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1924   (MONDAY) 

UNITED STATES: The aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV-1) reports for duty with the Battle Fleet, thereby ending over two years in experimental status and becoming the first operational aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. On 1 December she also became the flagship of Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet.

1932   (THURSDAY) 

GERMANY: Chancellor Franz von Papen's cabinet resigns because of his failure to obtain parliamentary support for a Government of national concentration under his leadership. He had been appointed Chancellor on 1 June by President Paul von Hindenburg. He is replaced by Kurt von Schleicher on 4 December.

1933   (FRIDAY) 

UNITED STATES: The motion picture "Duck Soupb"is released in the U.S. This zany musical comedy directed by Leo McCary stars the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo) and Louis Calhern, The members of the American Film Institute have ranked this film as No. 85 on the list of the 100 Greatest American Movies and No. 5 on the list of the 100 Funniest American Movies.

1934   (SATURDAY) 

UNITED STATES: The motion picture "It's A Gift" is released in the U.S. This comedy directed by Norman Z. McLeod stars W.C. Fields. The members of the American Film Institute rank this film as No. 58 on the list of the 100 Funniest American Films.

1936   (MONDAY) 

GERMANY: The German and Japanese governments sign an agreement against Communism, which, in practice, is an extension of the Rome-Berlin Axis and a counterweight to the Franco-Soviet alliance.

1938   (THURSDAY) 

GERMANY: The government rejects legal liability for Austrian indebtedness ". . . after a careful study of the pertinent procedures and principles based on international law, . . . supported by historical procedures . . . since they were brought about in order to support the incompetent Austrian state artificially created by the Paris treaties."

     Lord Halifax, a member of the British cabinet (Lord President of the Council), travels to Germany to meet with Chancellor Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden to determine German objectives, and, if possible, to negotiate a peaceful settlement. Lord Halifax returns to Britain on 21 November deeply impressed with the magnitude of the German foreign policy program, especially in terms of German goals in central and eastern Europe. This visit marks the first step of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy and is designed to draw out an official German statements on their foreign policy aims.

November 17th, 1939 (FRIDAY)

RAF Bomber Command: Reconnaissance of NorthWest Germany and naval bases.

     U.S. freighter SS Black Condor, detained by the British at Weymouth, Dorset, England, since 5 November, is released after part of her cargo and 126 bags of mail are seized..

FRANCE: Paris: The ex-president of Czechoslovakia, Eduard Benes, sets up the "Czech National Committee".

GERMANY: U-371, U-372 laid down.

FINLAND: Red Army units concentrated against Finland receive their mission orders. Stalin and his cronies are misled by the wildly over-optimistic reports from their agents in Finland, and believe the country is on verge of social revolution. The Finnish resistance would collapse on the moment the Red Army marches in and they would be received with cheers by the oppressed Finnish masses. The war, it is believed, would be a walk-over.

The units in the north, whose mission is to cut Finland in half and reach the Fenno-Swedish border, are instructed not to violate the Swedish territory and to salute the Swedish border guards with due formality when met.

The remnants of the Communist Party of Finland are resurrected (the Finnish party, like others, had been devastated by the purges of late 1930s) at Moscow to form the so-called People's Government of Finland that would act as the fig-leaf for the Soviet aggression. It's Prime Minister will be Otto Wille Kuusinen, a Finnish communist who escaped to Soviet Union after the Civil War of 1918.

GIBRALTAR: U.S. freighter SS Nishmaha, detained at Gibraltar since 11 November, is given the option of submitting to further detention or proceeding to Barcelona, Spain, and thence to Marseilles, France, to unload items seized by British authorities. Nishmaha's master chooses the latter option. On the same day the British allow SS Nishmaha to clear Gibraltar, however, they detain U.S. freighter SS Examiner and seize 11 bags of first-class mail.

CANADA: HMCS Assiniboine (D18), a River-class destroyer, Cdr. Edmond "Rollo" Mainguy, RCN, CO, arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Devonport, U.K. Assiniboine was assigned to the RN’s Americas and West Indies Station and departed Halifax for Jamaica on 05 Dec. She conducted patrols in the Caribbean Sea, searching for German blockade-runners attempting to make their way home after the outbreak of war. After returning to Halifax on 31 Mar, Cdr. Mainguy was relieved by Cmdre. G.C. Jones, RCN, on 02 Apr, and the ship was dispatched to the U.K. The appointment of such a senior officer to command a destroyer was a somewhat naïve effort to establish a commander afloat to oversee all Canadian naval affairs in the European theatre. However, it quickly became apparent that the command and staff facilities in the ship were completely inadequate to the task and that the commodore’s responsibilities conflicted with the ship’s tactical employment. Cmdre. Jones moved to facilities ashore when they were obtained and the ship was released for escort duties. This was the RCN’s first attempt at establishing an operational-level command appointment.

Gate vessel (ex-fishing trawler) HMCS Venosta commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

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November 17th, 1940 (SUNDAY)

RAF Fighter Command:
The Luftwaffe attacks Bath.

The C-in-C of Fighter Command since 1936, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, the commander of 11 Group, the two men who planned and controlled the strategy which won the Battle of Britain, have been deprived of their jobs.

It may be argued that the austere Dowding - nicknamed "Stuffy" - was overdue for retirement, and that the New Zealander Park is worn out and deserves a rest, but the manner of their dismissal has enraged their young pilots. Dowding, a brilliant organiser whose uncompromising manner has never made him popular with the Air Staff, was told, albeit courteously, that he had to go in a personal interview on 13 November. The official letter informing him of his retirement says that the Air Council has "no other work to offer you", although this may not exclude a non-operational role. Park will take over No. 23 Training Group.

Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, the commander of 12 Group, is known to have opposed the tactics of Dowding and Park. Leigh-Mallory is a believer in the "big wing" rather than in Dowding's "penny packet" tactics' He seems to have won his point; he is to take over Park's group.

London:

Telegram from Churchill to Chief of Air Staff:

I watch these figures with much concern (aircraft losses). ...we are now not even keeping level, and there is a marked downward turn this week, especially in Bomber Command. Painful as it is not to be able to strike heavy blows after Coventry ... I feel we should nurse Bomber Command.

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler confers with King Boris III of Bulgaria "in the course of a private stay in Germany."

MALTA: Operation White: Second delivery of 12 Hurricanes from HMS Argus: only four arrive on the island; eight aircraft run out of fuel before reaching Malta.

SOMALILAND: British naval forces bombard Mogadishu.

FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA: Brigadier General Charles de Gaulle, Commander in Chief Free French Forces, departs Free French Africa for London, England.

CANADA: Corvette HMS Hepatica arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City, Province of Quebec.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

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November 17th, 1941 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

General der Flieger (USAAF Lieutenant General, RAF Air Marshal) Ernst Udet the head of the Luftwaffe's Technical Department, commits suicide. Udet had been accused by Generalfeldmarschall (USAAF General of the Army, RAF Marshal of the Air Force) Erhard Milch, Luftwaffe Air Inspector General, of bringing about the Luftwaffe's shortcomings as demonstrated during the Battle of Britain, and under fire from Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, Commander of the Luftwaffe, himself. Udet, who had become critical of the Nazi regime, 'chose' to commit suicide and is given a hero's funeral.

GERMANY: U-660 is launched.

FINLAND: In northern Finland, Maj. Gen. Hjalmar Siilasvuo, CO of the III Corps, orders his corps to halt all offensive operations. Siilasvuo's corps is subordinated to the German 20th Mountain Army, and had been involved in succesful offensive operations, advancing towards Louhi. However, political considerations came to play.

Despite Siilasvuo's formal subordination to Germans, he always verifies his orders with Mannerheim. Lately the Western Allies had put lot of pressure on Finland not to cut the Murmansk railway. Capturing Louhi would achieve just that. On 6 Nov Mannerheim confidentially told Siilasvuo that it is better Louhi is not captured. Siilasvuo naturally could not let the Germans know the true reasons for calling the advance to halt, thus the decision is justified by stiffening Soviet resistance.

U.S.S.R.: The advance of the German 1st Panzer Group continues near Rostov. Soviet General Semen Timoshenko, commander of the Southwestern Theater, begins a counterattack on the flank of the German column.

     Soviet attacks by massed T-34 tanks strike the German 112th Infantry Division. The Germans break in panic, losing most of a regiment, the first time this has occurred in World War II.

     Units of 11.Armee (von Manstein) capture the eastern Crimean port of Kerch.

EGYPT: German intercept stations report complete radio silence from the British. (Jay Stone)

Early on during their 3rd patrol, U-331 dropped off 8 commandos on the Egyptian coast east of Ras Gibeisa. Their mission was to blow up a railway near the coast, but they did not succeed.

LIBYA: The most famous of the commando raid of the "Layforce" in North Africa occurs today. The objective is to behead the Afrikakorps on the eve of the decisive Operation CRUSADER offensive. A commando, landing on the Libyan coast, has to rally the "Rommel's House" in Beda Littoria and kill him. Although the British reach the house and attack it, General Erwin Rommel is not there. The intelligence was false and it was not his headquarter. The losses were heavy on both side and only two men could go back in Egypt ... on foot.

CHINA: The Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-Shek, calls for the western democracies to take action against Japan.

JAPAN: Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo said an amicable conclusion of Japan's negotiations with the United States was by no means impossible. . . if the Government of the United States are, on the one hand, as genuinely solicitous for world peace as are the Imperial Government, and on the other understand Japan's natural requirements and her position in East Asia and consider the situation as it exists there in the light of realities," but Japan would face any threat to its empire or compromise of its prestige with firm resolve. ". . . there is naturally a limit to our conciliatory attitude."  (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)

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November 17th, 1942 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Minesweeper HMS Postillion laid down.

FRANCE: In Vichy France, Marshal Henri-Phillipe Pétain appoints Pierre Laval his successor, which reflects increasing German control over the Vichy French government. After the Germans invaded Vichy on 11 November, Pétain had become nothing more than a figurehead. Laval, President of the Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of Information, receives the power to make laws and issue decrees.

     The USAAF Eighth Air Force’s VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 20: 2 locations are targeted: Twenty three B-17 Flying Fortresses and 12 14 B-24 Liberators bomb the U-boats pens at St Nazaire but six B-24s dispatched to hit Maupertus Airfield at Cherbourg abort due to cloud cover.

     During the night of 17/18 November, 14 RAF Bomber Command aircraft drop leaflets over the country with the loss of one Halifax. Eleven other aircraft lay mines off two Bay of Biscay ports: six lay mines off Lorient and five lay mines off St. Nazaire.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 17/18 November, 14 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

GERMANY: During the night of 17/18 November, RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines: five lay mines off the Heligoland Bight the body of water south and east of Heligoland Island, three lay mines off the port of Danzig and two off Pillan.

U-293, U-348 laid down.

BALTIC SEA: During the night of 17/18 November, two RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off the Danish island of Bornholm.

POLAND: During the night of 17/18 November, an RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off the port of Gdynia.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: A convoy passes Gibraltar bound for Malta. They will reach Malta on the 20th. None of the four transports will be sunk. This is Operation Stonehenge.

Convoy MW-13 (Egypt to Malta) consisting of four merchant vessels escorted by the light cruisers HMS Euryalus (42), Dido (37) and Arethusa (26) and ten destroyers, departs Alexandria to deliver badly needed supplies to Malta. This is known as Operation STONEAGE.

U-331 sunk in the Mediterranean north of Algiers in position 37.05N, 02.27E after she had been badly damaged by a Hudson aircraft of No. 500 Squadron based at Tafaraoui, Algeria, she signalled surrender to a seaplane but was attacked by a torpedo-equipped aircraft Albacore from the British aircraft carrier HMS Formidable (Sqns 500 and 820). 32 dead and 17 survivors. Most of the killed were machine gunned in the water by aircraft. CO Kptlt Freiherr Hans-Diedrich Von Tiesenhausen (Knights Cross) emigrated to West Vancouver, Canada postwar and had a personalized license plate reading "U-331".

British troops at Djebel Abiod and French troops at Medjez el Bab repel simultaneous German attacks.

     USAAF Ninth Air Force P-40s patrol over Tobruk and the Derna road.

ALGERIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force air action is limited to routine patrols in the Tafaraoui area.

TUNISIA: The General Officer Commanding British First Army orders the 78th Division to concentrate for an advance on Tunis. The 36th Brigade, 78th Division makes contact with the Germans west of Djehel Abiod, 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of Tunis. To the south, the 2d Battalion, U.S. 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, occupies Gafsa Airfield.

BURMA: The amphibious operation against Akyab is cancelled by General Wavell. He then orders an advance by the 14th Indian Division which is more limited. It will advance down the Mayu Peninsula.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Four USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s hit construction equipment at Dong Cuong Airfield.

NEW GUINEA: 1,000 fresh Japanese troops are landed by sea at Buna, Gona and Sanananda. The strong fortifications built since September now have a full complement of defenders.

Port Moresby: The steady advance of the Australian army across the Owen Stanley Mountains in Papua continues. Yesterday all seven Australian battalions completed the crossing of the swift-flowing Kumusi river, in the north. In the advance from Port Moresby the Australians found evidence that the enemy had been reduced to eating not only grass but also dead Australians. Approximately 5,000 survivors of Japan's original drive on Port Moresby earlier this year, together with 4,000 reinforcements sent from Rabaul are now retreating to the north coast.

Australian and U.S. forces continue toward the Japanese beachhead in the Buna-Gona area. The Australian 16th Brigade, Maroubra Force, spends the night between Isivita and Sangara, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southwest of Popondetta. The U.S. 32d Infantry Division's Task Force Warren suffers another setback as Japanese planes put two more supply luggers out of action, leaving only one serviceable and necessitating supply of vital items by air until more luggers become available. The Wairopi Patrol (units of the U.S. 32d Infantry Division) reports to the Australian 7th Division at Wairopi. Japanese destroyers land the III/229th Battalion and 300 reinforcements for the 144th Regiment at Basabua, 2 miles (3,2 kilometers) east of Gona in the evening. The strong fortifications built by the Japanese since September now have a full complement of defenders.

     In Papua New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-26 Marauders hit Gona Mission as the US 32d Infantry and Australian 7th Divisions continue to move toward the Buna-Gona beachhead. B-25 Mitchells bomb airfields at Lae, Northeast New Guinea.

EAST INDIES: Six Australian Beaufighter Mk ICs of No. 31 Squadron based at RAAF Coomalie Creek, Northern Territory, Australia, attack Moabisse and Bobonaro in Portugese East Timor with the loss of one aircraft.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Gasmata while a lone B-24 Liberator bombs the wharf area at Rabaul.

CANADA:

U.S.A.:  Washington: President Roosevelt today defended the agreement which the Allied commander in North Africa, Lieutenant-General Eisenhower, has reached with Admiral Darlan, the former Vichy leader as "a temporary expedient." Four days ago, Darlan announced that he was "assuming responsibility for the government in Africa with the consent of the American authorities." President Roosevelt made it plain, however, that this did not mean that the United States would back Darlan. "We are opposed to Frenchmen who support Hitler and the Axis", said Roosevelt.

The US Alien Property Custodian, under the "Trading With the Enemy Act" seizes the shares of the Silesian-American Corporation, as a Nazi-front. (Scott Peterson)

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November 17th, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

ITALY: USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighters hit trucks north of Ancona at Macerata.

GREECE: Forty one USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Eleusis Airfield near Athens destroying several parked airplanes and scoring many hits on hangars, other buildings, and runways. P-38 Lightnings escort the B-17s as well as USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attacking the airfield at Kalamaki.

CHINA: Eighth USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s strafe the airfield and barracks at Kengtung while eight others attack Pingkai and targets of opportunity between Pingkai and Tahsai on the Salween River.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies during the night of 17/18 November, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Surabaja (Surabaya) and Tjepoe, Java and Denpasar Airfield (Den Passar Field) on Bali, and B-25 Mitchells bomb a freighter off Tanimbar Island located between Australia and New Guinea.

NEW GUINEA: Australian tanks attack Sattelberg, the main centre of Japanese resistance.

In Northeast New Guinea, Australians of 9th Division open an assault against Sattelberg, which is suited by nature for defense. Sattelberg, a high peak and the key to the occupation of the Huon Peninsula, involves a hard, four-month campaign for the 9th Division. The 20th, 24th and 26th Brigades, assisted by tanks, aircraft, and artillery, participate in the battle. In the air, 58 USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators are dispatched to support an attack by the Australian 9th Division on Sattelberg, but because of bad weather only three B-24s, along with 12 RAAF aircraft, get through to the target. P-47 Thunderbolts strafe Japanese shipping between Saidor and Finschhafen.

AUSTRALIA: USN submarine USS Capelin (SS-289) departs Darwin, Northern Territory, on her second war patrol for Molucca and Celebes Seas in the Netherlands East Indies. She is never heard from again. Capelin is never heard from again; radio silence is broken in the attempt to reach her on 9 December, but without success. Japanese records studied after the war list an attack on a supposed United States submarine on 23 November, off Kaoe Bay, Halmahera Island, Netherlands East Indies, but the evidence of an actual contact was slight, and the action is incomplete. This is, however, the only reported attack in the appropriate area at that time.

GILBERT ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Tarawa Atoll.

ELLICE ISLANDS: Japanese aircraft bomb Funafuti Airfield on Funafuti Island killing two Navy Seabees and destroying a USAAF B-24 Liberator and a C-47 Skytrain.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Mili and Maloelap Atolls.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The final elements of the 21st Marine Regiment arrive.

     Two squadrons of USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Buka Airfield on Buka Island, north of Bougainville. Three B-25 Mitchells hit Kieta Airfield on western Bougainville.

PACIFIC OCEAN: In the Solomons Sea at 0350 hours local, Japanese "Judy" bombers (Kugisho D4Y1, Carrier Bombers Suisei) attack a convoy carrying Marine reinforcements to Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands. High-speed transport USS McKean (APD-5) is struck by a torpedo and the after magazine, containing the depth charges, explodes and ruptures the fuel tanks. Minutes later the forward magazine blows up and the ship begins to sink by the stern. The ship was carrying 185 Marines; 64 of her crew and 52 Marines are lost. The ship sinks about 21 nautical miles (39 kilometers) south-southwest of Torokina, Bougainville, in position 06.31S, 154.52E. (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)

CANADA:

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Grand Admiral Dönitz takes personal charge of a U-boat assault on convoy SL-139/MKS-30, comprising 66 Allied merchant ships.

U-516 sank SS Ruby.

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November 17th, 1944 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Submarine HMS Spur launched.

WESTERN EUROPE: Thirty USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers of the 9th Bombardment Division hit Haguenau, France; weather prevents over 100 bombers from attacking targets; fighters escort bombers, fly patrol and armed reconnaissance over a wide area of western Germany, and support the US 104th and 4th Infantry Divisions and 2d Armored Division, east of Aachen and near Hurtgen, Germany.

FRANCE: The French offensive near Belfort reaches Montbeliad. Both the US 3rd and 7th Armies advance in the wake of German withdrawals.

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 10th Armored Division fans out to pursue the Germans toward the Sarre River, closely supported by aircraft. The 357th Infantry Regiment, 90oth Infantry Division, cleans out the Hackenberg fortifications, which are found leveled by direct fire, and takes Klang; the 358th Infantry seizes Metzeresche. The Germans begin withdrawing in front of the division after nightfall. Task Force Bacon, 95th Infantry Division, gets almost to Metz, stopping for the night within sight of Fort St Julien. West of the Moselle River, the 95th Infantry Division continues toward Metz, the 377th Infantry Regiment reaching the suburb of Sansonnet. Against weakened resistance, the 5th Infantry Division continues northward toward Metz: the 11th Infantry Regiment clears most of Frescaty Airfield, but is stopped on the right by fire from Fort St Privat; the 10th Infantry is halted at Fort Queuleu but gets patrols to the city limits; the 2d Infantry withdr

 aws elements east of the Nied Française River in order to strengthen the drive on the right flank of the division and pushes northward beyond Frontigny.

     In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, Avricourt falls to the 44th Infantry Division. The 79th Infantry Division reaches the Vezouse River line in the Blmont-Cirey area and begins crossing. Combat Command B, French 2d Armored Division, seizes Badonviller, near the junction of XV and VI Corps front, and pushes on to Bremenil. In the VI Corps area, the 100th Infantry Division prepares for a full-scale attack on Raon from the north, the 398th Infantry Regiment crossing the Meurthe River at Baccarat. The 103d Infantry Division finishes clearing the heights southwest of St Die; during the night of 17/18 November, patrols into St Die, from which the Germans are withdrawing. 36th Infantry Division patrols enter Corcieux, where the Germans have already applied the torch.

     In the French First Army's Western French Forces area, General René-Marie de Larminat, commander of Detachément Altantique, organizes Forces Francaises de l'Ouest (FFO) to safeguard the coast of Bay of Biscay from Isle de Re and La Rochelle on the north to Royan and Pointe de Grave on the south. The command post has recently moved from Paris to Cognac. The I Corps breaks through the outer defenses of Belfort along the line of the Lisaine and Gland Rivers. Among towns taken are Héricourt, Montbéliard, and Hérimoncourt.

NETHERLANDS: In the British Second Army area, XII Corps gets forward elements to the Maas River across from Roermond and takes Wessem.

GERMANY: The US 1st and 9th Armies gain ground near Aachen.

In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the 104th Infantry Division, renewing their effort to advance its right wing with a heavy volume of fire support, is still firmly opposed from the Donnerberg and makes slow progress, although Birkengang is largely cleared. Task Force Mills of Combat Command B, 3d Armored Division, gains a weak hold on the southern part of Hastenrath and Scherpenseel, but since its flank is exposed by the failure of 104th Infantry Division to advance, is precariously situated; German fire from the Eschweilcr Woods and the Donnerberg takes heavy toll of Combat Command B's armor, which by nightfall is at half its original strength. In the1st Infantry Division sector, the 47th Infantry Regiment eliminates German rear-guard opposition from Gressenich; the 16th Infantry Regiment, with tank support, advances almost to Hamich while the 26th Infantry gains a few hundred yards to the right. The Germans continue to contain the efforts of the 4th Infantry

  Division to advance through the Huertgen Forest.

     In the U.S. Ninth Army’s XIX Corps area, Combat Command B, 2d Armored Division, withstands determined counterattacks against Immendorf and Puffendorf but loses a hill northeast of the latter; another attempt to take Apweiler fails; Combat Command A commits Task Force A to drive through Puffendorf toward Ederen but cannot get beyond Puffendorf. The 29th Infantry Division employs a battalion of the 116th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 115th Infantry Regiment, against Setterich, on the main highway and needed to support tanks of 2d Armored Division, but is unable to take it; nor do assault forces to the south succeed in clearing either Siersdorf or Bettendorf. The 30th Infantry Division makes progress in the heavily built up area on the southern flank of the corps, taking the village of Heengen on north and on the south clearing the rest of Wuerselen and overrunning Broichweiden.

     One hundred seventeen USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the I.G. Farben synthetic oil refinery at Blechhammer with the loss of one aircraft.

U-1307 commissioned.

AUSTRIA: Two hundred two USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the Floridsdorf oil refinery in Vienna. Other targets hit in Austria are: 14 bomb the industrial area at Leoben, 11 each hit the railroad at St. Johann and the marshalling yard at Villach, four attack Vocklmarkt, and nine aircraft bomb other targets. A second raid by 117 B-17 Flying Fortresses hit the Main marshalling yard at Salzburg with the loss of one aircraft.

HUNGARY: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb two targets: 66 hit the marshalling yard at Gyor with the loss of two B-24s and one bombs Varoslod.

ITALY: In the British Eighth Army's Polish II Corps area, hard fighting develops on Mt. Fortino, north of Converselle, which the Germans lose and then regain in a counterattack.

     USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers hit rail bridges and viaducts in the northeast, concentrating on the Brenner Pass where ground haze and smoke screen at the Avisio viaduct hamper the attacks; fighter-bombers of the XXII Tactical Air Command cut rail lines, hit larger concentrations of railroad cars, and blast several ammunition and fuel dumps north of the battleline below Bologna; fighter-bombers closely supporting ground forces also hit guns and other military targets in battle area.

     During the night of 17/18 November, RAF aircraft of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb two airfields: 35 bomb Vicenza Airfield and 34 bomb the Main airfield at Udine.

ALBANIA: German resistance ends in the capital Tiranë.

YUGOSLAVIA: For the first time in several months, USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack targets in Yugoslavia, hitting bridges along the Brod-Zagreb-Maribor railroad.

     USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack two targets: 30 bomb the marshalling yard at Maribor with the loss of one aircraft and one bombs the railroad at Dravograde.

     During the night of 17/18 November, 13 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb a highway choke point at Novi Pasar.

CHINA: From the Kweilin-Liuchow area, the Japanese begin a drive on Kweiyang, possession of which would open way to Kunming, the Hump terminus, and Chungking, the capital.

     Fifteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, in flights of two or three each, attack gun positions, storage areas, and village and town areas north of Chuchou, west of Nanyo, and at Chefang and Nanyo and south of Hpalen, Burma; also a bridge at Tingka is knocked out. Over 100+ P-40s and P-51 Mustangs hit targets of opportunity throughout southeast and southwest China, concentrating on the Mangshih and Changsha areas.

HONG KONG: Three USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Kowloon Docks.

BURMA: Thirty three USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts hit troop and vehicle concentrations and supply areas at Manlu, Loi-Lum, Nawngmoloi, and Kyaukme; ten P-47s support ground forces in the northern Burma railroad corridor near Meza; 16 others sweep the rail line from Hsipaw to Sedaw hitting rolling stock, gun positions and other targets of opportunity while three bomb the Meza railroad station; and 16 others strafe airfields at Nawnghkio, Anisakan, and Onbauk. Nine B-25 Mitchells bomb bridges at Lashio, knocking out a bypass bridge and damaging others; several machinegun positions are silenced in the bridge area.

CHINA SEA: The IJN carrier Junyo is sunk by the US submarine Spadefish.

JAPAN: Four USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Suribachi Airfield on Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands. Two fighters intercept and damage a B-24 which force-lands on Kamchatka, USSR.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area on Leyte, a battalion of the 128th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, gets to within 500 yards (457 meters) of Limon, but the 1st Battalion is still held up by the Japanese on the slopes of Corkscrew Ridge.

     USAAF Far East Air Forces (FEAF) B-24 Liberators bomb Sanbon Field at Legaspi on the southeastern tip of Luzon Island; on Mindanao Island, B-24 Liberators bomb Sasa and Likanan Airfields; other B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells fly heckling missions over the central Philippine Islands and Mindanao Island. .

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-25 Mitchells fly heckling missions over northeastern Celebes Island.

NEW GUINEA: In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-25 Mitchells continue to support ground forces on Mapia Island.

BONIN ISLANDS: Fifteen USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators, flying a shipping strike out of Saipan Island, attack vessels southwest of Muko Jima Island and the attack harbor and town of Okimura.

     Project MIKE continues as USAAF B-24s lay eight mines in effective locations in Futami Ko, Chichi Jima.

PACIFIC OCEAN: In the Philippine Sea, a USN TBM Avenger of Composite Squadron Eight Two (VC 82) in the escort aircraft carrier USS Anzio (CVE-57) and destroyer escort USS Lawrence C. Taylor (DE-415) sink Japanese submarine HIJMS I-26 about 345 nautical miles (638 kilometers) east-northeast of Tacloban, Leyte, Philippine Islands, in position 12.44N, 130.42E.

     In the East China Sea, USN Submarine USS Spadefish (SS-411) sinks Japanese escort aircraft carrier HIJMS Shinyo about 153 nautical miles (283 kilometers) northeast of Shanghai, China, in position 33.02N, 123.33E.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Glace Bay and corvette HMCS Parry Sound departed St. John's, for Londonderry, escorting sub chasers.

U.S.A.: The Combined Chiefs of Staff approve the proposal of Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command (SEAC), made in late October to clear the Arakan, Burma area along the northeast coast of the Bay of Bengal; reject the Kra Isthmus operation in the north central section of southwestern Thailand; and ask for a plan to develop the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean as a staging base.

Submarine USS Lamprey commissioned.

Destroyer USS John R Craig laid down.

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November 17th, 1945 (SATURDAY)

GERMANY: Josef Kramer, the Belsen commandant is sentenced to death.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: FS Richelieu disembarks 6th Infantry, bombards Nha-Trang with 100mm and 152mm guns.

CANADA:

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