Posted on 10/05/2014 4:42:48 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers
Winston S. Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1944/oct44/05oct44.htm#
Allies enter the Netherlands
Thursday, October 5, 1944 www.onwar.com
On the Western Front... Allied forces cross the Belgian-Dutch border north of Antwerp. During the night (October 5-6), an attempted German raid off the coast of the Scheldt, using mini-submarines results in a loss of 36 of the attacking boats.
On the Eastern Front... In the Baltic, Soviet forces land on Saaremaa Island. German forces withdraw, under pressure, toward the Syrve peninsula. Meanwhile, Soviet forces continue their advance in the Baltic states. German Army Group North is under pressure by Soviet forces approaching Riga.
Over Germany... RAF Lancaster bombers fire bomb Saarbrucken.
From Berlin... The minimum age for conscription for military service is lowered to 16 years of age. In addition, all hospitals are placed under military control.
In Greece... Allied forces occupy Patras.
http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/9/05.htm
October 5th, 1944 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
England, the Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions:
* Mission 665: 1,090 bombers and 733 fighters in 3 forces are dispatched to bomb industrial targets, airfields and railways in western Germany; 9 bombers and 5 fighters are lost:
- 348 B-17s are dispatched to hit targets of opportunity at Cologne (248), Brechten (27), Dortmund (14) and Coblenz (11) using GH and H2X; 3 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 181 P-51s; 3 are lost. - 360 B-24s are dispatched to hit Lippstadt Airfield (175), Rheine marshalling yard (107) and Paderborn Airfield (28) visually; targets of opportunity hit are Herford marshalling yard (8) and Lipperode Airfield (2). Escort is provided by 260 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 15-0-7 on the ground; a P-51 is lost.
- 382 B-17s are dispatched to hit Loddenheide Airfield at Munster (235) and Handorf Airfield at Munster (68) using PFF means; targets of opportunity hit are the Rheine marshalling yard (10) and other (2); 6 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 234 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
* Mission 666: 8 bombers drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.
Destroyer HMCS Crusader (ex-HMS Crusader) launched Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland.
Destroyer HMS Caesear commissioned.
NETHERLANDS: Five pilots of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s No.401 (Fighter) Squadron flying Spitfire Mk. XIVs from Rips, the Netherlands, shoot down a Luftwaffe Me-262 in the Arnhem-Nijmegen area. This was the first jet-propelled aircraft shot down by the RAF or RCAF.
In the Canadian First Army area, the British I Corps gets forward elements on the left to Aiphen, southwest of Tilburg.
From Alan Wood, Daily Express war correspondent in Normandy and at Arnhem, broadcasting in BBC Pacific Service.
I think Arnhem was the most glorious failure of the war....
But like Gallipoli, this failure was so redeemed by heroism that it will be remembered when many an easy triumph is forgotten. The men of Arnhem, like the men of Anzac, achieved something more than success and won something greater than victory...
I think the Germans came to admire the spirit of our men, and in spite of the terrible bitterness of the fighting there was some chivalry about it. Our main field dressing station fell into the German hands one day - it was only a few hundred yards down the road from where we were, and it was naturally rather awkward having the Germans so close, particularly as they parked a self-propelled gun just near it. We thought of launching an attack to get it back again, but, as we heard the Germans were treating our wounded well, we decided it was best to leave things as they were. So our doctors stayed in the field dressing station looking after our casualties, with the German doctors working beside them looking after the German casualties -all helping each other. Once the Germans said they might have to use the dressing station as a firing point unless we moved our front line 200 yards away from it. If we had, it would have put our front line just about at Division headquarters, so we had to refuse. Then there was the time the Polish parachutists had just arrived to reinforce us. They saw the building standing there in the German lines with a gun beside it, and naturally began shooting it up: and there had to be all sorts of apologies and explanations that we had some new men in our sector of the line who hadn’t learned the ropes yet. And then we began to run short of water at our advanced dressing station inside our own perimeter. Our General sent his Medical Officer down to Arnhem under the cover of the Red Cross to see the German Commander about it. The German Commander not only arranged for our Red Cross jeeps to go down to draw water from a well inside German lines, but sent the Medical Officer back to us with a present of a bottle of brandy.
FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army’s XX Corps area, the 5th Infantry Division maintains a foothold at Fort Driant against heavy fire from surrounding forts. On the northern flank of the corps, elements of the 83d Infantry Division, assisted by artillery and fighter bombers, finally clear Grevenmacher after nightfall. The XII Corps orders a three-division attack to begin on 8 October. Several days of aerial and ground bombardment serve to weaken German positions in zone of projected attack.
GERMANY: All hospitals are put under military control, and sixteen-year-olds are called up for military service.
In the U.S. First Army’s XIX Corps area, the 2d Armored Division overruns the villages of Zweibruggen and Frelenberg and continues toward Geilenkirchen. The Luftwaffe at Palenberg in some strength but causes little damage. In VII Corps area, adverse weather conditions prevent the 9th Infantry Division from launching an attack toward Schmidt, an important objective commanding Roer River and Schwammenauel Dam, one of a series of Roer dams.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies dispatches 1,090 bombers and 733 fighters in three forces to bomb industrial targets, airfields and railways in western Germany; nine bombers and five fighters are lost. 249 aircraft hit the Gereon marshalling yard at Cologne with the loss of two aircraft, 235 bombed the Loddenheide Bf 109 repair facility at Munster, 174 hit Lippstadt Airfield, 117 attack the marshalling yard at Rheine, 67 bombed Handorf Airfield at Munster, 32 hit Paderborn Airfield, 27 bomb a target of opportunity at Brechten, 14 attacked the industrial area at Dortmund, 11 hit the Mosel marshalling yard at Koblenz, nine bombed targets of opportunity at Lordhern, eight hit the marshalling yard at Herford and one bombs a target of opportunity.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 227 Lancasters and a Mosquito to bomb Wilhelmshaven through 10/10ths cloud cover; 219 bomb the target. Marking and bombing are all based on H2S radar and the raid appears to be scattered. Eighteen Lancasters do not join in the main attack but bomb a group of ships seen through a break in the cloud over the sea. Wilhelmshaven’s diary only states that 12 people died. One Lancaster is lost.
During the night of 5/6 October, RAF Bomber Command sends 531 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos on the first major RAF raid to Saarbrücken since September 1942; 399 bombed the city and 76 hit the marshalling yard. The raid is made at the request of the U.S. Third Army which is advancing in this direction; the intention is to cut the railways and block supply routes generally through the town. The bombing is accurate and severe damage is caused in the main town area north of the River Saar, the area through which the main railway lines ran. Damage is particularly severe in the Altstadt and Malstatt districts. In other raids, 20 Mosquitos bomb Berlin, six attack Frankfurt-am-Main , five hit Krefeld, four bomb the port area at Brunsbuttelskoog, three hit the Hoesch synthetic oil plant at Dortmund and one each attack Duisburg and Dusseldorf. Mining operations are carried out by ten Halifaxes laying mines in the Heligoland Bight and nine Mosquitos mining the Kiel Canal.
U-3006 commissioned.
U-676 show down near Ösel in the Baltic two Soviet planes (one Il-2 and one Pe-2). The U-boat was used as convoy flak escort at this time.
HUNGARY: Forces of the Soviet Second Ukrainian forces launch an offensive from the Arad area of Romania into southeastern Hungary, pressing northwest toward Szeged and Budapest, on route to Vienna.
WESTERN EUROPE: The Ninth Air Force dispatches 330+ B-26s and A-20 Havocs against targets in Arnhem, the Netherlands, and Aldenhoven and Duren, Germany, but they are recalled; fighters hit pillboxes along the Westwall, support ground forces of the XV Corps in France, fly armed reconnaissance in the Prum, Bonn, Koblenz, Trier and Landau, Germany, areas, hit targets along the Rhine-Marne Canal, and during the night of 5/6 October fly patrol in Belgium, eastern France, and western Germany.
NORWAY: U-427 ran aground in the Hoegs-Fjord, Norway, suffering some damage.
ESTONIA: Saaremaa Island in the Baltic is invaded by Soviet forces.
German units make a fighting withdrawal toward the Syrve peninsula.
LATVIA: The Soviet Army Group North is met by stiff German resistance on the approaches to Riga, Latvia.
The Red Army has launched a new offensive against the Germans in the Baltic in its carefully-staged build-up to the invasion of East Prussia. According to German reports, four tank corps and 14 rifle divisions have attacked their positions between Riga and Tilsit, in East Prussia.
If this new thrust succeeds it will effectively cut off the remnants of Army Group North which have retreated into Courland. At the same time Riga itself is being threatened by Russian forces which have captured the railway town of Ogre, 20 miles to the south-east. There is no doubt that Germany intends to fight to retain control of Riga. Refugees escaping from the city report that the Germans are continuing to strengthen their defences.
Minesweeper SM 3 is lost to Finnish mines off Suursaari.
LITHUANIA: From the Siauliai area, troops of the Soviet First Baltic Front push in force toward the Baltic and East Prussia in effort to cut off German Army Group North.
ITALY: The U.S. Fifth Army issues alternative instructions for continuing their attack after reaching Highway 9 (Bologna-Faenza) based on assumptions that the Germans may or may not have withdrawn from the Valle di Commachio-Apennines pocket by that time. Regimental Combat Team 6 of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, as a training exercise, is to continue along the Serchio valley toward Castelnuovo. In the II Corps area, the 133d Infantry Regiment takes Monzuno and finishes clearing the Mt. Venere area. The 91st Infantry Division, committing attacks with three regiments after preparatory artillery fire takes Loiano and Mt. Bastia while the 85th Infantry Division takes Mt. Bibele on the left and holds positions on Hill 566 on the right. The 88th Infantry Division is held up by strong opposition on Hill 587.
In the British Eighth Army’s V Corps area, the Indian 10th Division, after bitter fighting, succeeds in taking the Sogliano-St. Martino ridge and forces the Germans back across the Fiumicino River.
During the night of 4/5 October, Twelfth Air Force A-20s bomb targets of opportunity in the battle area in the mountains south of Bologna and north of the Arno River Valley; during the day weather grounds medium bomber wings and the XII Fighter Command.
During the night of 5/6 October, 40 RAF Bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group hit the pontoon bridge at San Benedetto.
GREECE: Patras: Peasants working their rockstrewn, barren fields watched as the multi-coloured parachutes filled the clear blue sky before running to greet their liberators. The British Army has fulfilled the promise it made three years ago - to return and liberate Greece.
The airborne forces dropped in yesterday, a reconnaissance in force while the main force was still steaming towards the Peloponnese. Their first target was an airfield - which was found deserted and demolished, although the first Dakota was landing there within hours.
By the time the main force came ashore today, it was clear that the Germans are evacuating the Peloponnese. The British are hurrying eastwards along the Gulf of Corinth in the hope of trapping the 10,000-strong garrison in Athens.
The liberators are shocked by the level of starvation they see in every Greek face. Money is useless; food, cigarettes and quinine are the only acceptable currency.
During the night of 5/6 October, two RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group lay mines in the Euripos Channel.
BURMA: 11 Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts hit Mawlu and attack locomotives and targets of opportunity in the Naha area; 8 B-25s attack bridges at Namhkai, damaging the main bridge; and troop carriers fly 250+ sorties to various locations in the CBI.
CHINA: The Japanese capture Fuzhou (Foochow), the last seaport under Chinese control.
12 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s and 22 fighter-bombers attack Samshui, Koyiu and Takhing; 8 hit targets of opportunity in the Canton-Wuchou area, and 3 bomb a storage area at Mangshih; and 50+ P-40s and P-51 Mustangs over wide areas of southern China attack rivercraft, road traffic, bridges, town areas, and troops.
JAPAN: 2 Eleventh Air Force B-24s based in the Aleutian Islands bomb Kashiwabara and Kurabu Cape on Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands at dawn.
EAST INDIES: Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb airfields in the Kendari area on Celebes Island. B-25s and P-38s hit Kairatoe Airfield on Celebes Island, the town of Amboina on Ambon Island and numerous coastal and shipping targets of opportunity in the Ambon-Ceram Islands area.
NEW GUINEA: Dutch New Guinea USAAF A-20s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers attack Urarom, the Simora Point area, Doom Island, Babo, Efman and Samate Airfields and disposal areas; and A-20s blast Japanese bivouacs and supply areas near Sarmi.
MARIANA ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force P-47s based on Saipan attack Pagan Island with rockets and bombs; a B-24 bombs gun positions on the island.
NAURU ISLAND: B-25s from the Gilbert Islands bomb runways and gun positions on Nauru Island.
WAKE ISLAND: During the night of 5/6 October B-24s from the Marshall Islands strike Wake Island.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: The USN’s Special Air Task Force (STAG 1) (Commander Robert F. Jones), based on Stirling Island in the Treasury Islands, commences operations with Interstate TDR-1 target drones controlled from converted TBM-1C Avengers against Japanese targets in the southwest Pacific. Four TDRs, each carrying a 2,000-pound (907.2 kg) bomb, are launched against Japanese supply caves in the Keravia Bay, Rabaul, area of New Britain Island. One TDR hits in the vicinity of cave entrances; one misses the target area. Two are lost en route due to interference from communications frequency used by motor gunboat (PGM) operating in the waters over which the drones fly.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: PALAU ISLANDS: Peleliu: The US 7th Marines, fighting in torrential rain, are relieved by the 5th Marines in the struggle to dislodge Japanese forces from the Mount Umurbrogol pocket.
B-24s from the Marshall Islands bomb an airfield at Moen Island, Truk Atoll
CANADA: Tug HMCS Listerville assigned to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Corvette HMCS Whitby departed St. John’s for Londonderry to join EG C-4.
Tug HMCS Glenbrook commissioned.
U.S.A.: Destroyer escort USS Formoe commissioned.
Destroyer USS Southerland launched.
Baseball!
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-373 was commissioned at Sturgeon Bay WI with LTJG J. L. Barron, USCGR, as her first commanding officer. He was succeeded on 11 October 11, 1944, by LTJG W. H. Bosworth, USCGR. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest and Western Pacific areas. This included Tacloban, San Fernando, etc.
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-374 was commissioned. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest and Western Pacific areas, including Tacloban, Batangas, Gaang Point, etc. during the war.
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-353 was commissioned at New York with LTJG Robert H. Foster, USCGR, as commanding officer. She departed New York, 23 October 1944 for the Southwest Pacific, where she operated during the war at Hollandia and elsewhere.
The top songs on the pop charts are: “Till the End of Time” by Perry Como, “If I Loved You” by Perry Como and “You Two Timed Me One Time Too Often” by Tex Ritter.
Homer, thanks for the Nimitz update.....Peleliu was still a mess even two weeks after theoretically securing the island.
“The German Commander not only arranged for our Red Cross jeeps to go down to draw water from a well inside German lines, but sent the Medical Officer back to us with a present of a bottle of brandy.”
I suspect that the German Commander would have to answer to either a US POW camp commander, Jesus or his mother on returning from the war...or maybe he was just a chivalrous German military guy born in the late 1800’s!
“Flyers adopt girl, 17, crippled during invasion...”
The French Farm Girl of the Flying Field: Yvette Hamel and the 371st Fighter Group
How the 371FG came to “adopt” 16-year old Mademoiselle Yvette Hamel is a tale of overcoming adversity. In early July, 1944, Yvette was milking cows with her sister on the family farm in Normandy, which was being used by an American artillery unit. But on that fateful day, she was grievously wounded by German artillery and nearly died - her sister was killed. US Army medics provided first aid, saved her life, and transported her to the Army’s 67th Evacuation Hospital, a field hospital at La Fière, about four miles west of Sainte-Mère-Église. Surgeons there were forced by the extent of her wounds to amputate both of her legs; they also worked to save her shattered right arm. Yvette began her recuperation in this field hospital amidst wounded soldiers, as no French hospital was available or equipped to take care of her serious and still life-threatening wounds.
By early December, General Eisenhower himself reportedly became aware of Yvette and decided her days of moving around as miscellaneous cargo for the benefit of the 371st were over; but he offered her an option of going to the U.S., or to remain in France, for further medical care. Away from her family in Normandy and faced with having to make a quick decision, she decided to remain in France; the group continued with the war, while Yvette went to Paris for reconstructive surgery and the next phase in her rehabilitation battle.
After the war, Yvette gradually overcame her disability, married and had a family. Group veterans kept in touch with her, and in 1980, Yvette came to the United States to join some 371FG pilots at a P-47 Thunderbolt Pilots Association reunion held in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In the 1990s, several group members returned to France and met with her again.
Yvette Hamel passed away in 2007, but not before her story inspired a nicely-written novel based on her life called “Sunward I’ve Climbed” by author Annie Laurie Morgan. It was published in 1994, in time for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. It conveys a better appreciation of her struggle, and the positive impact members of the 371FG had on her, and that she had on the 371st Fighter Group.
Thank you for finding this beautiful story.
Yvette could have gone to Hollywood and made millions but she stayed in France and was probably happier for it for not allowing her life to be destroyed!
Your own home and family is better than having millions.
Somewhat suggestive phrase: “ her days of moving around as miscellaneous cargo for the benefit of the 371st “
Poor choice of words, to be sure!
...and farm girls love certain animals that are kept as pets as opposed to those kept for food...and maybe a boy on a neighboring farm as well!
Or trying to communicate something about the relationship between the unit and the ‘pretty’ teenager. Seems to be a bit of discrepancy about her age.
She’d lost two limbs and most of a third. Give our troops a little credit for altruism.
Looks like the left leg, at least, was well below the knee. Can’t tell from the picture where the right one ended.
http://www.142fw.ang.af.mil/photos/mediagallery.asp?galleryID=5795&page=9
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