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1931   (SUNDAY)

INTERNATIONAL: Focusing on the international financial crisis, a number of nations agree to a one year truce on armaments expansion.

JAPAN: Television images are transmitted by radio station JOAK in Tokyo. The images comprise 80 scanning lines at a rate of 20 frames per second.

 

1933   (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED STATES: Secretary of State Cordell Hull tells German Ambassador to the U.S. Hans Luther that a general war is probable in the next two to ten years stating ". . . the outlook in Europe at this distance for disarmament or for peace do not appear very encouraging. . . ."

 

1934   (THURSDAY)

UNITED STATES: The U.S. Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is authorized to manufacture and test a flush-deck hydraulic catapult, Type H Mark I. This catapult is designed to launch landplanes from aircraft carriers and is the Navy's initial development of a hydraulic catapult.

 

1935   (FRIDAY)

GERMANY: The Government announces that the Nuremberg Laws apply to all Jews, German or foreign, without exception. As a result, the citizenship of all German Jews is officially revoked.

 

1936   (SUNDAY)

ITALY: The term "Axis" is first coined by Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini in a speech he gives in Milan. In this speech, he refers to the Rome/Berlin alliance as a Axis in which all European countries will revolve around.

 

1938   (TUESDAY)

EASTERN EUROPE: The Czech-Polish settlement adds 419 square miles (1 085 square kilometers) to the territory of Poland.

SWITZERLAND: Japan gives formal notice of withdrawal from the League of Nation's social and technical organs stating that they had been "slandering at every turn Japan's activities in China." UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Balloon Command is formed (commanded by Air Vice-Marshal O T Boyd), deploying some 1,500 barrage balloons by the outbreak of World War II.

UNITED STATES: Secretary of State Cordell Hull makes an urgent appeal for a return to the ways of peace stating, "If the nations continue along this road [to autarchy], . . . they will be marching toward the final catastrophe of a new world war, the horror and destructiveness of which pass human imagination. . . . The program which we advocate offers the only practicable alternative to a drift toward the anarchy of economic warfare, with all its disastrous consequences for the peace and progress of man.'

November 1st, 1939 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF bomber commands reports: reconnaissance of northwest Germany.

The first HN/ON convoys between the Firth of Forth and Norway sail in November and are covered by the Home Fleet. They are discontinued in April.

NETHERLANDS: The government proclaims a state of siege in frontier areas and flood zones.

FRANCE: U.S. freighters SS Endicott and West Gambo, detained by French authorities since 22 October and portions of their cargo ordered ashore as contraband, are released and clear LeHavre.

GERMANY:  Berlin: Germany formally annexes western Poland, Danzig and the Polish Corridor. This adds the new districts of Posen, Greater East Prussia and Danzig West Prussia to the Reich.

U-50 launched.

POLAND: The western Ukraine is incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

SWITZERLAND: Contingency plans are laid in case of an invasion.

GIBRALTAR: U.S. freighter SS Exminster is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

U.S.A.:

Destroyers USS Wilkes and Nicholson laid down.

Destroyer USS Trippe commissioned.

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November 1st, 1940 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

London: In a telegram to Air Marshal Longmore in Cairo, Churchill promises to reinforce him "as soon as possible."

Secretary of State for War to Churchill:

"It is important to prevent capture of Crete by the Italians. Hence:-

Navy, army and air staff already on Crete.

Battalion Yorks and Lancs sent by cruiser, should arrive this morning.

Further forces of Brigade HQ, 1 battalion, 1 Heavy AA battery, 1 LAA battery etc with supplies for 45 days ready to embark in Egypt.

20 anti-tank rifles.

1 Sqn. Blenheims, 1 Sqn. of Bombay for transport."

RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group. Low-level raider hits barrack block at RAF Wattisham killing 10 and injuring 19.

The Church Times:

"A Messerschmitt was shot down by an RAF fighter off Folkestone. The Nazi pilot was saved from drowning by a Jewish soldier in the British army, who plunged into the sea, swam three-quarters of a mile, and held up the airman until they were both picked up by a fishing boat."

Corvette HMS Heather commissioned.

FRANCE: General Karl-Heinrich von Stulpnagel is appointed head of the military regime in the occupied zone.

     Marshal of France Henri-Philippe Pétain, Head of the Vichy French Government, reassures U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the disposition of the French fleet stating, "The French Government has declared that the French fleet would never be surrendered and nothing can justify questioning today that solemn undertaking."

GERMANY: U-158, U-252, U-509, U-510 laid down.

ITALY: RAF and Fleet Air Arm aircraft attack targets in Naples and Brindisi on the Italian mainland and Albanian ports.

GREECE: Italian forces reach the river Kalamas, near Epirus.

Italian aircraft bomb Salonika and islands of Corfu and Crete. 300 are killed in bombing attacks on Piraeus.

SINGAPORE:The British host a conference of representatives from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Holland to discuss defence of the Malay Barrier.  The US sends Purnell as an observer.  No direct records remain of the matters covered at this conference.  British and American navies exchange liaison officers, Lt Cdr Wisden, RN, being sent to Manila.and Captain John Creighton, USN, to Singapore. (Marc Small)

PACIFIC OCEAN: The German auxiliary minelayer Passat completes laying a mine barrage off the Australian coast in Bass Strait between the Australian mainland and Tasmania.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: The War Department activates the Hawaiian Air Force at Ft. Shafter, Oahu, to provide administrative and operational control of all U.S. Army Air Corps units assigned to the U.S. Army's Hawaiian Department.

U.S.A.: Under the current expansion plans the US Navy today orders 379 Martin PBM-3 Mariner flying boats.

The Hollywood film companies make their studios available to the military for the production of training films.

The Atlantic Squadron of the USN is renamed the Patrol Force. (Keith Allen)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-124 sank SS Empire Bison in Convoy HX-82.

The Norwegian fishery protection vessel Fridtjof Nansen seizes a German ship carrying 50 armed men who plan to seize a weather station in Greenland and supply advance forecasts to the Luftwaffe.

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November 1st, 1941 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Destroyer HMS Grenville laid down.

Submarine USS Hake laid down.

Corvettes HMS Fritillary and Coltsfoot commissioned.

GERMANY:

U-166 launched.

U-214 commissioned.

The German government issues a statement denying the charges made by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt that the USN destroyers USS Greer (DD 145) and Kearny (DD-432) were attacked by German submarines without any provocation; that the exact opposite is true in that the U-boats fired torpedoes only after they were tracked and depth-charged for hours by these US vessels.

FINLAND: The last Finnish offensive commences in the Kestenga sector. The Finns encircle two Soviet regiments and destroy them.
 

The interesting thing about this offensive is that it resulted from the local Finnish and German commanders' own initiative, quite against the orders of their superiors.

Finnish forces had taken Kiestinki (Kestenga) in August 1941, but late in the month the Finnish Infantry Regiment 53 had been encircled by the Soviet forces. The regiment finally managed to break out in early September, taking heavy losses (among them regiment commander Lt. Col.

Jussi Turtola, posthumously promoted to full colonel). Finns fought together with the Germans of SS Division 'Nord', which performance had been less than stellar. The division was subordinated to Maj. Gen.

Hjalmar Siilasvuo's Finnish III Army Corps (which in turn was subordinated to Gen. Falkenhorst's German Gebirgsarmee Norwegen) -- apparently the only time during the whole war when an SS division fought under non-German command. In September Hitler ordered Falkenhorst to stop attempts to advance and assume defensive stance all along his army's front.

However, Falkenhorst and Siilasvuo both wanted to have another go. They believed that chances of cutting the Murmansk Railway at Louhi (Loukhi) were reasonably good. While Falkenhorst was held back by Fhrer's orders, Siilasvuo was reined in by Finnish leadership. USA was making threatening noises about the consequences if Finland cut the Murmansk railway, and neither President Risto Ryti nor Marshal Mannerheim wanted to aggravate relations with the Western Allies. While Siilasvuo was subordinated to Germans, in practice he validated all his operational orders with Mannerheim before executing them. But now both Falkenhorst and Siilasvuo decided to attack despite their respective superiors.

Finnish Division J (Col. Vin Palojrvi) and German SS Division 'Nord'

(SS-Brigf. Karl-Maria Demelhuber) were to attack towards Louhi under Siilasvuo's command. Officially the attack was disguised as a tactical operation to shorten Finnish III Army Corps's front line. But Siilasvuo informed the Finnish GHQ about the offensive.

The operation commenced on 1 November 1941. Finnish-German forces broke into the Soviet defenses, but 88th Rifle Division (Maj. Gen. Vladimir

Solovev) fought back with skill, and Soviets sent reinforcements. After initial difficulties the attack began to make good progress and the defending Red Army forces were encircled. On 11 November Red Army launched an unsuccessful counterattack to reach their encircled comrades, but without result. However, by 15 November majority of the encircled troops managed to infiltrate to safety in small groups -- claim that Finns destroyed two Soviet regiments appear to be over-optimistic.

But on 11 November Siilasvuo ordered his forces to start preparing defensive positions. Soviet resistance was stiffening, and the Finnish GHQ was worried about the heavy losses Finnish troops were taking.

President Ryti was also concerned about the political implications, and on 5 November wrote to Mannerheim, asking what was the purpose of the operation was. On the next day Mannerheim gave an order to stop Finnish offensive operations, stating that they interfered with the ongoing reorganization of the Finnish Army. Also on 11 November OKH sent a message to Falkenhorst reminding him of the orders to stay in defense and of Mannerheim's order to stop Finnish attacks. There also were tensions between Siilasvuo and Germans. SS Division 'Nord' wanted to act independently of the Finns and have a larger share of the operation.

Siilasvuo wouldn't allow that, because he had a low opinion of the SS soldiers and particularly of the quality of their officers. Siilasvuo accused the Germans of failing to reach their objectives and Germans in turn accused Siilasvuo of passivity when he stopped the offensive.

Around 18 November the Finnish-German offensive was brought to halt, and by the end of the month Soviet counterattacks had brought the front line back where it was at the beginning of November.

U.S.S.R.: The German 11th Army captures Simferopol in the Crimea.

     Elements of the German 39th Panzer Division cut the rail connection between Vologda and Tikhvin. This would close the airhead to Leningrad and extend the cordon 100 miles (161 kilometers).

Marshal Shaposhnikov becomes Chief of Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces. 

German forces launch a major offensive aimed at Rostov-on-Don and the Caucasus, and clear up the last remnants of resistance at Simferopol, a vital communications centre in the Crimea.

YUGOSLAVIA: Outside Uzice, elements of Marshal Josept Broz Tito's partisan force and Chetnik forces, both anti-Nazi forces, attack one another.

ALGERIA: Vichy France opens a punishment and isolation camp at Hadjerat-M'Guil. It contains 170 prisoners, nine of whom are tortured and murdered in conditions of the worst brutality. Two of the murdered are Jews, one of whom had earlier been released from a concentration camp in Germany in 1939 and fled to France. (Atlas)

JAPAN: Japanese Combined Fleet Operational Order Number 1 - the plan for the attack on Pearl Harbor, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies is issued.

Tokyo: Joseph C Grew, the US ambassador, sends a second telegram to President Roosevelt warning that the Japanese may be planning an attack on an American target. Japan might "resort with dangerous and dramatic suddenness to measures which might make inevitable war with the United States." He also states that ". . . underestimating Japan's obvious preparations to implement a program in the event the alternative peace program fails, would be short-sighted. Similarly it would be short-sighted for American policy to be based upon the belief that Japanese preparations are no more than saber rattling, merely intended to give moral support to the high pressure diplomacy of Japan."

AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Bunbury laid down.

CANADA:

Corvettes HMCS Kitchener renamed Vancouver and Fort William renamed Fredericton

Schooner HMCS Venture commissioned as guard ship Tuft's Cove, Bedford Basin (Halifax), Nova Scotia.

U.S.A.: War Department reluctantly opens a secret language school at Crissey Field under the 4th Army at the Presidio of San Francisco, with four Nisei instructors and 60 students, 58 of which are Nisei. This was the first class of the Military Intelligence Language School. Military Intelligence Service (MIS) (Gene Hanson)

Army Intelligence prepares Intelligence Bulletin 148 for General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff U.S. Army, stating that "recent developments in the international situation, and particularly in the Pacific, indicate the possibility of a Japanese invasion of Yunnan Province in an attempt to cut China's life-line, the Burma Road."

The Second Joint Training Force of the US Navy is formed. (Gordon Rottman)

President Roosevelt"> Franklin D. Roosevelt places Coast Guard under jurisdiction of Department of the Navy for duration of national emergency.

Submarine USS Drum commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-68 sank SS Bradford City.

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November 1st, 1942 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The Westland Welkin High Altitude fighter prototype (DG 558) makes its maiden flight. Two 1,650-hp Rolls-Royce Merlin engines drive it to 387mph, with a ceiling of 44,000-feet and a range of 1,200 miles. (Emmanuel Gustin)(22)

Trawler HMS Bowell renamed HMS Miscou.

Corvettes HMCS Baddeck and Port Arthur arrived at Londonderry, having escorted the 50-ship convoy SC-105 from St. John’s. Both ships were Flower-class corvettes. SC-105 departed New York City on 11 Oct 42 and arrived safely in Liverpool on 31 Oct 42 with all of ships intact.

FRANCE: Workers strike in protest against forced labour.

RAF Bomber Command (A-20) Bostons bomb Ft. Rouge Airfield at St. Omer; three others bomb the docks at Calais as an alternative target. One Boston is lost.

BALTIC SEA: Finnish SS Agnes torpedoed and sunk by Soviet submarine SC-406 12 miles north of Rixhft.

U.S.S.R.: Close combat between the Soviet garrison of Stalingrad (62d and 64th Armies) and the German Sixth and Fourth Panzer Armies of Army Group B continues, but the garrison has proved itself capable of weathering maximum effort of the Germans. In the Caucasus, the Red Army has frustrated every German effort to reach Grozny and is containing attacks toward Tuapse, but German Army Gioup A captures Alagir, blocking the Ossetian Highway, which extends from Alagir to Kutais.

CRETE: Eight US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators strike the airfield and dispersal areas at Maleme.

EGYPT: Cairo: The enigmatically-named unit known as "L" detachment of the Special Air Service Brigade has been expanded into the 1st Special Air Service Regiment. The handful of survivors of Major David Stirling's 12-month experiment in mayhem behind Rommel's line will be steadily augmented by other veterans of irregular warfare. These include the Middle East Commando (30 officers and 300 rankers of whom Stirling wants only a third); a Free French SAS squadron (14 officers, 80 others); the Greek "Sacred Squadron" (14 and 100); and the Special Boat Section (15 and 40). Special units still outside Stirling's empire include the Long Range Desert Group; the Special Operations Executive; the Parachute Regiment; Popski's Private Army; and some commandos.

US Army, Middle East Air Force P-40s escort RAF bombers and hit ground targets in the battle area around El Alamein.

INDIAN OCEAN: SS Mendoza, an 8,234 ton British Ministry of War Transport which sailed from Mombasa, East Africa, is torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-178 about 70 nautical miles (129 kilometers) east-northeast of its destination, Durban, South Africa. This ex-Vichy French ship is carrying 153 crew and some 250 passengers when it blew up taking the lives of 28 of her crew and 122 service personnel.

NEW GUINEA: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb the airfield and dump area at Lae, Northeast New Guinea.

SOLOMON ISLANDS:

On Guadalcanal, the 1st Marine Division, with artillery, naval gunfire, and air support, launches an attack toward the Poha River. The 5th Marine Regiment, followed by the 2d Marine Regiment (less the 3d Battalion) in reserve, crosses footbridges over the Matanikau River at 0630 hours and drives west about 1,000 yards (914 meters) in two columns to positions short of Point Cruz, the 1st Battalion , the right flank column, meeting considerable delaying opposition along the coast. The Whaling Group (3d Battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment and scout-sniper detachment) crosses the river upstream and advances west on the inland route to protect the left flank of the 5th Marine Regiment. To forestall expected Japanese landings in the Koli Point area, east of the Lunga perimeter, the 2d Battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment starts east toward the Metapona River. The only authenticated US bayonet charge of the campaign is conducted by Company I. By nightfall they are  west of Point Cruz.

     The first squadron of Marine Aircraft Group Eleven (MAG-11), Marine Scout- or Dive-Bombing Squadron One Hundred Thirty Two (VMSB-132) begins arriving at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. The squadron is equipped with SBD Dauntlesses.

     USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses strike shipping in the Buin area of southern Bougainville Island. Kahili Airfield on southern Bougainville is also attacked.

U.S.A.: Destroyer escort USS Edsall launched.

NORTH ATLANTIC: Convoy SC 107 reaches the air support gap south of Greenland. During this night four U-boats sink eight merchantmen. A ninth is sunk during the day. The weather then worsens and the German lose contact with the convoy. (Henry Sirotin)

Destroyer USS Borie sank from damage received after ramming U-405 in the North Atlantic. 27 crew lost. 49 men died when this U-boat was lost. There were no survivors.

U-565 shot down RAF 233 Sqn Hudson and heavily damaged another.

U-126 sank SS George Thatcher.

U-174 sank SS Elmdale in Convoy TRIN-20.

U-178 sank SS Mendoza.

U-173 sailed from France on her second and final patrol.

U-664, on her maiden patrol, was severely damaged by depth charges dropped by a Catalina of USN Squadron VP 84, and had to abort to France.

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November 1st, 1943 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyers HMS Barfleur and Wager launched.

Frigate HMS Seymour launched.

A progress report, assessing results of the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) by the RAF and USAAF, estimates that 19 important German towns and cities have been virtually destroyed, 19 severely damaged and nine more effectively damaged. A joint report of the British Ministry of Economic Warfare and Air Ministry Intelligence Branch claims that 10 percent of the total war potential of Germany has been destroyed.

RAF Fighter Command is redesignated Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) and all fighter aircraft involved in the air defense are assigned. All aircraft involved in tactical operations are assigned to a new unit, the Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF), which is activated under command of RAF Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory. This new unit will have operational control of all Allied tactical air force aircraft for the invasion of western Europe (Operation OVERLORD). Initially, the RAF Air Defence of Great Britain and the 2nd Tactical Air Force are assigned; the USAAF Ninth Air Force will be assigned on 10 December.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet units capture Perekop during their advance to Armiansk isolating the Crimea. Part of the Soviet 56th Army is landed in the Crimea near Enikale.

The first in a new series of Arctic convoys sails from Kola Inlet.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, British X Corps continues to clear the Mt. Massico-Mt. St. Croce hill mass on the western flank of the Fifth Army. The 56th Division takes Roccamonfina. In the U.S. VI Corps area, the 168th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division reaches Capriati al Volturno.

     Six USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb a railroad viaduct at Recco while one bombs the marshalling yard at La Spezia. B-25 Mitchells, escorted by fighters, hit marshalling yards at Rimini and Ancona. Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force (NATBF) aircraft bomb shipping in the harbors of Ancona, Italy and Split, Yugoslavia, hit a tunnel mouth near Antrodoco, and attack scattered gun positions and motor transport on both the US Fifth and British Eighth Army fronts. The XII Air Support Command hits numerous bridges and junctions and the town of Pontecorvo. The RAF Desert Air Force (DAF) hits inland roads and vehicles in advance of the battleline, shipping at Split, Yugoslavia and the town of Carpinone.

     During the night of 1/2 November, 19 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group hits the marshalling yard at Via Reggio while three drop leaflets over Leghorn.

Alan Moorehead (Despatch from Italy) of the Daily Express

    Arocity stories spring up in every village. If anything tragic or cruel happens, the people say at once, "I Tedeschi" - the Germans

    In the desert we knew the Germans as correct soldiers, punctilious in the treatment of prisoners - especially the wounded. There were virtually no civilians and no cities. But now it is all changed, and the word German means horror and terror.

    I have not reported one-tenth of the atrocity stories I have been told, partly because they were all much the same, but mostly because I had no means of checking them.

    But now I think I have seen and heard enough to say that you cannot believe all the stories. There have been many frightful atrocities which are now fully documented. The results have been photographed by Army photographic units.

    But at least half the stories are examples not so much of German cruelty, as of the fortune of war.

Daily Mail

    Today I was told how a terribly wounded German soldier was snatched from death a few miles behind the Italian front. He was dying from severe chest wounds when he was brought into a field hospital. Complete removal of one lung was found to be necessary.

In the tent operating room one of the most delicate operations ever performed under field conditions was carried out by Major Paul Simpson, of Oakland, California. The surgeon had to work with the utmost precision and speed, but the operation was completed successfully.

US General Spaatz takes command of all US Air Forces in the Mediterranean.

U.S.S.R.: A U.S. Military Mission to the Soviet Union is organized under Major General John R. Deane to establish American airfields in the USSR for shuttle bombing of Axis territory.

     Soviet units capture Perekop Isthmus during their advance to Armiansk isolating the Crimea. Part of the Soviet 56th Army is landed in the Crimea near Enikale.

     The first in a new series of Arctic convoys sails from Kola Inlet.

YUGOSLAVIA: Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force (NATBF) aircraft bomb shipping in the harbor Split while the RAF Desert Air Force (DAF) hits shipping at Split.

TUNISIA: The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force is activated, with headquarters at Tunis and Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle as Commanding General. This new air force will be the strategic air force in the Mediterranean while the USAAF Twelfth Air Force will become a tactical air force. The following Twelfth Air Force units are transferred to the new Fifteenth Air Force: 16 squadrons equipped with B-17 Flying Fortresses; eight squadrons equipped with B-24 Liberators; eight squadrons equipped with B-25 Mitchells; 12 squadrons equipped with B-26 Marauders; nine squadrons equipped with P-38 Lightnings; and three squadrons equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts; three reconnaissance squadrons and a liaison squadron.

CHINA: The USAAF Fourteenth Air Force dispatches six B-25 Mitchells and nine P-40s to bomb the Yoyang railroad yards.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, 11 USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Maniang Island and nearby Pembela.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Japanese aircraft reinforcements, 82 "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters), 45 "Val" dive bombers (Aichi D3A, Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber), 40 "Kate" torpedo bombers (Nakajima B5N, Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Bombers) and six reconnaissance aircraft, arrive at Rabaul, New Britain Island. There are now about 200 aircraft based at Rabaul.

     A lone USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 scores hit on ship off Kavieng, New Ireland Island. During the night of ½ November, two USAAF Thirteenth Air Force radar snooper B-24s attack a convoy west of Cape Saint George on New Ireland Island.

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS: General Hyakutake's 17th Army, now on Bougainville, is the target  of US landings. Most are garrisoned in the south end of this large island  where the airfields and landing beaches are. The US landings come at  Empress Augusta Bay at Cape Tarokina. The 3rd Marine Division with  transport by US TF 31 makes the landings. Admiral Sherman with 2 carriers  of TF 38 and Admiral Merill with TF 39 provide escort and air support; 1400 US troops in total landed.

After preparatory naval gunfire and aerial bombardment, Northern Force of Vice Admiral Theordore Wilkinson's Task Force 31 starts landing the 3d Marine Division, reinforced, of Major General Arthur Vandegrift's I Marine Amphibious Corps on Bougainville Island at about 0730 hours. The 3d and 9th Marine Regiment land abreast on the north shore of Empress Augusta Bay in the Cape Torokina area and establish a shallow beachhead despite opposition from small but determined Japanese defense force. (Most of the Japanese troops are garrisoned in the southern end of this large island where the airfields and landing beaches are.) Elements of the 2d Marine Raider Regiment (Provisional) land on Puruata Island., off Cape Torokina, and begin to clear it. Major General Allen Turnage, Commanding General 3d Marine Division takes command ashore. Japanese air attacks delay unloading of cargo and surf damages many landing craft, but the operation is otherwise very successful. Cru  iser and destroyer force of Task Force 39 (Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill) and carrier task force TF 38 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) shell and bomb Japanese airfields and installations in the Buka-Bonis area. Rear Admiral Merrill's force later bombards enemy airfields on Shortland Island.

     U.S. and New Zealand fighters covering the operations shoot down 20+ Japanese aircraft. Naval gunfire accounts for several more. On southern Bougainville, 21 USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Kahili Airfield while Kara Airfield is attacked by 19 B-24 Liberators, 30+ P-40s and P-39 Airacobras, and 70+ US Navy (USN) fighters and dive bombers. P-38 Lightnings on a sweep over waters northwest of the Solomons claim seven "Zekes" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) shot down. B-25 Mitchells strafe barges and wharf area at Faisi Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN Submarine Operations:

2200: USS TRIGGER (SS-237) sinks two cargo ships at 29-12 N, 134-37 E.

2400: USS HADDOCK (SS-231) sinks a transport and cargo ship at

09-02 N, 150-43 E. (Skip Guidry)

14 Antiaircraft Artillery Group arrives in the New Hebrides. (Jean Beach)

PACIFIC: BATTLE OF EMPRESS AUGUSTA BAY: Vice Admiral OMORI Sentaro departs Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, to escort 1,000 Japanese Army troops to oppose the U.S. invasion at Cape Torokina on Bougainville Island. Omori's force includes heavy cruisers HIJMS Myoko and Haguro, light cruisers HIJMS Agano and Sendai, six destroyers and four destroyer-transports. The Japanese force is intercepted by the four radar-equipped USN light cruisers of Task Force 39, USS Cleveland (CL-55), Columbia (CL-56), Denver (CL-58) and Montpelier (CL-57) and eight destroyers. At 0150 hour, all four U.S. cruisers take the light cruiser HIJMS SENDAI under 6-inch (15,2 centimeter) fire and set her afire; the cruiser is abandoned at 0200 hours and she soon sinks with most of her crew. Two Japanese destroyers collide while avoiding U.S. shell fire and at 0300 hours, the heavy cruiser HIJMS Myoko collides with another destroyer; the American destroyers sink this latter destroyer and the  Japanese withdraw with the remaining Japanese forces. Japanese planes attack TF 39 during its retirement from the scene of battle, damaging light cruiser USS Montpelier (CL-57).

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: The Alaska Theater of Operations is established. The Alaska Department, U.S. Army, is reassigned from the Western Defense Command and assigned directly to the War Department.

CANADA:

Escort carrier HMS Nabob ran aground on Roberts Bank off Fraser River enroute to Vancouver from Tacoma.

Corvette HMCS Amherst completed forecastle extension refit Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

U.S.A.:  President Roosevelt orders Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes and  the Solid Fuels Administration to take over the coal mines. 530,000 men of  the Coal Miners Union are out on strike. This action ends the problems for  now.

USAAF 73d Squadron is disbanded at Pyote AAFld, Pyote, Texas.

Escort carrier USS Fanshaw Bay launched.

Escort carrier USS Saginaw Bay laid down.

Submarine USS Sea Dog laid down.

Destroyer escorts USS Edmonds, Richard W Suesen and Shelton laid down.

Destroyer escort USS John J Powers launched.

Destroyer escorts USS Gustafson, James E Craig and Vance commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: During a storm, the surfaced German submarine U-405 (Type VIIC) is sunk about 640 nautical miles (1 184 kilometers) north-northwest of Lagens Field, Azores Islands, at position 49.00N, 31.14W, by ramming, small arms fire and depth charges from the USN destroyer USS Borie (DD-215); all 49 crewmen in the sub are lost. USS Borie is part of the hunter-killer group built around the escort aircraft carrier USS Card (CVE-11). Twenty seven crewmen on the destroyer are lost and the ship is too badly damaged by the collision to be towed to port, so the destroyer USS Barry (DD-248) fires three torpedoes which miss so a TBF-1 Avenger of Composite Squadron Nine (VC-9) in USS Card drops four depth charges and Borie sinks at 0954 hours on 2 November. (Alex Gordon)

 The British X Corps continues attacks between Monte Massico and Monte Santa  Croce. Roccamonfina,

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November 1st, 1944 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Frigate HMS Morecambe Bay launched.

The British Captain-class frigate HMS Whitaker (K 580, ex USN DE-571) is torpedoed by German submarine U-483 (Kapitanleutnant Hans-Joachim von Morstein) about 32 nautical miles (59 kilometers) north-northwest of Londonderry, County Derry, Northern Ireland, in position 55.30N, 07.39W. The propellant for the 24 Hedgehogs on the launcher in front of the bridge explodes, blows off her bows and wrecks her bridge structure. She is towed into Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, laid up but not repaired. (Alex Gordon & Dave Shirlaw)

Weather prevents USAAF Ninth Air Force bomber operations; fighters fly patrols, sweeps, armed reconnaissance over Belgium, eastern France, and large areas of western Germany and attack bridges, railroads, and various other targets.

NETHERLANDS: Landings by  a brigade of the British 52nd Division and 3 commando  groups today on Walchern Island. The planned air support is cancelled due  to bad weather but the naval force of 181 vessels and landing craft include HMS Warspite and two monitors which bombard. The island, in the German-held Scheldt estuary is  defended by the German 70th Division, and is the gateway to Antwerp. The British landed at Westkapelle and Flushing despite heavy fighting on land and at sea. They destroy field batteries on Walcheren Island, and Canadian troops land on the island, only to be repelled by the Germans.

In the Canadian First Army area, Operation INFATUATE commences with the II Corps beginning an all-out assault on Waicheren Island. Continuing to attack on the causeway from southern Beveland, the Canadian 2d Division gains a few hundred yards but is forced back. From Breskens, the Canadian 4th Regiment of the 4th Special Service Brigade, under 52d Division command, followed by the 155th Brigade of the 52d Division, crosses the estuary to the south coast near Flushing and begins clearing that town. From Ostend, the 4th Royal Marine Special Service Brigade consisting of Nos 41, 47 and 48 Commandos is carried in 180 landing craft to the west side of the island and land at a gap in the Westkapelle dyke, and seize Westkapelle; some elements turn northeast along the coast while others drive southeast toward Flushing, A reconnaissance force is sent to northern Beveland. The planned air support is cancelled due to bad weather but the British battleship HMS Warspite (03)  and the monitors HMS Erebus (I 02) and Roberts (F 40) bombard the island. The island is heavily defended by the German 70th Division and largely flooded when the battle takes place. Many landing craft are lost in the assault. The British I Corps prepares for a co-ordinated attack across the Mark River.

In the British Second Army area, XII Corps finishes clearing its sector south of the Maas River except for a small region between the Afwaterins Canal and the river. In the VIII Corps area, the 53d Division goes into the line on the right flank of the corps along the Wessem Canal southeast of Nederweert and the Belgian 1st Brigade and British 4th Separate Armourd Brigade are attached to it. The U.S., 7th Armored Division prepares for a limited offensive to secure the northwest bank of the Canal du Nord.

     During the night of 1/2 November, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 697: three B-17 Flying Fortresses and five B-24 Liberators drop leaflets over the country.

FRANCE: This afternoon the US 319th Infantry Regiment attacked enemy positions in the Adaucourt-Letricourt sector, on the Seille river near Nancy. Catching the Germans unawares, the Americans cleared both towns with an hour and a quarter, drove the enemy back across the river and took 162 PoWs.

In the U.S. Third Army area, Lieutenant General George S. Patton and his commanders draw up plans for the Third Army offensive. After First Army's attack on D-Day, XII Corps will attack on D+1, XX Corps on D+2, and III Corps will eventually be responsible for mopping up the Metz pocket. Regrouping is in progress. In the XX Corps area, the 5th Infantry Division the reoccupies Arnaville bridgehead south of Metz, relieving the 95th Infantry Division. The XII Corps, in preparation for the offensive, makes a limited attack with the 319th Infantry Regiment, 8oth Infantry Division, to clear the Seille River bend in the Létricourt-Abaucourt area and quickly takes both towns.

     In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, the French 2d Armored Division, after completing the capture of Baccarat, driving to the Blette River at Herbviller and Mignville, and helping 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (VI Corps) take Bertrichamps, halts to await relief. In the VI Corps area, the 3d Infantry Division's 15th Infantry Regiment seizes La Bourgonce, in the valley northwest of St Die.

GERMANY: East Prussia: Red Army forces are closing in on East Prussia in a vast pincer movement. Pushing up from the south through Hungary and in from the west through Poland, they are now approaching the once free city of Danzig on a front along the Narew river. Waves of refugees are fleeing before the vengeful Russians.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 696: 324 bombers and 321 fighters are dispatched to attack two synthetic oil plants near Gelsenkirchen and a bridge at Rudesheim; 1 P-51 is lost: 143 B-24 Liberators bomb the Buer synthetic oil refinery at Gelsenkirchen while 113 B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the Nordstern synthetic oil refinery. Two marshalling yards (M/Ys) are also bombed, 73 B-17s hit the Mosel M/Y at Koblenz and 23 B-17s bomb the M/Y at Hamm while 13 B-17s attack a railroad bridge at Rudesheim.

     During the day, 226 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitos of RAF Bomber Command are sent to attack the Meerbeck oil plant at Homberg; 167 bomb the target; one Lancaster is lost.

     During the night of 1/2 November RAF Bomber Command dispatches 288 aircraft, 202 Halifaxes, 74 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos to attack Oberhausen; 282 bomb the city with the loss of three Halifaxes and a Lancaster. The target area is cloud-covered and the bombing is not concentrated. Mosquitos area also active with 47 bombing Berlin, ten hit Cologne, four attack each to Karlsruhe, three hit Mülheim, and one each bomb Bochum and Essen.

U-2342 commissioned.

U-2358, U-4703 laid down.

AUSTRIA: Over 320 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators, with fighter escorts, attack targets in Austria. Graz is heavily hit: 103 aircraft bomb the Main marshalling yard, 32 bomb the city, 17 attack the industrial area, 12 bomb the Wetzeldorf Ordnance Depot, and three bomb targets of opportunity. Vienna's Schonbrunn ordnance depot is hit by 54 aircraft while 25 hit the Sauerwerke tank factory; and 35 aircraft hit targets of opportunity.

HUNGARY: Marshal Malinovsky's troops, advancing across Kecskemet Heath south-east of Budapest, are today within 37 miles of the Hungarian capital and advancing along a 75-mile front between the Danube and Tisza rivers. The town of Kecskemet, the key to the southern defences of the capital, has fallen after bitter house-to-house fighting. Moscow hopes that Malinovsky will celebrate the 27th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in a week's time with the capture of Budapest, but the Germans will not relinquish the capital without a struggle. Their position has been strengthened by the crushing of an uprising by Slovak nationalists.

Budapest: Now that the Nazis have installed a puppet government here, the reprieve for Hungary's Jews is over. Unlike Admiral Horthy (now under arrest) the regime of Ferenc Szalasi does not want to save them.

"Let no person of the Jewish race believe that ... he can circumvent the lawful measures of the Hungarian state," announced the interior minister on 18 October. Adolf Eichmann">Eichmann has returned to Budapest with a new plan to send the Jews to the death camps on foot, hoping that most will die on the way.

Szalasi's government will no longer recognize the passports issued to protect the Jews by the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg.

Ten USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers hit four targets including the Kotoriba railroad bridge by five aircraft and the Kormeno marshalling yard by three aircraft.

FINLAND: The demobilization of the Finnish army to peacetime levels begins according to the terms of the interim peace agreement. This begins to hamper the Finnish actions against Germans.

ITALY:  Units of the 10th Indian Division ( V Corps ) of the British Eighth Army advance to the Rabbi river at Collina, near Ravenna, building up its bridgehead across the Ronco river and taking the town of Meldola on the west bank. The 4th Division is halted outside Forli airfield.

The U.S. North African Theater of Operations (NATOUSA) is redesignated the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTOUSA).

USAAF Twelfth Air Force operations are again curtailed by bad weather; however, fighters and fighter-bombers successfully attack bridges, rail lines, roads, vehicles, and trains in the central Po Valley and hit scattered targets elsewhere in northern Italy.

     During the night of 1/ 2 November, six RAF No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group aircraft hit a railroad bridge at Latisana.

GREECE: The Germans evacuate Florina. British forces take Salonika. Distribution of food in and around  Athens begins. Famine relief is very necessary in this war torn country.

YUGOSLAVIA: Tito and the Prime Minister of the government-in-exile sign an agreements on a new constitution, in which King Peter II will continue to act as head of state.

     Twenty one USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers hit the marshalling yard at Cakovec while eight aircraft bomb targets of opportunity.

     Seventy one RAF No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group aircraft fly in supplies for the partisans.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Off Zara, Croatia, Yugoslavia, in the northern Adriatic, British escort destroyers HMS Avon Vale (L 06) and Wheatland (L 122) sink German torpedo boat TA-20 (and two corvettes, all ex-Italian vessels.

EUROPE: Daylight raids were made by the US Eighth Army Air Force against synthetic oil plants at Gelsenkirchen and railway targets in Hamm and Coblenz. All the bombers and all but one fighter returned. Last night RAF Halifaxes and Lancasters continued the offensive against the industrial centre of Cologne.

CHINA: About 70 USAAF Fourteenth Air Force fighters again support Chinese ground forces in the Lungling area while 13 fighters strafe river, road, and rail traffic from Kunghsien to Loyang.

BURMA: Men of the British 36th Division, on the move again after a few days' rest at Mawpin, yesterday advanced two miles down the Myitkyina to Mandalay railway line, stopping one mile outside Mawlu. In the Chin hills troops of the 5th Indian Division wiped out a Japanese stronghold.

Over 70 USAAF Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers knock out the bridge at Panghkam, slightly damage bridges in the Wingkang and Kawnghka area, hit railroad targets of opportunity between Indaw and Naba, attack Japanese positions near Bhamo, Si-in, Hantet, and Shwegu, and bomb the towns of Loiwing and Lagaw; nine B-25 Mitchells damage bridge approaches at Hsenwi, Namhkai, and Kawnghka.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The Japanese land 2000 reinforcements at Ormoc, Leyte.  The defenders are composed of the 35th Army commanded by General Suzuki.  The original 16th Division has been reinforced by the 30th and 102nd  Divisions.  Units of the US 7th Division liberate Baybay. One US destroyer, USS ABNER READ, is sunk and three other destroyers badly damaged by kamikaze's, while two more were hit by a combination of suicide and conventional air strikes.

Japanese "Frances" twin-engine bomber crashed into destroyer USS Ammen resulting in 21 wounded and 5 dead. Four other destroyers hit in air attacks.

     In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area, the 34rh Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, executes a wide flanking movement through Tuba and continues along the Jaro-Carigara road and finds that the Japanese have withdrawn hastily; by the end of day, the regiment is within 1,000 yards (914 meters) of Sagkanan. As plans for a concerted assault on Carigara are being made, the Japanese begin an undetected withdrawal from the town toward the hills near Limon. In the XXIV Corps area, 96th Infantry Division completes mop up of entire Catmon Hill area.

     Japanese Navy bombers fly two large predawn attacks, crater Tacloban Airfield and damage three cargo vessels.

     USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb airfields at Cebu City on Cebu Island and Alicante on Negros Island and supply dumps at Del Monte on Mindanao Island; fighter- bombers hit Bacolod, Alicante, and Carolina Airfields on Negros Island; P-47 Thunderbolts attack shipping and shore targets during a sweep over the Sulu Archipelago.

     Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. shoots down a €œTojo€ fighter (Nakajima Ki-44, Type 2 Single-seat Fighter Shoki) over Tacloban, Leyte. This is his 25th victory.

JAPAN: Tokyo: The Japanese army opens a bombing campaign against the US mainland, launching the first of 9,000 explosive balloons designed to float across the Pacific on the prevailing westerly wind.

In the Kurile Islands, a USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberator on an armed weather mission bombs Otomari Cape on Onnekotan Island.

     The USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XXI Bomber Command dispatches a Boeing F-13A Superfortress (photo reconnaissance B-29) from Saipan to fly a reconnaissance mission over Tokyo at 32,000 feet (9 754 meters). This aircraft, named "Tokyo Rose," is the first U.S. aircraft to fly over Tokyo since the Doolittle raid of 18 April 1942. The crew takes over 700 photographs in 35 minutes (Jack McKllop)

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces P-38 Lightnings and B-25 Mitchells pound Namlea Airfield on Buroe Island in the Moluccas Islands.

NEW GUINEA: USAAF Far East Air Forces A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells hit Babo Airfield in Dutch New Guinea.

PACIFIC OCEAN:

2200: USS TRIGGER (SS-237) sinks two cargo ships at 29-12 N, 134-37 E.

2400: USS HADDOCK (SS-231) sinks a transport and cargo ship at 09-02 N, 150-43 E.

USN Submarine Operations in the PACIFIC:

0500: USS ATULE (SS-403) sinks an armed transport at 20-17 N, 117-08 E.

0800: USS BLACKFIN (SS-322) sinks an armed transport at 12-57 N, 120-12 E.

0900: USS RAY (SS-271) sinks two civilian tankers, one at 12-57 N, 120-12 E and one SW of Manila. (Skip Guidry)

In Leyte Gulf at about 1341 hours local, a €œVal€ kamikaze dive bomber (Aichi D3A, Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber) sinks destroyer USS Abner Read (DD- 526) about 34 nautical miles (62 kilometers) south-southeast of Tacloban, Leyte, Philippine Islands in position 10.47N, 125.22E. A bomb from the raider drops down one of the destroyer's stacks and explodes in her after engine room. The plane, in the meantime, comes down diagonally across the main deck, setting fire to the entire after section. The ship loses water pressure and this makes fire fighting efforts impossible. At 1352 hours, a tremendous internal explosion occurs, causing her to list about 10 degrees to starboard and to sink by the stern. At 1415 hours Abner Read rolls over on her starboard side and sinks stern first. Destroyers quickly came to the aid of survivors and rescued all but 22 members of the ship€™s crew.

     Japanese kamikazes and horizontal bombers damage five destroyers in Leyte Gulf, USS Anderson (DD-411), Claxton (DD-571), Ammen (DD-527), Bush (DD- 529) and Killen (DD-593).

     Allied submarines sink five Japanese ships:

     - At 0500 hours in the South China Sea, USS Atule (SS-403) attacks Japanese convoy, and sinks a  transport about 233 nautical miles (431 kilometers) east-southeast of the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, in position 20.09N, 117.38E.

     - At 0800 hours in the Mindoro Strait, South China Sea, USS Blackfin (SS-322) attacks a Japanese convoy, and sinks an auxiliary vessel and a transport about 58 nautical miles (108 kilometers) west-northwest of San Jose, Mindoro, Philippine Islands, in position 12.54N, 120.10E.

     - At 0900 hours in the Mindoro Strait, South China Sea, USS Ray (SS-271) sinks a merchant tanker about 58 nautical miles (108 kilometers) west-northwest of San Jose, Mindoro, Philippine Islands, in position 12.57N, 120.12E. The sub later lands men and supplies on west coast of Mindoro.

     - In the Banda Sea, HMS/M Storm (P 233) sinks a schooner about 94 nautical miles (175 kilometers) east of Makassar, Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies, in position 04.56S, 120.59E. (Skip Guidry)

BONIN AND VOLCANO ISLANDS: Eight USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Guam, Mariana Islands, attack shipping northeast of Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands. Twelve B-24 Liberators escorting a US Navy photographic aircraft over Iwo Jima and Haha Jima and Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands, bomb airfields, a warehouse, and shipping. During the night of ½ Nov a B-24 on a snooper mission from Saipan Island bombs Iwo Jima.

U.S.A.: The play, Harvey, about a large white rabbit that appears to a drunk, opens on Broadway at the 48th Street Theatre. It was written by Mary Chase to bring laughter to a widowed Denver neighbour, whose son was killed in the Pacific. The play will run for 1,775 performances finally closing on 15 January 1949. One of the stars is Josephine Hull who appears in the 1950 movie of the same title with James Stewart.

 

Destroyer USS John A Bole launched.

Destroyer escort USS Charles E Brannon commissioned.

Submarine USS Lionfish commissioned.

Minesweeper USS Superior commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Frigate HMS Whittaker is torpedoed by U-483 (Kapitanleutnant Hans-Joachim von Morstein). The propellant for the 24 Hedgehogs on the launcher in front of the bridge exploded and blew off her bows and wrecked her bridge structure. She was towed into Belfast and laid up. She was not repaired. (Alex Gordon)(108)

 

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1 November 1945

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November 1st, 1945 (THURSDAY)

JAPAN: Operation OLYMPIC, the projected invasion of Kyushu, was scheduled for today. 

WAKE ISLAND Island Command, Wake and Naval Air Base, Wake (FPO SF 1181) is established. (Gordon Rottman)

CANADA:

Minesweeper HMCS Rossland paid off.

Minesweepers HMCS Suderoy IV, Suderoy V and Star XVI returned to owners.

U.S.A.: Private First Class Clarence B. Craft is awarded the MOH for his actions on Okinawa on 31 May 1945.

Citation:

CRAFT, CLARENCE B.

Rank and organization: Private, First Class, U.S. Army, Company G, 382d Infantry, 96th Infantry Division. Place and date: Hen Hill, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 31 May 1945. Entered service at: Santa Ana, Calif. Birth: San Bernardino, Calif. G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945. 

Citation: He was a rifleman when his platoon spearheaded an attack on Hen Hill, the tactical  position on which the entire Naha-Shuri-Yonaburu line of Japanese defence on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, was hinged. For 12 days our forces had been stalled, and repeated, heavy assaults by 1 battalion and then another had been thrown back by the enemy with serious casualties. With 5 comrades, Pfc. Craft was dispatched in advance of Company G to feel out the enemy resistance. The group had proceeded only a short distance up the slope when rifle and machinegun fire, coupled with a terrific barrage of grenades, wounded 3 and pinned down the others. Against odds that appeared suicidal, Pfc. Craft launched a remarkable 1-man attack. He stood up in full view of the enemy and began shooting with deadly marksmanship wherever he saw a hostile movement. He steadily advanced up the hill, killing Japanese soldiers with rapid fire, driving others to cover in their strongly disposed trenches, unhesitatingly facing alone the strength that had previously beaten back attacks in battalion strength. He reached the crest of the hill, where he stood silhouetted against the sky while quickly throwing  grenades at extremely short range into the enemy positions. His extraordinary assault lifted the pressure from his company for the moment, allowing members of his platoon to comply with his motions to advance and pass him more grenades. 

With a chain of his comrades supplying him while he stood atop the hill, he furiously hurled a total of 2 cases of grenades into a main trench and other positions on the reverse slope of Hen Hill, meanwhile directing the aim of his fellow soldiers who threw grenades from the slope below him. He left his position, where grenades from both sides were passing over his head and bursting on either slope, to attack the main enemy trench as confusion and panic seized the defenders. Straddling the excavation, he pumped rifle fire into the Japanese at pointblank range, killing many and causing the others to flee down the trench. Pursuing them, he came upon a heavy machinegun which was still creating havoc in the American ranks. With rifle fire and a grenade he wiped out this position. By this time the Japanese were in complete rout and American forces were swarming over the hill. Pfc. Craft continued down the central trench to the mouth of a cave where many of the enemy had taken cover. A satchel charge was brought to him, and he tossed it into the cave. It failed to explode. With great daring, the intrepid fighter retrieved the charge from the cave, relighted the fuse and threw it back, sealing up the Japs in a tomb. In the local action, against tremendously superior forces heavily armed with rifles, machineguns, mortars, and grenades, Pfc. Craft killed at least 25 of the enemy; but his contribution to the campaign on Okinawa was of much more far-reaching consequence for Hen Hill was the key to the entire defence line, which rapidly crumbled after his utterly fearless and heroic attack.

(Drew Halevy)

A War Department Report on Stalag IX-B notes that "on Feb. 8, 1945, 350 of the physically fit prisoners (US, mostly Jewish - AE) were sent to a work detachment in the Leipzig district" but failed to note the overlap between segregated American Jews and this "work detachment," which was in fact sent to Berga more than 40 miles from Leipzig. (Personal recollection of William J. Shapiro and Mordecai Hauer, The Lost Soldiers of Stalag IX-B, by Roger Cohen, New York Times, 27 February, 2005)

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