Siangtan, Lushan, Kioshan, Paoching, Hengyang, Liangshan, Liuchow, Suikai, and Weichow Island.

BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the British 36th Division resumes their advance with the 72d and 29th Brigades. The 72d Brigade has moved forward during the lull in the Mawlu sector.

Over 70 USAAF Tenth Air Force aircraft bomb concentrations and supply areas at Kutkai, Shwebo, Mawtawng, and Kunhailong, bomb the airfield at Kawlin, knock out a bridge at Ho-hko, and support ground forces and hit targets of opportunity near Chyauhkawng, Namakyaing, Sepein, Tonlon, and at other points in the same general area while six B-25 Mitchells bomb rail yards at Kanbalu.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force fighter-bombers attack Gia Lam and Kien An.

BONIN AND VOLCANO ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Guam, fly shipping reconnaissance over the Bonins attacking vessels and antiaircraft positions at Haha Jima, shipping and town at Okimura and returning, strafe Iwo Jima. During the night of 9/10 November, a lone B-24 from Guam, on a snooper mission, bombs Iwo Jima.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: U-537 sunk in the Java Sea east of Surabaya, in position 07.13S, 115.17E, by torpedoes from the US submarine USS Flounder. 58 dead (all hands lost).

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-25 Mitchells attack several airfields and villages in the northeastern peninsula of Celebes and Halmahera Islands while A-20 Havocs strike Piroe on Ceram Island.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Japanese TA Operation (fourth phase) convoy reaches Ormoc Bay, Leyte, and unloads 2,000 men and materiel brought from Manila. They are attacked by four USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells armed with 1,000 pound (454 kilogram) bombs and by P-38 Lightnings. Due to topside damage caused by the USAAF aircraft attacks, the transports withdraw before their equipment and supplies are completely unloaded.

In the U.S. X Corps area, the 24th Infantry Division is ordered to make a co-ordinated effort to clear Breakneck Ridge and the commanding ground south of Limon on 10 November. The 21st Infantry Regiment continues a bitter struggle for the ridge, gaining ground slowly in frontal attacks. To assist them, the 34th Infantry Regiment is ordered to move elements into position to harass the Japanese rear. The 19th Infantry Regiment, begins an attack to cut the Ormoc road south of Limon, but is recalled to help Company A beat off a counterattack against Hill 1525. The 1st Battalion is forced to fall back to the Pinamopoan area. In the XXIV Corps area, heavy rainfall prevents the 382d Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division, from attacking the Japanese west of Patok.

USAAF Far East Air Forces fighter-bombers attack a convoy off the west coast of Leyte Island and hit barges and shipping near Ormoc while B-24 Liberators bomb Carolina Airfield in the northwest area of Negros Island.

The first of three prototype Boeing (Model 367-1-1) XC-97-BO Stratofreighters (USAAF s/n 43-27470) makes it first flight. All three are used for test work and none see service during the war. Another ten are ordered as YC-97-BO service test aircraft in July 1945 and these enter service with the Air Transport Command in October 1947.

The second rubberized Japanese Fu-Go balloon that landed in North America is recovered at Yerrington, Nevada; there is not idea when it landed. Yarrington is located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Reno.