November 10th, 1944 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: London: Winston Churchill at last admitted today that Britain is under attack by the secret German long-range rocket, the V2. Nearly 100 have landed since the first hit Chiswick in West London on 8 September, but the British authorities have suppressed the information until today. As many as eight rockets a day have been launched from sites in the Netherlands - and their impact is far deadlier than that of the earlier V1, with hundreds of Londoners already killed.
This week German radio claimed that London was "devastated" by the new weapon. Mr. Churchill today denied this: "The damage and casualties have not so far been heavy," he told parliament. But no single weapon has ever been more destructive than the V2 which rises to a height of 60-70 miles and travels at 3,600 mph, carrying a ton of explosive in its nosecone. A single rocker killed 17 people in Southgate, in north London, and four rockets wrecked 2,000 houses in Croydon, in Surrey. Coming on top of the V1 attacks it means that Hitler's much-vaunted secret weapons have destroyed 25,000 houses and damaged a million others in five months. Antwerp, too, has been hit by V2s.
What makes the V2 so alarming is that no public warning can be given; it is simply too fast. Nor is there much apparent defence; the rocket penetrates all but the deepest shelters. The first that anyone knows is the sound of the huge explosion followed by a whooshing sound, flashes and plumes of smoke. "A gas works explosion" was the official explanation of the first blast at Chiswick, which was heard over much of West London. So often was this phrase trotted out that London would have been without gas had the explanations been true. "Another flying gas main" one Londoner wrote sardonically in her diary during October.
It was in an effort to still the rumours of secret weapons and to counter Nazi propaganda that Mr. Churchill lifted - at least partially - the official silence. "There is no need to exaggerate the danger. The scale and effect has not hitherto been significant," he claimed. Although there has been no panic, action against the V2s depends upon Allied forces destroying the rocket bases in the Netherlands.
The Germans were forced to withdraw their rocket launch sites eastwards in September. Attempts to use Denmark were not deemed successful because London remained beyond the 200-mile range of the 46-foot-long rockets. Since 3 October, though, the battle has been resumed in earnest.
Minesweeper HMS Hydra is mined off Ostend and abandoned. However as she remained afloat she was reboarded and towed back to Sheerness. She is not repaired and is subsequently broken up. (Alex Gordon)(108)
Minesweeper HMS Hare commissioned.
WESTERN EUROPE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 711: six B-17 Flying Fortresses and nine B-24 Liberators drop leaflets over the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss.
FRANCE: The US 3rd Army continues to make good progress south of Thionville and beyond Metz.
In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the Germans mount a tank-infantry counterattack at 0300 hours that overruns Kerling and threatens Petite-Hettange before the 359th Infantry Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division, helped by massed artillery fire on Kerling, contains the onslaught; the 357th Infantry Regiment begins an assault on the Metrich group of fortifications southeast of Koenigsmacker, partially reducing it; the 358th Infantry Regiment continues efforts to take Fort Koenigsmacker, elements bypassing the fort to reach the Bois d'Elzange ridge. A battalion of the 377th Infantry Regiment, 95th Infantry Division, maintains the Uckange bridgehead and is supplied by air; an action to finish clearing the German salient west of the Moselle River has been broken off by the rest of the 377th Infantry Regiment since Hauconcou is now flooded; a battalion of the 378th Infantry Regiment, starts to Thionville to reconnoiter in force across the Moselle River. A bridge is completed at the mailing site about midnight. The 2d Infantry Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division, its left flank covered by the 10th Infantry Regiment, continues northeast to the left and rear of the XII Corps' Combat Command B, 6th Armored Division, taking Pagny-les-Goin, Silly-en-Saulnois, and a road junction east of the latter; relieves armor at Vigny and Buchy, on intercorps main supply route. In the XII Corps area, the 6th Armored and 8oth Infantry Divisions advance rapidly on the flank of the corps in spite of mud, mines, and congestion on highways. Combat Command B of the 6th Armored Division, in conjunction with the 5th Infantry Division (XX Corps), drives through Vigny and Buchy while Combat Command A pushes to Luppy. The 80th Infantry Division gains nearly 8 miles (13 kilometers). Combat Command B, 4th Armored Division, attempts to swing elements from Hannocourt to Fonteny but finds the Germans blocking the route at Viviers. The 137th Infantry Regiment of the 35 th Infantry Division moves up behind the armor, clearing Viviers in hard fight and pushing beyond Laneuveville-en-Saulnois to the Fonteny area; the 320th Infantry Regiment drives from Bois d'Amelecourt into Foret de Chateau-Salins while the 134th Infantry Regiment advances on Gerbecourt. Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division, drives through the left flank of the 26th Infantry Division, forward elements reaching Hampont. The 101st Infantry Regiment of the 26th Infantry Division continues flanking attacks toward the crest of Hill 310, gaining a ridge northeast of the hill and positions in the Bois St Martin.
In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, German resistance west of the Meurthe River is weakening noticeably. Continuing northward along the river, the 15th Infantry Regiment of the 3d Infantry Division takes Etival. The 142d Infantry Regiment of the 36th Infantry Division, which has been inching southeast through Foret Domniale de Champ from Les Rouges Eaux, finds Vanemont and La Houssire, at the southeastern edge of the forest, undefended.
Over 150 USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers dispatched against an ordnance arsenal and camp area are recalled due to weather; seven others drop leaflets; the XXIX Tactical Air Command attacks railroads while the XIX Tactical Air Command escorts bombers and supports the 80th and 5th Infantry Divisions in the U.S. Third Army assault in the Metz, France area.
The XII Tactical Air Command; 64th Fighter Wing; 324th Fighter Group; 415th Night Fighter Squadron; 11th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron; and several signal, fighter control, and service units are relieved from duty with the Twelfth Air Force and assigned to the European Theater of Operations, US Army (ETOUSA) and the First Tactical Air Force (Provisional).
GERMANY:
The U.S. First Army alters boundary between VII and V Corps to give the V Corps responsibility for Huertgen in Kleinhau. In the VII Corps area, the 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, undergoes a determined counterattack on the plateau southwest of Huertgen that engulfs two companies and forces the remnants back to the southern third of the plateau. In the V Corps area, elements of 28th Infantry Division make limited progress toward the woods line near Huertgen.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 709: 752 bombers and 808 fighters in three forces are dispatched to make Pathfinder Force attacks on airfields; four bombers are lost. At Hanau, 250 aircraft bomb Landgendiebach Airfield with the loss of one aircraft while 41 hit the marshalling yard; at Cologne, 96 attack Butzweilerhof Airfield with the loss of one aircraft, 87 bomb Ostheim Airfield, 12 drop chaff and ten bomb the industrial area; at Wiesbaden, 100 bomb the airfield with the loss of one aircraft and 76 bomb a chemical plant with the loss of one aircraft; and four other aircraft hit targets of opportunity.
POLAND: Auschwitz-Birkenau: The Red Cross makes a restricted visit to the camp, shielded from evidence of mass murder and atrocities.
U.S.S.R.: Baltic Fleet, Ladoga Lake and Chudskoe Lake Flotillas: GB "Amgun" - mined close to Aegna Is. in Finland Gulf. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)
ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's British XIII Corps area, the Indian 8th Division finds Mt. Ponpegno clear and pushes on to Mt. Bassana.
In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the 4th Division runs into intense opposition as it attempts to advance from Forli.
USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers continue the interdiction campaign against railways in northeastern Italy, principally the Brenner Pass, Brenta River and Po River bridges, rail ferry at Ostiglia, and several dumps. Fighter-bombers hit rail targets and guns at several points in the Po Valley.
During the night of 10/11 November, USAAF Twelfth Air Force A-20 Havocs bomb Ghedi Airfield and targets of opportunity in the Po Valley while 28 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group drop supplies to partisans in northern Italy; four aircraft are lost. Five other bombers bomb the railroad bridge at Latisana.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The Canadian-built, British-registered cargo ship Fort La Baye (7,150 GRT) was damaged by a mine, in the Mediterranean Sea, off Port Said, Egypt, in position 31.25N, 032.23E. There is no record of loss of life in this incident. Fort La Baye was a Victory-class freighter built by West Coast Shipbuilders Ltd of North Vancouver BC. She was completed in Oct 43. Fort La Baye was one of was one of 32 Victory-class ships provided to Great Britain under the terms of a Bare Boat charter. Wm. Counties Ship Management Ltd., of London, England, managed the ship for the British government. Two of these ships were sunk and another four were damaged.
CHINA: The Japanese take Kweilin and Liuchow from the Chinese garrisons without difficulty. The next Japanese objective is Kweiyang.
Over 130 USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s, P-38 Lightnings, and P-51 Mustangs on armed reconnaissance over southern China attack river, road and rail traffic, storage, airfield and villages at or near Tingka, Chefang, Kweilin, Yoyang, Nanyo, Changsha, Paoching, Kweihsien, Yungfu, Wuchou, Siangtan, Tanchuk, Mosun, Kweiping, Yuncheng, Chenghsien, Hankow, and Chikhom.
BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command (NAC) area, the British 36th Division comes up against the Japanese main line of resistance in the Pine area of the railroad corridor. The Chinese 38th Division successfully turns the Japanese outpost line along the Taping River in the Bhumi area and emerges onto the Bhumi plain.
Over 60 USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts again attack a variety of targets including Japanese concentrations at Bhumi, Indaw, Hkapra, and Nawngtao, the town of Naba Station, bridges at Meza and in the Kawlin area, and targets of opportunity along the Irrawaddy River and along the railroad corridor in northern Burma and support ground forces south of Bhumi.
Eleven USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit storage buildings and the town area of Wanling.
JAPAN: Tokyo: Wang Ching-wei, the leader and founder of China's Nanking-based collaborationist regime, the Reformed Kuomintang, died today of pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital. He was 62. Leadership of the regime passes to Ch'en Kungpo, acting head of state for the last eight months while Wang was ill. Wang will be buried in Nanking close to Sun Yat-sen, the founder of Nationalist China. Wang was considered his natural successor until ousted by Chiang Kai-shek in 1935. He set up the Reformed Kuomintang in 1938, believing that peace with Japan was the best way to preserve China's interests.
VOLCANO ISLANDS: Twenty seven USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators based on Saipan bomb Iwo Jima.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The US 24th Division makes a small amphibious movement along the north coast of Leyte. They move some units west from Carigara toward Belen.
In the U.S. Sixth Army"s X Corps area on Leyte Island, elements of 1st Cavalry Division begin extensive patrolling of the central mountains. The 24th Infantry Division opens all-out effort to clear the Japanese from the rest of Breakneck Ridge. While the 21st Infantry Regiment continues frontal attacks, a battalion of the 34th Infantry Regiment and a battalion of the 19th Infantry Regiment attack toward the commanding ground south of Limon. From Capoocan, a battalion of the 34th moves by landing vehicles, tracked (LVTs) along the coast of Carigara Bay for 7 miles (11 kilometers), lands, and advances inland to a ridge near Belen. In the XXIV Corps area, the 382d Infantry Regiment of the 96th Infantry Division renews an attack with two battalions and completes the occupation of Bloody Ridge and its sector without opposition.
USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, P-47 Thunderbolts, and P-38 Lightnings attack Japanese convoy (TA Operation, third phase) in Ormoc Bay hit the previous day, sinking two army cargo ships; and damaging a destroyer, a coast defense and an army cargo ship Kinka Maru. B-25 attacks drive a coast defense vessel aground in Matlang Bay, where she is scuttled and abandoned. Three nearby fast transports, however, escorted by two destroyers, are unmolested, and rescue survivors from two merchant ships. On their return voyage to Manila, the convoy rescues men from another merchant vessel, which has run aground off Bondoc Point, Luzon, earlier that day.
USAAF Far East Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the town of Ormoc, Leyte Island.
Major Richard I. Bong shoots down an "Oscar" fighter (Nakajima Ki-43, Army Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa) over Ormac Bay, Leyte, brining his total victories to 34. Meanwhile, Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. also shoots down an "Oscar" fighter over Tacloban, Leyte. This is his 26th victory.
EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-25 Mitchells and A-20 Havocs bomb Haroekoe Drome on Haroekoe Island off Ambon, Piroe on Ceram Island, and targets of opportunity on the south coast. B-24 Liberators attack Surabaya-bound Japanese ships off Soembawa Island, sinking three merchant ships and damaging a fourth.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: In the Palau Islands, six USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Angaur Island bomb Koror Island.
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: In Seeadler Harbor on Manus Island, the USN's 13,910 ton, 459 foot (140 meter) long ammunition ship USS Mount Hood (AE-11) is at anchor dispensing ammunition and explosives to ships preparing for the Philippine offensive. At 0855 hours the ship explodes; she is anchored in about 19 fathoms (114 feet or 35 meters) of water and explodes with an estimated 3,800 tons (3 447 metric tonnes) of ordnance materiel on board. The initial explosion causes flame and smoke to shoot up from amidships to more than masthead height. Within seconds, the bulk of her cargo is set off with a more intense explosion. Mushrooming smoke rises to 7,000 feet (2 134 meters), obscuring the ship and the surrounding area for a radius of approximately 500 yards (457 meters). Mount Hood's former position is revealed by a trench in the ocean floor 300 feet (91 meters) long, 50 feet (15 meters) wide, and 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) deep. The largest pieces of metal found measured no bigger than 16 by 10 feet (4,9 by 3,0 meters). The concussion and metal fragments hurled from the ship also cause casualties and damage to ships and small craft within 2,000 yards (1 829 meters). Casualties mount to 45 known dead, 327 missing and 371 injured, including the crew of Mount Hood, of which only 18 ashore survive. The damage to other vessels requires more than 100,000 mahouts to repair, while 22 small boats and landing craft are sunk, destroyed, or damaged beyond repair. A board convened to examine evidence relating to the disaster is unable to ascertain the exact cause.
PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS Greenling (SS-213) sinks Japanese Patrol Boat No.46 (ex-destroyer HIJMS Fuji) about 44 nautical miles (81 kilometers) east-southeast of Hamamatsu, Honshu, Japan, in position 34.30N, 138.34E.
The U.S. 77th Infantry Division, en route from Guam, Mariana Islands, to Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, is ordered to Leyte Island in the Philippine Islands.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Merritonia commissioned.
U.S.A.: Minesweeper USS Pigeon laid down.
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-354 was commissioned at New York with LT Ranger Rogers, USCGR, as her first commanding officer. He was succeeded on 22 September 1945 by ENS Frank C. Anderson, USCG who in turn was succeeded by LT George B. Schwartz, USCGR, on 26 November 1945. She departed on 5 December 1944 from New York for the Southwest Pacific, where she operated during the war.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-300 sank SS Shirvan, Godafoss and Empire Wold in Convoy UR-142.